{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_33678/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_33678","id":"gutenberg_33678","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/33678","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Religion/Spirituality","Catholic Church -- Customs and practices","Sacramentals","Sacraments -- Catholic Church"],"text":"Produced by Michael Gray, Diocese of San Jose\n\n\n\n\n  Reasonableness of Catholic Ceremonies and Practices\n\n  BY REV. JOHN J. BURKE\n\n\n---\n\n\n  NEW YORK, CINCINNATI, CHICAGO\n  BENZIGER BROTHERS\n\n  PRINTERS TO THE HOLY APOSTOLIC SEE\n  PUBLISHERS OF BENZINGER'S MAGAZINE\n\n\n\n  Imprimi Permittitur.\n               FR. CHRYSOSTOMUS THEOBALD, O.F.M.,\n               _Minister Provincialis._\n               Cincinnati, Ohio, die 30, Martii, 1908.\n\n  Nihil Obstat.\n                REMY LAPORT, S.T.L.,\n                     _Censor Librorum._\n\n  Imprimatur.\n                JOHN M. FARLEY,\n                Archbishop of New York.\n\n\n\n  NEW YORK, March 4, 1909.\n\n  COPYRIGHT, 1909, BY BENZIGER BROTHERS.\n\n\n\n  Contents\n\n  Reasonableness of Catholic Ceremonies and Practices\n\n  THE CEREMONIES OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH\n    I.--Ceremonies Necessary to Divine Worship\n   II.--Vestments Used by the Priest at Mass\n  III.--Ceremonies of the Mass\n\n  THE PRACTICES OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH\n      I.--Vespers and Benediction\n     II.--Devotion to the Blessed Sacrament\n    III.--Holy Communion\n     IV.--Confirmation\n      V.--Honoring the Blessed Virgin\n     VI.--Confession of Sin\n    VII.--Granting Indulgences\n   VIII.--The Last Sacraments\n     IX.--Praying for the Dead\n      X.--Praying to the Saints\n     XI.--Crucifixes, Relics, and Images\n    XII.--Some Sacramentals--The Books Used by the Priest, the Sign of\nthe Cross, Holy Water, Blessed Candles, Palm and Ashes, Holy Oils,\nScapulars, Medals, Agnus Dei, Prayers, Litanies, Rosary, Angelus,\nStations, Funeral Service, and Various Blessings\n   XIII.--The Celebration of Feasts\n    XIV.--Infant Baptism\n     XV.--The Marriage Tie--One and Indissoluble\n    XVI.--Respect Shown to Ecclesiastical Superiors\n   XVII.--Celibacy\n  XVIII.--Conclusion\n\n\n\nReasonableness of Catholic Ceremonies and Practices\n\n\n\"Let the children of Israel make the Phase in due time . . . according\nto all the ceremonies thereof\" (_Num._ ix 2, 3).\n\n\nReasonableness of Catholic Ceremonies and Practices\n\n\n\"The priest shall be vested with the tunic\" (_Lev._ vi. 10).\n\n\"And he made, of violet and purple, scarlet and fine linen, the\nvestments for Aaron to wear when he ministered in the holy places, as\nthe Lord commanded Moses\" (_Ex._ xxxix. 1).\n\n\"In every place there is sacrifice and there is offered to My name a\nclean offering\" (_Malach._ i. 11).\n\n\"And another Angel came and stood before the altar, having a golden\ncenser: and there was given to him much incense, that he should offer of\nthe prayers of all saints upon the golden altar, which is before the\nthrone of God\" (_Apoc._ viii. 3).\n\n\n\nThe Ceremonies of the Catholic Church\n\nTHE Catholic Church in the celebration of Mass and in the administration\nof the sacraments employs certain forms and rites. These are called\nceremonies. By these ceremonies the Church wishes to appeal to the heart\nas well as to the intellect, and to impress the faithful with sentiments\nof faith and piety.\n\nWhat is more capable of raising the heart and mind of man to God than a\npriest celebrating Mass? What more inspiring than some of our sacred\nmusic?\n\nHow beneficial and how lasting the impression formed by the ceremonies\nof the Church, the following incident will show:\n\nOne of our missionaries once went to visit a tribe of Indians who had\nbeen deprived of a priest for nearly half a century. After traveling\nthrough the forest for some days he came near their village.\n\n'Twas Sunday morning. Suddenly the silence was broken by a number of\nvoices singing in unison. He stopped to listen. To his great\nastonishment he distinguished the music of a Mass, and of Catholic hymns\nwell known to him.\n\nWhat could be more touching than this simple, savage people endeavoring\nto celebrate the Lord's Day as they had been taught by the priest fifty\nyears before? What more elevating than those sacred songs--the _Stabat\nMater_, the _O Salutaris_, or the _Te Deum_--uttered by pious lips and\nresounding through the forest primeval? What better evidence could we\nhave of the beneficial effects of our ceremonies in raising the heart to\nGod?\n\nAnd yet few things connected with our holy religion have been more\nfrequently subjected to ridicule than her ceremonies. People scoff at\nthem, laugh at them, call them foolish and unreasonable. Those people do\nnot stop to consider that by doing so they, themselves, are acting most\nunreasonably. For no reasonable person, no judge, will condemn another\nwithout hearing both sides of the question.\n\nThese wiseacres, however, flatter themselves that they know all about\nthe Catholic Church and her ceremonies without hearing her side of the\ncase. Hence the misunderstandings and misrepresentations regarding her\nthat exist among well-meaning people.\n\nIf people would but learn to speak about that which they knew and\nunderstood; if they would accord to the Catholic Church the same\ntreatment as to other institutions; if they would examine both sides of\nthe question before criticising and ridiculing her teachings and her\nceremonies; if they would but treat her with that openness, that\nfairness, that candor, that honesty characteristic of the American\ncitizen when dealing with other questions--what a vast amount of\nignorance, of prejudice, of sin would be avoided!\n\nWe claim that ceremonies used in the worship of God are reasonable,\nbecause they were sanctioned by God in the Old Testament and by Jesus\nChrist and His apostles in the New Law.\n\n\n\nI. Ceremonies Necessary to Divine Worship\n\nTHE angels are pure spirits. They have no body. Consequently the worship\nthey render God is spiritual, interior.\n\nThe heavenly bodies are not spiritual, but entirely material substances.\nThey render God a sort of external worship according to the words of the\nprophet Daniel, \"Sun and moon bless the Lord, . . . stars of heaven\nbless the Lord. Praise and exalt Him forever.\" Man has a soul, a\nspiritual substance similar to the heavenly bodies. He should,\ntherefore, honor God by the twofold form of worship, interior and\nexterior.\n\n\"God is a spirit; and they that adore Him must adore Him in spirit and\nin truth\" (_John_ iv. 24).\n\nFrom these words of the beloved disciple we are not to conclude that\ninterior worship is prescribed as the only essential, and exterior\nworship condemned. True piety must manifest itself externally. Man\nnaturally manifests his feelings by outward signs and ceremonies.\n\nThe Catholic Church recognizes that man has a heart to be moved as well\nas an intellect to be enlightened. She enlightens the intellect by her\ngood books, sermons, etc.; and she moves the heart by the grandeur of\nher ceremonies.\n\nIf any one doubts that God considers ceremonies necessary to divine\nworship, let him read the books of Leviticus and Exodus. Almost the\nwhole of these books treats of the rites and ceremonies used by the then\nchosen people of God in their public worship.\n\nThe 26th, 27th, and 28th chapters of Exodus prescribe the form of the\ntabernacle and its appurtenances, the size of the altar and the oil for\nthe lamps, and the holy vestments which Aaron and his sons were to wear\nduring the performance of the public ceremonies.\n\nThe book of Leviticus treats more particularly of the sacrifices, rites,\nand ceremonies of the priests and Levites.\n\n\"And the Lord called Moses, and spoke to him from the tabernacle of the\ntestimony, saying: Speak to the children of Israel, and thou shalt say\nto them: The man among you that shall offer to the Lord a sacrifice of\nthe cattle, that is, offering victims of oxen and sheep, if his offering\nbe a holocaust and of the herd, he shall offer a male, without blemish,\nat the door of the tabernacle of the testimony, to make the Lord\nfavorable to him. And he shall put his hand upon the head of the victim,\nand it shall be acceptable and help to his expiation\" (_Lev._ i. 1_ et\nseq._).\n\nAfter enumerating all the sacrifices and ceremonies, the sacred writer\ncloses the book of Leviticus with the words, \"These are the precepts\nwhich the Lord commanded Moses for the children of Israel in Mount\nSinai,\" thus showing that He considers ceremonies necessary to divine\nworship.\n\nThe religion instituted by Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ is more\nspiritual than that of the Old Law. Nevertheless He did not discard\nceremonies. In the Garden of Gethsemani He fell upon His knees in humble\nsupplication. He went in procession to Jerusalem preceded by a great\nmultitude strewing palm-branches on the road and singing, \"Hosanna to\nthe Son of David.\" Before He cured the deaf and dumb man, He put His\nfingers into his ears and touched his tongue with spittle, and looking\nup to heaven He groaned and said, \"Ephpheta,\" which is, \"Be thou\nopened.\"\n\nAt the Last Supper He invoked a blessing on the bread and wine, and\nafter the supper He chanted a hymn with His disciples--ceremonies\nsimilar to those used in the Mass. When He imparted the Holy Ghost to\nHis apostles, He breathed upon them. In a similar way they and their\nsuccessors communicated the Holy Ghost upon others by breathing upon\nthem, laying their hands upon them and praying over them, when\nconferring the sacrament of Holy Orders.\n\nSt. James directs that if any man is sick he shall call in a priest of\nthe Church, who shall anoint him with oil, as is done in the sacrament\nof Extreme Unction.\n\nWe must, therefore, admit that ceremonies used in the worship of God are\nreasonable, since they are sanctioned by God in the Old Law and by Jesus\nChrist and His apostles in the New Testament.\n\nAll these acts of Our Saviour--the prostration in the Garden, the\nprocession to Jerusalem, the touching of the deaf man's ears, the\nchanting of the hymn, the laying on of hands, the anointing of the\nsick--are but so many ceremonies serving as models of the ceremonies\nused by the Catholic Church in her public worship and in the\nadministration of her sacraments.\n\n\n\nII. Vestments Used by the Priest at Mass\n\nBEFORE entering upon an explanation of the ceremonies of the Mass, which\nis our principal act of public worship, let us examine the meaning of\nthe vestments worn by the priest during the celebration of that august\nsacrifice. First, it is well to remember that these vestments come down\nto us from the time of the apostles, and have the weight of antiquity\nhanging upon them. Hence, if they did not demand our respect as\nmemorials of Christ, they are at least deserving of attention on account\nof their antiquity.\n\nThe 28th chapter of Exodus tells us the sacred vestments God wished the\npriests of the Old Law to wear during the public worship. \"And these\nshall be the vestments which they shall make: a rational and an ephod, a\ntunic and a straight linen garment, a mitre and a girdle. They shall\nmake the holy vestments for thy brother Aaron and his sons, that they\nmay do the office of priesthood unto Me.\" As God in the Old Law\nprescribed vestments for the priests, so the Church, guided by God,\nprescribes sacred vestments to be worn by the priest of the New Law\nwhile engaged in the sacred mysteries.\n\nThe long black garment which the priest wears around the church in all\nthe sacred functions is called a _cassock_. Kings and officers of the\narmy wear a special uniform when performing their public duties; priests\nwear _cassocks_ and other special garments when performing their public\nduties. These vestments are used to excite the minds of the faithful to\nthe contemplation of heavenly things.\n\nWho, for example, can behold the cross on the chasuble the priest wears\nwithout thinking of all Christ suffered for us on the cross? As the\npriest in celebrating Mass represents the person of Christ, and the Mass\nrepresents His passion, the vestments he wears represent those with\nwhich Christ was clothed at the time of the passion.\n\nThe first vestment the priest puts on over the _cassock_ is called an\n_amice_. It is made of linen, and reminds us of the veil that covered\nthe face of Jesus when His persecutors struck Him. (_Luke_ xxii. 64.)\n\nWhen the priest puts on the _amice_ he first places it on his head, thus\nrecalling to mind the crown of thorns that pierced the head of Jesus.\n\nThe _alb_ (from _albus_, white) represents the white garment with which\nChrist was vested by Herod when sent back to Pilate dressed as a fool.\n(_Luke_ xxii. 11.)\n\nWhite is emblematic of purity. Hence the wearer is reminded of that\npurity of mind and body which he should have who serves the altar of the\nMost High.\n\nThe _cincture_, or girdle, as well as the _maniple_ and _stole_,\nrepresent the cords and bands with which Christ was bound in the\ndifferent stages of His passion. St. Matthew says in the 22d verse of\nthe 27th chapter, \"They brought Him _bound_ and delivered Him to Pontius\nPilate, the governor.\"\n\nThe _chasuble_, or outer vestment the priest wears, represents the\npurple garment with which Christ was clothed as a mock king. \"And they\nclothed Him with purple\" (_Mark_ xv. 17). Upon the back of the\n_chasuble_ you see a cross. This represents the cross Christ bore on His\nsacred shoulders to Calvary, and upon which He was crucified.\n\nIn these vestments, that is, in the _chasuble_, _stole_, and _maniple_,\nthe Church uses five colors--white, red, purple, green, and black.\n\nWhite, which is symbolic of purity and innocence, is used on the feasts\nof Our Lord, of the Blessed Virgin, of the angels, and of the saints\nthat were not martyrs.\n\nRed, the symbol of fortitude, is used on the feast of Pentecost, of the\nExaltation of the Cross, of the apostles and martyrs.\n\nPurple, or violet (the color of penance), is used in Advent and Lent.\n\nGreen (the color of hope) is used on all Sundays when no special feast\nis celebrated, except the Sundays of Lent and Advent.\n\nBlack (the color of mourning) is used on Good Friday and during the\ncelebration of Mass for the dead.\n\nThus we see that each vestment and color used has a special\nsignificance.\n\nAll are calculated to attract our attention, elevate our minds to God,\nand fill us with a desire to do something for Him Who has done so much\nfor us--to at least keep His commandments.\n\nOne word about the use of Latin in the celebration of Mass will perhaps\nbe appropriate here. History tells us that when Christianity was\nestablished the Roman Empire had control of nearly all of Europe, Asia,\nand Africa. Wherever the Roman flag floated to the breeze the Latin\nlanguage was spoken, just as English is spoken where the sovereign of\nGreat Britain or the President of the United States holds sway. The\nChurch naturally adopted in her liturgy the language spoken by the\npeople.