What is God? rfVhat j //ezs^, ts Gee*; : I /?J£/~SV4. Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2016 https://archive.org/details/whatisgodOOhart I need not shout my faith. Thrice eloquent Are quiet trees and the green listening sod; Hushed are the stars, whose power is never spent. The hills are mute, yet how they speak of GOD! What i& Qod? By Grace Hart NIHIL OBSTAT: Patrick J. Dignan, Ph.D. Censor Deputatus IMPRIMATUR: J. Francis Cardinal McIntyre, D.D. Archbishop of Los Angeles, California. April 6, 1951. 1st Edition, July, 1953 20,000 All rights reserved Benedictine Convent of Perpetual Adoration Clyde, Missouri To This Country, Founded under God to ""The Glory of His Holy Name” ""In God We Trust!"" Preface It is the aim of this booklet to touch on the existence of God in a simple way in the hope that some who think there is no God may become aware of His Presence and thus desire to know Him and to serve Him . No attempt has been made to prove the existence of God. For those who desire the proofs, the Summa (Parts One and Two) by St. Thomas, and God, His Existence and His Nature, by Garrigou-Lagrange, are suggested. If the contents of this little book seem unreasonable, it is because the subject is above reason. It is Faith; “the substance of things hoped for; the evidence of things not seen.” But even an unbounded faith cannot absorb the full meaning of “Do you not know that you are the temple o) God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” St. Augustine reminds us of the fact that understanding is the reward of faith. “Therefore, seek not to understand that thou m.ayest believe, but believe that thou mayest understand.” Grace Hart. Tucson. Arizona April 1L 1950 Tin© Holy Name TA URING the course of man’s develop- ment he progressed from the sign lan- guage to the language of words. No longer is it necessary to make signs or to draw a sketch of the desired object or idea. A simple word or name conveys the idea in one’s mind. A name is a symbol — it identifies. It is given to signify knowledge of the exist- ence, nature, and character of that which is named. His existence is everywhere, His nature is love and His character is goodness. Therefore it quite naturally follows that the name given to represent the Supreme Being, the perfect existence, should be GOD — Good. As the name flower contains the idea of beauty and joy, with the attributes of form, color and fragrance, so the name God contains within itself the idea oi Crea- tor and Sanctuary, with the attributes of 5 Life, Truth, Wisdom, Justice, Law, Love, Spirit. First cause or first principle is the name given by men of science to signify His existence, His infinite life, His mystery. A name cannot be of no one or no thing. There is prophetic, awesome wisdom contained within a name. For example: Sin, derived from sous , soutis - ‘guilty of’ — that is, guilty of missing the intent and purpose of living. Conscience , derived from conscientia- 4 joint knowledge’ — that is, the knowledge between God and the inner man. Religion , derived from religare - to bind fast’ — that is, man is bound by his nature to God. From God man comes and to God he returns. Creature , derived from creatura - any- thing created — that is, brought into being. Light is God’s first creature. Holy , derived from hal - whole’ — that is, integrated; mind, heart and spirit in union with God. 6 Spirit , derived from spirare- to breathe’ that is, the intangible life of a human being. Goodbye is a contraction of the Old English, ‘God be wi ye!’ Incidentally, the word Christian is, now- adays, greatly in misuse. For many it simply means “not a Hebrew.” Some people who call themselves Christians are in truth gentiles, agnostics, or atheists, while many Hebrews are in fact Christians. In the Bible ‘The Name’ or ‘Thy Name’ is mentioned innumerable times. For ex- ample, “Our help is in the name of the Lord. Help us, 0 God, our Savior, and for the honor of Thy Name.” “We beseech Thee, hearken to the prayers of Thy peo- ple, that we may be mercifully delivered for the glory of Thy Name.” The holy sacrifice of the Mass is offered “to the praise and glory of His Name.” Man makes the Sign of the Cross to invoke a blessing. “In the name of the Father and in the name of the Son, and in the name of the Holy Ghost.” Throughout the centuries, ‘the Name’ or ‘Thy Name’ has been freely and exten- 7 sively used because many people believe that God is above being named, and that the name is too sacred for utterance. They believe that ‘The Name’ is most expressive of God’s perfect simplicity. ‘The Name’ defies definition, principally because to define is to limit, and God is infinite. It cannot be adequately expressed by words. Nevertheless, because it is a law of human nature that the inner idea be ex- ternally expressed, man continually makes the effort to find the perfect name to express the idea that fills his consciousness. Hence the synonyms — Creator, Supreme Being, Almighty , Absolute, Eternal Light, Infinite, and Nameless One. It is written that when Moses asked, “If they should say to me, ‘What is His Name?’ What shall I say to them?” The Lord answered him, “Thus shalt thou say (to them), ‘He who is, hath sent me to you’ ” (Exod. 3:13,14). The name “He who is” signifies God’s eternity, which transcends past and future. It was the theologians who first conceived the idea that some things are not in time . 8 Saint Thomas Aquinas wrote: “The name 4He Who Is’ belongs most properly to God, because it does not signify form, but simply existence itself. God’s exist- ence is His essence. We cannot know the essence of God in this life, as He really is in Himself, but we know Him as He is represented in the perfections of creatures; and so the names we give Him signify Him in that manner only.” Man has a life God is Life Itself. Man has a mind . God is Intelligence Itself. Man sees effect God is Cause Itself. Man has a will. God is Will Itself. Man sees beauty God is Beauty Itself. Man can love God is Love Itself. Man has a spirit. God is Spirit Itself. 9 Man can be enlightened God is Light Itself. Man can know truths God is Truth Itself. Man can be good God is Goodness Itself. Man’s wisdom is caused by things God’s Wisdom is the cause of things. On the one hand are the human powers, on the other, the boundless powers of God, in which, and by which, man lives, moves, and has his existence. Intelligence, Will, Truth, Wisdom, Justice, Law, Light — all elements of spirit — pre-exist in God, who is the essence of all goodness, the source of all creation, the beginning of all things. Our forefathers realized that democracy, to be successful, must be founded on God’s Justice, Law, and Truth. They knew that there is no strength so strong as de- pendence on God. Prayerfully they dedicated this country to God and had placed on the coins “In God we trust,” in order that future genera- tions would have a daily reminder of their dependence on God. 10 God Is the Creator OD — the Creator, the one necessary being, exists in His Kingdom — not mineral, nor vegetable, nor animal, nor hu- man, but the Kingdom of Spirit; and He manifests Himself through His creatures. God creates the mineral, vegetable, ani- mal, and human kingdoms. To the min- eral He gives existence; to the vegetable, existence, growth, and limited movement; to the animal, existence, growth and move- ment. To man He gives existence, growth, movement, plus intellect and will, thus making man “like unto God.” Minerals, vegetables, animals, man, the planets, the universe, all are creatures of God. Light is God’s first creature. The action of God, God’s design, God’s Provi- dence, God’s order of creatures, each to its fulfillment, all this man has named Nature. “Man plants, and man waters, but it is God who gives the mysterious growth.” A sunrise, a sunset, is much more beau- tiful when seen not only as a facet of na- ture, but also as the visible glory of God. How could one explain the glory and light of the sun to a person who had never seen it? Is it a coincidence that the material source of life, light, and warmth was named the sun? Or did someone in those far-off days know that not only the earth- life, but man’s super-natural life would be given life, light, and love by another Son of the Creator? In this age of radio, television and be- lief in atomic energy, the expectation of any seemingly unknown quantity should be easy for man to accept. It should take less faith than was needed centuries ago to believe that man can “tune-in” to God — the most distant and at the same time the nearest transmitting station. Science is not an enemy of religion, but its most able ally; both are striving for the betterment of humanity. There is no basic conflict, since science as well as re- ligion is based on faith. It is in science that men work hope- fully, diligently and untiringly because they believe that the impossible may turn out to be truth and the incredible, fact. 12 For years scientists worked on their belief in the existence of the atom and their conception of the power within the atom. The scientist is a searcher for truth. Christian belief is not the full