Chapter 12 Chapter 11 Sermons in the Storm

However, some people see abstract ideas, while others see facts.A month after the outbreak of the plague, the situation became depressing, firstly because of the resurgence of the epidemic, and secondly because of a violent sermon given by the Abbe Paneloux.This priest was the Jesuit who had helped old Michel during his first illness.Father Paneloux, well-known for his frequent writing for the journal of the Geographical Society of Oran, was an authority on the restoration of inscriptions.He has given a series of lectures on modern individualism to a larger audience than any specialist on the subject.In his lectures he was renowned for his ardent defense of strict Catholic doctrine, his intransigence for modern libertineism and the ignorance of centuries past, and his unreserved indoctrination of hard truths for his audience.

Nearly a month into the plague, the church authorities in the city decided to use their own method to combat the plague: organizing a week of communal prayer.This mass devotion concluded with a solemn mass on Sunday: a prayer to the saint who died caring for the sick - St. Roque.Taking this opportunity, Father Paneloux was asked to speak.For this reason the priest had withdrawn a fortnight ago from his research work on St. Augustine and the African Church, for which he had a special prestige in his order.The abbe, fierce and passionate in nature, complied with the people's request and took up the task with determination.Before this sermon, the whole city had already talked about it.This sermon may also be regarded as one of the great events of this period.

There are many people participating in this week's activities.This is not because the residents of Oran are usually particularly religious. For example, on Sunday morning, the bathing beach always sings the opposite of the mass in the church. It is not because their souls are suddenly inspired to convert to religion, but on the one hand. On the other hand, they were in a very special state of mind, although in the depths of their souls they were not really aware of the reality of the accidents which struck them. sex, but they clearly felt that things were a little different than usual.Many people are always hoping that the plague will pass soon, and that they and their families will be safe and sound.So they don't feel like they have anything to do.To them, the plague is just a nasty uninvited visitor who has come and will go away one day.Although they were afraid, they were not in despair.The time has not yet come when they will see the plague as their way of life and forget their lives before this plague.All in all, they are in anticipation.The attitude towards religion, like many other issues, the plague put their minds in a unique state, neither indifference nor enthusiasm. "Objective" is more appropriate to describe it together.The thoughts of most people who participated in the week of prayer are like what a faithful believer said to Dr. Rieux: "Anyway, there is no harm in it anyway." Tarrou also wrote in his notes: The Chinese would in a similar situation Beat the gongs and drums to drive away the plague god.But he pointed out: In fact, it is impossible to know whether beating gongs and drums is more effective than epidemic prevention measures. Then he just added these two sentences: In order to solve the problem, we should first find out whether there is a plague god.Unless this is clear, it is useless to talk about any other ideas.

In any case, the churches in the city were almost full of faithful men and women during the whole week. For the first few days, many residents still stayed in the garden with palm and pomegranate trees in front of the porch, listening to the waves that spread all the way to the street. Rumbling supplications and prayers.Soon these spectators, inspired by the example of others, gradually entered the church, and their timid voices mingled with the prayers in the church.On Sundays, the nave was filled with crowds, and even the square in front of the church gate and the last steps of the steps were crowded.The day before had begun in a gloomy, pouring rain, those standing outside were holding umbrellas, and the church smelled of incense and wet clothes when Father Paneloux stepped into the pulpit.

He was of medium height, rather stocky, and when he leaned against the railing of the pulpit, his thick hands gripping the railing, one could see only a thick, jet-black figure with two shiny red cheeks and A pair of wire-rimmed glasses.His voice was loud, agitated, and carried far.Facing the believers who were attending mass, he began to speak a fierce, one-word sentence: "My brothers, you are suffering, my brothers, you deserve it." From inside the church to the square, the believers Immediately there was a commotion. What the priest said next seemed logically inconsistent with this gripping opening statement.However, it was only after hearing this passage that the townspeople understood that the priest, like a blow with a club, had immediately emphasized the main idea of ​​his whole sermon with his ingenious oratory skills.Immediately after his first sentence, Paneloux recited the original text of the Bible about the plague in Egypt, and went on to say: "For the first time in history, this plague appeared to strike against the enemies of God. Pharaoh violated Providence and the plague brought him to his knees. Plagues from God have brought the arrogant and the ignorant to his feet, as has always been the case in all ages. Consider this. Kneel."

The rain outside was getting heavier and heavier. When the last sentence was spoken, the whole audience was silent. The sound of the rainstorm hitting the glass windows added to the solemn atmosphere in the church. After a moment of hesitation, slipped from their seats and dropped to their knees on the kneeling stool.Others thought they should follow suit. Gradually, amidst the rattling of chairs, the whole audience knelt down.At this moment, Paneloux straightened up again, took a deep breath, and continued with an increasing tone: "If you say that the plague has befallen you today, it is because it is time for you to think about the problem. Good man." Don't be afraid of it, but the bad guys should tremble. In this huge and boundless granary on earth, the merciless disaster beats the wheat of human beings until the grains fall off the stalks. There are always more stalks than grains, and God There are always more called than saved, and this misfortune is not God's will. For a long time, this world has become a hotbed of sin, and for a long time it has depended on the tolerance of God for its existence. People think that as long as they can repent, what sin Anyone can commit a crime. With repentance, everyone has nothing to fear. When the time comes, they will definitely feel remorse, and that’s fine. From now to then, the easiest thing to do is to follow along, muddle through, and let the rest The merciful God will arrange things for himself. Well, this state can no longer continue. God has looked down on the people in this city with merciful eyes for such a long time, and is impatient to wait any longer. He has lost faith in his anticipation, he has turned his face away. Without the light of God, we are left in the darkness of the plague for a long time."

