LOVE OF GOD
ONCE upon a time, there lived people who pretended that nothing had
existence outside the mind, that objects were merely fictions of the
brain; thus, when they gave a name to those objects, it was like
sticking a label in the air where they seemed to be. The world is not
without folks who have similar ideas concerning charity, to whom it is
a name without substance. Scarcely a Christian but will pretend that he
has the
and leave his actions and conduct out of all consideration. With him,
to love God is to say you do, whether you really do or not. This is
charity of the "sounding brass and tinkling cymbal" assortment.
To be honest about it, charity or love of God is nothing more or less,
practically, than freedom from, and avoidance of, mortal sin. "If any
one say, 'I love God' and hates his brother, (or otherwise sins) he is
a liar." Strong language, but straight to the point! The state of grace
is the first, fundamental, and essential condition to the existence of
charity. Charity and mortal sin are two things irreducibly opposed,
uncompromisingly antagonistic, eternally inimical. There is no charity
where there is sin; there is no sin where there is charity. That is why
charity is called the fulfilment of the law.
On the other hand, it sometimes happens that humble folks of the world,
striving against temptation and sin to serve the Master, imagine they
can hardly succeed. True, they rarely offend and to no great extent of
malice, but they envy the lot of others more advantageously situated,
they think, nearer by talent and state to perfection, basking in the
sunshine of God's love. Talent, position, much exterior activity, much
supposed goodness, are, in their eyes, titles to the kingdom, and
infallible signs of charity. And then they foolishly deplore their own
state as far removed from that perfection, because forsooth their minds
are uncultured, their faith simple, and their time taken up with the
drudgery of life.
They forget that not this gift or that work or anything else is
necessary. One thing alone is necessary, and that is practical love of
God. Nothing counts without it. And the sage over his books, the
wonder-worker at his task, the apostle in his wanderings and labors,
the very martyr on the rack is no more sure of having charity than the
most humble man, woman or child in the lowest walks of life who loves
God too much to offend Him. It is not necessary to have the tongues of
men and angels, or faith that will move mountains, or the fortitude of
martyrs; charity expressed in our lives and deeds rates higher than
these.
A thing is good in the eyes of its maker if it accomplishes that for
which it was made. A watch that does not tell time, a knife that does
not cut, and a soul that does not love God are three utterly useless
things. And why? Because they are no good for what they were made. The
watch exists solely to tell the hour, the blade to cut and the soul to
love and serve its Maker. Failing in this, there is no more reason for
their being. Their utility ceasing, they themselves cease to exist to a
certain extent, for a thing is really no longer what it was, when it
fails to execute that for which it came into being.
Charity, in a word, amounts to this, that we love God, but to the
extent of not offending Him. Anything that falls short of such
affection is something other than charity, no matter how many tags and
labels it may wear. If I beheld a brute strike down an aged parent, I
would not for a moment think that affection was behind that blow; and I
could not conceive how there could be a spark of filial love in that
son's heart until he had atoned for his crime. Now love is not one
thing when directed towards God, and another where man is concerned.
The great hypocrisy of life consists in this that people make an
outward showing of loving God, because they know full well that it is
their first duty; yet, for all that, they do not a whit mend their
ways, and to sin costs them nothing. They varnish it over with an
appearance of honesty and decency, and fair-minded men take them for
what they appear to be, and should be, and they pass for such. These
watches are pretty to look upon, beautiful, magnificent, but they are
stopped, the interior is out of order, the main-spring is broken, the
hands that run across the face lie. These blades are bright and
handsome, but they are dull, blunt, full of nicks, good enough for
coarse and vulgar work, but useless for the fine, delicate work for
which they were made.
The master mechanic and artist of our souls who wants trustworthy
timepieces and keen blades, will not be deceived by these gaudy
trinkets, and will reject them. Others may esteem you for this or that
quality, admire this or that qualification you possess, be taken with
their superficial gloss and accidental usefulness. The quality required
by Him who made you is that your soul be filled with charity, and
proven by absence of sin.