\n\nIn the beginning of the fifth century vast hordes of barbarians began to\ncome from the north of Europe and spread desolation over the fairest\nportions of the Roman Empire. Soon the Empire was broken up. New\nkingdoms began to be formed, new languages to be developed. The Latin\nfinally ceased to be a living language. The Church retained it in her\nliturgy, 1st, because, as her doctrine and liturgy are unchangeable, she\nwishes the language of her doctrine and liturgy to be unchangeable; 2d,\nbecause, as the Church is spread over the whole world, embracing in her\nfold children of all climes, nations, and languages--as she is\nuniversal--she must have a universal language; 3d, because the Catholic\nclergy are in constant communication with the Holy See, and this\nrequires a uniform language.\n\nBesides, when a priest says Mass the people, by their English Missals or\nother prayer-books, are able to follow him from beginning to end.\n\nThe Mass is a sacrifice. The prayers of the Mass are offered to God.\nHence when the priest says Mass he is speaking not to the people, but to\nGod, to whom all languages are equally intelligible. Are not these\nsufficient reasons for the use of the Latin language? Are not good\nCatholics more attentive, more devout at Mass than others at their\nprayer-meetings? The good Catholic knows that the Mass represents the\npassion and death of Christ; that the passion and death of Christ are\nthe sinner's only refuge, the just man's only hope; that it can not but\nbe good and wholesome to turn our minds and our hearts toward this\nsubject; that frequent meditation on Christ's passion will move us to\navoid sin, which caused it; and that nothing can more efficaciously\ncause us to think of Christ's passion and death than the holy sacrifice\nof the Mass.\n\n\n\nIII. Ceremonies of the Mass\n\nTHE Mass is the great sacrifice of the New Law. It was foreshadowed by\nall the sacrifices ordained by God in the Old Law. They were shadows; it\nis the substance.\n\nWe learn from Genesis of the fall of man. Universal tradition, as well\nas Scripture, informs us that the creature formerly became guilty in the\neyes of the Creator. All nations, all peoples, endeavored to appease the\nanger of Heaven and believed that a victim was necessary for this\npurpose. Hence sacrifices have been offered from the beginning of the\nhuman race.\n\nCain and Abel offered victims; the one the first fruits of the earth,\nthe other the firstlings of the flock. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and\nMelchisedech worshiped this way, and their worship was acceptable to\nGod. Everywhere, even among the heathen, you find the altar, the priest,\nand the sacrifice. As we learn from Leviticus and other portions of the\nOld Testament, God Himself carefully prescribed the quality, manner,\nnumber, and place of the various sacrifices which He was pleased to\naccept from the hands of His chosen people. From this fact that\nsacrifice has ever formed a prominent feature in the worship of all\npeople, we conclude that it belongs to the essentials of religion, and\nthat Christians to-day should have an altar of which, as St. Paul says,\n\"they can not eat who serve the tabernacle.\"\n\nThe sacrifices of the Old Law were provisional and prefigured the great\nsacrifice of the New Law foretold by the prophet Malachy. This glorious\nprophecy of Malachy, \"From the rising of the sun even to the going down\nMy name is great among the Gentiles; in every place there is sacrifice,\nand there is offered to My name a clean offering; for My name is great\namong the Gentiles, saith the Lord of Hosts\"--this glorious prophecy is\nfulfilled only by the great sacrifice of the Catholic Church. We alone\ncan say with St. Paul, \"_Habemus altare_\" \"We have an altar\" and a true\nsacrifice. Of all the blessings bequeathed by Jesus Christ to His\nChurch, there is none better, none greater, none holier than the holy\nsacrifice of the Mass. It is the sacrifice of His own body and blood\noffered to the heavenly Father under the appearances of bread and wine.\nIt was instituted by Our Lord at the Last Supper, when He took bread and\nwine in His sacred hands and blessed them, saying, \"This is My body. . .\n. This is My blood. . . . Do this for a remembrance of Me.\"\n\nHe instituted the holy Mass in order to represent and continue the\nsacrifice of Calvary. St Paul says, in his first epistle to the\nCorinthians, xi. 26, that it was instituted to show the death of the\nLord until His second coming. After the consecration, which the priest\neffects by saying over the bread and wine the same words which Jesus\nChrist said at the Last Supper, there is no longer bread and wine, but\nthe true and living Jesus Christ, God and man, hidden under the\nappearances of bread and wine, just as in the manger He was hidden under\nthe appearance of an infant. The priest offers Him up to His heavenly\nFather in the name of the Catholic Church, or rather He offers Himself\nup, and we can confidently hope that we will obtain more through prayers\nat the holy Mass than through our own unaided prayers. In order to have\npart in the holy sacrifice of the Mass a person should follow the\nactions and prayers of the priest, especially at the offertory,\nconsecration, and communion; meditate on the passion of Christ; say the\nrosary or the prayers in the prayer-books, at the same time uniting his\nintention with the intention of the sacrificing priest.\n\nThe sacrifice of the Mass is a true sacrifice, because it is the\noblation of a victim to God to represent by its destruction or change\nHis supreme dominion over life and death. It is offered to satisfy our\nfour great debts and wants in adoration to God on account of His\nomnipotence, in thanksgiving for His benefits, in atonement for our\nsins, and to obtain His assistance in difficulties and temptations. The\nholy Mass obtains for us all graces and blessings, temporal and\nspiritual.\n\nSince the Mass is the highest act of public worship, it is proper that\nit should be celebrated with fitting sacred ceremonies. Every ceremony\nwhich the Church prescribes has its deep significance. All tend to bring\nbefore our minds the mystery of the passion.\n\nThe _altar_, which is reached by means of steps, represents Mount\nCalvary, upon which Christ died with His arms extended as if to enfold\nall men as brothers. The _crucifix_ recalls Jesus dying on the cross.\nThe _lighted candles_ are symbols of the faith and devotion which ought\nto burn in the hearts of the faithful when present at Mass. The _sacred\nvestments_, embroidered with the sign of the cross, indicate that the\npriest is the minister and visible representative of Jesus Christ, the\ninvisible priest. The sign of the cross made many times by the priest\nover the host and chalice reminds us that we offer to God the divine\nVictim of the cross, and that we ought to unite ourselves to Him by\nloving the cross, by patience and Christian penance. We genuflect\nbecause Our Lord is really present. If we know He is not present on the\naltar we bow in honor of the place where He sometimes reposes. _Holy\nwater_ is used to signify that our souls must be pure if we wish God to\nanswer our prayers. _Incense_ is used at solemn High Mass and at\nVespers. It is symbolic of prayer, agreeably to the words of the 140th\npsalm: \"Let my prayer, O Lord, be directed as incense in Thy sight.\" And\nSt. John, describing the heavenly Jerusalem in the 8th chapter of the\nApocalypse, says: \"Another angel came, and stood before the altar,\nhaving a golden censer; and there was given him much incense, that he\nshould offer of the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which is\nbefore the throne of God.\"\n\nThe sacrifice of the Mass, then, is the sacrifice of Calvary, since the\nsame Victim is offered up and by the same High Priest, Jesus Christ. The\nEmanuel, the God with us, the thought of whom made the prophets tremble\ncenturies before He came, that divine Teacher who loves to dwell with\nthe children of men, the Catholic Church beholds dwelling in the midst\nof us on our altars. If you have visited some of our ancient cathedrals,\nor any of our magnificent modern churches, and admired the varied\nornaments or artistic wonders therein; if you have ever been present at\nour religious solemnities and witnessed the gravity of our ceremonies,\nthe beauty of the chants, the piety of the adorers; if you have\nreflected upon the spirit of sacrifice and self-forgetfulness so common\nto Catholicism and so unknown elsewhere--that spirit which moves\nthousands of the young of both sexes to forsake the world and devote\nthemselves to the care of the sick, the education of the young, and to\nother works of charity--if you have witnessed these things and reflected\nupon them, you can not but have asked yourself why are such gorgeous\ntemples built; why such magnificent works of art as displayed on the\naltar, the sacred vessels, paintings, and other things in the church?\nWhat prompts such sacrifices? And the answer will be, because the church\nis the edifice where God in the holy Mass daily renews the prodigies of\nHis mercy, and it can never be worthy of His love; because God, who\nsacrificed Himself for us, is ever with us in the Blessed Sacrament of\nthe altar, to soothe our cares and answer our prayers. Yes, the grand\nfeature of the Catholic Church is the holy altar. On the altar is the\ntabernacle for the residence of the Lord of Hosts.\n\nThere our \"hidden God,\" Jesus in the Eucharist, dwells night and day in\nthe midst of His people, saying to them with words of love, \"Come to me\nall you that are burdened and heavy laden, and I will refresh you.\"\n\nThe Mass, independent of its sacrificial aspect, consists of the best\nprayers ever uttered. The priest begins by making the sign of the cross,\n\"In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.\" This\nsign is an epitome of the Christian's belief in the unity and trinity of\nGod and in the incarnation and death of Jesus Christ. After making the\nsign of the cross he repeats the 42d psalm, \"Judge me, O God,\" and then\nmakes an humble confession of his sins to God. He ascends the altar and\nnine times asks God to have mercy on him, _Kyrie Eleison_; then follows\nthe beautiful hymn the shepherds heard the angels singing at the birth\nof the Saviour, _Gloria in Excelsis Deo_.\n\nThe prayer of the feast, the epistle and gospel follow, and then the\nsermon in the vernacular is usually preached. After the Nicene Creed,\n_Credo in Unum Deum_, the priest makes the offering of bread and wine.\nHe then washes the tips of his fingers, saying: \"I will wash my hands\namong the innocent,\" by which he is reminded to be free from stain to\noffer worthily the Holy Sacrifice.\n\nThe preface, canon, and solemn words of consecration follow, during\nwhich the bread and wine are changed by the power of Jesus Christ into\nHis body and blood. In a short time he comes to the best of all prayers,\nthe prayer taught us by Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, the Our\nFather, _Pater Noster_. The _Agnus Dei_ follows, then the communion,\nwhen he partakes of the consecrated bread and wine, and afterward gives\nholy communion to the faithful. He then continues the Mass, gives his\nblessing, and finishes the Mass with the beginning of the Gospel of St.\nJohn. Hence you see that, besides the great sacrifice which makes it an\nact worthy of God, the Mass consists of the best of all prayers.\n\nFrom what has been said it is evident that ceremonies in the worship of\nGod are reasonable, being sanctioned by God in the Old and New\nTestaments; that the holy sacrifice of the Mass is the greatest of all\nacts of worship; and that the Catholic Church in using ceremonies is but\nfollowing the example of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ and His\napostles. St. John in the Book of Revelations tells us that before the\nthrone of God angels stand with golden censers, multitudes from all\nnations follow and adore the Lamb, while virgins sing the new song which\nthey alone can utter. So, too, before the throne of God on earth we\nswing our censers, multitudes from all nations prostrate themselves in\nadoration, the sweet incense of their praise and prayer ascends to the\nthrone of grace, their minds are enlightened by God's word, while their\nhearts are raised to God by the grandeur of our ceremonies.\n\nThe Son of God, after having taught us by His word, shown us by His\nexample, and merited for us by His grace the virtues necessary for\nsalvation, wished to institute the holy sacrifice of the Mass, that He\nmight come Himself in the Holy Sacrament and imprint them upon us. Of\nthese virtues, the most important are _humility_, _purity_, _obedience_,\n_patience_, and _charity_.\n\nLet us always ask God when present at the holy Mass for a lively faith\nin His _Real Presence_, an ardent love for Him in the Blessed Sacrament\nof the altar, and the grace to imitate His humility, His purity, His\nmeekness, obedience, patience, and charity _here_, and enjoy His\npresence forever _hereafter_.\n\nThe following beautiful words of Cardinal Newman show that the Mass is\nsomething more than a mere form of words, and that ceremonies are\nreasonable as well as necessary in its celebration:\n\n\"To me nothing is so consoling, so piercing, so thrilling, so\novercoming, as the Mass said as it is among us. I could attend Masses\nforever and not be tired. It is not a mere form of words--it is a great\naction, the greatest action that can be on earth. It is not the\ninvocation merely, but, if I dare use the word, the evocation of the\nEternal. He becomes present on the altar in flesh and blood, before Whom\nangels bow and devils tremble. This is that awful event which is the\nscope and the interpretation of every part of the solemnity. Words are\nnecessary, but as means, not as ends; they are not mere addresses to the\nthrone of grace, they are instruments of what is far higher, of\nconsecration, of sacrifice.\n\n\"They hurry on as if impatient to fulfil their mission. Quickly they go,\nfor they are awful words of sacrifice; they are a work too great to\ndelay upon, as when it was said in the beginning, 'What thou doest, do\nquickly.' Quickly they pass, for the Lord Jesus goes with them, as He\npassed along the lake in the days of His flesh, quickly calling first\none and then another; quickly they pass, because as the lightning which\nshineth from one part of the heaven unto the other, so is the coming of\nthe Son of Man.\n\n\"Quickly they pass, for they are as the words of Moses, when the Lord\ncame down in the cloud, calling on the name of the Lord as He passed by,\n'The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and generous, long suffering, and\nabundant in goodness and truth.' And as Moses on the mountain, so we,\ntoo, make haste and bow our heads to the earth and adore.\n\n\"So we, all around, each in his place, look for the great Advent\n'waiting for the moving of the water,' each in his place, with his own\nheart, with his own wants, with his own prayers, separate but\nconcordant, watching what is going on, watching its progress, uniting in\nits consummation; not painfully, and hopelessly following a hard form of\nprayer from beginning to end, but like a concert of musical instruments\neach different, but concurring in sweet harmony, we take our post with\nGod's priest, supporting him, yet guided by him. There are little\nchildren there, and old men, and simple laborers, and students in\nseminaries, priests preparing for Mass, priests making their\nthanksgiving, there are innocent maidens, and there are penitent\nsinners; but out of these many minds rises one Eucharistic hymn, and the\ngreat action is the measure and the scope of it.