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5. Concepts in Enterprise Resource Planning, 4th edition 6-1
Chapter 6
Human Resources Processes with ERP
At a Glance
Instructor’s Manual Table of Contents
• Overview
• Objectives
• Teaching Tips
• Quick Quizzes
• Class Discussion Topics
• Additional Projects
• Additional Resources
• Key Terms
6. Concepts in Enterprise Resource Planning, 4th edition 6-2
Lecture Notes
Overview
The responsibilities of a human resources department usually include (but are not limited to)
attracting, selecting, and hiring new employees using information from résumés, references,
and personal interviews. Ensuring that these tasks are accomplished and that valid human
resources-related information is communicated throughout the organization requires a system
that effectively controls the flow of information. In this chapter, students will explore the role
of an integrated information system in human resources.
Objectives
• Explain why the role of the human resources department is critical to the success of a
company
• Describe the key processes managed by human resources departments
• Describe how an integrated information system can support effective human resources
processes
Teaching Tips
Problems with Fitter’s Human Resources Processes
1. Explain that Fitter Snacker has just three employees in its Human Resources
Department, and some problems arise simply because of the large number and variety
of department responsibilities (from hiring and firing to managing health benefits) as
well as the number of people with whom Human Resources interacts. A lack of
integration among all departments often results in inaccurate, out-of-date, and
inconsistent information.
Recruiting Process
1. Explain that a job opening is initially posted internally so that current employees have
the first opportunity to apply for the position. If no current employees are acceptable for
the position, then Fitter posts the position externally.
2. Discuss the problems that can occur throughout Fitter’s recruiting process.
3. Note that although Fitter does not use recruiting agencies or Internet job sites such as
Monster.com to find candidates, it does use several other methods. The company
publishes its job vacancies on the company’s Web site, in local newspapers, and, in the
case of management positions, in national publications.
7. Concepts in Enterprise Resource Planning, 4th edition 6-3
The Interviewing and Hiring Process
1. Introduce the term short list.
2. Point out that many of Fitter’s problems in the interviewing and hiring process have to
do with information flow and communication. Fitter does not have group appointment
calendar software, which would allow Human Resources staff to easily find a time
when all key personnel would be available to interview a candidate.
3. Explain that Fitter hires a human resources consulting firm to perform drug tests and
conduct background checks to verify that candidates have not falsified any information
and do not have serious criminal records.
Human Resources Duties After Hiring
1. Explain that a human resources department has responsibilities that continue beyond the
hiring and job start of an employee. The human resources department must maintain an
ongoing line of communication with the employee and his or her supervisor to make
sure the employee is performing well.
2. Note that because Fitter does not have an effective information system, it is difficult to
manage performance evaluation data. This makes it more challenging for the Human
Resources Department to identify problems with an employee and take corrective action
(such as job performance counseling or a transfer) before the problems lead to
termination.
3. Explain that employee turnover is strongly tied to job satisfaction and compensation. If
employees have satisfying jobs and are well compensated, they are less likely to leave
the company. Human resources can help maintain a satisfying work environment
through a number of means, such as by holding training programs for supervisors and
managers, conducting periodic employee satisfaction surveys, and gathering data from
employee exit surveys.
Human Resources with ERP Software
1. Point out that a good information system allows human resources staff members to
retrieve relevant employee information in a matter of seconds and to maintain proper
controls so that sensitive information is not compromised and privacy rules are not
violated. An integrated information system is a key component in this process.
2. The SAP ERP Human Resources (HR) module provides tools for managing an
organization’s roles and responsibilities, definitions, personal employee information,
and tasks related to time management, payroll, travel management, and employee
training. Use Figure 6-1 to aid the discussion.
8. Concepts in Enterprise Resource Planning, 4th edition 6-4
3. SAP ERP provides an Organization and Staffing Plan tool that is used to define a
company’s management structure and the positions within the organizational structure
as a whole. The Organization and Staffing Plan tool also names the person who holds
each position. Use Figure 6-2 to aid the discussion.
4. Introduce the term position. Use Figures 6-3 and 6-4 to aid the discussion.
5. Complete and accurate human resources data simplify a manager’s duties. The
Manager’s Desktop tool within the SAP Human Resources module provides access to
all the human resources data and transactions in one location. Use Figure 6-5 to aid the
discussion.
Teaching
Quick Quiz 1
1. In SAP, a(n) ____ is a general classification of tasks that are routinely performed
together.
Answer: job
2. In SAP, a(n) ____ is an individual employee assignment within the organization.
Answer: position
3. In SAP, a(n) ____ is a unique individual who holds a position and who performs tasks.
Answer: person
4. (True or False) Employee turnover is strongly tied to job satisfaction and compensation.
Answer: True
Advanced SAP ERP Human Resources Features
1. Use this section to present some of the advanced features of the Human Resources
module, including time management, payroll processing, travel management, and
training and development coordination are presented in the following sections.
Time Management
1. Explain that for cost-accounting purposes, it is often important to be able to attribute an
employee’s time to a cost object - such as a cost center (which may be a department or
division), project, or production order - and any time not worked must be attributed to
vacation or leave.
Tip
To learn about human capital management, visit:
http://www.sas.com/solutions/hrmanagement/
9. Concepts in Enterprise Resource Planning, 4th edition 6-5
Payroll Processing
1. Introduce the terms remuneration elements, statutory and voluntary deductions,
payroll run, and error log.
