'.
 
 VM
 
 A PAROCHIAL COURSE OF 
 DOCTRINAL INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 FOR ALL SUNDAYS AND HOLYDAYS 
 OF THE YEAR 
 
 Based on the Teachings of the Catechism of the 
 
 Council of Trent and Harmonized with 
 
 the Gospels and Epistles of the 
 
 Sundays and Feasts 
 
 PREPARED AND ARRANGED BY 
 
 THE REV. CHARLES J. CALLAN, O. P. 
 
 AND 
 
 THE REV. JOHN A. McHUGH, O. P. 
 
 Professors in the Theological Faculty of Maryknoll Seminary, 
 Ossiningy N. Y. 
 
 WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY 
 
 THE MOST REV. PATRICK J. HAYES, D.D. 
 
 Archbishop of New York 
 
 DOGMATIC SERIES 
 VOL. I. 
 
 NEW YORK 
 JOSEPH F. WAGNER (Inc.) 
 
 LONDON : B. HERDER
 
 tJjtl bstat 
 
 V. F. O' DANIEL, O. P., S. T. M. 
 
 T. M. SCHWERTNER, O. P., S. T. LR. 
 
 Cmprtmt 13otrst 
 
 J. R. MEAGHER, O. P., S. T. LR. 
 
 iljtt faatat 
 
 ARTHUR J. SCANLAN, S. T. D. 
 
 Center Librorum 
 
 Imprimatur 
 
 * PATRICK J. HAYES, D. D. 
 
 Archbhhop of NtVl York 
 
 NEW YORK, NOVEMBER 24, 1920 
 
 Copyright, 1911, by JOSEFH F. WAONM, New York
 
 INTRODUCTION 
 
 No more timely and valuable contribution to the Catholic pulpit 
 could possibly be made than the " Parochial Course of Doctrinal 
 Instructions " prepared by Reverend Fathers Callan and Mc- 
 Hugh, of the Order of Preachers, in conjunction with our 
 Diocesan Commission on Preaching, to which I entrusted, some 
 time ago, the working out of a practical and uniform Program 
 of doctrinal and moral exposition for the entire Archdiocese of 
 New York. 
 
 I am more than gratified and consoled at the exceptionally 
 splendid result, in the appearance of the Program, already in use 
 in New York, and of the present volumes as a companion work 
 in the larger development of the subject matter outlined in the 
 Program. 
 
 It is quite evident that the authors and compilers realized that 
 the quest for the passing new in preaching lessens, if it does not 
 altogether destroy, the zest for the basic old in the Church's 
 treasury of the Word. Hence, the Catechism of the Council of 
 Trent, the Encyclical of Pius X, 1 and that of Benedict XV, 2 have 
 been studied most carefully and followed in the preparation of 
 these volumes. 
 
 The Catechism of the Council of Trent is presented within 
 these pages in a revised English version and with suitable ar- 
 rangement and division as to chapter and subject. The Cate- 
 chism is but too little used to-day, though in the Church it has 
 the unique distinction of holding a place, as it has been said, 
 "between approved Catechisms and what is de fide" It is the 
 fruitage of years of labor and discussion, subsequent to the clos- 
 ing of the Council of Trent, and was issued for the use of parish 
 priests by order of Pope Pius V in 1566. Leo XIII writing 3 to 
 the French Episcopate calls it " the golden book, the Catechismus 
 ad parochos a precious summary of all theology both dogmatic 
 and moral." Cardinal Newman * says : " I rarely preach a sermon, 
 but I go to this beautiful and complete Catechism to get both my 
 matter and my doctrine." 
 
 1 Acerbo nimis, April 15, 1905. * Humani generis, June 15, 1917. 
 
 * Depuis le jour, Sept. 8, 1899. 
 
 4 Apologia pro vita sua, chap, v, p. 280.
 
 IV 
 
 The IV Lateran Council says: Ignorantla est mater cuncto- 
 rum errorum. Ignorance of Catholic doctrine is the cause of 
 most of the bigotry and misunderstanding found among non- 
 Catholics. Ignorance of their own religion among Catholics 
 themselves is largely responsible for the unworthy Catholic whom 
 worldliness estranges from God and the practice of religious 
 duties. Even practical and devout Catholics need constant in- 
 struction lest they should stumble into serious doctrinal error. 
 Most of us, even those who " ought to be masters, have need to 
 be taught again what are the first elements of the words of God " 
 (Heb. v. 12). 
 
 There is a threefold knowledge of God: the first, by the nat- 
 ural light of human reason from the contemplation of the material 
 creation; the second, by the supernatural light of faith through 
 divine revelation ; the third, by the heavenly light of glory in the 
 enjoyment of the Beatific Vision. Supernatural faith aids human 
 reason in the interpretation of the visible universe, and opens up, 
 beyond our physical senses and intellectual powers, the vista of 
 the heavenly hills in the Kingdom of Glory, where we shall see 
 God face to face and possess Him for all eternity. The intellect 
 is the lamp that must be kept steadily burning to guide the will, 
 a blind faculty, which makes choice for us between good and 
 evil, wisdom and folly, truth and error. 
 
 The urgent necessity of knowing the doctrine of Christ as 
 taught by His Church should appeal to all, especially now, when 
 the human mind, bewildered as it is to-day with shattered hopes 
 and broken standards, is groping in darkness within its own 
 natural sphere of thought and action. The learned and the 
 great, as well as the unlettered and the lowly, must gather as 
 little children at the feet of Christ and hearken to His message 
 of eternal life. The right worship of God, the right way of think- 
 ing of God, and the right manner of living for God, should be 
 the supreme aim of everybody. 
 
 Sublime then is the office of the Preacher of the Word; and 
 urgent is the need of special grace for the lips that speak divine 
 wisdom. No amount of proximate preparation can overcome the 
 lack of remote preparation on the part of the clergy. Nemo dat 
 quod non habet is axiomatic. Unless a spirit of prayer and piety, 
 and a faithful study of divine sources enter into the mind and 
 heart of the teacher of God's Word, the sacerdotal unction and 
 the prophetic fire will be sadly wanting in one who is no other 
 than " sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal," to use the words of 
 the inspired Paul ( I Cor. xiii. I ) . Guard we must our preaching 
 from the carnal, the secular, and the pragmatic spirit of our 
 times. The holiest of men may easily dull and lose spiritual force 
 in preaching, and even slip into dogmatic error, if press, maga-
 
 INTRODUCTION v 
 
 zine, and novel, which ignore Christ and His Church, are domi- 
 nant informing forces in one's daily reading. 
 
 May the Holy Ghost bless our Catholic pulpit with power and 
 unction, that, in the highest and truest sense, " the law shall not 
 perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word 
 from the prophet" (Jer. xviii. 18). May we all, bishops and 
 priests, fulfil the promise of God to the Prophet Jeremias (iii. 
 15) : "And I will .give you pastors according to my own heart: 
 and they shall feed you with knowledge and doctrine." 
 
 * PATRICK JOSEPH, 
 Archbishop of New York. 
 
 FEAST OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION, 
 1920.
 
 PREFACE 
 
 THE purpose which prompted the preparation of the Outlines and 
 the arrangement of the contents of the present work was to make 
 most available for practical use in parochial preaching the Cate- 
 chism of the Council of Trent, and thereby to realize more fully 
 and more perfectly the high end for which that extraordinary 
 book was written. To this admirable Catechism, and to the 
 illustrious Encyclicals of Popes Leo XIII (Sept. 8, 1889), Pius X 
 (April 15, 1905), and Benedict XV (June 15, 1917), our minds 
 at once reverted as soon as we learned that his Grace, the present 
 Archbishop of New York, wishing in his zeal for souls and for 
 the glory of God to guard the Catholic pulpit against the dangers 
 of our times and to stimulate an interest in the pure teachings 
 of Christ and the Church, had determined to introduce through- 
 out his Archdiocese an official Program of doctrinal instructions, 
 covering all the teachings of our holy faith. And when, through 
 his Grace's Synodal Commission De Cultu Divino, we, among 
 others, were invited to submit ideas and a plan for such a Pro- 
 gram, it seemed to us that nothing better, nothing more useful, 
 could be suggested or achieved than carefully to work out the 
 wishes and directions of the Fathers of Trent and of subsequent 
 Soverign Pontiffs on the subject of parochial preaching. This 
 thought appeared the more engaging since the work prepared by 
 the Bishops and theologians of Trent was not for any single age 
 or generation, but for all time to come, building as they did on 
 the foundations of the Prophets and the Apostles, with Christ as 
 their corner-stone. 
 
 Upon submission of this plan to his Grace, he was not long in 
 giving it his hearty approval and in requesting us to work it out 
 under the supervision of his Commission De Cultu Divino, pre- 
 sided over by the Very Rev. Dr. Joseph H. McMahon. 
 
 It was really not a new idea, but, so far as we know, the first 
 serious scheme for the complete and practical working out of 
 an old and splendid conception of enduring value. This will at 
 once appear from a glance at the history and at a few of the ap- 
 preciations of the Roman Catechism, on the one hand, and from 
 the briefest consideration of our plan on the other hand. 
 
 In April, 1545, only a few months after the opening of the 
 Council of Trent, it was decided by the Bishops and theologians
 
 viii PREFACE 
 
 of that illustrious assembly that an official book should be pre- 
 pared for the guidance of pastors and all those charged with 
 preaching and with the instruction of the faithful. It was plain 
 that an explanation of the truths of revelation was always neces- 
 sary ; but at that time, more than ever in preceding ages, it seemed 
 imperative that the faithful should be thoroughly instructed in 
 all the doctrines of faith, because the so-called Reformers had 
 their false teachers and false prophets everywhere abroad, spread- 
 ing their pernicious errors and endeavoring by all means in their 
 power to turn souls from the way of truth. The need of a com- 
 plete, popular, and authoritative manual was further heightened 
 by the lack in many of the pre-Reformation clergy of a system- 
 atic knowledge and method of explaining the truths of faith, 
 and a consequent neglect of instruction and lack of religious 
 knowledge on the part of the faithful. 
 
 For some years the Council was occupied with other matters 
 which demanded more immediate attention; but in February, 
 1562, after having defined and re-approved all the leading doc- 
 trines and teachings of the Church, the Fathers of the Council 
 resolved that an official Catechism should be written which would 
 treat, in a manner suited for parochial use, all those truths of 
 Christian doctrine with which the faithful ought to be familiar, 
 and upon which they are supposed to be instructed in particular 
 on all Sundays and Feasts of obligation. Furthermore, it was 
 the wish of the Fathers and authors of this great work, and of 
 the Sovereign Pontiffs and Councils that subsequently approved 
 it, that its contents should be so treated as to harmonize with the 
 Gospels and Epistles of the Sundays and Feasts throughout the 
 year. Thus the faithful, while being kept ever in touch with the 
 person and life-giving words of Christ, would at the same time be 
 constantly and thoroughly instructed in all the principal doctrines 
 of that revelation which the Saviour has given to the world for 
 man's salvation. 
 
 After several years of careful labor and numerous revisions, on 
 the part of many Bishops and eminent theologians, the Catechism 
 was brought to completion and issued for the use of parish priests 
 by command of Pope Pius V, toward the end of the year 1566. 
 Translations into the vernacular of every nation were ordered by 
 the Council. No such complete and practical summary of Chris- 
 tian doctrine had appeared since the days of the Apostles. 
 Bishops at once recommended it everywhere and urged their 
 priests so constantly to use and study it for their preaching that 
 its whole contents would at length be committed to memory. It 
 was repeatedly recommended by Pope St. Pius V, and in five 
 Councils held at Milan under St. Charles Borromeo it received 
 the highest praise and commendation. Similar eulogy and com-
 
 PREFACE ix 
 
 mendation were given it by Gregory XIII, the successor of 
 Pius V, by Clement XIII, and in our own times by Leo XIII 
 and Pius X. In short, from the time of its publication down to 
 the present time many Pontiffs and Bishops, and a great number 
 of provincial and diocesan synods in various countries, have vied 
 with one another in celebrating the praises of the Catechism of 
 Trent, and in commanding its use. A few of many testimonies 
 may be useful here. 
 
 Speaking of the Catechism, Cardinal Valerius, the friend of St. 
 Charles Borromeo, wrote : " This work contains all that is need- 
 ful for the instruction of the faithful; and its matter is given 
 with such order, clearness, and majesty that through it we seem 
 to hear the Church herself, taught by the Holy Ghost, speaking 
 to us. ... It was composed by order of the Fathers of Trent 
 through the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, and was edited by 
 order of the Vicar of Christ." 
 
 Salmanticenses, the great Carmelite commentators on St. 
 Thomas, paid the following high tribute to the Catechism : " The 
 authority of this Catechism has always been of the greatest in 
 the Church, because it was composed by the command of the 
 Council of Trent, because its authors were men of highest learn- 
 ing, and because it was approved after the severest scrutiny by 
 popes Pius V and Gregory XIII, and has been recommended 
 in nearly all the Councils that have been held since the Council 
 of Trent." 
 
 Antonio Possevinus, an illustrious Jesuit, and the professor of 
 St. Francis de Sales, said : " The Catechism of the Council of 
 Trent was inspired by the Holy Ghost." 
 
 In an Encyclical Letter to the Bishops and clergy of France, 
 of Sept. 8, 1889, Pope Leo XIII recommended two books which 
 all Seminarians should possess, and constantly read and study, 
 namely, the Summa of St. Thomas and the Roman Catechism. 
 Regarding the latter he said : " This work is remarkable at once 
 for the richness and exactness of its doctrine, and for the ele- 
 gance of its style ; it is a precious summary of all theology, both 
 dogmatic and moral. He who understands it well, will have al- 
 ways at his service those aids by which a priest is enabled to 
 preach with fruit, to acquit himself worthily of the important 
 ministry of the confessional and of the direction of souls, and 
 will be in a position to refute the objections of unbelievers." 
 
 In his immortal Apologia Cardinal Newman writes: "The 
 Catechism of the Council of Trent was drawn up for the express 
 purpose of providing preachers with subjects for their sermons ; 
 and, as my whole work has been a defence of myself, I may here 
 say that I rarely preach a sermon but I go to this beautiful and 
 complete Catechism to get both my matter and my doctrine."
 
 x PREFACE 
 
 " Its merits," says Dr. Donovan, who first translated the Cate- 
 chism into English, "have been recognized by the universal 
 Church. The first rank which has been awarded the " Imitation " 
 among spiritual books, has been unanimously given to the Roman 
 Catechism as a compendium of Catholic theology. It was the 
 result of the aggregate labors of the most distinguished of the 
 Fathers of Trent, . . . and is therefore stamped with the impress 
 of superior worth." 
 
 Dr. John Hagan, Vice-Rector of the Irish College in Rome, 
 says : " The Roman Catechism is a work of exceptional authority. 
 At the very least it has the same authority as a dogmatic Ency- 
 clical, it is an authoritative exposition of Catholic doctrine 
 given forth, and guaranteed to be orthodox by the Catholic 
 Church and her supreme head on earth. The compilation of it 
 was the work of various individuals ; but the result of their com- 
 bined labors was accepted by the Church as a precious abridg- 
 ment of dogmatic and moral theology. Official documents have 
 occasionally been issued by Popes to explain certain points of 
 Catholic teaching to individuals, or to local Christian communi- 
 ties; whereas the Roman Catechism comprises practically the 
 whole body of Christian doctrine, and is addressed to the whole 
 Church. Its teaching is not infallible; but it holds a place be- 
 tween approved catechisms and what is de fide." 
 
 So much for a glance at the history of the Catechism and at 
 a few of the distinguished tributes that have been paid it. Let 
 us now briefly reflect upon the plan and contents of this present 
 work. 
 
 In these four volumes we have treated all the subjects of the 
 Catechism and of practical Christian doctrine, both dogmatic and 
 moral, and have so arranged them that they fit in and harmonize 
 with the Gospels and Epistles of the Sundays and Feasts, as the 
 Fathers of Trent desired. Moreover, we have so distributed the 
 matter, in harmony with the liturgy, that the first two volumes 
 cover all dogmatic subjects in the space of one year, and the last 
 two volumes similarly treat all moral subjects within the limits 
 of a second year. Thus, by means of this course, every two 
 years both clergy and laity, while being kept in close touch with 
 the Gospels and Epistles, will be taken over the whole field of 
 practical Christian doctrine. This plan, furthermore, is in per- 
 fect agreement with the directions of the New Code of Canon 
 Law, which requires that the faithful on Sundays and feast days 
 be especially instructed on all they must believe and do in order 
 to be saved, and that the Sunday Gospel and Epistle should be a 
 part of these instructions (cc. 1347, 1344). 
 
 Under each Sunday and Holyday there will be found four dis- 
 tinct divisions: an Outline composed by ourselves and based on
 
 PREFACE xl 
 
 the teachings of the Tridentine Catechism, a passage from the 
 Catechism in which the outline is developed, one or more stand- 
 ard modern sermons on the subject of the day, and many refer- 
 ences to other modern and classic sermons, to St. Thomas and 
 the theologians, to the liturgists, and to other authoritative works. 
 
 The Outline chooses a subject or text from the appointed 
 Gospel or Epistle of the day. A brief Introduction then follows, 
 giving the setting of the Gospel or Epistle and showing its con- 
 nection with the analysis of the subject. The Analysis, which 
 comes next, has two or three main points logically connected and 
 subdivided so as to furnish ample thought for one or more ser- 
 mons, and give the preacher a clear and comprehensive outline 
 of the whole subject. The Conclusion, or Lessons, which follow 
 the Analysis, contain practical deductions, drawn from the sub- 
 ject treated, and applied to every-day life. 
 
 Those who, in order to develop the Analysis of each day, de- 
 sire further or other matter than that provided by the passages 
 from the Catechism and the sermons that are given, will find 
 abundant help and material through the references that are indi- 
 cated for each day. 
 
 In addition, then, to the subjects treated by the Catechism of 
 Trent, namely, the Articles of the Creed, the Commandments of 
 God and the Precepts of the Church, the Sacraments, the leading 
 Virtues and Vices, the Petitions of the Our Father, the Four 
 Last Things, etc., in addition to all these subjects we have 
 included instructions on such doctrines as Papal Infallibility, 
 the Immaculate Conception, the Assumption, Indulgences, the 
 Beatitudes, the Gifts and Fruits of the Holy Ghost, etc., thus 
 completing, if we may so speak, that noble Catechism by the 
 inclusion of doctrines defined since its publication, and by the 
 development of subjects to which it refers without giving a 
 detailed explanation. 
 
 Every two years, therefore, according to the method adopted 
 in this work, the faithful will be taken over the entire Catechism 
 of the Council of Trent and every part of practical Christian 
 doctrine without omissions or repetitions. The monotony of pro- 
 longed consecutive treatments of particular subjects and doc- 
 trines is obviated by the variety which is afforded ; interest is thus 
 stimulated and kept up; and while listening to the Gospels and 
 Epistles of the Masses at which they are obliged to assist, the 
 faithful will constantly and frequently be receiving instruction 
 on all those things which they must do and believe in order to be 
 saved, as the New Canon Law prescribes. 
 
 In the first volume of this work we were satisfied with a care- 
 ful revision of Dr. Donovan's English translation of the Cate- 
 chism. Only those changes were made which seemed necessary
 
 xii PREFACE 
 
 for accuracy, simplicity, and clarity of statement. In particular 
 it appeared needful to accommodate much of the phraseology 
 and many of the words to present-day usage. But after this 
 volume had gone to press the necessity of a substantially new 
 translation of the Catechism from the original Latin occurred to 
 us as distinctly advisable. 
 
 Accordingly in the three following volumes of this work we 
 have deviated much more from the English of Dr. Donovan than 
 in the first volume. At times, however, even here, we have found 
 it unnecessary to depart much from the substance of the first 
 English translator. It is therefore our hope, as it has been our 
 aim, that the revision and translation given of the Catechism in 
 these volumes will be found clear, exact, simple, and readable. 
 
 In conclusion we feel it a duty to express our gratitude to the 
 Homiletic Monthly and its publishers for the privilege we have 
 enjoyed, in preparing this work, of a generous and ready access 
 to an unusual wealth of sermons. From the vast store of splen- 
 did productions that have graced the pages of that admirable 
 Review for nearly a quarter of a century we have thus been able 
 to select for each Sunday and feast day a great variety of the best 
 of modern sermons. The distinguished names here quoted are 
 their own guarantee and recommendation for loftiness of thought 
 and solidity of doctrine, for beauty and eloquence of expression. 
 
 CHARLES J. CALLAN, O.P. 
 JOHN A. McHuGH, O.P.
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT: The Second Coming of Christ i 
 
 Catechism of the Council of Trent, Article VII of the Creed * . - 2 
 The Second Coming of Christ. Sermon by the Rev. F. X. Mc- 
 
 Gowan, O.S.A 6 
 
 The Particular Judgment. Sermon by the Rev. P. Hehel, S.J. . 12 
 
 References 16 
 
 FEAST OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION: The Immaculate Conception 17 
 
 The Immaculate Conception. Sermon by the Rev. P. A. Beecher 19 
 
 The Immaculate Conception. Sermon by Cardinal Corsi .... 27 
 
 References 29 
 
 SECOND SUNDAY OF ADVENT: Our Lord, the expected Redeemer and 
 
 Messiah 30 
 
 Catechism of the Council of Trent, Article II of the Creed ... 31 
 
 Christ, the True Messiah. Sermon by the Rev. Bertrand L. Con- 
 way, C.S.P. 37 
 
 Christ is He Who Should Come. Sermon by the Rev. K. Krogh- 
 
 Tonning 44 
 
 References 47 
 
 THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT: Christ the Son of God 47 
 
 Catechism of the Council of Trent, Article II of the Creed ... 49 
 The Second Person : True God. Sermon by the Rev. H. G. 
 
 Hughes 50 
 
 References 60 
 
 FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT: Christ is Our Lord 61 
 
 Catechism of the Council of Trent, Article II of the Creed ... 62 
 The Second Article of the Creed. Sermon by the Rev. P. Hehel, 
 
 S.J. 64 
 
 Christ Our Lord. Sermon by the Rev. Bede Jarrett, O.P. ... 66 
 
 References 69 
 
 THE FEAST OF CHRISTMAS : The Conception and Nativity of Christ 69 
 
 Catechism of the Council of Trent, Article III of the Creed 70 
 
 The Incarnation. Sermon by the Rev. Thomas F. Burke, C.S.P. 76 
 The Third Article of the Creed. Sermon by the Rev. P. Hehel, 
 
 S.J 8$ 
 
 References 88 
 
 SUNDAY AFTER CHRISTMAS : Lessons of the Nativity of Christ ... 89 
 
 Catechism of the Council of Trent, Article III of the Creed . . 90 
 Contradiction of Christ Sermon by the Rev. Ferdinand Heck- 
 
 mann, O.F.M. 92 
 
 The Incarnation Befitting. Sermon by -the Rev. P. Hehel, S.J. 97 
 
 References 101 
 
 1 For the various parts of the Catechism of the Council of Trent see 
 the INDEX on page 505.
 
 xiv CONTENTS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 FEAST OF CIRCUMCISION : Hallowed be Thy Name 102 
 
 Catechism of the Council of Trent, Hallowed be Thy Name , 103 
 
 Hallowed be Thy Name. Sermon by the Rev. L. Ruland, D.D. 107 
 
 The Holy Name. Sermon by the Rev. W. D. Strappini, S.J. . 113 
 
 References 116 
 
 SUNDAY AFTER CIRCUMCISION: Holy Orders 117 
 
 Catechism of the Council of Trent, The Sacrament of Orders . 118 
 
 Holy Orders. Sermon by the Very Rev. James J. Fox, D.D. - 127 
 
 References 135 
 
 FIRST SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY : The Communion of Saints .... 136 
 
 Catechism oi the Council of Trent, Article IX of the Creed 137 
 The Communion of Saints. Sermon by the Rev. Stephen 
 
 Murphy, O.M.I. 140 
 
 References 144 
 
 SECOND SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY: The Sacrament of Marriage . 145 
 Catechism of the Council of Trent, Matrimony as a Sacrament, 
 
 Superior to the Natural Contract 147 
 
 The Sacrament of Marriage. Sermon by the Rev. Thomas 
 
 J. Gerrard 153 
 
 The Sanctity and Utility of Marriage. Sermon by the Rev. 
 
 P. Hehel, S.J. 160 
 
 References 164 
 
 THIRD SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY : Hell 164 
 
 Catechism of the Council of Trent (See Last Sunday after Pen- 
 tecost, and Palm Sunday) 166 
 
 The Nature of Hell. Sermon by the Rt Rev. James Bellord, D.D. 166 
 
 References 176 
 
 FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY: God, the Almighty Creator . - 176 
 
 Catechism of the Council of Trent, Article I of the Creed . . 178 
 God the Father and Creator. Sermon by the Rev. Thomas 
 
 J. Gerrard 184 
 
 I Believe in God the Father Almighty. Sermon by the Rev. P. 
 
 Hehel, S.J 192 
 
 References 196 
 
 FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY : The Holiness of the Church . . . 196 
 
 Catechism of the Council of Trent, Article IX of the Creed 198 
 The Church is Holy. Sermon by the Rt. Rev. Wm. T. Russell, 
 
 D.D., LL.D. 200 
 
 References 206 
 
 SIXTH SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY : The Catholicity of the Church . 207 
 
 Catechism of the Council of Trent, Article IX of the Creed - - 208 
 The Races within the Fold. Sermon by the Rev. John H. 
 
 Stapleton 209 
 
 References 215 
 
 SEPTUAGESIMA SUNDAY: Baptism, its nature and institution .... 216 
 
 Catechism of the Council of Trent, The Sacrament of Baptism 218 
 
 Baptism. Sermon by the Rt. Rev. Alexander Macdonald, D.D. 228 
 
 References 232 
 
 SEXAGESIMA SUNDAY: Angels and Demons 232 
 
 Catechism of the Council of Trent (See Fourth Sunday after 
 Epiphany; Fifth Sunday after Easter in Dogmatic Series; 
 and Palm Sunday and Ninth Sunday after Pentecost in Moral 
 
 Series) 234
 
 CONTENTS xv 
 
 PAGE 
 The Angels; Good and Bad Angels; Guardian Angels. Sermon 
 
 by the Rev. H. G. Hughes 234 
 
 References 244 
 
 QUINQUAGESIMA SUNDAY : The Sufferings of Our Lord 244 
 
 Catechism of the Council of Trent, Article IV of the Creed . . 245 
 Prophecies Relating to Our Lord's Passion. Sermon by Canon 
 
 J. S. Richter 248 
 
 The Passion of Christ. Sermon by the Rev. J. R. Newell, O.P. 253 
 
 References 256 
 
 FIRST SUNDAY OF LENT : The Holy Eucharist 256 
 
 Catechism of the Council of Trent, The Sacrament of the 
 
 Eucharist 258 
 
 The Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar. Sermon by the Rev. 
 
 P. Hehel, SJ. 264 
 
 The Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar. Sermon by Cardinal 
 
 Corsi 270 
 
 References 273 
 
 SECOND SUNDAY OF LENT : The Effects of Holy Communion .... 273 
 Catechism of the Council of Trent, The Salutary Effects of the 
 
 Eucharist 275 
 
 The Effects of Holy Communion. Sermon by the Rev. P. 
 
 Hehel, SJ 280 
 
 The Effects of Holy Communion. Sermon by Cardinal Corsi 283 
 
 References 286 
 
 THIRD SUNDAY OF LENT: The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass 286 
 
 Catechism of the Council of Trent, The Eucharist is a Sacrifice 288 
 The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Sermon by the Rt. Rev. Alex- 
 ander Macdonald, D.D 292 
 
 References 301 
 
 FOURTH SUNDAY OF LENT: The Matter, Form, and Rites of the Holy 
 
 Eucharist 301 
 
 Catechism of the Council of Trent, The Matter of this Sacrament 303 
 The Matter and Form of the Eucharist. Sermon by the Rt. Rev. 
 
 Alexander Macdonald, D.D. . . 314 
 
 The Matter and Form of the Eucharist. Sermon by the Rev. 
 
 P. Hehel, SJ. 318 
 
 References 321 
 
 PASSION SUNDAY : The Circumstances of our Saviour's Passion . . 322 
 
 Catechism of the Council of Trent, Article IV of the Creed . 323 
 
 Thoughts on the Passion. Sermon by the Rev. H. G. Hughes 329 
 
 References 335 
 
 PALM SUNDAY : The Death of Our Lord 336 
 
 Catechism of the Council of Trent, Article IV of the Creed . . 337 
 
 The Crucifixion. Sermon by the Rev. M. S. Smith 343 
 
 References 35 2 
 
 EASTER SUNDAY: The Resurrection of Christ 353 
 
 Catechism of the Council of Trent, Article V of the Creed ... 354 
 The Resurrection of Christ. Sermon by the Rev. Thomas F. 
 
 Burke, C.S.P. . 361 
 
 Easter, a Season of Rejoicing. Sermon by the Rev. M. Bossaert 368 
 
 References 370 
 
 Low SUNDAY: The Sacrament of Penance 370 
 
 Catechism of the Council of Trent, Penance as a Sacrament . . 372
 
 xvi CONTENTS 
 
 PAGE 
 The Sacrament of Penance. Sermon by the Rev. J. A. M. 
 
 Gillis, M.A 380 
 
 References 388 
 
 SECOND SUNDAY AFTER EASTER: Ecclesiastical Orders and the Hier- 
 archy of the Church 388 
 
 Catechism of the Council of Trent, Number of Orders 390 
 
 Holy Orders. Sermon by the Rev. William Graham 400 
 
 References 409 
 
 THIRD SUNDAY AFTER EASTER: Life Everlasting 409 
 
 Catechism of the Council of Trent, Article XII of the Creed 410 
 
 Heaven. Sermon by the Rev. Bertrand L. Conway, C.S.P. . 418 
 
 Heaven. Sermon by Cardinal Corsi 426 
 
 References 428 
 
 FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER EASTER : The Apostolicity of the Church . . 429 
 
 Catechism of the Council of Trent, Article IX of the Creed . 430 
 Catholicity and Apostolic Origin of the Church. Sermon by 
 
 Cardinal Corsi 431 
 
 The True Church of Christ. Sermon by Cardinal Corsi .... 434 
 
 References 438 
 
 FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER EASTER: God Our Heavenly Father 439 
 
 Catechism of the Council of Trent, The Lord's Prayer 440 
 
 Our Father Who Art in Heaven. Sermon by the Rev. L. Ru- 
 
 land, D.D. 451 
 
 Confidence in Our Heavenly Father. Sermon by the Rev. S. 
 
 Anselm Parker, O.S.B., M.A 457 
 
 References 462 
 
 FEAST OF THE ASCENSION : The Ascension of Christ 462 
 
 Catechism of the Council of Trent, Article VI of the Creed . . 463 
 
 The Ascension of Our Lord. Sermon by the Rev. Wm. Graham 469 
 
 References 478 
 
 SIXTH SUNDAY AFTER EASTER : The Sacrament of Confirmation . . 478 
 Catechism of the Council of Trent, The Sacrament of Con- 
 firmation 480 
 
 Confirmation. Sermon by the Rt. Rev. Alexander Macdonald, D.D. 491 
 
 References 498 
 
 GENERAL REFERENCES 499 
 
 INDEX 505
 
 A PAROCHIAL COURSE 
 OF DOCTRINAL INSTRUCTIONS
 
 FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT 
 
 SUBJECT 
 THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST 
 
 TEXT 
 
 They shall see the Son of wan coming in a cloud, with great power and 
 majesty. LUKE xxi. 27. 
 
 Analysis 
 
 INTRODUCTION. The word "advent" means coming. The 
 four weeks that follow are intended to be a season of preparation 
 for Christmas, which was the first coming of Christ our Re- 
 deemer. To-day is also the first Sunday of the ecclesiastical year, 
 and on this day, as on last Sunday, which was the final Sunday 
 of the ecclesiastical year, the Church has appointed for our in- 
 struction a Gospel dealing- with the second coming of Christ as 
 Judge, in order that we may from the beginning to the end of 
 the year bear in mind our judgment which is to come. 
 
 I. " From thence he shall come to judge the living and the 
 dead.'* I. Christ has three offices: those of Redeemer, Media- 
 tor, and Judge. 2. There are two comings of Christ: the first 
 in lowliness to redeem the world, the second in power to judge 
 the world. 3. There are two judgments: the particular judg- 
 ment at death, and the general judgment at the end of the world. 
 
 II. The general judgment. Last Sunday we explained the 
 circumstances of the general judgment, to-day we assign the 
 reasons for it: I. Only at the last day can the total results of 
 good or evil be known. 2. A general judgment will be the means 
 of rectifying the injustices of life and of vindicating the ways 
 of God's providence. 3. By means of a judgment following
 
 2 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 the resurrection the body will have part in the rewards or punish- 
 ments of the soul. 4. The sentence pronounced at the general 
 judgment will be a public and solemn ratification of the private 
 sentence at the particular judgment. 
 
 III. The particular judgment, i. This takes place at the 
 moment of death " It is appointed unto man once to die, and 
 after death, the judgment " (Heb. ix. 27). 2. There is a similar- 
 ity between the end of the world and the death of the individual : 
 (a) both are certain "my words shall not pass" (Luke xxi. 
 33) ; (b) the time of both is uncertain "the day and the hour 
 no man knoweth" (Matt. xxiv. 36); (c) both are accom- 
 panied by temptations and tribulations "there shall arise false 
 Christs," etc., "the sun shall be darkened," etc. (Matt. xxiv. 
 24, 29). 3. The similarity between the particular and the gen- 
 eral judgments : (a) it is the same person with his whole life who 
 is judged in both cases; (b) the sentence is irrevocable in both 
 cases. 
 
 CONCLUSION. I. The importance of frequent reflection on 
 death and of constant preparation by vigilance against tempta- 
 tion and by prayer for perseverance. 2. Preparation for a favor- 
 able judgment by judging oneself now, by refraining from 
 judging others, by performing works of charity, etc. (Matt. xxv. 
 35-46). 3. For the just the thought of the judgment is a conso- 
 lation, " look up, and lift up your heads, because your redemp- 
 tion is at hand" (Luke xxi. 28) ; "Come, Lord Jesus" (Apoc. 
 xxii. 20). 
 
 Catechism of the Council of Trent, Part I 
 
 ARTICLE VII OF THE CREED 
 
 From thence he shall come to judge the living and the dead 
 THE THREE OFFICES OF CHRIST 
 
 Jesus Christ is invested with three eminent offices and func- 
 tions : those of Redeemer, Patron, and Judge. But as in the pre- 
 ceding Articles it is shown that the human race was redeemed
 
 THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST 3 
 
 by His passion and death, and as by His ascension into heaven it 
 is manifest that He has undertaken the perpetual advocacy and 
 patronage of our cause, it follows that in this Article we set 
 forth His character as Judge. 
 
 MEANING OF THE ARTICLE ON THE LAST JUDGMENT 
 
 The scope and intent of the Article is to declare that on the last 
 day He will judge the whole human race. The Sacred Scriptures 
 inform us that there are two comings of Christ, the one when 
 He assumed human flesh for our salvation in the womb of a 
 virgin ; the other when He shall come at the end of the world to 
 judge mankind. This coming is called in Scripture " the day of 
 the Lord." "The day of the Lord," says the Apostle, "shall 
 come, as a thief in the night " ; * and our Lord Himself says, " Of 
 that day and hour nobody knoweth."" 2 In proof of the last judg- 
 ment it is enough to adduce the authority of the Apostle : " We 
 must all," says he, "appear before the judgment seat of Christ, 
 that every one may receive the proper things of the body, accord- 
 ing as he hath done, whether it be good or evil." 3 Sacred Scrip- 
 ture abounds in testimonies to the same effect, which the pastor 
 will meet everywhere throughout the Inspired Volume,* and 
 which not only establish the truth of the dogma, but also place it 
 in vivid colors before the eyes of the faithful. And, if from the 
 beginning, the " day of the Lord," on which He was clothed with 
 our flesh, was sighed for by all as the foundation of their hope of 
 deliverance, so also, after the death and ascension of the Son of 
 God, the second " day of the Lord," we should make the object 
 of our most earnest desires, "looking for the blessed hope and 
 coming of the glory of the great God." 5 
 
 TWO JUDGMENTS 
 
 But with a view to the better explanation of this subject the 
 pastor is to distinguish two distinct periods at which every one 
 must appear in the presence of God, to render an account of all 
 his thoughts, words, and actions, and receive sentence accordingly 
 
 1 Thess. v. 2. * Matt. xxiv. 36 ; Mark xiii. 32. * 2 Cor. v. 10. 
 
 * I Kings ii. 10; Isaias ii. 12, 19; xiii. 9; Jerem. xxx. 23; Dan. vii. 9; 
 Joel ii. I. Tit. ii. 13.
 
 from the mouth of his judge : the first, when each one departs this 
 life ; for then he is instantly placed before the judgment seat of 
 God, where all that he had ever done or spoken or thought during 
 life shall be subjected to the most rigid scrutiny ; and this is called 
 the particular judgment : the second, when on the same day and in 
 the same place all men shall stand together, before the tribunal of 
 their judge, that in the presence and hearing of a congregated 
 world each may know his final doom, an announcement which 
 will constitute no small part of the pain and punishment of the 
 wicked, and of the remuneration and rewards of the just, when 
 the tenor of each man's life shall appear in its true colors. 
 
 WHY A GENERAL JUDGMENT 
 
 This is called the general judgment; and it becomes an indis- 
 pensable duty of the pastor to show why, besides the particular 
 judgment of each individual, a general one should also be passed 
 upon the assembled world. 
 
 FIRST REASON 
 
 The first reason is founded on circumstances that must aug- 
 ment the rewards or aggravate the punishments of the dead. 
 Those who depart this life sometimes leave behind them children 
 who imitate their conduct, dependents, followers, and others who 
 admire and advocate the example, the language, the conduct of 
 those on whom they depend and whose example they follow ; and 
 as the good or bad influence of example, affecting as it does the 
 conduct of many, is to terminate only with this world, justice 
 demands that in order to form a proper estimate of the good or 
 bad actions of all a general judgment should take place. 
 
 SECOND REASON 
 
 Moreover, as the character of the virtuous frequently suffers 
 from misrepresentation, while that of the wicked obtains the com- 
 mendation of virtue, the justice of God demands that the former 
 recover, in the presence and with the suffrage of a congregated 
 world, the good name of which they had been unjustly deprived 
 before men.
 
 THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST 5 
 
 THIRD REASON 
 
 Again, as the good and the bad perform their good and bad 
 actions not without the co-operation of the body, these actions 
 belong- also to the body as their instrument. The body, therefore, 
 should participate with the soul in the eternal rewards of virtue 
 or the everlasting punishments of vice; and this can only be ac- 
 complished by means of a general resurrection and of a general 
 judgment. 
 
 FOURTH REASON 
 
 Next, it is important to prove that in prosperity and adversity, 
 which are sometimes the promiscuous lot of the good and of 
 the bad, everything is ordered by an all-wise, all-just, and all- 
 ruling Providence. It is therefore necessary not only that re- 
 wards and punishments should await us in the next life, but that 
 they should be awarded by a public and general judgment. Thus 
 they will become better known and will be rendered more conspic- 
 uous to all, and 1 in atonement for the querulous murmurings, to 
 which on seeing the wicked abound in wealth and flourish in hon- 
 ors even the Saints themselves, as men, have sometimes given 
 expression, a tribute of praise will be offered by all to the justice 
 and providence of God. "My feet," says the Prophet, " were al- 
 most moved, my steps had well nigh slipped, because I had a zeal 
 on occasion of the wicked, seeing the prosperity of sinners " ; and 
 a little after : " Behold ! these are sinners, and yet abounding in the 
 world, they have obtained riches ; and I said, Then have I in vain 
 justified my heart, and washed my hands among the innocent; 
 and I have been scourged all the day, and my chastisement hath 
 been in the morning." a This has been the frequent complaint of 
 many, and a general judgment is therefore necessary, lest perhaps 
 men may be tempted to say that God, " walking about the poles of 
 heaven," " regards not the earth. Wisely, therefore, has this truth 
 been made one of the twelve articles of the Christian creed, that 
 should any be tempted to doubt for a moment, their faith may be 
 confirmed by the satisfactory reasons which this doctrine presents 
 to the mind. 
 
 1 Ps. Ixxii. 2, 3, 12-14. * Job xxii. 14.
 
 FIFTH REASON 
 
 Besides, the just should be encouraged by the hope, the wicked 
 appalled by the terror, of a future judgment; that knowing the 
 justice of God the former may not be disheartened, and dread- 
 ing His eternal judgments the latter may be recalled from the 
 paths of vice. Hence, speaking of the last day, our Lord and 
 Saviour declares that a general judgment will one day take 
 place, and describes the signs of its approach, that seeing them, 
 we may know that the end of the world is at hand. 1 At His ascen- 
 sion also, to console His Apostles, overwhelmed with grief at His 
 departure, He sent Angels, who said to them : " This Jesus who is 
 taken up from you into heaven, shall so come as you have seen 
 him going into heaven." 2 
 
 Sermons 
 
 THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST 
 BY THE REV. F. X. McGOWAN, O.S.A. 
 
 There is probably no truth in the whole body of Christian doc- 
 trine that has excited more strongly the hopes and fears of human- 
 ity than the doctrine of the First and the Second Coming of Jesus 
 Christ on earth. His First Coming was eagerly watched for by 
 His chosen people, and it was fraught with all the blessed confi- 
 dence that the long night of four thousand years had fostered in 
 men's souls. When, however, it dawned upon a benighted world, it 
 brought reprobation to the Jewish people. But it cast light upon out- 
 side nations, and it was weighted down with the grace of redemp- 
 tion to the Gentiles. " Blindness in part hath happened in Israel, 
 until the fulness of the Gentiles should come in " (Rom. xi. 25). 
 
 The Second Coming of Christ on earth bears with it a signifi- 
 cance even as important as His First Coming. For men have 
 reason to fear that when their conduct shall be weighed in the 
 scale of Divine justice, they will be held to a severe account, and 
 will incur the wrath of the eternal Judge. 
 
 Ever since the days of Christ opposition has been manifested 
 against the acceptance of the doctrine which teaches a future gen- 
 
 Matt. xxiv. 33. * Acts i. n.
 
 THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST 7 
 
 eral judgment. The carnal-minded Jews could not brook such an 
 idea, because Jesus proclaimed Himself the Judge. The early 
 heretics emulated the pagans in deriding what appeared to them 
 as an impossible event. The same repugnance is to be found in 
 our late days. Men laugh to scorn the awful judgments of God. 
 
 We might classify the opponents of the doctrine of a general 
 judgment as " the proud infidel," " the sensual epicurean," and 
 " the earthly materialist." 
 
 The proud infidel is so self-sufficient that he will not admit a 
 personal God, because he wants to deify his own intelligence; 
 or if he does not exclude the idea of a God, he either identifies 
 God with himself or makes God the universe around him. To 
 the infidel the general judgment is a fable, a myth. 
 
 The sensual epicurean is as equally opposed to a general judg- 
 ment as the self-willed infidel. His god is his belly, according to 
 St. Paul, and he lives simply to pander to passion and to satisfy 
 appetite. He desires no general judgment, because this lower 
 life is his elysium. 
 
 The earthly materialist is so wedded to the world and its in- 
 terests that he cannot perceive anything beyond this life. He wor- 
 ships Mammon, and, according to the Gospel, he cannot serve 
 God. The materialist is in strong evidence in our American life. 
 He never thinks of God and His judgments. His time is wholly 
 occupied with gigantic speculations, with vast projects for self- 
 aggrandizement. In practice, the materialist seems not to believe 
 in a last accounting day when Christ shall judge the hearts of 
 men. 
 