More
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CALUMNY
TO the malice of detraction calumny adds that of falsehood. It is a lie, which is bad; it is a report prejudicial to the character of another, which is worse; it is both combined, out of which combination springs a third malice, which is abominable.... CAPITAL SINS
YOU can never cure a disease till you get at the seat or root of the evil. It will not do to attack the several manifestations that appear on the surface, the aches and pains and attendant disorders. You must attack the affected organ, cut out the r... CATHOLIC SCHOOLS
THE Catholic school system all over this land has been erected and stands dedicated to the principle that no child can be properly, thoroughly and profitably--for itself--educated, whose soul is not fed with religion and morality while its intellige... CHRISTIAN SCIENCE
A RECENTLY discovered sin against the First Commandment is the worship of Mrs. Eddy, and it is commonly called Christian Science. This sacrilegious humbug was conceived in the brain of an old woman up in New Hampshire and, like the little demon of e... COMMON WORKS
THERE is a third sort of works to be considered in relation to Sunday observance, which, being of their nature neither liberal nor servile, go by the specific name of common works. This class embraces works of two kinds, viz., those which enter into... CONCEALING THE TRUTH
THE duty always to tell the truth does not imply the obligation always to tell all you know; and falsehood does not always follow as a result of not revealing your mind to the first inquisitive person that chooses to put embarrassing questions. Alon... CONSCIENCE
THE will of God, announced to the world at large, is known as the Law of God; manifested to each individual soul, it is called conscience. These are not two different rules of morality, but one and the same rule. The latter is a form or copy of the ... CONTUMELY
THE Eighth Commandment concerns itself with the good name of the neighbor; in a general way, it reproves all sins of the tongue, apart from those already condemned by the Second and Sixth commandments, that is to say, blasphemous and impure speech. ... CORRECTION
AMONG the many things that are good for children and that parents are in duty bound to supply is--the rod! This may sound old-fashioned, and it unfortunately is; there is a new school of home discipline in vogue nowadays. Slippers have outgrown t... COVETOUSNESS
"WHAT is a miser?" asked the teacher of her pupils, and the bright boy spoke up and answered: one who has a greed for gold. But he and all the class were embarrassed as to how this greed for gold should be qualified. The boy at the foot of the class... CURSING
TO bless one is not merely to wish that one well, but also to invoke good fortune upon his head, to recommend him to the Giver of all goods. So, too, cursing, damning, imprecation, malediction--synonymous terms-- is stronger than evil wishing and de... DEFAMATION
DEFAMATION differs from contumely in that the one supposes the absence, the other, the presence, of the person vilified; and again, in that the former asperses the reputation of the victim while the latter attacks the honor due or paid to said reput... DETRACTION
TO absolve oneself of the sin of detraction on the ground that nothing but the truth was spoken is, as we have seen, one way of getting around a difficulty that is no way at all. Some excuses are better than none, others are not. It is precisely the... DEVOTIONS
THERE is in the Church an abundance and a rich variety of what we call devotions--practices that express our respect, affection and veneration for the chosen friends of God. These devotions we should be careful not to confound with a thing very diff... DISINTERESTED LOVE IN PARENTS
LOVE seems to resume all the obligations of parents toward their offspring; certainly, it directs all their actions, and they fulfil these obligations ill or well according to the quality of that love. But love is not sufficient; love is of two kind... DRINK
INTEMPERANCE is the immoderate use of anything, good or bad; here the word is used to imply an excessive use of alcoholic beverages, which excess, when it reaches the dignity of a habit or vice, makes a man a drunkard. A drunkard who indulges in "hi... EDUCATE THE CHILDREN