\"\n\n\n\nThe Practices of the Catholic Church\n\nI. Vespers and Benediction\n\n\"Remember that thou keep holy the Sabbath day\" (_Ex_. xx. 8).\n\nTHIS commandment teaches us that God wills the whole Sunday to be spent\nin His honor. We should sanctify it by good works, and by assisting at\ndivine service. On that day servile works and improper amusements are\nforbidden. A salutary rest and moderate recreation are allowed, but\nnever at the expense of duties of obligation. After hearing Mass on\nSunday morning, which is obligatory on all Catholics, there is no better\nway of sanctifying the remainder of the day than by attending Vespers\nand Benediction.\n\nThe Vesper service is a small portion of the divine office, which\npriests must recite daily, for God's honor and glory. It consists of\nfive of the psalms of David (Dixit Dominus, Ps. 109; Confitebor tibi,\nPs. 110; Beatus vir, Ps. 111; Laudate pueri, Ps. 112; In exitu Israel,\nPs. 113, or Laudate Dominum, Ps. 116), a hymn, the Magnificat, or\ncanticle of the Virgin Mary, from the first chapter of St. Luke, and\nsome prayers. Is it not reasonable thus to praise God in psalms and\nhymns and spiritual canticles?\n\nBenediction of the Blessed Sacrament usually follows Vespers. The\nCatholic Church teaches that Jesus Christ is really present in the\nBlessed Sacrament. The reasonableness of this teaching will be seen in\nthe following article.\n\nSince Jesus Christ is present, He ought to be adored by the faithful.\nFaithful adorers frequently visit Him in the Blessed Sacrament and\nworship Him in \"spirit and in truth.\" Hence, the Blessed Sacrament is\nkept in the Tabernacle on our altars to soothe our cares, answer our\nprayers, and be ready at any time to be administered to the sick and\ndying.\n\nBesides our private devotion to the Blessed Sacrament, the Church has\nappointed solemn rites to show publicly our faith and devotion toward\nthe Real Presence of Jesus Christ. These rites are processions on Corpus\nChristi, the Forty Hours' devotion, and, especially, the rite called\nBenediction.\n\nWhen it is time for Benediction many candles are lighted on the altar.\nThis is done to show our faith in the Real Presence of Jesus Christ. If\nHe were not present, this display would be unreasonable, unnecessary,\nand meaningless. But the candles we light, the incense we burn, the\nflowers and other ornaments we use to decorate the altar, and all that\nwe do for Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ can not be too much.\n\nEverything being prepared, the priest takes the Blessed Sacrament out of\nthe tabernacle, and, placing it in the ostensorium, exposes it on an\nelevated throne, while the choir sings in honor of the Blessed Sacrament\nthe hymn \"O Salutaris Hostia,\" \"O Saving Host.\" The priest incenses Our\nLord in the Blessed Sacrament, as, according to the Apocalypse, angels\ndo in heaven. Another hymn or a litany follows; after which is sung the\n\"Tantum Ergo,\" \"Down in adoration falling,\" followed by a prayer by the\npriest. Then in the midst of a solemn silence (except that a small bell\nis tinkled) the priest takes the monstrance, or ostensorium, containing\nthe Blessed Sacrament, and, turning toward the people, makes with it the\nsign of the cross over them, thus blessing the faithful with the Most\nHoly One.\n\nThis is certainly a most touching and impressive rite even to those who\ndo not believe in it. Cardinal Newman calls it one of the most\nbeautiful, natural, and soothing practices of the Church. No one will\ndeny that this practice, or rite of the Church, is reasonable, if Jesus\nChrist is really present in the Blessed Sacrament. That He is really\npresent is our belief. This being our belief, is it not reasonable to\nlight candles as a sign of spiritual joy, and thus to show our faith in\nHim who is the light of the world? He gave us all that we have. He gave\nus the beautiful world we dwell upon with its variety of scenery--with\nits snow-capped mountains, its green-carpeted hills, and its blooming\nvalleys. He has no need of our gifts; for the earth is His \"and the\nfulness thereof.\" Yet as He was pleased to receive the gifts of the Magi\nand the precious ointment of Mary, so, too, is He pleased to receive our\nofferings. And is anything too good, too beautiful, too precious, for\nHim? Can the altar on which He dwells be too richly adorned? Are the\npure candles we light, the sweet incense we burn, the choice flowers and\ncostly ornaments with which we decorate the altar, too much to use in\nhonor of Our Lord and our God? Yes, the Catholic practice or rite of\nBenediction is dictated by right reason. Everything connected with\nBenediction is reasonable, beautiful, and suggestive of the _noblest\nsentiments of the heart of man_.\n\n\n\nII. Devotion to the Blessed Sacrament\n\n\"And whilst they were at supper, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and\nbroke, and gave to His disciples, and said: take ye and eat. This is My\nbody\" (_Matt_. xxvi. 26).\n\nPERHAPS no mystery of revelation has been so universally attacked as the\nReal Presence of Jesus Christ in the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar.\n\nBy the Real Presence is meant that Jesus Christ is really and truly,\nbody and blood, soul and divinity, present in the Blessed Sacrament,\nunder the form and appearance of bread and wine.\n\nThis teaching of the Church is in perfect agreement with Scripture,\ntradition, and reason.\n\nIf the reader will take up his Bible and read carefully the 6th chapter\nof the Gospel according to St. John; the 26th chapter, 26th, 27th, and\n28th verses of St. Matthew; the 14th chapter, 22d verse of St. Mark; the\nFirst Epistle of St. Paul to the Corinthians, 10th chapter, 16th verse,\nas well as other portions of the New Testament, he will certainly see\nthat the Catholic teaching and practice concerning the Real Presence of\nJesus Christ in the Blessed Sacrament are founded on Scripture. In this\n6th chapter of St. John, we learn that before instituting the Blessed\nSacrament Our Saviour wished to announce or promise it to His disciples\nin order to prepare them for it. He first gave them a figure of the\nBlessed Sacrament in the multiplication of the five loaves of bread by\nwhich He fed five thousand persons. After this miracle He told them that\nHe would give them bread superior to that which they had eaten, and that\nthis bread was His own flesh and blood. \"The bread that I will give is\nMy flesh, for the life of the world.\" It is almost impossible to\nunderstand these words of Our Lord in any other than a literal sense. He\nwas so understood by those who heard Him. \"How can this man give us his\nflesh to eat?\" they said, and many withdrew from Him. It is but\nreasonable to believe that if He did not wish to be understood in a\nliteral sense He would have told His hearers so, rather than have them\nleave Him.\n\nThis promise of a doctrine so difficult to understand was fulfilled at\nthe Last Supper.\n\nThen Jesus took bread, and blessed, and broke, and gave to His\ndisciples, and said: \"Take ye and eat. This is My body.\" And taking the\nchalice He gave thanks; and gave to them, saying: \"Drink ye all of this.\nFor this is My blood of the new testament which shall be shed for many\nfor the remission of sins.\"\n\n\"Do this for a commemoration of Me.\"\n\nThese are substantially the words of SS. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and of the\napostle Paul.\n\nIn the 10th chapter of the First Epistle to the Corinthians, St. Paul\nsays: \"The chalice of benediction which we bless, is it not the\ncommunion of the blood of Christ? And the bread which we break, is it\nnot the partaking of the body of the Lord?\"\n\nAny one of these texts abundantly proves the Catholic doctrine of the\nReal Presence, and shows the reasonableness of the Catholic practice\nregarding the Blessed Sacrament. Reflect upon them. Reflect especially\nupon the words of Christ, \"This is My body.\" Think what an insult it is\nto the divinity and veracity of Christ to doubt His word, because you\ncan not understand how what appears to be bread is in reality His own\nbody and blood.\n\nIf you remember that Jesus Christ is God, that He had the power to make\nthis change, that He could confer this power on others, as the apostles\nand their successors, that He did so when He said: \"Do this in\ncommemoration of Me,\" and that this change at the present time as at the\ntime of the apostles is made by His almighty power, you will have no\ndifficulty in believing it.\n\nThe belief and practice of the Catholic Church of to-day regarding the\nBlessed Sacrament is the same as it was in every age since the time of\nChrist. The history of every century tells us this. The Fathers,\nDoctors, and Church writers of every age say the same. If it were not\nso, some one ought to be able to find the time when the doctrine was\ninvented, and the person who invented it. But, since no one has been\nable to find the inventor of this doctrine and practice, the time or\nplace of the invention, we rightly conclude that they came down to us\nfrom the time of Christ, and had Christ for an author. (Berengarius, in\nthe eleventh century, was the first who denied this doctrine.) If, then,\nChrist is the author, is not the Catholic practice reasonable?\n\nBut I don't understand the Catholic doctrine regarding the Blessed\nSacrament, some one may say; therefore it is contrary to reason. Dear\nreader, did the consummate puerility, silliness, foolishness of such an\nobjection ever present itself to you? Do you understand the Blessed\nTrinity? And is it contrary to reason? No. Although above reason, it is\nnot against it. Do you understand how Jesus Christ is both God and man?\nDo you understand any mystery? No. If you did it would no longer be a\nmystery. For a mystery is something above human intelligence. It is\nsomething incomprehensible to us, for it pertains to the divine\nintelligence. And as well might you attempt to pour the mighty ocean\ninto a small hole on the shore, as attempt to hold with your limited\ncapacity the illimitable ocean of divinity. The proper office of reason\nis to examine the evidences of revelation, and see if God has spoken.\nBut it constitutes no part of its office to dispute the word of God.\nThat God has spoken is evident from the fulfilment of many prophecies\nand the authority of many miracles. That these prophecies have been\nfulfilled, and these miracles performed, is as certain as is any\nhistorical fact. Reason teaches us this. It teaches us, too, that no one\nbut God (or by the power of God) can prophesy; no one but God can\nderogate from the order of nature, by the performance of a miracle.\nReason teaches us, then, that God has spoken. When we know God speaks,\ngenuine reason will dictate that we humbly believe His holy word. Thus\nwill true reason ever act. And when God says, \"This is My body,\" it will\nnot hesitate to believe.\n\nWe all believe that at the baptism of Our Saviour by St. John Baptist,\nthe Holy Ghost appeared in the form of a dove. Now, is it not as\nreasonable for Jesus Christ, the second person of the Blessed Trinity,\nto appear in the form of bread as it was for the Holy Ghost, the third\nperson of the Trinity, to appear in the form of a dove? We must\ntherefore admit that the Catholic doctrine of the Real Presence of Jesus\nChrist in the Blessed Sacrament is reasonable; that it has been believed\nby the Christian Church of every age from the time of Christ until the\npresent time; and that it is taught by SS. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and\nJohn, and by St. Paul in clear and unmistakable terms.\n\nNow, dear reader, since Jesus Christ is really present, is not the\nCatholic practice regarding the Blessed Sacrament reasonable? Should we\nnot honor Our Lord and Our God? Should we not adore Him as really\npresent in the Blessed Sacrament? Should we not frequently receive Him\nwith pure and contrite hearts? Should we not, when we enter the church,\ngenuflect, bend the knee in His honor? Should we not show Him every mark\nof respect and devotion? Can we do too much in His honor? Let us, then,\nadore Our Lord and Our God, for we are His people and the sheep of His\npasture. Let us return love for love to the great King of suffering, who\nwas born for love of us, who died for love of us, and who, for love of\nus, remains ever with us in the Blessed Sacrament. Let us ask that our\nfaith and love may persevere to the end; that loving and adoring Him\nhere in the Blessed Sacrament of His love, _we may be united with Him\nforever hereafter_.\n\n\n\nIII. Holy Communion\n\n\"He that eateth this bread shall live forever\" (_John_ vi. 59)\n\nHOLY communion is receiving the body and blood of Christ in the Blessed\nSacrament. The clergy when saying Mass, except on Good Friday, receive\nunder both forms. When not celebrating Mass, they receive only the one\nkind, the consecrated bread. In the early ages of the Church communion\nwas given to the people under both forms.\n\nThe faithful, however, could, if they wished, dispense with one form and\nreceive under the form of bread. This shows that the Church always\ntaught that Christ is entire both under the form of bread and under the\nform of wine. At one time the faithful received under both forms; now\nthey receive under one form, the form of bread. It is merely a matter of\ndiscipline, which the Church could change, if circumstances demanded it.\nWhether you receive under one form or both, you receive whole and entire\nthe body and blood of Christ. This is clearly taught by St. Paul in the\n11th chapter of the First Epistle to the Corinthians, where he says:\n\"Whosoever shall eat this bread, _or_ drink the chalice of the Lord\n_unworthily_, shall be guilty of the body _and_ blood of the Lord.\"\n\nHow could a person eating that bread unworthily be guilty of the body\nand blood of the Lord, unless the body and blood of the Lord were there\nunder the form of bread?\n\nSince Jesus Christ is whole and entire under the form of bread, as well\nas under the form of wine, the practice of the Catholic Church of giving\nholy communion under one form is reasonable.\n\nGood Christians frequently receive their Lord and their God in holy\ncommunion. He inspires them with feelings of love, gratitude, and\nadoration. He reminds them to think frequently of their Creator--to give\nHim their first thoughts in the morning and their last in the evening.\nHe gives them strength to restrain their guilty passions.\n\nHoly Communion is the seed of immortality. \"He that eateth this bread\n_shall live forever_.\"\n\n\n\nIV. Confirmation\n\n\"Then they laid their hands upon them, and they received the Holy Ghost\"\n(_Acts_ viii. 17).\n\nBEFORE the coming of the Holy Ghost on Pentecost, the apostles were weak\nand vacillating. One of them betrayed his Master for thirty pieces of\nsilver; another--the Prince of the Apostles, he whom Christ afterward\nmade head of His Church--thrice denied his Lord and his God.