 But God in His goodness has preserved the knowledge of judg- 
 ment day in the deposit of faith which He bequeathed to His 
 spouse, Mother Church, and His revelation lives and throbs in 
 Catholic hearts despite the infidelity of men and the perversity of 
 nations. Let us glance at 
 
 I. The certainty of a General Judgment. 
 
 II. The reason for a General Judgment. 
 
 I. When we say the Apostles' Creed we confess the event of 
 judgment day, on which Jesus Christ shall "judge the living and 
 the dead." In the Nicene Creed we acknowledge that Jesus Christ 
 " ascended into heaven, sits at the right hand of the Father, and
 
 is to come again with glory to judge the living and the dead." In 
 the Athanasian Creed we say: "At whose coming all men shall 
 rise again with their bodies, and shall give an account of their 
 own works." 
 
 The certainty of a General Judgment is proved: I. From the 
 Law of Nature ; 2. From the Old Testament ; 3. From the New 
 Testament. 
 
 i. That there will be at the end of time a general judgment 
 over which Jesus Christ, the Redeemer, will preside was well 
 known from the earliest ages. The judgment, with its awful 
 sentence, pronounced in Eden, was a type and a reminder of the 
 day of the Lord when all nations and the world of all ages shall 
 be summoned before the tribunal of Christ. This truth is indi- 
 cated in many passages of the Old Testament, but these were 
 badly understood or entirely ignored by the Jewish people. A 
 full knowledge of what both patriarch and prophet meant in their 
 deliverances on this subject was reserved for the Christianity of 
 later days. Before the Written Law was given to Israel, the pa- 
 triarchs both saw in spirit and taught in word the event of the 
 universal judgment. It was announced by the patriarch Enoch, 
 the seventh from Adam : " Behold," he said, " behold the Lord 
 coming with thousands of his saints, to execute judgment upon 
 all, and to reprove all the ungodly for all the works of their un- 
 godliness, whereby they have done ungodly, and of all the hard 
 things, which ungodly sinners have spoken against God." Here 
 direct reference is made not only to the Lord's judgment, but also 
 to the majesty and pomp which will attend it. Job, who was a 
 Gentile, and who lived in the period between Abraham and 
 Moses, thus being altogether uninfluenced by the legislation of 
 the latter, testifies also to the universal judgment of the Lord. 
 "What shall I do when God shall rise to judge? and when he 
 shall examine, what shall I answer him ? " (Job xxxi. 14). Again 
 he says : " Who will grant me this that thou mayst protect me 
 in hell, and hide me till thy wrath pass?" (Job xiv. 13). We 
 see that before the Written Law had been promulgated, the 
 knowledge of the Day of Judgment was apparent among the 
 peoples of the earth. It may have had a connection with 
 the spiritual promise of the Messiah. The patriarchs certainly
 
 THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST g> 
 
 knew of it, and we shall see how later the prophets spoke of it 
 in terms that are distinct and even elaborate. 
 
 2. The testimonies relative to the General Judgment are nu- 
 merous in the Old Testament, and therefore we are permitted the 
 liberty of selection. In the spirit of prophecy Anna, the mother 
 of Samuel, said: "The adversaries of the Lord shall fear him, 
 and upon them shall be thunder in the heavens: the Lord shall 
 judge the ends of the earth, and he shall give empire to his 
 king, and shall exalt the horn of his Christ" (i Kings ii. 10). 
 Here we have a direct allusion to the judgment day of the Lord, 
 with its fear and trembling and the exaltation of Jesus Christ, 
 who shall triumph over His enemies in the majestic environment 
 of the day of His justice. Isaias, whose language and style are 
 most elevated, also paints in glowing colors the dread conditions 
 of judgment day : " Enter thou into the rock, and hide thee in 
 the pit from the face of the fear of the Lord and from the glory 
 of his majesty. The lofty eyes of man are humbled . . . and 
 the Lord alone shall be exalted on that day. Because the day of 
 the Lord of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and high- 
 minded, and upon every one that is arrogant, and he shall be 
 humbled" (Is. ii. 10-13). Again, this prophet calls the day of 
 the Lord " a cruel day, and full of indignation and of wrath and 
 fury, to lay the land desolate and to destroy the sinners thereof 
 out of it" (Is. xiii. 9). 
 
 The prophet Ezechiel foretells the harrowing scene of the uni- 
 versal judgment : " The end is come, the end is come upon the 
 four quarters of the land. ... I will send my wrath upon thee, 
 and I will judge thee according to thy ways; and I will set all 
 thy abominations against thee" (vii. 2, 3). The prophets Joel 
 (ch. ii.), Malachias (ch. iii), and the wise man (Wisd. i. 5) make 
 use of similar language; they portray judgment day as a day full 
 of anguish ; they call it a day of wrath, of distress, of sorrow and 
 pining, a day of darkness, on which, as it was shown to Daniel 
 in a vision, the four kingdoms typified by the four animals shall 
 be destroyed, wiped out in a solemn manner, and transferred to 
 the saints of the Most High, who will reign forever and who will 
 command the homage of all earthly kings (Daniel vii). 
 
 3. This truth revealed to the patriarchs in the law of nature
 
 and to the prophets in the written law has been communicated to 
 us in the law of grace by our Blessed Saviour Himself. He has 
 particularized the meaning of this important event. He spoke 
 to unwilling ears when He announced the day of His Second 
 Coming to judge mankind ; the Jews wilfully misunderstood Him 
 and they maliciously corrupted Scripture to persevere in their 
 blindness. We who have been born of the New Covenant ac- 
 knowledge Jesus Christ to be the true God and true man, and we 
 know that though heaven and earth may pass away, His words 
 shall not pass away (Matt. xxiv. 35). "The Son of man," He 
 declares, " shall come in the glory of his Father with his Angels : 
 and then will he render to every man according to his works" 
 (Matt. xvi. 27). Again, He warns us: "Then shall appear the 
 sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all tribes of 
 the earth mourn : and they shall see the Son of man coming in the 
 clouds of heaven with much power and majesty" (Matt. xxiv. 
 30). What a solemn, impressive spectacle! "When the Son of 
 man shall come in his majesty, and all the angels with him, then 
 shall he sit upon the seat of his majesty: and all nations shall 
 be gathered together before him, and he shall separate them one 
 from another, as the shepherd separateth the sheep from the 
 goats" (Matt. xxv. 31-32). We may not know the exact day 
 when the Lord shall come to judge mankind, but we know the 
 issue of that day : the Lord will call His elect to everlasting happi- 
 ness, and He will send unhappy reprobates to never-ending 
 misery. 
 
 II. God does not demand of us that we serve, love, and obey 
 Him without giving us forcible reasons for so doing. The holy 
 Fathers give many reasons for the necessity of a General Judg- 
 ment. We select four principal ones that will enlighten us as to 
 God's dispensation regarding this solemn event. 
 
 i. One of the reasons given by the Fathers of the Church for 
 the General Judgment is to show with what justice Jesus Christ 
 rewards the good and punishes the wicked in the particular 
 judgment. We may remark here that the Saviour is in no way 
 bound to justify His conduct before His subjects. He is master 
 absolute, and we are in His hands, as says the Apostle, like clay 
 in the potter's hands (Rom. ix. 21). It is only through pure
 
 THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST n 
 
 condescension on His part that He will make known to us the 
 motives that have led Him to pronounce sentence on mortals 
 as He has done. He will expose these reasons in such a just and 
 intelligent way that the reprobate will acknowledge the justice of 
 their condemnation. He will convince all that He has not 
 wounded justice in the punishment of the wicked, nor overpassed 
 the limit of equitable generosity in the reward of the righteous. 
 
 2. Another reason for the General Judgment is to make known 
 the means of salvation which have been offered to every one of us 
 in particular, and the manner in which we have employed them. 
 Let us look over our past lives and consider the graces which we 
 have received : graces which were common to the parish in which 
 we lived, graces which were entirely personal, given solely for 
 our benefit. Review in thought the sermons and instructions to 
 which we have listened and the salutary counsel which we have 
 received from God's ministers in the tribunal of Penance. Think 
 how often conscience has upbraided us and placed before our 
 frightened gaze the picture of unrepentant death, and how often, 
 too, we were so moved that we cried out : " Behold, now is the 
 acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation" (2 Cor. 
 vi. 2). God has threatened, caressed, invited, urged, implored, 
 and chastised us. The day of judgment will disclose our in- 
 difference towards grace, our actual abuse of grace, even our 
 rejection of grace. 
 
 3. A further reason for a General Judgment is to make a sol- 
 emn reparation to souls unjustly oppressed and a solemn procla- 
 mation of the good works of the righteous. On earth, the good 
 are mingled with the wicked, and their good deeds, for many 
 causes, are never viewed in an impartial light. They are perse- 
 cuted by the wicked, and the latter seem to prosper while the 
 former endure adversity. God will right all these wrongs on 
 judgment day, and the wicked who received their reward on earth 
 will be banished from the kingdom of heaven, while the good 
 shall have as their eternal portion happiness without end. 
 
 4. The fourth reason we adduce for the holding of the Last 
 Judgment is to confound the reprobate with their sins and crimes. 
 What will be the confusion of the wicked when they shall see 
 that they could have merited eternal felicity, but lost it by delib-
 
 12 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 erate, wilful malice and deception! All their sins will be dis- 
 closed; their hypocrisy, deceit, and rashness laid bare as clear 
 as the noontide's sun. 
 
 Let us anticipate this " great day of the Lord " by treasuring 
 up merit in heaven. The judgment of God is a terrible thought. 
 It has frightened even the saintliest souls. St. Jerome could do 
 nothing work, write, or pray without imagining that he 
 heard the voice of the trumpet and the angel saying, " Arise, ye 
 dead, and come to judgment." St. Augustine confessed that it 
 was the fear of God's judgment that deterred him from commit- 
 ting many sins. 
 
 We should make the judgment day of the Lord the burden of 
 our daily thought. If we fail to catch its meaning and to be 
 moved by its awful conditions, we shall become in God's sight 
 only maimed and broken men, struggling desperately with issues 
 that must determine the future. Let us wring from its reflection 
 the secret of better and holier lives. Let us learn from it the 
 lesson of shaping our souls to a profitable newness of life. 
 
 THE PARTICULAR JUDGMENT 
 BY THE REV. P. HEHEL, S.J. 
 
 Taking into contemplation to-day the particular judgment, let 
 us ask : 
 
 I. When shall this particular judgment take place? 
 
 II. Where shall it be held? 
 
 I. We must know before all that there will be a twofold judg- 
 ment, a particular and a general judgment. God will hold for 
 every man a particular or secret judgment. This is the teaching 
 of the Apostle, as well as the teaching of the holy Fathers. St. 
 Thomas says clearly, " Besides the particular judgment, which 
 takes place directly after the death of every man, there will also 
 be a general judgment." And again : " As soon as the soul 
 leaves the human body, it is irrevocably assigned to an abiding 
 place. It receives its judgment either for life or for death, 
 according to its works." All its thoughts, words, and actions 
 during life will be judged in accordance with the way they pre- 
 sented themselves to God at the moment when they happened.
 
 THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST 13 
 
 Consequently, this particular judgment takes place at the time 
 when we depart from this life, at the very moment when the soul 
 is separated from the body. " It is a most reasonable and 
 wholesome belief," writes St. Augustine, "that the souls are 
 judged at the time when they are separated from their bodies, 
 before they come to that judgment by which they will be judged 
 again, after they have been reunited with their former bodies." 
 To prove this, the same holy father relates the parable from the 
 Gospel, in which Christ tells of the rich Dives and the poor 
 Lazarus. The Scripture says of these two, that the rich man, 
 as soon as he died, was thrown into hell, while the pious Lazarus 
 was, after his death, borne by the angels into the bosom of Abra- 
 ham. From this St. Augustine draws the conclusion, that un- 
 doubtedly it cannot depend upon the mere will of man after death 
 whether he shall go to heaven if this were so they would all 
 want to go there and it is just as reasonable that nobody would, 
 of his own free will, go into hell and subject himself to the 
 thraldom of the devil. If, then, the rich Dives was thrown into 
 hell immediately after death and the pious Lazarus was taken 
 to heaven, it follows, necessarily, that immediately after death 
 the soul of every man will be judged in particular, and after this 
 judgment be assigned either to heaven or to hell. If this judg- 
 ment was postponed until the last day or the day of the general 
 judgment, then on the one hand the just souls would be left in 
 unceasing anxiety, not knowing whether they would pass the 
 judgment, and on the other hand the godless would still be left 
 in the hope of being saved. Therefore, for a long time there 
 would be no difference between the two ; both would linger be- 
 tween fear and hope, as neither of them would be sure whether 
 they were to be saved or lost. And this is contrary to the justice 
 of God, who cannot allow those who have offended Him to be 
 treated the same as those who have served Him. 
 
 Therefore, it is certain that at the moment of our death our 
 soul will be judged in accordance with our merits, judged for all 
 eternity. Eternal life or eternal death will be the unalterable deci- 
 sion. Oh, what a terrible moment, upon which the whole of 
 eternity depends ! Who would not quake and tremble at this and 
 keep it unceasingly before his mind, as no one can tell the day
 
 14 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 or hour of his death, and therefore does not know how soon he 
 may be called before this judgment. Therefore our future judge 
 admonishes us kind-heartedly and cordially, when He says, 
 " Watch ye therefore, for you know not when the Lord of the 
 house cometh: at even, or at midnight, or at the cock-crowing, 
 or in the morning" (Mark xiii. 35). So much of the time 
 when this particular judgment will take place. 
 
 II. As regards the place where this judgment shall be passed, 
 we must not think that the souls are carried up to heaven and 
 there placed before the throne of God. No, a stained soul will 
 never, in all eternity, have the happiness of feeling even for one 
 moment the delights of heavenly joys; each soul will receive its 
 judgment at the same place where the body happened to be at 
 the time of death, be it on water or on land, in bed or in the 
 street, on the mountain or in the valley, in the fields or in the 
 house. For God is everywhere. For this reason can He, without 
 calling the soul into heaven or having to descend Himself from 
 heaven, pronounce His judgment over each one for eternal life 
 or death at the place where it became separated from the body 
 and make the soul cognizant of such judgment. 
 
 At this judgment Jesus Christ shall appear as Judge, the soul 
 as the accused, the angel who was its guardian as advocate, and 
 the devil as accuser. The latter will bring forward everything 
 that the soul had committed during its life on earth in thought, 
 word, or deed against God, against itself and against its neigh- 
 bors, either in intent or in reality. He will and this should be 
 borne well in mind bring forward not only the evil which has 
 been committed, but also the good deeds which the soul might 
 have done and which it left undone or did badly. When St. 
 Charles Borromeo was on his death-bed, he said to the priest 
 who attended him, " Reverend brother, I am afraid to appear 
 before the judgment more on account of the good which I have 
 left undone than the evil I have done." And yet, what a pious 
 and holy life had Borromeo led! How many good deeds this 
 man had done during his whole life ! Remember, often, that you 
 will be accused by the devil and condemned by Christ not only for 
 sins committed, but also for good deeds omitted. 
 
 Against this accuser there is given to each soul an advocate,
 
 THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST 15 
 
 that angel, namely, who was its true companion and guardian dur- 
 ing its pilgrimage through life. He on his side will also bring for- 
 ward everything good the soul has done. Every good thought, 
 every sigh, breath, or step, which was done with a pure intention 
 for the love of God or our neighbor will be recorded. He will 
 try to cover the imperfections of these works with the infinite 
 merits of Jesus Christ, and will, to frustrate the efforts of the 
 accuser and move the judge to mercy, remind the latter of the 
 most precious blood which He has shed for each accused soul. 
 
 The witnesses at this judgment will be the clear and unerring 
 perception which each soul will have in the most perfect degree. 
 As clear as the sun will appear before its eyes the actions of a 
 lifetime. All covering will be withdrawn and the soul will see 
 all its words, its works and thoughts, its good and evil deed? in 
 their true light as they appeared in the eyes of God. It will see, 
 whether it is rich in merits or poor, whether it is worthy of 
 heaven or deserving of hell. In this clear self-recognition one's 
 own conscience will give testimony either for or against, and 
 convicted by its own conscience, the soul will not be able to offer 
 excuses but will make a most complete confession. Thereupon, 
 the Judge, N who is none else than He who was our Redeemer, will 
 by virtue of His Divine power, His omniscience and justice, ren- 
 der without delay the irrevocable sentence, which will be life or 
 death for all eternity. If we are declared as blessed, we shall also 
 be deemed worthy of heaven on the second and general judgment 
 day; but if the verdict decrees our eternal perdition, we shall 
 receive the same sentence at the last judgment. 
 
 " Oh, how dreadful it is to fall into the hands of the living 
 God." And with each minute this terrible moment comes nearer 
 and nearer. Every minute may bring us the verdict, " Eternal 
 life " or " Eternal death." For we do not know whether we shall 
 not be in the next moment a prey of death. With great earnest- 
 ness St. James reminds us, therefore, " Behold the judge standeth 
 before the door " (James v. 9). 
 
 Yes, my dear friends, He stands before our door, before your 
 door, and before my door! As soon as he enters, the time of 
 activity is passed and He demands an accounting of our lives. 
 What will be our fate ?
 
 16 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 In conclusion, I will mention to you three thoughts of the holy 
 abbot Elias to ponder over. He used to say : " There are three 
 things I am afraid of. The first is when my soul will separate 
 from my body; the second, when I shall have to appear before 
 God my Judge ; and the third, when judgment will be passed on 
 me." Remember well these three points. He who will think over 
 them several times a day will lose all desire to do evil. 
 
 References 
 
 Hughes, in Homiletic Monthly, Feb. 1919; Graham, in Pulpit Com- 
 mentary, Vol. I; Hayes, "Advent," in Pulpit Commentary, Vol. IV, p. 29; 
 White, " The Day of Judgment," in Sermons for Sundays and Feasts; 
 Newell, " The General Judgment," in Short Sermons for the Sundays of 
 the Year; Murphy, " The Future Coming of Christ," in Sermons on the 
 Gospel; Heffner, " Judgment," in Short Sermons, Series III ; Corsi, " The 
 General Judgment," in Little Sermons on the Catechism; Hughes, " The 
 Particular Judgment," in Homiletic Monthly, Sept. 1916, Oct. 1918 ; Thuente, 
 in Homiletic Monthly, Nov. 1917 ; Phelan, in Homiletic Monthly, July, 1919; 
 Bourdaloue, " The Thought of Death," Bossuet, " Death," in Great French 
 Sermons, Series I ; Massillon, " The Death of the Sinner," " The Death of 
 the Righteous Man," in Great French Sermons, Series II ; Monsabre, in 
 Lenten Conferences of 1888. 
 
 The Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. VIII, p. 552; Vol. I, p. 165; Summa 
 Theologica, Suppl., qq. 73, 74, 87, 91 ; III, q. 59; Tanquerey, De Deo Remu- 
 neratore, Nos. 1-7; Hurter, Theologia Dogmatica, Vol. Ill, Nos. 778 ff., 
 84 ff. ; Pohle-Preuss, Eschatology, pp. 5, 103 ff. ; Vaughan, The Divine 
 Armory of Sacred Scripture, pp. 876 ff. ; Callan, Illustrations for Sermons 
 and Instructions, pp. 78 ff. ; Bellord, Meditations on Christian Dogma, 
 Vol. II, pp. 340 ff. ; Coleridge, The Return of the King. 
 
 Fora complete treatment of the Liturgy see Pulpit Commentary, Vol. IV. 
 
 NOTE: In these References the titles of sermons are given only when 
 they are not substantially the same as the subject of the day.
 
 THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION 17 
 
 FEAST OF THE IMMACULATE 
 CONCEPTION 
 
 SUBJECT 
 THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION 
 
 TEXT 
 
 Hail, full of grace; the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among 
 women. LUKE i. 28. 
 
 Analysis 
 
 INTRODUCTION. The extraordinary dignity and sanctity of the 
 Blessed Virgin is made manifest in the words of to-day's Gos- 
 pel. Since she was to become the Mother of the Second Person 
 of the Blessed Trinity it was not an ordinary messenger but an 
 Archangel that was sent to announce to her this great dignity. 
 And how 'worthy she was of such lofty honor the angel declares 
 in his salutation. She is " full of grace," the abyss of all heavenly 
 favors; "the Lord is with" her, she possesses holiness beyond 
 all other creatures ; she is " blessed among women," because, un- 
 like all others, she was never subject to any sin. 
 
 I. The meaning of this dogma. I. The Immaculate Con- 
 ception does not refer, as some non-Catholics imagine, to the 
 virgin birth of our Lord, nor to His sinlessness ; neither does it 
 imply on the part of the Blessed Virgin that her conception, like 
 our Lord's, was divine, in the sense that it was without a human 
 father. 2. The meaning of this doctrine is that, by a singular 
 favor and privilege of God, and through the foreseen merits of 
 her Son, the Virgin Mary, from the first instant of her concep- 
 tion in the womb of her mother, was preserved free from all 
 stain of sin. 3. Original sin is that moral guilt and stain of soul 
 which we inherit from Adam, the moral head of the human race. 
 Sanctifying grace and many other extraordinary privileges were
 
 i8 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 conferred upon our first parents from their creation, but all these 
 they lost through their sin; and the effect of their fall has de- 
 scended upon all their posterity, with the exception of Christ, 
 who was sinless by reason of the Hypostatic Union, and Mary, 
 who was conceived immaculate by the special favor of God. 
 4. Hence the Blessed Virgin from the first moment of her con- 
 ception was free from sin and endowed with sanctifying grace. 
 Jeremias and John the Baptist were sanctified in their mothers' 
 wombs and born free from original sin, but they were not con- 
 ceived in this state. 5. The grace received by Mary in her 
 conception was far superior to that ever attained by any of the 
 saints throughout their lives, and this grace she never lost, but 
 on the contrary continually augmented in her life. 6. Being a 
 child of Adam, Mary was in need of redemption, not to free 
 her from sin, but to preserve her against sin. 
 
 II. Reasons for this dogma, i. The dogma of the Immacu- 
 late Conception was not defined until December 8, 1854, by Pope 
 Pius IX, but it had always been taught in the Church as a 
 divinely revealed doctrine. 2. The Holy Scriptures, as inter- 
 preted by the Fathers of the Church, contain this doctrine: 
 (a) "I will put enmities between thee and the woman, . . . she 
 shall crush thy head" (Genesis iii. 15). (b) Types of the 
 Immaculate Conception were the ark of Noah, Jacob's ladder, 
 the burning bush, etc. (c) Many words of the prophets can be 
 understood of Mary's sinless conception; e.g., what they say 
 about the holy Jerusalem, the ark of sanctification, the house 
 built by eternal Wisdom, etc. (d) The salutation which the 
 Angel addressed to Mary on the day of the Annunciation implies 
 this doctrine. 3. The Fathers speak of Mary as the supreme 
 miracle, as nearest to God and above all praise; they declare her 
 superior to Eve in the latter's innocence ; they called her the lily 
 among thorns, the virgin earth from which the new Adam came 
 forth, etc., etc. ; they hold that sin should not be thought of when 
 there is question of Mary; they call her immaculate, more holy 
 than sanctity, more pure than purity, etc. 4. The Popes have
 
 THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION 19 
 
 promoted devotion to the Immaculate Conception and have incul- 
 cated the doctrine. The Council of Trent in its decree on sin 
 excluded the Blessed Virgin. 5. This doctrine has been univer- 
 sally believed by all classes in the Church, although a few ques- 
 tioned it at different times. 6. The Immaculate Conception was 
 altogether fitting since the Son of God was to take flesh from 
 the Virgin Mary, and He could not permit that His Mother 
 should ever have been subject to His enemy. 
 
 LESSONS, i. Rejoice over the Immaculate Conception, for 
 Mary is truly the "honor of our people." 2. Ask Our Lady's 
 intercession against temptation and sin. 3. Praise God for the 
 great privilege granted to our Mother. 
 
 Sermons 
 
 THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION 
 BY THE REV. P. A BEECHER 
 
 Frequently throughout the year we kept both feast and holy 
 day in Mary's honor. We rejoiced at her nativity; we honored 
 her annunciation ; we knelt with her in tenderness at the crib ; we 
 sorrowed as we met her on the road to Calvary; we joined in her 
 joy on Easter Sunday ; and of that joy we felt the consummation 
 when, her checkered life of sorrow and happiness ended, we saw 
 her taken gloriously body and soul into heaven. But on the 
 forthcoming feast we shall be called upon to celebrate that privi- 
 lege which is the beginning and root of all her sanctity; which 
 constitutes her "the glory of Jerusalem, the joy of Israel, the 
 salvation of her people," and an honor to the whole human race. 
 The feast of the Immaculate Conception ! Happy should be the 
 ears which hear that announcement, for, I say to you, genera- 
 tions longed to see the day that would commemorate its final 
 decision, and they saw it not. Fathers, doctors, theologians, and 
 the faithful of all times believed in the Immaculate Conception ; 
 nevertheless, it was not until the ever memorable December day, 
 in the year of grace 1854, after the cannon in St. Angelo had 
 boomed a signal for a triumphant peal of bells, that the doctrine
 
 20 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 became an article of defined faith, so that thereafter no one could 
 doubt it without hurting his own soul. The coming feast will 
 be the forty-seventh anniversary of that day of triumph, and 
 though our cities will wear their workaday aspect, we can, for 
 all that, make it a day of honor for Mary and of profit to our- 
 selves by congratulating her on her high privilege and begging 
 her assistance. 
 
 But we may be called upon not only to congratulate her and 
 beg her assistance, but likewise to defend her honor ; for it is a 
 well-known fact that none other of her titles is so strenuously 
 denied by non-Catholics as that of her Immaculate Conception. 
 This is in part due to ignorance regarding it, but principally be- 
 cause the sects at variance with Catholic teaching, no matter how 
 much they may differ among themselves, are all, from the heresy 
 of old Nestorius, who disgraced the patriarchal see of Constan- 
 tinople, down to the last wind of strange doctrine, characterized 
 by their attempt to belittle the dignity of the Mother of God. 
 Need we say that their hostility and anger are spent in vain, for 
 against her enemies she is as an army set in battle array! She 
 needs no defence, for her Son will reckon with her adversaries. 
 Still, in accordance with the promise, " They that will explain me 
 shall find life and shall have salvation from the Lord," we shall 
 offer a few reasons for our belief. 
 
 For the sake of clearness, we shall first state the doctrine in the 
 words of the definition : " The Blessed Virgin Mary, in the first 
 moment of her conception, by a special grace and privilege of 
 Almighty God, in view of the merits of Christ Jesus the Saviour of 
 the human race, was preserved free from all stain of original sin." 
 
 We now come to consider some of the arguments. Of course 
 the great argument for us Catholics is that the Church has defined 
 it ; but apart from this we must be able to give an account of the 
 faith that is in us. We shall divide the arguments into two 
 classes, the first class including those which go to show how con- 
 formable the doctrine is to reason and revelation, the second the 
 immediate arguments on which the definition has been founded. 
 
 As to the former : Firstly, Jesus Christ is the Son of God and 
 of the Virgin Mary, proceeding from all eternity from the bosom 
 of His eternal Father, born in the fulness of time of His Virgin
 
 THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION 21 
 
 Mother, and united to her by every tie that can bind a mother 
 and son. Now, as His Father is the infinitely holy God, adored 
 of cherubim and seraphim, must we not hold that His Mother 
 was at least preserved from all sin, for dishonor to a mother is 
 dishonor to the son ? Furthermore, let us consider the part Mary 
 has taken in the Incarnation. Let us take any part of the Sacred 
 Humanity, the Sacred Heart, for instance. We adore it. Is it 
 the Divinity which is united to it? Not merely that, but we 
 adore the living, fleshy heart itself, just as it beats within the 
 bosom of Jesus Christ. But where did He get that Heart ? where 
 His Flesh and Blood? From the most pure veins of the Blessed 
 Virgin Mary. And are we to suppose that flesh and blood so 
 honored, deified, united to the Divinity for evermore by the indis- 
 soluble bond of personal union, could come from a source stained 
 by that stain which of all others God detests most, the foul 
 stain of sin? Could sin touch God so closely? No one who re- 
 members that into His presence nothing defiled shall enter, and 
 who has formed the first idea of His sanctity, can for one mo- 
 ment entertain the thought. 
 
 Secondly, the Prophet Jeremias and John the Baptist, although 
 conceived in sin, were by special grace sanctified before birth, 
 the former because he was to predict the coming of Christ, the 
 latter because he was to prepare the way. And as God granted 
 this grace to persons who were only remotely and externally con- 
 nected with His Son, one of whom while in the flesh never saw 
 Him, is it not natural to suppose that He would go the whole 
 way and completely exempt from sin her who was to be the 
 mother of that same Son, and who, we are told, was prepared for 
 her Divine Maternity from all eternity? And the reasonableness 
 of this argument is confirmed by the fact that the privilege of 
 the Baptist was greater than that of the Prophet, inasmuch as 
 he came nearer Christ. 
 
 Finally, God gives His grace to each one according to the end, 
 dignity, and office for which one is intended. Now, Mary is the 
 Mother of God and a co-operator in the redemption; and hence 
 we almost invariably find reference to her when there is question 
 of Christ and the redemption. When Isaiah had in seraphic fer- 
 vor besought God to make clearer the mystery of the redemption,
 
 22 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 he was shown the Virgin with her Son Emmanuel, and the 
 Flower from the root of Jesse. Jeremias, equally favored, sang 
 in the sublime simplicity of Hebrew prophecy of the wonder 
 which God would! create on earth : " A woman shall encompass a 
 man." And coming to later times we find the same undivided 
 reference. In St. Matthew we read, "the mother with Jesus 
 who will make safe his people," and "the boy with Mary his 
 mother " ; in St. Luke, " blessed, with her blessed fruit," and the 
 "mother with the infant who is a light to the revelation of 
 the Gentiles, and the glory of the people Israel"; in St. Paul, 
 " the mother with the Son who is sent from heaven that we might 
 receive the adoption of the sons of God " ; and the favored evan- 
 gelist, while rapt in ecstasy in lone Patmos, gazed with eagle eye 
 on the wonderful secrets of heaven, and saw, great among them, 
 "a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon beneath her feet, 
 and on her head a crown of stars, and she brought forth a man 
 child who was to rule all nations with an iron rod." Thus, 
 throughout, we find her mentioned in connection with Christ and 
 the redemption, just as Eve is mentioned with Adam and the 
 fall. What, then, is the conclusion? That she must have been 
 always free from sin, because nothing could be more opposed 
 to the redemption than sin ; for the redemption means a rescuing 
 from sin, a buying back, as it were," from the dominion of Satan. 
 
 The foregoing are a few of the many arguments for we 
 meet them on all sides which go to show* how conformable is 
 the doctrine to reason and revelation. But we now come to a 
 brief consideration of the arguments on which the definition 
 was founded; namely, tradition, the belief of the faithful, and 
 Sacred Scripture. 
 
 As to Tradition: Tradition has come from the Apostles; but 
 they themselves were too busily engaged in preaching to transmit 
 it in writing, and accordingly we must go to their disciples, the 
 early Fathers and Christian writers, to find the full deposit of 
 apostolic teaching. Nevertheless, we have it on testimony, which 
 while not clearly established cannot be denied, that St. Andrew 
 said, "As the first Adam was made of the earth before it was 
 cursed, so the second Adam was formed of virgin earth which 
 was never cursed." Passing from the age of the Apostles we
 
 THE IMMACULATE CQNCEPTION 23 
 
 next come to that of the Fathers and Christian writers, those 
 giants of the Church whose majestic foreheads flash on to us the 
 light of heaven. No visionaries these, but men whose great minds 
 were developed in the cold, severe philosophy of the pagan 
 school. With one voice they have spoken, and that voice is that 
 Mary is Immaculate. From the school of Alexandria, in its day 
 the centre of the world's philosophy, come the voices of Diony- 
 sius and the renowned Origen. Cyprian voices the belief of 
 famous old Carthage. In Milan we hear the eloquent voice of 
 Ambrose. Constantinople hearkens to the golden-mouthed 
 Chrysostom. To Jerome, in the caves of Palestine, " Mary is the 
 cloud of day who never knew darkness." Augustine casts in 
 the full weight of his mighty intellect ; while Basil holds the high 
 place of leader whom defenders of the doctrine have gloried to 
 follow. Great and strong as the peal of thunder is the voice of 
 the Fathers and Doctors which has come reverberating down the 
 centuries, not like thunder in its dying between hills and valleys, 
 but gaining strength with time and distance, until to-day that 
 voice re-echoes from the walls of China to the llanos of Peru, 
 from the Rocky Mountains to the distant wash of Australasian 
 seas; for everywhere is the belief strong, vivid, cherished, that 
 Mary is Immaculate; and as unceasingly as from the choir of 
 angels goes up the anthem of " Holy, Lord God of Hosts," does 
 the salutation " Hail, full of grace," ascend from the Catholic 
 heart to Heaven's Immaculate Queen. 
 
 Nor are we Catholics of America second to others in our 
 veneration of Mary, for, grand and glorious thought, noble rep- 
 aration of Catholic instinct, and mayhap happy omen of our reli- 
 gious destiny, we offset the unbelief and prejudice of the still 
 doubting millions by keeping the feast of the Immaculate Con- 
 ception as our national festival. 
 
 Of the next argument, the belief of the faithful, it will be nec- 
 essary to say a few words only. It has what we might call two 
 phases, the historical and the theological. The former, or his- 
 torical phase, we can treat of in one" sentence; namely, history 
 proves that the doctrine has been believed from the earliest times 
 all over the world. From this arises the second or theological 
 aspect, the Infallibility of the Church, which in the present case
 
 is a two-edged sword of defence, having 1 what we might call a 
 passive and an active side. By the former, or passive Infalli- 
 bility, we mean that the faithful as a body can never err in be- 
 lieving, and by the latter, that the Church can never err in 
 teaching; for if either of these should come to pass, then and 
 there the gates of hell would have prevailed, which, Christ testi- 
 fying, can never be. 
 
 Finally comes the great question, Where in Sacred Scripture is 
 it revealed? True, it is not formally stated in Sacred Scripture; 
 for instance, the word " Immaculate " is not used. But those 
 sacred writings are the great spiritual mine into which the deeper 
 and more perseveringly we delve the greater shall be the treasure 
 found. Now theologians are convinced that the words of the 
 Archangel, " full of grace," were expressive not only of Mary's 
 then sanctity, but were expressive of sanctity never sullied by 
 stain of any kind. They are convinced that to Mary alone, in 
 the fulness of their mystic sense, do the words of the Canticle 
 of Canticles apply, where God gazes on her pure soul and, de- 
 lighted with this His noblest work, says: "As the lily amongst 
 the thorns, so is my beloved amongst the daughters of Jerusalem ; 
 my love, my dove, my beautiful one, thou art all fair and there 
 is no spot in the.e: my love is one only." And pursuing this 
 mystic sense we ask, Why one only? Does He not love those 
 who love Him ? Did He not love John the Baptist, greater than 
 who, He declared, was not born of woman? Did He not love 
 Peter, when in the fulness of honest love the big-hearted Apostle 
 exclaimed, " Lord, thou knowest all things, thou knowest that 
 I love thee " ? And did He not love Mary Magdalen, when He 
 testified that many sins were forgiven her, for she had loved 
 much ; when He addressed her by her name as she sat at His feet 
 gazing with love into His countenance ; and when, above all, on 
 the first Easter Sunday morning, blinded with tears and dis- 
 tracted with grief, she mistook Him for the gardener, and in the 
 simplicity of her ardent love asked if He had stolen her Lord, 
 and where He had put Him ? Yes, these He loved, and loved in- 
 tensely ; but for Mary alone has He the words, " My love is one 
 only" because she is all fair, and there is no spot in her; 
 because she is the Immaculate Conception.
 
 THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION 25 
 
 But though great be the mystic testimony of the writer of the 
 Canticles, and the literal testimony of the Evangelist who penned 
 the sublime words of the Magnificat, God was not satisfied, but 
 He Himself would bespeak Mary's praises. Nor did He wait the 
 fulness of time for the great mystery of the Incarnation. We 
 must go back in spirit over five thousand years to the Garden of 
 Eden, the scene of His first dealing with man. The woman, 
 foolishly believing the serpent, takes the fruit and eats and gives 
 to her husband, who also eats. Instantly, the Triune God comes 
 in anger from heaven, upbraids the two miserable beings now 
 trembling before Him, and what a subject for fear and reflec- 
 tion mocks them : " Lo ! Adam has become as one of us." My 
 brethren, we but little realize how much for us depended on this 
 awful moment. An insult has been offered to Him who for a 
 single offence drove hosts of spirits from heaven, pursued them 
 with thunder and winged lightning through the realms of chaos, 
 until He prostrated them on the burning marl of the deep tract of 
 hell. He is still the same God, without diminution of majesty, 
 without shadow of change. A grievous offence has been com- 
 mitted against Him how will He act? Verily, my brethren, it 
 was an awful and tremendous moment ; the destiny of mankind 
 was trembling in the balance, and the brightest cherub, if asked his 
 opinion, would have declared that it was woe to the human race. 
 But God, in His infinite design, foresaw what no cherub could 
 see; He foresaw the glory of the Incarnation, and the pure soul 
 of Mary, and accordingly mercy seasoned justice, or, in figurative 
 Hebrew thought, mercy kissed justice. Still justice, being the 
 sternest of the virtues, demands some reparation. No sooner 
 had God upbraided Adam and Eve than He cursed the earth, cast 
 them out amid its briers and thorns, and regretting that He ever 
 made man, went back to His faithful angels. This was indeed 
 a humiliating scene for the whole human race. But there is one 
 redeeming event, one which the whole human race should gladly 
 adhere to, but of which, unfortunately, millions are loath to hear. 
 In anger, indeed, He went back to His faithful angels, but of 
 what He did before so doing I have not yet told you all. He 
 turned to the serpent, cursed it, and said : " Because thou hast 
 done this, I will place enmities between thee and the woman, and
 
 26 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 thy seed and her seed : she shall crush thy head, and thou shalt lie 
 in wait for her heel." Hearken to the glorious prophecy of the 
 Immaculate Conception, rightly called the first gospel, because 
 the first glad tidings to come from an angry God ! 
 
 But let this suffice. It is sad that we cannot speak of Mary 
 without being under the necessity of introducing the unquiet tone 
 of controversial voice, and of going thus far to prove what we 
 ourselves have already so lovingly believed. For how, O sweet 
 Mother, as we see you rise from seas of sanctity, " our tainted 
 nature's solitary boast," could we picture you otherwise than with 
 soul Immaculate, purer than foam on central ocean, more beauti- 
 ful than the morning star which is your emblem a beauty not 
 of earth but of heaven, and infusing into those who contemplate 
 it love and peace and joy and holy purity. Mary Immaculate! 
 Yes, our Catholic instinct was ahead of reason in telling us so, 
 and we would have believed had there never been sounded from 
 the city on the hills the trumpet note of an infallible decision. Let 
 us congratulate our Queen on her high privilege, which we know 
 to be the beginning of that union with her Son which has consti- 
 tuted her the realization of every type of female grace and loveli- 
 ness of the Old Dispensation : of the beauty of Sarah and Rachel ; 
 the prudence of Abigail; the chastity of Susanna; the fortitude 
 of the mother of the Machabees, and the heroic virtue of the lily- 
 crowned maiden of the valley of the Bethulia. But human types 
 are altogether inadequate. We look to heaven, and even there 
 we see her above the choirs of angels and archangels, principali- 
 ties, powers, virtues, dominations, and thrones, nay, above the 
 young-eyed cherubim and rapt seraphim, next the throne of God 
 Himself. These are Mary's servants, she their Queen ; and while 
 contemplating her beauty they gladly own her such. To them, 
 Queen she remains ; to us, a something dearer, a something more, 
 for by the closest spiritual ties, whose binding was that of God 
 Himself, she is our Mother. Nor will she forget the occasion, 
 for it was the closing scene in the deep tragedy of the sacred 
 Passion, when our Divine Lord, in a supreme effort of final love, 
 for the moment conquering agony, turned to the beloved Disciple 
 and said : " Son, behold thy mother." Though unborn, we who 
 to-day address her then existed in the mind of God, and we too
 
 THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION 27 
 
 were consecrated her children in the person of the beloved Dis- 
 ciple. And may God be praised for giving us so tender and dear 
 a Mother, and for infusing into our hearts the love of children ; 
 for such, O sweet Mary, we feel; else whence this unselfish joy 
 at the thought that you are Immaculate, or the confidence with 
 which, when oft the dazzling rays of the Great White Throne 
 would awe us back into our own wretchedness, we still look up 
 and cry for pardon, because we know, we feel, that you are there ? 
 With the sweet ways of a mother, lead us, lead us on to Jesus, 
 and from your place beside the throne deign to intercede for us, 
 for we well know that with the sceptre of intercessory prayer 
 you rule that sacred realm of all mercy and all love, the Sacred 
 Heart of Jesus. 
 
 THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION 
 BY CARDINAL CORSI 
 
 Acting upon the inspiration which the Holy Ghost is daily 
 imparting to her, the Church has instituted feasts in commemo- 
 ration of the chief mysteries in the Blessed Virgin's life. She 
 celebrates in an especial manner the Immaculate Conception, the 
 holy birth, the divine Motherhood, the sufferings, and the glori- 
 ous death and assumption into heaven of the sweet Mother of 
 Christ. 
 
 To-day the Church is celebrating the feast of her Immaculate 
 Conception, and I wish to point out to you wherein the exalted 
 privilege consists by which Mary was thus distinguished, and 
 how she corresponded with this extraordinary grace with which 
 God adorned her. Alone among all mankind Mary, by a special 
 grace, was conceived without the stain of original sin, because it 
 was befitting the dignity of Jesus Christ that His human mother 
 should never be sullied by sin ; never, not even for a moment, 
 subjected to the dominion of Satan. This the Church has sol- 
 emnly declared and prescribed for our belief. 
 
 It is truly a glorious privilege which was bestowed upon the 
 Blessed Virgin at her conception. In order to form a proper idea 
 of it, let us contemplate the unhappy state in which we all were 
 born. Upon us rests the penalty of the fatal fall of our first
 
 28 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 parents. At our conception we were burdened with the stain of 
 original sin and with its awful penalty. We all were born sin- 
 ners, children of wrath, slaves of the devil. 
 
 Mary, alone of all mankind, has been exempt from this mis- 
 fortune from the moment of her conception. Among mankind 
 the Lord has at various times selected specially favored friends, 
 but notwithstanding His love for them, notwithstanding His 
 manifestations of grace bestowed upon these privileged souls, 
 not one of them was ever freed from this baneful inheritance. 
 It was their fate, as it was the fate of all children of Adam, to 
 suffer the penalty. 
 
 How different was Mary's happy lot! Although a child of 
 Adam, like the rest of us, although the offspring of a father fallen 
 into sin, she did not inherit the penalty ordained for the rest of 
 mankind. What an honor, indeed, is this prerogative of grace! 
 Had God been pleased to sanctify her just before her birth, she 
 would have shared this great grace with John the Baptist. Had 
 God satisfied Himself with pouring out upon her His graces, she 
 would have shared such honor with the apostles and other saints. 
 But God wished to make a marked difference even between the 
 elect souls and His Mother, even between the saints and their 
 queen, by exempting her from original sin, a privilege which no 
 one ever shared with her. 
 
 And what were the results of this distinct sanctification of 
 Mary ? The first result was this : that she never experienced an 
 inclination to evil, she never experienced this direful consequence 
 of original sin. From the first moment she was, in body and soul, 
 completely subject to the spirit of God. From that very moment 
 she could exclaim, " All generations shall call me blessed, for He 
 that is mighty hath done great things in me." 
 