BEFORE reaching the age of reason, the child's needs are purely animal; it requires to be fed, clothed and provided with the general necessities of life. Every child has a natural right that its young life be fostered and protected; the giver must p... EDUCATIONAL EXTRAVAGANCE
OUR public educational system is made up of a grammar and a high school course, the latter consisting of a four years term of studies, devoted in part, to a more thorough grounding in the essentials of education; the other part--by far the more cons... ENMITY
KILLING is not the only thing forbidden by the Fifth Commandment: thereby are prescribed all forms of enmity, of which killing is one, that attack either directly or indirectly, in thought or desire, as well as in deed, the life, limbs or health of ... FAITH AND ERROR
INTOLERANCE is a harsh term. It is stern, rigid, brutal, almost. It makes no compromise, combats a outrance and exacts blind and absolute obedience. Among individuals tolerance should prevail, man, should be liberal with man, the Law of Charity dema... FILIAL LOVE
HE who has a heart, and has it properly located, will not fail to love that which is good; he will have no difficulty in so doing, it will require neither command nor persuasion to make him do so. If he proves refractory to this law of nature, it is... FILIAL RESPECT
WORTHY of honor are they whom the Lord sees fit to honor. In the exalted station to which they have been called and in the express command made by the Lord to honor them, we see evidence of the dignity of parents; and the honor we owe them for this ... GETTING RID OF ILL-GOTTEN GOODS
IT may happen that a person discover among his legitimately acquired possessions something that does not in reality belong to him. He may have come by it through purchase, donation, etc.; he kept it in good faith, thinking that he had a clear title ... GLUTTONY
SELF-PRESERVATION is nature's first law, and the first and essential means of preserving one's existence is the taking of food and drink sufficient to nourish the body, sustain its strength and repair the forces thereof weakened by labor, fatigue or... GODLESS EDUCATION
THE other defect, respecting education as found in the public schools of the land, is that it leaves the soul out of all consideration and relegates the idea of God to a background of silent contempt. On this subject we can do no better than quote w... HEARTS
THE heart, the seat of the affections, is, after the mind whose authority and direction it is made to obey, man's noblest faculty; but it may, in the event of its contemning reason's dictates, become the source and fountain-head of inordinate lust a... HOMICIDE
TO kill is to take life, human or animal. It was once thought by a sect of crazy fanatics, that the Fifth Commandment applied to the killing of animals as well as of men. When a man slays a man, he slays an equal; when he kills an animal, he kills a... HOW FAITH MAY BE LOST
IT is part of our belief that no man can lose his faith without mortal sin. The conscious rejection of all or any religious truth once embraced and forming a part of Christian belief, or the deliberate questioning of a single article thereof, is a s... HOW TO COUNT SINS
THE number of sins a person may commit is well-nigh incalculable, which is only one way of saying that the malice of man has invented innumerable means of offending the Almighty--a compliment to our ingenuity and the refinement of our natural perver... HOW WE BELIEVE
FAITH is the edifice of a Christian life. It is, of itself, a mere shell, so to speak, for unless good works sustain and adorn it, it will crumble, and the Almighty in His day will reduce it to ashes; faith without works is of no avail. The corner s... IDOLATRY AND SUPERSTITION
THE first and greatest sinner against religion is the idolater, who offers God-worship to others than God. There are certain attributes that belong to God alone, certain titles that He alone has a right to bear, certain marks of veneration that are ... IMMORALITY
THE natural order of things brings us to a consideration of the Sixth Commandment, and at the same time, of the Ninth, as treating of the same matter--a matter so highly immoral as to deserve the specific appellation of immorality. People, as a r... IS SUICIDE A SIN?