possession of God. It, too, is a searching. The scientists made electricity, rela- tivity and atomic energy common knowl- edge. Also they have revealed that nothing on earth is quite what it appears to be to the senses. For example, water is also a gas; that is, hydrogen and oxygen. Matter is not static, but filled with energy —elec- trons, protons, and neutrons. Man, too, is much more than has been generally recognized. Like the atom, man has a hidden power that is tremendous — it is the light of the Holy Spirit, a spark of the Divine. Needless to say, it is a power so great that if it were released by numerous men it would produce the stabil- ity and peace for which man is blindly groping. “Dust thou art and to dust thou shalt return” was not spoken of the soul. “Dust, remember, thou art also splendor.” So a new light on another phase of God’s creation may lead those scientists 13 who are still doubters, to the Creator. Science is making great strides toward the- ological knowledge. Slowly but surely the scientific mind is coming to the truth that God transcends the universe. Several years ago, in an address, Dr. Robert A. Millikan, the noted American scientist, said: “Twentieth-century science is more humble, more reverent, more aware of the mystery of existence. Modern sci- ence of the real sort is slowly learning to walk humbly with its God, and in learning that lesson, is contributing something to religion.” In this age in which man is so im- pressed by scientific observation and dis- covery, it is well for man to remember that factual knowledge is not sufficient. John Ruskin declared : “Education does not mean teaching people to know what they do not know; it means teaching them to behave as they do not behave Man’s greatest need for these trouble- some times is enlightenment — a search- light of truth so constant, penetrating and clear that it will reveal to man his inner resources , his inherent dignity and reason for being. 14 God Is Divine Providence OD - Divine Providence - has endowed each of His creatures with an individ- ual, original, unique existence. Through- out the ages there has never been a duplica- tion. Marvelously, wonderfully, mystify- ingly, each creation bears its own stamp of identity. And God in His infinite re- sourcefulness has provided every essential detail for the fulfilment of the individual nature. It is the nature of the spider to weave a web. It is the nature of the acorn to grow into an oak tree. It is the nature of a human being to grow into a man and into the knowledge of God; not only God without, but God within him. For to man, God’s chief creature, is given a human nature and a participation in the Divine nature; a body, with the nature of man — a soul sharing in the na- ture of God; a natural and a supernatural order of being. 2 15 When man fails to develop his whole nature, he misses his reason for being. He is like a spider that does not weave a web or an acorn that does not grow into an oak tree; he has existence but not com- pletion. He is a man, but his existence is not a life of common interest with God. He is not a son of God with the pursuit of Goodness influencing his life. As there is within the spider the sub- stance to weave a web, and within the acorn every quality for its completed growth, so there is within man every requisite (brain, lungs, heart, and all the physical functions) for the life of his body. There also are within man, potentially, the necessary faculties (intellect, will, memory, intuition, imagination, wonder, the senses, especially the sense of conscience and the sense of the holy) for the life of his soul. Man must strive, not only to develop the powers of his physical, emotional, men- tal, and spiritual nature, but he must work to bring about and keep in harmony, his natural and supernatural order of being, thus rendering his human nature capable of participating in the Divine nature. 16 It has been said, “You cannot change human nature.” There is no need. A being with his happily well-ordered life of business, pleasure, and worthy purpose, is a joy to behold. What is deplored is the degradation , the perversion of human na- ture. It is man’s inhuman conduct toward man that “makes countless thousands mourn.”* It is a most unusual person who knows his own inhuman traits, insincerity, and self-deceit. Of first importance is it to be that truly human person—honorable, truthful, courageous, dependable, kind; gen- tle, faithful, hopeful, charitable, humble, cooperative ; especially cooperative with the laws and will of God. As throughout the ages no two persons have been identical in appearance, tempera- ment, personality, talents, or weaknesses, so the pattern of no two lives is identical. Each life has its unique pattern of ex- periences, trials, joys. Often there seems to be an indifference on the part of Divine Providence, or some caprice in nature. Is this Life’s secret, or perhaps God’s challenge? Is it that man ^Robert Burns. 17 must be tested as steel and other com- modities are tested to prove their value? Does man’s life, like a painting, need light and shadow? Must there be dark places in man’s life in order that he will seek the Light? “Shall we know in the hereafter All the reasons that are hid? Does the butterfly remember What the caterpillar did? How he waited, toiled and suffered •To become a chrysalid? When we creep so slowly upward, When each day new burdens brings, When we strive so hard to conquer Vexing sublunary things, When we wait and toil and suffer, We are working for our wings. Author unknown. At the time man was thrown off his right course (thrown out of order) com- plete happiness was destroyed ; then, as now, by egotism, pride and disobedience to God’s commandments ; then, as now, 18 by rebellion against discipline. But God in His infinite love and mercy provided a remedy for man — He sent a Redeemer to show the way back to the Divine order and harmony. As the acorn will never become an oak tree until it is placed in the earth, so, too, man cannot know his true destiny until he puts his intellect and will into the deeper, nobler issues of life, and through God's grace , receives the illumination of His spirit. The greatest secret in nature is not the knowledge of the power contained within the atom; but the knowledge of the power contained in the Divine Seed which God provided for the life of man’s soul. This Divine Seed is well named the gift of sanctifying grace. It is a gift be- cause it is something man cannot acquire in his own right, and can only possess in fulness as the result of his acceptance of the source from whence it comes; it sanc- tifies the soul by elevating it to the Divine nature and is grace (gratis) because it is freely given. 19 But man has the right, through his gift of free will, to choose to cooperate with or to reject the grace of God. This privilege of free will carries with it the grave re- sponsibility to choose aright. Man loves to choose grace when she delights him, but not when she disciplines. OD’S grace, the hidden principle in- trinsic in the life of man’s soul, be- gins at baptism, when the child receives the birth of the spirit — the first sign of its tender friendship with God. Through- out his life, man receives the impetus of grace through the sacraments, prayer, and his eager willingness to know and accom- plish God’s will. Whenever grace, the Divine Seed, en- ters the soul of man, a great change occurs. “As the earth is powerless to rise till the seed, bringing a new and mysterious force into it, seizes upon those elements in it God's Grace 20 which yield themselves to its influence and transforms and raises them, so it is with this Divine seed cast into the soil of hu- man nature . As the earth becomes trans- formed under the moulding force of the life that is in the seed , so does man’s na- ture under the forming and quickening power of grace. It is the seed that reveals to the earth its latent powers, wakens them and uses them. So does grace reveal man to himself — coming into his nature; it shows him what he can be , new uses to which his powers can be put, new com- binations, new developments.”* The element that man must yield to the influence of the Divine seed that will trans- form him is himself; the whole man, his weakness, his pride, his selfishness, his desires. Man must give back the free-will he possesses, that through sanctifying grace his life may be made richer, fuller; in- spiration changed to revelation — revela- tion stimulating questioning — questioning * Self-knowledge and Self-discipline/' by Rev. B. W. Maturin 21 raised to reason — reason elevated to faith — faith becoming a knowledge of God, the knowledge that quickens an awareness of Spirit — Spirit producing peace, until from the kingdom of nature man is raised to the Kingdom of God. It is difficult for the seed to take root in closed minds and hardened hearts, but God does, indeed, “work in mysterious ways His wonders to perform.” This is the secret of grace whereby it does take hold of stony and broken hearts, changing men’s lives so completely that they are willing and eager to accomplish God’s pur- pose. It is fascinating and awesome to ob- serve the operation of God’s grace; it is a continual source of surprise, wonder, and often amusement. What once looked like a haphazard venture, an aimless journey, a fortuitous happening, a chance acquaint- ance, a casual conversation, a tragic mis- understanding, a fleeting romance, a tran- sitory pleasure, a death, an evanescent mo- ment of beauty — all of these and many other apparently purposeless, ephemeral, happy or unhappy occurrences become, as 22 seen by the light of grace, perfect little colored threads and patches in God’s de- sign. It all had to happen as it did, since man is so reluctant to choose God’s way. Yet, just one response to God’s grace (which comes to man hundreds of times a day) may open an avenue to purposeful, happy living. Perhaps man hesitates to co-operate with, or seek, God’s grace because, like Francis Thompson, he fears “lest having Him, I must have naught beside.”