 The second blessed result of the special sanctification of the 
 Immaculate Virgin was, that she ever remained zealous in pre- 
 serving and increasing the grace which she had received. Al- 
 though exempt from human infirmities and confirmed in God's 
 grace from her conception, still she incessantly strove to be most 
 faithful in the fulfilment of all her duties, and spent much time 
 in prayer. Although absolutely free from sin, she accepted ad- 
 versity and suffering with humility and patience. She had her
 
 THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION 29 
 
 full share in the sufferings of her divine Son and in the great 
 sorrows of Golgotha. In such manner she daily even increased 
 the grace with which she had been endowed from the very mo- 
 ment of her conception. 
 
 Let us rejoice, dear brethren, in this glorious Immaculate Con- 
 ception. Let us thank the Lord that He has distinguished the 
 blessed Virgin by so great and extraordinary a privilege ; and let 
 us in confidence seek our refuge in the purest of Virgins, so that 
 she may obtain for us, through her powerful intercession, purity 
 of body and soul, and victory over all temptations. Let us ad- 
 dress to her in the hours of temptation that brief prayer: 
 " Through thy most holy Immaculate Conception, O Mary, pre- 
 serve my body and soul from all impurity." Let us often during 
 the day salute the blessed Virgin with the short ejaculation: 
 " Hail Mary, conceived without sin," and we may be sure that 
 she, who is not only the Virgin of Immaculate Conception but 
 also the Mother of God, will graciously hear our prayers and that 
 she will intercede for us with her divine Son ; and a more power- 
 ful mediator we could not desire. Amen. 
 
 References 
 
 Graham, in Sermons on the Gospels; Stapleton, in Pulpit Commentary, 
 Vol. I; Henry, in Horn. Monthly, Nov. 1919; Canavan, in Horn. Monthly, 
 Nov. 1918; McGuire, in Horn. Monthly, Nov. 1916; Sharpe, in Horn. 
 Monthly, Nov. 1915; Hughes, in Horn. Monthly, Nov. 1914; Burke, O. P., 
 in Sermons and Lectures, Vol. I, pp. 261 ff., 271 ff. ; Vol. Ill, pp. 367 ff. ; 
 Newman, " The Fitness of the Glories of Mary," " The Glories of Mary 
 for the Sake of Her Son," in Discourses to Mixed Congregations. 
 
 Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. VII, pp. 674 ff. ; Tanquerey, De Verbo In- 
 carnato, Nos. 1233 ff. ; Hurter, Theol. Dog., Vol. II, Nos. 614 ff. ; Pohle- 
 Preuss, Mariology, pp. 39 ff., 24 ff. ; Vaughan, The Divine Armory, etc., 
 pp. 134 ff. ; Callan, Illustrations for Sermons, etc., pp. 45 ff. ; Berington 
 and Kirk, The Faith of Catholics, Vol. Ill, p. 443; Bellord, Meditations, 
 etc., Vol. I, p. 330.
 
 30 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 SECOND SUNDAY OF ADVENT 
 
 SUBJECT 
 
 OUR LORD, THE EXPECTED REDEEMER 
 AND MESSIAH 
 
 TEXT 
 Art thou he that art to come? MATT. xi. 3. 
 
 Analysis 
 
 INTRODUCTION. John the Baptist was the "angel" or mes- 
 senger sent to prepare the way for the Messiah. He had pre- 
 viously (John i. 19 ff. ; iii. 256.) borne public testimony to the 
 Divinity and Messiahship of Jesus, and our Lord for the sake 
 of John's disciples now confirms that testimony by an appeal to 
 His own miracles. 
 
 I. Expectation of the Redeemer and Messiah. I. The fall 
 of Adam and the promise of a Saviour. 2. Promises renewed to 
 Abraham and the Patriarchs. 3. Birth of the Saviour and the 
 circumstances of His life portrayed in type and prophecy. 4. All 
 these prophecies were fulfilled in our Lord. (See to-day's 
 Epistle.) 
 
 II. Our Lord's mission as Redeemer expressed in His 
 name Jesus, i. This name signifies Saviour, and was given to 
 our Lord by divine command (Luke i. 31; Matt. i. 20, 21). 
 2. Suitableness of this name for our Lord. It was given to Josue 
 in the Old Testament, who had delivered the chosen people from 
 their enemies and led them into the promised land. How much 
 more appropriate it was in the case of our Lord, who freed the 
 world from sin and opened to all the gates of heaven ! 
 
 III. Our Lord's mission as Messiah expressed in the mean- 
 ing of the name Christ, i. Christ signifies the anointed, and 
 was given in the Old Testament to kings, priests, and prophets,
 
 OUR LORD, REDEEMER AND MESSIAH 31 
 
 and was expressive of their offices. Our Lord was anointed by 
 His Divinity and plenitude of grace (Acts x. 38). 2. Christ was 
 the Great Prophet, as the supreme Revealer and Teacher of God's 
 will to man. 3. He is our High-priest who reconciles us to God, 
 offering Himself for us on Calvary and in the Mass (Heb. vi. 
 20). 4. He is our spiritual King, governing and protecting His 
 Church (Luke i. 32; Apoc. xix. 16). , 
 
 LESSONS, i. Gratitude to Christ our Saviour, King, Priest, 
 and Prophet. 2. Preparation for the feast of Christmas by imi- 
 tating the penance and austerity of John the Baptist, and his love 
 and loyalty to Christ. 
 
 Catechism of the Council of Trent, Part I 
 
 ARTICLE II OF THE CREED 
 And in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord. 
 
 THE GREAT BLESSINGS WHICH FLOW FROM THE BELIEF AND 
 PROFESSION OF THIS ARTICLE 
 
 That wonderful and superabundant are the blessings which 
 flow to the human race from the belief and profession of this 
 article we learn from these words of St. John : " Whosoever shall 
 confess that Jesus is the son of God, God abideth in him and he 
 in God ; " * and also from the words of Christ our Lord, proclaim- 
 ing the Prince of the Apostles blessed for the confession of this 
 truth: "Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jona: for flesh and blood 
 have not revealed it to thee, but my Father who is in heaven." 9 
 This sublime truth is the most firm basis of our salvation and 
 redemption. 
 
 HOW WE MAY LEARN TO ESTIMATE THEIR VALUE 
 
 But as the fruit of these admirable blessings is best known by 
 considering the ruin brought on man by his fall from that most 
 happy state in which God had placed our first parents, let the 
 pastor be particularly careful to make known to the faithful the 
 
 1 i John iv. 15. Matt. xvi. 17.
 
 32 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 cause of this common misery and universal calamity. When 
 Adam had departed from the obedience due to God and had vio- 
 lated the prohibition, " Of every tree of Paradise thou shalt eat ; 
 but of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat, 
 for in what day soever thou shalt eat it, thou shalt die the death," * 
 he fell into the extreme misery of losing the sanctity and right- 
 eousness in which he was created; and of becoming subject to 
 all those other evils which are detailed more at large by the 
 holy Council of Trent. 2 The pastor, therefore, will not omit to 
 remind the faithful that the guilt and punishment of original sin 
 were not confined to Adam, but justly descended from him, as 
 from their source and cause, to all posterity. The human race, 
 having fallen from its elevated dignity, no power of men or 
 angels could raise it from its fallen condition and replace it in 
 its primitive state. To remedy the evil and repair the loss it be- 
 came necessary that the Son of God, whose merits are infinite, 
 clothed in the weakness of our flesh, should remove the infinite 
 weight of sin and reconcile us to God in his blood. 
 
 BELIEF AND PROFESSION OF THIS ARTICLE NECESSARY 
 TO SALVATION 
 
 The belief and profession of this our redemption, as God de- 
 clared from the beginning, are now, and always have been, neces- 
 sary to salvation. In the sentence of condemnation pronounced 
 against the human race immediately after the sin of Adam the 
 hope of redemption was held out in these words, which announced 
 to the devil the loss he was to sustain by man's redemption: 
 " I will put enmities between thee and the woman, and thy seed 
 and her seed : she shall crush thy head, and thou shalt lie in wait 
 for her heel." 3 
 
 THE PROMISE OF A SAVIOUR 
 
 The same promise God again often confirmed, and more dis- 
 tinctly manifested to those chiefly whom He desired to make 
 special objects of His predilection : among others to the patriarch 
 Abraham, to whom He often declared this mystery, but then more 
 
 i Gen. ii. 16, 17. * Sess. 5, Can. i and 2 ; Sess. 6, Can. i and 2. 
 
 Gen. iii. 15.
 
 OUR LORD, REDEEMER AND MESSIAH 33 
 
 explicitly when, in obedience to His command, Abraham was pre- 
 pared to sacrifice his son Isaac : " Because," says He, " thou hast 
 done this thing, and hast not spared thy only begotten son for 
 my sake ; I will bless thee, and I will multiply thy seed as the stars 
 of heaven, and as the sand that is by the sea shore. Thy seed 
 shall possess the gates of their enemies, and in thy seed shall all 
 the nations of the earth be blessed, because thou hast obeyed my 
 voice." * From these words it was easy to infer that He who was 
 to deliver mankind from the ruthless tyranny of Satan was to be 
 descended from Abraham ; and that while He was the Son of God, 
 He was to be born of the seed of Abraham according to the flesh. 
 
 Not long after, to preserve the memory of this promise, God 
 renewed the same covenant with Jacob, the grandson of Abra- 
 ham. When in a vision Jacob saw a ladder standing on earth, 
 and its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God ascend- 
 ing and descending by it, 2 he also heard the Lord saying to 
 him, as the Scripture testifies : " I am the Lord God of Abraham 
 thy father, and the God of Isaac ; the land, wherein thou sleepest, 
 I will give to thee and to thy seed. And thy seed shall be as the 
 dust of the earth : thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the 
 east, and to the north, and to the south : and in thee and thy seed 
 all the nations of the earth shall be blessed." 3 
 
 Nor did God cease afterwards to excite in the posterity of 
 Abraham, and in many others, the hope of a Saviour by renew- 
 ing the recollection of the same promise ; for after the establish- 
 ment of the Jewish republic and religion it became better known 
 to His people. Many types signified and prophets foretold the 
 numerous and invaluable blessings which our Redeemer, Christ 
 Jesus, was to bring to mankind. And indeed the prophets, whose 
 minds were illuminated with light from above, foretold the birth 
 of the Son of God, the wondrous works which He wrought while 
 on earth, His doctrine, manners, kindred, death, resurrection, 
 and the other mysterious circumstances regarding Him, 4 and 
 all these as graphically as if they were passing before their eyes. 
 With the exception of future and past time only, we can dis- 
 
 1 Gen. xxii. 16, 17, 18. * Gen. xxviii. 12. 3 Gen. xxviii. 13, 14. 
 
 Is. vii. 14 ; viii. 3 ; ix. 5 ; xi. 1-53 ; Jer. xxiii. 6 ; xxx. 9 ; Dan. vii. 13 ; 
 ix. 24.
 
 34 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 cover no difference between the predictions of the Prophets and 
 the preaching of the Apostles, between the faith of the ancient 
 patriarchs and that of Christians. 
 
 But we are now to speak of the several parts of this Article. 
 
 MEANING OF THE NAME JESUS, BY WHOM AND WHY GIVEN 
 
 Jesus. This is the proper name of the man-God, and signifies 
 Saviour; a name given Him not accidentally, or by the judgment 
 or will of man, but by the counsel and command of God. For the 
 angel announced to Mary His mother : " Behold thou shalt con- 
 ceive in thy womb, and shalt bring forth a son; and thou shalt 
 call his name Jesus." 1 He afterwards not only commanded 
 Joseph, who was espoused to the Virgin, to call the child by that 
 name, but also declared the reason why He should be so called. 
 "Joseph," says he, "son of David, fear not to take unto thee 
 Mary thy wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy 
 Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son: and thou shalt call his 
 name Jesus. For he shall save his people from their sins." 2 In 
 the Sacred Scriptures we meet with many who were called by this 
 name the son of Nave, for instance, who succeeded Moses, 
 and, by special privilege denied to Moses, conducted into the land 
 of promise the people whom Moses had delivered from Egypt ; 3 
 and Josedec, whose father was a priest. 4 But how much more 
 appropriately shall we not deem this name given to Him who 
 gave light and liberty and salvation, not to one people only, but 
 to all men, of all ages to men oppressed, not by famine, or 
 Egyptian or Babylonian bondage, but sitting in the shadow of 
 death and fettered by sin, and riveted in the galling chains of the 
 devil to Him who purchased for them a right to the inherit- 
 ance of heaven, and reconciled them to God the Father. In those 
 men who were designated by the same name we recognize so 
 many types of Christ our Lord, by whom these blessings were 
 poured out on the human race. All other names, which accord- 
 ing to prophecy were to be given by divine appointment to the 
 Son of God, are to be referred to this one name Jesus, 6 for while 
 they partially glanced at the salvation which He was to purchase 
 
 1 Luke i. 31. * Matt. i. 20, 21. * Eccl. xlvi. r. 
 
 4 Agg. i. i. Is. vii. 14; viii. 8; ix. 6; Jer. xxiii. 6.
 
 OUR LORD, REDEEMER AND MESSIAH 35 
 
 for us, this fully embraced the universal salvation of the human 
 race. 
 
 THE NAME CHRIST, WHY ADDED TO THAT OF JESUS 
 
 Christ. To the name "Jesus" is added that of "Christ," 
 which signifies the "anointed." This name is expressive of 
 honor and office, and is not peculiar to one thing only, but com- 
 mon to many ; for in the Old Law priests and kings, whom God, 
 on account of the dignity of their office, commanded to be 
 anointed, were called Christ, 1 priests, because they commend 
 the people to God by unceasing prayer, offer sacrifice to Him, 
 and deprecate His wrath ; kings, because they are entrusted with 
 the government of the people, and to them principally belong the 
 authority of the law, the protection of innocence, and the punish- 
 ment of guilt. As, therefore, both seem to represent the majesty 
 of God on earth, those who were appointed to the royal or sacer- 
 dotal office were anointed with oil. 2 Prophets, who as the inter- 
 preters and ambassadors of the immortal God unfolded to us 
 the secrets of heaven, and by salutary precepts and the prediction 
 of future events exhorted to amendment of life, were also usually 
 anointed. 
 
 When Jesus Christ our Saviour came into the world, He as- 
 sumed these three characters of Prophet, Priest, and King, and 
 is therefore called " Christ," having been anointed for the dis- 
 charge of these functions, not by mortal hand or with earthly 
 ointment, but by the power of His heavenly Father and with a 
 spiritual oil ; for the plenitude of the Holy Spirit and a more copi- 
 ous effusion of all gifts than any created being is capable of 
 receiving were poured into His soul. This the prophet clearly in- 
 dicates when he addresses the Redeemer in these words : " Thou 
 hast loved justice, and hated iniquity: therefore God, thy God, 
 hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows." 8 
 The same is also more explicitly declared by the prophet Isaias : 
 " The spirit of the Lord," says he, " is upon me, because the 
 Lord hath anointed me: he hath sent me to preach to the 
 meek." 4 
 
 1 i Kings xii. 3; xvi. 6; xxiv. 7. * Lev. viii. 30; 3 Kings xix. 15, 16. 
 Ps. xliv. 8. * Is. Ixi. i.
 
 36 
 
 Jesus Christ, therefore, was the great prophet and teacher, 1 
 from whom we have learned the will of God and by whom the 
 world has been taught the knowledge of the Father; and the 
 name of Prophet belongs to him pre-eminently, because all others 
 who were dignified with that name were his disciples, sent prin- 
 cipally to announce the coming of that Prophet who was to save 
 all men. 
 
 Christ was also a Priest, not indeed of the tribe of Levi, as were 
 the priests of the Old Law, but of that of which the prophet David 
 sang : " Thou art a priest for ever according to the order of Mel- 
 chisedech." 2 This subject the Apostle fully and accurately de- 
 velops in his epistle to the Hebrews. 8 
 
 Christ not only as God, but as man, we also acknowledge to be 
 a King. Of him the angel testifies : " He shall reign in the house 
 of Jacob for ever, and of his kingdom there shall be no end." 4 
 This kingdom of Christ is spiritual and eternal, begun on earth 
 but perfected in heaven : and indeed He discharges by His admir- 
 able providence the duties of King towards His Church, gov- 
 erning and protecting her against the open violence and covert 
 designs of her enemies, imparting to her not only holiness and 
 righteousness, but also power and strength to persevere. But al- 
 though the good and the bad are contained within the limits of 
 this kingdom, and thus all by right belong to it, yet those who in 
 conformity with His commands lead unsullied and innocent lives, 
 experience beyond all others the sovereign goodness and benefi- 
 cence of our King. Although descended from the most illustrious 
 race of kings, He obtained this kingdom not by hereditary or 
 other human right, but because God bestowed on Him as man 
 all the power, dignity, and majesty of which human nature is sus- 
 ceptible. To Him, therefore, God delivered the government of 
 the whole world, and to this His sovereignty, which has already 
 commenced, all things shall be made fully and entirely subject on 
 the day of judgment. 6 
 
 1 Deut. xviii. 15. * Ps. cix. 4; Heb. v. 5. * Heb. v. vii. 
 
 4 Luke i. 33. I Cor. xv. 25-27.
 
 OUR LORD, REDEEMER AND MESSIAH 37 
 
 Sermons 
 
 CHRIST, THE TRUE MESSIAH 
 BY THE REV. BERTRAND L. CONWAY, C.S.P. 
 
 It has often been stated, beloved brethren, by the rationalistic 
 critics and broad churchmen of to-day who deny the divinity of 
 Christ, that never once during His public ministry did our 
 Saviour declare Himself to be the true Messiah. Theory after 
 theory has been devised to uphold this contention. Some have 
 denied the historical character of the Messianic utterances of the 
 Gospels ; others have appealed confidently to the supposed denials 
 of our Saviour; others have insisted on the stupidity of the 
 Apostles who failed to understand their Master's message ; others 
 have imagined a Messianic legend framed by the first enthusiastic 
 preachers of the resurrection. It is not our purpose, beloved 
 brethren, to discuss these views of the modern unbeliever. But 
 in view of the fact that these theories are being voiced to-day in 
 the popular magazines and newspapers, it is good for us to con- 
 sider briefly the true witness of the Gospels to Jesus, the Messiah. 
 
 Nothing is clearer in the Gospels than the fact that the Jews in 
 the time of Our Lord were ardently longing for the coming of 
 the King of Israel, the Messiah. Most of the people had lost 
 sight of Isaias, Man of Sorrows, who was to govern a universal 
 spiritual kingdom. They rather looked forward to a powerful 
 king, who with and under Jehovah would reign supreme over all 
 the kings and nations of the earth. He was to appear before the 
 people with the evident stamp of God's approval to inaugurate a 
 new, eternal kingdom, " high above the kings of the earth " 
 (Ps. Ixxxviii. 28). He was to crush all the enemies of Israel, 
 free them from the galling yoke of the Romans, and make the 
 Jewish people the Lords of all the world. " In him shall all the 
 tribes of the earth be blessed : all nations shall magnify him " 
 (Ps. Ixxi. 17). Every one of Israel's prophets had pointed to 
 Him; every one of Israel's righteous kings had foreshadowed 
 Him ; every one of Israel's priests had. offered sacrifices for His 
 coming. He was to be their great Prophet, Priest, and King. 
 
 The Christian Messiah, as witnessed to in the Gospels, was in 
 very truth a Prophet, Priest, and King. He came indeed to found
 
 38 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 a new eternal kingdom, but a spiritual, not a political one. " My 
 kingdom is not of this world" (John xviii. 36). Even the 
 apostles found this a hard lesson to learn, for on the very morn- 
 ing of the Ascension they asked the risen Jesus : " Lord, wilt thou 
 at this time restore again the kingdom of Israel?" (Acts i. 6). 
 
 He was to be a triumphant king indeed, but His triumph was 
 to be gained by the apparent failure of the Cross. He had told 
 His followers frequently that He was the suffering Messiah, but 
 the words of the two disciples on the road to Emmaus prove to 
 us how hard this was to believe (Luke xxiv. 21). 
 
 There is no doubt whatever that John the Baptist taught the 
 people in the country about the Jordan that Jesus was the Messiah. 
 Attracted by John's marvellous preaching, and won by his austere 
 life, they at first thought him the expected Christ. But he in- 
 stantly denied it, declaring that he was only the forerunner of the 
 Messianic kingdom which was at hand (Luke iii. I, 15; Matt. 
 iii. 2). He told them plainly that Jesus, the founder of that 
 kingdom, is one " mightier than I, the lachet of whose shoes I am 
 not worthy to stoop down and loose. I have baptized you with 
 water ; but he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost " ( Mark i. 
 7, 8 ; Matt. iii. 1 1 ) . 
 
 These words of the Baptist prepare us for the miracles wrought 
 at the baptism of Jesus, whose Messianic bearing is most evident. 
 In the synagogue at Nazareth, Jesus Himself tells us that the 
 Holy Spirit anointed Him at His symbolic baptism, and publicly 
 consecrated Him to the divine office of the Messiah. " The Spirit 
 of the Lord is upon me, wherefore he hath anointed me to preach 
 the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the contrite of 
 heart" (Luke iv. 18). Jehovah, His heavenly Father, declared 
 from on high that He was the Messiah : " This is my beloved Son, 
 in whom I am well pleased" (Matt. iii. 17). St. Matthew 
 makes this very clear to us when he applies to Jesus the words 
 of Isaias, who proclaimed our Saviour well pleasing to His 
 Father because of His Messianic office : " Behold my servant 
 whom I have chosen, my beloved in whom my soul hath been 
 well pleased. I will put my spirit upon him, and he shall show 
 judgment to the Gentiles" (Matt. xii. 18). St. Peter later on 
 declares to the centurion Cornelius the Messianic character of
 
 OUR LORD, REDEEMER AND MESSIAH 39 
 
 Christ's baptism : " You know . . . Jesus of Nazareth, how God 
 anointed him with the Holy Ghost, and with power, who went 
 about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed . . . for 
 God was with him" (Acts x. 37, 38). 
 
 From the banks of the Jordan "Jesus was led by the spirit 
 into the desert, to be tempted by the devil" (Matt. iv. i). The 
 threefold temptation of Christ is clearly a revelation of His 
 Messiahship. Satan, through the keenness of his intellect, evi- 
 dently suspects that Jesus is the promised Messiah, for he greets 
 Him with the title of " Son of God" (Matt. iv. 3). Satan well 
 knew that the Messiah was to possess a great power of working 
 miracles, so he demands of Christ "that these stones be made 
 bread," and that He cast himself down from " the pinnacle of the 
 temple." He further knew that the Messiah was to be the king 
 of all the nations, so he proposes to Him this universal royalty 
 to see whether or not our Saviour would declare that He already 
 possessed it (Matt. iv. 3, 6, 9). Jesus rebukes Satan without, 
 however, in the slightest degree waiving his claim to the title of 
 Messiah, or Son of God. 
 
 From the very outset of His public ministry Jesus proclaimed 
 Himself by word and work to be the true Messiah. It is, of 
 course, certain that this manifestation of Himself became clearer 
 and more direct as His ministry neared its close, but there were 
 good reasons for this. 
 
 His work in Galilee would have been seriously impeded if He 
 had allowed the people to regard Him as their Messiah, according 
 to the current view of the day. We all remember the popular 
 excitement at the sight of the miracle of the loaves and fishes. 
 The people associated the Messiah with the fulfilment of all the 
 national hopes, and cried out: "This is of a truth the prophet, 
 that is to come into the world." They at once desired " to take 
 him by force and make him king," in face of the Roman power 
 (John vi. 14, 15). 
 
 It was to guard against this popular enthusiasm, and not to 
 gainsay in any way His belief in His own Messiahship that our 
 Saviour forbade the open recognition of it by those whom He 
 cured of demon possession. The demons knew Him as "the 
 Christ," " the Holy One of God," " the Son of God," the " Son
 
 40 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 of the most high God," come to torment and destroy them 
 (Luke iv. 41; Matt. viii. 29; Mark i. 24, 25, 34; Mark iii. 12; 
 v. 7). 
 
 Our Saviour acted in the same way with regard to many of the 
 miracles He wrought. When He healed the leper He said to 
 him, "See thou tell no one" (Mark i. 44) ; and in raising the 
 daughter of Jairus, " he charged them strictly that no man should 
 know it" (Mark v. 43; compare Matt. ix. 30; Mark vii. 36; 
 viii. 26). This by no means implied any denial on His part of 
 the miracles He wrought. But He knew full well the evil dispo- 
 sitions of many of His enemies. Had not Corozain, Bethsaida, 
 Capharnaum, and even Nazareth, refused to hearken to His 
 preaching, and attributed His miracles to Beelzebub ? 
 
 Where the influence of the Pharisees was practically powerless, 
 as at Gerasa in the Decapolis, on the eastern bank of the Lake of 
 Genesareth, He told the man He had cured to tell his friends 
 the great things the Lord had done for him (Mark v. 19). So in 
 Samaria, where the same conditions prevailed, our Saviour found 
 no difficulty in proclaiming His Messiahship to the sinful woman 
 of Sichar (John iv. 26). 
 
 Instead, therefore, of declaring directly and explicitly that He 
 was the Messiah, our Saviour at first preferred to manifest Him- 
 self indirectly by His words and miracles, thus gradually destroy- 
 ing in the minds of the people their false view of a political 
 Messiah, and preparing His chosen ones for the spiritual Messiah, 
 who as Son of God and Son of man was to die on the Cross for 
 man's salvation. 
 
 The " gospel, or good news, of the kingdom," was the subject 
 of His discourses in the cities and synagogues of Galilee (Matt. 
 iv. 23 ; ix. 35 ; Luke vii. I ; ix. n), and the theme of the beautiful 
 Sermon on the Mount (Matt. vi. 33), and the parables at the 
 lakeside (Mark iv. u, 26, 30). As the Lord of the kingdom, he 
 chooses its preachers, and invests them with His own divine 
 authority, (Matt. x. 7; Mark iii. 14; Luke x. 9). Unlike the 
 scribes and Pharisees, He teaches as one having authority 
 (Matt. v. 22, 44; vii. 29), correcting their false human tradi- 
 tions, giving a new authoritative interpretation to the law of 
 Sinai, and so perfecting it that the people " were astonished at
 
 OUR LORD, REDEEMER AND MESSIAH 41 
 
 his doctrine" (Mark i. 22). What made them marvel the more, 
 and made them believe that Jesus was the Messiah of their people, 
 was the fact that He was looked upon as a carpenter's son from 
 the despised Nazareth of Galilee, and a teacher who had never 
 studied (Mark vi. 2, 3; John i. 46; vii. 52, 15). 
 
 Again the miracles our Saviour wrought prepared the people 
 for His final explicit revelation of His Messiahship. He com- 
 manded the winds and the waves (Mark iv. 35-50), He healed 
 the sick (Mark i. 31), He drove demons from the possessed 
 (Mark i. 23), He cleansed the lepers (Mark i. 42), He raised the 
 dead (Mark v. 42). No wonder the people cried out: "What is 
 this new doctrine? for with power He commandeth the unclean 
 spirits " (Mark i. 27). " Who is this that both wind and sea obey 
 him?" (iv. 40). Surely "a great prophet is risen up among 
 us" (Luke vii. 16). 
 
 Moreover, this humble Jesus, the friend of the lowly and sin- 
 ners, tells the people continually that He is greater than any of 
 their prophets greater than Jonas, Solomon, or the Baptist 
 (Matt. xii. 41, 42; xi. 9). He claims the prerogatives of Je- 
 hovah. He acts as master of the Sabbath, healing the paralytic 
 and allowing His disciples to pluck the ears of corn on that day 
 (Mark iii. 1-6; ii. 23). And when the Pharisees object, He de- 
 clares Himself " greater than the temple," and Lord of the Sab- 
 bath (Matt. xii. 5-8). He pardons the paralytic his sins, and 
 when His authority is gainsaid by His enemies, He works a 
 miracle to prove it (Mark ii. 1-12). At the house of Simon, He 
 receives back the penitent Magdalene, to the disgust of the strait- 
 laced, hypocritical upholders of the law (Luke vii. 36-50). He 
 gives His disciples the power to work miracles, which they exer- 
 cise in His name (Mark iii. 15). 
 
 But not only did our Saviour insinuate His Messiahship by 
 His authoritative teaching, His miracles, and His claim to divine 
 powers, but He more than once asserted it Himself, or allowed 
 His friends to do so. 
 
 When, for instance, the disciples of John asked Jesus whether 
 He was the Messiah (Matt. xi. 3), He answered them by quot- 
 ing the words which the prophet Isaias had used long before to 
 indicate the Christ (Is. xxxv. 5 ; Ixi. i). " Go," He said to them,
 
 42 
 
 "and relate to John what you have heard and seen. The blind 
 see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead 
 rise again, the poor have the gospel preached to them" (Matt. 
 xi. 4-5). 
 
 Again in praising John to the people after the disciples had 
 departed, He praises him solely on account of his being the 
 precursor of Himself, the true Messiah (Matt. xi. 10). 
 
 The first words of Andrew to his brother Simon to win him 
 to Our Lord were : " We have found the Messiah, which is, being 
 interpreted, the Christ" (John i. 41). And Philip says to his 
 friend Nathaniel : " We have found him of whom Moses in the 
 law and the prophets did write" (John i. 45). Later on Na- 
 thaniel talking to Jesus acknowledges His claim : " Rabbi, thou 
 art the Son of God, thou art the king of Israel" (John i. 49). 
 
 Still more explicit is the testimony of Peter near the town of 
 Caesarea Philippi. Our Saviour had asked the apostles a direct 
 question : " But whom do you say that I am ? " Simon Peter 
 answered and said : " Thou art Christ, the Son of the living God " 
 (Matt. xvi. 15, 16). It was a time most fitting such a clear, 
 explicit acknowledgment of Christ's divinity and Messiahship. 
 The ministry in Galilee was drawing to a close ; they were about 
 to journey to Jerusalem, where Jesus was fully aware that the 
 Cross awaited Him. 
 
 This testimony is made all the more striking inasmuch as Jesus 
 declares it proceeds from a divine revelation : " Blessed art thou, 
 Simon Bar-Jona; because flesh and blood hath not revealed it to 
 thee, but my Father who is in heaven" (Matt. xvi. 17). 
 
 It moreover is confirmed by the witness of His heavenly Father 
 at the transfiguration. As at the Jordan baptism, a voice came 
 out of the cloud saying : " This is my most beloved Son, hear ye 
 him." Moses and Elias appeared as representatives of the law 
 and the prophets, giving their homage to Jesus as the founder of 
 the New Covenant, the fulfilment of the Old. The glory of 
 Jesus, " whose garments became shining and exceeding white as 
 snow " (Mark ix. 1-7), gave the three apostles a foretaste of the 
 glory of the triumphant Messiah. 
 
 During this last year, our Saviour frequently insists on this 
 future triumph. " For the Son of man shall come in the glory
 
 OUR LORD, REDEEMER AND MESSIAH 43 
 
 of his Father with his angels" (Matt. xvi. 27). "And when the 
 Son of man shall come in his majesty, and all the angels with 
 him, then shall he sit upon the seat of his majesty. And all 
 nations shall be gathered together before him" (Matt. xxv. 
 
 31-32). 
 
 And yet continually He tries to impress upon their minds that 
 He is the Man of Sorrows foretold by Isaias, who is come " to 
 give his life a redemption for many" (Mark x. 45), who is to 
 suffer and to be " rejected by this generation " (Luke xvii. 25). 
 
 On His entry into Jerusalem the people made a great public 
 demonstration in acknowledgment of Jesus the Messiah, to the 
 great anger of the Pharisees. They cut down boughs from the 
 trees, strewed their garments in the way, and shouted : " Ho- 
 sanna, blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. Blessed 
 be the kingdom of our father David that cometh," " Blessed be 
 the king who cometh in the name of the Lord " (Mark xi. 8-10; 
 Luke xix. 38). Jesus accepted this homage without a word of 
 disapproval. The Pharisees came to Him and impudently de- 
 manded that He rebuke His disciples for their Messianic feel- 
 ings. But instead of doing so, Our Lord said to them : " I say 
 to you, that if these shall hold their peace, the stones will cry 
 out" (Luke xix. 40). 
 
 The last testimony of our Saviour to His Messiahship was 
 made before the high-priest, and sealed the sentence of death 
 upon Him. " Art thou the Christ, the Son of the blessed God ? " 
 He was asked. And Jesus said to him : " I am. And you shall 
 see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of the power of 
 God, and coming with the clouds of heaven" (Mark xiv. 61, 62). 
 
 We have thus! in brief outline, beloved brethren, sketched the 
 Gospel witness to the Messiahship of Jesus the Son of God. It 
 is important for us to know it well, in view of the modern denial 
 of the unbeliever, and the Jew. It may be hard to convince the 
 rationalistic critic, but at the very least we should know the tes- 
 timony of Jesus and His friends. I have met on my missions to 
 non-Catholics, men and women of orthodox Judaism, who, alert 
 to know the truth, have been won by a prayerful study of these 
 texts to accept Jesus as the Son of God, the Messiah of their 
 people. Some have faced persecution as bitter as their fore-
 
 44 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 fathers faced, when they became the first followers of the risen 
 Christ. Let our prayers go forth for them all. that they kneel 
 down one day with the doubting Thomas, crying out, " My Lord, 
 my God." 
 
 CHRIST is HE WHO SHOULD COME 
 
 BY THE REV. K. KROGH-TONNING 
 
 It was St. John the Baptist who called our Lord " the Lamb of 
 God that taketh away the sin of the world," and who said of him- 
 self : " I am not worthy to loose the latchet of his shoe." " He 
 must increase, but I must decrease." He described his own re- 
 lation to Christ in words burning with love : " The friend of the 
 bridegroom, who standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth with joy 
 because of the bridegroom's voice. This my joy therefore is 
 fulfilled." 
 
 Such words express most lively faith in Christ ; and what was 
 Our Lord's testimony regarding His faithful and humble fore- 
 runner? He said: "Amen I say to you, there hath not risen 
 among them that are born of women a greater than John the 
 Baptist" (Matt. xi. n). 
 
 Can we believe that in spite of all this St. John ever really felt 
 doubts* about Christ? Those who think it inconceivable assume 
 that he sent his disciples to our Lord for their sake, that they 
 might see and hear Him, not for his own sake, since his faith 
 required no strengthening. Ought we to assume that St. John 
 had really lost his faith in Christ, and sent messengers to Him 
 for his own peace of mind ? If this had been so, he surely would 
 not have applied to our Lord for information, but would have 
 asked some one else's opinion. Jesus evidently took pains to pre- 
 vent St. John from being suspected of a change of view, for He 
 said that he was not a reed shaken by the wind (Matt. xi. 7). 
 
 I. Miracles. We often hear that faith in Christ and Christian- 
 ity is opposed to all reason, and so men cannot be required to 
 believe. But, on the other hand, if faith has nothing to do with 
 reason, or rather is opposed to it, what can make us believe ? We 
 cannot believe unless we have some motive ; we cannot fling our- 
 selves blindly into some unknown abyss. Moreover, why should 
 Christ have tried to support and strengthen St. John's faith by
 
 OUR LORD, REDEEMER AND MESSIAH 45 
 
 adducing arguments that would appeal to his reason? For this 
 is what He did, when He referred to His miracles. 
 
 To the deaf He said, " Ephpheta," and their hearing was re- 
 stored. To the lepers, " I will, be thou made clean," and their 
 disease disappeared. To the dead, " Arise," and they stood up 
 and came forth from the grave. But there is a still greater mir- 
 acle, which He wrought when by His own power He raised Him- 
 self from the dead and resumed His life. Mary Magdalene, the 
 Apostles, and more than five hundred witnesses bore testimony to 
 the fact of His resurrection. Now, who but God has control 
 over life and death ? Christ's resurrection differed from the rais- 
 ing of Lazarus and of Jairus's daughter; they were raised, and 
 received afresh the gift of life, but our Lord overcame the might 
 of death and rose, as He Himself said : " I have power to lay it 
 [His life] down; and I have power to take it up again" (John x. 
 18). Hence He must be the Son of God, for God alone has 
 power over life and death. 
 
 In His name miracles have been wrought in every age by His 
 Saints, and there is an abundance of most trustworthy evidence 
 in support of them. They continue even at the present day, but 
 the greatest and most undeniable of all miracles is the existence 
 of Christ's Church. She is a society like no other; she combats 
 the evil desires and passions of mankind, and resists their pride 
 and selfishness, and yet she has spread over the entire world and 
 has everywhere triumphed. 
 
 Are we not justified in believing Christ's words when we know 
 that miracles are wrought by Him and by His friends in His 
 name? Is it unreasonable to assume that His Church is the 
 kingdom of God, when in this kingdom, as in no other society on 
 earth, all the forces of the world to come are seen to reside? I 
 think that those who consider our faith in Jesus Christ and His 
 Church to be foolish and unreasonable have never really exam- 
 ined either one or the other. 
 
 II. Prophecies. Our Lord referred to the prophecies regarding 
 His person, as well as to His own miracles, and showed that in 
 Himself the prophecies of the Old Testament were fulfilled, since 
 it had been foretold that the Messias should work miracles. His- 
 torians speak of ancient, medieval, and modern history, but to
 
 46 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 those who have a clear insight into events there are only two 
 periods ; viz., the time before and the time since our Lord's life 
 on earth. All that went before was in anticipation of His com- 
 ing ; all that has followed refers to Him, and is inexplicable with- 
 out Him. All our science, art, and civilization dates from the 
 renewal of the world that He effected. But the prophecies looked 
 forward to Him; and His life history, both in outline and in 
 detail, is recorded in the books of the Old Testament, from the 
 first allusion to Him as the Seed of the woman, to the account 
 of His forerunner. All this was written hundreds of years be- 
 fore His birth if He is not the Son of God, who is He? If it 
 is unreasonable to believe in Him, in whom may we reasonably 
 put our faith? 
 
 III. The Gospel. Christ wishes not merely to silence doubters, 
 but to win their hearts, and He does this by causing His gospel 
 to be preached to the poor. Who are the poor? Surely all who 
 are in want of anything. And what is meant by preaching the 
 gospel? It means bringing glad tidings to the sorrowful and 
 sinful, but it means more than this; for through the gospel of 
 Christ the sick are healed, the hungry are fed, and the poor are 
 enriched. 
 
 A countless host, that no man can number, composed of people 
 of every age and nation, proclaims to us the impossibility of 
 doubting that Christ was He who should come ; He came to every 
 one of them, and His coming rendered them happy, whereas be- 
 fore they were miserable sinners. Whither should we turn when 
 we are beset with doubts and difficulties ? We should follow St. 
 John's example, and have recourse to our Lord Himself. Where 
 shall we find Him? In His Church, and nowhere else. Else- 
 where we shall seek Him in vain; but He promised to remain 
 with His Church until the consummation of the world, so we may 
 be sure of finding Him there. You will find Him in the Gospel, 
 that is always being preached to the poor ; you will find Him in 
 the forgiveness of sins, that is always being bestowed upon the 
 penitent ; you will find Him in the living Bread that came down 
 from Heaven to give life to the world. Come not in the spirit 
 of pride, which thinks that it has a right to judge and criticize 
 Christ's Church ; those that come in such a spirit, come in vain.
 
 CHRIST THE SON OF GOD 47 
 
 But if you approach as humble children of the Church, full of 
 confidence in her teaching, light will again shine in your souls 
 and peace will reign in your hearts. 
 
 References 
 
 Bossaert, "Jesus Our Salvation," in Short Sermons on Gospel Texts; 
 Stapleton, " The Prophetic Word," in Plain Sermons by Practical Preachers, 
 Vol. I; Thuente, in Homiletic Monthly, Dec. 1919; Wakeham, in Sketches 
 for Sermons, p. 190; Bossuet, in Elevations sur les Mysteres, 8ieme-iiieme 
 Semaine; Lacordaire, in Conferences on Jesus Christ; Monsabre, in Lenten 
 Conferences of 1878, 1879. 
 
 Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. X, p. 212 ; Vol. II, p. 55 ; Vol. XII, p. 677 ; 
 Summa Theol., Ill, q. 48; Tanquerey, De Vera Religione, Nos. 517-537; 
 De Verbo Jncarnato, Nos. 1119 ff. ; Hurter, Theol. Dog., Vol. II, No. 679; 
 Pohle-Preuss, Soteriology, pp. no ff. ; Vaughan, The Divine Armory, etc., 
 pp. 58 ff. ; Bellord, Meditations, etc., Vol. I, pp. 90, 260 ff. ; Lepin, Christ 
 and the Gospel, or Jesus The Messiah and Son of God; Maas, Christ in 
 Type and Prophecy; Liddon, The Divinity of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus 
 Christ. 
 
 THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT 
 
 TEXT 
 
 There hath stood one in the midst of you, whom you know not. The 
 same is he that shall come after me, who is preferred before me, etc. 
 JOHN i. 26, 27. 
 
 Analysis 
 
 INTRODUCTION. In last Sunday's Gospel we read that our Lord 
 bore witness to the exalted dignity of St. John the Baptist, de- 
 claring that he was " more than a prophet." In to-day's Gospel 
 St. John in turn gives testimony to the far higher dignity of our 
 Lord, the latchet of whose shoes, he affirms, he is not worthy to 
 loose. Christ was not only a great prophet like John, He was 
 also the Word Incarnate, the true light that shone in darkness, 
 but was not comprehended by the darkness (John i. 5-8) ; He 
 was the Eternal (John i. 15), the true Son of God (John i. 34).
 
 48 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 As the majority of the Jews failed to recognize the Divinity of 
 Christ to whom St. John bore testimony, so do many to-day fail 
 to acknowledge that same divine Saviour witnessed to by His 
 Church. 
 
 I. Christ is true God, the Second Person of the Blessed 
 Trinity. The Divinity of Christ is much denied in our day. This 
 dogma, however, is proved: I. By prophecies, which foretold 
 that our Lord would be "Emmanuel," i.e., God with us (Is. vii. 
 14), that He would be "God the Mighty, Father of the world 
 to come" (Is. ix. 6), that He would be "The Lord our just 
 one" (Jer. xxiii. 6), etc. 2. By the testimony of our Lord Him- 
 self before the high priest (Matt. xxvi. 64), and on other occa- 
 sions when He states that He and the Father are one (John x. 
 38), etc. 3. By our Lord's miracles and prophecies, which are 
 the divine guarantee of the truth of His claims. 
 
 II. Jesus Christ was born of the Father from all eternity, 
 i. This eternal generation is wonderful and incomprehensible, 
 unlike human generation, and is best illustrated by the manner 
 in which an idea is begotten of our mind. 2. Jesus Christ is 
 equal to the Father in all things, as having the same Divine Na- 
 ture. 3. Jesus Christ had no beginning, as He was begotten 
 before all ages. 
 
 III. Jesus Christ is one person with two natures, the 
 nature of God and the nature of man. As God He was born of 
 the Father before all ages; as man He was born of the Virgin 
 Mary in time. Illustration: A man is but one person, although 
 he is composed of body and soul ; in a similar manner Christ is 
 but one person, though He has both a human and a divine nature. 
 The one person in Christ is the Person of God the Son. 
 
 CONCLUSION. I. Faith in the Divinity of Christ is the founda- 
 tion of the Christian religion and of our salvation. 2. Exhor- 
 tation to this belief against prevalent errors. "Every one . . . 
 that shall confess me before men, I will also confess him before 
 my Father who is in heaven" (Matt. x. 32).
 