MOST people no doubt remember how, a short time previous to his death, Col. Robert Ingersoli, the agnostic lecturer, gave out a thesis with the above title, offering a negative conclusion. Some discussion ensued in public print; the question was deb... JUSTICE AND RIGHTS
JUSTICE is a virtue by which we render unto every man that which to him is due. Among equals, it is called commutative justice, the which alone is here in question. It protects us in the enjoyment of our own rights, and imposes upon us the obligatio... KEEPING THE LORD'S DAY HOLY
THE Third Commandment bids us sanctify the Lord's day; but in what that sanctification shall consist, it does not say. It is certain, however, that it is only by worship, of one kind or another, that the day can be properly kept holy to the Lord; an... LAXITY AND SCRUPLES
IN every question of conscience there are two opposing factors: Liberty, which is agreeable to our nature, which allows us to do as we list; and Law which binds us unto the observance of what is unpleasant. Liberty and law are mutually antagonistic.... LOVE OF GOD
ONCE upon a time, there lived people who pretended that nothing had existence outside the mind, that objects were merely fictions of the brain; thus, when they gave a name to those objects, it was like sticking a label in the air where they seemed t... LOVE OF NEIGHBOR
THE precept, written in our hearts, as well as in the law, to love God, commands us, at the same time, to love the neighbor. When you go to confession, you are told to be sorry for your sins and to make a firm purpose of amendment. These appear to b... MENDACITY
TO lie is to utter an untruth, with full knowledge that it is an untruth. The untruth may be expressed by any conventional sign, by word, deed, gesture, or even by silence. Its malice and disorder consists in the opposition that exists between our i... MURDER OFTEN SANCTIONED
ALL injury done to another in order to repair an insult is criminal, and if said injury result in death, it is murder. Here we consider an insult as an attack on one's reputation or character, a charge or accusation, a slurring remark, etc., witho... NOT GOOD TO BE ALONE
A MAN may come to discover that the state in which he finds himself placed, is not the one for which he was evidently intended by the Maker. We do not all receive the same gifts because our callings are different; each of us is endowed in accordance... OATHS
THE first quality of an oath is that it be true. It is evident that every statement we make, whether simple or sworn, must be true. If we affirm what we know to be false we lie, if we swear to what we know to be false, we perjure ourselves. Perjury ... OCCASIONS
OCCASIONS of sin are persons, places or things that may easily lead us into sin: this definition of the little catechism is simple and clear and requires no comment. It is not necessary that said places or things, or even said persons, be evil in th... OCCULTISM
SPIRITISM as a theory, a science, a practice, a religion, or--I might add--a profitable business venture, is considered an evil thing by the Church, and by her is condemned as superstition, that is, as a false and unworthy homage to God, belittling ... ON THE ETHICS OF WAR
IN these days, since we have evolved into a fighting nation, our young men feel within them the instinct of battle, which, like Job's steed, "when it heareth the trumpet, saith: 'ha, ha'; that smelleth the battle afar off, the encouraging of the cap... OUR ENEMIES
WHAT is an enemy? A personal, an individual enemy is he who has done us a personal injury. The enemy, in a general or collective sense, are they--a people, a class or party--who are opposed to our interests, whose presence, doings or sayings are obn... PARENTAL DIGNITY
WE have done with the three commandments that refer directly to God. The second Table of the Law contains seven precepts that concern themselves with our relations to God, indirectly, through the creature; they treat of our duties and obligations to... PAYING BACK
A MAN who has stolen, has nothing more urgent and imperative to perform, on this side of eternity, than the duty of refunding the money or goods unjustly acquired, or the value thereof. He may possibly consider something else more important; but if ... PETITIONS
FOR all spiritual needs, therefore, prayer is the one thing necessary. I am in the state of sin. I desire to be forgiven. To obtain pardon is a supernatural act. Alone I can no more do it than fly. I pray then for the grace of a good confession--I p... PETTY THEFTS
A QUESTION may arise as to petty thefts, venial in themselves, but oft repeated and aggregating in the long run a sum of considerable value: how are we to deal with such cases? Should peculations of this sort be taken singly, and their individual ma... PRAYER
NO word so common and familiar among Christians as prayer. Religion itself is nothing more than a vast, mighty, universal, never ceasing prayer. Our churches are monuments of prayer and houses of prayer. Our worship, our devotions, our ceremonies ar... PRIDE
EXCELLENCE is a quality that raises a man above the common level and distinguishes him among his fellow-beings. The term is relative. The quality may exist in any degree or measure. 'Tis only the few that excel eminently; but anyone may be said to e... PROFANITY
PROFANITY is not a specific sin. Under this general head come all blasphemy, false, rash, unjust and unnecessary oaths, rash and violated vows, and cursing:--called profanity, because in each case the name of God is profaned, that is to say, is made... RASH JUDGMENT
THE Eighth Commandment is based on the natural right every fellow-man has to our good opinion, unless he forfeits it justly and publicly. It forbids all injury to his reputation, first, in the estimation of others, which is done by calumny and detra... RELIGION
AS far back as the light of history extends, it shows man, of every race and of every clime, occupied in giving expression, in one way or another, to his religious impressions, sentiments, and convictions. He knew God; he was influenced by this know... RESTITUTION
A PECULIAR feature attaches to the sins we have recently treated, against the Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth commandments. These offenses differ from others in that they involve an injury, an injustice to our fellow-man. Now, the condition of par... SCANDAL
ON only rare occasions do people who follow the bent of their unbridled passions bethink themselves of the double guilt that frequently attaches to their sins. Seemingly satisfied with the evil they have wrought unto their own souls, they choose to ... SELF-DEFENSE
THE thought is a terrible one--and the act is desperate in itself--of a man, however justified his conduct may be, slaying with his own hand a fellow being and sending his soul, unprepared perhaps, before its Maker. But it is a still more desperate ... SERVILE WORKS
BUT, if servile works are prohibited on the Lord's day, it must be remembered that "the Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath," that, for certain good and sufficient reasons, the law ceases to oblige; and, in these circumstances, wor... SHOULD WE HELP OUR PARENTS?