* Or perhaps it is that the Divine Guest of the soul knocks much too quietly for modern man, who is so intently seeking pleasure. Thomas Merton writes: “Do not look for rest in any pleasure because you are not created for pleasure; you were created for spiritual joy. And if you do not know the difference between pleasure and spiritual joy, you have not yet begun to live.”f *“The Hound of Heaven." f“Seeds of Contemplation." 23 God Is Spirit G OD acts in and through the mentalfaculties and by His Spirit enlightens the intellect of man, and directs man’s will. As there are different layers of ether in the atmosphere, and the higher one as- cends, the more rarefied one finds the air, so, too, there are planes of thought, to the higher powers of the mind; and the highest plane is where the illuminated in- tellect recognizes the power of spirit. As man cannot reach or sustain himself in the rarefied atmosphere without the as- sistance of mechanical devices, so man can- not reach or sustain himself in the rarefied atmosphere of spirit without the assistance of God’s grace. The liturgy tells us that God in creat- ing man “didst exalt his nature very won- derfully and yet more wonderfully didst establish it anew.” (The Roman Missal.) Man is not only wonderfully made but he is filled with wondering. He wonders 24 why he was made until he learns that he was born to know, love and serve God — Goodness. He wonders about the mysteri- ous voice of conscience that says, “Do this, it is right,” or “Avoid that, it is wrong.” And he wonders why man is restless until he obeys “the voice” of conscience. Man wonders still more about the mys- terious gentle urging at the innermost cen- ter of his being - a voice akin to conscience saying: “Come on to me, I am the deep desire of your heart, I will enlighten you and give you the spirit of wisdom.” “I will pour upon you clear water and you shall be cleansed. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you. I will put My Spirit in the midst of you and I will cause you to walk in My command- ments, and to keep My judgments” (Ezech. 36 : 23 -28 ). We are told that the mysterious, fasci- nating urging within the soul of man, is the grace of God. And again man won- ders why he was created free to choose or to reject the wonderful grace of God. The still voice answers: Grace is a treasure — a gift that will not be appreciated unless 25 it is presented in a special manner and at just the right moment. Even in the mate- rial world gifts usually are merited, and often, as at Easter time, they are hidden. And wondering how the tiny acorn can contain the majestic oak tree, man comes to the realization that by an ineffable mys- tery man’s littleness can contain God’s ful- ness. But his greatest wondering comes, af- ter recognizing and accepting God’s grace, in witnessing the mysterious power inten- sifying the personality and raising the in- dividuality until the whole man is focused on God and His Will. Man is no longer self-centered but God-centered. It is in this experience that man ‘finds himself’ and in finding his real, true and ever-abiding self, he finds God within the temple of himself. Then there is no longer any need of words to prove to him the ex- istence of God-Spirit. Wonder and beauty of wonderment that in wonderment man finds reverence for God! The world is full of spiritual symbols; the invisible radio beam guiding an air- plane pilot through stormy weather to a safe landing, suggests the invisible spirit 26 of God guiding man through anxieties and doubts to his true destination. The spider weaving his web from the substance of his own body conveys the truth that man can weave an amazing life through the power of God’s Spirit within him. The cater- pillar, through the mystery of God’s gift to him, casts off the old form and emerges into a completely new life. No longer is he a crawling thing upon the earth, but through his effort to fulfil his destiny, soars through the gardens, a winged wonder of beauty, admired and loved by all. Thus the caterpillar symbolizes man’s capacity for a higher, freer life and the presence of God’s grace to attain it. And there is the sword. “I have come to bring a sword, not peace” (Matt. 10 :34) . Jesus was speaking of the sword of the spirit; the illumined mind that was to cleave through the curtain of ignorance, bigotry, false belief, and unrighteous liv- ing. His peace “is not of this world” but of the spirit. Twenty centuries ago man was asked: “Though you have eyes, do you not see, and though you have ears do you not hear?” (Mark 8:18.) 27 The words ring alarmingly true today when Things’ — worldly success, and false ideologies — are in the saddle, riding man- kind. For many individuals, spirit is not their master; right ideas do not rule them, and spiritual knowledge they deny or ignore. Years ago, when Charles P. Steinmetz, the distinguished scientist, was asked what line of new research he thought would see the greatest development during the next fifty years, he answered : “I think the great- est discovery will be along spiritual lines. Some day people will learn that material things do not bring happiness and are of little use in making men and women crea- tive and powerful. Then the scientists of the world will turn their laboratories over to the study of God and prayer and the spiritual forces which as yet have hardly been guessed at” No doubt primitive man with his feeble power of thought would never even have guessed that man’s mind would perceive reason, logic, wisdom and intuitive percep- tion. Nor is it likely that the man of the Stone Age foresaw the Atomic Age. But 28 today man’s mind is reaching out into the yet unknown, and some there are who see in these distressing times the birth- pains of the new humanity for the Spiritual Age. On September 2, 1945, aboard the U.S.S. Missouri, in Tokyo Bay, Gen. MacArthur, in his address to the American people on the occasion of the official Japanese sur- render, said: "... A new era is upon us. Even the lesson of victory itself brings with it pro- found concern, both for our future security and the survival of civilization. The de- structiveness of the war potential, through progressive advances in scientific discovery, has in fact now reached a point which re- vised the traditional concept of war. Man since the beginning of time has sought peace. Various methods through the ages have been attempted to devise an inter- national process to prevent or settle dis- putes between nations. . . Military alli- ances, balance of power, leagues of nations, all in turn failed, leaving the only path to be by way of the crucible of war. The ut- ter destructiveness of war now blots out this alternative. We have had our last chance. If we do not now devise some greater and more equitable system, Arma- geddon will be at our door. 29 “The problem basically is theological and involves a spiritual recrudescence and improvement of human character that will synchronize with our almost matchless ad- vance in science, art, literature and all ma- terial and cultural developments of the past two thousand years. It must be of the spirit if we are to save the flesh.” Men with the foresight, courage, in- tegrity, common sense and faith of our forefathers are needed to synchronize with our matchless scientific knowledge. Ignor- ance of God and His laws is the stumbling block to peace. 30 GodTs Laws OD’S law is at the root of being and operates throughout nature and in every phase of life with unvarying con- sistency. God’s law is the most perfect pattern of order. His infinite perfection and wisdom can perhaps be best discerned in His transcending laws. One law may be subservient to another higher law, but God’s order of law is never broken. God directs and governs through His laws . Like all of God’s creation, law was spe- cifically created to benefit mankind, both individually and collectively. Everyone ad- mits that there is a right way to do every- thing, but many do not seem to realize that ‘the right way’ is according to law , that is, according to the intent and purpose of God — Divine Principle. A great principle of law is that every- thing was created for something greater than itself and is subordinate to that end for which it was created. 