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 knowledge unto devotion; and sought
to exteriorize this devotion for the double purpose of proving its
truth and sincerity, and of still further nourishing, strengthening,
safeg
Accordingly, he built temples, erected altars, offered sacrifices,
burnt incense; he sang and wept, feasted and fasted; he knelt, stood
and prostrated himself--all things in harmony with his hopes and fears.
This is worship or cult. We call it religion, distinct from interior
worship or devotion, but supposing the latter essentially. It is
commanded by the first precept of God.
He who contents himself with a simple acknowledgment of the Divinity in
the heart, and confines his piety to the realm of the soul, does not
fulfil the first commandment. The obligation to worship God was
imposed, not upon angels--pure spirits, but upon men--creatures
composed of a body as well as a soul. The homage that He had a right to
expect was therefore not a purely spiritual one, but one in which the
body had a part as well as the soul. A man is not a man without a body.
Neither can God be satisfied with man's homage unless his physical
being cooperate with his spiritual, unless his piety be translated into
acts and become religion, in the sense in which we use the word.
There is no limit to the different forms religion may take on as
manifestations of intense fervor and strong belief. Sounds, attitudes,
practices, etc., are so many vehicles of expression, and may be
multiplied indefinitely. They become letters and words and figures of a
language which, while being conventional in a way, is also natural and
imitative, and speaks more clearly and eloquently and poetically than
any other human language. This is what makes the Catholic religion so
beautiful as to compel the admiration of believers and unbelievers
alike.
Of course, there is nothing to prevent an individual from making
religion a mask of hypocrisy. If in using these practices, he does not
mean what they imply, he lies as plainly as if he used words without
regard for their signification. These practices, too, may become
absurd, ridiculous and even abominable. When this occurs, it is easily
explained by the fact that the mind and heart of man are never proof
against imbecility and depravity. There are as many fools and cranks in
the world as there are villains and degenerates.
The Church of God regulates divine worship for us with the wisdom and
experience of centuries. Her sacrifice is the first great act of
worship. Then there are her ceremonies, rites, and observances; the use
of holy water, blessed candles, ashes, incense, vestments; her chants,
and fasts and feasts, the symbolism of her sacraments. This is the
language in which, as a Church, and in union with her children, she
speaks to God her adoration, praise and thanksgiving. This is her
religion, and we practice it by availing ourselves of these things and
by respecting them as pertaining to God.
We are sometimes branded as idolaters, that is, as people who adore
another or others than God. We offer our homage of adoration to God who
is in heaven, and to that same God whom we believe to be on our altars.
Looking through Protestant spectacles, we certainly are idolaters, for
we adore what they consider as simple bread. In this light we plead
guilty; but is it simple bread? That is the question. The homage we
offer to everything and everybody else is relative, that is, it refers
to God, and therefore is not idolatry.
As to whether or not we are superstitious in our practices, that
depends on what is the proper homage to offer God and in what does
excess consist. It is not a little astonishing to see the no-creed,
dogma-hating, private-judgment sycophants sitting in judgment against
us and telling us what is and what is not correct in our religious
practices. We thought that sort of a thing--dogmatism--was excluded
from Protestant ethics; that every one should be allowed to choose his
own mode of worship, that the right and proper way is the way one
thinks right and proper. If the private-interpreter claims this freedom
for himself, why not allow it to us! We thought they objected to this
kind of interference in us some few hundred years ago; is it too much
if we object most strenuously to it in them in these days! It is
strange how easily some people forget first principles, and what a rare
article on the market is consistency.
The persons, places and things that pertain to the exterior worship of
God we are bound to respect, not for themselves, but by reason of the
usage for which they are chosen and set aside, thereby becoming
consecrated, religious. We should respect them in a spiritual way as we
respect in a human way all that belongs to those whom we hold dear.
Irreverence or disrespect is a profanation, a sacrilege.
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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... THE VOW OF CHASTITY
RELIGIOUS are sometimes called celibates. Now, a celibate, one of the bachelor persuasion, is a person who considers himself or herself good enough company in this life, and chooses single blessedness in preference to the not unmixed joys of wedlock... THE VOW OF OBEDIENCE
WHAT kind of obedience is that which makes religious "unwilling to acknowledge any superior but the Pope?" We have been confidently informed this is the ground given in several instances for their removal. And we confess that, if the words "acknowle... THE VOW OF POVERTY
ONE objection to the vow of poverty that has a serious face on it, and certainly looks wicked, is that it does not prevent the accumulation of great wealth, as may be seen in the cases of the Philippine Friars and the French orders. This is one diff... THIRD COMMANDMENT THE LAW OF REST
THE last of the three Commandments that refer directly to God, prescribes a rest from toil, and profane works; and in commemoration of the mystical repose of the Lord after the six days' creation, designates the Sabbath or seventh day as a day that ... THOU SHALT NOT STEAL
THE Seventh Commandment is protective of the right of property which is vested in every human being enjoying the use of reason. Property means that which belongs to one, that which is one's own, to have and to hold, or to dispose of, at one's pleasu... UNBELIEF
AN atheist in principle is one who denies the existence of God and consequently of all revealed truth. How, in practice, a man endowed with reason and a conscience can do this, is one of the unexplained mysteries of life. Christian philosophers refu... UNDOING THE EVIL
WHENEVER a person, through a spirit of Police or grossly culpable negligence, becomes responsible for serious bodily injury sustained by another, he is bound, as far as in him lies, to undo the wrong and repair the injustice committed. The law of pe... WHAT EXCUSES FROM RESTITUTION
THOSE who do not obtain full justice from man in this world will obtain it in the next from God. If we do not meet our obligations this side of the tribunal of the just Judge, He will see to it that our accounts are equitably balanced when the time ... WHAT WE BELIEVE
OUR first duty to God, and the first obligation imposed upon us by the First Commandment is Faith, or belief in God--we must know Him. Belief is solely a manner of knowing. It is one way of apprehending, or getting possession of, a truth. There ar... WHENCE OUR BELIEF: GRACE AND WILL
TO believe is to assent to a truth on the authority of God's word. We must find that the truth proposed is really guaranteed by the authority of God. In this process of mental research, the mind must be satisfied, and the truth found to be in conson... WHENCE OUR BELIEF: REASON
MY faith is the most reasonable thing in the world, and it must needs be such. The Almighty gave me intelligence to direct my life. When He speaks He reveals Himself to me as to an intelligent being: and He expects that I receive His word intelligen... WHEREIN NATURE IS OPPOSED
CERTAIN excesses, such as we have already alluded to, however base and abominable in themselves and their effects, have nevertheless this to their credit that, while violating the positive law of God, they respect at least the fundamental laws of na... WHY WE BELIEVE
BELIEF, we have said, is the acceptance of a truth from another. We do not always accept what others present to us as truth, for the good reason that we may have serious doubts as to whether they speak the truth or not. It is for us to decide the qu... WORSHIP OF REST
PARTICIPATION in public worship is the positive obligation flowing from the Third Commandment; abstention from labor is what is negatively enjoined. Now, works differ as widely in their nature as differ in form and dimension the pebbles on the sea-s... WORSHIP OF SACRIFICE
WE Catholics contend, and our contention is based on a law of nature that we glean from the history of man, that sacrifice is the soul of religion, that there never was a universally and permanently accepted religion--and that there cannot be any su...