 CHRIST THE SON OF GOD 49 
 
 Catechism of the Council of Trent, Part I 
 
 ARTICLE II OF THE CREED 
 
 CHRIST, THE SON OF GOD, AND TRUE GOD 
 
 His only Son. In these words, mysteries more exalted with 
 regard to Jesus are proposed to the faithful as objects of their 
 belief and contemplation that He is the Son of God, and 
 true God, like the Father who begot Him from eternity. We 
 also confess that He is the second person of the Blessed Trinity, 
 equal in all things to the Father and the Holy Ghost; for in 
 the divine Persons nothing unequal or unlike should exist, or 
 even be imagined to exist, since we acknowledge the essence, 
 will, and power of all to be one. This truth is clearly revealed 
 in many of the oracles of inspiration and sublimely announced in 
 this testimony of St. John : " In the beginning was the Word, and 
 the Word was with God, and the Word was God." * 
 
 HIS ETERNAL GENERATION IS INCOMPREHENSIBLE 
 
 But when we are told that Jesus is the Son of God, we are not 
 to understand anything earthly or mortal in His birth, but are 
 firmly to believe and piously to adore that birth by which, from 
 all eternity, the Father begot the Son, a mystery which reason 
 cannot fully conceive or comprehend, and at the contemplation 
 of which, overwhelmed as it were with admiration, we should 
 exclaim with the prophet : " Who shall declare his generation ? " 2 
 On this point, then, we are to believe that the Son is of the same 
 nature, of the same power and wisdom, with the Father, as we 
 more fully profess in these words of the Nicene Creed : " And in 
 Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son, born of the Father before 
 all ages, God of God, true God of true God, begotten, not made, 
 consubstantial to the Father, by whom all things were made." 
 
 Among the different comparisons employed to elucidate the 
 mode and manner of this eternal generation that which is bor- 
 rowed from thought seems to come nearest to its illustration, 
 and hence St. John calls the Son " the Word ; " 3 for as the mind, 
 in some sort looking into and understanding itself, forms an 
 
 1 John i. i. * Is. liii. 8. John i. I.
 
 50 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 image of itself, which theologians express by the term "word," 
 so God, as far as we may compare human things to divine, under- 
 standing Himself, begets the eternal Word. Better, however, to 
 contemplate what faith proposes, and in the sincerity of our souls 
 believe and confess that Jesus Christ is true God and true man, 
 as God, begotten of the Father before all ages; as man, born 
 in time of Mary, his Virgin Mother. 
 
 HIS UNITY OF PERSON 
 
 While we thus acknowledge His twofold nativity, we believe 
 Him to be one Son, because His divine and human natures meet 
 in one person. As to His divine generation He has no brethren 
 or coheirs, being the only begotten Son of the Father, while we 
 mortals are the work of His hands. But if we consider His 
 birth as man, He not only calls many by the name of brethren, 
 but regards them as brethren they are those who by faith have 
 received Christ the Lord, and who really, and by works of char- 
 ity, approve the faith which they internally profess; and hence 
 it is that He is called by the Apostle, "the first born amongst 
 many brethren." x 
 
 Sermons 
 
 THE SECOND PERSON: TRUE GOD 
 BY THE REV. H. G. HUGHES 
 
 I. "What think you of Christ?" 
 
 " What think you of Christ ? " a question, my dear brethren, 
 formulated nearly two thousand years ago by Him concerning 
 whom it is asked ; a question imperative and insistent, the tones 
 of which have not ceased and will not cease to re-echo through 
 the world; a question which, whether they will or whether they 
 will not, forces itself upon the attention of mankind. 
 
 It is a question all-important. How much depends upon the 
 answer? Is there a Saviour from sin? Is there One who will 
 lift me up when I have fallen, who will set my feet upon the 
 Rock? Is there One to whom I can turn in my misery and defile- 
 ment, knowing that He hath power to cleanse and save ? Is there 
 
 1 Rom. viii. 29.
 
 CHRIST THE SON OF GOD 51 
 
 One to whom I can go in trouble and perplexity, knowing that 
 He hath suffered too, that He can sympathize, can enlighten, for 
 in Him is all the wisdom and knowledge of God? Is there a 
 strong Helper, man even as I, One who was tempted, even as I, 
 yet One who is sinless, to whom I can look as the perfect man, 
 who hath conquered sin, and death, and hell; who being true 
 man, my brother, flesh of my flesh and bone of my bone, is yet 
 also God, the King Eternal, offering to me the riches of His mercy 
 and His grace, whereby I too may become like to Him, and may 
 save my soul? What hope, what consolation, what a fount of 
 courage and joy and peace if we can answer these questions with 
 a triumphant " Yes ! " Whether we can or not depends upon the 
 answer to the question of the Master Himself " What think 
 you of Christ ? " 
 
 II. The Answer. 
 
 What do we think of Christ? We think and we say, we most 
 firmly and assuredly believe, that which Jesus said of Himself 
 that which the Holy Catholic Church, with the living voice of her 
 continuous tradition, pronounces now, and has pronounced 
 throughout the ages, concerning her Lord and Master from the 
 day when, in the persons of the holy apostles and disciples, she 
 saw Him, in the days of her infancy, ascending to the " right 
 hand of the Father." And, blessed be God, to those questions 
 which I have just asked we can and do reply with a glad affirma- 
 tive, because through the mercy of God we are able, under the 
 guidance of that Church which Jesus Christ established, to an- 
 swer aright the question of all questions, " What think you of 
 Christ?" 
 
 Never perhaps was there a time in the world's history when 
 men's minds were fuller of anxious interrogations upon all that 
 concerns human life, its origin, its meaning, its final destiny. 
 This is not an age of quiet, peaceful faith ; of acceptance of the 
 teaching of authority. Everything is brought to the test of 
 human reason: not only all theories, but the most sacred beliefs 
 of mankind, are cast into the crucible of inquiry. We need not 
 fear the ultimate result. The truth must and will prevail. But 
 there are sad losses in the meantime ; the faith of many is being 
 destroyed, and with it the glorious hope of the future, and the
 
 52 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 love and charity which alone can make this desert earth to blos- 
 som with those noble and gracious virtues which Christian charity 
 Christian love of God and of men for God's sake brings in 
 its train. 
 
 There is every reason, then, for us Catholics to rouse ourselves ; 
 we may not, in the circumstances of our times, lull ourselves to 
 sleep in selfish enjoyment of the truth which is ours. The times 
 and the necessities of so many souls souls, my brethren, dear 
 to Gad as ours, redeemed like ours by the Precious Blood of 
 Jesus the necessities of these souls, I say, demand that every 
 Catholic shall be an apostle of the truth. 
 
 You must not leave this to your priests ; they have all the work 
 upon their shoulders that they can well perform. You must share 
 their work, under their leadership and guidance. You must be 
 apostles. I do not say that you must throw yourselves into any 
 and every question that is mooted now about religion. No, in- 
 deed ; far from it. That would be dangerous to your souls and to 
 your faith. You must leave that work to those who by their office 
 and by their training are fitted to do it without peril. No; the 
 question of religion and of religious truth is settled for you. You 
 possess, thank God for it, you possess the holy gift of faith, you 
 are firmly established upon that rock ; but you can and ought, 
 each according to his capacity and opportunities, to stretch out 
 from your secure position a helping hand to those who are being 
 carried away to destruction in the bewildering currents of a sea 
 of perplexity and doubt. How are you to do this? First and 
 foremost, by your good and holy lives ; but also by a firm and in- 
 telligent grasp of the principles of our holy religion. Not in the 
 spirit of scepticism or criticism, but in the spirit of a humble and 
 thankful faith, you must inform yourselves to the best of your 
 ability concerning the doctrines of the Catholic Church, your 
 Mother, that you may be able to give a reason for the faith that 
 is in you ; that being yourselves " instructed in the way of the 
 Lord," you may not only save your own souls, but help others 
 on the way of salvation. Our Holy Father the Pope, who at the 
 beginning of his pontificate set before him as his object " to re- 
 store all things in Jesus Christ," has pointed out the paramount 
 importance of good and thorough instruction in the truths of
 
 CHRIST THE SON OF GOD 53 
 
 religion as a means of gaining that great end, and has traced the 
 evils which afflict society within and without the Church to igno- 
 rance of religious truth. And on no point ought a Catholic to be 
 better instructed than on the doctrine of the Church concerning 
 Our Blessed Lord and Saviour, the teachings in which she gives 
 a complete answer to that ever recurring question, " What think 
 you of Christ?" There are thousands asking themselves that 
 question, wishing that they could feel sure of the answer, yet 
 feeling that they cannot. It is for us who have the light of faith, 
 who have the truth about Jesus Christ, it is for us to be so well 
 grounded in the truth that we may bear unflinching testimony to 
 that blessed truth in the face of the world, and so defeat the 
 forces of incredulity and misbelief by the undaunted firmness of 
 our own belief, and the thoroughness of our knowledge of those 
 sacred doctrines which the Church delivers to us, as well as of the 
 solid ground upon which is based her claim to teach mankind 
 the truth of God. 
 
 III. The Catholic Doctrine Developed. 
 
 " What think you of Christ ? " Ah, my dear brethren, a Catho- 
 lic child can answer that question with a confidence and a com- 
 pleteness that are beyond the power of worldly science to supply 
 to its votaries. Let us recall the words of the Apostles' Creed 
 that ancient confession of the Christian faith. " I believe . . . 
 in Jesus Christ, His only Son, Our Lord ; who was conceived by 
 the Holy Ghost ; born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius 
 Pilate; was crucified, dead, and buried; He descended into hell; 
 the third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into 
 heaven ; sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty ; 
 from thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead." 
 There is the answer ; there, in simple language, is the faith of the 
 Apostles and of the Church. Jesus Christ ; God ; the only begot- 
 ten Son of the Father ; Man, too ; born of the Blessed Virgin- 
 mother ; God-made Man, who suffered and died for us ; who rose 
 again, who sits in glory, in our nature, on the throne of the 
 Godhead; who is the dread Judge of all.- 
 
 But to-day we are concerned with one point only; but that 
 point is the very central truth of Christianity. " What think you 
 of Christ?" asked Christ Himself. " Whose son is he ?" And
 
 54 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 "they say to him, David's. He saith to them: How then doth 
 David in spirit call him Lord, saying: The Lord said to my 
 Lord, sit on my right hand, until I make thy enemies thy foot- 
 stool? If David then call him Lord, how is he his son? And 
 no man was able to answer him a word" (Matt. xxii. 42-46). 
 They said the Christ should be the son of David ; the Christ Him- 
 self who stood before them would have them know that He is 
 more. And now, in our times, when men are giving various and 
 conflicting replies that He was a religious enthusiast; that He 
 was the greatest and best of men; that in Him human nature 
 reached its highest development; that in his quiet childhood the 
 spirit of the old prophets entered into Him; that the Messianic 
 hopes of His race took so strong a hold upon Him that He came 
 first to desire and then to see their fulfilment in His own person. 
 To these and all such solutions of the great question He Himself, 
 through His own recorded words in Holy Scripture, through the 
 voice of His Church, through her marvellous history and accom- 
 plishments, by the lives of His followers and imitators, the saints ; 
 by the very power of His religion over the hearts and minds of 
 men, yes, and for those who have come to Him, by the spiritual 
 experience of His mercy and His love by these and other 
 means Jesus Himself replies to the question : " If I am but what 
 you say and no more, how do all these facts proclaim me God 
 and Lord ? " Yes, dear brethren, Jesus Christ is God ; the Word 
 of the Father; of one and the same nature or substance with 
 Him ; worthy, therefore, of the same worship and adoration and 
 praise. 
 
 In the early ages of the Church indeed from the very begin- 
 ning of her history the enemy of mankind raised up false 
 teachers, who would have deprived our blessed Lord of the 
 homage due to His Divinity. A remote tradition tells us that the 
 apostle St. John wrote his Gospel for the express purpose of re- 
 futing certain heretics who denied that Christ was God. And he 
 proclaimed the truth in those majestic words with which the 
 fourth Gospel opens: 
 
 " In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, 
 and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with 
 God." " In the beginning with God," from all eternity, that is,
 
 CHRIST THE SON OF GOD 55 
 
 He was with God and He was God. He is the almighty Creator 
 of heaven and earth. " All things were made by him : and with- 
 out him was made nothing that was made." And that eternal 
 Word is none other than Jesus Christ: Jesus Christ, that is to 
 say, is God-made-Man. The Second Person of the adorable 
 Trinity become incarnate, having now two natures : the divine 
 nature, which is His from all eternity ; the human nature, which 
 He took from His blessed Mother and made Hfs own ; for " the 
 Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we saw his 
 glory, the glory as it were of the only begotten of the Father,) 
 full of grace and truth " (John i. 14). 
 
 God's providence has turned to good the errors and unbelief 
 of men. The great Arian heresy of the fourth century forced 
 the Church to express in terms of great precision, such as should 
 allow of no escape from the truth by any subtlety of argument, 
 the faith delivered to the saints, and held and taught by her from 
 the beginning. To this end did the Church introduce into the 
 Creed, which to this day we recite or sing in the Holy Mass, a 
 word which for all times secures her doctrine against all mis- 
 conception and all elusiveness of error. Jesus Christ, she pro- 
 claims, is consubstawtial with the Father. The Arians were will- 
 ing to exalt Christ high above all other creatures, but they denied 
 His Godhead. They asserted that the Word was a creature, 
 though the highest of creatures ; made before all worlds, most per- 
 fect and closest to God of all created beings ; worthy indeed, by His 
 excellence, of the title " Son of God," nay, even to be called divine 
 by reason of a certain mysterious participation of divinity con- 
 ferred upon Him. Further, some of the Arian body were willing 
 to go still further, and to say that the Word of God, Jesus Christ, 
 possessed a nature exactly similar to the nature of God the 
 Father. And we must keep in mind that they said this of the 
 nature of the Word of God as He was before the Incarnation. 
 To all these subtleties the Church had but one answer : " In the 
 beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the 
 Word was God " ; and this doctrine of St. John she caused to be 
 enshrined in that word consubstantial. Not the highest of crea- 
 tures, not possessing a participation of divinity conferred upon 
 Him; not even of a nature similar in all respects to that of the
 
 56 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 Father no, none of these statements would satisfy the Church ; 
 none of them would she nor could she admit of as reconcilable 
 with the Holy Scriptures of which she and she alone is the author- 
 ized interpreter, or as consonant with her divinely guided teach- 
 ing from apostolic times. No ! The Word is consubstantial with 
 the Father. What does that mean? It means, dear brethren, 
 that there is but ONE divine nature, and that this one single divine 
 nature is equally possessed of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost ; not 
 divided or shared out among the Three, but wholly and entirely 
 possessed by each one ; so that the Father is all that is God ; the 
 Son is all that is God, and the Holy Ghost is all that is God. 
 That divine nature, that Godhead, then, which Jesus Christ Our 
 Lord has, is the very same identical and single divine nature or 
 Godhead as that of the Father. In other words, there is one 
 God, and the Father is that God; the Son also is that God, and 
 the Holy Ghost is that God. Three Persons, but one God. 
 
 " Glory be to the Father, through the Son, and in the Holy 
 Ghost," so Arius taught his followers to sing ; " Glory be to the 
 Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost " is the song, at once 
 an aspiration of praise and a confession of the true faith, which 
 the Holy Catholic Church puts into our mouth. 
 
 And, dear brethren, He, that gracious One on whom all our 
 hopes are stayed ; He, our Saviour ; He who knelt in agony and 
 hung upon the Cross; He who lives in heaven now to make in- 
 tercession for us He is that Son of God, God Himself, consub- 
 stantial with the Father, one with the Father and the Holy Ghost, 
 who with Him are one God in Three Persons. " What think you 
 of Christ?" He is the God of heaven and earth, made man for 
 us and for our salvation. 
 
 " Who is Jesus Christ ? " we ask our children in the simple 
 words of our Catechism. "Jesus Christ is God fhe Son made 
 man for us," they reply. " Is Jesus Christ truly God ? " " Jesus 
 Christ is truly God." " Why is Jesus Christ truly God? " " Be- 
 cause he has one and the same nature with the Father." 
 
 IV. Other Proofs from the New Testament. 
 
 But now let us gather from the New Testament some of the 
 many proofs that confirm our faith in the Divinity of Our Lord 
 Jesus Christ. I have quoted to you already the words in which
 
 CHRIST THE SON OF GOD 57 
 
 St. John sets forth, in no uncertain tone, the central truth of 
 Christianity, and the words in which our blessed Lord Himself 
 put the Pharisees to silence, so that " no man durst ask Him any 
 more questions." St. John, in the third chapter of his Gospel, 
 sets before us a pathetic account of a ruler in Israel who, struck 
 by the miracles of Jesus, came secretly by night to interrogate 
 Him. " There was a man of the Pharisees," we read, " Nicode- 
 mus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night, and 
 said to him : Rabbi, we know that thou art come a teacher from 
 God; for no man can do these signs which thou dost, unless 
 God be with him." Then our blessed Lord spoke to him of the 
 new birth, the birth of Baptism, " of water and the Holy Ghost," 
 concluding His discourse in these words: "As Moses lifted up 
 the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of man be lifted up: 
 that whosoever believeth in him, may not perish; but may have 
 life everlasting. For God so loved the world, as to give his only 
 begotten Son ; that whosoever believeth in him, may not perish, 
 but may have life everlasting. . . . He that believeth in him is 
 not judged. But he that doth not believe, is already judged: 
 because he believeth not in the name of the only begotten Son of 
 God." I have chosen this text out of many for the reason that 
 in it Our Lord insists upon that fact which the Church proclaims 
 in her use of the word " consubstantial." Jesus declares Himself 
 to be the " only begotten " Son of the Father. He, Our Lord 
 says, who believes this will not be judged that is, will not be 
 judged with the judgment of condemnation; he that pertina- 
 ciously and wilfully refuses to believe this fact is already judged, 
 already condemned, in that by his unbelief, and so long as he 
 remains in his unbelief, he withdraws himself from the way of 
 salvation. 
 
 What, then, is the force and significance of the expression 
 twice used here by Jesus Christ concerning Himself, the only 
 begotten Son of the Father? Even God Himself, dear brethren, 
 speaking to men, must make use of human language; must pre- 
 sent divine truths to us under figures of things which we under- 
 stand. Calling Himself the only begotten of the Father, He 
 teaches us that He, and He alone, stands in a similar relation to 
 His heavenly Father as an only child does to an earthly father.
 
 58 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 And what is that relation ? A son is begotten by his father ; the 
 father communicates to his child his own nature human nature, 
 that is. I and you are human beings because our parents were 
 human beings, and communicated to us the same nature that 
 they themselves possessed. So, then, when Jesus Christ tells us 
 that He is the only begotten Son of God, He tells us that He 
 possesses the same nature as His Father. Human nature, indeed, 
 is multiplied in many individuals of the species; and it is here 
 that the figure used by Our Lord falls short of the divine reality, 
 as all human language must necessarily fall short of things divine. 
 But reason comes to our aid, and we are able, in the light of faith 
 and by the aid of other revealed doctrines, to see where the figure 
 fails. The divine nature, we know, is one and single though 
 belonging equally to Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. It is not 
 multiplied. So, then, for Jesus Christ to say that He is the only 
 begotten of the Father is equivalent to asserting that He is very 
 God, that He is of the same, one, identical substance or nature as 
 His Father; and this, indeed, is the truth which He teaches us 
 in His words to Nicodemus. 
 
 Turn to the fifth chapter of this same Gospel of St. John. It is 
 the Sabbath day. Our blessed Lord has just healed a paralytic. 
 " Therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus, because he did these 
 things on the sabbath. But Jesus answered them: My Father 
 ivorketh until now; and I -work. Hereupon therefore the Jews 
 sought the more to kill him, because he did not only break the 
 sabbath, but also said God was his Father, making himself equal 
 to God" (John v. 16-18). 
 
 The Jews, dear brethren, showed by their action that they 
 understood the significance of these words better than many a 
 Christian of to-day, who perhaps reads them in but a cursory 
 manner. In truth, they contain a definite statement by Our 
 Lord of His perfect equality with the Father. The Jewish people 
 had formed a false idea of the Sabbath, leading them to an 
 absurdly rigorous code of laws concerning what was lawful to 
 do on the Sabbath day. Misunderstanding the statement of Holy 
 Scripture that God rested on the seventh day from the work of 
 creation, they lost sight of the truth that nevertheless God is 
 always acting, preserving, sustaining His creation, so that, as
 
 CHRIST THE SON OF GOD 59 
 
 St. Paul tells us, " in him we live, and move, and are." Our Lord 
 would recall to their minds that God is ever working in His 
 creation ; that nothing could exist without the active concurrence 
 of Him who upholds " all things by the word of his power " 
 (Heb. i. 3) ; that in all physical laws, as well as in all the move- 
 ments of the spirit, God is acting, preserving, upholding, moving 
 His creation. And in this continual action of God He associates 
 Himself on a perfect equality with His Father, and from the fact 
 of God's continual activity justifies His own action. God did 
 not cease to act on the seventh day : I cease not to act. " My 
 Father worketh till now; and I work" (John v. 17). The Jews 
 understood Him. To their mind, who heard Him speak, He 
 claimed divinity and nothing less. Our Lord, far from receding 
 from His claim, goes on in the following verses to emphasize it. 
 Time will not allow me to quote the whole passage, but the con- 
 clusion must not be passed over : " He who honoreth not the Son, 
 honoreth not the Father, who hath sent him." 
 
 V. Conclusion. 
 
 Yes, dear brethren, Jesus Christ is God. This is the doctrine 
 taught concerning the coming Messias by the prophets of old 
 time ; this is His own testimony of Himself. At the last supper 
 Philip said to Him, " Show us the Father." Jesus answered : 
 " Have I been so long a time with you ; and have you not known 
 me ? " Here Our Lord implies that they ought to have known ; 
 that He had already told them with sufficient plainness. " Philip," 
 He continues, " he that seeth me seeth the Father also. How 
 sayest thou, Show us the Father? Do you not believe, that I am 
 in the Father, and the Father in me?" 
 
 The testimony of His enemies shows that He made this claim. 
 Miracles and the fulfilment of prophecy establish its truth. The 
 Church from the beginning has taught it ; yes, and the work of 
 Jesus in the world to-day, the work of His Church, the lives of 
 His saints, attest the power of her name and prove that He is 
 divine. 
 
 An objector might say You are proving the divinity of Jesus 
 chiefly from what He said of Himself. Yes, in part that is true. 
 Like Himself, we appeal also to His works; but granting the 
 objection we may ask, and with confidence, Is He not to be
 
 60 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 trusted? The greatest enemies of the doctrine of His divinity 
 have freely acknowledged that His character is simply perfect. 
 "We often ask ourselves," says a modern Catholic writer (Pere 
 Rose, O.P., Studies on the Gospels. Intro, p. xvi), "how men 
 . . . can possibly fail to understand how they destroy [Jesus] 
 when they suspect His sincerity, representing Him as a visionary, 
 the victim of the most monstrous illusions." And again : " How 
 can these critics not see that the more they exalt the man in Jesus 
 Christ the more they strengthen the testimony He gave of Him- 
 self touching His celestial origin, His divine sonship?" (ib.) 
 
 Yes, indeed. By the confession of all, the life of Jesus was a 
 perfect life : there is no flaw to be found in it. He said that He 
 was God; and we believe Him. And if that is not enough to 
 satisfy an honest mind we may say to such what He Himself 
 said to His slow-minded disciple : " Believe you not that I am 
 in the Father, and the Father in me? Otherwise believe for the 
 very works' sake" (John xiv. n, 12). 
 
 References 
 
 Hehel, " The Second Person of the Godhead," in Sermons on Christian 
 Doctrine; Thuente, in Horn. Monthly, Nov. 1919; Newman, "Christ the 
 Son of God Made Man," in Parochial and Plain Sermons, Vol. VI; Bos- 
 suet, in Elevations sur les Mysteres, aieme and i2ieme Semaines; Lacord- 
 aire, in Conferences on Jesus Christ; Massillon, " The Divinity of Christ," 
 in Great French Sermons, Series II. 
 
 Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. VII, pp. 449 ff. ; Vol. XIV, p. 600; Summa 
 Theol., Ill, qq. 2-6; I, qq. 27, 34, 35 ; Tanquerey, De Deo Trino, Nos. 631 ff. ; 
 De Verbo Incarnato, Nos. 978 ff. ; Hurter, Theol. Dog., Vol. II, Nos. 155 ff., 
 Nos. 497 ff. ; Pohle-Preuss, Christology, pp. no ff. ; Vaughan, The Divine 
 Armory, etc., pp. 68 ff. ; Callan, Illustrations for Sermons, etc., pp. 18 ff. ; 
 Bellord, Meditations, etc., Vol. I, pp. 230, 264; Lepin, Christ and the 
 Gospel, etc. ; Maas, Christ in Type and Prophecy; Liddon, The Divinity 
 of Our Lord and Saviour, etc.; Marsh, in Messianic Philosophy; New- 
 man, in Grammar of Assent.
 
 CHRIST IS OUR LORD 61 
 
 FOURTH SUNDAY OF ADVENT 
 
 SUBJECT 
 
 CHRIST IS OUR LORD 
 
 TEXT 
 
 Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight his paths. LUKE iii. 4. 
 
 Analysis 
 
 INTRODUCTION. To-day's Gospel opens with an enumeration 
 of a number of the temporal lords that ruled on earth in the time 
 of Christ, and concludes with the inauguration of the reign of 
 the Messiah, "the King of kings, and Lord of lords" (l Tim. 
 vi. 15), of whose kingdom " there shall be no end " (Luke i. 33). 
 
 It was customary in the Orient, when monarchs were expected 
 to visit their subjects, to prepare in advance the roads and high- 
 ways in order that the progress of the royal party might be made 
 with ease and comfort. St. John reminds us to-day that we 
 should make a similar preparation for the coming of our Divine 
 Lord at Christmas. 
 
 I. Christ as God is our Lord. I. God is the Lord and Master 
 of us and of all things, because He is the Creator and Preserver 
 of all. But Christ as God is one with the Father (John x. 30). 
 2. Holy Scripture expressly says that all things were made by 
 the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity (John i. 3). "All 
 creatures, both great and small, those that dwell above and those 
 on the earth, spirits and bodies, all alike come from the creative 
 Word" (St. Augustine). "It is He who created all; it is He 
 who gave order to all, who gave the heavenly bodies their move- 
 ment, the sun its light, the ocean its limits, the earth its fecundity ; 
 ... it is He who moves and governs all, and preserves the world 
 in its admirable unity" (St. Athanasius).
 
 II. Christ as man is our Lord. i. Christ, by His own blood, 
 has purchased all mankind. "You were not redeemed with cor- 
 ruptible things, as gold and silver, but with the precious blood 
 of Christ" (i Peter i. 18, 19) ; "you are bought with a great 
 price" (i Cor. vi. 20). Hence we are Christ's property, and 
 He is our Lord. 2. In a special sense Christ is the Lord of 
 Christians, for in Baptism we are enrolled under His standard 
 and promise to be His faithful followers. Our name of Chris- 
 tian, disciple of Christ, reminds us of His sovereignty and of 
 our duty towards Him. 3. A particular title that Christ has to 
 our loyal service is that He came to us not as a dread sov- 
 ereign, surrounded by pomp and power, but as the Prince of 
 Peace in goodness and mildness. 
 
 CONCLUSION, i. The Christian prepares the way of the Lord 
 by removing from his soul all that can impede the coming of 
 Christ to him. 2. Exhortation to proximate preparation for the 
 feast of Christmas: (a) "every valley shall be filled," i.e., avoid 
 sins of omission by making new resolutions and efforts to prac- 
 tice virtue; (b) "every mountain and hill shall be brought low," 
 i.e., sins of commission, mortal and venial, should be repented 
 of and atoned for; (c) "the crooked shall be made straight; and 
 the rough ways plain," i.e., all injustice, uncharitableness, wran- 
 gling, dissensions etc., should give way to righteousness and good 
 will among men (Luke iii. 5). 
 
 Catechism of the Council of Trent, Part I 
 ARTICLE II OF THE CREED 
 
 WHY OUR SAVIOUR IS CALLED BY DIFFERENT NAMES 
 
 Our Lord. Of our Saviour many things are recorded in Scrip- 
 ture, some of which clearly apply to Him as God and some as 
 man, because from His different natures He received the different 
 properties which belong to each. Hence, we say with truth that 
 Christ is Almighty, Eternal, Infinite, and these attributes He has 
 from His divine nature ; again, we say of Him that He suffered,
 
 63 
 
 died, and rose again, which manifestly are properties compatible 
 only with His human nature. 
 
 WHY CALLED " OUR LORD" 
 
 Besides these terms, there are others common to both natures ; 
 as when in this article of the Creed we say " our Lord," a name 
 strictly applicable to both. As He is eternal as well as the Father, 
 so is He Lord of all things equally with the Father ; and as He and 
 the Father are not the one, one God, and the other, another God, 
 but one and the same God, so likewise He and the Father are not 
 the one, one Lord, and the other, another Lord. As man, He is 
 also for many reasons appropriately called " our Lord," and first 
 because He is our Redeemer, who delivered us from sin. This 
 is the doctrine of St. Paul. " He humbled himself," says the 
 Apostle, "becoming obedient unto death, even to the death of 
 the cross. For which cause God also hath exalted him, and hath 
 given him a name which is above all names : that at the name of 
 Jesus every knee should bend, of those that are in heaven, on 
 earth, and under the earth : and that every tongue should confess 
 that the Lord Jesus Christ is in the glory of God the Father." 1 
 And of Himself He said, after His resurrection: "All power is 
 given to me in heaven and on earth." 2 He is also called " Lord " 
 because in one person both natures, the human and the divine, 
 are united; and though He had not died for us, He would have 
 yet deserved, by this admirable union, to be constituted common 
 Lord of all created things, particularly of those who in all the 
 fervor of their souls obey and serve Him. 
 
 MATTER FOR EXHORTATION SUPPLIED BY THIS ARTICLE 
 
 It remains, therefore, that the pastor exhort the faithful to the 
 consideration of these His claims to the title of "Our Lord"; 
 that we who, taking our name from Him, are called Christians, 
 and who cannot be ignorant of the extent of His favors, par- 
 ticularly in having enabled us to understand all these things by 
 faith, may know the strict obligation we, above all others, are 
 under, of devoting and consecrating ourselves forever, like 
 faithful servants, to our Redeemer and our Lord. This we prom- 
 
 Phil. ii. 8-n. Matt xxviii. 18.
 
 64 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 ised when at the baptismal font we were initiated and introduced 
 into the Church of God ; for we then declared that we renounced 
 the devil and the world, and gave ourselves unreservedly to 
 Jesus Christ. But if to be enrolled as soldiers of Christ we con- 
 secrated ourselves by so holy and solemn a profession to our 
 Lord, what punishments should we not deserve were we, after 
 our entrance into the Church, and after having known the will 
 and laws of God and received the grace of the sacraments, to 
 form our lives upon the laws and maxims of the world and the 
 devil; as if, when cleansed in the waters of baptism, we had 
 pledged our fidelity to the world and to the devil, and not to 
 Christ our Lord and Saviour! What heart so cold as not to be 
 inflamed with love by the benevolence and beneficence exercised 
 toward us by so great a Lord, who, though holding us in His 
 power and dominion as slaves ransomed by His blood, yet em- 
 braces us with such ardent love as to call us not servants, but 
 friends and brethren? 1 This, assuredly, supplies the most just, 
 and perhaps the strongest, claim to induce us always to acknowl- 
 edge, venerate, and adore Him as " our Lord." 
 
 Sermons 
 
 THE SECOND ARTICLE OF THE CREED 
 BY THE REV. P. HEHEL, S.J. 
 
 When in the first article of the creed we say, " I believe in God 
 the Father," we confess thereby the existence of only one God, 
 the oneness of the Godhead. But we confess also at the same 
 time the distinction of the Persons who are in the Deity when 
 we say, " I believe in God the Father." We explain this dis- 
 tinction of persons more explicitly when in the second article we 
 say, " and in Jesus Christ, His only Son our Lord." According 
 to this we declare : 
 
 First, that we believe Christ to be the natural Son of the 
 Eternal Heavenly Father and the Second Person of the God- 
 head in the same pre-eminent manner as St. John gives testi- 
 mony of Him when he says we " confess that Jesus is the Son 
 
 1 John xv. 14.
 
 CHRIST IS OUR LORD 65 
 
 of God" (i John iv. 15) ; therefore that Father and Son are 
 one God in substance and distinct only in Person. 
 
 Secondly, we confess of this Second Person that He is the only 
 Son of the Heavenly Father. We indicate thereby that God 
 has no other natural Son, who is begotten of the Father from 
 eternity, equal to Him in substance and in nature. For although 
 the Heavenly Father as Creator of all mankind is at the same 
 time also the Father of all, yet we cannot be called the natural 
 sons or children of God, but only adopted sons, because He has 
 graciously adopted us as His children. For St. Paul also writes 
 to the Romans : " You have received the spirit of adoption of 
 sons, whereby we cry: Abba (Father)." We have thereby be- 
 come children of God, heirs of heaven, and co-heirs with Christ ; 
 but Christ is the only begotten, the only natural Son of the 
 Heavenly Father, and He has no equal. 
 
 Thirdly, we confess that this natural only Son of God is called 
 Jesus Christ. With this name we testify that He is also our Re- 
 deemer and Saviour. For the Angel called Him Jesus before He 
 was born of Mary, because He was to save His people from their 
 sins. We call Him also Christ, i.e., the anointed of the Lord, 
 to express thereby that the Son of God is at the same time man 
 and God, consequently the true Messiah, whom God sent into the 
 world for the redemption of His people, whom He anointed as 
 High Priest according to the order of Melchisedech, and who 
 offered Himself as the sacrifice of expiation for the whole world. 
 
 Fourthly, we confess of the only Son of God that He is our 
 Lord when we say : " And in Jesus Christ His only Son our 
 Lord." We express thereby that Christ has power and authority 
 to control our whole being, that He is Lord over all we possess, 
 over life and death. This right was acquired by Christ : 
 
 1. Through the redemption. Christ became our Lord by buy- 
 ing us with the infinite ransom of His own most precious blood 
 from the bondage of the devil. 
 
 2. He is also our Lord because He has received from His 
 Heavenly Father the most absolute power to rule over all man- 
 kind and the choirs of angels, over heaven, earth, and hell. 
 Christ Himself told us this when He said: "All power is given 
 .to me in heaven and in earth" (Matt, xxviii. 18).
 
 3. He is our Lord because according to the Godhead He is one 
 with the Father, therefore He is also our Creator and Author, who 
 has the right to control and command His creatures as He wills. 
 
 4. He is in particular our Lord because we are Catholic Chris- 
 tians, and He is the Head of the Catholic Church. We are 
 united with Him as members to the body which is led by the 
 head. This is all contained in the words of the second article, 
 and this we believe and confess when we say, " And in Jesus 
 Christ His only Son our Lord." 
 
 But we have much to learn heref rom in order that our life may 
 be conformable to our faith. We confess that Christ is our law- 
 ful, absolute Lord, to whom we are subject in all things, who 
 can condemn us to eternal perdition in soul and in body. No one 
 except God has such authority upon earth. For although the 
 rulers of this world punish their subjects, or may even kill them, 
 yet the soul is not subject to their authority. Hence Christ says : 
 " Fear ye not them that kill the body, and are not able to kill the 
 soul : but rather fear him that can destroy both soul and body in 
 hell" (Matt. x. 28). Oh, how unreasonably you behave when 
 you esteem a man more than God, when you would rather offend 
 God than displease a man! It is true you do not perceive this 
 now, for money is being pressed into your hand. You are invited 
 to well-spread tables. All this dazzles you. But it is a human 
 recompense. You will hold on to it until this earthly existence 
 ceases. Then another kingdom will open before you where only 
 one Lord rules, and distributes everlasting punishment or eternal 
 recompense. Do not forget this, dear Christian, so that you may 
 so serve men as not to lose the reward of the Eternal Lord. 
 
 CHRIST OUR LORD 
 BY THE REV. BEDE JARRETT, O.P. 
 
 I. With a solemn recitation of the names of the neighboring 
 and dominant rulers, the opening of the ministry of the Baptist 
 is announced. " The word of the Lord " comes to him in the 
 desert ; and its purport is to make him " prepare the way of the 
 Lord." He, the Baptist, is no more than a herald, and after him 
 comes one "preferred before him," the Lord of all. Indeed,
 
 CHRIST IS OUR LORD 67 
 
 there is no part of the New Testament that so thoroughly exalts 
 the Saviour of mankind as the whole set of these four Advent 
 Gospels, wherein, despite his immense prestige with the Phari- 
 sees, the Baptist unfailingly insists upon the central figure of 
 Christ as the real character round which even his own life re- 
 volves. With all his success as a leader, a success that Our Lord 
 Himself made use of when He put to the Pharisees His un- 
 answerable question, " The Baptism of John, was it from 
 heaven?" St. John never ceased to repeat that his own position 
 was entirely subordinate to that of Christ, that his own calling, 
 his creation even, was justified only on the supposition that Christ 
 should come into His Kingdom and so give to the life of His 
 forerunner its coherence. 
 
 II. Indeed this is the very point that we have as Catholics 
 never to forget, the absolute necessity of belief in Christ our 
 Lord as the real motive of God's act in calling us into existence 
 at all. A Christian begins by accepting the revealed statement 
 of a God, who is the Creator and Upholder and Governor of the 
 world. Secondly, he accepts no less absolutely the fact of the 
 existence of the present world. He believes in God; he knows 
 that the world exists. Now herein precisely lies the first and 
 fundamental difficulty against all religion. God, from the very 
 meaning of the term, must have been completely happy in the 
 inner life of the Blessed Trinity, Father knowing Himself in the 
 Son, and from them both proceeding the Holy Ghost, the love 
 personified that sprang naturally out of the very knowledge God 
 had of Himself. Here was the perfect, completely blissful life 
 of the Three-in-one. From all eternity (to use human and faulty 
 terminology for things beyond the narrow boundaries of human 
 thought), there had been this endless and self-determined life 
 of God. Why should there have ever come into it the idea of 
 Creation ? Or more accurately, what motive could possibly have 
 influenced God's action in calling into existence outside Himself 
 inferior beings, limited, capable of sin? We know the facts 
 of creation; we know that God is, that we are sure of, but 
 what we want to get at is the reason why He created at all? 
 Not need, for He was perfectly happy ; not compulsion, for God 
 cannot be compelled; not a power independent of Himself, for
 
 68 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 then He would cease to be God and become merely a powerful 
 Spirit, in no sense divine. The answer can only be that no mo- 
 tive other than Himself could have so urged Him. He created 
 us for Himself. But that merely restates the whole question ; it 
 does not answer it. We want to know precisely what in Himself 
 called for Creation. 
 
 III. There is no adequate answer, nor can there be. God is 
 infinite, His actions are infinite. I in my finiteness can under- 
 stand neither the one nor the other; yet in the opening of the 
 Gospel of St. John, said by the priest at the ending of the Mass, 
 we get just a hint, mysterious, mystical, that shows us where the 
 solution will one day be found : " All things were made by him, 
 and without him was made nothing." I must realize that Crea- 
 tion was made through the Word, and that in consequence He 
 was the Lord of the world, and that finally He alone could re- 
 deem the world. The whole of creation is due to the Father; 
 yet the creation was effected through the Word. Hence the 
 Word, Jesus Christ, the only begotten of the Father, becomes as 
 a necessary result the Master of Creation. He is the Head of 
 the race ; He is the first-born of all creatures ; all power in heaven 
 and earth is given to Him ; all judgment is of the Son ; without 
 His name we cannot be saved. The idea is not very clearly ex- 
 pressed nor can be ; but in some fashion we do see that somehow 
 the only answer ultimately to be discovered which shall explain 
 to us the motive behind the act of Creation will be connected with 
 the Son of God and will show us more fully than we can here 
 grasp the overpowering Lordship that He has even in His in- 
 carnate nature over the world. It is the reason also why we can 
 only reach back in knowledge to the Father through the Son, 
 since it is through the Son that the Father created us: Father, 
 Son, creation; creation, Son, Father. The Lordship, therefore, 
 of Jesus Christ is essential and universal, since it must touch 
 creation at every point. He is the Lord of Glory, but no less 
 the Lord of present life, its happenings, its privations, its fine 
 purposes. Through Him, therefore, we are in touch with each 
 other, and just as no man can come to the Father but by Him, 
 so equally in no other way than by Him can we come to the 
 Brotherhood.
 
 THE CONCEPTION AND NATIVITY OF CHRIST 69 
 
 References 
 
 Graham, " The Royalty of Christ," in Pulpit Commentary, Vol. IV ; 
 Bossaert, " On Preparing the Way of the Lord," in Short Sermons on 
 Gospel Texts; Lacordaire, in Conferences on Jesus Christ. 
 
 Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. VIII, pp. 385 ff.; Vol. XV, pp. 48 ff.; 
 Summa Theol., Ill, q. 8; Tanquerey, De Verbo Incarnate, Nos. 1194 ff. ; 
 Pohle-Preuss, Soteriology, pp. 149 ff. ; Vaughan, The Divine Armory, etc., 
 pp. 68 ff.; Bellord, Meditations, etc., Vol. I, pp. 268 ff. 
 
 THE FEAST OF CHRISTMAS 
 
 SUBJECT 
 THE CONCEPTION AND NATIVITY OF CHRIST 
 
 TEXT 
 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us. JOHN i. 14. 
 
 Analysis 
 
 INTRODUCTION. In the three Masses that are said to-day the 
 Church calls to our minds the threefold birth of our Lord: His 
 birth of the Father before all ages, His birth from the Blessed 
 Virgin Mary twenty centuries ago, and His birth through grace 
 in the souls of the just. But the central thought of this day's 
 feast is the temporal birth of our Lord in the stable at Bethlehem. 
 
 I. The Gospel Narratives of the Conception and Birth of 
 Christ, i. The Angel Gabriel announced to Mary that she was 
 the chosen Mother of God. Mary consented, and thereupon the 
 Mystery of the Incarnation was accomplished (Luke i. 26-38). 
 2. Mary and Joseph went to Bethlehem to be enrolled. There 
 Christ was born in a stable. Angels announced His birth to the 
 Shepherds (Luke ii. 1-20). 
 
 II. " Who was conceived of the Holy Ghost." i. The mean- 
 ing of these words of the Creed: Christ's conception was miracu- 
 lous ; a Divine Person took human flesh in a manner transcending 
 the order of nature. 2. All three Persons of the Most Holy 
 Trinity were authors of this mystery, since all external works of
 
 ?o PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 the Godhead are common to the three Divine Persons ; but it is 
 especially attributed to the Holy Ghost because it is a work of 
 love. 3. The body of our Lord was formed from the flesh and 
 blood of the Blessed Virgin, who is therefore truly the Mother 
 of God. 4. The soul of Christ was filled with all grace from the 
 moment of His conception. 5. The Divinity was united to 
 Christ's body and soul from the first instant of conception, and 
 hence Christ is the Son of God by nature, and not by adoption. 
 
 III. "Born of the Virgin Mary." I. The birth of Christ 
 was miraculous, since He was born of a virgin. 2. The virgin 
 birth was foretold in prophecy : " Behold a virgin shall conceive, 
 and bear a son" (Is. vii. 14) ; it was prefigured in many types 
 of the Old Testament, e.g. in the gate of the sanctuary which 
 Ezechiel saw closed (Ezech. xliv. 2) ; in the bush which Moses 
 saw burn without being consumed (Exod. iii. 2), etc. 3. Com- 
 parison between Mary and Eve : Eve brought malediction on the 
 human race, Mary brought Christ to us; Eve bore children in 
 sorrow, Mary brought forth the Son of God in joy, etc. 
 
 CONCLUSION. How we should profit by the birth of Christ: 
 I. We should adore this mystery through faith, since it transcends 
 our understanding. 2. We should meditate on this feast with 
 gladness, because it establishes peace between God and man 
 (Luke ii. 14), because in it all the nations of the earth are 
 blessed (Gen. xxii. 18), because through it the goodness of God 
 shines forth with incomparable splendor. 
 
 Catechism of the Council of Trent, Part I 
 
 ARTICLE III OF THE CREED 
 
 Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary. 
 INCARNATION OF THE SON OF GOD 
 
 Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost. From what has been 
 said in the preceding Article, the faithful are given to under- 
 stand that in delivering us from the relentless tyranny of Satan, 
 God has conferred a singular and invaluable blessing on the
 
 THE CONCEPTION AND NATIVITY OF CHRIST 71 
 
 human race; but if we place before our eyes the economy of 
 redemption, in it the goodness and beneficence of God shine 
 forth with incomparable splendor and magnificence. 
 