THERE are few things more evident to natural reason than the obligation children are under to assist their parents when necessity knocks at their door, and finding them unable to meet its harsh demands, presses them with the goad of misery and want.... SLOTH
NOT the least, if the last, of capital sins is sloth, and it is very properly placed; for who ever saw the sluggard or victim of this passion anywhere but after all others, last! Sloth, of course, is a horror of difficulty, an aversion for labor, ... SOME WEAK POINTS IN THE CATHOLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM
SOME parents claim that their children do not learn anything in the Catholic school. It is good policy always to accept this statement as true in all its parts; it may be true, and it is never good to deny the truth. All are not equally endowed with... SWEARING
"THOU shalt not take the name of the Lord, thy God in vain." A name is a sign, and respect for God Himself, as prescribed by the First Commandment through faith, hope, charity, prayer and religion, naturally implies respect for the name that stand... THE CONSISTENT BELIEVER
THE intolerance of the Church towards error, the natural position of One who is the custodian of truth, her only reasonable attitude, makes her forbid her children to read, or listen to, heretical controversy, or to endeavor to discover religious tr... THE DAY OF REST
THE third article of the Mosaic Code not only enunciates the law of rest, but says just how much time shall be given to its observance; it prescribes neither a week nor a few hours, but one day in seven. If you have a taste for such things and look ... THE LAW OF GOD AND ITS BREACH
WITHOUT going into any superflous details, we shall call the Law of God an act of His will by which He ordains what things we may do or not do, and binds us unto observance under penalty of His divine displeasure. The law thus defined pertains to ... THE MASSACRE OF THE INNOCENTS
HEROD, the Bloody, slew all under two. A modern Moloch, a creature of lust and blood, disguised often under the cloak of respectability, stalks through a Christian land denying the babe the right to be born at all, demanding that it be crushed as so... THE MORAL AGENT
MORALS are for man, not for the brute; they are concerned with his thoughts, desires, words and deeds; they suppose a moral agent. What is a moral agent? A moral agent is one who, in the conduct of his life, is capable of good and evil, and who... THE PROFESSION
ONE of the advantages of the monastic life, created by vows, is that it is wholly in keeping with human nature such as God created it. Men differ in their spiritual complexion more widely even than they do in mental caliber and physical make-up. All... THE PROFESSIONAL VOWS
THE professional vow is a triple one, and embraces the three great evangelical counsels of perfect chastity, poverty and obedience. The cloister is necessary for the observance of such engagements as these, and it were easier for a lily to flourish ... THE RELIGIOUS
OWING to the disturbance over things religious in France, vows and those who exemplify them in their lives are receiving of late a large share of public attention. On this topic, it seems, every one is qualified to speak; all sorts of opinions have ... THE SINK OF INIQUITY
THE malice of lust consists in the abuse of a natural, a quasi-divine faculty, which is prostituted to ignoble purposes foreign to the ends by the Creator established. The lines along which this faculty may be legitimately exercised, are laid down b...