\n\nAfter the descent of the Holy Ghost, what a change! What a wonderful\ntransformation! They who before had been as timid as the lamb, as\nchangeable as the chameleon's hue, became now as bold as the lion, as\nfirm as Gibraltar's rock.\n\nIn a similar way does Confirmation act on the receiver. Confirmation is\nthat sacrament in which, by the imposition of the bishop's hands, we\nreceive the Holy Ghost to make us strong and perfect Christians and\nsoldiers of Jesus Christ. It is the second in the order of the\nsacraments, because the early Christians were accustomed to receive it\nimmediately after Baptism. In the 8th chapter of the Acts of the\nApostles we find the first recorded instance of the administering of\nConfirmation by the apostles. Here we are told that St. Peter and St.\nJohn confirmed the Samaritans who had been baptized by Philip. \"They\nprayed for them that they might receive the Holy Ghost. . . . Then they\nlaid their hands upon them, and they received the Holy Ghost.\" In a\nsimilar way does the bishop, the successor of the apostles, administer\nConfirmation at the present day. First, he turns toward those to be\nconfirmed and says: \"May the Holy Ghost come down upon you and the power\nof the Most High keep you from sin.\" Then extending his hands over them\nhe prays that they may receive the Holy Ghost.\n\nIn the 6th verse of the 19th chapter of the Acts the sacred writer,\nafter telling about the baptism of the disciples at Ephesus, adds: \"And\nwhen Paul had laid his hands upon them the Holy Ghost came on them.\" In\nthe 6th chapter of the Epistle to the Hebrews St. Paul mentions\nConfirmation, the laying on of hands, with Baptism and Penance, as among\nthe principal practices of Christianity.\n\nThe sacrament of Confirmation has been administered to the faithful of\nevery age from the time of Christ until the present. We learn this from\nthe Fathers and writers of the various ages. Among them St. Clement\nsays: \"All must make haste to be confirmed by a bishop, and receive the\nsevenfold grace of the Holy Ghost.\" The practice of administering\nConfirmation is founded on tradition, then, as well as on Scripture. Is\nit not reasonable to believe and practise that which the Christian\nChurch of every age believed and practised?\n\nThe apostles of Christ administered Confirmation by praying that the\nfaithful may receive the Holy Ghost and laying their hands upon them.\nThe successors of the apostles do likewise. Who will say that this\npractice is not reasonable? Baptism gives spiritual life; Confirmation\nincreases it. Baptism makes persons children of God; Confirmation\nstrengthens them, causes them to grow, and makes them strong men and\nsoldiers of Jesus Christ.\n\nAll the morality of life is implied in the sacrament of Confirmation. It\nstrengthens man, it gives him courage to confess God; and as sin is the\ndenial of God, whoever has courage to confess _God will practise\nvirtue_.\n\n\n\nV. Honoring the Blessed Virgin\n\n\"The angel Gabriel was sent from God . . . to a Virgin . . . and the\nVirgin's name was Mary. And the angel being come in said to her: Hail,\nfull of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women\"\n(_Luke_ i. 26, 28).\n\n\"From henceforth all generations shall call me blessed\" (_Luke_ i. 48).\n\nTHESE words from St. Luke show that the Catholic practice of honoring\nMary is scriptural. We alone fulfil the prophecy, \"From henceforth all\ngenerations shall call me blessed.\" If Mary was so pure that the\narchangel Gabriel could salute her as full of grace; if she was so\nperfect as to be honored, respected, and loved by her divine Son, Jesus\nChrist, is it not reasonable that we, too, should honor, respect, and\nlove her?\n\nHow we honor the sword of Washington! What a cluster of tender\nrecollections clings to the staff of Franklin! Is there a loyal American\ncitizen who does not think with feelings of love and respect of the\nmother of our Revolutionary hero, or who would not doff his hat at the\nunveiling of a statue of the sage of Monticello? And why? Is it on\naccount of their intrinsic merit? No. We honor them principally on\naccount of the relation they bear to those three brightest stars in the\nAmerican firmament. So it is with the honor we show to Mary, the Mother\nof God. Although she was an example of all virtues, we honor her\nprincipally because it was through her instrumentality He was born by\nwhom we achieved not civil liberty, but the liberty of the children of\nGod. She did not draw lightning from heaven, nor the scepter from kings;\nbut she brought forth Him who is the Lord of heaven and King of kings.\n\nThe principal reason, then, why we honor Mary is because she is the\nMother of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. This honor consists of\nlove, respect, and veneration. We love her with an interior love, a love\nproceeding from the heart; nor should we fear to let this love appear\noutwardly. When others revile her, speak disrespectfully of her, we\nshould shrink from the very idea of acting similarly toward her. We\nshould then remember that she is the Mother of Our Saviour, and should\nask ourselves how we would have acted toward her had we lived in her day\nand been witnesses of the honor shown her by her divine Son. By so doing\nwe will show her that love which is her due. Our respect, our veneration\nfor her, should be affectionate and deep. When we remember that it was\nher hand that first lifted from the ground and received in maternal\nembrace the sacred body of Jesus, just born and just dead; when we think\nhow respectfully Elizabeth greeted her; when we recall to mind the\nreverent salutation of the archangel; when we consider the honor shown\nher by the apostles and by her own divine Son, can we help feeling a\ndeep love, respect, and veneration for her? You see, dear reader,\nhonoring Mary is scriptural and reasonable.\n\nBut if we should honor her principally because she is the Mother of God,\nwe should also honor her because she is the peerless glory, the\nmatchless jewel of her sex. She constitutes a sole exception to a\ngeneral law. Sin never contaminated, never touched her fair soul. This\nis what we mean by the Immaculate Conception.\n\nGod created the first man free from sin. But he transgressed the law of\nGod, and, by his transgression, all his posterity are born in sin and\nconceived in iniquity. For St. Paul says: \"By one man sin entered into\nthis world, and by sin death; and so death passed upon all men, in whom\nall have sinned\" (_Rom._ v. 12). But God promised that the woman, Mary,\nshould crush the head of the serpent. Now if she was to crush the head\nof the serpent, it was fit that she should never be under his power,\nthat she should be pure, free from sin of every kind.\n\nThere have been exceptions to all general laws. At the time of the\ndeluge Noe was saved. Lot was saved from the destruction of Sodom. In\nlike manner, the Blessed Virgin is an exception to the general law that\nall sinned in Adam. Isaias and St. John Baptist were sanctified in their\nmother's womb. Was it any more difficult for God to sanctify Mary at the\nmoment of her conception, at the moment of the union of her soul with\nher body? God chose His own Mother. If He had the power to choose her\ndid He not also have the power to preserve her from original sin? And\ndoes it not appear to you most fitting that God, the Holy Ghost, should\npreserve His spouse, and God, the Son, His Mother, from sin of every\nkind?\n\n\"Hail, full of grace,\" the angel said to her. If she was full of grace,\nno vacancy was left for sin. Grace denotes the absence of sin, as light\ndenotes the absence of darkness. Hence if Mary was full of grace, she\nwas never subject to sin; she was always pure and her conception\nimmaculate. It is but natural, then, that we arrive at the belief in the\nImmaculate Conception, at the belief in the sinlessness, the\nspotlessness of the Blessed Virgin from the very beginning of her\nexistence. If we honor Mary principally because the angel honored her,\nbecause God honored her, we honor her, also, because of her immaculate\nconception and total freedom from sin. She was a model of all virtues.\nIs it not reasonable, then, to honor Mary, to love her, and to believe\nthat she loves us? If we honor the good and virtuous, where can we find\na nobler example of virtue than Mary? What a beautiful model Mary is for\nChristians, and especially for Christian women! Good Catholic mothers\nare continually urging upon their daughters the necessity of choosing as\na model Mary, the true type of female excellence. In Mary you find all\nthat is tender, loving, constant, and true. In her you find all virtues.\nIn her humility she refused the highest honors; while in patience she\nendured more anguish and agony than any other creature on earth.\n\nMary is a creature of God. As the praise we bestow on a beautiful\npicture redounds to the glory of the artist, so the honor we give Mary\nredounds to God, since we honor her for His sake. Let us honor her. That\nperson who honors the Blessed Virgin; who loves, respects, and venerates\nher as the Mother of God; who takes her as a model and imitates her\nvirtues; who prays to her in trials and afflictions and asks her\nintercession with her divine Son, does not only act in a reasonable\nmanner, but such action is certain to make the path through this world\nsmooth and easy and at the same time safe to a life of _eternal\nhappiness_.\n\n\n\nVI. Confession of Sin\n\n\"Whom when He saw He said: Go, show yourselves to the priests\" (_Luke_\nxvii. 14).\n\n\"Receive ye the Holy Ghost; whose sins ye shall forgive, they are\nforgiven them, and whose sins ye shall retain, they are retained\"\n(_John_ xx. 23).\n\nTHE whole of the life of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ may be summed\nup in these words of the Acts: \"He went about doing good.\" He healed the\nsick, gave sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, and raised the dead\nto life.\n\nThe healing of the body, however, was to Him a secondary object. The\nhealing of the soul was His mission on earth. He frequently called the\nattention of His followers to this. For example, He cured the man of the\npalsy to prove that as man He had the power to forgive sins. Another\nexample is when He gives us in the cure of the lepers a figure of sin\nand its cure.\n\nLeprosy has always been considered a figure of sin. As leprosy covers\nthe body and makes it disgusting and frightful to behold, so sin covers\nthe soul and makes it hideous in the sight of God. The Old Law required\nlepers to separate themselves from society until their cure was\ncertified to by the priests who were appointed for this purpose. Our\nLord has been pleased, in the New Law, to institute a similar method for\nthe cure of the more fatal leprosy of sin. The spiritual leper, the\nsinner, is to show himself to the priest, make known the diseased state\nof his soul, and submit to the inspection and treatment of the priest,\nwho is the divinely appointed physician of the soul. But should we not\ngo directly to God, since God alone has power to justify us? It is true,\nGod alone can effect our justification; but He has appointed the priest\nto judge in His place and pass sentence in His name. To the priests He\nhas said: \"Whatsoever you shall bind upon earth shall be bound in\nheaven, and whatsoever you shall loose upon earth shall be loosed also\nin heaven\" (_Matt._ xviii. 18); and again: \"Whose sins you shall\nforgive, they are forgiven, and whose sins you shall retain, they are\nretained\" (_John_ xx. 23). These two texts clearly show that auricular\nconfession as practised in the Catholic Church was taught by Christ. For\nhow could the apostles and their successors, the pastors of the Church,\nknow what sins to bind and retain and what sins to loose and forgive\nunless the sins were confessed to them and they were allowed to judge?\n\nNo matter how numerous or how great these are, provided they are\nconfessed with a sincere repentance, they will be forgiven. And they\nwill be forgiven by the power of the priest. Properly speaking, God\nalone has power to forgive sins. But no one will deny that He has power\nto confer this power on others. He communicated this power to His\napostles and commanded them, in turn, to communicate it to others by\nmeans of the Sacrament of Holy Orders.\n\nThat Our Saviour communicated this power to His apostles is evident from\nthe words of St. John: \"As the Father hath sent Me I also send you.\nReceive ye the Holy Ghost; whose sins you shall forgive, they are\nforgiven.\" But sin was to continue till the end of the world. Hence the\nnecessity of the means of forgiving sin being coextensive with sin. As\nthe people receive from the priests the Word of God and the cleansing\nfrom sin in Baptism, so also do they receive from them the cleansing\nfrom sin in confession.\n\nIt is certain that the apostles conferred the power of forgiving sins\nupon others, if we find that those whom the apostles ordained this\npower. But we find this to be the case.\n\nFrom the time of Christ until the present the writers of every age tell\nus that confession of sins was practised. St. John, who lived until the\nbeginning of the second century, says in the 1st chapter of his First\nEpistle: \"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us\nour sins and to cleanse us from all iniquity.\"\n\nSt. Cyprian, who wrote in the third century, says: \"Let each of you\nconfess his faults, and the pardon imparted by the priest is acceptable\nbefore God.\"\n\nSt. Ambrose, in the fourth century, wrote: \"The poison is sin; the\nremedy, the accusation of one's crime. The poison is iniquity:\nconfession is the remedy.\"\n\nSt. Augustine, who lived in the fifth century, seems to be talking to\nsome people of the present day, who say they confess in private to God,\nwhen he says: \"Let no one say to himself, I do penance to God in\nprivate, I do it before God. Is it then in vain that Christ hath said:\n'Whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven'? Is it\nin vain that the keys have been given to the Church? Do we make void the\nGospel? void the words of Christ?\"\n\nThese first five centuries were the golden age of Christianity. All\nadmit that the doctrines and practices of those early centuries were\npure and undefiled, as they came from Christ. But among the practices of\nthe time we find confession. Hence it is a reasonable practice, because\nconformable to Christ's teaching. We might continue quotations from\nwriters of every century from the sixth to the nineteenth, showing that\nthe teaching and practice of confession did not vary through the lapse\nof ages from the time of Christ until the present day. But this is\nunnecessary. The quotations from the first five centuries show that the\npower of forgiving sin was not only communicated by Christ to His\napostles, but by them to their successors by means of the sacrament of\nHoly Orders. What would be the necessity of this power if they could not\nexercise it in confession? If, as some say, priests invented confession,\nsome one ought to find out and tell us when and where it was invented,\nand why they did not exempt themselves from such a humiliating practice.