Travel Management
1. Because airfare, hotel, and rental car costs can vary widely, companies frequently
require employees to make reservations through either a company travel office or a
travel agency that is under contract to the company. The employee must keep receipts
for expenses incurred during the trip in order to complete an expense report and receive
reimbursement. Note that the SAP ERP Travel Management system facilitates this
process by maintaining travel data for each employee.
2. Explain that travel management is getting easier - and mobile - with SAP’s Travel
OnDemand product, which is hosted by SAP and accessed via the Internet.
Training and Development Coordination
1. Point out that without an effective human resources information system, managing the
training, development, and certification needs for a company’s employees can be both
time consuming and prone to error.
2. Introduce the terms requirements, qualifications, and succession planning.
Additional Human Resources Features of SAP ERP
1. Note that human resources staff must keep pace with rapidly changing social,
technological, and legislative developments that affect the corporate world. Because of
this, the SAP Human Resources module has been expanded to include features that
assist managers with human resources tasks that have only recently become important
to corporations.
Mobile Time Management
1. SAP’s Mobile Time Management tool allows employees to use smartphones or other
mobile devices to record their working times, record absences, or enter a leave request.
Management of Family and Medical Leave
1. Point out that the Human Resources module alleviates some of the administrative
burden imposed by the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) of 1993.
To learn about payroll runs, visit:
Teaching
Tip http://help.sap.com/saphelp_470/helpdata/en/bb/db0b1a4a3011d189490000e832
3c4f/content.htm
10. Concepts in Enterprise Resource Planning, 4th edition 6-6
Management of Domestic Partner Benefits
1. Note that the Human Resources module now supports the management of benefits for
domestic partners and their children.
Administration of Long-Term Incentives
1. An outgrowth of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act is that companies must account for the
expected costs that will occur as a result of long-term employee incentives, such as
stock options. Note that the Human Resources module provides more options for
processing long-term incentives.
Personnel Cost Planning
1. Point out that the Personnel Cost Planning tool allows human resources staff to define
and evaluate planning scenarios to generate cost estimates.
Management and Payroll for Global Employees
1. Companies who manage a team of employees around the globe face many complicated
issues, including managing relocation plans, visas and work permits, housing, taxes, and
bonus pay in a variety of countries. Note that SAP ERP has enhanced features to
support the management of these issues.
Management by Objectives
1. Explain that SAP ERP supports the MBO approach through a process that incorporates
performance appraisal. The appraisal results can affect an employee’s compensation,
generating annual pay raises that can be significant, depending on the employee’s
performance
Quick Quiz 2
1. The ____ of an employee’s pay include the base pay, bonuses, gratuities, overtime pay,
sick pay, and vacation allowances the employee has earned during the pay period.
Answer: remuneration elements
2. ____ are paycheck withholdings that include taxes (federal, state, local, Social Security,
and Medicare), company loans, and benefit contributions.
Answer: Statutory and voluntary deductions
3. The process of determining each employee’s pay is called a(n) ____.
Answer: payroll run
4. The term ____ refers to the skills or abilities associated with a position.
Answer: requirements
11. Concepts in Enterprise Resource Planning, 4th edition 6-7
Class Discussion Topics
1. What are some of the possible causes of payroll run errors?
2. Why are background checks conducted and what type of information is usually red
flagged?
3. Discuss the advantages of SAP’s Travel OnDemand product.
Additional Projects
1. You are an employee of Fitter Snacker and you have just been informed that the
company needs to recruit a manager for the Accounting and Finance department. List
the requirements that you think would be necessary to hold this position.
2. Based on your answer for Question 1, describe the process you would use to recruit the
manager.
Additional Resources
1. Human capital management (HCM):
http://www.sap.com/solutions/business-suite/erp/hcm/index.epx
2. Succession planning:
http://help.sap.com/saphelp_46c/helpdata/en/cd/dae43e4ab011d18a0f0000e816ae6e/con
tent.htm
3. Generation of Recalculation Differences:
http://help.sap.com/saphelp_470/helpdata/en/e3/fbcd3a44a71b54e10000000a11402f/co
ntent.htm
Key Terms
¾ error log A record of discrepancies that occur during a payroll run.
¾ human capital management (HCM) Another term for human resources that describes
the tasks associated with managing a company’s workforce.
¾ Job In SAP, a general classification of tasks that are routinely performed together.
¾ payroll run The process of determining each employee’s pay.
¾ person In SAP, the unique individual who holds a position.
¾ position In SAP, an individual employee assignment in an organization. Tasks can be
assigned directly to the position, or by assigning jobs to the position.
¾ Qualification A skill or ability associated with a specific employee.
12. Concepts in Enterprise Resource Planning, 4th edition 6-8
¾ remuneration element Part of an employee’s pay, such as the base pay, bonuses,
gratuities, overtime, sick pay, and vacation allowances the employee has earned during
the pay period.
¾ requirement A skill or ability associated with a position.
¾ short list The top candidates for a position, each of whom will be interviewed.
¾ statutory and voluntary deduction A paycheck withholding, such as taxes (federal,
state, local, Social Security, and Medicare), company loans, and benefit contributions.
¾ succession planning Outlining the strategy for replacing key employees when they
leave the company.
¾ task In SAP, an assigned responsibility related to a specific job.
14. danger of death from disease. They pray, it is true, but how? Is it
in sorrow for their sins? Do they want to get back the lost love of
God? Oh! no; that is the last thought they have. It is to be saved
from death; it is to be cured of their diseases; and what does it all
amount to, but that they are trying to make a truce with God?