Someone in the church let out a long breath like an impatient horse.The priest paused for a moment, then continued, with a lower tone: "In "The Golden Legend", it is said that during the time of King Umberto, the Lombardy region in northern Italy was devastated by a plague, and there were hardly enough living people to bury the dead. The plague was especially rampant in Rome and Pavia. At that time, a good god appeared and ordered an evil god with a hunting spear in his hand to strike at the houses. How many times he hit a house, this How many people have to die in one house."

Paneloux stretched out his two short arms towards the square in front of the church, as if pointing at something behind the swaying rain curtain, and said forcefully: "Brothers, this is the time for the deadly chase. Hunting is going on in our streets. Look, this god of plague, as majestic as a demon king and as mighty as a fierce god, stands above your roofs, holding a red hunting spear in his right hand, and pointing at one of your houses with his left hand. Perhaps at this moment he is pointing at your door, and that spear thumps on the planks of your house. At this very moment the plague enters your home and sits in your room waiting for you to come home. It There, you are not in a hurry, you are fully focused, and you are not afraid of running away. It is as safe as the world's karma. It only needs to reach out to you, and then any power in the world, you must understand that even the futile human science cannot make you Save yourself from it. And you end up being beaten and thrown out with the straw in that miserable, bloody threshing floor."

Having said this, the priest further elaborated the sad scene of this disaster.He describes the gigantic spear waving over the city, striking it at will, raising it again bloody, and then spreading the blood along with human suffering, "as a seed for the harvest of truth in the future." At the end of this long speech, Father Paneloux paused, his hair brushed against his brow, trembling all over, and the pulpit trembled with his hands that rested on it.Then he said in a hoarse voice with a condemning tone: "Yes, it's time to think. You think that it is enough to come to worship God once every Sunday, and you can be free for the rest of the day. You think, just do some kneeling movements. Offset your sinful indifference attitude. But God needs to be treated with enthusiasm, and this kind of cold attitude is not enough to repay his boundless affection. He wants to see you more often, this is the way he loves you , truly, that's the only way to love. Now he's tired of waiting, and he's letting disaster befall you, as it has befallen every sinful city that ever existed. Now you know what sin is as Cain and his sons, and the people before the flood, and Sodom and Gomorrah, and Pharaoh and Job, and all the accursed people passed by. Since the day the city surrounded you with the disaster, you have been like All of the above have a new perspective on beings and things. Now that you understand, you are finally coming back to the fundamentals."

A damp wind blew into the nave, and the flames of the large candles were blown sideways and made a crackling sound.Paneloux continued his discourse with great mastery and artifice amidst the strong smell of candles, coughs and sneezes.He said in a calm tone: "I know that many of you are wondering what the purpose of my speech is. I want to lead you to the truth. Although I said what I just said, I want to tell you that you should Take comfort. Now is no longer the time to exhort people to do good with some exhortation, with a friendly hand. Today the truth is the command, and the way of salvation is pointed to you by the red spear and pushed you there The way that was past. Here, brethren, is the mercy of Heaven fully manifested, that in all things He arranges two sides, good and evil, wrath and mercy, plague and salvation .This plague can kill you, but it can also save you and show you the way.

"Long ago, the Abyssinian brethren regarded the plague as a heaven-sent effective means of obtaining eternal life. Those who did not get the disease wrapped themselves in the same quilt as the plague patient had used for death. Of course, This excess of asking for salvation is not to be recommended. It is a regrettable act of haste, very bordering on arrogance. We should not be more hasty than God, and all attempts to hasten God's prearranged and unshakable commands Both lead to heresy. But this example at least has its instructive value: it makes us more far-sighted, and can perceive this wonderful eternal light hidden in the depths of pain. This light illuminates the dark road to liberation. The way of God. It shows the infallibility. The will of God that can change evil into good. Today this light once again leads us to true peace and the source of all life through this way full of death, panic, and howling. Brethren, I have brought you infinite comfort today, and I hope that what you get from here is not only words of condemnation, but also a gospel that calms your mind." At this point, people could hear that Paneloux's words had come to an end.The rain outside also stopped, and from the sky where the sun was exposed but still rainy, a faint sunlight poured into the square.There were noisy voices from the street, the sound of rumbling wheels, the city had come to life, and all kinds of noise came to people's ears again.In a quiet commotion the listeners put away their supplies gently.At this point the priest spoke again, saying that having explained the providential origin of the plague and the punitive nature of the plague, he had finished.He did not want to embellish his conclusions with inappropriately beautiful words on such a tragic matter.He thought that everything had been explained clearly to everyone.He only reminded people that when the great plague occurred in Marseilles, the historian Mathieu Marais complained that he was trapped in a hell of helplessness and hopelessness.But Mathieu Marais was blind!On the contrary, Father Paneloux believes that he has never experienced the help and hope that God bestows on everyone more than today.His only hope was that the people of this city, notwithstanding the horrors of these days and the wails of the dying, would send to heaven the voices of pious souls, and pour out their love.For the rest, God will take care of himself.