\n\nConfession alone, however, will be of no avail without contrition.\nContrition is a sincere sorrow and detestation for sin with a firm\ndetermination to sin no more. To the truly humble and sorrowful sinner\nconfession is not a punishment, but a remedy for a tortured conscience.\nThe most painful secret to be kept by a heart not yet corrupted by\ndisease is the secret of sin and crime. The soul that loves God hates\nsin and desires to separate herself from it. To this desire is\nassociated the desire of expiating it. All, from the mother who\nquestions her child about wrongdoing to the judge who interrogates the\ncriminal, recognize in spontaneous confession an expiatory power.\n\nConfession, it is true, is necessarily accompanied by shame and\nhumiliation. This humiliation is diminished by the knowledge that it is\nof divine origin and that eternal silence is divinely imposed upon him\nwho receives it. Priests never divulge what they know from the\nconfessional. They have been ill-treated, as was Father Kohlmann in this\ncountry; have even been tortured and cruelly put to death, as was St.\nJohn Nepomucene, in order to extort from them knowledge they gained in\nthe confessional, but without avail. For what they knew through the\ntribunal of penance, they knew as ministers of God. And as it is better\nto obey God than man, no minister of state could force them to divulge\nthat which the laws of God forbid.\n\nOnly sinners, who after a thorough preparation, a sincere sorrow, and a\ngood confession, can realize the soothing and beneficial effects of\nconfession, and feel with David, \"Blessed are they whose sins are\nforgiven.\" If you have ever noticed such after leaving the confessional\nyou could see joy beaming on their countenances, as if a heavy burden\nhad been removed.\n\nConfession quiets the conscience. But this is only one of the benefits\nit confers upon those who practise going to confession. It has also a\nsalutary influence upon their morals; for one of its necessary\nconditions is promise of amendment.\n\nThe pagans of the first centuries were aware of the guiding and\nreforming power of the confessional. Voltaire, the leading infidel of\nthe last century, one who made sport of everything Christian, says that\n\"there is, perhaps, no wiser institution, and that confession is an\nexcellent thing, a restraint upon inveterate crime, a very good practice\nto prevent the guilty from falling into despair and relapsing into sin,\nto influence hearts full of hate to forgive and robbers to make\nrestitution--that the enemies of the _Romish_ Church who have opposed so\nbeneficial an institution have taken from man the greatest restraint\nthat can be put upon crime.\" While his everyday experience forced these\nwords of praise from the arch-infidel, his hatred of the Church creeps\nout in the word \"Romish.\"\n\nConfession of sin, as we have seen, is a _reasonable practice_, because\nit was taught by Jesus Christ, and by His apostles and their successors\nfrom Christ's time until the present; but _especially_ because it has\nthe power of soothing and pacifying the conscience by freeing it from\nthe torture of sin, the poison of crime. It is not strange, then, that\nit is so dear to virtuous souls. It is offensive only to those whose\nhearts are so hardened as to blunt the sting of remorse. Confession is\nChristianity using its moral power to correct and perfect the\nindividual. In the confessional the minister of God is continually\ncoming in contact with hearts in which reigns an idol that he\noverthrows, a bad practice that he causes to cease, or some injustice\nthat he has repaired.\n\nConfession is one of the gates by which Christianity penetrates the\ninterior man, wipes away stains, heals diseases, and sows therein the\nseeds of virtue. The lives and experience of millions are witness of the\ntruth of this. Is it not, then, a reasonable, a beneficial practice? It\nis only the malicious or the ignorant who calumniate the practice and\nthe consecrated minister who sits in judgment in the sacred tribunal.\nThose who lay aside their prejudice and study the question soon become\nconvinced of its divine origin. A little study and reflection will show\nthem that confession of sin benefits society by preventing crimes that\nwould destroy government, cause riots, and fill prisons; that it\npromotes human justice, makes men better, nobler, purer, higher, and\nmore Godlike; that it soothes the sorrowful heart whose crime might make\nthe despairing suicide; and that individuals and families who\nfrequently, intelligently, and properly approach this fountain of God's\ngrace will receive His blessing here _and a pledge of His union\nhereafter_.\n\n\n\nVII. Granting Indulgences\n\n\"Whatsoever you shall bind upon earth shall be bound in heaven, and\nwhatsoever you shall loose upon earth shall be loosed also in heaven\"\n(Matt xviii. 18).\n\nOF THE many practices of the Church, few have been the cause of more\ncontroversy than that of granting indulgences. Though not the cause, the\ngranting of an indulgence furnished a pretext for Luther's apostasy. Leo\nX, who was Pope at that time, desiring to complete St. Peter's at Rome,\nappealed to all Catholics for financial aid. There was certainly nothing\nwrong in this. With these alms it was intended that the most magnificent\nChristian temple in the world would be completed.\n\n  \"Majesty, Power, Glory, Strength, and Beauty, all are aisled\n  In this eternal ark of worship undefiled.\"\n\nAll who contributed toward the completion of St. Peter's and complied\nwith the necessary conditions were granted an indulgence.\n\nThe alms were not one of the indispensable conditions. Those conditions\nwere a sincere repentance and confession. Hence, those who did not\ncontribute could gain the indulgence. Perhaps the Dominican Tetzel, who\nwas chosen to announce the indulgence, exceeded his powers and made them\nserve his own ends.\n\nHis action in the affair was not approved by Rome. If it is certain that\nthe Pope did nothing wrong in asking for aid to build that beautiful\nmonument to religion, it is equally certain that he did nothing wrong,\nthat he did not exceed the limits of his powers when he granted the\nindulgence. In order to understand this, we must have a clear idea of\nwhat is meant by an indulgence.\n\nYou frequently hear it said that it is the forgiveness of sin, or that\nit is a permission given to commit sin. It is neither the one nor the\nother. An indulgence is not the forgiveness of sin. In fact, an\nindulgence can not be gained until sin has been forgiven. One of the\nnecessary conditions for gaining an indulgence is confession.\n\nNeither is an indulgence a license, a permission to commit sin. No one,\nnot even God Himself, could give permission to commit sin. For God is\nall good, and although all powerful He can not sanction that which is\nevil in itself. It would be contrary to His very nature. An indulgence,\nthen, is not what it has been painted. Having seen what an indulgence is\nnot, let us see what it is. It is a remission of the whole or a part of\nthe debt of temporal punishment due to sin after the guilt and eternal\npunishment have been forgiven in the sacrament of Penance.\n\nIn the early ages of the Church notorious sinners, after being absolved,\nwere sentenced to long public penances. By sincere sorrow, an indulgence\nor remission of some of the time was granted them. Public confession and\npublic penances have passed away. These public penances are replaced by\npious devotions. Upon the performance of certain pious devotions the\nChurch at times grants an indulgence; that is, a remission of such\ntemporal punishment as is equivalent to the canonical penances\ncorresponding to the sins committed.\n\nAttached to every mortal sin, besides the guilt, is the punishment\nincurred. This punishment is eternal and temporal. That there is this\ntwofold punishment we learn from various places in the Bible. We have an\nexample in the sin of David. God sent the prophet Nathan to warn him of\nhis guilt. When Nathan rebuked the king, he confessed his sin with signs\nof true contrition. Then Nathan told him that God had forgiven his sin,\nbut that many temporal punishments would follow. When God forgave the\nsin, the guilt and eternal punishment were taken away; but temporal\npunishment remained. Other examples could be cited, but this is\nsufficient to show that there is a twofold kind of punishment--eternal\nand temporal. In confession the guilt and eternal punishment are taken\naway, but not always the temporal punishment. This temporal punishment\nis what is taken away in whole by a plenary and in part by a partial\nindulgence.\n\nIn a similar manner we have a twofold punishment attached to crime in\nthis world. A man commits a crime. He is sentenced to a term in the\npenitentiary. After spending his time of punishment he comes back to\nsociety, but finds he has another punishment to undergo in being avoided\nby his friends and others.\n\nThe practice of granting indulgences was founded on many passages of\nScripture, both of the Old and New Testament. In the 12th chapter of the\nbook of Numbers we learn that Mary, the sister of Moses, was forgiven a\nsin which she had committed. But God inflicted upon her the penalty of\nleprosy. This was a temporal punishment. By the prayer of Moses an\nindulgence was granted; for God took away the temporal punishment.\n\nOur divine Lord left with His Church the power of granting indulgences,\nas we learn from His words taken from St. Matthew: \"Whatsoever you shall\nloose upon earth shall be loosed also in heaven.\" This promise implies\nthe power of loosing not only from sin and its eternal punishment, but\nalso the power of releasing the bond of temporal punishment, of freeing\nfrom everything that would prevent the soul from entering the kingdom of\nheaven. St. Paul granted an indulgence to the incestuous Corinthian, as\nwe learn from the 2d chapter of his Second Epistle to the Corinthians.\nBy the power and authority which he received from Christ, he granted the\nCorinthian pardon from performing a certain penance. This penance was a\ntemporal punishment. The apostle took away the temporal punishment. That\nis an indulgence.\n\nNon-Catholics grant a kind of plenary indulgence to every one by saying\nthat works of penance are unnecessary. The practice of the Catholic\nChurch of granting an indulgence only to the deserving is certainly more\nconformable to Scripture as well as more reasonable.\n\nExperience teaches us the utility of indulgences. They encourage the\nfaithful to frequent the sacraments, to repent, to do acts of penance,\nand perform works of piety, charity, and devotion.\n\nA practice productive of such beneficial results is reasonable; it is\nalso reasonable because it is sanctioned by Scripture and the Church of\nevery age. For God would not sanction it nor could the Church practise\nit if it were _not conformable to reason_.\n\n\n\nVIII. The Last Sacraments\n\n\"Is any man sick among you? Let him bring in the priests of the Church,\nand let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the\nLord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick man, and the Lord\nshall raise him up, and if he be in sins they shall be forgiven him\"\n(_James_ v. 14, 15).\n\nBY THESE words St. James admonishes Christians when sick to do that\nwhich Our Saviour had previously directed to be done. This you will\nlearn from the 6th chapter of St. Mark: \"And [the apostles] anointed\nwith oil many that were sick.\"\n\nThe historians of the first centuries tell us that the early Christians\nwere as anxious to receive the last sacraments as are the Catholics of\nour own day. St. Cesarius, in the fifth century, writes: \"As soon as a\nperson falls dangerously sick, he receives the body and blood of Jesus\nChrist. Then his body is anointed, and thus is fulfilled what stands\nwritten: 'Is any man sick among you? Let him call in the priests of the\nChurch, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil.'\" What the\nChristians of the first centuries did, we do; and we do it by the\ndirection of Jesus Christ and of St. James.\n\nPenance, Holy Eucharist, and Extreme Unction are administered to the\nsick and are known as the last sacraments. The priest first hears the\nsick person's confession, then he administers holy communion. Afterward\nhe administers the sacrament of Extreme Unction--last anointing.\n\nThis sacrament aids the sick to bear their sufferings with patience. It\nwipes away sin, even mortal sin if the person is unable to confess; and\nit purifies the soul for its entrance into heaven. The other sacraments\nassist us in making our lives holy like the life of our divine Model.\nThis sacrament assists in making our death holy, like the death of\nJesus. The sacrament of Baptism met us at our entrance into this world;\nthe sacrament of Extreme Unction will be our guide at our departure to\nthe other world. Religion, which rocked us in the cradle of life, will\nlull us to sleep in the cradle of death.\n\nGo to the bedside of the dying Catholic and you will see the\nreasonableness of the practice of calling the priest to administer the\nlast sacraments. After the sacraments have been administered, peace and\njoy and contentment are visible on the countenance of the sick person.\nHe clings no more to the things of earth. His thoughts are centered in\nheaven. The minister of God consoles him with the thought of immortality\nand the resurrection of the body. He soon hears the singing of the\nangelic choir; and breathing the sweet names of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph,\nhis soul takes its flight to the _regions of eternal bliss_.\n\n\n\nIX. Praying for the Dead\n\n\"It is therefore a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that\nthey may be loosed from their sins\" (_2 Mach_. xii. 46).\n\nNO ONE will deny that the practice of praying for the dead is\nreasonable, if the dead are benefited by our prayers. That our prayers\nare beneficial to the departed we will endeavor to show. We are taught\nby revelation that besides heaven and hell, a state of everlasting\npleasure and a state of eternal pain, there also exists a middle state\nof punishment for those who die in venial sin, or who have not\nsufficiently satisfied the justice of God for mortal sins already\nforgiven.\n\nThe people of God in the Old Law believed, and Jesus Christ and His\napostles in the New Law taught, the existence of this middle state. In\nthe Second Book of Machabees, quoted above, we read that the pious\ngeneral Judas Machabeus having made a collection, \"sent twelve thousand\ndrachmas of silver to Jerusalem for sacrifices to be offered for the\ndead [soldiers], thinking well and religiously concerning the\nresurrection [for if he had not hoped that they that were slain should\nrise again, it would have seemed superfluous and vain to pray for the\ndead], and because he considered that they who had fallen asleep with\ngodliness had great grace laid up for them. It is, therefore, a holy and\nwholesome thought to pray for the dead that they may be loosed from\ntheir sins.\" If prayers were not beneficial to the dead, God would not\nhave sanctioned them.