 The pastor, then, will enter on the exposition of this third 
 Article by developing the grandeur of this mystery, which the 
 Sacred Scriptures very frequently propose to our consideration 
 as the principal source of our eternal salvation. Its meaning he 
 will teach to be, that we believe and confess that the same Jesus 
 Christ, our only Lord, the Son of God, when He assumed human 
 flesh for us in the womb of the Virgin, was not conceived like 
 other men, from the seed of man, but in a manner transcending 
 the order of nature, that is, by the power of the Holy Ghost ; * so 
 that the same person, remaining God as He was from eternity, 
 became man, 2 what He was not before. That such is the meaning 
 of these words is clear from the confession of the Holy Council 
 of Constantinople, which says : " who for us men, and for our 
 salvation, came down from heaven, and became incarnate by the 
 Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary, and WAS MADE MAN." The 
 same truth we also find unfolded by St. John the Evangelist, 
 who imbibed from the bosom of the Saviour Himself the knowl- 
 edge of this most profound mystery. When he had thus declared 
 the nature of the divine Word : " In the beginning was the Word, 
 and the Word was with God, and the Word was God," he con- 
 cludes, " And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us." 3 
 
 Thus, " the Word," which is a person of the divine nature, as- 
 sumed human nature in such a manner that the person of both 
 natures is one and the same : and hence this admirable union pre- 
 served the actions and properties of both natures ; and, as we 
 read in St. Leo, that great pontiff, " the lowliness of the inferior 
 was not consumed in the glory of the superior, nor did the as- 
 sumption of the inferior diminish the glory of the superior." 4 
 
 THE WORK NOT OF ONE, BUT OF THE THREE PERSONS OF 
 THE TRINITY 
 
 As an explanation of the words in which this Article is ex- 
 pressed is not to be omitted, the pastor will teach that when 
 we say that the Son of God was conceived by the power of the 
 
 1 Matt. i. 20. * John i. 14. * John i. i, 14. * Serm. i. de Nat.
 
 72 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 Holy Ghost, we do not mean that this Person alone of the Holy 
 Trinity accomplished the mystery of the incarnation. Although 
 the Son alone assumed human nature, yet all the Persons of the 
 Trinity, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, were authors 
 of this mystery. It is a principle of Christian faith that what- 
 ever God does extrinsically is common to the three Persons, and 
 that one neither does more than nor acts without another. But 
 that one emanates from another cannot be common to all, for 
 the Son is begotten of the Father only, the Holy Ghost proceeds 
 from the Father and the Son ; but whatever proceeds from them 
 extrinsically is the work of the three Persons without difference 
 of any sort, and of this latter description is the incarnation of the 
 Son of God. 
 
 WHY SPECIALLY ATTRIBUTED TO THE HOLY GHOST 
 
 Of those things, however, that are common to all, the Sacred 
 Scriptures often attribute some to one person, some to another. 
 Thus, to the Father they attribute power over all things; to 
 the Son, wisdom; to the Holy Ghost, lov; and hence, as the 
 mystery of the Incarnation manifests the singular and boundless 
 love of God towards us, it is therefore in some sort peculiarly 
 attributed to the Holy Ghost. 
 
 IN WHAT NATURAL AND IN WHAT SUPERNATURAL 
 
 In this mystery we perceive that some things were done which 
 transcend the order of nature, some by the power of nature. 
 Thus, in believing that the body of Christ was formed from the 
 most pure blood of his Virgin Mother we acknowledge the op- 
 eration of human nature, this being a law common to the forma- 
 tion of all human bodies. But what surpasses the order of 
 nature and human comprehension is, that as soon as the Blessed 
 Virgin assented to the announcement of the angel in these words, 
 " Behold the handmaid of the Lord ; be it done to me according 
 to thy word," 1 the most sacred body of Christ was immediately 
 formed, and to it was united a rational soul ; and thus in the 
 same instant of time He was perfect God and perfect man. That 
 this was the astonishing and admirable work of the Holy Ghost 
 
 * Luke i. 38.
 
 THE CONCEPTION AND NATIVITY OF CHRIST 73 
 
 cannot be doubted; for according to the order of nature the 
 rational soul is united to the body only after a certain time. 
 
 THE DIVINITY UNITED TO THE HUMANITY OF CHRIST 
 
 Again (and this should overwhelm us with astonishment), 
 as soon as the soul of Christ was united to His body, the Divin- 
 ity became united to both ; and thus at the same time His body 
 was formed and animated, and the Divinity united to body and 
 soul. 
 
 THE VIRGIN TRULY MOTHER OF GOD AND MAN 
 
 Hence, at the same instant He was perfect God and perfect 
 man, and the most Holy Virgin, having at the same moment 
 conceived God and man, is truly and properly called Mother of 
 God and man. This the Angel signified to her when he said: 
 " Behold thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and shalt bring forth 
 a son; and thou shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be great, 
 and shall be called the Son of the Most High." * The event veri- 
 fied the prophecy of Isaias : " Behold a Virgin shall conceive, 
 and bear a son." 2 Elizabeth also, when, filled with the Holy 
 Ghost, she understood the conception of the Son of God, declared 
 the same truth in these words : " Whence is this to me, that the 
 mother of my Lord should come to me ? " 3 
 
 THE SOUL OF CHRIST REPLENISHED FROM HIS CONCEPTION 
 WITH ALL GRACE 
 
 But as the body of Christ was formed of the pure blood of the 
 immaculate Virgin without the aid of man, as we have already 
 said, and by the sole operation of the Holy Ghost, so also, at the 
 moment of His conception, His soul was replenished with an 
 overflowing fulness of the Spirit of God, and a superabundance 
 of all graces; for God gave not to Him, as to others adorned 
 with graces and holiness, His Spirit by measure, as St. John 
 testifies, 4 but poured into His soul the plenitude of all graces 
 so abundantly that "of his fulness we -all have received." 
 
 Luke i. 31, 32. Is. vii. 14. Luke i. 43. 
 
 4 John iii. 34. John i. 16.
 
 74 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 CHRIST THE SON OF GOD BY NATURE, NOT BY ADOPTION 
 
 Although possessing that Spirit by which holy men attain the 
 adoption of sons of God, He cannot, however, be called the 
 adopted Son of God; for being the Son of God by nature, 
 the grace, or name of adoption, can on no account be deemed 
 applicable to Him. 
 
 HOW WE ARE TO REAP FRUIT UNTO SALVATION FROM THE 
 BELIEF OF THIS ARTICLE 
 
 These heads comprise the substance of what appeared to us 
 to demand explanation regarding the admirable mystery of the 
 conception. To reap from them abundant fruit for salvation 
 the faithful should particularly recall, and frequently reflect, 
 that it is God who assumed human flesh, but that the manner 
 of its assumption transcends the limits of our comprehension, 
 not to say of our powers of expression; and finally, that He 
 vouchsafed to become man in order that we mortals may be 
 regenerated children of God. When to these subjects they shall 
 have given mature consideration, let them, in the humility of 
 faith, believe and adore all the mysteries contained in this Article, 
 and not indulge a curious inquisitiveness by investigating and 
 scrutinizing them an attempt scarcely ever unattended with 
 danger. 
 
 CHRIST BORN OF A VIRGIN 
 
 Born of the Virgin Mary. These words comprise another part 
 of this Article of the Creed, in the exposition of which the pastor 
 should exercise considerable diligence; because the faithful 
 are bound to believe that Christ our Lord was not only conceived 
 by the power of the Holy Ghost, but was also "born of the 
 Virgin Mary." The words of the Angel who first announced 
 the happy tidings to the world declare with what transports of 
 joy and emotions of delight the belief of this mystery should be 
 meditated by us. " Behold," says he, " I bring you good tidings 
 of great joy, that shall be to all the people." l The song chanted 
 by the heavenly host clearly conveys the same sentiments. 
 " Glory," say they, " to God in the highest ; and on earth peace 
 
 1 Luke ii. 10.
 
 THE CONCEPTION AND NATIVITY OF CHRIST 75 
 
 to men of good will." * Then began the fulfilment of the splen- 
 did promise made by Almighty God to Abraham, that in his 
 seed all the nations of the earth should be blessed; 2 for Mary, 
 whom we truly proclaim and venerate as Mother of God, be- 
 cause she brought forth Him who is at once God and man, was 
 descended from King David. 3 But as the conception itself tran- 
 scends the order of nature, so also the birth of the man-God pre- 
 sents to our contemplation nothing but what is divine. 
 
 THE MANNER OF HIS BIRTH 
 
 Besides a circumstance wonderful beyond expression or con- 
 ception He is born of His Mother without any diminution of 
 her maternal virginity; and as He afterwards went forth from 
 the sepulchre while it was closed and sealed, and entered the 
 room in which His disciples were assembled, the doors being 
 shut, 4 or (not to depart from natural events which we witness 
 every day) as the rays of the sun penetrate without breaking or 
 injuring in the least the substance of glass, so after a like but 
 more incomprehensible manner did Jesus Christ come forth from 
 His mother's womb without injury to her maternal virginity, 
 which, being immaculate and perpetual, forms the just theme of 
 our eulogy. This was the work of the Holy Ghost, who at the 
 conception and birth of the Son so favored the Virgin Mother 
 as to impart to her fecundity and yet preserve inviolate her per- 
 petual virginity. 
 
 CHRIST COMPARED TO ADAM, MARY TO EVE 
 
 The Apostle sometimes calls Jesus Christ the second Adam, 
 and institutes a comparison between Him and the first Adam ; 
 for as in the first all men die, so in the second all are made alive : 5 
 and as in the natural order Adam was the father of the human 
 race, so in the supernatural order Christ is the author of grace 
 and of glory. The Virgin Mother we may also compare to Eve, 
 making the second Eve, that is Mary, correspond to the first, as 
 we have already shown that the second Adam, that is Christ, 
 corresponds to the first Adam. By believing the serpent, Eve 
 
 1 Luke ii. 14. Gen. xxii. 18. * Matt. i. I, 6. 
 
 4 John xx. 19. * I Cor. xv. 21, 22.
 
 76 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 brought malediction and death on mankind; 1 and Mary, by be- 
 lieving the Angel, became the instrument of the divine goodness 
 in bringing life and benediction to the human race. 2 From Eve 
 we are born children of wrath ; from Mary we have received 
 Jesus Christ, and through Him are regenerated children of grace. 
 To Eve it was said : " In sorrow shalt thou bring forth children." 3 
 Mary was exempt from this law, for preserving her virginal 
 integrity inviolate she brought forth Jesus the Son of God with- 
 out experiencing, as we have already said, any sense of pain. 
 
 TYPES AND FIGURES OF HIS CONCEPTION AND NATIVITY 
 
 The mysteries of this admirable conception and nativity being, 
 therefore, so great and so numerous, it accorded with the views 
 of Divine Providence to signify them by many types and prophe- 
 sies. Hence the holy Fathers understood many things which 
 we meet in the Sacred Scriptures to relate to them, particularly 
 that gate of the Sanctuary which Ezechiel saw closed; 4 the 
 stone cut out of the mountain without hands, which became a 
 great mountain and filled the universe ; 5 the rod of Aaron, which 
 alone budded of all the rods of the princes of Israel ; 6 and the 
 bush which Moses saw burn without being consumed. 7 The holy 
 Evangelist describes in detail the history of the birth of Christ ; 8 
 but, as the pastor can easily recur to the Sacred Volume, it is 
 unnecessary for us to say more on the subject. 
 
 Sermons 
 
 THE INCARNATION 
 BY THE REV. THOMAS F. BURKE, C.S.P. 
 
 I. The corner-stone of the whole structure of Christianity, my 
 dear brethren, is the fact of the divinity of its Founder. Upon 
 that fact is based the authoritative character of all Christian 
 teachings; and whatever we accept as essential to the gaining 
 of eternal life is considered essential for the very reason that it 
 was proclaimed by a Divine Voice. Useful and beautiful though 
 
 1 Eccl. xxv. 33. * Eph. i. 3. * Gen. iii. 16. 
 
 * Ezech. xliv. 2. * Dan. ii. 35. Num. xvii. 8. 
 
 7 Exod. iii. 2. * Luke ii.
 
 THE CONCEPTION AND NATIVITY OF CHRIST 77 
 
 other doctrines may be in themselves, their value rests upon the 
 truth of this primary one, the divinity of the Saviour. As in the 
 solar system all things are centred in the sun, dependent upon 
 it for their very existence, and as all things would fail with the 
 going out of its light and the ceasing of its heat, so all the dogmas 
 of our faith are centred in Christ's divinity, and were that great 
 fact removed they would be worthless ; in fact they would cease 
 to exist. 
 
 The word which has been chosen to denote the accomplishment 
 of this great mystery of God's coming upon earth is " Incar- 
 nation." In a sense we may consider the manner of its accom- 
 plishment apart from the fact, though necessarily in such a 
 consideration the fact itself is supposed. Thus, in the natural 
 world, for example, our thought may be concerned with the fact 
 of electricity or with the manner of its generation ; or, again, we 
 may dwell upon the fact of a falling body, or upon the reason 
 for this phenomenon. Thus, too, to take another Catholic doc- 
 trine, we draw a distinction between the fact of Christ's real 
 presence in the Blessed Sacrament and the process by which it 
 is brought about, namely, transubstantiation. In such a way we 
 may, too, distinguish between the divinity of Jesus Christ and 
 the manner in which that fact is brought about, namely, In- 
 carnation. 
 
 On the other hand, however, it must be clear that whatever 
 goes to establish the Incarnation is likewise a proof of Christ's 
 divinity, for the former includes the latter, just as whatever 
 proves transubstantiation is a valid argument for the real 
 objective presence of Christ in the Sacrament of the Holy 
 Eucharist. 
 
 With this preliminary, then, it is well for us, in a day when, 
 among many, if the Incarnation is not entirely denied it is at 
 least but vaguely understood, to recall the Christian doctrine 
 upon this subject, to see at least some of the reasons for its ac- 
 ceptance and to understand something of the wonderful bearing 
 it has upon our lives. 
 
 II. When the name of Jesus Christ is mentioned there natu- 
 rally rises before us the vision of a man who trod this earth 
 centuries ago in living flesh and blood; there comes the figure
 
 78 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 of one who drew men to Himself, who won men by the gentle- 
 ness of His manner, by the kindness of His words, by His teach- 
 ing of the future life ; of one who, more than all other teachers 
 and prophets combined, exercised an influence for good upon 
 humanity; of one who in His life and conduct brought again to 
 light the truth and power that were lying dormant or corrupted 
 in the intellect and the heart and the will of man. All admit 
 that Christ was a human being. Born of woman, He grew from 
 childhood to youth and manhood. He lived, He suffered, He 
 died as man. But the ages in which Christ has been preached 
 and the multitudes to whom Christ has been made known unite 
 in proclaiming Him to be more than man even to be God Him- 
 self. Voices of opposition indeed have been heard in the land, 
 but the great multitude of Christian peoples are united in ac- 
 cepting Christ as the Incarnate Son of God. 
 
 What does that belief mean ? Literally, " incarnation " means 
 the taking on of flesh. Applied to the Son of God, it is that 
 act by which the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity came 
 upon earth and took to Himself a human nature such as that 
 which we possess. This does not mean that human nature be- 
 came divine nature, for this would be a contradiction in terms. 
 It means that the Divine Person, in whom the divine nature is 
 complete, united to the divine nature in that one person the 
 nature of man, so that we have the mystery of the two natures, 
 that of God and that of man, existing in the one Person who 
 is divine. 
 
 Nature and person let us see if we can grasp a little of the 
 meaning of these words. As I look about me in this church 
 to-day I see a number of human beings. All of you have some- 
 thing in common, something that is a distinguishing mark, that 
 separates you from all other creatures, from the angels in heaven 
 and from other species or kinds of beings upon earth; a some- 
 thing that makes you to be what you are, namely, human beings. 
 This something we call "human nature." 
 
 I can see further that this human nature is complete in each 
 individual. Thus you do not attribute your actions to another, 
 or to the race in general, but you attribute them to yourself. 
 You say of these acts, whether you performed them to-day or
 
 THE CONCEPTION AND NATIVITY OF CHRIST 79 
 
 ten or twenty or more years ago, " I did them." You feel and 
 realize that they belong to you individually. Now this condition 
 in which a being is responsible for his acts, whether they be 
 moral or physical or intellectual, is called " personality." In the 
 human being, nature and personality are one. 
 
 Again, if I consider this human nature, I find that it is two- 
 fold: it is partly spiritual and partly material; it is composed 
 of body and soul. All actions, however, whether they spring 
 principally from the soul or from the body, are attributed neither 
 to the one nor to the other alone, but to both combined, forming 
 the one responsible person. Thus, though it is the body that 
 eats, you say, " I eat." Thus, though it is the soul that thinks, 
 you say, " I think." Now this union of soul and body in man 
 has been used as an illustration for there is a likeness of 
 the union of man and God in Jesus Christ. The Athanasian 
 Creed puts it thus: "As the rational soul and the flesh is one 
 man, so God and man is one Christ." In the incarnate Christ 
 there exist two natures, that of God and that of man, united in 
 One Person, and since that Person is divine, all His actions are 
 of a divine character. This Person was always God, existing 
 throughout eternity, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity. 
 In time He became man for the glory of God and the redemp- 
 tion of mankind. 
 
 Summing up this, the Catholic doctrine of the Incarnation, it 
 can be seen that there are contained in it substantially four dis- 
 tinct ideas. First, Jesus Christ is very God, equal to God the 
 Father and God the Holy Ghost, possessed of all the divine at- 
 tributes, power, and majesty. Secondly, Jesus Christ is man, 
 having a body and soul like ours, endowed with all human facul- 
 ties. Thirdly, while Jesus Christ is both God and man, God 
 from eternity, made man in time, yet He is but one Person, one 
 individual Being, and that Person is divine. Fourthly, the man- 
 hood possessed by Christ, though it is really assumed into the 
 Divine Person, still remains entirely human, so that in respect 
 of His manhood Christ is of one substance with us. Words 
 could not more clearly state this doctrine than the definition used 
 in the Athanasian Creed : " The right faith is that we believe 
 and confess that Our Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, is both
 
 80 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 God and man. He is God from the substance of the Father, 
 begotten before all ages ; and man from the substance of His 
 mother, born in time; perfect God, perfect man, subsisting of a 
 rational soul and human flesh; equal to the Father according 
 to His Godhead; less than the Father according to His man- 
 hood; who though He be both God and man, nevertheless is not 
 two but the one Christ; one, not by the conversion of the God- 
 head into flesh but by the taking of manhood unto God; one 
 altogether, not by the confusion of substance, but by unity of 
 person. For as the rational soul and the flesh is one man, so 
 God and man is one Christ." 
 
 Such the doctrine of the Incarnation which the Catholic Church 
 has steadfastly proclaimed and unflinchingly defended. Its very 
 existence through the many centuries of human change and 
 against numerous attacks stamps it with the seal of truth. For 
 it is as much beyond man's invention as the sun is beyond the 
 eagle that soars into its light. That He who is God, who 
 " thought it not robbery to be equal with God," should " empty 
 himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness 
 of men," could have been conceived only in the Divine Mind, as 
 it could have been accomplished only by the Divine Will. To 
 my mind, one of the greatest proofs of its truth is to be found 
 in the benefit that has accrued to mankind from its acceptance 
 during the past nineteen centuries. We who live with centuries 
 of Christian civilization behind us can scarcely appreciate at 
 first glance the change that has been wrought in the world. 
 Could we, however, but conjure up the vision of past paganism 
 with its terrible immorality and degradation, so low that we 
 wonder that man even without grace could descend to it, and 
 contrast this state of things with the civilization of to-day, even 
 with its spots of leprosy, we would realize that only a fact which 
 is divine could have brought about the change. Whether men 
 acknowledge it or not, the nobler realities of our present civiliza- 
 tion, the higher moral standards by which men are judged to-day, 
 testify to the coming of the Son of God upon the earth as man. 
 
 III. The fact of the Incarnation is borne witness to in the 
 Sacred Scriptures. Because at various times in the history of 
 Christianity opponents have attacked this doctrine in one point
 
 or another, the Church has defined and declared exactly its 
 meaning; but all of her decisions have been based upon the 
 teaching of the Apostles. In all her declarations she has ever 
 preserved that which shows the great beauty and glory of the 
 mystery, namely, the perfect union of God and man. 
 
 If with Arius of old some deny that Christ was truly God, 
 assigning to Him the place as it were of a demigod, making of 
 Him the most perfect of all creatures, but still allowing Him 
 to be only a creature, the Church summons the witnesses of apos- 
 tolic days to proclaim the truth. She calls upon the greatest 
 defender of Christ's divinity, St. John, and he bears testimony, 
 for he says that the Word, who is Jesus Christ, " was with God, 
 and the Word was God." In his Apocalypse, that revelation 
 vouchsafed especially to him, he pictures Christ as the Lamb 
 receiving the worship that is given to God : " To him that sitteth 
 on the throne, and to the Lamb, benediction, and honor, and 
 glory, and power, for ever and ever" (Apoc. v. 13). 
 
 She appeals to St. Paul, who staked all upon his belief in 
 Christ's divinity, and he gives testimony of his faith in the 
 Godhead of Christ when he states that He who is the Redeemer 
 is He "who is over all things, God blessed for ever" (Rom. 
 ix. 5 ) , and when he proclaims that Jesus Christ " thought it not 
 robbery to be equal with God" (Phil. ii. 6). 
 
 She calls upon the apostolic writers in general, and to those 
 who read the New Testament with open eyes and unprejudiced 
 mind ; it is evident that these pioneers of Christianity are agreed 
 in identifying Christ with the Lord of all things, with the Jeho- 
 vah of the Old Testament. 
 
 Or if some, admitting that Christ is God, on the other hand 
 deny to Him true human nature either in its entirety or in part, 
 the Church is just as jealous in guarding this side of the truth, 
 again appealing to the teaching of Christ's chosen messengers. 
 Thus, when she condemned the teaching that declared there was 
 in Christ no human soul such as that which exists in man, when 
 she declared false the assertion that the human nature was lost 
 and swallowed up in the divine, and when again she inveighed 
 against the opinion of the Monothelites, who would curtail the 
 human faculties of Christ, she invented no new doctrine but
 
 82 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 simply reiterated the first teaching of Christianity. She cites the 
 evangelists, who continually insist upon the humanity of Christ 
 in the complete sense of that word; who depict the Saviour as 
 a man who knew with a human mind, who obeyed and served 
 with a human will, who prayed with a human soul. She cites 
 St. John, who without equivocation or reserve says that "the 
 Word was made flesh"; who asserts that Jesus Christ "is come 
 in the flesh" (2 John 7). She cites St. Paul, who says that the 
 Son of God " emptied himself, taking the form of a servant " 
 (Phil. ii. 7). Or again, she cites St. Peter, who speaks of 
 Christ's human spirit side by side with His human body (i Pet. 
 iii. 18). Indeed, in all the New Testament there is nothing 
 clearer than Christ's true and complete humanity, and as a matter 
 of fact, however many have assailed the divinity of the Saviour, 
 few, especially in later days, have questioned His humanity. 
 
 The whole life of Jesus Christ, from Bethlehem to Calvary, 
 is replete with proofs that show forth the double, yet single, 
 truth of the Godhead and manhood united in one person. Enter 
 the stable at Bethlehem and you behold, lying upon the straw, 
 an infant, born of woman, a man like unto all men ; but you be- 
 hold also a God whose coming the angels announce and who 
 receives the adoration of the shepherds and the kings of the 
 East. Gather with those who witness the baptism of the Saviour 
 in the Jordan, and you behold a man, one who has taken to 
 Himself the likeness of sin ; but you behold also a God for whom 
 the heavens are opened, upon whom the Holy Spirit descends, 
 and of whom the Father says, " This is my beloved son, in whom 
 I am well pleased." Go with Him out into the desert, and you 
 will witness a man who hungers and thirsts; but you will wit- 
 ness also a God who is ministered unto by angels. Journey with 
 Him throughout Judea and you will see a man who lives as other 
 men, who, in fact, lives a life of poverty, who grows weary under 
 his burdens, who is despised, hated, and pursued by some, even 
 unto death; but you will see also a God who cures the sick, and 
 of His own power raises the dead to life. In the garden of 
 Gethsemane you behold the man stricken to earth in an agony 
 of blood, saddened, sorrowful even unto death ; but you also 
 behold the God whose voice alone strikes back His captors and
 
 THE CONCEPTION AND NATIVITY OF CHRIST 83 
 
 whose word cures the wounded soldier. Upon the cross you 
 behold the man, who is terribly tortured, who suffers the woeful 
 agony of thirst, who is deserted and left desolate ; but you also 
 behold the God, with whose suffering nature itself sympathizes, 
 and who, on the third day, is to rise from the dead, giving thus 
 the greatest proof of His divinity. 
 
 To us this mystery has a wonderful meaning. That God 
 should redeem man at all, that He should make atonement for 
 the sins of mankind, is an evidence of infinite mercy. But that 
 God should have chosen this special way, the Incarnation of 
 His Divine Son, is an evidence of His stupendous love for the 
 creature of His hand. It is the answer of heaven to the crav- 
 ings, the longings of man, an answer to be conceived only in the 
 Divine Mind. Religion, in its very essence, implies a loving 
 creature and a loving God; and the history of man's spiritual 
 life has been a series of cravings and a series of answers. 
 
 In the offerings of Cain, when he placed before the Lord the 
 fruits of the field, or of Abel, when he presented the firstlings of 
 his flock; in the ritual observances of the chosen people, in the 
 blood of sacrifice, in the victim of the holocaust; in the glories 
 of the temple of Solomon ; in the lowly catacombs of Christian- 
 ity's dawn, in the medieval miracles of stone; in the rude wor- 
 ship of the uncouth barbarian and the humble offering of the 
 untutored savage; in the monumental tributes erected by Greece 
 and Rome to their pagan deities; in Egypt's enduring walls of 
 Thebes and Karnak, in all these we detect the great desire of 
 man and look upon the silent witnesses to the everlasting craving 
 of man's heart for God. 
 
 And God has come to man in many and in various ways ; not 
 only in the ordinary and usual visitations of His grace to indi- 
 vidual souls, in the inspirations and spiritual evidences of His 
 presence, but also in extraordinary and, we might say, physical 
 manifestations. Read in the word of God of the many such 
 favors granted to man, and we must exclaim, " Truly, God is 
 Love." Behold how in some palpable and real way, though it 
 is not given us to understand, God walked in the garden of His 
 created paradise and spoke with man. Again, learn of the great 
 vision of God with which Jacob was favored at Bethel, and how
 
 84 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 the heavens were opened to Abraham and Moses in the appari- 
 tions of God that were accorded them, and we must say, " God 
 is Love." Or yet again, learn how in the desert journey ings 
 of the Israelites God was present always in a visible manner, by 
 day in the form of a cloud and in a pillar of fire by night ; learn 
 how when Solomon's temple, in all its beauty, was dedicated to 
 God's honor, the glory of the Lord, the visible symbol of His 
 abiding presence, filled all the sanctuary, and we must say, " God 
 is Love." 
 
 All these, however, grand and sublime though they be, fade 
 away before the light and splendor of His latest coming: all 
 these evidences of God's love and desire for man are obscured 
 by the glory of that mighty love that shines forth in the Incar- 
 nation. Prostrate before the God made man, with a knowledge 
 that was not accorded of old, with a devotion to which even the 
 patriarchs and prophets were strangers, with a sympathy that 
 strikes a note of sweetest friendship, with an affection that 
 transcends all other tributes of man, we can now exclaim with 
 the highest and sublimest meaning : " God is Love." 
 
 However little we may understand of the deep mystery of the 
 Incarnation, this at least we can grasp, that it is an expression 
 of God's desire to be with man and the recognition of man's 
 desire to be with God. God so loved the world as to send His 
 only begotton Son. He came not to judge the world, but that 
 the world may be saved by Him. He came that all may have 
 life, and have it more abundantly. The promise spoken by God 
 in the beginning of the human race is now fulfilled; the fact 
 proclaimed by the lips of the ancient seer : " Behold a virgin shall 
 conceive and bear a son," is now accomplished; the prophecy 
 uttered of old is now, in the truest and strictest sense, fully 
 realized, and God is become our God with us, our Emmanuel. 
 
 In His Incarnation, Christ likewise reveals the true dignity 
 of man. He comes in human flesh. Lowly indeed is His con- 
 dition, but even in that there shines forth the more the glory of 
 His love and man's true greatness. In the Incarnation and in it 
 alone we can conceive man's high estate. This glorious mystery 
 is the only title of nobility that mankind can claim. Without it 
 we could scarcely have any faith in man's destiny of goodness
 
 THE CONCEPTION AND NATIVITY OF CHRIST 85 
 
 and happiness ; without it the dread veil of sin and crime would 
 obscure the essential beauty of the soul; but with it, we are en- 
 abled, through the power of God's revelation, to divest man of 
 the garb of wretchedness, to unclothe the meanest and the lowest 
 of the vesture of crime and guilt, and to behold, emerging from 
 its habitation of sin, a soul made for eternal life with God. 
 
 And in all this revelation that comes to us in the Incarnate 
 Christ, there is established in our hearts the desire, and in our 
 wills the power, to live ever a purer and holier existence, until 
 not only putting aside sin, but also putting on the beauty of 
 ever-increasing goodness, we shall become in truth children of 
 
 the Most High. 
 
 \ 
 
 THE THIRD ARTICLE OF THE CREED 
 BY THE REV. P. HEHEL, S.J. 
 
 Of all the mysteries of our Holy Catholic faith there is none 
 which has caused more dissension, more error, schism, and heresy, 
 than the one contained in the third article of the Apostolic 
 Creed. The cause of it I wish to explain to you to-day. Indeed, 
 we cannot be surprised at it when we ponder over the fact that 
 the conception and birth of Christ are as far above the works 
 of mankind as they are beyond all human understanding, so that 
 they require a strong, living, and firm faith by virtue of which 
 man believes what he can neither see nor comprehend. 
 
 Therefore, I ask you when you now listen to the explanation 
 of this third article of the creed to have recourse to your faith 
 and expect of me no other proof than what the words of the 
 article itself offer. Understand then: 
 
 I. The proper sense of words. 
 
 II. What according to these words we must believe. 
 III. How our way of life should correspond with this faith. 
 
 I. When we make our profession of faith with the words: 
 " I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Begotten Son, our Lord, who 
 was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary," 
 we give testimony to our belief in the only begotten Son of God, 
 but in none other than the One who was conceived by the Holy
 
 86 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary. We declare our belief in Him 
 as God and man. God from all eternity and man in time. We 
 also testify that we believe in that Christ who alone was con- 
 ceived by the Holy Ghost without the aid of man, and whose 
 conception did in no way destroy the virginity of Mary. For 
 though she was a mother, because she had given Him birth, yet 
 she remained a virgin before, during, and after His birth, be- 
 cause she had conceived Him by the overshadowing of the Holy 
 Ghost without the co-operation of man. This is the sense of the 
 words of this third article : " Who was conceived by the Holy 
 Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary." 
 
 II. According to these words we, as Catholics, must believe 
 and profess: i. That Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, 
 was at the same time true God and true man ; that in accordance 
 with His nature and being He was the Second Person of the 
 Godhead from all eternity, that in time He assumed human 
 nature and united it inseparably with His Godhead. Although 
 He now had two natures, the divine and the human, yet He re- 
 mained the same person, namely, the Second Person of the God- 
 head. 2. We must believe and profess that Jesus Christ, the 
 Second Person of the Godhead, was conceived in the womb of 
 the Virgin Mary, like any other child in the womb of its mother, 
 but not in the same common, human, natural manner, but by the 
 supernatural, the overshadowing power of the Holy Ghost. For 
 thus spoke the Angel Gabriel to Mary : " The Holy Ghost shall 
 come upon thee, and the power of the Most High shall over- 
 shadow thee. And therefore also the holy child which shall be 
 born of thee shall be called the Son of God." This was con- 
 firmed by the Angel of the Lord when he appeared before 
 St. Joseph and bore testimony to the virginal purity of Mary: 
 "Joseph, son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy 
 wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost." 
 The teaching of heretics that Christ was born through the co- 
 operation of St. Joseph is therefore false. The teachings of 
 those who held that Christ had brought His mortal body with 
 Him from heaven is equally erroneous, as is the teaching of 
 others who said that Christ had only an apparent body, not a real 
 one formed from the flesh and blood of Mary, for this is con-
 
 THE CONCEPTION AND NATIVITY OF CHRIST 87 
 
 trary to the distinct expression of St. John: "And the Word 
 was made flesh." 
 
 But how was it possible for Christ to take flesh through the 
 overshadowing and co-operation of the Holy Ghost, who is Him- 
 self fleshless and a pure spirit? This no human being can com- 
 prehend. For this reason I told you that in this article we must 
 be guided much more by faith than by human insight and under- 
 standing. Nevertheless, we can make this question clearer to 
 ourselves by a comparison. We all know that our soil will not 
 bring forth fruit unless it has previously been cultivated, plowed, 
 and sown, and yet it is certain that at the creation of the world 
 the first sheaf grew out of the soil solely by the wish of God, 
 man having had no part in its existence and growth. So, too, 
 did Mary bring forth the blessed fruit of her womb without 
 co-operation of man. It was the Holy Ghost alone who, by His 
 almighty power, formed a body from the pure flesh and blood of 
 the Virgin, with which at the same moment the Second Person 
 of the Godhead united Himself. And thus was Jesus who was 
 God from eternity conceived as man and became flesh in the 
 womb of Mary. 
 
 III. Out of all this arise important precepts which we must 
 follow if our life and conduct are to reflect the profession of our 
 faith. For behold! How immeasurably great God's love was 
 toward man that He permitted His only Son to descend from 
 heaven and become man, solely for our sake and our salvation. 
 Think of it ! As far as impotent, mortal, sinful man stands be- 
 neath God, so far has God humbled Himself for the sake of 
 man: the Master for the sake of His servant; the Creator for 
 the sake of the creature; the Judge for the sake of the poor 
 sinner; God for the sake of man! Is there any human love 
 which can be compared with this? You love your friend, your 
 husband, your wife, your relatives, as you say, from the bottom 
 of your heart ; but why ? Because they wish you well, they love 
 you, they serve you, and because you have evidences of their good 
 will. What does this mean? It means that you merely love 
 yourself and seek but your own comfort and advantage. But 
 what could God expect from man? He was God from eternity. 
 Before man breathed He was all blessedness, had everything by
 
 88 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 Himself and through Himself, as the origin of everything good. 
 Therefore by His love He did not seek His own but your salva- 
 tion and bliss. Oh, Christian, if you would only believe this, 
 or rather ponder over it thoroughly ; if you would think seriously 
 of what your faith teaches you, how could you be so ungrateful 
 as to prove yourself an enemy to this infinitely loving God ? 
 
 Secondly, you can learn from this that Christ became man and 
 walked upon this earth in weak and mortal flesh, to show us by 
 His example how we, the faithful children of God, His disciples 
 and heirs of His kingdom, should live and act. He was meek, 
 mild, and patient, poor and obedient unto His dying day. Oh, 
 how pride, vengeance, avarice, envy, and wickedness despoil a 
 Christian ! And how many Christians are there who do not com- 
 mit one or the other of these sins ! 
 
 We learn finally that because Christ was born of Mary the 
 Virgin she is really His mother, and consequently can obtain 
 from God all that ever any mother could obtain from her son. 
 If, then, you implicitly believe this, O Christian, take refuge with 
 Mary in all your necessities. Honor her as the mother of the 
 Most High; invoke her as the most powerful of women, who 
 exercises a motherly right over the God-man, her Son. Pray 
 to her, the clement, the mild, the benignant, that she may obtain 
 for you the grace of living here true to your faith, and of be- 
 holding hereafter the blessed fruit of her womb, Jesus Christ, 
 our Lord and our Saviour. 
 
 References 
 
 Corsi, " The Nativity of Our Lord," " Christmas Day," in Little Ser- 
 mons on the Catechism; Newell, in Short Sermons for the Sundays of the 
 Year; Hughes, in Horn. Monthly, Nov. 1915; Stapleton, in Pulpit Com., 
 Vol. IV, p. 59 ; Bonomelli-Byrne, in Christian Mysteries, Vol. I, pp. 25 ff. ; 
 Burke, O. P., in Sermons and Lectures, Vol. I, pp. 329 ff. ; Vol. Ill, 
 pp. 328 ff. ; Bourclaloue, in Great French Sermons, Series II ; Massillon, 
 in Great French Sermons, Series I ; Monsabre, in Lenten Conferences of 
 1877, 1878. 
 
 Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. VII, pp. 706 ff. ; Vol. XV, pp. 448 ff. ; Vol. Ill, 
 pp. 724 ff. ; Summa TheoL, III, qq. 30-36; Hurter, Theol. Dog., Vol. II, 
 Nos. 497 ff. ; Vaughan, The Divine Armory, etc., pp. 135 ff. ; Callan, Illus- 
 trations for Sermons, etc., pp. 19 ff. ; Bellord, Meditations, etc., Vol. I, 
 pp. 224, 274 ; Pohle-Preuss, Christoloyy; Coleridge, The Preparation of the 
 Incarnation; The Nine Months; Hall, The Miraculous Birth of Our Lord.
 
 LESSONS OF THE NATIVITY OF CHRIST 89 
 
 SUNDAY AFTER CHRISTMAS 
 
 SUBJECT 
 LESSONS OF THE NATIVITY OF CHRIST 
 
 TEXT 
 
 This child is set for the fall, and for the resurrection of many in Israel. 
 LUKE ii. 34. 
 
 Analysis 
 
 INTRODUCTION. The Gospel of to-day commemorates the pres- 
 entation of our Lord in the Temple forty days after His Nativity. 
 There were praying in the Temple at the time holy old Simeon 
 and Anna. The former, receiving the Child in his arms and 
 being filled with the Holy Ghost, first blessed God for having 
 been spared to behold the Saviour, and then prophesied that 
 through this child many should correspond with grace and be 
 saved, while many others through their own fault would be lost. 
 
 I. "This child." These words show how God in this mys- 
 tery condescended to man: i. He whom the angels adore came 
 to minister to man : " the Son of man came not to be ministered 
 to, but to minister" (Mark x. 45). 2. He at whose nod the 
 heavens tremble (Job xxvi. n) was born on earth as a weak 
 infant. 3. He who possessed the riches of the celestial Kingdom 
 became poor for our sakes: "who being in the form of God, 
 thought it not robbery to be equal with God: but emptied him- 
 self, taking the form of a servant," etc. (Phil. ii. 6). 
 
 II. " For the resurrection." God condescended to our lowli- 
 ness in order to redeem us from sin and to raise us to the highest 
 degree of dignity: i. Our Lord passed over the nature of the 
 Angels and took the nature of man : " for nowhere doth he take 
 hold of the angels, but of the seed of Abraham he taketh hold" 
 (Heb. ii. 16) ; "to which of the angels hath he said at any time,
 
 90 
 
 thou art my son," etc. (Heb. i. 5). It is the greatest glory of 
 our race that the Son of God is now bone of our bone and flesh 
 of our flesh. 2. The birth of Christ ennobles the humblest cir- 
 cumstances of our lives, poverty, weakness, suffering, etc. 
 3. Christ, by the poverty, privations, and obscurity of His birth, 
 teaches us the dangers of riches, pleasures, and honors : " all 
 that is in the world is the concupiscence of the flesh, the concu- 
 piscence of the eyes," etc. (i John i. 16). 4. Christ is born to 
 us in order to communicate to us the gifts of grace and glory. 
 
 III. " For the fall" Although intended for the benefit of all, 
 the blessings of our Lord's nativity will rise in judgment against 
 many through their own fault : " Though He died for all, yet not 
 all receive the benefit of His death" (Cone, of Trent, Sess. VI, 
 cap. 3). " The blood of thy Lord is given for thee, if thou wilt; 
 if thou wilt not, it is not given for thee" (St. Aug.). i. Con- 
 trast the shepherds, Simeon and Anna, who received Christ, with 
 the inhospitable people of Bethlehem, who denied Him a dwell- 
 ing. 2. Mankind may be divided into two classes: those who 
 are for Christ, and those who are against Him. 
 
 CONCLUSION. In order that our Lord's nativity may be for 
 each one of us not a stumbling-block and cause of fall, but the 
 cause of resurrection unto spiritual life and joy everlasting, we 
 must at all times aspire to that Adoption of Sons spoken of in 
 to-day's Epistle. Let us ever faithfully adhere to the teaching 
 of Christ and keep our souls free from mortal sin. 
 
 Catechism of the Council of Trent, Part I 
 ARTICLE III OF THE CREED 
 
 THE LESSONS WHICH THE MYSTERIES OF THE INCARNATION 
 AND NATIVITY CONVEY 
 
 The pastor should labor to impress deeply on the minds and 
 hearts of the faithful these mysteries, " which were written for 
 our learning " ; * first, that by the commemoration of so great 
 
 1 Rom. xv. 4.
 
 LESSONS OF THE NATIVITY OF CHRIST 91 
 
 a benefit they may make some return of gratitude to God, its 
 author ; and next, in order to place before their eyes, as a model 
 for imitation, this striking and singular example of humility. 
 
 THE DIVINE CONDESCENSION 
 
 What can be more useful, what better calculated to subdue the 
 pride and haughtiness of the human heart, than to reflect, fre- 
 quently, that God humbles Himself in such a manner as to as- 
 sume our frailty and weakness, in order to communicate to us 
 his grace and glory that God becomes man, and that He "at 
 whose nod," to use the words of Scripture, " the pillars of heaven 
 tremble," x bows His supreme and infinite majesty to minister to 
 man that He whom the angels adore in heaven is born on 
 earth! When such is the goodness of God towards us, what, I 
 ask, what should we not do to testify our obedience to His will ? 
 With what promptitude and alacrity should we not love, em- 
 brace, and perform all the duties of Christian humility? 
 
 The faithful should also know the salutary lessons which Christ 
 teaches at His birth, before He opens His divine lips, He is 
 born in poverty ; He is born a stranger under a roof not His own ; 
 He is born in a lonely crib; He is born in the depth of winter! 
 These circumstances, which attend the birth of the man-God, are 
 thus recorded by St. Luke : " And it came to pass, that when they 
 were there, her days were accomplished, that she should be 
 delivered. And she brought forth her first-born son, and 
 wrapped him up in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger ; 
 because there was no room for them in the inn." 2 Could the 
 Evangelist comprehend under more humble terms the majesty 
 and glory that filled the heavens and the earth? He does not 
 say, there was no room in the inn, but there was no room for 
 Him who says, " the world is mine, and the fulness thereof " ; * 
 and this destitution of the man-God another Evangelist records 
 in these words : " He came unto his own, and his own received 
 him not." 4 
 
 THE DIGNITY WHICH IT CONFERS ON MAN 
 
 When the faithful have placed these things before their eyes, 
 let them also reflect that God condescended to assume the low- 
 1 Job xxvi. ii. * Luke ii. 6, 7. * Ps. xlix. 12. 4 John L II.
 
 92 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 liness and frailty of our flesh in order to exalt man to the highest 
 degree of dignity. This single reflection alone supplies sufficient 
 proof of the exalted dignity of man conferred on him by the 
 divine bounty that He who is true and perfect God vouchsafed 
 to become man ; so that we may now glory that the Son of God 
 is bone of our bone, and flesh of our flesh, a privilege not given 
 to angels, " for nowhere," says the apostle, " doth he take hold 
 of the angels : but of the seed of Abraham he taketh hold." 1 
 
 THE INFLUENCE WHICH IT SHOULD HAVE ON MAN'S LIFE 
 
 We must also take care that these singular blessings rise not 
 in judgment against us. At Bethlehem, the place of His nativity, 
 He was denied a dwelling. Now that He is no longer born in 
 human flesh, let Him not be denied a dwelling in our hearts, in 
 which He may be spiritually born, for through an earnest desire 
 for our salvation, this is the object of His most anxious solicitude. 
 