Their whole lives have been at enmity with Him; and now, when
God compels them to acknowledge Him, when He conquers them
and brings them down, it is not peace they want, but a cessation
of hostilities. It is plain enough God is the master. Such souls
tremble at death, because it is bringing them nearer to God; the
humble souls fear life, because it is so full of the danger of losing
Him.
Such was the prayer of the wicked King Antiochus, who prayed to
God and made great promises; but it was only fear that wrung the
prayer out of him. He cared for nothing but to be restored to life
and health; but God rejected his prayers, and left him to die a
horrible death, being eaten up by worms. The Scripture says of
him: "Then this wicked man prayed to the Lord, of whom he was
not to obtain mercy." [Footnote 100]
[Footnote 100: 2 Macc. x. 13.]
[USCCB: 2 Maccabees ix. 13.]
Now and then the judgments of God hang over sinners. Hell gapes
underfoot, and they pray and cry to the Lord for mercy, yet are not
heard, because they have no contrition; and are wanting in
contrition, because they have no humility. Their fear is the fear of
those sinners described by the prophet: "The sinners in Sion are
afraid; trembling hath seized upon the hypocrites." [Footnote 101]
But the humble soul is not afraid to draw near to God, for the
promise encourages it: "An humble and contrite heart, O God, Thou
wilt not despise." Such are not afraid, because their contrition is
founded on the love of God, and is real and hearty. "Perfect love,"
says St. John, "casteth out fear."
15. [Footnote 101: Isa. xxxiii. 18.]
[USCCB: Isa. xxxiii. 14.]
Look at Mary Magdalen. There was an example of boldness in a
truly contrite, humble heart. She dared a good deal. Jesus, her
Lord, the God of infinite purity, is the honored guest of a wealthy
and proud citizen; she, an abandoned woman. Yet she dared enter
the rich man's door. She dared the sneers and contempt of the
servants. She dared enter the banqueting hall as an unwelcome
intruder, at the risk of being ignominiously expelled. She dared
approach the Spotless One, and touch His sacred feet with her
polluted hands. But perfect love casteth out fear. Her tears were so
many eloquent words of prayer that went straight to the heart of
Jesus. Her penitent love chased all fear away, and moved the Lord
to say of her: "Many sins are forgiven her, because she hath loved
much."
But the most common want of humility is seen in those who pray in
selfishness. Has God seen fit to send them a trial—say, a defect in
their hearing or sight, or one of their children is born deformed or
sickly—then they act as though the like had never been seen
before, so querulous are they under the affliction. They pray—a
good long string of complaints—over it. Or else the selfishness
takes another shape, and, while they can look with indifference
upon hundreds who suffer worse, they cannot bear to have the
hand of the Lord touch them. They come to beg of the priest to
cure them; they come humbly enough in their manner, will go
down on their knees, and even kiss the ground, but they have not
a particle of humility in their hearts. They are so selfish about their
pains and aches that they are quite surprised and vexed if the
priest does not profess himself quite ready and able to perform a
miracle in their favor; as if the Almighty owed them miracles, or as
if they were the only people in the world about whose ease and
comfort He was concerned. And then they go away disappointed,
giving no heed to the holy words with which the priest tried to
teach them to profit by their affliction, and instruct them how to
16. pray to God to be relieved of it, if it be His holy will. Very probably,
such people are not in the grace of God at all; and it is plain even
to human wisdom that, if God heard and answered their selfish
prayers, they would go away puffed up with pride, never think of
returning Him any thanks, and lead a worse sinful life than they
have before. For it is a proverb: "Do a proud man a favor, and he
hates you for it." He dislikes the idea of being laid under an
obligation; and this is just what would happen to such. They would
dislike God for putting them under the obligation to serve Him the
more strictly in return for His favors. God sees this, and, because
they have no humility, their prayers are not heard.
It is the same with many spiritually minded persons too. They are
led to look for mortifications and crosses, and, when these are
sent, then they are both mortified and crossed in another sense.
They are humiliated, but not humbled. Oh! how hard they pray to
be delivered from these very means of their sanctification. But it is
selfishness that makes them pray. They thought themselves saints,
and it galls their pride to be treated as though they were yet far
from perfection. They suffer, and keenly too, I know. So did our
Blessed Lord in His agony, and dereliction on the Cross. But when
He prayed, He said to His Father, "Not My will, but Thine be done."
The want of humility in prayer is the bane of those living in heresy.
Heresy, you know, is the offspring of pride. Souls fall into it, and
wilfully remain in it from an undue opinion of their own wisdom. All
heresy must have "private judgment" as its basis of religion. If the
true religion ever comes up before them for examination or
acceptance, they are almost afraid to pray at all, lest they should
pray themselves into submission to it.
They see that the road before them is the road of humility. They
start back at the hard sayings. Wanting humility, they have very
little conviction of sin; and, like the Pharisee who went up to the
temple to recount his good deeds, you will not unfrequently hear
such persons, in speaking of the confessional, say with unaffected
17. surprise: "Why, what in the world can you have to tell? I don't
think I have any sins to confess."
Oh! if they could once be brought down to pray humbly for light
and guidance, how differently would they talk, and how quickly all
their fancied difficulties and impossibilities would fade away!
A celebrated master in the spiritual life used to send persons away
to pray who came to him to talk controversy. If they were humbly
seeking the truth, they found all their objections answered in
prayer before they returned. If not, he knew their pride would be
proof against both prayer and argument, however long the one or
powerful the other.