\n\nThis is exactly the practice of the Catholic Church. We pray and offer\nsacrifices for the souls in purgatory, just as Judas Machabeus did. Even\nif the Books of Machabees were not inspired, it is historically true\nthat the Jews and almost all nations of antiquity believed in the\nexistence of purgatory and the utility of prayers for the souls detained\nthere. This universal consent is the voice of nature and of God. Hence\nwe see that the practice of praying for the dead is reasonable.\n\nThis practice is in accordance with the teaching of Christ. In the 12th\nchapter, 32d verse, of St. Matthew, He says: \"He that shall speak\nagainst the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this\nworld nor in the world to come.\"\n\nThese words teach us that some sins will be pardoned in the life to\ncome. They can not be pardoned in heaven, since nothing defiled can\nenter heaven; nor can they be pardoned in hell, out of which there is no\nredemption, for \"their worm shall not die, and their fire shall not be\nquenched.\" Therefore, there must be a state in the next world where sins\nwill be forgiven, and we call that place or state purgatory. And the\nexistence of purgatory implies the necessity of praying for those\ndetained there. The belief in the existence of purgatory and the\npractice of praying for the faithful departed have existed in the Church\nfrom the time of its foundation.\n\nTertullian, who lived in the second century, considered it a solemn\nduty, whose obligation came down from the apostles, to offer sacrifices\nand prayers for the faithful departed. St. Augustine says: \"The whole\nChurch received from the tradition of the Fathers to pray for those who\ndied in the communion of the body and blood of Christ.\" The dying\nrequest of St. Monica, the mother of St. Augustine, is well known. \"I\nrequest you,\" she said, \"that wherever you may be, you will remember me\nat the altar of the Lord.\" And he assures us that he frequently and\nfervently prayed for her soul.\n\nThe teaching of the Church of every age confirms the teaching of the Old\nand New Testament regarding purgatory and praying for the dead. To one\nwho believes in heaven and hell, a place of eternal pleasure and of\neternal punishment, the doctrine of purgatory must appear as a\nnecessity, and the practice of praying for the dead reasonable. For it\nis certain that nothing defiled can enter heaven. But it is possible\nthat many die guilty of but slight sins. Therefore, it must be said that\nthese are damned, which is impious and absurd; that what is defiled can\nenter heaven, which is unscriptural; or that there is a purgatory, a\nstate in which such souls are made pure as the driven snow, so that they\ncan enter into the presence of their Maker. For an infinitely just God\ncan not condemn to the same eternal punishment the child who dies guilty\nof a slight fault and the hardened murderer. No. He will render to every\none according to his works.\n\nThe doctrine of purgatory, then, is reasonable as well as scriptural and\ntraditional. Reasonable, too, is the practice of praying for the dead,\nfor they are still members of the Church. All the members of the Church,\nconsisting of the church militant on earth, the church triumphant in\nheaven, and the church suffering in purgatory, are one family bound\ntogether by the bond of charity. The members of the Church on earth pray\nto those in heaven, who love us and pray for us; and we pray for those\nin purgatory. They are God's friends deprived of heaven for a time. As\nthose in heaven rejoice when one sinner does penance, so those in\npurgatory hear us, see us, love us, and are helped by our prayers. We\nlove them and never cease to pray for them and offer the Holy Sacrifice\nfor them. Even the unbeliever will stand or kneel by the remains of his\ndeparted friend and offer a prayer for him, thus showing that praying\nfor the dead is reasonable and the natural dictate of the human heart.\n\n\n\nX. Praying to the Saints\n\n\"And may the angel that delivereth me from all evils bless these boys\"\n(_Gen_. xlviii. 16).\n\n\"So I say to you there shall be joy before the angels of God upon one\nsinner doing penance\" (_Luke_ xv. 10).\n\n\"For in the resurrection they [the saints] shall be as the angels of God\nin heaven\" (_Matt_. xxii. 10).\n\nTHE saints are friends of God. They are like the angels in heaven. We\nhonor them, not as we honor God, but on account of the relation they\nbear to God. They are creatures of God, the work of His hands. When we\nhonor them, we honor God; as when we praise a beautiful painting, we\npraise the artist.\n\nWe do not believe that the saints can help us of themselves. But we ask\nthem to \"pray for us.\" We believe that everything comes to us \"through\nOur Lord Jesus Christ.\" With these words all our prayers end. It is\nuseful, salutary, and reasonable to pray to the saints and ask them to\npray for us. No doubt all will admit the reasonableness of this practice\nif the saints can hear and help us.\n\nThat they hear and help us is evident from many passages of Scripture.\nThe patriarch Jacob would not have prayed to the angel to bless his\ngrandchildren Manasses and Ephraim (as we learn he did from _Gen_.\nxlviii.), unless he knew the angel could do so.\n\nWe are informed (_Luke_ xv.) that the angels rejoice when one sinner\ndoes penance. We are also informed (_Matt_ xxii.) that the saints are\nlike the angels--_i.e._, have the same happiness and knowledge.\n\nHence the saints, as well as the angels, can hear us, can help us, and\nare acquainted with our actions, words, and thoughts.\n\nIt is generally conceded that it is reasonable to ask pious persons on\nearth to pray for us. St. Paul, in his epistles, frequently asks the\nChristians to pray for him. \"Brethren,\" he says, \"pray for us.\" It is\nwell known that God was pleased to answer the prayer of Abraham in favor\nof Abimelech. \"More things are wrought by prayer than this world knows\nof.\" Now, if we poor sinners here on earth do not pray in vain for one\nanother, will the saints in heaven, the friends of God, who rejoice when\na sinner does penance, pray in vain for us? No. We have hosts of friends\nin heaven to speak a good word for us. And as a child who has disobeyed\nhis parents wisely asks a better brother or sister to intercede with his\nparents for mercy, so, too, having disobeyed our heavenly Father by sin,\nwe have recourse to others better than ourselves, to our better brothers\nand sisters, the Blessed Virgin and saints, to intercede with God for\nus.\n\nIs not this a reasonable practice?\n\nIf your mother or sister crosses the sea she will continue to pray for\nyou. And if she crosses the sea of death will she forget you? No. The\nlove she bore you here will continue in heaven. She will pray for you,\nand the \"Lord will hear the prayers of the just.\" Ask the saints to pray\nto your God and their God for you. Honor God by honoring His friends and\nasking their intercession. And all your friends in heaven will unite in\npraying to the Father of us all that one day all who love God and His\nfriends, the saints, may be admitted with them into the _company of the\nSaint of saints, Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ._\n\n\n\nXI. Crucifixes, Relics, and Images\n\n\"Thou shalt not make to thyself a graven thing, nor the likeness of\nanything that is in the heaven above, or in the earth beneath, nor of\nthose things that are in the waters under the earth. Thou shalt not\nadore them nor serve them\" (_Ex_. xx. 4, 5).\n\nTHIS first commandment teaches us to adore God alone. It does not forbid\nthe making of images, but it forbids the adoring of them, worshiping\nthem as gods. This would be idolatry. If the making of images were\nforbidden, it would be improper to have images or pictures of our\nfriends.\n\nIt has frequently been said that Catholics ate idolaters, because they\nhave in their churches crucifixes, relics, and images of the saints,\nwhich they honor. Perhaps many of those who accuse us of idolatry, if\nasked, could not tell what idolatry is. Idolatry is giving to a creature\n(whether a crucifix, an image, or any created thing) that honor which\nbelongs to God.\n\nThe honor we give those sacred things is a relative honor. We honor them\non account of the relation they bear to God and His friends, the saints.\n\nEvery Catholic, even the child, is taught the difference between the\nidol of the pagan and a Catholic image. Pagans looked upon their idols\nas gods. They thought these senseless objects had power, intelligence,\nand other attributes of the Deity. They worshiped them as gods and\nthought they could assist them. Hence they were image-worshipers or\nidolaters.\n\nCatholics know full well that images have no intelligence to understand,\nno power to assist them. They do not adore nor serve them. That would be\nidolatry. It would be breaking the first commandment. They do not say\nwhen praying before the crucifix or image of a saint, \"I adore thee, O\nCrucifix\"; nor \"Help me, O Image,\" But they say, \"I adore thee, O God,\nwhose cruel death is represented by this crucifix,\" or \"Pray for me, O\nsaint represented by this image.\"\n\nWe have images, pictures, and relics of Our Lord, His Blessed Mother,\nand the saints, for the same reason that we have relics and portraits of\nGeorge Washington, Abraham Lincoln, or of our relatives and friends.\nThey remind us of the original. Who can look upon the crucifix or upon a\npicture of the Crucifixion without being reminded of all the sufferings\nof Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ?\n\nAnd who can seriously contemplate those sufferings, borne for us so\npatiently, without being moved to pity and to repentance? Such a person\nwill be moved to say with the heart if not with the lips: \"Oh, my God, I\nam sorry for having offended Thee and caused Thee such suffering. Grant\nthat I may love Thee with my whole heart and never more offend Thee.\"\n\nCatholics, as we have seen, adore God alone. They honor the Blessed\nVirgin and saints represented by images. They use these holy pictures\nand statues to beautify the house of God. These pictures are also a\nsource of instruction. They are a profession of our faith. If you enter\na house and see on one side of the room a picture of the Blessed Virgin,\nCardinal Gibbons, or of Pope Leo XIII, and on the other a picture of\nLincoln, Cleveland, or Washington, you will at once know the religious\nfaith as well as the political belief or patriotism of the occupant.\n\nBy the aid of the relics of the martyrs we are reminded of all they\nsuffered for the faith. By the use of religious pictures, our devotion\nis increased and we are stimulated to imitate the virtues of the saints\nrepresented.\n\nIf it is reasonable to have pictures of our martyred President and\nrelics of our Revolutionary heroes that we may be reminded of their\npatriotism, it is none the less reasonable to have pictures and relics\nof Our Lord, the Blessed Virgin, and the saints, that we may be reminded\nof their virtues. By imitating their virtues here, we may be _happy with\nthem hereafter_.\n\n\n\nXII. Some Sacramentals\n\n\"Pray without ceasing\" (_2 Thess_. v. 17).\n\n\"Every creature is sanctified by the word of God and prayer\" (_1 Tim_.\n4, 5).\n\nBY SACRAMENTALS we mean the various prayers, blessings, ceremonies and\npious practices of the Church. Here mention will be made of some of the\nmost common of the sacramentals that have not already been treated.\nSacramentals, like sacraments, have an outward sign; the latter,\nhowever, were instituted by Christ, the former by the Church, and while\nthe latter always give grace if we place no obstacle in the way, the\nformer do not give grace, but excite good thoughts, increase devotion,\nand raise the mind to God.\n\nThe chief sacramentals that have not been mentioned are the books used\nby the priest in the performance of his sacred duties, the sign of the\ncross, holy water, blessed candles, blessed palm and ashes, holy oils,\nscapulars, medals, Agnus Dei, prayers, litanies, rosary, the Angelus,\nstations, the funeral service, and various blessings.\n\nThe books used by the priest in the performance of his sacred duties are\nthe _Missal_, which contains the Masses for the various feasts of the\necclesiastical year; the _Breviary_, in which is the office recited by\nthe priest every day; and the _Ritual_, where is to be found the form of\nadministering the different sacraments, the funeral service, and the\nvarious benedictions.\n\nThe sacramental of most frequent use in the Church is the _sign of the\ncross_. It is used to remind us of the Passion and Death of Our Lord and\nSaviour Jesus Christ on the cross. The cross is the emblem of the\nChristian, the \"sign of the Son of Man.\" It is an act of faith in the\nprincipal truths of Christianity. When we say the words, \"In the name,\"\nwe profess our faith in the unity of God, which means that there is but\none God; \"of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost,\" are a\nprofession of faith in the Trinity--_i.e._, that there are three divine\npersons in one God. The form of the cross which we trace with our right\nhand from our forehead to our breast, and then from the left to the\nright shoulder, is a profession of faith in the Incarnation of the Son\nof God, who became man and died on the cross for our redemption.\nTertullian and other writers of the early ages of the Church tell us\nthat before every action, before rising or retiring, before meals, at\nevery step, \"we impress on our forehead the sign of the cross.\" The\nCatholic Church of to-day, in accordance with the teachings of Christ,\nHis apostles, and their successors of all time, teaches her children to\nput their trust in the merits of Jesus Christ's sufferings on the cross,\nand to do everything \"in the name of the Father and of the Son and of\nthe Holy Ghost.\"\n\n_Holy water_ is water blessed by a priest. During the blessing beautiful\nprayers are recited. These prayers express the spiritual blessings the\nChurch wishes to follow all who use it. The Church uses holy water in\nall the benedictions and some of her sacraments. It is placed at the\ndoors of her churches, that all who enter may use it and be reminded of\nthat purity of heart which it symbolizes. Holy water is also kept in the\nhouses of Catholics, to be used in times of trial and when the priest\ncomes to administer the sacraments.\n\nThe _blessed candles_ used in the service of the Church receive their\nspecial blessing on Candlemas Day. We use these lighted candles at\ndifferent times to remind us of Jesus, who is the \"Light of the world.\"\nCatholics always keep a blessed candle in the house. The Church puts a\nlighted candle in our hand at our baptism, and wishes us to die with one\nin our hand, to remind us to hope in Him who is our Light and the light\nof the world.\n\nOn Ash Wednesday _ashes_ are blessed and put on the forehead of the\nfaithful in the form of a cross, with the words, \"Remember, man, that\nthou art dust and unto dust thou shalt return,\" to remind them that they\nare only dust and ashes. These are the ashes of burnt _palms_ blessed\nthe Palm Sunday of the previous year. These palms are blessed in memory\nof the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, when the people spread\npalm branches along the way. This palm should remind us to perform\nfaithfully our duty if we wish to enjoy the palm of victory.