 As, then, by the power of the Holy Ghost, and in a manner 
 superior to the order of nature, He was made man and was born, 
 was holy and even holiness itself, so does it become our duty to 
 be born, " not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, . . . but of 
 God " ; 2 to walk as new creatures in newness of spirit, 3 and to 
 preserve that holiness and purity of soul that become men re- 
 generated by the Spirit of God. 4 Thus shall we reflect some 
 faint image of the holy conception and nativity of the Son of 
 God, which are the objects of our firm faith, and believing which 
 we revere and adore in a mystery, a wisdom of God which was 
 hidden. 5 
 
 Sermons 
 
 CONTRADICTION OF CHRIST 
 BY THE REV. FERDINAND HECKMANN, O.F.M. 
 
 Simeon in to-day's Gospel tells us that Jesus Christ "is set 
 for the fall, and for the resurrection of many in Israel, and for 
 a sign which shall be contradicted." What is the reason of this 
 seemingly strange prophecy ? With the entrance of Jesus Christ 
 into this world the judgment of this world began, the separation 
 
 1 Heb. ii. 16. John i. 13. * Rom. vi. 4-7. 
 
 * a Cor. iii. 18. * i Cor. ii. 7.
 
 LESSONS OF THE NATIVITY OF CHRIST 93 
 
 of men into the two opposite camps of the adherents and of the 
 adversaries of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ " is set for the fall, 
 and for the resurrection of many, and for a sign which shall be 
 contradicted," because He is the conspicuous exponent of truths 
 and principles which attract to His standard those who believe 
 in Him and follow Him, and which make Him the point of at- 
 tack of those who do not believe in Him, who oppose and con- 
 tradict Him. He is the sign around which assemble the hosts 
 of His followers and against which are arrayed the hordes of 
 His adversaries. In all the ages of Christianity the name of 
 Jesus Christ has been the symbol that divided the civilized world 
 into the two great divisions of those who were with Him and 
 of those who were against Him. For the prophesied contradic- 
 tion of Christ is by no means limited to the Jews, but embraces 
 the whole human race from the birth of Christ till the end of 
 time when the words of Simeon will find their last realization 
 in the great separation of mankind on the day of the last 
 Judgment. 
 
 Let us then consider that the world in its views, tendencies, 
 and pursuits contradicts Christ. 
 
 " Love not the world, nor the things which are in the world," 
 says St. John the Evangelist. "If any man love the world, the 
 charity of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, 
 is the concupiscence of the flesh, and the concupiscence of the 
 eyes, and the pride of life, which is not of the Father, but is of 
 the world" (i John ii. 15, 16). These capital vices of sensual- 
 ity, avarice, and pride are the source of all temptation and sin 
 and therefore of all the opposition to and contradiction of Christ 
 in this world. 
 
 I. Christ is born amid suffering and in order to suffer; the 
 world hates self-denial, suffering, and mortification. St. Ber- 
 nard invites us to go with him to Bethlehem and, pointing out 
 to us the shivering form of the Divine Babe, he exclaims : " Be- 
 hold, where He is born, when He is born, and how He is born 
 into this world and you will see the way to life this Divine Guide 
 points out to us, you will know the truths which He teaches us, 
 and you will learn the combats to which He leads us." Hardly 
 has the Divine Child made its entrance into this world and suf-
 
 94 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 ferings overwhelm it to such a degree that we can easily foresee 
 what the course and end of its life will be. 
 
 Say against this what you will, you who detest the word " suf- 
 fering" itself, who endeavor to satisfy your sensuality in every 
 way possible, who pamper your body and fulfil its lusts; you 
 who consider a life of comfort, of pleasure and leisure, the acme 
 of human happiness say what you will, your sensuality and 
 effeminacy in the presence of the Divine Child must suffuse your 
 face with shame and confusion. For it teaches you by word 
 and example that mortification, self-denial, and suffering are not 
 such an evil, nor a life of ease and pleasure such a blessing as 
 the world would make you believe. The satisfaction of the 
 senses is dangerous and their mortification is salutary, for the 
 Word Incarnate chose the latter and condemned the former. 
 
 Self-denial, suffering, and mortification are necessary for us, 
 but they were not necessary for Jesus Christ. They are neces- 
 sary for us in order to subdue our passions, to satisfy for our 
 sins, to acquire virtues and to gain merits. How ashamed we 
 should feel ourselves before Him when we shrink from under- 
 going suffering for His sake, when we fret and complain about it. 
 
 If Christ, then, is not to be a sign which our mind and life 
 contradict, we must fall down before the crib and ask His pardon 
 for our cowardice and effeminacy in regard to the mortifications 
 and sufferings which a good Christian life necessarily entails ; 
 that we prefer our ease and comfort to the fulfilment of our 
 duties toward God and our neighbor; that we refuse to carry 
 our cross patiently and in a penitential spirit, and will not hear 
 of voluntary penance. Then let us ask Him for the grace of 
 patience and repentance so necessary for our salvation. 
 
 II. Christ is born in poverty because the world is full of 
 avarice. He came into this world to proclaim a new Gospel, to 
 announce to men a doctrine which is directly opposed to their 
 avarice. How wonderful is the harmony between the Gospel 
 and the crib. The poor crib, the miserable stable, the poor 
 swaddling clothes cry out to us, " Blessed are the poor in spirit : 
 for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (Matt. v. 3). But the 
 word says, " Blessed are they who possess the riches of this 
 world." Christ says in the Gospel : " Lay not up to yourselves
 
 LESSONS OF THE NATIVITY OF CHRIST 95 
 
 treasures on earth : where the rust, and moth consume, and where 
 thieves break through, and steal. But lay up to yourselves treas- 
 ures in heaven : where neither the rust nor moth doth consume, 
 and where thieves do not break through, nor steal" (Matt, 
 vi. 19, 20). Does not the manger proclaim the same truth? 
 For what forced Christ to be born in the most abject poverty? 
 Nothing else than His own choice. He was born of the royal 
 family of David, but at a time when it had fallen into the deepest 
 obscurity and poverty. He was born in the royal city of Beth- 
 lehem, but in this city there was not place low enough for Him 
 to make His entrance into the world. He chose for His birth 
 the most despicable dwelling, an abode of animals. 
 
 "You know," says St. Paul, "the grace of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ, that being rich he became poor, for your sakes ; that 
 through his poverty you might be rich" (2 Cor. viii. 9). Why 
 did Christ become so extremely poor ? In order to put to shame 
 the avarice of men and to atone for it. A bitter remedy for a 
 dangerous and deeply rooted evil. How much disorder, care, 
 trouble, sin, and misery does not " the concupiscence of the 
 eyes " cause among men, and even among Christians ! He who 
 does not possess the things of this world longs for them in order 
 to free himself from the distress of poverty, and with their at- 
 tainment avarice generally increases. What cares, anxiety, and 
 labors do men not often endure in order to preserve and increase 
 their possessions, losing sight, in the mean time, altogether of 
 the things of Heaven ! They do not consider that they cover 
 their souls with a multitude of sins about which they care the 
 less the more frequently and generally these sins are committed. 
 How many lawsuits, long-enduring discords, envies and jeal- 
 ousies and intrigues, does not the love of money cause ! " Noth- 
 ing is more wicked than the covetous man," says the Wise Man. 
 " There is not a more wicked thing than to love money : for such 
 a one setteth even his own soul for sale" (Eccles. x. 9, 10). 
 " They that will become rich," says St. Paul, " fall into tempta- 
 tion, and into the snare of the devil, and into many unprofitable 
 and hurtful desires, which drown men into destruction and per- 
 dition. For the desire of money is the root of all evils " ( I Tim. 
 vi. 9-10).
 
 96 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 III. Christ is born in lowliness and abjection m order to put 
 to shame and to atone for the pride of men. " Who being in the 
 form of God," says St. Paul, " thought it not robbery to be equal 
 with God: but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, 
 being made in the likeness of men, and in habit found as a man. 
 He humbled himself, becoming obedient unto death, even to the 
 death of the cross" (Phil. ii. 6-8). So deep is the lowering of 
 God's majesty in Christ Jesus that the world cannot comprehend 
 it, and therefore Christ crucified is " unto the Jews indeed a 
 stumbling block, and unto the Gentiles foolishness " ( I Cor. i. 
 23). "But," says St. Bernard, "He spurned the palaces of 
 kings and chose a stable in order to condemn the vainglory of 
 this world and its vanity." According to the doctrine of the 
 world it is mere foolishness not to strive for honors, power, and 
 glory. 
 
 In order, then, that our life be not a contradiction of Christ's 
 life and teaching, we must necessarily avoid all vainglory and 
 contentions for honors and preferments, all arrogance and sensi- 
 tiveness. "Unless you be converted, and become [humble] as 
 little children." He says to us from the crib, " you shall not enter 
 into the kingdom of heaven" (Matt, xviii. 3). Either we must 
 humble ourselves in this world according to the teaching and 
 example of Jesus Christ, or we must despair of becoming like 
 to Him in the Kingdom of His glory ; for God hath exalted Him 
 because He humbled Himself in poverty, weakness, subjection, 
 contempt, and persecution. There is no other choice left to us, 
 if we want to be true followers of Christ and attain His prom- 
 ises, than to keep what we have promised in Baptism, namely, 
 to renounce Satan and all his vices, his pride and vainglory. 
 
 The world must either conform itself to the truths and prin- 
 ciples of Jesus Christ, or Jesus Christ must accommodate Him- 
 self to the maxims and principles of this world. But the latter 
 is impossible, for "Jesus Christ, yesterday, and to-day; and the 
 same for ever." Therefore, if we do not wish to contradict 
 Christ in our life, we cannot make it conformable to the prin- 
 ciples of this world, but must shape our life according to the 
 truths and principles which He has taught us by word and ex- 
 ample. He says : " I am the way," because " no man cometh to
 
 LESSONS OF THE NATIVITY OF CHRIST 97 
 
 the Father, but by me." The way of Christ is one of self-denial 
 and mortification, of humility and poverty, at least in spirit. He 
 also says that He is "the truth." This personified truth, how- 
 ever, teaches us contempt of self, contempt of the world, of its 
 pride, riches, and pleasures. Christ again says that He is "the 
 life." But He led a life of self-denial and suffering, of poverty 
 and humility. A life, therefore, spent in the pursuit of riches, 
 honors, and pleasures is a life leading to death and perdition. 
 To contradict Christ in our mind or in our life is to draw damna- 
 tion upon ourselves ; for He says of Himself : " Whosoever shall 
 fall on this stone, shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall 
 fall, it shall grind him to powder" (Matt. xxi. 44). But if we 
 make our life in this world conformable to His words and ex- 
 ample, we shall also be conformed to Him in the world without 
 end. Amen. 
 
 THE INCARNATION BEFITTING 
 BY THE REV. P. HEHEL, S.J. 
 
 One prophet after another was sent to Jerusalem, yet they were 
 mocked, stoned, and put to death. At last the greatest of all 
 prophets came and preached His saving doctrine in the temple at 
 Jerusalem; still even He was not recognized as the Messiah and 
 Saviour of the world. Oh, lamentable blindness ! The Redeemer 
 stands at the doors, and they are not opened to Him ! He walks 
 through the streets of the city approaching destruction, and 
 Jerusalem will not be saved! The hour of suffering is at hand, 
 but all His pains and sufferings will be lost for the sick Jerusalem 
 it knew Him not ! Is it surprising that the most loving Heart 
 which ever beat burst into a storm of tears ? 
 
 Dear Christians! From this darkness of mind in which Je- 
 rusalem walked we have extricated ourselves by the illumination 
 of Christianity. God has spoken to us, and taught by His word. 
 We say to Christ with Peter, " Thou art the Son of God." This 
 truth is confirmed by the Holy Ghost, who, speaking by St. John, 
 says, " The Word was made flesh." This truth is attested by the 
 miracles of Christ, for He performed miracles which no man 
 could do of himself, and He proved thereby that He was not
 
 98 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 only man but that at the same time He was God Almighty. This 
 is also attested by thousands and thousands of martyrs who have 
 shed their blood for this truth. This it is which was declared by 
 all the Prophets, and all the prophecies, which have been pre- 
 served in reference to the Messias. For in Christ Jesus they were 
 all fulfilled. He was born in time as Jacob and Daniel prophe- 
 sied. He was conceived of a Virgin as Isaias prophesied. 
 He was born in Bethlehem of Juda as Micheas foretold. He 
 made His entry into Jerusalem seated upon a colt as Zacharias 
 prophesied. He let Himself be led to the slaughter like a meek 
 lamb, rose again from out the grave, and triumphed over death 
 and corruption as the Psalmist prophesied (Ps. xv. 10). 
 
 Therefore this Christ is the true Messias, the anointed of the 
 Lord, our Emmanuel, God clothed with our humanity. For this 
 reason no orthodox Christian doubts for a moment that Christ, 
 the Divine Word, became really man. But many might ponder 
 and doubt because on the one hand of the Majesty of this Divine 
 Word, and on the other hand of the misery of our human nature, 
 whether it was befitting that the Divine Word should take human 
 nature. 
 
 I will solve this difficulty in to-day's instruction by showing 
 from the exalted pre-eminence of the union of the Divine Word 
 with human nature that the Incarnation (i) in respect to the 
 (assumed) human nature and (2) on the part of God was be- 
 fitting. From this you learn to know this great mystery better. 
 
 i. Whoever looks upon the work of the Incarnation with 
 earthly eyes, may deem it unbefitting that the Son of God should 
 have united Himself to a mortal nature, so infinitely far from 
 God, and to a body formed of flesh. But we should never meas- 
 ure these extraordinary actions of God by the standard of earthly 
 wisdom, nor determine their dignity according to the cold calcu- 
 lations of human reason. Faith alone gives us the right standard 
 thereto. But it teaches us that the humanity of Christ was in 
 nowise subject to those failings and imperfections with which 
 our nature is so abundantly burdened. And although His hu- 
 manity in His natural qualities had all that we men have accord- 
 ing to our nature, still it was gifted with such prerogatives that 
 it was exalted above all creatures. The flesh of Christ's human-
 
 LESSONS OF THE NATIVITY OF CHRIST 99 
 
 ity was in a miraculous manner formed from the purest blood 
 of a Virgin without spot, by the power of the Holy Ghost and 
 received thereby a purity which surpasses all human ideas. With 
 this flesh God united a soul full of inexpressible beauty, full of 
 grace, full of the knowledge of the most exalted virtues, so that 
 it shone brighter in this new garment than the sun in its splen- 
 dor. As a garment of plain cloth does not seem suitable for a 
 monarch, but when ornamented with gold, pearls and precious 
 stones is considered fit for a king's robe ; so also did this perish- 
 able frail humanity, after God had adorned it in the womb of a 
 Virgin with such glorious gifts, appear so beautiful in the sight 
 of the Divine Word, that He did not hesitate as King of Glory to 
 clothe Himself with it. The prophet David in spirit foresaw the 
 Son of God arrayed in this beautiful garment, and carried away 
 with admiration, the royal singer sang " O Lord my God, thou 
 art exceedingly great, thou hast put on praise and beauty: and 
 art clothed with light as with a garment" (Ps. ciii. i). "The 
 Lord is clothed with strength, and hath girded himself" (Ps. 
 xcii. i). 
 
 2. And why should it not be befitting that God should show 
 His glory, His power, His wisdom, His goodness ? Now all these 
 He has revealed most perfectly in the mystery of the Incarnation. 
 
 The way and manner of the union exalts the honor and glory 
 of God. For it extends on the one hand to the Divine Word, that 
 is to the second Person of the Blessed Trinity, even to the Divine 
 nature itself. Hence theologians, in speaking of this mystery, 
 say that the Divine nature was united to human nature, and the 
 Divinity to humanity. On the other hand this union extends to 
 the human nature which is made up of body and soul, flesh and 
 blood, and the individual members of the body. It extends also 
 to the soul, as to the superior part of man without which he could 
 not live. The soul of man was corrupted in its original powers 
 by sin. The Son of God, who came to heal everything that was 
 corrupted, united Himself there with a reasonable soul so as to be 
 able to practise through it all those interior operations of love and 
 worship of God by which he was to redeem man. But as human 
 nature consists of soul and body, of spirit and flesh, therefore the 
 Divine Word united Himself also with body and flesh. And
 
 ioo PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 for this reason this mystery is so appropriately named the 
 " Incarnation." 
 
 For "the word was made flesh" (John i. 14). Still this union 
 not only extended to the body of mankind but also to the blood. 
 "In Christ," says St. Cyril, "the Word united Himself to the 
 blood, as well as to the body and soul." And the Apostle St. Paul 
 confirms this with the words " Forasmuch then as the children 
 were partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself Christ in 
 like manner partook of the same" (Heb. ii. 14). Hence it is 
 that this blood has the power to cleanse the world from their 
 sins, and that we adore this precious blood in the holy sacrifice of 
 the Mass, because like the body of Christ it is united to the 
 Divine Person. O infinitely exalted union ! How Thy sublimity 
 presses us into the dust, so as in the dust to honor and glorify 
 the Godhead! 
 
 But in this union He has also shown His power, wisdom, and 
 goodness. For what can be more powerful than to unite most 
 intimately with one another objects which are farther apart than 
 heaven and earth ? What can be wiser than for the Redeemer of 
 the world to unite the first with the last to connect the Divine 
 Word as the beginning of all things with mankind who, in the 
 creation of the world, was the last? What can be more good or 
 kind than that the Creator Himself should communicate Himself 
 to His creatures and be united with them ? His goodness is great 
 because by His presence He communicates Himself to all crea- 
 tures. His goodness is greater because He unites Himself with 
 the just by His grace. But this is the greatest measure of good- 
 ness that He has united Himself to human nature in one Person. 
 
 3. Through this union everything that the world had lost has 
 been regained. A stream of boundless graces is opened to it, 
 sinful concupiscence is lessened, the glory of God promoted, His 
 honor increased, His name extended, His enemies brought to 
 shame, the whole of nature renewed and placed in a better con- 
 dition. For " In Christ," writes the Apostle St. Paul, " God has 
 blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places. In the 
 dispensation of the fulness of times, to establish all things in 
 Christ, which are in heaven and on earth" (Eph. i. 3 and 10). 
 O dear brethren ! What blessings have flowed upon us through
 
 this union! To what an exalted plane has not the Son of God 
 lifted up mankind disgraced by sin? How gloriously adorned 
 does this image appear again which God made according to His 
 likeness, and which the evil spirit had deformed so frightfully? 
 Therefore we ought as often as we reflect upon this union of 
 God with humanity, or when we utter it with our lips, to thank 
 God, and if not the whole body, at least bow our head, because 
 He has vouchsafed to take our body and become flesh ! Behold 
 the Church in her servants. As often as the priest repeats the 
 words in Holy Mass, " The Word was made flesh," he falls upon 
 his knees; as often as the words et incarnatus est are sung by 
 the choir at High Mass, every one bows reverently. And what 
 do you do when you hear the bell ring for the " Angelus," and you 
 are invited to remember with gratitude the great and ever ador- 
 able mystery of the Incarnation of Jesus Christ? The Church 
 reminds us three times during the day of this unspeakable bless- 
 ing and how often do we really think about it? You ought to 
 fall upon your knees thrice during the day at the words " And 
 the Word was made flesh," and praise the boundless love of your 
 God! But what do you do? Alas! you seldom think about it, 
 especially in the hour of temptation! God took our flesh, He 
 became our brother in the flesh and you do not fear to sin 
 against your flesh! You have become related by blood to the 
 second Person of the most adorable Trinity and dishonor your 
 body! What a responsibility! Ponder this well, and keep your 
 body holy ! 
 
 References 
 
 Hehel, " Time and Place of the Incarnation," " The Mystery of the In- 
 carnation Revealed in Parables " ; The " Necessity of the Incarnation " ; 
 " The Love of the Most Holy Trinity Manifested in the Incarnation," in 
 Sermons on Christian Doctrine; Sharpe, " Our Rise or Fall," in Plain 
 Sermons by Practical Preachers, Vol. I, p. 84 ; McSorley, " The Nativity," 
 in Plain Sermons, Vol. II, p. 62 ; Newman, " The Mystery of Godliness," 
 in Parochial and Plain Sermons, Vol. V; "The Mystery of Divine Con- 
 descension," in Discourses to Mixed Congregations. 
 
 Catholic Encyc., Vol. XII, pp. 378 ff . ; Summa Theol, III, q. l; Tan- 
 querey, De Verbo Incarnato, Nos. 1051 ff., Nos. 1155 ff . ; Hurter, Theol. 
 Dog., Vol. II, Nos. 467 ff. ; Pohle-Preuss, Soteriology, pp. 13 ff. ; Chris- 
 tology, pp. 95 ff. ; Faber, Bethlehem; Vaughan, The Divine Armory, etc., 
 PP- 135 ff. ; Callan, Illustrations for Sermons, etc., pp. 19 ff. ; Bellord, 
 Meditations, etc., Vol. I, pp. 236, 274.
 
 102 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 FEAST OF CIRCUMCISION 
 
 SUBJECT 
 HALLOWED BE THY NAME 
 
 TEXT 
 
 His name was called Jesus, which was called by the angel, before he 
 was conceived in the womb. LUKE ii. 21. 
 
 Analysis 
 
 INTRODUCTION. In the Old Law (Gen. xvii. 12) it was re- 
 quired that every male child should on the eighth day after his 
 birth be circumcised, and thus admitted among God's chosen 
 people. The rite of circumcision in the Old Law corresponded 
 to the Sacrament of Baptism in the New Law and was the means 
 of remitting original sin. Our Lord, although free from every 
 sin, submitted to this rite in order to show that He was a true 
 Son of Abraham, to manifest respect and obedience to the es- 
 tablished law, and to prove that He had a real human body. At 
 the time of circumcision a name was given to the child. Our 
 Lord was called Jesus, which signified His office as Saviour. On 
 this feast of the Circumcision, therefore, it is most appropriate 
 that we should meditate on the first petition of the Lord's prayer, 
 " hallowed be thy name." 
 
 I. The first petition of the Lord's Prayer, i. In the opening 
 words of the Lord's Prayer we ask that God's name may be hon- 
 ored, which shows that God's glory should be our chief desire. 
 2. This petition does not mean that God's essential glory or per- 
 fection should be increased, nor that the honor given Him on 
 earth should be equal to that shown Him in heaven. 
 
 II. The objects of this petition. We ask: I. That we may 
 praise God with our hearts and lips ; 2. That those in error may 
 be brought to recognize and revere His Church ; 3. That sinners
 
 HALLOWED BE THY NAME 103 
 
 may be converted to His service ; 4. That men may learn to refer 
 all blessings to Him as to their author and source. 
 
 CONCLUSION. Our conduct should be in conformity with this 
 petition, i. Catholics must not cause the name of God or of 
 His Church to be profaned by their own evil words and actions. 
 2. On the contrary, by clean speech and good example, Catho- 
 lics ought to excite others to exalt the name of God, to respect 
 the faith of Christ, and to honor His Church. 3. Good resolu- 
 tions for the New Year. 
 
 Catechism of the Council of Trent, Part IV 
 
 Hallowed be Thy Name 
 
 OBJECTS AND ORDER OF OUR PRAYERS 
 
 What should be the objects and the order of our prayers we 
 learn from the Lord and Master of all; for as prayer is the 
 envoy and interpreter of our wishes and desires, we then pray 
 as we ought when the order of our prayers corresponds with that 
 of their objects. 
 
 True charity admonishes us to love God with our whole heart 
 and soul, for as He alone is the supreme good, He justly com- 
 mands our particular and especial love; and this love we cannot 
 cherish towards Him unless we prefer His honor and glory to all 
 created things. Whatever good we or others enjoy, whatever 
 good man can name, is inferior to God, because emanating from 
 Him who is the supreme good. 
 
 In order, therefore, that our prayers may proceed in due order, 
 our divine Redeemer has placed this petition, which regards our 
 chief good, at the head of the others, thus teaching us that be- 
 fore we pray for anything for our neighbor or ourselves, we 
 should pray for those things which appertain to the glory of God, 
 and make known to Him our wishes and desires for their accom- 
 plishment. Thus shall we remain in charity, which teaches us to 
 love God more than ourselves, and to make those things which 
 we desire for the sake of God the first, and what we desire for 
 ourselves the next, object of our prayers.
 
 104 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 OBJECT OF THIS PETITION AS IT REGARDS GOD 
 
 But as desires and petitions regard things which we lack, and 
 as God, that is to say His divine nature, can receive no accession, 
 nor can the Divinity adorned after an ineffable manner with all 
 perfections admit of increase, the faithful are to understand that 
 what we pray for to God regarding Himself belongs not to His 
 intrinsic perfections, but to His external glory. We desire and 
 pray that His name may be better known to the nations ; that His 
 kingdom may be extended; and that the number of His faithful 
 servants may be every day increased, three things, His name, 
 His kingdom, and the number of His faithful servants, which 
 regard not His essence, but His extrinsic glory. 
 
 WHAT WE SOLICIT IN THIS PETITION : FIRST 
 
 When we pray that the name of God may be hallowed, we 
 mean that the sanctity and glory of His name may be increased ; 
 and here the pastor will inform his pious hearers that our Lord 
 does not teach us to pray that it be hallowed on earth as it is in 
 heaven, that is, in the same manner and with the same perfection, 
 for this is impossible ; but that it be hallowed through love, and 
 from the inmost affection of the soul. 
 
 True, in itself His name requires not to be hallowed. " It is 
 terrible and holy," * even as He Himself is holy ; nothing can be 
 added to the holiness which is His from eternity. Yet as on earth 
 He is much less honored than He should be, and is even sometimes 
 dishonored by impious oaths and blasphemous execrations, we 
 therefore desire and pray that His name may be celebrated with 
 praise, honor, and glory, as it is praised, honored, and glorified 
 in heaven. We pray that His honor and glory may be so con- 
 stantly in our hearts, in our souls, and on our lips, that we may 
 glorify Him with all veneration, both internal and external, and, 
 like the citizens of heaven, celebrate with all the energies of our 
 being the praises of the holy and glorious God. 
 
 We pray that as the blessed spirits in heaven praise and glorify 
 God with one mind and one accord, mankind may do the same ; 
 that all men may embrace the religion of Christ, and, dedicating 
 
 1 P. xcviii. 3.
 
 HALLOWED BE THY NAME 105 
 
 themselves unreservedly to God, may believe that He is the foun- 
 tain of all holiness, and that there is nothing pure or holy that 
 does not emanate from the holiness of His divine name. Accord- 
 ing to the Apostle, the Church is cleansed " by the laver of water 
 in the word of life," * meaning by " the word of life " the name 
 of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, in which we 
 are baptized and sanctified. 
 
 SECOND 
 
 As, then, for those on whom His name is not invoked there can 
 exist no expiation, no purity, no integrity, we desire and pray that 
 mankind, emerging from the darkness of infidelity and illumined 
 by the rays of the divine light, may confess the power of His 
 name; that seeking in Him true sanctity, and receiving by His 
 grace the sacrament of baptism, in the name of the holy and un- 
 divided Trinity, they may arrive at perfect holiness. 
 
 THIRD 
 
 Our prayers and petitions also regard those who have forfeited 
 the purity of baptism and sullied the robe of innocence, thus in- 
 troducing again into their unhappy souls the foul spirit that 
 before possessed them. We desire, and beseech God, that in 
 them also may His name be hallowed; that, entering into them- 
 selves and returning to the paths of true wisdom, they may re- 
 cover, through the sacrament of penance, their lost holiness, and 
 become pure and holy temples in which God may dwell. 
 
 FOURTH 
 
 We also pray that God would shed His light on the minds of 
 all, to enable them to see that every good and perfect gift, " com- 
 ing down from the Father of lights," 2 proceeds from His bounty, 
 and to refer to Him temperance, justice, life, salvation. In a 
 word, we pray that all external blessings of soul and body which 
 regard life and salvation may be referred to Him whose hands, 
 as the Church proclaims, shower down every blessing on the 
 world. Does the sun by his light, do the other heavenly bodies 
 
 1 Eph. v. 26. * James i. 17.
 
 io6 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 by the harmony of their motions, minister to man ? Is life main- 
 tained by the respiration of that pure air which surrounds us? 
 Are all living creatures supported by that profusion of fruits and 
 of vegetable productions with which the earth is enriched and 
 diversified? Do we enjoy the blessings of peace and tranquil- 
 lity through the agency of the civil magistrate? All these and 
 innumerable other blessings we receive from the infinite good- 
 ness of God. Nay, those causes which philosophers term " sec- 
 ondary" we should consider as instruments wonderfully adapted 
 to our use, by which the hand of God distributes to us His bless- 
 ings and showers them upon us with liberal profusion. 
 
 FIFTH 
 
 But the principal object to which this petition refers is that all 
 recognize and revere the Spouse of Christ, our most holy mother 
 the Church, in whom alone is that copious and perennial fountain 
 which cleanses and effaces the stains of sin; from whom we re- 
 ceive all the sacraments of salvation and sanctification, which are, 
 as it were, so many celestial channels conveying to us the fertiliz- 
 ing dew which sanctifies the soul; to whom alone, and to those 
 whom she embraces and fosters in her maternal bosom, belongs 
 the invocation of that divine Name which alone, under heaven, 
 is given to men, whereby they can be saved. 1 
 
 NOTE 
 
 The pastor will urge with peculiar emphasis that it is the part 
 of a dutiful child not only to pray for his Father in word, but 
 in deed and in work to, endeavor to afford a bright example of 
 the sanctification of His holy name. Would to God that there 
 were none who, while they pray daily for the sanctification of the 
 name of God, violate and profane it, as far as on them depends, 
 by their conduct; who are sometimes the guilty cause why God 
 Himself is blasphemed ; and of whom the Apostle has said, " The 
 name of God through you is blasphemed among the Gentiles," 8 
 and Ezekiel : " They entered among the nations whither they 
 went, they profaned my holy name, when it was said of them: 
 
 1 Acts iv. 12. See Aug. serm. 181, de tempore, and Greg. lib. 35, Moral, 
 C. 6. * Rom. ii. 24.
 
 HALLOWED BE THY NAME 107 
 
 This is the people of the Lord, and they are come forth out of 
 his land.'' 1 Their lives and morals are the standard by which 
 the unlettered multitude judge of religion itself and of its 
 founder : to live, therefore, according to its rules, and to regulate 
 their words and actions according to its maxims, is to give others 
 an edifying example, by which they will be powerfully stimulated 
 to praise, honor, and glorify the name of our Father who is in 
 heaven. To excite others to the praise and exaltation of the 
 divine name is an obligation which our Lord Himself has im- 
 posed on us : " So let your light shine before men, that they may 
 see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in 
 heaven " ; 2 and the prince of the Apostles says : " Having your 
 conversation good among the Gentiles that by the good works, 
 which they shall behold in you they may glorify God in the day 
 of visitation." 8 
 
 Sermons 
 
 HALLOWED BE THY NAME 
 BY THE REV. L. RULAND, D.D. 
 
 Hallowed be thy name. This is the first petition in the Lord's 
 Prayer, and as our dear Saviour taught us to ask first of all that 
 God's name may be reverenced, this petition undoubtedly con- 
 tains something of primary importance in the life of man. 
 
 Almighty God, our merciful Father in Heaven, is the Creator 
 of all things. When this fact is established, it follows that there 
 can be no other aim and object for the whole of creation than the 
 honor and glory of God. What greater interest can we have in 
 life than the effort to attain the object for which we were created, 
 and to realize the aim of our existence? Nothing causes more 
 painful disappointment than the sense that after exerting oneself 
 to the utmost, all has been in vain, and the end has not been 
 reached. The Greeks, who were so logical in all their thought, 
 regarded aimless labor as a fearful punishment. You have 
 heard of the Danaidae, who toiled incessantly to fill barrels with 
 no bottom. Are such Danaidae purely fabulous? If you look 
 around, you will discover many who toil -day and night to acquire 
 
 1 Ezek. xxxvi. 20. * Matt. v. 16. * I Peter ii. 12.
 
 io8 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 earthly riches, fancying that the vessel of their earthly existence 
 is strong and lasting; they never give a thought to the eternal 
 Source of all life, their Father in Heaven. When death comes, 
 he crushes with his heavy tread their frail vessel of temporal 
 possessions and all is lost, so that they appear before their Judge 
 with empty hands. 
 
 We cannot imagine the bitter disappointment felt by one who 
 in the light of eternity looks back upon his wasted life. Our 
 Saviour wished to spare us this sorrow, and so He taught us to 
 seek first of all the glory of God as the all-important object of 
 our existence. For when we say, " Hallowed be thy name," we 
 pray in the first instance that God's name may be sanctified in 
 and through us. 
 
 What is meant by God's name? Of all God's creatures we 
 human beings alone have the gift of speech. All the memories, 
 thoughts, and ideas that we have ever had regarding a thing may 
 be recalled to our minds by certain sounds, which we describe as 
 its name. Thus the name of God comprises for us all that we 
 know and believe about Him ; it is at once revelation and a pro- 
 fession of faith. The name of God is the loftiest of all concep- 
 tions, the holiest of all words. " Holy and terrible is his name." 
 God Himself revealed His own infinity when in the burning bush 
 He called Himself Jahwe I am who am. 
 
 In my previous sermon I invited you to accompany me in 
 thought to the Mountain of the Beatitudes ; to-day let us again 
 visit the Holy Land, going this time to the summit of Mount 
 Sion. 
 
 There in the Temple prayers and sacrifices were offered night 
 and morning to the one true God who had revealed His name 
 to the people of Israel. But though we might listen to the 
 priests' prayers and songs of thanksgiving, we should never hear 
 that name uttered ; it was too holy and awe-inspiring to be spoken. 
 Once only in the year, when on the great day of atonement the 
 sin offering was made, the high priest dipped a bunch of hyssop 
 in the blood of the victim, and, wearing his robes of office, en- 
 tered the Holy Place at sunrise, passing behind the heavy cur- 
 tains into the darkness of the Holy of Holies. The people could 
 not see him, but all were aware that the moment had come for
 
 HALLOWED BE THY NAME 109 
 
 him to call upon the Holy Name of Jahwe; and in silent rever- 
 ence they muffled their faces and bowed down to the earth. 
 
 Under the old dispensation the name of God was fraught with 
 terror and hope, but to us it is full of glorious realization. To 
 us has our Saviour appeared, for " the Word was made flesh and 
 dwelt among us." We connect with the name of God a far 
 deeper significance than did the Israelites, for to use it conveys 
 the three Divine Persons, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, 
 and the miracles of our Creation, Redemption, and Sanctification. 
 Although we are no longer restrained by fear from pronouncing 
 the name of God, it is still as holy and reverend as it was to the 
 Jews, and St. Paul says: "Let every one depart from iniquity 
 who naineth the name of the Lord " (2 Tim. ii. 19). 
 
 " Whose image and inscription is this ? " was the question ad- 
 dressed by Christ to the Pharisees when they showed Him the 
 tribute money. "Whose image and inscription is this?" is the 
 question that we must ask with reference to every human being 
 placed by our heavenly Father in this world and made in His 
 likeness. If faith is banished from our hearts, reason alone will 
 not be able to assign a fitting inscription to human existence. 
 Some will say that man is lord of the world, others that he is 
 the product of blind chance ; no one could ever decide unless the 
 finger of God had traced His holy name as an inscription on the 
 human soul, rendering it naturally Christian. Hence the name 
 of God must be sanctified in and through us during our whole 
 life. 
 
 The first essential is for it to be stamped on the soul in child- 
 hood. The name of God must be familiar to a child both at home 
 and at school. When Christianity was first taught, a high degree 
 of intellectual culture existed in the world, and in spite of her 
 unassuming form to the Jews a stumbling block and to the 
 Gentiles foolishness the Church occupied a favorable position. 
 Pagan civilization had a religious basis, and had outwardly pros- 
 pered, but in course of time this outward semblance lost all real 
 meaning, for the ancient faith had been destroyed by doubt and 
 ridicule. Christianity adapted itself to the old forms and acted 
 like leaven, filling them with a new significance, until at last it 
 had renewed the face of the earth. Then, equipped with the
 
 no PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 eternal truth of Divine Revelation and also with the learning of 
 ancient civilization, the Church was able to encounter nations 
 previously barbaric, and instruct them in things necessary for 
 their religious and temporal welfare. For centuries no one ques- 
 tioned her right to control education, and it is only recently that 
 scholars have begun to go their own way, which is frequently 
 in direct opposition to faith in Revelation. Perhaps no erroneous 
 doctrine has had such disastrous results as the superficial state- 
 ment that there must needs be antagonism between science and 
 religion. It is true that the field covered by secular science is 
 now so vast that it could not possibly stand under the direct con- 
 trol of the Church. Science is now a grown-up daughter, taking 
 her place beside her mother the Church ; but she should never 
 forget her early home, or deny that she received her earliest 
 training there. There is no antagonism between faith and 
 knowledge, where knowledge ends, faith begins; where the 
 light of intellect fails to illumine the path of the scientist, the 
 rays of Divine Revelation shine forth. Scientific research cannot 
 be carried on exclusively by churchmen, but God's name ought 
 still to be inscribed upon every department of knowledge, for 
 the aim and object of all education is to render man capable of 
 realizing the purpose of his existence. Schools at the present 
 day are contented if they supply the young with useful informa- 
 tion, and fit them to earn their livelihood and become reasonably 
 good portions of the machinery of earthly life. But " what shall 
 it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, and suffer the loss 
 of his soul" (Mark viii. 36). 
 
 Adherents of the modern school of thought have no right to 
 say that this is an exaggerated reproof. They maintain that it is 
 the business of the state and state-provided school to look after 
 the temporal interests of the people, and that the Church may at- 
 tend to their spiritual welfare. In opposition to this theory is 
 the authoritative utterance of our Divine Lord and Master, who 
 emphatically impresses upon us all that the one thing needful is 
 to seek the Kingdom of God with all the faculties of our mind, 
 and He has taught us to say, " Our Father who art in heaven, 
 hallowed be thy name." The one thing needful cannot be subor- 
 dinated to any scheme of instruction ; the name of the most high
 
 HALLOWED BE THY NAME in 
 
 God cannot be put on a level with the multiplication table, nor 
 can the worship of the supreme Ruler and Creator of the uni- 
 verse the chief end for which we were created be regarded 
 as of less importance than lessons in reading and writing. Reli- 
 gion is not a lifeless thing, it is the atmosphere that gives life 
 to our souls, and it ought to permeate our whole existence and 
 determine all our actions. At the beginning and end of each 
 day's work we say : " Hallowed be thy name," and the thought 
 should remain in our hearts while our hands are busy with their 
 daily occupations. 
 
 A philosopher seated at his desk may be able to distinguish 
 the natural and supernatural aims of men, but in actual life this 
 distinction does not exist, and all education is worthless unless it 
 enables a man to attain the end proposed for him by his Creator. 
 What would it benefit an army to equip it with first-rate weapons, 
 if it were left without leaders and without an object, so that each 
 soldier could go wherever he chose ? Every good teacher rightly 
 expects his pupils to be grateful to him if they succeed in life. 
 Those, however, who give instruction quite apart from all men- 
 tion of religion, must expect to hear the children of this world 
 reproach them at the last day, saying: "All that you taught us 
 was vain ; you never spoke to us of God ; you showed us pictures 
 of all kinds of things, but allowed the image of God to be obliter- 
 ated in our souls ; you made us learn the names of earthly kings 
 in remote ages, but not the name of the King of Heaven, whose 
 reign is everlasting ; we know all about minute germs and fungi, 
 and nothing at all about God." 
 
 My Brethren, all creation exists for the glory of God: the 
 earth, sea, and stars extol Him, the spirits in Heaven sing His 
 praise ; our lives belong to Him, and therefore we must teach our 
 children to pronounce His Name; all our systems of education 
 ought to be inscribed with it, and it should be written large upon 
 our whole existence. 
 
 We ought to do our daily work in God's name. A mere animal 
 devoid of reason may be satisfied if it can supply the needs of the 
 moment without regarding its existence as a whole ; but man sees 
 how events are connected and tries to obtain a comprehensive 
 view of all his actions.
 
 112 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 If nothing else were required of us but to enjoy ourselves, we 
 should have no difficulty in constructing a uniform scheme of 
 life ; but stern reality teaches us that enjoyment is not all. Who 
 will help us to bear the burden and heat of the day, who will 
 stand by us in our struggles and warfare, if we cannot range 
 ourselves under a banner that will lead us to victory? Even 
 wicked men show us how impossible it is to attempt a serious 
 undertaking unaided, for as soon as they encounter any obstacle 
 they blasphemously curse God's name and try to accomplish their 
 designs in the name of the devil, because their corrupt hearts 
 cannot rise to seek assistance in the name of the Lord. It is 
 horrible even to think of such abominable sins; but nevertheless 
 this dark background shows up more brightly the pious uplifting 
 of the heart to God in all difficulties and trials, the trustful appeal 
 to His holy name, and the crown of glory bestowed on those who 
 patiently endure and eventually triumph in the name of the Lord. 
 
 God's holy name ought to be inscribed not only over places 
 where we work, but also over those where we take our pleasure. 
 Art furnishes us with many delights, but we should never for- 
 get that though poets extol her as inspired, she is in reality the 
 offspring of religion, since all art originated in the worship of 
 God. The first achievements of architecture were temples, richly 
 ornamented with a view to beauty, not solidity of structure, and 
 the psalmist's harp sounded the praises of God. The drama had 
 its rise in religious worship, and the greatest sculptors and 
 painters, men like Michelangelo and Raphael, dedicated their 
 greatest skill to the service of the sanctuary. Nowadays art is 
 often a degenerate daughter of religion, and refuses to recog- 
 nize her mother, and possibly for that very reason she is fre- 
 quently barren, unendurable, and incomprehensible. She has 
 forsaken her home, and her brow is no longer crowned with the 
 consecration of God's holy name. 
 
 Some time ago I visited a museum where I saw a stone com- 
 pletely covered with hieroglyphic inscriptions. When it had 
 been discovered no one was able to decipher it, but the finder was 
 not discouraged. He noticed that one particular sign was of 
 frequent recurrence, and by dint of much study he came to the 
 conclusion that it was the name of a king. This name gave the
 
 HALLOWED BE THY NAME 113 
 
 clue by means of which he was able to read the rest of the in- 
 scription, and even to restore the dead language in which it was 
 written. I think we may regard this as a parable : our souls bear 
 the image and inscription of Almighty God, who made them. 
 Whatever may be the various aims of men's endeavors, the name 
 of God remains inscribed on the heart of every human being ; so 
 let us hope and pray that this most holy name may once more 
 prove a bond of union ; that it may serve to draw the hearts of 
 men together, so they may again learn to understand the old 
 language of religion in which we pray " Hallowed be thy name." 
 
 THE HOLY NAME 
 BY THE REV. W. D. STRAPPINI, S.J. 
 
 1. How can we begin this new year of our lives better than 
 under the invocation of His holy name ? What can we do better 
 than call to our minds all that this holy name means to us ? 
 
 How much significance there is in a name! The name of a 
 great man when it sounds in our ears brings to our minds the 
 mighty deeds which have made the doer of them to stand out 
 before mankind as one set on a pinnacle, an enduring example 
 of what can be done by men ; a lasting encouragement to others 
 to spur them on that they may do likewise. Not indeed that 
 great men, great that is in the eyes of mankind, are all to be 
 imitated always in that wherein they are esteemed great. And 
 yet great men, those who have distinguished themselves above 
 and beyond their fellow men, are all serviceable to us. If they 
 do not teach us what to do they at least are conspicuous examples 
 of what we should avoid. So great men are useful to mankind, 
 and it is a fitting recognition of their services to men, whether 
 rendered knowingly or unknowingly, that they should have the 
 reward of being called great. 
 