3 31 The mineral kingdom is made to serve the vegetable creation, the vegetable crea- tion to serve the animal creation, the animal creation to serve the human creation. The human creation is made to serve God. God gave not only a definite nature to each of His creatures, but a definite rule of action as well. Not only men, but vege- tables, animals, the universe, must obey the law of their nature. Plants must grow, animals must obey their instincts, the sun must rise and set, the tide must ebb and flow, man must learn to know and serve God, and through God, his neighbor. Man manifests his knowl- edge of this law when he uses his gift of free will to choose according to God’s in- tent and purpose. It is startling to consider the vast mul- titude of laws and how inevitable they are in man’s hourly living: the law of nutrition, the law of weight and measure, the laws of chemistry, of mathematics, of music, the law of the universe, mechanical laws, laws of electricity, civil laws, international laws, commercial laws, laws of society, natural 32 laws, moral laws, the higher laws of the mind, and the supernatural law, which is as infallible in its results as the laws of mathematics and the law of gravity. The Natural law — briefly, “Do good and avoid evil” — demands observance ac- cording to the spirit. The function of this law is to bind man in conscience as a link between himself and his Creator. Man per- ceives God best in and through conscience. He acknowledges this fact when he refers to “the voice” of conscience and states that his “conscience speaks.” If man does not hear the voice of conscience within himself it has been deadened, through doubts, re- sentment of discipline, or rebellion against authority. Of the laws of the mind — that is, of reason, logic, comprehension — con- science is the highest. It is the law of the spirit. And old Chinese proverb states,“He who sacrifices his conscience to ambition burns a picture to obtain the ashes.” The natural law is also universal — the same in all men. It is unchanging, since human nature in its essentials suffers no change. It can be known by the power of 33 reason. An understanding of the natural law is of paramount importance because all other laws are based upon it. The natural law binds all creatures everywhere and includes all the fundamental rules for human action. The ten commandments , excepting the third , are not laws that are peculiarly reli- gious, but rather they are laws of man s own nature: I. Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart, with thy whole soul and with thy whole mind. Thou shalt not have strange gods before Me. II. Thou shalt not take the Name of the Lord thy God in vain. III. Remember thou keep holy the Sabbath Day. IV. Honor thy father and thy mother. V. Thou shalt not kill. VI. Thou shalt not commit adultery. VII. Thou shalt not steal. VIII. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor. IX. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife. X. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s goods. 34 All these are only simple deductions from the original principles of the natural law. Man’s educational life will not be diffi- cult if he knows and obeys the laws of mathematics, speech and science. His so- cial life will be happy and secure if he knows and obeys the civic laws and the laws of society. His supernatural life will be rich and fruitful if he knows and obeys the laws of the spirit. Scientists do not complain or argue about the laws of mathematics. They would not attempt to change them, and only through error do they break them. But man violently attempts to change the moral laws, he constantly and deliberately breaks them, and then he complains or is astonished at the tragic result. God’s laws are not confining. They are the opposite. Every time a new law is revealed to man, he gains in knowledge, and humanity progresses. The red traffic light is warning that danger lies ahead. Red symbolizes love as well as danger. So God’s laws say, “Stop, look and listen, otherwise disaster may overtake you.” 35 Man’s basic need is devotion to God. Without a flame of inner devotion, there can be no meritorious service. From man’s social nature it follows that man should render public worship to God. Indifference to religion is theoretically unsound and practically pernicious. It is unsound in theory because of the human intrinsic need for union with God. Prac- tically it is pernicious because it can only result in ignorance of God’s laws and hence warped codes of morals. Since the days of Adam it has been the fashion to blame anyone or anything rather than oneself. The ego objects to attention being called to its pride, greed or injustice. It fights hard to appear blameless: capital- ism, communism, politics, banks, labor, economy, is to blame; not capitalists, com- munists, politicians, bankers, labor leaders, or economists. It would seem the time has come for man to utilize the Greek maxim “Know thyself.” The principal thing wrong with the world today is that there are not enough good people in it. Good parents and good teachers would make good children; good 36 children would make good citizens and in turn good parents; good politicians would make politics a source of good govern- ment; good labor leaders, bankers, and business men would create a good econ- omy ; good preachers would teach true Christianity, making people respectable, moral, charitable, with a sense of holiness and a responsibility to mankind. His Holiness, Pope Pius XI, expressed this very concisely when he said, “No leader in pub- lic life, no power of organization will ever be able to bring social conditions to a peaceful solution until first there is made to reign the moral law based on God and conscience.” After that achievement, good people will supplement each other. Lecomte de Nouy, in his book, “Human Destiny ” writes, “Can we not find leaders of sufficient vision to conceive an inter- national plan of moral development spread- ing over several generations instead of economic plans of five years? — It would be a magnificent task.” Magnificent, in- deed, but the leaders must come from every walk of life, and in great numbers, each realizing that he personally must strive to 37 raise the moral tone not only in public life but in his private life. It is the moral life of the individual that determines the moral life of the community. George Washington admonished us, “Let us with caution indulge the supposi- tion that morality can be maintained with- out religion. Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined education on minds of peculiar structure, reason and ex- perience both forbid us to expect that na- tional morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principles ” And Carlyle tells us, 44Without a spirit- ual belief in a Divine Being, in the knowl- edge of whom, and obedience to whom, mortal welfare alone consists, the human race must degenerate.” A return to re- ligion is the remedy for man’s ills. All men desire peace, but few desire the unworldly virtues of humility, patience and self-discipline, which produce peace. Peace is not static. It cannot be held by a Union of Nations or diplomacy alone. Peace is the tranquillity of order, the outcome of the fulfilment of God’s law. Peace within good men will produce peace in the world. 38 r OD is the Eternal Light, the immortal^ informing light in which there is no darkness. All forms of spiritual light are a reflection of God. Man can glory in the ‘light of reason’ and in ‘the light of faith.’ Man now knows that energy is em- bodied in the atom ; this fact is widely dis- cussed. Light is embodied in man ; this fact is not so widely discussed. It was a main topic in Jesus’ teaching. He said, Let your light shine,” and He discussed at length the way man hides and darkens his light. He said, “Believe in the Light, that you may become sons of light” (John 12:36). Believe, because without faith the Light cannot be comprehended. To His disciples He said: “You are the light of the world” (Matt. 5:14). It requires precise knowledge and skill to release the power within the atom. Jesus gave the knowledge and skill and grace whereby man can release the power which is within himself. Jesus said, “Look in- ward — make clean the inside of the cup.” 39 Man is to descend into himself, and by the marvelous, mysterious attribute of insight, search the self to discern not only what he already is, but what he may become. Looking in and around me I ever renew, With that stoop of the soul, which, in bending, upraises it too. The submission of man’s “nothing-per- fect” to God’s “all-complete.” And by each new obeisance, in spirit I climb to His feet. — Robert Browning. This inner kingdom of immortal light is the kingdom which Jesus admonished man to seek. “Be not solicitous, therefore, saying what shall we eat or what shall we drink or wherewith shall we be clothed? For your Father knoweth that you have need of all these things. Seek ye, therefore, first the kingdom of God and His justice and all these things shall be added unto you.” And He continued, “For it has pleased your Father to give you the king- dom” (Luke 12:32), — the realm of spirit — which is faith, truth, enlightenment, 40 wisdom, understanding, counsel and holy fear — that is, reverence for God, which, as has been said, is the beginning of wis- dom. As in the time of St. Paul, “our wrest- ling is against the spiritual forces of wickedness on high” (Eph. 6:12). Today, as never before, the future destiny of the world and of those who people it is de- pendent on man’s recognition of the truth and wisdom of Jesus’ teaching. “Walk — that is, go forward in faith — while you have the light, for he that walks in darkness knows not where he is going” (John 12:35). And “now this is the judg- ment: the light has come into the world, yet men have loved the darkness rather than the light, for their works were evil” (John 3:19). At this tragic hour His words should ring in man’s ear like bells of alarm and should be followed as beacons of light, which they are. But history repeats itself; now, as then, “men love the praise of men more than the praise of God.” So humanity will remain in darkness until man heeds God’s words. 