\n\nThe _holy oils_ are blessed by the bishop on Holy Thursday of each year.\nThey are of three kinds: oil of the sick, used in the sacrament of\nExtreme Unction; oil of the Catechumens, used in blessing baptismal\nwater and in the sacrament of Baptism; and Holy Chrism, used in the\npreparation of baptismal water in the ceremonies of Baptism,\nConfirmation, and at the consecration of a bishop, of churches, altars,\nbells and chalices. The olive oil used should remind us of Our Saviour's\n_passion_ in the Garden of Olives.\n\n_Agnus Deis_ (blessed by the Pope), _scapulars_, and _medals_ are small\narticles worn by Catholics to remind them of Our Lord (the Lamb of God),\nof the Blessed Virgin, and of the saints. They are emblems of the\nChristian, as the starry banner is the emblem of the American; and as\nthe flag of our country shows that we are under the protection of the\nGovernment of the United States, so the Agnus Dei, scapulars, and medals\nshow that we are under the protection of Jesus Christ, His Blessed\nMother, and His saints.\n\n_Prayer_ is the elevation of our mind and heart to God to ask Him for\nall blessings, temporal and spiritual. Prayer is necessary to salvation.\nWe are taught in St. Luke (xviii.) to pray always and faint not. We\nshould pray with attention and devotion, with confidence and humility.\nWe are told in the Lord's Prayer to pray for others as well as for\nourselves, and God's choicest blessings will be granted us through Jesus\nChrist Our Lord. The best of all prayers is the one God taught us--the\nLord's Prayer. Other prayers common in the Church are Litanies,\nRosaries, the Angelus, Stations, and the Funeral Service for the dead.\nThe Litanies most in use in the Church are the Litany of All Saints, of\nthe Blessed Virgin, of the Holy Name of Jesus. In these Litanies we ask\nGod to have mercy on us and the saints to pray for us; but we ask\neverything through Jesus Christ Our Lord. Few practices of the Church\nare more widespread than the _Rosary_ of the Blessed Virgin. It consists\nof the best of all prayers--the Apostles' Creed, the Our Father, three\nHail Marys, and the Glory be to the Father; then the Our Father and ten\nHail Marys repeated five times. This constitutes the beads, or one-third\npart of the Rosary. During the recitation of these prayers the mind\nshould be occupied meditating on the principal mysteries of the life of\nOur Lord. These mysteries are divided into the five joyful mysteries:\nthe Annunciation by the angel Gabriel, the Visitation of the Blessed\nVirgin to St. Elizabeth, the Birth of Our Lord, the Presentation, and\nthe Finding in the Temple; the five sorrowful mysteries: the Agony in\nthe Garden, the Scourging, the Crowning with Thorns, the Carrying of the\nCross, and the Crucifixion; and the five glorious mysteries: the\nResurrection, the Ascension, the Descent of the Holy Ghost, the\nAssumption of the Blessed Virgin, and the Crowning of the Blessed Virgin\nin heaven. Any one of these mysteries furnishes sufficient material to\noccupy the mind of man for hours. These mysteries contain the whole\nhistory of the Redemption. The prayers and meditations of the Rosary\nsatisfy the minds of the humblest, while they are sufficient to occupy\nthe attention of the most exalted and most cultivated. The _Angelus_ is\na beautiful prayer, said morning, noon, and night. In Catholic countries\nthe bell is rung, when all cease their occupations, kneel, and recite:\n\"The angel of the Lord declared unto Mary, and she conceived by the Holy\nGhost\"--a Hail Mary. \"Behold the handmaid of the Lord--be it done unto\nme according to Thy Word\"--a Hail Mary. \"And the Word was made flesh,\nand dwelt amongst us\"--a Hail Mary. The prayer: \"Pour forth, we beseech\nThee, O Lord, Thy grace into our hearts, that we, to whom the\nIncarnation of Christ, Thy Son, was made known by the message of an\nangel, may by His passion and cross be brought to the glory of His\nresurrection, through the same Christ Our Lord. Amen.\" By this beautiful\npractice we show in a special manner our faith in the Incarnation of Our\nLord and Saviour Jesus Christ.\n\nThe _Stations of the Cross_ are fourteen paintings representing the\nvarious stages of the passion and death of Our Redeemer. The faithful\npass from station to station and meditate upon that feature of the\npassion represented by each station. Tradition tells us that from the\nbeginning pious pilgrims were accustomed to tread the path and bedew\nwith their tears the way sanctified by our Saviour on that sorrowful\njourney from Pilate's tribunal to Calvary's heights. But Jerusalem\nfalling into the hands of infidels, and many being unable to visit those\nholy places, permission was obtained to erect in churches fourteen\ncrosses and pictures commemorating these sorrowful acts. From these\nstations all can meditate upon the sufferings of our Saviour, and learn\nfrom Him submission to God's holy will, patience, charity, and\nforgiveness of injuries.\n\nThe _funeral service_ of the Catholic Church is beautiful, touching, and\ninstructive. After blessing, strengthening, and encouraging us through\nlife with her sacraments; after fortifying our souls for the last great\nstruggle, she follows us beyond the grave with her blessings, her\nprayers, and her sacrifices. \"Eternal rest give unto them, O Lord,\" she\nprays; \"and let perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in\npeace.\"\n\nThere are various other prayers and blessings used by the Church on\nspecial occasions. In fact, the Church blesses everything she uses. This\nblessing of the priest is not such an absurd thing as some imagine it to\nbe; it is rather a most reasonable practice. It is simply a prayer said\nby the priest, asking God to send His blessing upon the person or thing\nindicated. People of all denominations say grace before meals, asking\nGod to bless the food they are about to use. This is precisely what the\npriest does when blessing anything. He uses different forms of prayer\nordained by the Church to implore God's blessing upon the water,\ncandles, and other things before using them. This blessing of churches,\nwater, candles, and other things has its foundation on Scripture. We\nread in the Old Testament of the solemn blessing of the Temple of\nSolomon. St. Paul tells us that \"every creature is sanctified by the\nword of God and prayer.\" Churches, water, candles, bells, books,\npersons, and other things blessed by the Church are creatures. Therefore\nwe are following St. Paul in blessing them, for every creature is\nsanctified by the word of God and prayer.\n\nWe do not claim that those articles that are blessed have any efficacy\nin themselves; but we hope and pray that God in His infinite goodness\nand mercy may render those blessed articles beneficial to those using\nthem, may protect them and lead them to _His blessed abode above, where\nall is peace and light and love._\n\n\n\nXIII. The Celebration of Feasts\n\n\"Seven days shalt thou celebrate feasts to the Lord thy God, in the\nplace which the Lord shalt choose\" (_Deut_. xvi. 15).\n\n\"If he will not hear the Church, let him be to thee as the heathen and\nthe publican\" (_Matt._ xviii. 17).\n\nFROM these texts we learn that besides the Sunday God wishes certain\nother days to be observed religiously, and that the Church has the power\nof designating these days.\n\nAs the State sets aside certain national holidays in commemoration of\nits founder or of the Declaration of Independence, so the Church sets\naside these holidays in honor of Jesus Christ, the Blessed Virgin, and\nthe saints.\n\nBesides the feasts celebrated on Sundays, there are in this country but\nsix holidays of obligation. Three of these are commemorative of events\nin the life of Our Lord: Christmas, the Circumcision, and the Ascension;\ntwo, the Immaculate Conception and the Assumption, in honor of the\nBlessed Virgin; and one in honor of God's saints--the Feast of All\nSaints.\n\nThe ecclesiastical year begins in Advent. Advent is a period of about\nfour weeks of penance and prayer preparatory to the great feast of\nChristmas and corresponding to the penitential season of Lent before\nEaster. During the ecclesiastical year, the first of the feasts of\nobligation in the order of time is the feast of the _Immaculate\nConception_.\n\nIt is celebrated on the 8th of December. On this day we commemorate the\nfact that Mary was immaculate when she first came into being in her\nmother's womb; that she was always pure; that sin never touched her fair\nsoul. Immaculate Conception, as you will see in the article on the\nBlessed Virgin, means that she was always free from sin.\n\nThe great feast of _Christmas_, in honor of the birth of Jesus Christ,\nis celebrated on December 25th. This feast is a time of joy and peace to\nall mankind, and is celebrated by the Church with much pomp and\nceremony.\n\nThe festival of the _Circumcision_ is kept on the first day of the new\nyear. It is commemorative of Our Lord's strict observance of the law by\nsubmitting to the Jewish ceremony of circumcision. We solemnly celebrate\nthe day in honor of our merciful Lord, who is our model in all things.\n\nNext in the order of time is the feast of the _Ascension_. It is kept\nforty days after the grand feast of Easter, and is in honor of Our\nLord's glorious ascension into heaven.\n\nThe _Assumption_ of the Blessed Virgin, celebrated the 15th of August,\nis commemorative of the glorious taking up to heaven of Mary, soul and\nbody. (This is a pious tradition.)\n\n_All Saints'_ Day is November 1st. Every day is a saint's day. There is\nnot a day that the Catholic Church does not celebrate a feast in honor\nof some special mystery or saint. But as there are more saints in heaven\nthan could be thus specially honored, she sets aside this one day every\nyear in honor of all the saints in heaven.\n\nThere are various other important feasts, some of which fall on Sunday;\nbut these we have mentioned being feasts of obligation to be observed as\nSunday, it was thought that it would not be uninteresting to give a\nshort explanation of them.\n\nOn them we honor God and His special friends. Let us always, by faith,\nhope, and love, _bear Jesus in our minds and hearts_.\n\n\n\nXIV. Infant Baptism\n\n\"Amen, amen, I say to thee, unless a man be born again of water and the\nHoly Ghost, he can not enter into the kingdom of God\" (_John_ iii 5).\n\nWHILE most Christians admit the necessity of Baptism for adults, the\nCatholic Church is alone in insisting upon the practice of infant\nBaptism. This practice is in accordance with the teaching of St. John,\nquoted above. It is also in accordance with apostolic teaching and\npractice.\n\nWe read in the 16th chapter of the Acts of the Apostles that St. Paul\nbaptized Lydia \"and her household,\" and that the keeper of the prison\nwas converted and \"was baptized and presently all his family.\" Among\nthese families it is but reasonable to suppose that there were some\ninfants.\n\nInfant Baptism was the practice of the apostles; it was the practice of\nthe Christians of the early Church, as Origen tells us. The Church\nreceived the tradition from the apostles to give Baptism to infants, and\nit has been the practice of the Church from the time of Christ until the\npresent.\n\nSt. Paul tells us that Adam's sin was transmitted to all his posterity.\n\"Wherefore as by one man sin entered into this world, and by sin death,\nand so death passed unto all men in whom all have sinned\" (_Rom_. v.\n12). Every infant, according to St. Paul, is born to sin--original sin.\nBut as Baptism takes away original sin, and as nothing defiled can enter\nheaven (_Apoc_. xxi.), Baptism of infants is necessary to open for them\nthe gates of heaven.\n\nBaptism may be validly administered by dipping, sprinkling, or pouring.\nThe method practised in this part of Christendom is pouring the water on\nthe head of the person to be baptized, saying at the same time: \"I\nbaptize thee in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy\nGhost.\"\n\nThe reasonableness of the practice of baptizing infants will be evident\nif we remember that Christ taught the necessity of baptism for all when\nHe said: \"Unless a man be born again of water and the Holy Ghost, he can\nnot enter into the kingdom of God\"; and that He declared little children\ncapable of entering into the kingdom of God when He said: \"Suffer little\nchildren to come unto Me and forbid them not, for of such is the kingdom\nof heaven.\"\n\nNow, if infants are capable of entering heaven (and Christ so declares),\nthey must be capable of receiving Baptism, without which Christ says no\none can enter the kingdom of God.\n\nWhile in adults faith and sorrow for sin are required before receiving\nBaptism, no disposition is required in infants.\n\nThey contracted original sin without their knowledge; without their\nknowledge they are freed from it.\n\nBy Baptism they are made heirs of the kingdom of heaven.\n\nThey can be made heirs of property, of a kingdom on earth without their\nconsent; why not also of the kingdom of heaven?\n\nBaptism is the first of the seven sacraments which the Church confers\nupon man. It cleanses us from original sin (actual sin also if the\nrecipient be guilty of any), makes us Christians, children of God, and\nheirs of heaven. It prepares us for the reception of the other\nsacraments. By Baptism we all contracted the obligation of believing and\npractising the doctrines of Jesus Christ as taught us by the true\nChurch. We fulfil this obligation by _leading a truly Christian life_.\n\n\n\nXV. The Marriage Tie--One and Indissoluble\n\n\"But I say to you that whosoever shall put away his wife, excepting for\nthe cause of fornication, maketh her to commit adultery; and he that\nshall marry her that is put away committeth adultery\" (_Matt_. v. 33).\n\n\"What, therefore, God hath joined together, let no man put asunder\"\n(_Matt_. xix. 5, 6).\n\nFEW practices of the Church have been productive of more good to society\nthan that concerning Christian marriage. The Christian family is the\nfoundation of Christian society, and Christian marriage is the basis of\nthe Christian family. Without marriage neither the family nor society\ncould exist. Marriage was instituted by God before society existed, and,\nas a natural consequence, it is subject not to the laws of society, but\nto the laws of God and His Church. The principal law and necessary\ncondition of Christian marriage is its unity and indissolubility. It is\nthe union of one man with one woman for the purposes intended by the\nCreator, which union is to last as long as both survive. Such was\nmarriage in the beginning; to such it was restored by our Saviour when\nHe made it a sacrament of His law and a type of His union with His\nChurch.\n\nThe practice of the Catholic Church in not permitting a divorce that\nwill allow either party to marry during the life of the other, is\nclearly taught by Jesus Christ in the 5th chapter of Matthew: \"He who\nputs away his wife maketh her to commit adultery, and he that marrieth\nher committeth adultery.