My brethren, we have all got to pray for what we want, and to pray
humbly too, if we expect our prayers to be heard. To pray like the
Publican, "O God, be merciful to me a sinner," and not like the
Pharisee, "O God, I thank thee I am not like the rest of men."
I recollect an instance, on one of our Missions, which will be a
lesson for all those whom I have been addressing this morning. A
young man came to me, whom I soon learned to be one of those
unfortunate Catholics whose parents do nothing more towards
making them Christians than to get them baptized. The first words
he said to me were these: "Father, I'm a mighty hard case." I found
he was quite ignorant of the principal doctrines of the faith, and
sent him away for a few days to learn them. When he presented
himself again, he was surprised I did not recognize him. "Why,
don't you know," said he, "I'm the mighty hard case?" It was
necessary not only to instruct him, but to give him some serious
warnings, that he might keep out of bad company, and live
thenceforward a good life. Perhaps I was led to speak in a tone
that appeared to him rather severe; and it went to my heart to
hear the poor fellow repeat the humble judgment he had passed
upon himself: "Yes, father, I told you so. I told you I was a mighty
hard case." The "mighty hard case" got his communion with great
18. joy and a holy pride; and I remembered the words of the Lord:
"Amen, I say to you, this man went down to his house justified …
for every one that humbleth himself shall be exalted."
Reflect upon this touching example of an humble soul, and, when
you go to pray, think of the necessity of humility, and of patience
and resignation to God's will in all things.
Pray! Not in proud self-conceit, for God will despise you, and resist
your supplications, and withhold His grace. Without grace you will
find yourself falling so repeatedly and grievously into sin that you
will lose faith in prayer. When it comes to that, you are on the road
to hell.
Pray! Not in fear. That is a bad sign. It looks as though you did not
love God; and, it such be the case, you cannot expect Him to
hearken to you, or grant you any favors.
Pray! but not in selfishness. Let God and His holy will be all in all to
you. Take what He sends. Learn to trust Him in humility and
patience. The Lord does not always tell us the reasons why.
Whether He commands us as a Master, chastises us as a Father, or
teaches us to imitate Him in some hard lesson of humiliation—as
when He Himself washed the Apostles feet—He very often has but
the same answer to us that He gave to the astonished Peter:
"What I do thou knowest not now; but them shalt know hereafter."
Pray in humility, O ye doubting, distrustful souls! God's truth is near
enough and plain enough. It is you who are too high-minded to see
it, too proud to pray that you may know it. Ask not with Pilate,
"What is truth? what is truth?" in the presence of the Infinite Truth,
and then, like him, turn away and never hear it.
Cease not to pray, though the morn is long in dawning, and the
day of redemption be delayed; but cease not to pray humbly, for,
says the wise man, "the prayer of him that humbleth himself shall
19. pierce the clouds, and he shall not depart until the Most High
behold." [Footnote 102]
[Footnote 102: Ecclus. xxxv. 21.]
[USCCB: Sirach xxxv. 17.]
20. Sermon XVIII.
Preparation For A Good Death.
(For The Fifteenth Sunday After Pentecost.)
Isaiah xxxviii. 1.
"Put thy house in order,
for thou shall die, and not live."
When I read the Gospel for to-day, which describes the raising of
the widow's son to life, I ask myself the question—Did he die
prepared? When his friends could no longer give him any hope of
recovery—when he was forced to make that bitter acknowledgment
to himself, "My time is come," then did he make ready to die? Did
he put his house in order? Had he time to do it? Was he in a fit
state to do it? When his soul had departed, could his widowed
mother console herself with the thought—He lived a good life, and
he died a good death? We can not answer for the young man, as
the Gospel tells us nothing either of his life or of his death, but we
can answer for many whose lives and whose deaths we know; and,
knowing our own lives, we ought to be able to answer for the kind
of death we would die if the word of the Lord came to us as it
came to King Ezechias: "Put thy house in order, for thou shalt die,
and not live."
A friend, about to take a journey to Europe, remarked: "I have
arranged all my affairs, so as to have a pleasant journey." He did
well. We will do better when we shall have arranged all our affairs
for a pleasant journey to that far-off land from which we shall
never return. Let us see, brethren, what it is to arrange one's
affairs that one may die a good death. This preparation may be
summed up in the fulfilment of three obligations—the first, to God;
the second, to our neighbor; and the last, to one's self.
21. To die well and happily, we must fulfil our obligations to God. Here
I must confess I am somewhat troubled to answer how a man who
is near death, whether he be in good health at the present moment
or given up by his physician, shall satisfy this demand, if he has not
already done so. The last, and usually the most useless, hours of
one's life are hardly the time to give God his due. God's obligations
are fulfilled in living not in dying, well. Our Lord compares the
dealings of God with us to a man who hired workmen to labor in
his vineyard; to another who gave certain talents to his servants
which they were to improve; and, again, to a husbandman who
sowed his seed expecting to reap a harvest from it in due time.
These are very apt figures of the duties and the fruits of life. The
heavenly reward will be bestowed upon him who labored at God's
work in life. He shall enter into so much of the heavenly joy of his
Lord as he has fitted himself for by the improvement of the talents
which God gave him. God will reap just so much of a harvest as
the seed of His divine grace has been cultivated and allowed to
grow in the heart. Now we are sent to begin our work, to improve
our talents, and His grace is sown in our hearts when life begins.