 2. Now this is a reward sometimes bestowed by God Himself. 
 David was a great man. He was great by his valor, great by his 
 deeds, great by his sufferings. He was great by those many ad- 
 mirable qualities which enabled him to rise from being a simple 
 shepherd to be the king of an historic people. If his sins were 
 great, he was great by his repentance. And how great he is by
 
 ii4 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 the expression he has given in his psalms to those thoughts and 
 aspirations, welling up indeed from the hearts of many before 
 him and many after him, but nowhere finding such true and 
 powerful expression as in his own words! David was great in 
 all those ways, and it was as a reward that God said to him: 
 " I have made thee a great name, great as the names of the 
 great ones on the earth." 
 
 With the opening of the new year we celebrate the memory of 
 that name which is great above all names. If for his great deeds 
 a great name was prepared for David, it was for His greater 
 deeds that a still greater name was given to Our Lord; it was 
 for His great deeds that God exalted Him, and bestowed upon 
 Him a name above all names, that at the name of Jesus every 
 knee should bow. 
 
 He was given a great name because He was faithfully to do 
 a great work ; He was to work out the liberation and the salva- 
 tion of mankind, and because He did this work He was given 
 the great name of Jesus, which means " saviour " ! 
 
 3. Many men have been called liberators and saviours. They 
 have liberated their people from captivity, as Moses liberated the 
 Israelites, and they have saved their people, as David saved his 
 people from Goliath. By waging war, successful war, many 
 have been called great liberators. Yes but at the cost of how 
 much misery and how much affliction ! How many ruined towns 
 and desolate homesteads have they not made in gaining for them- 
 selves their title! Yes they were great, as men of this world 
 are accounted great, but Christ our Lord is great with a greatness 
 not based on the false standards of men. Not by war and de- 
 struction, not by the ruin of hearths and homes, not by the shed- 
 ding of blood did He win His name of Saviour but stop! 
 What am I saying? There was toil, and there was labor, and 
 there was suffering, and there was shedding of blood, but it was 
 He who toiled, it was He who labored, it was He who suffered, 
 and the blood which was shed was His very own"! 
 
 4. " And his name was called Jesus." All names were pos- 
 sible to Him. The Father almighty might have chosen a name 
 for His Son from any of the mighty works in which that Son 
 had co-operated the Son had co-operated in the creation of
 
 HALLOWED BE THY NAME 115 
 
 heaven and earth, for St. John tells us, without him was made 
 nothing that was made yet not from any of these mighty works 
 was His name chosen. No; not from His creative works, not 
 from His divine attributes, was His name chosen, but His name 
 was taken from those sinful men whom He came to save! The 
 name which is above every name, the name which is singled out 
 for the Son of God to bear, this glorious name of Jesus, is given 
 to Him for what He has done and for what He has suffered for 
 us men and for our salvation. 
 
 5. It is a name not only glorious for Christ to bear; it is a 
 name full of overflowing consolation for us, full of the certainty 
 of help just in those circumstances in which no other name can 
 hold out any promise. Men by their actions may make their 
 names great in the estimation of their fellow men, but they can- 
 not make their names a solid means of salvation from passion 
 and error and the downward tendencies of human nature, salva- 
 tion from sin and moral death. In this respect and think how 
 much it is the Holy Name given to our Lord differs from all 
 other names ; not merely a glorious name for the Messias to bear, 
 but a daily and hourly reminder to us of the source of all our 
 graces and blessings. This is what He tells us Himself. The 
 day before He suffered, seeing the grief of His sorrowing 
 apostles, He consoled them with the promise: "If you ask the 
 Father anything in my name, he will give it you." It was as if 
 He had said, you need not wait for me as your mediator to 
 pray for you, pray yourselves, using my name, and the power of 
 my name with your heavenly Father will win for you all that 
 you shall rightly ask for. No wonder that that name is a power 
 with God. Think of all the divine bearer of that name did and 
 suffered on behalf of those who bring their petitions to the throne 
 of God under the shelter of that greatest of names. Do we want 
 evidence of the wonder-working power of that name? In the 
 Acts of the Apostles we read how St. Peter has shown us the 
 power of that name when rightly invoked. Going with St. John 
 into the Temple they found a lame man lying at the gate, who 
 lifted up his eyes and hands and besought alms. Turning to 
 him St. Peter said : " Silver and gold have I none ; but what I 
 have, I give thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth,
 
 ii6 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 arise, and walk." And in the power of that name he straightway 
 arose and walked and went with them into the Temple, praising 
 God, who had given to man a name of such power. St. Peter 
 knew the power of that name, for did he not remember that when 
 his Master had sent him and the other apostles on their first mis- 
 sionary journey they had come back rejoicing and saying, " Lord, 
 the devils also are subject to us in thy name." 
 
 6. " And His name was called Jesus." Each one of us can say, 
 He was called this name for me. He is not simply the Saviour 
 of other men; He is my Saviour also. This name is given for 
 each of us to invoke, as much as it was given to the apostles and 
 the first disciples. This name is no less powerful now than it 
 was in the days of St. Peter. If we do not always obtain the 
 same results when we invoke that holy name, the fault lies with 
 ourselves ; we perhaps have not the purity of heart which opened 
 heaven to their invocation, or our own self-interest is too largely 
 our real motive. 
 
 When you invoke this holy name see that you make yourself 
 not unworthy of a hearing. Let this name rise to God from pure 
 lips and from a soul free from sin ; then shall you begin to know 
 what power there is in the invocation of that holiest of names; 
 then shall you begin to know the reason we all have to thank 
 God that His name was called Jesus. 
 
 References 
 
 Bonomelli-Byrne, in Christian Mysteries, Vol. I, pp. 203 ff. ; Corsi, in 
 Little Sermons on the Catechism; MacDonald, in Plain Sermons by Prac- 
 tical Preachers, Vol. I ; Burke, C. S. P., in Sermons for the Ecclesiastical 
 Year; Devine, in A Year's Sermons, Vol. I ; Graham, " Circumcision," 
 in Pulpit Commentary, Vol. Ill; Vol. IV, p. 85; Sutcliffe, in Homiletic 
 Monthly, June 1916; Schwertner, in Horn. Monthly, Oct. 1918 to Sept. 1919; 
 Bossuet, in Meditations sur lEvangile; in Elevations sur les Mysteres, 
 I7ieme Semaine. 
 
 Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. Ill, pp. 779 ff. ; Vol. VII, pp. 420 ff. ; Summa 
 Theol., Ill, q. 37; I, q. 13; Ha, Ilae, q. 83, a. 9; Pohle-Preuss, God: His 
 Knowability, etc., pp. 133 ff. ; Vaughan, The D'vuine Armory, etc., pp. 388 ff. ; 
 Callan, Illustrations for Sermons, etc., pp. 13, 33 ff. ; Bellord, Meditations, 
 etc., Vo4. I, pp. 30, 276.
 
 HOLY ORDERS 117 
 
 SUBJECT 
 HOLY ORDERS 
 
 TEXT 
 
 Who arose and took the child and his mother, and came into the land 
 of Israel. MATT. ii. 21. 
 
 And opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold, frankincense, 
 and myrrh. MATT. ii. n. (Gospel of Epiphany.) 
 
 Analysis 
 
 INTRODUCTION. St. Joseph is the patron of priests. He was 
 the divinely appointed guardian over the infancy and childhood 
 of our Lord. But wonderful and lofty as were the dignity and 
 office thus conferred upon the holy patriarch, they did not bestow 
 such powers over the Lord as are given to the priests of the New 
 Law, who under the Eucharistic species are able to call down 
 upon our daily altars the body and blood of Christ, to offer them 
 in sacrifice, and administer them to the faithful. 
 
 Our Lord Himself was the first priest of the New Dispensa- 
 tion, and the Magi in offering Him incense bore witness to His 
 sacerdotal character. The Saviour exercised the office of His 
 priesthood when He offered Himself in sacrifice. This great act 
 of Christ is perpetuated by the Christian priesthood. 
 
 I. The dignity and power of the ministers of the Church, 
 i. The dignity of the priesthood is seen in this, that it gives 
 power over the real body of Christ ; that is, the power of conse- 
 crating, offering, and administering the Holy Eucharist. 2. The 
 authority of the priestly office consists in jurisdiction over the 
 mystical body of Christ; that is, in the power to teach and rule 
 the faithful. 
 
 II. The power and dignity of the priesthood are conferred 
 in ordination, i. Meaning of the name " ordination." This Sac-
 
 ii8 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 rament is called Orders, because it constitutes various grades 
 of rank and function in the sacred ministry relative to the Blessed 
 Sacrament. 2. The external sign of this Sacrament consists in 
 the imposition of hands and the delivery of the sacred instru- 
 ments proper to the order received, conjoined with the words 
 of ordination. 3. The internal grace. The Sacrament of Orders 
 imprints an indelible character on the soul and confers a special 
 grace for the discharge of the duties of the sacred ministry. 
 
 III. Minister and subject of Orders. I. The minister of this 
 sacrament is the Bishop. 2. The qualifications for Holy Orders are 
 proper age, sufficient knowledge, freedom from impediments, etc. 
 
 CONCLUSION. I. Gratitude to God for the Sacrament of Holy 
 Orders on which the administration of most of the Sacraments 
 depends. 2. The burden of the priesthood is heavy and respon- 
 sible. The faithful should pray for their own pastors, and ask 
 the Lord that He send more laborers into His harvest (Matt. 
 ix. 38). 
 
 Catechism of the Council of Trent, Part II 
 
 THE SACRAMENT OF ORDERS 
 
 From an attentive consideration of the nature of the other sacra- 
 ments we shall find little difficulty in perceiving that so dependent 
 are they all on the Sacrament of Orders that without its interven- 
 tion some could not exist or be administered, while others would 
 be stripped of the religious rites and solemn ceremonies and of 
 that exterior respect which should accompany their administra- 
 tion. The pastor, therefore, following up his exposition of the 
 sacraments, will deem it a duty to bestow on the Sacrament of 
 Orders an attention proportioned to its importance. This exposi- 
 tion cannot fail to prove salutary, in the first place, to the pastor 
 himself ; in the next place, to those who may have embraced the 
 ecclesiastical state; and finally, to the faithful at large. To the 
 pastor himself, because while explaining this Sacrament to others, 
 he himself is excited to stir up within him the grace which he
 
 HOLY ORDERS 119 
 
 received at his ordination ; to others whom the Lord has called to 
 his sanctuary, by inspiring them with the same love of piety and 
 imparting to them a knowledge of those things which will qualify 
 them the more easily to advance to higher orders ; to the faithful 
 at large, by making known to them the respect due to the minis- 
 ters of religion. It also not infrequently occurs that among the 
 faithful there are many who intend their children for the ministry 
 while yet young, and some who are themselves candidates for 
 that holy state ; and it is proper that such persons should not be 
 entirely unacquainted with its nature and obligations. 1 
 
 DIGNITY OF THE SACRAMENT 
 
 The faithful then are to be made acquainted with the exalted 
 dignity and excellence of this Sacrament in its highest degree, 
 which is the priesthood. Priests and bishops are, as it were, the 
 interpreters and heralds of God, commissioned in his name to 
 teach mankind the law of God and the precepts of a Christian 
 life; they are the representatives of God upon earth. It is im- 
 possible, therefore, to conceive a more exalted dignity, or a 
 function more sacred. Justly, then, are they called not only 
 angels 2 but gods, 3 holding as they do the place and power and 
 authority of God on earth. But the priesthood, at all times an 
 elevated office, transcends in the New Law all others in dignity. 
 The power of consecrating and offering the body and blood of 
 our Lord and of remitting sin, with which the priesthood of the 
 New Law is invested, is such as cannot be comprehended by the 
 human mind, still less is it equalled by, or likened to, anything on 
 earth. Again, as Christ was sent by the Father, 4 and the Apostles 
 and Disciples by Christ, 6 even so are priests invested with the 
 same power, and sent " for the perfecting of the saints, for the 
 work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ." 
 
 1 Concerning the duties of clerics, see the sessions of the Council of 
 Trent de reformatione. On Orders as a Sacrament, see the same Council, 
 sess. 13. On each of the orders, see the Fourth Council of Carthage, 
 398 A. D. 
 
 1 Mai. ii. 7. * Ps. Ixxxl. 6. 
 
 * John viii. 36. 5 Matt, xxviii. 19. 
 
 * Ephes. iv. 12. On the dignity of the priesthood, see Ignat. epist. ad 
 Smyrn. ; Amb. lib. 5, epist. 32, et lib. 10, ep. 82 ; Chrysost. horn. 60, ad pop. 
 Antioch; in Matt horn. 83; Nazian. orat. 17, ad suos cives.
 
 120 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 THOSE WHO ARE TO RECEIVE ORDERS MUST BE SPECIALLY CALLED 
 
 This office, therefore, is not to be rashly imposed on any one. 
 It is to be intrusted only to those who, by the sanctity of their 
 lives, by their knowledge, their faith, and their prudence, are ca- 
 pable of sustaining its weight : " Neither doth any man take 
 the honor to himself," says the Apostle, " but he that is called 
 by God, as Aaron was." 1 This call from God we recognize in 
 the call of the lawful ministers of His Church. Of those who 
 would arrogantly obtrude themselves into the sanctuary the Lord 
 has said : " I did not send prophets, yet they ran." z Such sacri- 
 legious intruders bring the greatest misery on themselves, and 
 the heaviest calamities on the Church of God. 3 But as in every 
 undertaking the end proposed is of the highest importance (when 
 the end is good, everything proceeds well), the candidate for the 
 ministry should first of all be admonished to propose to himself no 
 motive unworthy of so exalted a station, an admonition which 
 demands particular attention in these our days, when the faithful 
 are but too unmindful of its spirit. There are those who aspire 
 to the priesthood with a view to secure to themselves a livelihood, 
 who, like worldlings in matters of^trade or commerce, look to 
 nothing but sordid gain. True, the natural and divine law com- 
 mand that, to use the words of the Apostle, " they that serve the 
 altar, partake with the altar " ; * but to approach the altar for gain, 
 this indeed were a sacrilege of the blackest die. Others there are 
 whom a love of honors and a spirit of ambition conduct to the 
 altar, others whom the gold of the sanctuary attracts ; and of this 
 we require no other proof than that they have no idea of em- 
 bracing the ecclesiastical state except for the sake of some rich 
 ecclesiastical benefice. These are they whom the Lord denounces 
 as hirelings, 5 who, as we read in Ezekiel, feed themselves, and 
 not the sheep. 6 Their turpitude and profligacy have not only tar- 
 nished the lustre and degraded the dignity of the sacerdotal char- 
 acter in the eyes of the faithful, but the priesthood brings to them 
 in its train the same rewards which the Apostleship brought to 
 Judas eternal perdition. 
 
 1 Heb. v. 4. a Jerem. xxiii. 21. 
 
 1 See dist 23, multis in capitibus. * i Cor. ix. 13. 
 8 John x. 12. * Ezek. xxxiv. 2.
 
 HOLY ORDERS 121 
 
 But they who, in obedience to the legitimate call of God, un- 
 dertake the priestly office solely with a view to promote His 
 glory, are truly said to enter " by the door." The obligation of 
 promoting His glory is not confined to them alone; for this 
 were all men created; this the faithful in particular, consecrated 
 as they have been by baptism to God, should promote with their 
 whole hearts, their whole souls, and with all their strength. 
 Not enough, therefore, that the candidate for holy orders should 
 propose to himself to seek in all things the glory of God, a duty 
 common alike to all men, and particularly incumbent on the faith- 
 ful : he must also be resolved to serve God in holiness and right- 
 eousness, in the particular sphere in which his ministry is to be 
 exercised. As in an army all obey the command of the general, 
 while among them some hold the place of colonel, some of cap- 
 tain, and others stations of subordinate rank; so in the Church 
 all without distinction should be earnest in the pursuit of piety 
 and innocence, the principal means of rendering homage to God. 
 To those, however, who are admitted to the Sacrament of Orders, 
 special offices belong; on them special functions devolve, to 
 offer sacrifice for themselves and for all the people; to instruct 
 others in the law of God ; to exhort and form them to a faithful 
 and ready compliance with its injunctions ; and to administer the 
 sacraments, the sources of grace. In a word, set apart from the 
 rest of the people, they are engaged in a ministry the most sacred 
 and the most exalted. 
 
 THE POWER CONFERRED BY THE SACRAMENT OF ORDERS IS 
 TWOFOLD, OF JURISDICTION AND OF ORDERS 
 
 Having explained these matters to the faithful, the pastor will 
 next proceed to expound those things which are peculiar to this 
 Sacrament, that thus the candidate for orders may be enabled to 
 form a just estimate of the nature of the office to which he as- 
 pires, and to know the extent of the power conferred by Al- 
 mighty God on His Church and her ministers. This power is 
 twofold, of jurisdiction and of orders. The power of orders 
 has reference to the body of our Lord Jesus Christ in the Holy 
 Eucharist ; that of jurisdiction to His mystical body, the Church, 
 for to this latter belong the government of his spiritual king-
 
 122 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 dom on earth and the direction of the faithful in the way of 
 salvation. In the power of Orders is included not only that of 
 consecrating the Holy Eucharist, but also of preparing the soul 
 for its worthy reception, and whatever else has reference to 
 the sacred mysteries. Of this the Scriptures afford numerous 
 proofs, among which the most striking and weighty are con- 
 tained in the words recorded by St. John and St. Matthew on 
 this subject. " As the Father hath sent me," says the Redeemer, 
 " I also send you. . . . Receive ye the Holy Ghost. Whose sins 
 you shall forgive, they are forgiven them; and whose sins you 
 shall retain, they are retained." 1 Again, " Amen I say to you, 
 whatsoever you shall bind upon earth, shall be bound also in 
 heaven : and whatsoever you shall loose on earth, shall be loosed 
 also in heaven." 2 These passages, if expounded by the pastor 
 from the doctrine, and on the authority of the Fathers, will shed 
 considerable light on this important subject. 
 
 GREATNESS OF THIS POWER 
 
 This power far transcends that which was given to those who, 
 under the law of nature, exercised a special superintendence 
 over sacred things. 3 The age anterior to the written law must 
 have had its priesthood, a priesthood invested with spiritual 
 power. That it had a law cannot be questioned; and so inti- 
 mately interwoven are these two things with one another that, 
 take away one, you of necessity remove the other. 4 Since, then, 
 prompted by the dictates of the instinctive feelings of his nature 
 man recognizes the worship of God as a duty, it follows as a 
 necessary consequence that under every form of government 
 some persons must have been constituted the official guardians 
 of sacred things, the legitimate ministers of the divine worship; 
 and of such persons the power might in a certain sense be called 
 spiritual. 
 
 With this power the priesthood of the Old Law was also in- 
 vested; but although superior in dignity to that exercised under 
 the law of nature, it was far inferior to the spiritual power en- 
 
 1 John xx. 21, 22, 23. * Matt, xviii. 18. 
 
 * See de consecr. dist. 2, cap. nihil in sacrificiis ; C. of Trent, sess. 22, 
 cap. i ; Irenaeus, lib. 4, c. 34; Aug. lib. 19, de civit. Dei, cap. 23. 
 
 * Heb. vii. 12.
 
 HOLY ORDERS 123 
 
 joyed under the Gospel dispensation. The power with which 
 the Christian priesthood is clothed is a heavenly power, raised 
 above that of angels. It has its source not in the Levitical priest- 
 hood, but in Christ the Lord, who was a priest not according to 
 Aaron, but according to the order of Melchisedech. 1 He it is 
 who, endowed with supreme authority to grant pardon and grace, 
 has bequeathed this power to His Church, a power limited, how- 
 ever, in its extent, and attached to the sacraments. 
 
 NAME OF THIS SACRAMENT 
 
 To exercise this power, therefore, ministers are appointed and 
 solemnly consecrated, and this solemn consecration is denomi- 
 nated "Ordination," or "the Sacrament of Orders." To desig- 
 nate this Sacrament, the word " Orders " has been made use of 
 by the Holy Fathers, because its signification is very compre- 
 hensive, and therefore well adapted to convey an idea of the 
 dignity and excellence of the ministers of God. Understood in 
 its strict and proper acceptation, "order" is the disposition of 
 superior and subordinate parts, which when united present a 
 combination so harmonious as to stand in mutual and accord- 
 ant relations. Comprising, then, as the ministry does, many 
 gradations and various functions, and disposed, as all these 
 gradations and functions are, with the greatest regularity, this 
 Sacrament is very appropriately called "the Sacrament of 
 Orders." 
 
 ORDERS, A SACRAMENT 
 
 That Holy Orders are to be numbered among the sacraments 
 of the Church, the Council of Trent establishes on the same 
 principle to which we have so often referred in proving the other 
 sacraments. A sacrament is a sensible sign of an invisible grace, 
 and with these characters Holy Orders are invested. Their ex- 
 ternal forms are a sensible sign of the grace and power which 
 they confer on the receiver. Holy Orders, therefore, are really 
 and truly a sacrament. 2 Hence the bishop, handing to the can- 
 
 1 Heb. vii. n. 
 
 Sess. 23, de ordine. On Orders as a Sacrament, see C. of Trent, 
 sess. 23, de ordine. cc. i, 3, can. 3, 4, 5 ; C. of Florence, in decret de sacr. ; 
 Aug. lib. 2, contr. epist. Parmen, cap. 13; de bono conjug. cap. 24; lib. I, 
 de bapt. contra Donat. c. i ; Leo. epist, 18; Greg, in c. 10, lib. I Reg.
 
 124 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 didate for priest's orders a chalice which contains wine and water, 
 and a paten with bread, says : " Receive the power of offering 
 Sacrifice," etc., words which, according to the uniform inter- 
 pretation of the Church, impart power, when the proper matter 
 is supplied, of consecrating the Holy Eucharist, and impress a 
 character on the soul. To this power is annexed grace duly and 
 lawfully to discharge the priestly office, according to these words 
 of the Apostle : " I admonish thee, that thou stir up the grace 
 of God which is in thee, by the imposition of my hands. For 
 God hath not given us the spirit of fear: but of power, and of 
 love, and of sobriety." x 
 
 THE MINISTER OF THE SACRAMENT OF ORDERS IS A BISHOP 
 
 That to the Bishop belongs exclusively the administration of 
 this Sacrament is a matter of certainty, and is easily proved by 
 the authority of Scripture, by traditional evidence the most un- 
 equivocal, by the unanimous attestation of all the Holy Fathers, 
 by the decrees of Councils, and by the practice of the Universal 
 Church. Some Abbots, it is true, were occasionally permitted 
 to confer Minor Orders; all, however, admit that even this is 
 the proper office of the Bishop, to whom, and to whom alone, it 
 is lawful to confer the other Orders. Sub-deacons, Deacons, 
 and Priests are ordained by one Bishop only; but according to 
 Apostolic tradition, a tradition which has always been preserved 
 in the Church, he himself is consecrated by three Bishops. 
 
 NECESSITY OF EXTREME CAUTION IN PROMOTING TO ORDERS 
 
 We now come to explain the qualifications necessary in the 
 candidate for Orders, particularly for priesthood. From what 
 we have said on this subject, it will not be difficult to decide 
 what should also be the qualifications of those who are to be 
 admitted to other Orders, according to their respective offices 
 and comparative dignities. That too much precaution cannot 
 be used in promoting! to orders is obvious from this consideration 
 alone, the other sacraments impart grace for the sanctifica- 
 tion and salvation of those who receive them; Holy Orders for 
 the good of the Church, and therefore for the salvation of all 
 
 * 2 Tim. i. 6, 7.
 
 HOLY ORDERS 125 
 
 her children. Hence it is that Orders are conferred on certain 
 appointed days only, days on which, according to the most 
 ancient practice of the Church, a solemn fast is observed, to 
 obtain from God by holy and devout prayer ministers not un- 
 worthy of their high calling, qualified to exercise the transcendent 
 power with which they are to be invested, with propriety and 
 to the edification of His Church. 
 
 QUALIFICATIONS FOR THE PRIESTHOOD 
 
 In the candidate for priesthood, therefore, integrity of life is 
 a first and essential qualification, not only because to procure, 
 or even to permit, his ordination while his conscience is bur- 
 dened with the weight of mortal sin is to aggravate his former 
 guilt by an additional crime of the deepest enormity, but also 
 because it is his duty to enlighten the darkness of others by the 
 lustre of his virtue and the bright example of innocence of life. 
 The lessons addressed by the Apostle to Titus and to Timothy * 
 should therefore supply the pastor with matter for instruction; 
 nor should he omit to observe that while by the command of 
 God bodily defects disqualified for the ministry of the altar in 
 the Old Law, in the Christian dispensation such exclusion rests 
 principally on the deformities of the mind. The candidate for 
 Orders, therefore, in accordance with the holy practice of the 
 Catholic Church, will first study diligently to purify his con- 
 science from sin in the Sacrament of Penance. 
 
 In the priest we also look not merely for that portion of knowl- 
 edge which is necessary to the proper administration of the 
 sacraments; -more is expected, an intimate acquaintance with 
 the science of the Sacred Volume should fit him to instruct the 
 faithful in the mysteries of religion and in the precepts of the 
 Gospel, to reclaim from sin, and to excite to piety and virtue. 
 The due consecration and administration of the sacraments and 
 the instruction of those who are committed to his care in the 
 way of salvation constitute two important duties of the pastor. 
 "The lips of the priest," says Malachy, " shall keep knowledge, 
 and they shall seek the law at his mouth : because he is the 
 angel of the Lord of hosts." 2 For a due consecration and ad- 
 
 1 Tit i. and i Tim. iii. * Malach. ii. 7.
 
 126 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 ministration of the sacraments a moderate share of knowledge 
 suffices ; but to instruct the faithful in all the truths and duties 
 of religion demands considerable ability and extensive knowl- 
 edge. In all priests, however, deep learning is not demanded; 
 it is sufficient that each should possess competent knowledge 
 to discharge the duties of his own particular office in the 
 ministry. 
 
 ON WHOM ORDERS ARE NOT TO BE CONFERRED 
 
 The Sacrament of Orders is not to be conferred on very 
 young or on insane persons, because such do not enjoy the use 
 of reason; if administered, however, it no doubt impresses a 
 character. The age required for the reception of the different 
 Orders may be easily known by consulting the decrees of the 
 Council of Trent. Persons obligated to render certain stipu- 
 lated services to others, and therefore not at their own disposal, 
 are inadmissible to Orders; persons accustomed to shed blood, 
 and homicides, are also excluded from the ecclesiastical state by 
 an ecclesiastical law, and are irregular. The same law excludes 
 those whose admission into the ministry may and must bring 
 contempt on religion; and hence illegitimate children, and all 
 who are born out of lawful wedlock, are disqualified for the 
 sacred ministry. Finally, persons who are maimed, or who labor 
 under any remarkable personal deformity, are also excluded; 
 such defects offend the eye, and frequently incapacitate for the 
 discharge of the duties of the ministry. 1 
 
 EFFECTS OF THE SACRAMENT OF ORDERS 
 
 Having explained these matters, it remains that the pastor 
 unfold the effects of this Sacrament. It is clear, as we have 
 already said, that the Sacrament of Orders, although primarily 
 instituted for the advantage and edification of the Church, im- 
 parts to him who receives it with the proper dispositions a grace 
 which qualifies and enables him to discharge with fidelity the 
 duties which it imposes, and among which is to be numbered 
 the administration of the sacraments. As baptism qualifies for 
 their reception, so Orders qualify for their administration. Or- 
 1 See Codex Juris Canonici, cans. 968 ff.
 
 HOLY ORDERS 127 
 
 ders also confer another grace, which is a special power in ref- 
 erence to the Holy Eucharist; a power full and perfect in the 
 priest, who alone can consecrate the body and blood of our Lord, 
 but in the subordinate ministers greater or less in proportion to 
 their approximation to the sacred mysteries of the altar. This 
 power is also denominated a spiritual character, which by a cer- 
 tain interior mark impressed on the soul distinguishes the eccle- 
 siastic from the rest of the faithful, and devotes him specially 
 to the divine service. This the Apostle seems to have had in 
 view when he thus addressed Timothy : " Neglect not the grace 
 that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with imposi- 
 tion of the hands of the priesthood." 2 Again, " I admonish 
 thee, that thou stir up the grace of God which is in thee, by the 
 imposition of my hands." 8 
 
 On the Sacrament of Orders let so much suffice. Our purpose 
 has been to lay before the pastor the most important particulars 
 upon the subject in order to supply him with matter upon which 
 he may draw for the instruction of the faithful and their ad- 
 vancement in Christian piety. 
 
 Sermons 
 
 HOLY ORDERS 
 
 BY THE VERY REV. JAMES J. FOX, D.D. 
 
 The grace of God, through Jesus Christ, is the life of the Chris- 
 tian soul and the life of that society of souls established by Jesus 
 Christ which we call the Church. To generate, strengthen, and 
 preserve that life in the individual and in the society Christ in- 
 stituted the sacraments as the channels of special forms of that 
 grace, to meet the great occasions and needs of the soul. Two 
 of these sacraments have for their object to propagate and 
 continue, throughout the passing generations of men, the 
 divine society itself. One of these is Matrimony; the other 
 is Holy Orders. Holy Orders is a Sacrament, for under 
 visible signs employed in ordination a special grace is con- 
 veyed; what the nature of that grace is we shall consider in 
 this instruction. 
 
 1 I Tim. iv. 14. * 2 Tim. i. 6.
 
 128 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 There are, as you know, several steps or grades to be suc- 
 cessively received in the Sacrament of Holy Orders: four in- 
 troductory ones, called minor orders; two others, approaching 
 more intimately to the priesthood itself, and the episcopate. Now 
 the soul of all is the priesthood; to it the others are related as 
 to the centre; for in it the others exist. The priesthood is too, 
 one may say, the very heart of the Church, from whose action 
 the life-giving grace of Christ is circulated through all her 
 members. The Society of Jesus Christ, the Church, is the union 
 of God and His people. That union finds itself completed in the 
 office of the priesthood. The priest is at once the man of the 
 people and the man of God. Let us examine under these two 
 aspects the office to which he is chosen and ordained by the 
 Sacrament of Holy Orders. The priest is the man of the people ; 
 their agent, to borrow the phrase of St. Paul, in the things that 
 appertain to God. 
 
 I. What we call religious worship consists in acknowledging 
 by suitable actions, internal and external, the majesty, power, 
 holiness of the Almighty, and our complete dependence on Him 
 as our creator and our end. Among all the various external 
 actions which man employs to embody that worship, the most 
 universal, the most significant, is that called sacrifice. Sacrifice 
 of various kinds was 1 the chief element of worship in the ancient 
 law which God gave to the Israelites, to instruct them how they 
 should honor Him in a way pleasing to Himself. These sacri- 
 fices consisted of the fruits of the earth, and of animals which 
 were consumed in order to testify that He in whose honor they 
 were offered up is the sovereign law of heaven and earth, the 
 Master of life and death. But the Old Law was in every way 
 imperfect; all its rites and ceremonies were but figures of the 
 new covenant of the Gospel. Its various sacrifices were but 
 foreshadowings of the one great sacrifice of the New Law. You 
 know what that sacrifice is. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, of- 
 fered Himself up, once for all, on the altar of the Cross, as a 
 sufficient expiation for all men throughout the ages; a victim 
 perfectly worthy of the infinite majesty and holiness of God. 
 Thereafter it was impossible that ever again the blood of sheep 
 or oxen could be pleasing to the Almighty. The only sacrifice
 
 HOLY ORDERS 129 
 
 worthy of the New Testament was the one holy, unspotted vic- 
 tim offered up by the Saviour himself. But, then, was the re- 
 ligion that He established to be deprived of the chief element 
 of divine worship? No; for, as you know, our Lord provided 
 at His Last Supper that the supreme sacrifice which He was to 
 offer on the morrow, from the Cross of Calvary, should continue 
 to be offered up daily in His Church, from the rising of the 
 sun to the going down thereof, till the end of time. As His 
 religion was to be embodied in a living visible society, so it should 
 have a living visible priesthood to offer up a living visible sacri- 
 fice. When He had given His Apostles His body and the chalice 
 of His blood, that was to be shed for them and for many to the 
 remission of sins, He appointed them priests, to continue the 
 mystical sacrifice, " Do this in commemoration of me." And 
 in virtue of the Sacrament of Holy Orders that power is handed 
 down in the Church from man to man, from generation to 
 generation. 
 
 Christ continues as the invisible High Priest to offer the Holy 
 Mass to God; His visible representative on earth is the priest, 
 who at the same time is the representative of the people, on 
 whose behalf the sacrifice is carried out. He is not merely chosen 
 and appointed; he is consecrated by the Sacrament which im- 
 parts to him a share in the priesthood of Jesus Christ. This 
 character is not something merely attached to his personality, as 
 an office ; it enters into and forms a feature of his very soul, 
 never to be effaced in time or eternity. No wonder that the 
 Church has surrounded the ordination of a priest with the most 
 impressive ceremonies of her ritual. While the candidate lies 
 prostrate before the altar the clergy and the people raise their 
 voices to implore the mercy and grace of God for the chosen 
 one, that he may worthily receive the great commission from on 
 high. The Holy Ghost, the Sanctifier, is invoked to come down 
 upon him. As the rite proceeds, the Bishop addresses him with 
 solemn warning and weighty counsel, reminding him of the tre- 
 mendous mysteries he will handle in his new office. Bishop and 
 assistants implore the Almighty to bless, to sanctify, and to 
 consecrate the man to the service of the things of heaven. As 
 external signs of the Sacrament of Holy Orders, the instruments
 
 130 
 
 of the sacrifice are placed in his hands, and the Bishop's hand 
 is extended over him. The power of consecrating and offering 
 the Holy Mass is communicated to him, as it was by the Saviour 
 himself to the Apostles. Finally he is endowed with the power 
 to forgive sins. Receive the Holy Ghost. Whose sins you for- 
 give they are forgiven. Then, when the ordination is com- 
 pleted, this member of the Church is constituted her minister, 
 the agent of his brethren, to represent them and act in their 
 name in the things of God. " For every high priest taken from 
 among men, is ordained for men in the things that appertain to 
 God, that he may offer up gifts and sacrifices for sins " ( Heb. 
 v. i). Henceforth, as he stands at the altar to perform the 
 great sacrifice, he will not be a mere private individual ; he will 
 be the public minister and representative of the entire Christian 
 family. 
 
 He takes in his hands the divine Victim, and in the name of 
 the entire Church, with her head, Jesus Christ, presents it, sacri- 
 fices it before the throne of the Most High. While the sacrifice 
 of the Mass is the same sacrifice as that of the Cross, repeated 
 in a mystical manner, yet in regard to the position of the Church 
 there is a difference between the two. The sacrifice of the Cross 
 was offered up by Jesus Christ alone ; in the action of that sacri- 
 fice the Church had no active part. But in the Mass the Church 
 does participate in the sacrificial action. It is her sacrifice to 
 God ; it is her gift, which has been placed at her disposal by her 
 divine Founder in order that she may be able to present to the 
 Creator a worship worthy of His infinite majesty. Now the 
 Church, made up of an immense number of persons, must act 
 through individuals as her agents or representatives; and the 
 priest is the agent of the Church, acting in her name as he cele- 
 brates the sacred mysteries. Just as the act of a ruler or of an 
 ambassador is the act of the nation which he represents, so the 
 sacrificial action of the priest is the act of us all in our character 
 as members of the Church of Jesus Christ. She and you all act 
 by his hand, pray with his lips. Listen to the prayers of the 
 Mass and you will observe that the priest is not using the words 
 " I " and " my," but " me " and " our " and " us." At the begin- 
 ning of the collect he says : " Let us pray." Opening the Canon
 
 HOLY ORDERS 131 
 
 or most solemn part of the Mass he prays : " We humbly beseech 
 thee, most merciful Father, that thou wouldst vouchsafe to ac- 
 cept and bless these gifts, this holy unspotted sacrifice which in 
 the first place we offer thee for thy holy Catholic Church." 
 Whether a congregation be present or not, while exercising his 
 office the priest speaks for us all and is the personification of 
 all, one person in whom all are united. If the ruler or am- 
 bassador of a country be great because the country is great, how 
 high is the priestly dignity of Him in whose person is united the 
 entire Church throughout the world! of him who, chosen from 
 among men, is anointed and consecrated to treat with God in the 
 name of all his brethren, and who is received and approved by 
 God as an acceptable person duly qualified to discharge this 
 majestic office. 
 
 II. While Holy Orders consecrates the priest to be the repre- 
 sentative of the people before God, it constitutes him at the same 
 time to be the coadjutor or agent of God towards men. " Let 
 a man so account of us," says St. Paul, " as of the ministers of 
 Christ, and the dispensers of the mysteries of God " ( i Cor. 
 iv. i ) . The priest, as we have seen, is the representative of the 
 people as he stands at the altar to celebrate the holy sacrifice of 
 the Mass ; and from this aspect of his function his dignity sur- 
 passes that attached to any other human office. But it is im- 
 measurably enhanced by the role which, in the same sublime 
 action, he plays as the minister and representative of God. In 
 order that his religion and his people might forever be provided 
 with a worthy sacrifice which should be pleasing to God, even 
 though God had already received on the altar of the Cross a 
 Victim that for the future disqualified all other victims, the 
 products of the earth, from being any longer suitable gifts to 
 lay upon the altar Jesus Christ in His boundless love be- 
 queathed Himself, His living personality, Body and Blood, to 
 be at the disposal of His Church in order that her worship of 
 the Almighty might be perfect and wholly acceptable to God. 
 Christ, indeed, having died once, dieth.now no more. Neverthe- 
 less, by a mystery of His omnipotence He continues in the Mass 
 that same sacrifice which, in blood and death, was consummated 
 on Calvary. He sitteth in glory at the right hand of the Father.
 
 132 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 Yet by the power which He imparted to His Apostles, and which 
 flows in an unbroken channel down the ages, in virtue of the 
 Sacrament of Holy Orders, to the priest to-day the minister of 
 God pronounces the awful words of consecration ; and forthwith 
 the Lamb of God, slain for the sins of the world, is present on 
 the altar. The words of God's minister pierce the heavens and 
 the Son of God obeys the call of man, who is His representative. 
 In the Old Testament we read of the encounter of Elias with 
 the false prophets. That man of God laid his gift on the stone, 
 raised his eyes and voice to heaven, imploring God to vouchsafe 
 to give a sign in favor of His servant. Immediately, to the 
 astonishment of the bystanders, flames shot down from the skies 
 and consumed the victim. This wonder sinks into insignificance 
 when compared to the answer which God makes to the call of 
 the priest. He sends not fire to consume the host, but He sends 
 down once more His only beloved Son to be the holy, unspotted 
 Host, to be raised again from earth to heaven, to bring down, 
 in return, mercy and grace on the children of men. At the 
 words of the Blessed Virgin : " Be it done unto me according 
 to thy word," the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity descended 
 on this earth ; " the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us." 
 At the words of the priest, not once, but day after day, year after 
 year, all over the world, the Word, clothed in the flesh which 
 He drew from His immaculate mother, descends among us, be- 
 stows Himself on us, that for us and for all the faithful, living 
 and dead, we may have an offering worthy to present before the 
 throne of the Eternal Majesty. 
 
 What are the other gifts of God which His minister dispenses ? 
 The first is divine truth and doctrine. Faith, as the Apostle says, 
 comes from hearing; and how shall men hear unless there be a 
 preacher? And how shall any preach unless they be sent? The 
 commission to preach was given by Christ to His Apostles. " Go 
 forth and teach the nations." By the grace of Holy Orders the 
 priest shares in that commission; in that Sacrament he is or- 
 dained to dispense the truths of faith and expound the precepts 
 of Christ's law to the people. The human qualifications of the 
 preacher may be brilliant or they may be mediocre, but it is not 
 from his human gifts that he derives his authority. It is in
 
 HOLY ORDERS 133 
 
 virtue of the imposition of hands in the Sacrament of Holy 
 Orders that he can stand before his people to lay down the law 
 of Christian life with the all-powerful sanction : " Thus saith the 
 Lord." It is that same power which authorizes him to apply 
 to himself the declaration of Christ : " My doctrine is not my 
 doctrine, but the doctrine of him that sent me." Thus the priest 
 is God's minister, who in His name enables us to fulfil the first 
 condition of salvation, which is to know God, to learn the truths 
 which He has revealed in order that we may worthily live in His 
 service and love. 
 
 Live in the service of God. To do so we must participate in 
 His own life, which is communicated to us by the grace of Jesus 
 Christ. A new-born child is brought to the priest. The infant 
 is alive indeed with the life of the earth, but he is as yet unborn 
 to God. The priest is the dispenser of the divine life of faith; 
 he baptizes the infant ; a transformation is operated in that soul ; 
 it is marked for time and eternity with a stamp indicating that 
 it has become a member of Christ's family and following. By 
 the operation of God's minister the child is reborn to the King- 
 dom of Heaven. 
 
 When in later years that soul, by the suicidal act of mortal sin, 
 has killed the divine life within it, the dispenser of the mysteries 
 of God again intervenes to restore the dead soul. The man kneels 
 before him in the Sacrament of Penance. The priest says : " I 
 absolve thee " in the name of the blessed Trinity. As Lazarus 
 in his sepulchre heard the voice of the Master, so the dead soul 
 feels once more the life of grace within it; it comes forth from 
 the sepulchre of everlasting death and lives again to God. 
 
 When the man approaches the term of his earthly journey and 
 is about to enter on the last dark struggle, the minister of God 
 has another gift of divine mercy to impart for the occasion. He 
 administers the Sacrament of Extreme Unction, to cleanse the 
 soul and strengthen it for the passage, and in the name of God 
 he bids it set forth in holy hope to meet its Redeemer and its 
 Judge : " Go forth, Christian soul." 
 
 Finally, the supreme gift of God, which He bestows on us by 
 the hands of His minister, is not merely His grace, but Himself, 
 the author of grace. Here He reaches, as it were, the utmost
 
 134 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 that His mercy can perform. The priest, in His name, places on 
 our tongue the living Bread that came down from heaven; the 
 Body and Blood of the Saviour to be the food of our souls here 
 and the pledge of immortality. " He that eateth my flesh, and 
 drinketh my blood, hath everlasting life : and I will raise him up 
 in the last day" (John vi. 55). And having given us, through 
 the priest, this final gift He may say to us : " What more could 
 I have done for you that I have not done ? " 
 
 III. Besides the order of the priesthood there are, as you 
 know, other grades or orders, which, however, all relate to the 
 priesthood and converge around it as their centre. Each of them 
 ordains the recipient to exercise some function that appertains 
 to the eucharistic sacrifice. In what are called the minor orders, 
 the porter is appointed to open and close, and see to the decency 
 of the visible temple of wood and stone. The lector, or reader, 
 prepares the invisible temples of souls by instructing them in the 
 word of God, while the exorcist co-operates by banishing from 
 them the spirits of evil. The acolyte is ordained to prepare the 
 altar, light the candles, and present the wine for the Sacrament. 
 Then come the higher orders of subdeacon and deacon, who im- 
 mediately assist the priest in the sacred mystery of the Mass 
 and in the distribution of Christ's Body and Blood to the faithful. 
 Finally, we have the episcopate, the fulness of the priesthood, 
 by which is imparted the power of perpetuating the priesthood 
 of the New Law, in order that the sacrifice and the sacraments 
 instituted by our divine Saviour may continue in the Church till 
 the end of time. 
 
 Thus, my dear brethren, by the Sacrament of Holy Orders 
 there is constituted in the visible Church, around the eucharistic 
 throne, an ordered hierarchy of persons, resembling the heavenly 
 hierarchy of cherubim and seraphim, thrones and dominations, 
 angels and archangels, who serve and worship around the Eternal 
 on high. And this earthly hierarchy mingles its voice with that 
 of the celestial choirs, as the priest in the Mass, speaking for the 
 entire Church, prays : " Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of Sabaoth, 
 heaven and earth are full of thy glory. Hosanna in the highest, 
 blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord, Hosanna in 
 the highest."
 