\"\n\nNo human power can break the bond of marriage. \"What God hath joined\ntogether, let no man put asunder.\" It is the work of God. Let no man\ndare meddle with it. St. Paul teaches the same when he says in the 39th\nverse of the 7th chapter of the First Epistle to the Corinthians: \"A\nwoman is bound by the law as long as her husband liveth; but if her\nhusband die, she is at liberty, let her marry whom she will.\" The\npractice of the Catholic Church is conformable to this teaching of\nChrist, St. Paul, the apostles, and their successors.\n\nIn defence of this practice of forbidding divorce, since marriage is one\nand indissoluble, the Catholic Church has had many a severe conflict.\nAnd had she not fought this battle bravely for the sanctity, the unity,\nand the indissolubility of the marriage tie, Europe and America would\ntoday be in as degraded a condition as are the Mahometan and other\nnations where the laws of marriage are disregarded. For divorces are not\nonly contrary to Christ's teaching concerning the sanctity, unity, and\nindissolubility of the marriage tie, but are also subversive of society.\nThey sever the marriage tie inasmuch as the law of man can do it. If the\nmarriage tie is loosened, the family is dissolved; and if the family is\ndissolved, society, the state, falls to ruin. Divorce destroys conjugal\nlove, causes unhappiness, renders the proper education of children\nimpossible, and often leads to terrible crimes. Is it not reasonable as\nwell as scriptural to forbid it?\n\nThe Christian husband and wife, knowing the sanctity, the unity, and the\nindissolubility of the marriage tie, live in love and peace and honor\ntogether; together they rear the issue of their union, teaching them to\nbe good children, good citizens, and good Christians; together, after a\nlong, a prosperous, and a happy union, they return to dust; and together\nthey will meet again beyond the confines of the tomb--_yes, they will\nmeet to part no more_.\n\n\n\nXVI. Respect Shown to Ecclesiastical Superiors\n\n\"We are ambassadors for Christ; God, as it were, exhorting by us\" (_2\nCor_. v. 20).\n\n\"As the Father sent me, I also send you\" (_John_ xx. 21).\n\n\"Go ye into the whole world and preach the Gospel to every creature\"\n(_Mark_ xvi. 15).\n\nTHE respect Catholics have for the bishops and priests of the Church is\noften a matter of surprise to those not of the Faith. They do not\nunderstand, as Catholics do, that the priests are \"ambassadors for\nChrist\" sent to \"preach the Gospel to every creature.\" For Christ\ninstituted the priesthood to carry on divine worship, to govern the\nChurch, to preach His doctrine, and to administer the sacraments.\n\nAs in the Old Law God chose His priests from among the family of Aaron,\nso in the New Law He chooses them from among those whom His apostles and\ntheir successors see fit to ordain. Priests and other ministers of the\nChurch receive in the sacrament of Holy Orders the power and grace to\nperform their sacred duties. If we would but consider seriously for a\nmoment the importance of these duties and the great dignity of the\nminister of God, we would have no difficulty in understanding the\nreasonableness of the Catholic practice of showing profound respect to\nGod's priesthood.\n\nThe priest is the minister of Jesus Christ, who chose him that he might\nobtain for himself the greatest good and in return bestow this good upon\nhis fellow-man. Jesus Christ chose him that he might aid Him in the work\nfor which He came on earth. What a noble mission! What important duties!\nWhat a great dignity! To aid Jesus Christ in saving souls, to teach them\nthe truths of salvation, to loose them from their sins, to offer the\neucharistic sacrifice for them, to pray for them, to minister unto them,\nand to fill them with Heaven's choice blessings; for such a high\nmission, for such important duties did Jesus Christ choose the priest.\nIf his duties are so important, his dignity must be correspondingly\ngreat.\n\nOn the banks of the Lake of Genesareth the Great Teacher chose Peter as\nHis vicar and head of His Church. As the pontiff could not be\neverywhere, Peter and the other apostles imposed hands on others as the\nneeds of the growing Church demanded. They understood that it was by a\nliving, teaching ministry this work of salvation was to be carried on.\nFor we find it recorded in the 14th chapter of the Acts that Paul and\nBarnabas ordained priests in Lystra and Iconium.\n\nPaul also consecrated Titus Bishop of Crete, for the express purpose of\nordaining others. Thus we see that as Christ was sent by the Father, the\napostles by Christ, so, too, is the priest invested with the same power\n\"for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry and for\nthe edification of the body of Christ\" (_Eph_. iv. 12), and that no one\nbut a priest divinely called, rightly ordained, and legitimately sent\nhas power from God to teach God's words to the faithful. He is the\nambassador of God, commissioned to do His work with His authority; the\nvicar of Christ continuing the work He commenced; and the organ of the\nHoly Ghost for the sanctification of souls. He is ever imitating his\nmodel, going \"about doing good.\" He devotes his life to alleviate the\nsufferings of men. To spend one's life instructing man is but second in\nimportance to alleviating his sufferings. This the priest is ever doing.\nHe rescued us from barbarism; saved for us at the risk of his life the\nHoly Scriptures, the classics of Greece and Rome, and the writings of\nthe Fathers; founded the great universities of Europe; and is to-day, as\nin the past, the greatest educator in the world. He does all this for\nlove of God. Do you wonder, then, that Catholics love and revere their\npriests?\n\nNowhere can there be found a body of men or a series of rulers so\nvenerable, so renowned for wisdom, justice, charity, and holiness, as\nthe Popes, bishops, and priests of the Catholic Church in every age,\n_from the time of Christ until the present_.\n\n\n\nXVII. Celibacy\n\n\"He who is unmarried careth about the things of the Lord, how he may\nplease God\" (_i Cor_. vii. 32).\n\nTHE Catholic Church recognizes matrimony as a holy state. She recommends\ncelibacy to those desiring greater perfection, and enjoins it on her\npriests because, as St. Paul says, \"He who is unmarried careth about the\nthings of the Lord.\" It is said that the life of the priest is a hard,\nlonely one, and that it is unscriptural. Let us see. That his life is\none of hardships is certain. His path is by no means one of roses; it is\nrather one covered with thorns. The young man knows this well before he\nenters it. With a full knowledge of its duties and responsibilities, he\nwillingly enters the priesthood. He knows well that it is a life full of\ntrials and crosses. He knows, too, that the whole life of Jesus Christ,\nfrom the stable of Bethlehem to the cross on Calvary's heights, was one\ncontinuous trial, cross, mortification; and that the life of every\nfollower, especially every minister, of Jesus Christ should be fashioned\nafter that of his divine model. \"If any man will come after Me,\" He says\nin the 16th chapter of St. Matthew, \"let him deny himself, take up his\ncross and follow Me.\" The disciple, the minister of Christ, is not above\nhis Master; and it is not becoming that the path of the disciple or\nminister should be covered with flowers while that of the Master was\nstrewn with thorns and sprinkled with His own precious blood.\n\nYes, the priest's life is one of trials, crosses, and hardships. But the\nmore trials he has to bear, the more crosses he has to carry, the more\nhardships he has to endure, the greater is his resemblance to his model,\nJesus Christ; and if he bears those trials, crosses, and hardships,\nwhich he shares with his Master here, with a proper spirit, the more\ncertain he is of sharing with Him a happy eternity hereafter.\n\nBut is the life of celibacy unscriptural? No. In fact, few questions are\nmore clearly defined in Holy Scripture than that of religious celibacy.\nSt. Paul, in the 7th chapter of the First Epistle to the Corinthians,\nsays: \"I would have you without solicitude. He who is unmarried careth\nfor the things of the Lord, how he may please God; but he who is married\ncareth about the things of the world, how he may please his wife, and is\ndivided. And the unmarried woman and virgin thinketh about the things of\nthe Lord, how she may be holy in body and spirit. But she that is\nmarried thinketh about the things of the world, how she may please her\nhusband. Therefore,\" he concludes, \"he that giveth his virgin in\nmarriage doth well; and he who giveth her not doth better.\" Could\nlanguage be clearer? Marriage is good; celibacy is better.\n\n\"He that is unmarried careth about the things of the Lord, how he may\nplease God.\" This teaching of St. Paul is the teaching of the Church--\nthat marriage is honorable, is good, but that there is a better, a\nholier state for those who are called by the grace of God to embrace it.\n\nReligious celibacy is one of the principal reasons why the Catholic\npriest and missionary will risk all dangers, overcome all obstacles,\nface all terrors, and in time of plague expose himself to death in its\nmost disgusting forms for the good of his fellow-man.\n\nAll are acquainted with the noble examples of numbers of priests and\nSisters of Charity who, at the risk of their own lives, voluntarily\nnursed the sick and dying during the yellow-fever scourge in the South a\nfew years ago. Do you think they would have done so had they families\ndepending upon them? No; they would have cared for the things of this\nworld. Jesus Christ has said: \"Greater love than this no man hath, that\na man give up his life for his fellow-man.\" This the good priest is ever\ndoing, ever ready to do. Although death stares him in the face, he never\nshrinks from his post of duty, never abandons his flock while there is a\nwound to heal, a soul to save.\n\nWhen his duty calls him, he is not afraid of death, because St. Paul\nsays: \"_He who is without a wife is solicitous about the things of the\nLord._\"\n\n\n\nXVIII. Conclusion\n\n\"If thou wilt enter into life keep the commandments\" (_Matt_. xix. 17).\n\nWHEN Jesus Christ died on the cross for us, He did so in order to lead\nus into life, to open heaven for all mankind. How important our\nsalvation must be, then, for which Christ shed His precious blood. If it\nis important, He must have taught us how to attain it. This, too, He did\nby the words, \"keep the commandments.\"\n\nTo assist us in keeping the commandments He left a representative on\nearth. His Church, whose ministers were to teach all nations, is this\nrepresentative. To her He said: \"He that hears you, hears Me.\"\n\nThe night before He died He instituted the adorable sacrifice of the\nMass, saying: \"This is My body . . . This is My blood which shall be\nshed for you.\" He then gave the apostles and their successors power to\ndo what He had just done: \"Do this in commemoration of Me.\" He also gave\nthem power to baptize, to forgive sins, to bless, to be \"dispensers of\nthe mysteries of God.\" He gave them power to confer these powers on\nothers. \"As the Father sent Me [_i.e._, with the same power] I also send\nyou.\" To these apostles and their successors He spoke when He said that\nHe would remain with them until the consummation of the world. To them\nand the Church He said: \"He that hears you hears Me.\" What the Church\nteaches, then, Christ teaches.\n\nAs, in the natural order, man is born, grows to manhood, is nourished,\nand if sick needs proper food and remedies: so, in the supernatural\norder, there is a birth, it is Baptism; there is a manly growth, it is\nConfirmation; there is a nourishing food, it is the Holy Eucharist, the\nBread of Life; there is a medicinal remedy against death, it is Penance;\nand there is a balm to heal the wounds, the scars of sin, it is Extreme\nUnction. These are some of the channels through which God's grace flows\ninto our souls to assist us to keep the commandments.\n\nThe practices of the Church naturally flow from her teachings. She\nteaches that there is but one God, the creator and Lord of heaven and\nearth and all things; that man by his reason alone can find out this\ntruth; that the order, beauty, and harmony of the works of nature show\nGod's work; but that there are some truths which the deepest intellect\nof man can never fathom. Hence she teaches that God has revealed certain\ntruths; such as the mysteries of the Holy Trinity, the Incarnation, and\nthe Blessed Sacrament. When we know that God has revealed these truths\nwe are acting reasonably not only in believing them, but also in showing\nour belief by practices of respect, adoration, and love.\n\nThe Church teaches that we must not only believe, but practise our\nreligion. For faith alone will not save us. \"Faith without works is\ndead.\" To have these works we must \"keep the commandments.\" We must love\nGod above all things and our neighbor as ourselves. All the commandments\nare comprised in this. In fact, the essence of Christianity is charity.\n\nWhere will you find charity practised in reality except in the Catholic\nChurch? If you wish to see the truth of this, visit our larger towns and\ncities, and you will find hundreds of hospitals, asylums, schools, and\nother charitable institutions in which are thousands of the children of\nthe Catholic Church, who have left everything to alleviate every ill\nthat flesh is heir to, and follow the meek and humble Jesus in His\nmission of love.\n\nThe Catholic Church alone teaches, as Jesus taught while on earth, the\nduty of penance. \"If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself,\ntake up his cross and follow Me.\" According to Christ's teaching, the\nChurch sets aside the penitential season of Lent and other times of\nmortification.\n\nThe Church also teaches that we must not only be faithful in the\nobservance of the practices of religion, but that we must also live in\npeace and justice and charity with all mankind, and die with a hope\nbeyond the grave. If we love God we will faithfully observe the\npractices of the Church; these practices will assist us in keeping the\ncommandments, by which we will enter into life.\n\nWe have seen that the various ceremonies and practices of the Catholic\nChurch are dictated by right reason; that they are the rational\ndeduction from Christ's teaching; that they obtain for us divine grace,\nexcite pious thoughts, and elevate our minds to God; and that a true\nChristian is one who not only believes but also practises the teachings\nof Christ and His Church. The observance of these pious practices of the\nChurch makes us Christians in fact as well as in name. They assist us to\nkeep the commandment and to live in accordance with our faith. By\nfaithfully observing them, we show that we are not ashamed to be\nChrist's followers. And if we follow Him, who is the way, the truth, and\nthe life, we will not walk in darkness; but will enter by the narrow way\ninto the presence of truth itself, _in the regions of eternal light_.\n\n\nPRINTED BY BENZINGER BROTHERS, NEW YORK","title":"Reasonableness of Catholic Ceremonies and Practices","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":21183}