41 Crisis is the Greek word for judgment. Is the ‘present crisis’ a judgment of man’s actions and heedlessness? God Is the Divine Person OD - the Divine Person - is all spirit,^ entirely real; that is, eternally true and ever-abiding. The Being who is eter- nally true and ever-abiding is the one who is named Divine. The word ‘person’ is used in strange ways. Person to the average human being means just man or woman. “He is a noble person.” “She is a charming person.” But nobleness and charm are only effects of person. Person cannot be seen. Person is the highest human experience. To have intelligence and will power, the faculty to think and to act, is to be a per- son. All persons are related because they have in common these two supreme powers, intelligence and will. This relationship is 42 the basis for man’s intercommunication. Because intellect and will are the principal faculties of the soul, a person is sometimes referred to as a ‘soul’: a ‘good soul’, a ‘poor soul,’ etc. Jesus said : “You therefore are to be per- fect, even as your Heavenly Father is per- fect” (Matt. 5:48). Most of the time man is but a faint shadow of his true self. Per- sonal perfection is powerful because intel- lectually, emotionally and purposively man is functioning through his highest self. Man can attain perfection only insofar as the life of the spirit reigns over that of the senses and passions. But when the per- sonality raises the individuality by direct- ing it to God, there is the hope of man be- coming the person that he was created to be; that is, a God-bearer, a Christ-bearer, a spiritual being. To act eternally perfect is to be Supreme Person. To be Infinite Intelligence and In- finite Will-Power Itself is to be Divine Person. Many who agree upon observa- tion and reflection that there must have been a Creator will reject the truth that God is also a Person; yet it seems logical 43 and obvious that the Creator would possess at least the powers of His creature. One attains a glimpse of the Divine Person by strengthening the will and by stretching the mind, using wonder, imagi- nation, and the speculative intellect. But man attains a full realization of God’s Per- son within him only when Divine Wisdom gives to man His Light of glory; that is, His truth to man’s mind, His love to man’s heart or will. There are three Divine Persons: The Father — Life, the Son — Truth, and the Holy Spirit — Love. The three Divine Per- sons have been named “The Blessed Trin- ity” because They possess one substance — Spirit, with distinct trinity of Persons. God, the Creator, God, the Redeemer, and God, the Holy Spirit, are of one Mind, one Will, and one Spirit. As the Creator sent the Redeemer, so the Son sends the Sanctifier, the Holy Spirit, who is the Spirit of Love between the Father and the Son. “As often as eyes open to the light of faith, or a heart turns away from sin, as often as a soul is given 44 sanctifying grace, or a sacrament is ad- ministered, so often does the Holy Spirit give Himself.” (Holy Ghost Novena — Rev. L. M. Dooley, s.v.d.) The whole Trinity, the one Divine Spirit, is within man in three ways: By His Presence — Life; by His Power — Truth ; and by His Essence — Love. “Closer is He than breathing, nearer than hands and feet.” It is the Divine Person within man that renews and vitalizes the body, enlightens the intellect and urges man on to a participation in the Divine nature. Father Raoul Plus, S .J., encourages man to seek the Divine Presence within by tell- ing him that “for many of us, it is prac- tically the same as if He were not there at all. Realizing consists in seeing that what we possess is in very deed and truth ac- tually there. We are not called upon to put it there. All we have to do is to dis- cover it to make it our own.” (God within Us.) There is an innermost center in us all Where truth abides in fulness, But round about, the gross flesh hems it in, This perfect clear perception which is truth. — Robert Browning. 45 Life, Light, Love, and Truth, as a rule, are not considered as gifts, they are just taken as a matter of course; consequently, they are not treasured and admired until every facet of these gifts is known and uti- lized to its highest powers. There has always been the ‘first man’; the first to believe in the existence of a Western Hemisphere; the first to believe in the power of steam; the first to believe in the power within the atom; and man- kind usually scoffs at that ‘first man.’ So, too, there was the ‘first man’ to believe in the existence of a Supreme Per- son with an assurance of an attunement between him and his Creator. He realized that within him was a spark of the Divine. He knew that the idea which filled his con- sciousness was true, real, and good. This consciousness of Divine Goodness he named God. The basic facts of matter, nature, life, birth and death are as mysterious as the facts of God. Gradually their mystery is being revealed to man. All so-called prog- ress is but a dis-cover-ing of God’s mystery. 46 Tli© Indwelling Christ T> ERHAPS the doctrine of the Indwell- A ing Christ has been neglected or has not aroused more interest because of the disciplinary steps that must be taken for the life of union with Christ. Perhaps it has not been widely accepted because it all sounds too good to be true; or perhaps it has not been adequately appreciated be- cause of the symbolism in which it has been presented. Yet to know Christ interiorly is the foundation for spiritual growth. The Indwelling is described by Saint Thomas Aquinas as the one known in the knower, and the one loved in the lover. St. Bernard explained the doctrine of the Indwelling Christ very beautifully when he wrote: “Many seek God where He is not — or rather, where He is not in a special manner. This is the explanation of all the confusion, all the lost time and so much stamping of feet. Remember Mary Magdalen at the Tomb. ‘Woman, thou weepest? He whom thou seekest, thou dost possess. Dost thou not know? Thou 47 hast Him and thou weepest: Thou dost seek Him, but thou hast Him within thee. Where am I? I am within thee. There do I take My rest, not indeed dead, but living and immortal. Thyself art My gar- den. Thou hast said well, in calling Me the Gardener. My task is to labor that there may spring up in this garden, which is thy soul, a harvest of desires. How? Thou hast Me. Thou dost possess Me with- in thee, and thou dost not know it. For this dost thou seek Me outside. And be- hold, I am here — I did but appear to thee without, that I might lead thee within. It is there, within, that thou wilt find Me. Ah, I am not absent afar off, as thou dost think. I am very near. Tell Me, what has anyone closer than his own heart? Those who find Me will find Me there, in their own heart, for there is My dwell- ing. 5 55 To put it even more simply, as the brain is the instrument of the intellect, so the heart may be considered the instrument of the will. As the intellect gives man the power to think, so the will gives man the power to act, to discriminate, to control, to choose, and to love. Therefore it natur- 48 ally follows that it is the heart which is most often spoken of as God’s dwelling or God’s abode. It is of His Spirit of truth, light and grace, that Jesus spoke when He said, “I am in you, and you are in Me” (John 18:21); and of His teaching, His word, when He said, “You shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32). It was on Christmas Day that He ap- peared visibly. “And the Child grew and waxed in spirit, filled with wisdom and the grace of God was upon Him.” Un- to every man the Truth was born — to be received, to be nourished by loving devo- tion and wisdom in order that man, who was created “like unto God” might grow strong in spirit, be filled with wisdom and have the grace of God upon him. The cradle of compassion ’neath a star Man sees but faintly once in every year, Then wonders why his world is rent in twain And why his God has turned into a tear. — Charles de Grandcourt. 