God's obligations begin when we begin to live, not when we begin
to die. Oh! this is a startling truth! What a fearful thought this must
be to him who has never realized it as life went on, and only now
begins to think about it when the terrors of the coming judgment
are casting their shadows before, and darkening the last hours of
his misspent life!
I hardly know what to say to that man to whom religion has never
been a reality in life, who has shirked its duties, and deafened his
conscience to its appeals, who thinks of it only when life is not
worth thinking of; who makes use of it only to smooth his dying
pillow, to bless his grave, and pray for him when he is gone. The
thought that his life, the only life he has had or will have upon
which God has such a heavy claim for his service, for the worship
and love of his heart, upon his personal exertions and sacrifices for
the cause of His holy faith—has simply been allowed to wear away,
day after day and year after year, and that nothing has been done,
22. must be a thought of misery and dismay, such as would overwhelm
the mind of a merchant who, after making a long and, as he
supposed, prosperous voyage across the ocean, finds, to his
disappointment, that he has forgotten to bring either the money or
the letters of credit wherewith to purchase his expected cargo.
I hardly know what to say to that man whose life has been little
more than a mockery of the God whom he pretended to serve;
whose principles and faith were indeed Christian, but whose
practice and works have been heathen. He has been a Catholic—
oh! yes, in name, but not in deed. It would be better to say of him
that he was not a Protestant, nor a Jew, nor an infidel. That is all.
That he is a Catholic seems to be a happy accident; for, to judge
from the indifference he manifests in its practice, it is to be feared
that, had circumstances made him anything else, the Catholic faith
would be the last thing to which he would give a serious thought.
When such are suddenly surprised with the message, "Put thy
house in order, for thou shalt die, and not live," indeed it is hard to
say how they are to prepare to answer to God for their life. Their
memory brings up little else than despised warnings, grace trifled
with, neglected sacraments, prayerless days, and desecrated
Sundays; and I know not where they are to find the fruit that God
comes seeking of them.
You see, my brethren, that the first condition of being able to
prepare for a happy death is to have lived well. But you ask—Is
one who begins late in life to serve God, who knows that he has
but a short time to do something for Him, to give up his case as
hopeless, and despair of fulfilling this great obligation? Must he say
I have, alas! made no life-preparation of this solemn account, and
it is too late now? Far be it from me to say that; but this I know:
he must begin now all the more earnestly, and do what he can with
all the greater effort, as the time is the shorter. O my dear
brethren! that these late workmen in God's service, and the dying,
would understand this! Such an one falls sick. He is attacked with a
disease which will soon run its course. He sends for a priest. He
23. makes his confession as well as he can—he would have made a
better one if he had been well, for he is not in a condition to
remember the events of so many years; he is sorry for his neglect
and his sins; sorry for all the comforts of religion that he has lost;
but, tell me, is he sorry for what God has lost by his careless life?
Does he express one regret that God has not only not had His own,
but that He has also been dishonored by his bad life; that the
Church of the faith he professes has been a loser by him; that he,
by his inconsistent conduct, has been a stumbling-block and a rock
of scandal to the unbeliever and the scoffer? No, this is the last
thing that troubles him. What is one to do? Plainly this: Religion
ought now to be his all-absorbing thought. Every moment should
be employed with a holy jealousy in prayer, lest God might be
forgotten again. One, and only one, desire ought to fill his heart,
and that is a desire to love God as perfectly as he may before he
die. He should frequently call to mind that comforting assurance
which our blessed Lord gave to the penitent Magdalen: "Many sins
are forgiven her, because she hath loved much." It is not the time
for excuses, as so many seem to think it to be, but a time of
humble abandonment to the will and the mercy of God. It is a
painful sight to witness the contrary; to see the sick and the dying
full of complaints, resisting the will of God, and praying for a few
more years of a miserable life. If it were for the purpose of living in
the love of God, and repairing the bitter past, it would be well. But
no, their hearts are breaking to think they are forced to part with
the world that they have loved too well. But oh! how sweet it is to
see a soul, at the close of life, striving to detach itself from the
world, and, as it were, reaching forward to throw itself into the
embraces of its God. True, it may have been idle for many long
years, and it may have come only at the eleventh hour, but that
hour, at least, is well spent. These are they of whom the Master
will say: "I will give to these last even as to the first." [Footnote
103] Such may also say, in the language of the wise man: "I
awaked last of all, and as one that gathereth after the grape-
gatherers. In the blessing of God I also have hoped; and as one
that gathereth grapes, have I filled the wine-press." [Footnote 104]
24. [Footnote 103: St. Matt. xx. 14.]
[Footnote 104: Ecclesiasticus xxxiii. 16, 17.]
[USCCB: Sirach xxxiii. 16, 17.]