49 God Is Love OD’S love flows unceasingly and so close to man’s heart that man’s will is stirred to restlessness. Many are not aware of the fact that God’s love is the cause of their eternal seeking and that the elusive something that their spirit craves and is demanding is conscious union with God. The Love that man is seeking is seeking him - Love communicating Him- self to man because Love always seeks His own untiringly; Love gives self. Some think that money will satisfy their craving; others look to power, distinction, or pleasures; but the acquisition of these things leaves the spirit still discontented because only Love who made the soul can satisfy its yearnings. The writer of a certain song knew (con- sciously or unconsciously) the reason for man’s restlessness, because she declared: “Oh! Sweet Mystery of Life, at last I’ve found You. Oh! Sweet Mystery of Life beyond compare. ’Tis the answer. ’Tis 50 the end of all life’s meaning, for ’tis Love and Love alone that rules the world.” Yes, for “God is Love.” This simple statement is perhaps the most profound in Sacred Scripture. Jesus taught the doctrine of Love. He knew it was the means to create the new man for the new life. The doctrine of love is difficult for man to learn; even with a knowledge of the supernatural life it is hard to “love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who persecute and calumniate you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven” (Matt. 5:44). We are told, “Love thy neighbor as thyself,” and He besought man to be “transformed” into a self worthy of self-love. Jesus said that on the two command- ments of love of God and of neighbor “de- pend the whole Law and the Prophets” (Matt. 22:40), and He added “This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you” (John 15:12). Psychiatrists and criminologists are coming very close to an understanding of 51 Jesus’ doctrine of love. The psychiatrists are saying that mental illness is largely due to a lack of being loved, a lack of lov- ing, or a lack of self-love. The criminolo- gists are saying that children are delin- quent because of a sense of being unloved. Consequently the parents are being urged to set an example of love for their children, and large doses of true love (not indul- gence) are being prescribed for everyone. That all men could know God, His ex- istence, His nature, and His love, He sent into the world His own Divine Son. For the first time the Creator, the Almighty, the Nameless One , is named Father. Jesus in establishing the Fatherhood of God es- tablished the brotherhood of man. It is the spirit of Christmas that best demonstrates the spirit of love and unity of mankind; it is Christianity at its best. Yet how pitifully inadequate are the Yule logs, the joyful salutations, the wrappings, the gifts - even Santa with his quiet arrival and abundance of free gifts - to symbolize The Light’ that came into the world on Christmas! The Christ bringing to man 52 the joyous news, the glad tidings that no longer is there any reason for man to speculate upon the nature of God. The Word, “The Holy Man,” dwells among us. We behold Himself, — Emmanuel — God with us, God in the form of man. No longer the ‘invisible God’ but the Living God, bringing to man the priceless gift of Divinity. Jesus, the Christ, bringing God to man and man to God. Jesus, bringing the gifts of Truth and. the promise of a supernatural life; not a life to be admired, but the true abundant life to be lived , with God. God, the Redeemer, not just a good man, but the Second Divine Person, whose words are true - “I have come in the name of My Father” (John 5:43). “And hence- forth you do know Him, and you have seen Him” (John 14:7). God, the Redeemer, unlocking the gates of heaven; bringing life to the soul. For He sowed the seeds of Truth, Light and Grace. Truly one Divine Will: “If anyone love Me, he will keep My word and My Father 53 will love him and We will come to him and make Our abode with him” (John 14:23). To the Father He said: “Thy will be done” even unto death, in order that one will would be on earth as it is desired in heaven. Creation, Revelation, Law, given to man, because the Creator wills to show Himself to His children. Redemption, Grace, Light, Truth, given to man because God loves His children. “In this is the love, not that we have loved God, but that He has first loved us” (1 John 4:10). “My delights were to be with the children of men” (Prov. 8:31). And to “As many as received Him He gave the power of becoming sons of God ; to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:12,13). “To as many as receive Him” - to those who open their minds and hearts to Him; to those who willingly and wholeheartedly say, “I ardently wish to receive Thee, Christ, into my humble but contrite heart. 54 I believe in Thy name. Help me to know and do Thy will.” To these He reveals Truth, Light, Love, Grace. These men, born of the will of God, can, with a disposition of soul in loving conformity to the will of God, humbly ac- knowledge their declaration of dependence. “Our Father, who art in heaven, hal- lowed be Thy name. Thy Kingdom come: Thy will be done on earth as it is in heav- en.” And thus the creature becomes the tabernacle of the Creator. 55 “Too late have I known Thee, 0 Beauty, ever ancient, yet ever new ! Too late have I loved Thee ! Behold, Thou wert within and I searched for Thee abroad; Thou wert with me, but I was not with Thee!” — St. Augustine. Sndep&ndeMce ^}ef%endeuce “Our STRENGTH, in the world, is to be the subject of reason, and our liberty, to be the captives of Truth.” — Cardinal Newman. versus Dependence OLUMBUS, who discovered America, ^ the Pilgrims, who landed on a “rock- bound coast,” Jefferson, who wrote the Declaration of Independence, our fore- fathers, who had the spiritual vision and courage to establish this Government of the United States — all believed in depend- ence on God. These noble persons were truly “the salt of the earth,” — they pre- served faith in God, proclaimed the good tenet of “Trust in God,” and upheld Christian principles. This is why young America was fearless and powerful. These believing men knew that God, His Law, Order, Justice, and Charity must be the foundation of an enduring Govern- ment. They understood the laws of God and the necessity of obeying them, if the country was to develop and all citizens were to be given an opportunity for “the pursuit of happiness.” 59 This knowledge was to them so import- ant that they wrote it into the United States’ Declaration of Independence, in order that future generations might be kept aware of these fundamental truths. The history of nations had proved to our Founding Fathers that when a people forget or deliberately disregard God’s laws, that nation finally becomes disrupted and in desperation the people are turned blind- ly to war. It had been proved to them time and again that: “Man does not live by bread alone,” and that, ironically, if man values bread more than freedom un- der God, he will lose the bread, too. In a farewell address given by George Washington six months before he left office, our first President said: “Of all disposi- tions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indis- pensable supports . . . it is easy to foresee that from different causes and from differ- ent quarters much pain will be taken, many artifices employed, to weaken in your minds the conviction of this truth. . .” But not vice versa. As Washington told us, — “Let us with caution indulge the supposi- 60 tion that morality can be maintained with- out religion. Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined education on minds of peculiar structure, reason and ex- perience both forbid us to expect that na- tional morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principles .” Long before the des- potism of recent dictators, William Penn said: “Men must be governed by God or they will be ruled by tyrants.” The founders of our Government knew the universal law that all human power tends to tyranny. Experience had taught them that most rulers seek unlimited power since they love power for power’s sake; and because the Government is composed of human beings who are not primarily beneficent, but more often self-seekers, the Founding Fathers recognized the grave necessity for embracing the powerful but beneficent hand of God. There is much talk of rights and free- dom. Bishop Fulton J. Sheen asks: — - “Whence comes the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness?” And he answers: “Read the Declaration of Inde- pendence and there find the answer : — 61 “ ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with inalien- able rights, that among these are life, lib- erty, and the pursuit of happiness.’ “In other words, we are dependent on God, and that initial dependence is the foundation of our independence. But if the State or the Dictator is the creator of rights, then the State or the Dictator can dispossess men of their rights. That is why in those countries where God is ‘ most de- nied , man is most tyrannized , and where religion is most persecuted , man is most enslaved. It is only because we are de- pendent on God that we are independent as persons from the total will of any man on earth. “Let us not think that by denying God we will have purchased independence. The pendulum of the clock that wanted to be free from its point of suspension found that on becoming independent of its suspension, it was no longer free to swing. “Each person has a value because God made him, not because the State recognizes him. The day that we adopt in our democ- 62 racy the already widespread ideas of some American jurists that right and justice de- pend on convention and the spirit of the times, we shall write the death warrant of our independence. When watchmakers set watches according to their whims and not according to a fixed point of reference, such as the sun, we will no longer have the right time; when aviators build machines in repudiation of the laws of gravitation we will no longer fly; and when we deny God as the foundation of our rights, we shall no longer have rights. . . “The primary service of religion is not to preserve a democracy identical with our own, for if it were, there could be no re- ligion where there was a method of Gov- ernment different from our own. The pri- mary business of religion is God, to bring man to God, and God to man. Religion’s service to democracy is secondary and in- direct; that is, by concentrating on spirit- ualizing the souls of men, it will diffuse through political society an increased ser- vice of justice and charity rooted in God. “There is no such thing as saving de- mocracy alone. Democracy is a branch, 63 not a root; — to save democracy alone is like saving the false teeth of a drowning man. First save the man and you will save his teeth. . First preserve belief in God as the source of rights and liberties and you save democracy. There are certain organi- zations in this country that will defend you if you evade the draft, slap a teacher, teach immorality to students, hiss the President, or do anything contrary to law and justice. Their defense of your anarchy will be in the name of liberty. They talk about free- dom as if it were an end in itself, a life rather than an atmosphere of life. That is why they never tell us what we are going to do with freedom. “They forget that freedom from some- thing implies freedom for something. Our modern leaders are leaving us up in the air about freedom. Freedom from all depend- ence , such as dependence on God , depend- ence on law , dependence on truth , is not independence , it is the beginning of slavery . Of course you can do anything you please; you can stuff your mother’s mattress with razor blades — but ought you? Ought im- plies law, and law implies order, and order 64 implies justice, and justice implies God.”* It was under God’s Justice, Truth, Law and Love that this country was founded. There exists in our Government today a lip service, a shadow of the faith of our Found- ing Fathers. There is little evidence of the certainty that faith in God is the wisdom, the reality that man should live by. When modern man becomes wise enough to look to God for the principles to guide his mind and actions, true and last- ing independence will be established. * Quoted at great length from “Freedom under God,” by the Most Reverend Fulton J. Sheen, because the book is filled with truth. 65 America , America, — God mend thine every flaw, Confirm thy soul in self-control, Thy liberty in law. America , America , — May God thy gold refine Till all success be nobleness And every gain Divine. America , America , — God shed His grace on thee, And crown Thy good with brotherhood From sea to shining sea. Katherine Bates. 66 IF — IF you can keep your head when all about you Are losing theirs and blaming it on you, If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, But make allowance for their doubting too ; IF you can wait and not be tired by waiting, Or, being lied about, don’t deal in lies, Or, being hated, don’t give way to hating, And yet dont look too good, nor talk too wise; IF you can dream — and not make dreams your master; If you can think — and not make thoughts your aim; If you can meet with triumph and disaster, And treat those two impostors just the same; 67 IF you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools, Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken, And stoop and build ’em up with worn- out tools; IF you can make one heap of all your winnings, And risk it on one turn of pitch or toss, And lose, and start again at your beginnings, And never breathe a word about your loss ; IF you can force your heart and nerve and sinew To serve your turn long after they are gone, And so hold on when there is nothing in you Except the will which says to them, “Hold on!” 68 IF you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue, Or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch, If neither foe nor loving friends can hurt you, If all men count with you, but none too much ; IF you can fill the unforgiving minute With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run, Yours is the earth and everything that’s in it, And — which is more — you’ll be a man, my son! — Rudyard Kipling 69 IF — "IF" ~ ^ has been said - is the big- gest little word in the dictionary. Jesus knew that it contained the impetus for the life abundant and that man’s progress hinged on that little word, for He declared : “If any man listens to My voice and opens the door to Me, I will come in to him” (Apoc. 3:20). “If you had known Me, you would also have known My Father” (John 14:7). 64 If you abide in Me, you shall bear fruit” (John 15:5). “If anyone does not abide in Me, he shall be cast outside as the branch and wither” (John 15:6). “If you abide in Me and My words abide in you, ask whatever you will and it shall be done to you” (John 15:7). “If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love” (John 15:10). 70 “If thy brother sin against thee. . . forgive him” (Luke 17:3). “If you do not forgive men, neither will your Father forgive you your offenses” (Matt. 6:15). “If you do the things I command you, you are My friends” (John 15:14). “If you ask anything in My name, I will do it” (John 14:14). “If you loved Me, you would indeed re- joice. . (John 14:28). “If I tell you, you will not believe Me” (Luke 22:67). “If any man have an ear, let him hear” (Apoc. 13:9). “If then, you, evil as you are, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask Him” (Matt. 7:11). “If you have faith and do not waver. . .” (Matt. 21:21). “If you can believe...” (Mark 9:22). ' It is possible IF man uses the power of prayer. 71 JP RAYER is an art. As in any other art, to become proficient, one must study, practice, be patient and self-disciplined. Throughout creation, silence reigns su- preme. Man does not hear the sun rise, the plants grow, nor the movement of the earth. So in prayer, the intellect, the imagination, all the mental processes must become quiet — still, — if a man is to as- cend to the realm of spirit and experience the awareness of God’s presence within himself — “If thou woulds’t hear the Nameless and wilt dive Into the Temple-cave of thine own self, There, brooding by the Central altar, thou Mays't happily learn the Nameless hath a voice, By which thou wilt abide if thou be wise.” — Alfred Tennyson 72 Prayer for Wisdom Grant, 0 God, Thy protection, And in protection, strength, And in strength, understanding, And in understanding, knowledge, And in knowledge, the knowledge of justice, And in the knowledge of justice, the love of it, And in that love, the love of all existence, And in the love of all existence, the love of God, God and all Goodness. — Author unknown 73 Prayer for Peace Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love; Where there is injury, pardon; Where there is doubt, faith; Where there is despair, hope; Where there is darkness, light; Where there is sickness, joy. 0 Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled, as to console; to be understood, as to understand; to be loved, as to love; for it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. — St. Francis of Assisi 74 Prayer of a Soldier My shoulders ache beneath my pack. (Lie easier , Cross , upon His back.) I march with feet that burn and smart. (Tread, holy feet9 upon my heart.) Men shout at me who may not speak, (They scourged Thy back and smote Thy cheek.) I may not lift a hand to clear My eyes of salty drops that sear. (Then shall my fickle soul forget Thy Agony of Bloody Sweat?) My rifle hand is stiff and numb. (From Thy pierced palm red rivers come.) Lord, Thou didst suffer more for me Than all the hosts of land and sea. So, let me render back again This millionth of Thy gift. Amen. —Joyce Kilmer 75 Prayer before Study Q Light of the World, Infinite God, Father of eternity, Giver of wisdom and knowledge, and ineffable Dispenser of every spiritual grace, who knowest all things before they are made, who makest the darkness and the light, stretch forth Thy hand and put Thy spirit, 0 Lord, in my heart, that I may understand and re- tain what I learn and meditate on it in my heart. Do Thou lovingly, holily, mercifully, clemently and gently inspire me with Thy grace. Do Thou teach, guide and strength- en the thoughts of my mind to let Thy dis- cipline instruct me to the end, and the counsel of the Most High help me, through Thy infinite wisdom and mercy. Amen. — St. Anthony 76 Learning Christ T" 1 EACH me, my Lord, to be kind and gentle in all the events of life: in dis- appointments, in the thoughtlessness of others, in the insincerity of those I trusted, in the unfaithfulness of those on whom I relied. Let me put myself aside: to think of the happiness of others, to hide my little pains and heartaches so that I may be the only one to suffer from them. Teach me to profit by the suffering that comes across my path. Let me so use it that it may mellow me, not harden nor embitter me; that it may make me broad in my forgiveness, not narrow, haughty, or overbearing. May no one be less good for having come within my influence; no one less pure, less true, less kind, less noble, for having been a fellow-traveler in our journey towards Eternal Life. As I go my rounds from one distraction to another, let me whisper from time to time a word of love to Thee. May my life be lived in the supernatural, full of power for good, and strong in its purpose of sanctity. 