To die well and happily, we must, in the second place, fulfil our
obligations to our neighbor. Scarcely a day of our life passes in
which we do not find that our neighbor has had somewhat against
us. Debts accumulate, disputes arise, the incautious word is
spoken, the scandal is given, the character of our neighbor suffers
from our folly or our spite, reconciliation is not made, forgiveness is
neither asked nor given, friends are alienated, the sun goes down
upon our wrath, and on the morrow we must die. Who is there
who is able to say, when he comes to die—I owe no man anything;
my debts are all paid; I never wronged any one to whom I did not
make full restitution; I never lost a friend but I found him again; I
have not an enemy on the face of the earth? Happy is that man,
for he will die a happy death. But how many there are who find
themselves at the hour of death as they have always been, both
unwilling and unable to pay their just debts! How many leave
behind them an unsettled inheritance to their relatives, which
becomes an inheritance of discord, law-suits, enmities, and deadly
feuds! How often men die, and show no fear to go to God with
unclean hands—hands stained by the contact of ill-gotten goods
and stolen money! How many die unreconciled with their neighbor,
and with no earnest wish to be so! How lightly the wrongs of a
lifetime weigh upon their conscience! How many die and make no
restitution of all the detraction and the calumny of which they have
been guilty, and go to their grave amid the secret jeers and curses
of their neighbors! "Blessed is he that is defended from a wicked
tongue," says the Holy Scripture, "that hath not passed into the
wrath thereof, and that hath not drawn the yoke thereof, and hath
not been bound in its bands. For its yoke is a yoke of iron: and its
bands are bands of brass. The death thereof is a most evil death:
and hell is preferable to it." [Footnote 105]
25. [Footnote 105: Ecclus. xxviii. 23, 24.]
[USCCB: Sirach xxviii. 19-21.]
Do you wish to escape such a lamentable end? Would you die the
death of the just, leaving your name in benediction, your loss
sincerely mourned, and your soul defended with prayers at the bar
of judgment? Deal with thy neighbor now whilst thou art in the way
with him. "Put thy house in order," and especially when you come
to die. Let no worldly consideration, no thought of pride, hinder you
from a perfect reconciliation with all men—a full payment of every
debt—a free forgiveness for every wrong you have suffered. The
few moments that remain to you, you will need to pray for God's
forgiveness for your own sins. Remember the Lord's words: "For
with what judgment you have judged, you shall be judged; and
with what measure you have measured, it shall be measured to you
again." [Footnote 106]
[Footnote 106: St. Matt. vii. 2.]
Lastly, to die well, we must fulfil the obligations we owe to
ourselves. We are Christians, and should meet death like Christians.
That is, we owe it to ourselves to show at that supreme moment
some evidence that we are not being forced out of life as if there
were no existence beyond it, but that we are ready to answer the
call that God makes to us to come home; not that we are setting
out upon a journey of darkness and lonely misery, but that we are
following Jesus, who has overcome the sting of death and robbed
the grave of its terrors. That we may be encouraged in this, we
should bring to mind the examples which the holy martyrs and the
other saints of God have left us in their deaths. Death, in its very
nature, is humiliating and degrading to human nature. It conquers
us; it leaves us not a trace of our beauty nor a vestige of our
power. No wonder that the flesh is weak and trembles before it;
but the spirit, ennobled with Christian faith and hope, and
strengthened with Christian charily, is willing and courageous. The
Christian's death is then no longer an ignominious defeat, but a
26. glorious sacrifice. The flesh goes, indeed, to the prison of the
grave; but the spirit, set free from its mortal bonds, mounts to the
skies to be crowned with power and immortality.
One thought alone should occupy our minds in our last hours—the
thought of uniting our souls to God, whom we are so soon to meet.
It is painful to see a dying person thinking of nothing but how to
give some momentary relief to his body, each instant calling for
some new comfort, as anxious and careful as if he were preparing
for a long life, instead of employing the precious moments in
prayer, in acts of contrition for the sins of his past life, and in acts
of love to God. I know that many persons think it useless to try to
pray at such a time, when the strength is failing and the senses are
growing dull; but it is not so. They can "pray in their soul," as a
saintly woman told me on her death-bed. Seeing that I noticed the
beads in her hands, she said to me: "I am not able to say my
beads, father; but, when I feel lonesome, I take them out to keep
me company, and I pray in my soul." We may make all our acts
acts of prayer, if we will. Our acceptance of sickness and death in
the spirit of penance is prayer. Our resignation to the will of God—
our patience in suffering—our gentleness and mildness with those
who are tending and watching us—all these things are prayer, if we
practise them with the thought that they are pleasing to God.
Then, there are the holy sacraments of the dying, full of grace,
comfort, and strength to our souls. I know few Catholics wilfully
neglect these, but it is a source of grief to the priest to be called,
so often as he is, to administer the last sacraments to those who
ought long ago have received the first ones they need. I think it is
one of the most discouraging events in the ministry to go to a
dying man and find that it is years since he confessed or received
the Holy Communion. Confession! I tell you that it is very seldom
that one on his sick-bed makes as good a confession as he would if
he were well. He cannot do it. His mind is not as clear; his memory
fails him; and, worst of all, he makes little or no effort to prepare
himself for it. What is the consequence? His contrition is as vague
27. and indifferent as is his confession. With how much devotion does
he receive the Holy Viaticum and the Extreme Unction? Alas! this
man did not begin to pray or to think about either till an hour ago,
when the doctor told him he had to die. The priest absolves him,
and he and his friends are content. But did God absolve him? Tell
me if he made a good confession, or was sincerely sorry for his
sins, and then I will tell you whether God absolved him. Woe be to
him if he did not, for it is the last chance he has to confess, and
but too frequently it is the last appeal he makes to God for
forgiveness. The priest gives him the Holy Communion. Does he
receive it worthily? Not, of course, because he is going to die, or
because this is his last Communion. Does he receive it in as good
dispositions as would make it a worthy Communion if he were well,
and had received it in the church at the altar? If not, he makes an
unworthy Communion, and eats and drinks damnation to himself.