77 Longing for the Holy Spirit mildest Comforter, Holy Spirit, come, to me. My soul sighs for Thee! My heart thirsts for Thee! Thou alone canst satisfy my longing; Thou alone canst make me happy.. Despise not, 0 Divine Bride- groom, the dwelling of my poor heart. My heart, alas, is unclean, but Thou canst purify it. My heart is dark, but Thou canst illu- minate it. My heart is wicked, but Thou canst penetrate it with love. My heart is sad, but Thou canst com- fort it. My heart is weak, but Thou canst strengthen it. My heart is cold, but Thou canst in- flame it. 78 My heart clings to earth, but Thou canst fill it with heavenly desires. My heart is full of sin, but Thou canst adorn it with all virtues. My heart is inconstant and wayward, but Thou canst make it docile. Come then, 0 Holy Spirit, Thou Father of the poor, come and fill me with Thy love. Amen. 0 Holy Spirit, Spirit of Truth, come into our hearts; shed the brightness of Thy light on all nations, that they may be one in Faith and pleasing to Thee. 79 From whom to turn is to fall, Toward whom to turn is to rise again, In whom to dwell is to find peace, To depart from whom is to die, To return to whom is to be restored to life, To dwell in whom is to live. GOD — Whom no one loses, unless he be deceived, Whom no one seeks, unless he has been called, Whom no one finds, unless he is made pure. GOD — Whom to forsake is to perish, Whom to search for is the same as to love, Whom to see is the same as to possess. 80 GOD — Toward whom faith urges us, Toward whom hope raises us, With whom charity unites us. GOD — In whom and by whom and through whom Alone we can be happy. It is to Thee, we address our prayers, We beseech Thee hear us. — Bishop Fulton J. Sheen 81 The Power of Prayer p RAYER is not only worship : it is also an invisible emanation of man’s wor- shiping spirit — the most powerful form of energy that one can generate. The influence of prayer on the human mind and body is as demonstrable as that of secreting glands. Its results can be measured in terms of increased physical buoyancy, greater intellectual vigor, moral stamina, and a deeper understanding of the realities underlying human relationship. “If you make a habit of prayer, your life will be very noticeably and profoundly altered. Within the depths of conscious- ness a flame kindles. And man sees him- self. He discovers his selfishness, his silly pride, his fears, his greeds, his blunders. He develops a sense of moral obligation, intellectual humility. This begins a jour- 82 ney of the soul toward the realm of grace. “Prayer is a force as real as terrestrial gravity. As a physician, I have seen men, after all other therapy had failed, lifted out of disease and melancholy by the serene effort of prayer. It is the only power in the world that seems to overcome the so- called ‘laws of nature.’ The occasions on which prayer has dramatically done this have been termed ‘miracles.’ But a constant quieter miracle takes place hourly in the hearts of men and women who have discovered that prayer supplies them with a steady flow of sustaining power in their daily lives. “Too many regard prayer as a formal- ized routine of words, a refuge of weak- lings, or a childish petition for material things. We sadly undervalue prayer when we conceive it in these terms, just as we should underestimate rain by describing it as something that fills the birdbath in 83 the garden. Properly understood, prayer is a mature activity indispensable to the fullest development of personality — the ultimate integration of man’s highest facul- ties . Only in prayer do we achieve that complete and harmonious assembly of body, mind, and spirit which gives the frail human reed its unshakable strength.” — Alexis Carrel. “The sovereign cure for worry is prayer.” — William James. 84 TImis speaketh Christ our Lord to ns — Ye call Me Master, and obey Me not. Ye call Me Light, and see Me not. * Ye call Me Way, and walk Me not. Ye call Me Life, and desire Me not. Ye call Me Wise, and follow Me not. Ye call Me Fair, and love Me not. Ye call Me Rich, and ask Me not. Ye call Me Eternal, and seek Me not. Ye call Me Gracious, and trust Me not. Ye call Me Noble, and serve Me not. Ye call Me Mighty, and honor Me not. Ye call Me Just, and fear Me not. Therefore, if I condemn you, blame Me not. Inscribed on a slab in the Cathedral at Lubeck, Germany. 85 The Little Flower^ St. Therese speaks to mss HRIST has no body now on earth but yours, no feet but yours, no eyes but yours, no hands but yours. Yours are the feet by which He must go about doing good; yours are the eyes by which His compassion must look out upon the world ; yours are the hands by which He must bless us now. 86 Epistle To All Peoples: The world is a dark volcano, And we, its escapist custodians, Vainly pretend it is a bright plateau. Feverishly, we scurry to and fro, Like madmen in a nightmare, Building strange citadels and cities. Long ago, we split our personalities in two And lost our identities, We bartered the false for the true, And exchanged our heritage for a mess of economic porridge. Now, in this eleventh hour, when Our only consistencies lie in perversion, Dare we light the candle of prayer And begin our conversion? — Clinton O’Neill 87 Suggested Reading The Bible The Summa Theologica (Parts I 8 II) —St. Thomas Aquinas. A Companion to the Summa — Rev. Walter Farrell, O.P. God, His Existence and His Nature — Rev. i?. GarrigoU'Lagrange> O.P. Peace of Soul God and Intelligence Freedom under God The Moral Universe Religion without God — Bishop Fulton J. Sheen. How to Pray Well God within Us — Rev. Raoul Plus, S. J. Walking with God _ Rev. Kilian J. Healy. The Practice of the Presence of God — Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection. One with Jesus— Rev. Paul De Jaegherv S.J. Christ, the Fife of the Soul — Dom Columba Marmion, O.S.B. 88 Contemplatives of Christ — St. Augustine. The Internal Mission of the Holy Ghost — Cardinal W. E. Manning. Prayer — Alexis Carrel. How to Pray —Abbe Grou. Progress through Mental Prayer — Rev. Edward Leen, C.S.Sp. The Virtue of Trust — Rev. Paul De Jaegher, S.J. Self-Knowledge and Self-Discipline — Rev. B. W. Maturin. Seven Storey Mountain Seeds of Contemplation — Thomas Merton. Story of a Soul * — St. Therese (The Little Flower). Date Have I Loved Thee (A Novel) — Ethel Mannen. Pamphlets You The Woman The Love that Waits for You A Modern Soul in Search of God — Bishop Fulton J. Sheen. — "Our Sunday Visitor/' Huntington, Indiana. (Price, 25tf each, plus postage.) 89 A Way to Achievement (35^, plus postage) — Mother Margaret Bolton, R . C. in collaboration with Grace Hart Cenacle of Our Lady 200 Lake Street, Brighton, Mass. Our Savior’s Goodness to Those Who Trust Him Prayer, the Great Means of Grace Devotion to the Most Holy Trinity Devotion to the Holy Spirit God with Us Magnificence of the Love of God Conformity to the Will of God More Precious than Diamonds My Daily Companion at Mass To Jesus tlrrough Mary (10^ each, plus postage). Message of the Sacred Heart (5 cents) — Benedictine Convent of Perpetual Adoration Clyde, Missouri. An Easy Method of Mental Prayer Contemplation of Christ — Rev. Bertrand Wilberforce, O.P. International Catholic Truth Society 407 Bergen St., Brooklyn, N. Y. 90 What Is God? Dedication 3 Preface 4 The Holy Name 5 God Is the Creator 11 God Is Divine Providence 15 God’s Grace 20 God Is Spirit 24 God’s Laws 31 God Is Light 39 God Is the Divine Person 42 The Indwelling Christ 47 God Is Love 50 Independence versus Dependence 59 IF you can - 67 IF - 70 Prayer Is an Art 72 Prayer for Wisdom 73 Prayer for Peace 74 Prayer of a Soldier 75 Prayer before Study 7 6 Learning Christ 77 Longing for the Holy Spirit 7 8 God - 80 The Power of Prayer 82 Thus Speaketh Christ Our Lord .... 85 The Little Flower, Saint Therese, Speaks to Us 86 Epistle to All Peoples 87 Suggested Reading 88 Benedictine Convent of Perpetual Adoration Clyde, Missouri