The priest anoints him. Is he signed and consecrated to God, and
are his senses purified, and his soul strengthened? Yes, if he be in
the grace of God. If not, he is signed and delivered over to Satan
by it, and his soul is prepared for hell. Oh! if one wishes to be able
to fulfil these obligations well at the hour of death, he must not
neglect the preparation for them in life.
Beautiful is the happy death of a Christian! Death! He does not die.
He enters into life; he rests from his labors; he falls asleep in the
Lord. Not long ago, I received an invitation to attend the funeral of
a priest. It was couched in these words: "You are invited to attend
the funeral of the Very Rev. Patrick Moran, who entered into his
rest at half-past eight on Wednesday morning last." Fitting
sentence, indeed, to describe the death of that venerable and holy
old man! Through a long life he lived and labored only for God. Full
of years and of merit, ripe for heaven, and ready to begin his
eternal life, he ceased from work at the call of his divine Master,
and entered into his rest. Thus should every Christian die. It is
what the Holy Church wishes for us all. When the solemn dirges
are chanted over us, again and again she prays: "Requiem
28. æternam dona eis, Domine." "Requiescant in pace." "Eternal
rest grant unto them, O Lord!" "May they rest in peace!"
My brethren, I have tried to-day to lay before you the duties of the
dying Christian. Soon will some of you be called upon to put them
in practice. Are you all ready for the last preparations? Is your life
to-day such as you would like it to be, if to-morrow you are to die?
Is your confession made for this year? Have you received the
Easter Communion? Are you at peace with God and men? These
are questions which you will wish to be able to answer in the
affirmative when you call upon the priest for your holy rites and his
parting blessing. Prepare now, that you may be prepared then.
Begin to-day, for the hour may come sooner than you imagine in
which you shall hear this awful message from the Lord: "Put thy
house in order, for thou shalt die, and not live."
29. Sermon XIX.
The King's Marriage Feast.
(For The Nineteenth Sunday After Pentecost.)
St. Matt. xxii. 14.
"For many are called,
but few are chosen."
There are some Catholics who, with the smallest quantity of the
spirit of the Catholic religion, are very boastful of the name. They
look down upon those who are out of the fold of the Church with
scorn and contempt. Their whole demeanor indicates that they
consider themselves immensely superior to these unfortunate
creatures, who are all doomed necessarily to eternal destruction. As
to themselves, they deem it impossible that they should incur the
same doom, because they are Catholics. They are not members of
the Church so much by a special divine favor, but rather they have
conferred a favor on God by belonging to it. The Church belongs to
them by the right of birth, and the fact of their parents having
been Catholics gives them the privilege of sneering at all not born
under similar circumstances. I have even heard such persons call
converts to the faith by the sweet and charitable epithet of
"turncoats," and say they should have remained where they were,
and that it is a disgraceful thing to abandon the religion of one's
forefathers. Catholicity with such is a thing of descent and of family
pride; not a thing of the heart and of the will.
The Holy Ghost understood this spirit, and, by the mouth of St.
John the Baptist, rebuked it severely: "Bring forth fruits worthy of
penance, and do not begin to say, We have Abraham for our
father." [Footnote 107] These words, applied to the Jews of old,
might well be translated for the benefit of many Catholics
30. nowadays—Do not begin to say, We are born of Catholic parents,
our forefathers have been Catholics for many generations, if you
are living like the heathen; but bring forth fruits worthy of that holy
and sacred name of Catholic; otherwise you will never come to
enjoy the presence of God, but be everlastingly cast out.
[Footnote 107: St. Luke iii. 8.]
The parable of to-day gives us the most useful instruction on this
very subject. A certain king made a marriage feast for his son. This
king is the God of heaven and earth. The marriage feast He makes
is the participation of the creature in His own glory; a boundless
and inconceivable happiness, which shall never have end or
diminution; a realization of more than we have dreamed of, or
could possibly imagine.
This is the marriage feast of His Eternal Son, our Lord Jesus Christ,
because He, by taking our flesh upon Himself and becoming man,
by suffering and dying upon the cross, has redeemed us from sin,
elevated us far above the capacity of nature, and enabled us to
aspire to this magnificent destiny. It is His marriage feast, because
it is the celebration of the eternal nuptials of Himself with the soul.
It is the marriage feast in which the Omnipotence of the Eternal
Beauty is exercised to render the guests eternally and supremely
happy, filling them with an ocean of unbounded joy and
contentment.
The king sent out his servants into the highways and public streets,
with directions to call or invite to his feast all they should meet,
and urge them to come in.
This is what God does now every day. He calls, indiscriminately, the
rich and the poor, the noble and the lowly, into the fold of His
Church. It is no merit on their part which brings them the
invitation. They are all ragged and dirty in the sight of God. Not
one of them but would be a disgrace to the King's feast; but God
31. does not look at that. He is moved only by His desire to do them a
great favor, and confer upon them great happiness. When He
invites them, He intends to make them fit; to wash off the dirt, and
put suitable clothing upon them, so that they may be made fit to
enter His banqueting-hall. He has them brought to an outer room,
where are baths and precious ointments, and splendid garments,
and servants in abundance to put them on. They need not trouble
themselves with the expense of providing anything, for the King
provides all.
A child is brought to the priest for baptism. That child is of Catholic
parents, and they bring it. The child knows nothing at all of what is
done for it. It had no choice in the matter. It might have been born
of another race and of another religion, but God, and not itself, has
caused it to be born of Catholic parents, and to be brought by
them to baptism. It is, as it were, met on the highway and called
in, all stained by original sin, to be washed in baptism, endowed
with the right to the sacraments, and invested with an immortal
inheritance. So likewise Jesus Christ has commanded His ministers
to go and preach the Gospel to every creature; to go and invite
everybody who hears their voice to come in and enjoy the same
privileges. Those who accept the invitation have as much right as
those who are invited in the other way, by the accident of their
birth; for no one has any other right than what comes from the
pure bounty and goodness of the King. Those who are born of
Catholic parents, and those who are Catholics by their own free
choice in later life, stand on the same footing. We are all a crowd
of beggars, who were in the broad highway, and have heard the
invitation of the King of kings, and have come in in obedience to it.
We are now all standing in the outer hall of the eternal banquet, or
rather in the banqueting-room itself, waiting for the King to come
in, when the music will begin, and all its grandeur be lighted up by
His presence.
It is a most solemn reflection, my friends. You and I have received
this invitation. The King's messengers have met us on the highway,
32. and they have forced us to come in. We have been compelled to
come in, for ruin and death were the alternative of staying out. We
have no longer the liberty of ranging the highways. We are no
longer in the position of the heathen—without the knowledge of the
true religion, and without baptism. The indelible mark, or character
as it is termed, of baptism has been imprinted on our souls; all the
ages of eternity will not suffice to wipe it out. Poor as this privilege
was to be hungry and ragged and miserable, it is ours no longer,
but we are in the banqueting-hall of the marriage feast.
There we are, and we cannot go out into the highway again. Once
in, the door is shut behind us, and there is no key to unlock it.
Once removed out of the state of our birth and made heirs of the
kingdom of heaven by baptism, it is impossible to put us back
again in our former relations. The mark of baptism, stamped upon
our souls, will remain with us either in heaven or in hell. Elevated
by God's goodness far above the condition of our nature, if we fall,
it must be down, deeper far than the condition from which we were
first taken.
A man may neglect his duty to God, and try to persuade himself
that the end and object of his existence is to get money, or fame,
or power, or pleasure, but he will find to his cost that it was no
such thing. The end and object of his existence was to learn to
love and serve God in this world, in order to be happy with Him in
the next; to prepare to be a worthy guest at the marriage feast of
the Lamb, the Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ.
And now we are all in at the feast, and the King comes around to
see the guests. He discovers one without a suitable garment on;
one who has had the brazen-faced shamelessness to intrude
himself into the company all ragged and dirty, without the least
pains to make himself look decent, and pay respect to the King and
his guests. Could there be a more outrageous insult? Could
anything be more wanton and impudent than such conduct? The
King had provided everything; all they needed was at hand; He had
33. warned them to make themselves fit before going in: and here is
this man, in spite of all this, deliberately walking into this splendid
entertainment, with old tattered clothes and unwashed face and
hands. The King is justly indignant, and commands him to be
bound hand and foot, and cast into a dismal prison.
Is it not so? Has not God provided the Holy Sacrament of Penance,
where, with little trouble, the soul can be washed and cleansed
from all its defilements? The Holy Sacrament of the altar, where the
soul is nourished, and strengthened, and adorned by feeding on
the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ? Are not innumerable
graces and virtues waiting for us, ready to be given, if we will only
take the trouble to ask for them?
Yes, the King of Glory will come around to see the guests at the
eternal feast. He will inspect each one of us. When will He come
around? When we die. Then it is the Judge of the whole human
race will come around to see if we are in the banqueting-hall of the
eternal feast with the marriage garment on.
We came up to the door of the church, and we received a ticket of
admission. All right so far. We entered the door, and we remained
within among the rest. Still all is right, and no doubt we felt
pleased to be in such good company, and no one turned us out.
But what good will all this do if we have not the wedding garment
on? What good will it do us to have gone to the church and heard
the sermons, if we have not on the wedding garment? What good
to have had the sacraments in life, or even at the hour of death, if
we have not on the wedding garment?
What is this wedding garment? The grace of God. If we are in
mortal sin, we have not the wedding garment on. We pulled it off
when we committed sin, and rendered ourselves utterly unfit for
the company of heaven. If we are in mortal sin at this moment, we
are now in the marriage feast of the King's Son without the
wedding garment, and woe be to us if the King should happen to
34. come around. At any moment His eye may fall upon us, and we
may hear the words, "Friend, why camest thou in hither with out
having on a wedding garment?" You will be struck dumb with
confusion and have nothing to reply; and then will go forth the
irrevocable sentence, "Bind him hand and foot, and cast him into
the outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."
Oh! who can comprehend the folly of the human race—a race of
beings so feeble and miserable, and limited by its nature, and yet
so unlimited and unbounded in its cravings for happiness— who
can make so little of that offer which lifts them out of all this
misery and exceeds their highest expectations? One would think
this offer would fill them with delight and a noble enthusiasm to
avail themselves of it. And yet, what do we see? God's offer is
despised. An immortal destiny is thrown away. Man, created to the
image and likeness of God, makes himself like the beasts that
perish. He boasts and prides himself on the fact that he lives for
the body, and despises eternity and God.
Many are called. Many are placed in the way of salvation. Many
have an abundance of means in their hands to attain to it. With a
little attention, with light exertion, many would be saved who are
lost. What inexcusable folly! Let us not be guilty of it. Let us live for
our immortal souls. Let us put on the wedding garment of truth,
and sincerity, and justice—that white garment that we received at
baptism—and see that we keep it unspotted until the end.
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