 HOLY ORDERS 135 
 
 These considerations on the nature of Holy Orders enable us, 
 my brethren, to understand more clearly the unity of the Church, 
 the manner in which Jesus Christ is, not in a mere figure of 
 speech but in very truth, her head and her life by His living 
 presence on the altar. We understand, too, from the nature of 
 the! priest's office what the holy sacrifice is in the worship of the 
 Almighty; how in the person of the priest we all take part in 
 that sublime action. And therefore in order to assist worthily 
 at holy Mass, we too ought, as we enter the church door, to leave 
 behind us all thoughts of earth, all sinful attachments, that our 
 hearts may be worthy of the immaculate Lamb which we are 
 about to offer, and pleasing to the divine majesty to whom we 
 present the priceless gift. Remembering the dignity of the 
 priesthood, and that those on whom it has fallen are but poor, 
 weak, sinful human beings like ourselves, we understand that it 
 is our duty to help them by our prayers; to beg earnestly that 
 God may sustain them by His grace against temptations of what 
 kind soever, and enable them ever worthily and efficaciously to 
 dispense to the souls intrusted to them gifts of God unto life 
 everlasting. Amen. 
 
 References 
 
 Heckmann, in Horn. Monthly, June 1919; Gerrard, in Pulpit Comm., 
 Vol. I ; Monsabre, in Lenten Conferences of 1886; compare also references 
 to Second Sunday after Easter. 
 
 Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. XI, pp. 279 ff. ; Summa Theol., Suppl., qq. 34- 
 40; Tanquerey, De Ordine; Hurter, Theol. Dog., Vol. Ill, No. 677; 
 Pohle-Preuss, The Sacraments, Vol. IV, pp. 52 ff. ; Vaughan, The Divine 
 Armory, etc., pp. 814 ff. ; Callan, Illustrations for Sermons, etc., pp. 225 ff. ; 
 Berington and Kirk, The Faith of Catholics, Vol. Ill, pp. 210 ff. ; Bellord, 
 Meditations, etc., Vol. II, p. 324.
 
 136 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 FIRST SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY 
 
 SUBJECT 
 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS 
 
 TEXT 
 
 For as in one body we have many members, but all the members have 
 not the same office: so we being many, are one body in Christ, and every 
 one members one of another. ROM. xii. 4, 5. 
 
 Analysis 
 
 INTRODUCTION. St. Paul frequently compares the various mem- 
 bers of the Church to the different parts of the human body. 
 Just as all the parts of the latter are more or less dependent one 
 on another and lend mutual aid and assistance to one another, 
 so all the members of the former are bound together in Christ, 
 and should, by mutual charity and good offices, be of assistance 
 one to another. The comparison of the Apostle beautifully 
 illustrates the doctrine of the Communion of Saints which is 
 expressed in the second part of the ninth Article of the Creed. 
 This doctrine is consequent upon the first part of the same Article, 
 which requires faith in the Holy Catholic Church ; for the Com- 
 munion of Saints results from the unity and holiness of the 
 Church. 
 
 I. " Communion " : its first meaning. The Communion of 
 Saints means in the first place fellowship in the external goods 
 of the Church, that is, all have the same faith, the same Baptism, 
 the same Eucharist, the same Sacrifice, and the same Sacraments, 
 the same public prayers, religious functions, etc. 
 
 II. "Communion": its second meaning. The Communion 
 of Saints means in the second place that the members of the Church 
 share in the internal goods of the Church, that is, they profit 
 by the good done by the other members. I. The faithful as-
 
 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS 137 
 
 sist each other with their prayers. Christ has taught us to 
 pray for the general interest and salvation of all. 2. The 
 faithful assist each other by their good works, such as the 
 corporal and spiritual works of mercy, the offering of satisfac- 
 tions and the like. 
 
 III. Meaning of " Saints'." i. Those who are called Saints in 
 this Article of the Creed are all the faithful, because all have been 
 sanctified by Baptism and are called to holiness; but the term 
 applies in particular to those in the state of grace. 2. Those 
 who are in mortal sin do not share in the internal goods of the 
 Church, although they derive some advantage from them in- 
 asmuch as they retain the virtue of faith and their conver- 
 sion is assisted by the prayers and good works of the faithful. 
 3. Those who are in mortal sin and who do not belong to the 
 true Church (Jews, heretics, infidels, apostates, schismatics, and 
 the excommunicated) share in neither the internal nor the ex- 
 ternal goods of the Church. 4. The Communion of Saints 
 embraces not only the Church on earth, but also extends to 
 heaven and purgatory, because charity unites the three Churches, 
 triumphant, militant, and suffering. The Saints pray for us 
 and for the souls in purgatory, while we honor the Saints and 
 assist the souls in purgatory. 
 
 CONCLUSION. I. The doctrine of the Communion of Saints 
 affords us hope and consolation. 2. It should be a stimulus to 
 fervor and to the exercise of good works. 
 
 Catechism of the Council of Trent, Part I 
 ARTICLE IX OF THE CREED 
 The Communion of Saints 
 
 THIS ARTICLE TO BE CAREFULLY EXPLAINED 
 
 The Evangelist St. John, writing to -the faithful on the divine 
 mysteries, tells them that he undertook to instruct them on the 
 subject, " that you," says he, " may have fellowship with us, and 
 our fellowship may be with the Father, and with his son Jesus
 
 138 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 Christ." 1 This " fellowship " consists in the Communion of 
 Saints, the subject of the present Article. Would that in its ex- 
 position pastors imitated the zeal of St. Paul and of the other 
 Apostles, 2 for not only does it serve as an interpretation of the 
 preceding Article, and is a point of doctrine productive of abun- 
 dant fruit, but it also teaches the use to be made of the mysteries 
 contained in the Creed, because the great end to which all our 
 researches and knowledge are to be directed is our admission 
 into this most august and blessed society of the Saints, and our 
 steady perseverance therein, "giving thanks [with joy] to God 
 the Father, who hath made us worthy to be partakers of the lot 
 of the Saints in light." 3 
 
 IN WHAT "THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS" CONSISTS 
 
 The faithful, therefore, in the first place, are to be informed 
 that this Article is, as it were, a sort of explanation of the pre- 
 ceding one, which regards the unity, sanctity, and catholicity of 
 the Church, for the unity of the Spirit, by which she is gov- 
 erned, establishes among all her members a community of spirit- 
 ual blessings. The fruit of all the sacraments is common to all 
 the faithful, and these sacraments, particularly Baptism, the 
 door, as it were, by which we are admitted into the Church, 4 
 are so many connecting links which bind and unite them to Jesus 
 Christ. That this Communion of Saints implies a communion 
 of sacraments, the Fathers declare in these words of the Creed: 
 " I confess one baptism." 5 After Baptism, the Eucharist holds 
 the first place in reference to this communion, and after the 
 Eucharist, the other sacraments ; for although common to all the 
 sacraments, because all unite us to God, and render us partakers 
 of Him whose grace they communicate to us, this communion 
 belongs in a peculiar manner to the Eucharist, by which it is 
 directly accomplished. 6 
 
 But there is also another communion in the Church which de- 
 mands attention : every pious and holy action done by one be- 
 longs to and becomes profitable to all, through charity, which 
 
 1 John i. 3. * Aug. in Joan. Tract. 32. * Col. i. 12. 
 
 1 Aug. i. 19, contr. Faustum. c. n. 
 
 * Damasc. lib. 4, de fide orthodox, cap. 12; i Cor. 13. ' i Cor. x. 16.
 
 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS 139 
 
 " seeketh not her own." * In this we are fortified by the concur- 
 rent testimony of St. Ambrose, who, explaining these words of the 
 Psalmist, " I am a partaker with all them that fear thee," 2 ob- 
 serves: "As we say that a member is partaker of the entire 
 body, so are we partakers with all that fear God." Therefore 
 has Christ taught us to say, our, not my bread; 3 and the other 
 petitions of that admirable prayer are equally general, not con- 
 fined to ourselves alone, but directed also to the general interest 
 and the salvation of all. 
 
 A SCRIPTURAL ILLUSTRATION OF THIS COMMUNION 
 
 This communication of goods is often very aptly illustrated 
 in Scripture by a comparison borrowed from the members of 
 the human body. In the human body there are many members, 
 but though many, they yet constitute but one body, in which each 
 performs its own, not all the same, functions. All do not enjoy 
 equal dignity, or discharge functions alike useful or honorable; 
 nor does one propose to itself its own exclusive advantage, but 
 that of the entire body.* Besides, they are so well organized and 
 knit together that if one suffers, the rest naturally sympathize 
 with it ; and if, on the contrary, one enjoys health, the feeling of 
 pleasure is common to all. The same may be observed of the 
 Church. She is composed of various members, of different 
 nations, of Jews, Gentiles, freemen, and slaves, of rich and 
 poor, yet all, initiated by faith, constitute one body with Christ, 
 who is their head. To each member of the Church is also as- 
 signed his own peculiar office; as some are appointed apostles, 
 some teachers, but all for the common good, so to some it be- 
 longs to govern and teach, to others to be subject and to obey. 
 
 THIS COMMUNION HOW FAR COMMON TO THE WICKED 
 
 But the advantages of so many and such exalted blessings be- 
 stowed by Almighty God are pre-eminently enjoyed by those who 
 lead a Christian life in charity, and are just and beloved of God ; 
 while the dead members, that is, those who are bound in the thral- 
 dom of sin and estranged from the grace of God, although not 
 
 1 i Cor. xiii. 5. * in Ps. cxviii. serm. 8, v. 63. 
 
 1 Matt. vi. ii. * I Cor. xii. 14.
 
 140 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 deprived of these advantages so as to cease to be members of 
 this body, are yet, as dead members, deprived of the vivifying 1 
 principle which is communicated to the just and pious Christian. 
 However, as they are in the Church they are assisted in recover- 
 ing lost grace and life by those who are animated by the Spirit of 
 God, and they also enjoy those fruits which are no doubt denied 
 to those entirely cut off from the communion of the Church. 1 
 
 "GRACES GRATUITOUSLY GRANTED" COMMON TO THE WICKED 
 WITH THE GOOD 
 
 But not only the gifts which justify and endear us to God are 
 common. " Graces gratuitously granted," such as knowledge, 
 prophecy, the gifts of tongues and of miracles, and others of 
 the same sort, 2 are common also, and are granted even to the 
 wicked, not, however, for their own but for the general good, 
 for the building up of the Church of God. Thus, the gift of 
 healing is given not for the sake of him who heals, but for the 
 sake of him who is healed. In fine, every true Christian pos- 
 sesses nothing which he should not consider common to all others 
 with himself, and should therefore be prepared promptly to re- 
 lieve an indigent fellow creature; for he that is blessed with 
 worldly goods, and sees his brother in want, and will not assist 
 him, is at once convicted of not having the love of God within 
 him. 3 Those, therefore, who belong to this holy communion, it 
 is manifest, enjoy a certain degree of happiness here below, and 
 may truly say with the Psalmist: "How lovely are thy taber- 
 nacles, O Lord of hosts! my soul longeth and fainteth for the 
 courts of the Lord. . . . Blessed are they who dwell in thy 
 house, O Lord." * 
 
 Sermon 
 
 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS 
 
 " / believe in the Communion of Saints." 
 
 BY THE REV. STEPHEN MURPHY, O.M.I. 
 
 This text, taken from the Apostles' Creed, is an expression of 
 the Catholic belief that the saints and friends of God have vital 
 
 1 Aug. in Ps. 70, serm. 2. * I Cor. xiii. 2. 
 
 J I John iii. 17. * Ps. Ixxxiii. 2, 3, 5.
 
 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS 141 
 
 interests in common. It is of Divine faith that thing's affecting 
 one soul in its relation to sanctity and happiness have an intimate 
 bearing on all souls that belong to the Kingdom of Christ. We 
 Christians glory in a brotherhood whose membership transcends 
 the narrow limits of this world. We claim as our fellow citizens 
 and our brethren countless human beings dwelling in heaven, on 
 earth, in purgatory, who are united by a mutual sympathy and 
 friendship among themselves and by the common reliance they 
 place in the goodness and favor of the Almighty. 
 
 I. Now all are called saints on earth who are sons abiding in 
 the household of God. To be such they must be free from griev- 
 ous sin. But freedom from sin and admission to the companion- 
 ship of the saints, we may well recall, in the case of most men 
 implies repentance for past misconduct and a determination of 
 future amendment ; just as it required the sorrow and tears of 
 the returning prodigal to open once more to him the home of his 
 youth and innocence. Whether, then, it be Baptism or penance 
 that has made them the friends of God, the saints on earth are 
 the living members of the Church Militant, whose essential quali- 
 fication is innocence and holiness, and whose cherished posses- 
 sion is a common heritage of merit and atonement bequeathed 
 to them by Christ in the shedding of His Precious Blood. The 
 saints here below have in common the same means of grace and 
 edification, enabling them to withstand with unfaltering counte- 
 nance the dangerous allurements that threaten their peace of 
 mind. They all partake of the Banquet of the Lord and are fed 
 with the same Holy Bread of eternal life. Their common wor- 
 ship is the prayer and sacrifice of the universal Church offered 
 up by the mediation of an Omnipotent Intercessor. It is the 
 prayer of many hearts united with the Sacred Heart of Jesus. 
 Their voices ascend to heaven as one voice and cry, beseeching 
 the Father of mercies, that the days of His children on earth 
 may be disposed in peace and that all may be numbered in the 
 flock of the elect. 
 
 II. The saints in purgatory are those who suffer after death, 
 but who have received from God, in the particular judgment, the 
 certain assurance that they are saved. Their earthly existence 
 for them is a thing of the past; but the combats they sustained
 
 142 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 in the flesh and the temptations they encountered have left 
 wounds and scars that were not entirely healed by the remedies 
 applied of contrition and penance. Their condition, in dying, 
 though not meriting everlasting punishment, nevertheless pre- 
 vented their instant passage into paradise. And thus they are 
 excluded for a time from heaven. They are the saints called the 
 Church Suffering, because they remain in a place of purification 
 until, by the grief and affliction they patiently endure, all wounds 
 and traces of their earthly failings and imperfections are burnt 
 and purged away. 
 
 But the good and the generous, when subjected to suffering, 
 are peculiarly sensitive to the affliction of others. Hence the 
 saints in purgatory are united in sorrow; and as their common 
 grief at being kept far from God is so much the more pene- 
 trating, so likewise the compassion they feel for one another's 
 distress is deeper and more overpowering than any we can ex- 
 perience in this world. 
 
 Nor does this mean that these afflicted souls are separated 
 from the living. Rather, we must say, participation in the 
 treasury of atonement, of which the living Church holds the 
 keys, is more necessary for them ; seeing that, in their prison 
 and chains, they are powerless to help themselves. Though con- 
 fined in purgatory, they retain a rightful share of the benefits 
 dispensed in this world by the ministers of Christ. They are 
 joined to their human brethren on earth by the recognition and 
 expectancy of relief. We are able to lend them aid by offering 
 to God, as atonement for their debt, our own prayers and other 
 good works. What a consoling dogma of our religion that we 
 can thus render assistance to deceased relatives and friends, our 
 separation from whom by death we bitterly mourn! And we 
 may be well assured of their gratitude and of their prayers in 
 return if our charity, esteemed by God, hastens for them the glad 
 hour of their deliverance from prison, when they shall be granted 
 refreshment, light, and everlasting rest. 
 
 III. By far the most numerous branch of the Communion of 
 Saints is formed of the blessed in heaven. From every tribe and 
 tongue and people are they gathered before the face of God in 
 the everlasting courts, where they participate in the all-absorbing
 
 THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS 143 
 
 vision of things which eye hath not seen nor ear heard, which 
 it hath not entered into the heart of man to conceive. It is the 
 Church Triumphant, the union in glory of souls washed in the 
 Blood of the Lamb. It is the unspeakable happiness that the as- 
 sembly of the elect enjoy when they possess God eternally as 
 their reward exceedingly great. 
 
 Now, if there is an identity of interest among the faithful of 
 this world, if likewise there is an intimate union and fellowship 
 animating the suffering souls, then what shall we say of the union 
 and fellowship that pervades and animates the inhabitants of the 
 Holy City ? Seeing that the heart of man was created for neither 
 strife nor sorrow, but for happiness alone, and since rational 
 beings instinctively seek companionship in enjoyment, thus in the 
 abode of perfect rest, where no shadow of suffering threatens, 
 each redeemed soul is united with his companions of glory, and 
 the knowledge of his own individual blessedness is immeasurably 
 increased by sharing in the blessedness of the unnumbered thou- 
 sands that sing hymns of joy before the great white throne. 
 
 But even in their joy, supreme and everlasting as it is, the 
 saints in paradise are not forgetful of their brethren in less happy 
 spheres. How many among them retain a vivid memory of the 
 chastening pains they lately endured, and which they know others 
 still endure, as the nearer preparation for participation in the 
 privileged Communion of the beatific vision! Further, in view- 
 ing the sacred wounds of the glorified humanity of Christ, are 
 they not necessarily reminded of this world we dwell in? Are 
 they not reminded that earth, and not heaven, was chosen by the 
 Son of God for His mortal career in human flesh? And that, 
 on this earth, He elected to suffer and to die to purchase for men 
 so glorious a destiny? Is it possible for the elect to forget the 
 abode where the foundations of their happiness were laid? 
 Where God, for their benefit, manifested His bountiful Provi- 
 dence by miracles and revelations, by lessons of warning and 
 promises of reward, by institutions of holiness and mercy? 
 Where they themselves, sustained by Divine grace, were able to 
 rejoice in the midst of tribulations and sorrows that appeared 
 too heavy, too unbearable to all except to those who loved God 
 and trusted in the power of His love ?
 
 144 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 Nay, more, this present world in its actual condition is revealed 
 to the eyes of the blessed. They take a never-failing interest in 
 the lives of existing men, because however poorly circumstanced 
 we may be, they behold the true nobility we possess as children 
 of God redeemed equally as they by the Precious Blood of Jesus. 
 In our souls they see imaged the adorable likeness of our Maker. 
 In us they recognize members of that Church whose riches are 
 their enjoyment. And if their joy will be filled with greater 
 rejoicing in the triumph of our salvation, then truly may we say 
 that the saints are with us not only in mind, their hearts likewise 
 accompany us, so to speak, in the battle we wage against the 
 powers of darkness. 
 
 Their intercession with God is unceasing in our behalf, that 
 through His mercy and goodness we may be made to persevere 
 till the hour of victory and reward. 
 
 Practices. Let us now make some useful applications of our 
 belief in the Communion of Saints. If we belong to the com- 
 pany of the just, then we are constrained to practise holiness. 
 We are bound faithfully to fulfil our duties towards God and 
 man. Still we shall show little generosity in so worthy a cause 
 if we limit our endeavors to strict duty. We must therefore 
 multiply our deeds of virtue that our example may be a shining 
 light for the footsteps of our fellow Christians whose welfare is 
 so closely connected with our own. Again, no person animated 
 with a spirit of charity and true piety will fail to engage in 
 special good works for the benefit of the suffering souls. Finally, 
 let us pay due honor to the saints in paradise who are our friends 
 nearest to God. Let us beg them to obtain from the Almighty 
 this favor: that our lives may resemble theirs in goodness and 
 fidelity in the service of religion, and that in dying we may be 
 speedily admitted into the full participation of the celestial privi- 
 leges of the Communion of Saints. 
 
 References 
 
 Hehel, in Sermons on Christian Doctrine; Conway, in Pulpit Commen- 
 tary, Vol. I; Jarrett, in Horn, and Past. Review, Oct. 1920; Bonomelli- 
 Byrne, in Christian Mysteries, Vol. Ill, pp. 225 ff. ; Monsabre, in Lenten 
 Conferences of 1882. 
 
 Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. IV, pp. 171 ff.', Vol. V, pp. 504 ff. ; Summit
 
 THE SACRAMENT OF MARRIAGE 145 
 
 Theol., Suppl., q. 71; Tanquerey, De Deo Remuneratore, No. 50; Hurter, 
 Theol. Dog., Vol. Ill, No. 867; Pohle-Preuss, Eschatology, pp. 36, 92 ff. ; 
 Vaughan, The Divine Armory, etc., pp. 627 ff. ; Callan, Illustrations for 
 Sermons, etc., p. 38; Berington and Kirk, The Faith of Catholics, Vol. Ill, 
 p. 234 ; Bellord, Meditations, etc., Vol. II, p. 212. 
 
 SECOND SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY 
 
 SUBJECT 
 THE SACRAMENT OF MARRIAGE 
 
 TEXT 
 There was a marriage in Cana of Galilee. JOHN ii. i. 
 
 Analysis 
 
 INTRODUCTION. The presence of our Lord, the Blessed Virgin, 
 and the Apostles at this wedding feast in Cana, and the miracle 
 which our Saviour worked on the occasion, are a proof of the 
 great excellence and sanctity of marriage. It was at this time, 
 indeed, according to some, that marriage was raised to the dignity 
 of a Sacrament. 
 
 I. Marriage between Christians is a Sacrament, i. From 
 the beginning marriage was instituted by God as a natural con- 
 tract. Thus Adam and Eve and the Patriarchs were truly mar- 
 ried under the law of nature ; Tobias and Sara and others, under 
 the Law of Moses; and even to-day marriages between unbap- 
 tized persons, although not sacramental in character, are valid 
 contracts. 2. Christ elevated marriage to the dignity of a 
 Sacrament. As a mere contract marriage was ordained to the 
 propagation of the human race, and the raising of children for 
 God and society ; but as a Sacrament it also sanctifies the parties 
 and confers the special graces they need. 3. That matrimony 
 is a true Sacrament has been the constant teaching of the Church 
 and is the doctrine of St. Paul (Eph. v. 28). 4. In every Sacra- 
 ment we have three things, an outward sign, inward grace,
 
 146 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 and institution by Christ. In Matrimony the outward sign is the 
 natural contract expressed in words or signs; the inward grace 
 is the supernatural help conferred on the parties, which enables 
 them to bear the difficulties of their state and to perform their 
 obligations towards each other and towards their children ; the 
 institution of marriage as a Sacrament by Christ we know from 
 Scripture, tradition, and the positive teaching of the Church. 
 
 II. Christian marriage has the properties of unity and in- 
 dissolubility. I. The unity of marriage forbids polyandry and 
 polygamy, because these are opposed to the ends and purposes 
 of matrimony, and were forbidden by Christ Himself (Matt. 
 xix. 4-6) ; the former is opposed to the primary end of mar- 
 riage, the latter impedes the secondary ends. 2. The indissolu- 
 bility of marriage forbids divorce. The bond of matrimony is 
 dissolved only by death, according to the teachings of Christ 
 and St. Paul ; hence the Church does not recognize the right 
 of those divorced by the State to marry again during the life- 
 time of either party. 3. The evils of polygamy are that it 
 reduces woman to the condition of a slave, destroys peace and 
 love in the family, and imperils the welfare of the children. 
 Of this pagan and Mohammedan countries afford ample evi- 
 dence. 4. The evils of divorce are: (a) that it is injurious to 
 society, as destroying the principle of authority, promoting dis- 
 sensions, encouraging sin and crime as a means to freedom, 
 lowering the dignity of woman; (b) that it is injurious to the 
 family, whose peace and stability it destroys; (c) that it is un- 
 just to the wife and the children. The facility of divorce was 
 one of the leading causes of the downfall of the Roman em- 
 pire, and it is one of the chief menaces of modern society. 
 
 III. The advantages of Christian marriage, i. The pro- 
 creation and education of lawful offspring. The proper rearing 
 of children not only secures the good of the Church and society 
 in general, but also redounds to the welfare of the children and 
 parents themselves. Race suicide, on the contrary, injures the 
 parents, prevents or destroys human life, defrauds society of its
 
 147 
 
 members, and robs heaven of immortal souls. 2. The second 
 advantage of marriage consists in fidelity and mutual love and 
 assistance. 3. The third advantage of Christian marriage is 
 that it is an inseparable union, which makes the contracting of 
 matrimony more serious, renders dissensions between the parties 
 less frequent, and, in case of dissension, makes reconciliation 
 more easy. 
 
 CONCLUSION. I. Because of the sacredness of this Sacrament 
 people should not receive it without previous instruction, suffi- 
 cient deliberation, prayer, and counsel. 2. As matrimony is a 
 sacrament of the living, the contracting parties should be in the 
 state of grace; they should, if possible, make a general confes- 
 sion beforehand, go to Holy Communion, and be married with 
 a nuptial mass. 3. Married people should always try to respect 
 the dignity of the Sacrament they have received and be faithful 
 to the duties and burdens it imposes. 4. Mixed marriages are to 
 be entirely discouraged because of the evils to the family, the 
 offspring, and the Church which arise from them. 
 
 Catechism of the Council of Trent, Part II 
 
 MATRIMONY AS A SACRAMENT, SUPERIOR TO THE NATURAL 
 CONTRACT 
 
 The preceding (see Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost) are 
 the instructions which the pastor will communicate to the faith- 
 ful on the subject of marriage as a natural contract ; as a sacra- 
 ment he will show that marriage is raised to a superior order, 
 and referred to a more exalted end. The original institution 
 of marriage as a natural contract had for object the propaga- 
 tion of the human race ; its subsequent elevation to the dignity of 
 a sacrament is intended for the procreation and education of a 
 people in the religion and worship of the true God, and of our 
 Lord Jesus Christ. 
 
 IT EXEMPLIFIES THE UNION OF CHRIST AND HIS CHURCH 
 
 When the Redeemer would exemplify the close union that sub- 
 sists between Him and His Church, and His boundless love
 
 148 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 towards us, He declares this divine mystery principally by allud- 
 ing to the holy union of man and wife ; and the aptitude of the 
 illustration is evinced by this, that of all human relations no one 
 is so binding as that of marriage, and those who stand in that 
 relation are united in the closest bonds of affection and love. 
 Hence the Sacred Scriptures frequently place before us this 
 divine union of Christ with His Church under the figure of a 
 marriage. 
 
 MARRIAGE A SACRAMENT 
 
 That marriage is a sacrament has been at all times held by the 
 Church as a certain and well ascertained truth; and in this she 
 is supported by the authority of the Apostle in his Epistle to the 
 Ephesians: "Husbands," says he, "should love their wives as 
 their own bodies. He that loveth his wife, loveth himself. For 
 no man ever hated his own flesh, but nourisheth and cherisheth it, 
 as also Christ doth the Church; because we are members of his 
 body, of his flesh, and of his bones. For this cause shall a man 
 leave his father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife, and they 
 shall be two in one flesh. This is a great sacrament ; but I speak in 
 Christ, and in the church." x When the Apostle says, " This is a 
 great sacrament," he means, no doubt, to designate marriage ; 2 as 
 if he had said, The conjugal union between man and wife, of which 
 God is the author, is a sacrament, that is, a sacred sign of the holy 
 union that subsists between Christ and His Church. That this is 
 the true meaning of his words is shown by the Holy Fathers who 
 have interpreted the passage ; and the Council of Trent has given 
 to it the same interpretation. 3 The husband therefore is evidently 
 compared by the Apostle to Christ, the wife to the Church ; 4 " the 
 husband is the head of the wife, as Christ is the head of the 
 church " ; 6 and hence the husband should love his wife, and again, 
 the wife should love and respect her husband, for " Christ loved 
 his Church, and gave himself for her"; and the Church, as the 
 same Apostle teaches, is subject to Christ. 
 
 1 Eph. v. 28-31. 
 
 1 Tertull. lib. de Monog. ; Aug. de fide et oper. c. 7 ; lib. nupt. et 
 concup. cc. 10, 12. 
 * Sess. 24. * Ambr. in epist. ad Ephes. * Eph. v. 23.
 
 THE SACRAMENT OF MARRIAGE 149 
 
 IT SIGNIFIES AND CONFERS GRACE 
 
 That this sacrament signifies and confers grace (and in this 
 the nature of a sacrament principally consists) we learn from 
 these words of the Council of Trent : " The grace which perfects 
 that natural love, and confirms that indissoluble union, Christ him- 
 self, the author and finisher of the sacraments, has merited for 
 us by his passion." * The faithful are therefore to be taught that, 
 united in the bonds of mutual love, the husband and wife are en- 
 abled, by the grace of this sacrament, to repose in each other's 
 affections, to reject every criminal attachment, to repel every in- 
 clination to unlawful intercourse, and in everything to preserve 
 " marriage honorable . . . and the bed undefiled." 2 
 
 ITS SUPERIORITY TO GENTILE AND JEWISH MARRIAGE 
 
 The great superiority of the Sacrament of Matrimony to those 
 marriages which took place before or after the Law, we may 
 learn from the following considerations : The Gentiles, it is true, 
 looked upon marriage as something sacred, and therefore con- 
 sidered promiscuous intercourse to be inconsistent with the law 
 of nature; they also held that fornication, adultery, and other 
 licentious excesses should be repressed by legal sanctions, but 
 their marriages had nothing whatever of the nature of a sacra- 
 ment. Among the Jews the laws of marriage were observed with 
 more religious fidelity, and their marriages, no doubt, were more 
 holy. Having received the promise that in the seed of Abraham 
 all nations should be blessed, 3 it was justly deemed a matter of 
 great piety among them to beget children, the offspring of a 
 chosen people, from whom, as to his human nature, Christ our 
 Lord and Saviour was to descend ; but their marriage also wanted 
 the true nature of a sacrament. 
 
 A further confirmation of this is that whether we consider the 
 law of nature after the fall of Adam, or the law given to Moses, 
 we at once perceive that marriage had fallen from its primitive 
 excellence and sanctity. Under the Law of Moses we find that 
 many of the Patriarchs had several 'wives at the same time, and, 
 should a cause exist, it was subsequently permitted to dismiss 
 
 1 Sess. 24, de matritn. * Heb. xiii. 4. * Gen. xxii. 18.
 
 150 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 one's wife, having given her a bill of divorce; 1 both of which 
 abuses have been removed by the Gospel dispensation, and mar- 
 riage restored to its primitive state. 
 
 POLYGAMY OPPOSED TO THE NATURE OF MARRIAGE 
 
 That polygamy is opposed to the nature of marriage is shown 
 by our Lord in these words : " For this cause shall a man leave 
 father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife, and they two shall 
 be in one flesh." " Therefore," continues the Redeemer, " now 
 they are not two, but one flesh." 2 The Patriarchs, who by the 
 permission of God had a plurality of wives, are not on that account 
 to be condemned. The words of the Redeemer, however, clearly 
 show that marriage was instituted by God as the union of two 
 only ; and this he again expressly declares when he says : " Who- 
 ever shall put away his wife, . . . and shall marry another, com- 
 mitteth adultery ; and he that shall marry her that is put away, 
 committeth adultery." 3 If a plurality of wives be lawful, we 
 can discover no more reason why he who marries a second wife 
 while he retains the first should be said to be guilty of adultery, 
 than he who, having dismissed the first, takes to himself a second. 
 Hence, if an infidel, in accordance with the laws and customs of 
 his country, has married several wives, the Church commands 
 him, when converted to the faith, to look upon the first alone as 
 his lawful wife, and to separate from the others. 
 
 MARRIAGE INDISSOLUBLE 
 
 That marriage cannot be dissolved by divorce is easily proved 
 from the same testimony of our Lord. If by a bill of divorce 
 the matrimonial link were dissolved, the wife might lawfully, and 
 without the guilt of adultery, take another husband ; yet our Lord 
 expressly declares that " whosoever shall put away his wife, . . . 
 and shall marry another, committeth adultery." 4 The bond of 
 marriage, therefore, can be dissolved by death alone, and this 
 the Apostle confirms when he says : " A woman is bound by the 
 law as long as her husband liveth ; but if her husband die, she is 
 at liberty: let her marry to whom she will; only in the Lord." 
 
 1 Deut. xxiv. i ; Matt. xix. 7. ' Matt. xix. 5, 6. 
 
 ' Matt xix. 9. * Matt. xix. 9; Luke xvi. 18.
 
 THE SACRAMENT OF MARRIAGE 151 
 
 And again : " To them that are married, not I, but the Lord com- 
 mandeth, that the wife depart not from her husband. And if she 
 depart, that she remain unmarried or be reconciled to her hus- 
 band." 1 Thus to her who has separated from her husband, even 
 for a just cause, the only alternative left by the Apostle is to re- 
 main unmarried or be reconciled to her husband. The Church, 
 unless influenced by very weighty causes, does not sanction the 
 separation of husband and wife. 
 
 BENEFICIAL CONSEQUENCES OF ITS INDISSOLUBILITY 
 
 That this the law of marriage may not appear too rigorous, its 
 beneficial consequences are to be presented to the consideration 
 of the faithful. 
 
 In the first place, they should know that the choice of a com- 
 panion for life should be influenced by virtue and congeniality of 
 disposition, rather than by wealth or beauty, a consideration 
 which confessedly is of the highest practical importance to the 
 interests of society. 
 
 Besides, if marriage were dissoluble by divorce, married per- 
 sons could scarcely ever want causes of dissension, which the 
 inveterate enemy of peace and virtue would never fail to supply ; 
 whereas, when the faithful reflect that although separated as to 
 bed and board, they are still bound by the tie of marriage, and 
 that all hope of a second marriage is cut off, they are more slow 
 to anger and more averse to dissension; and if sometimes sepa- 
 rated, feeling the many inconveniences that attend their separ- 
 ation, their reconciliation is easily accomplished through the 
 intervention of friends. Here the salutary admonition of St. 
 Augustine is also not to be omitted by the pastor, in order to con- 
 vince the faithful that they should not deem it a hardship to be 
 reconciled to their penitent wives, whom they may have put away 
 for adultery. " Why," says he, " should not the Christian hus- 
 band receive his wife, whom the Church receives ? Why should 
 not the wife pardon her adulterous but penitent husband, whom 
 Christ has pardoned? When the "Scriptures call him who keeps 
 an adulteress ' a fool/ 2 it means an adulteress who after her de- 
 linquency refuses to repent, and perseveres in the career of turpi- 
 
 1 I Cor. vii. 39; I o, ii. * Prov. xviii. 22.
 
 152 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 tude which she had commenced." * In perfection and dignity it 
 is clear, therefore, from what has been said, that marriage among 
 the Jews and Gentiles is far inferior to Christian marriage. 
 
 THREE ADVANTAGES ARISING FROM MARRIAGE 
 
 The faithful are also to be informed that there are three ad- 
 vantages which arise from marriage, offspring, faith, and the 
 sacrament, advantages which alleviate the evils pointed out by 
 the Apostle when he says, " Such shall have tribulation of the 
 flesh," z and which render honorable 3 that intercourse which 
 without marriage should be deservedly reprobated. 
 
 The first advantage, then, is that of legitimate offspring, an 
 advantage so highly appreciated by the Apostle that he says, The 
 woman . . . "shall be saved through child-bearing." 4 These 
 words of the Apostle are not, however, to be understood to refer 
 solely to the procreation of children ; they also refer to the dis- 
 cipline and education by which children are reared to piety, for 
 the Apostle immediately adds, " if she continue in faith." " Hast 
 thou children ? " says Ecclesiasticus, " instruct them, and bow 
 down their neck from their childhood." 5 The same important 
 lesson is inculcated by the Apostle ; and of such an education the 
 Scripture affords the most beautiful illustrations in the persons 
 of Tobias, Job, and of other persons eminent for sanctity. But 
 the further development of the duties of parents and children we 
 reserve for the exposition of the Fourth Commandment. 
 
 The next advantage is faith ; not the habitual faith infused in 
 Baptism, but the fidelity which the husband plights to the wife 
 and the wife to the husband, to deliver to each other the mutual 
 dominion of their persons, and to preserve inviolate the sacred 
 engagements of marriage. This is an obvious inference from 
 the words of Adam on receiving his consort Eve, which, as the 
 Gospel informs us, the Redeemer has sanctioned by his appro- 
 bation. " Wherefore," says our protoparent, " a man shall leave 
 father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife : and they shall be 
 two in one flesh." Nor are the words of the Apostle less ex- 
 
 1 Lib. de adult, conjug. cc. 6, 9. * I Cor. vii. 28. 
 
 See Aug. lib. 5, contr. Tul. cap. 5. * I Tim. ii. 14, 15. 
 Eccl. vii. 25. * Gen. ii. 24; Matt. xix. 5.
 
 THE SACRAMENT OF MARRIAGE 153 
 
 plicit. " The wife," says he, " hath not power of her own body, 
 but the husband." l Hence against adultery, because it violates 
 this conjugal faith, the Almighty justly decreed in the Old Law 
 the heaviest chastisements. 2 This matrimonial faith also de- 
 mands, on the part of husband and wife, a singular, holy, and 
 pure love, a love not such as that of adulterers, but such as that 
 which Christ cherishes towards his Church. This is the model 
 of conjugal love proposed by the Apostle when he says, " Hus- 
 bands, love your wives, as Christ also loved the church." 3 The 
 love of Christ for His Church was great, not an interested love, 
 but a love which proposed to itself the sole happiness of his 
 spouse. 
 
 The third advantage is called the sacrament, that is, the indis- 
 soluble tie of marriage. " The Lord," says the Apostle, " com- 
 mandeth that the wife depart not from her husband. And if she 
 depart, that she remain unmarried, or be reconciled to her hus- 
 band. And let not the husband put away his wife." 4 If, as a 
 sacrament, marriage is significant of the union of Christ with His 
 Church, it follows that as Christ never separates Himself from 
 His Church, so a wife, as far as regards the tie of marriage, can 
 never be separated from her husband. 
 
 Sermons 
 
 THE SACRAMENT OF MARRIAGE 
 BY THE REV. THOMAS J. GERRARD 
 
 It is part of God's providence that when He sets before us an 
 end to be attained He provides us also with the means of attain- 
 ing that end. So in the case of marriage, having ordained it for 
 the high purpose of preparing souls for heaven, God has endowed 
 it with qualities which make it an apt instrument for the purpose 
 for which it was instituted. These qualities are revealed in the 
 truth of Christ and the Church. Christ's Church was to be one 
 only, and it was to last until the end of time. The bond of Chris- 
 tian marriage must likewise be ' one only and must last until 
 broken by death. Unity and perpetuity are the qualities which 
 
 1 i Cor. vii. 4. * Num. v. 12, etc. 
 
 1 Eph. v. 25. 4 i Cor. vii. 10.
 
 154 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 make the marriage state specially fitted for the great object of 
 bringing children into the world, of nourishing them in body, 
 mind, and spirit, of bringing them to the final perfection for which 
 man was created. If the bringing of children into the world is 
 attended with great pain and labor, the bringing of their souls 
 to perfection is attended with still greater pain and labor. It 
 requires nothing else than the united life and love of both par- 
 ents. Now such is the nature of man and woman that they can- 
 not love effectually with a divided love. Let either partner give 
 the other the slightest cause for jealousy and there is an end of 
 that perfect love and harmony in the family which is so needful 
 for the well-being of the children. The archetype of perfect love 
 is the mutual love of the three persons of the blessed Trinity. 
 One of the fairest created reflections of that love is the triple 
 love of family life, the love of husband, wife, and child. It will 
 brook no intrusion from without. It cannot bear the prospect of 
 it coming to an end. This is a fundamental and universal law 
 of nature, a law of nature which is accentuated, ennobled, and 
 made perfect by a law of grace. The Sacrament of Matrimony 
 implies a special divine sanction to the laws of unity and per- 
 petuity in the marriage bond. 
 
 The need of the higher sanction and help is seen from the pass- 
 ing nature of the merely natural charms. The mere physical 
 pleasures pass away with their satisfaction. Youthful ardor 
 burns out before the mature part of life is reached. In the course 
 of a life so intimate as that of husband and wife many faults of 
 character become exposed. Marriage certainly brings a reve- 
 lation of many new beauties of character, but it also brings a 
 revelation of many faults of character. It is fraught with disap- 
 pointments even as with agreeable surprise. The fading of bodily 
 beauty also tends to weaken the natural bond. When the hair 
 turns gray, and the eye loses its lustre, and the features fall into 
 wrinkles; when the general buoyancy and ardor of youth tones 
 down into the prose of middle age ; then indeed is there need of 
 something more sustaining, something more lasting than the 
 mere tie of natural affection or natural contract. It is found 
 in the unity and perpetuity of the Sacrament. The Sacrament 
 imparts all the courage, the energy, the refreshment, and the love
 
 THE SACRAMENT OF MARRIAGE 155 
 
 needful to make the bond strong and lasting. It renews the 
 youth of married life and makes it satisfying even in spite of 
 years. 
 
 The Church claims to have the care of this Sacrament. The 
 Church, therefore, has ever insisted on its unity and perpetuity. 
 The Church regards the sin of adultery as something infinitely 
 more heinous than any sin possible among the unmarried. The 
 father who has to provide for his children must be certain that 
 they are his own. He cares for them only on the supposition 
 that they are his offspring. Any infidelity, therefore, on the part 
 of the woman must of necessity tend to break up these sacred 
 family relationships. A father cannot love and care for children 
 who may be those of the man who has done him the greatest pos- 
 sible injury. And if a woman gives unswerving fidelity to her 
 husband she has a right to claim an equal fidelity in return. In- 
 fidelity on the part of the man, although it does not act directly 
 in rendering the offspring of the family uncertain, yet it strikes 
 at the root of conjugal love, and thus almost directly at the foun- 
 dations of family life. A violation of the sanctity of marriage 
 then by either party is a double violation of God's law, a viola- 
 tion of chastity and a violation of justice. Hence, we have the 
 most stringent laws against adultery, against polygamy, and 
 against divorce. 
 
 Among the Jews the penalty of adultery was death by stoning. 
 In the most savage races of the earth its punishment is immediate 
 death. The law of Christ makes the law of nature and the law of 
 Moses more perfect. This it does by all the conditions and rules 
 which it lays down for the prevention of polygamy and divorce. 
 By polygamy we usually understand the possession of two wives 
 at the same time. The possession of two husbands at the same 
 time is known as polyandry. Both are equally condemned by the 
 Christian law. The cases of polygamy among the Jews are fre- 
 quently quoted by those who want an excuse for disregarding the 
 laws of Christian marriage. Attention must be paid to the cir- 
 cumstances of time and race. If polygamy was permitted, then it 
 was for a special reason. And the permission was mere tolera- 
 tion. The circumstances of the times required that it should be 
 permitted in order to avoid greater evils. Nevertheless, God did
 
 156 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 not cease to give signs to His people as to what was the great 
 ideal. The most wondrous love song ever sung by man was that 
 inspired by the Holy Spirit, the song of songs which tells of the 
 love between one bridegroom and one bride, the love which lasts 
 till death. " One is my dove, my perfect one is but one. ... I 
 to my beloved and my beloved to me, who feedest among the 
 anemones. . . . Put me as a seal upon thy heart, as a seal upon 
 thy arm, for love is strong as death, jealousy as hard as hell, the 
 lamps thereof are fire and flames. . . . My beloved to me and I 
 to him who feedeth among the lilies, till the day break and the 
 shadows flee away." So the young Tobias could say to his wife 
 Sara : " For we are the children of saints, and we must not be 
 joined together like heathens that know not God." In praying 
 to God for a blessing on his marriage he referred back to its orig- 
 inal conditions: "Thou madest Adam of the slime of the earth, 
 and gavest him Eve for a helper. And now Lord thou knowest 
 that not for fleshly lust do I take my sister to wife, but only for 
 the love of posterity, in which thy name may be blessed for ever 
 and ever." And Sara prayed with him : " Have mercy on us, and 
 let us grow old both together in health." 
 
 Further, the Church, although she insists that the marriage 
 bond lasts only till death, although she allows remarriage after 
 the death of one of the partners, yet she looks upon such re- 
 marriage as something less perfect. Her ideal is that a marriage 
 should be so distinctly one and perpetual as to exclude any other 
 marriage even after the first has been dissolved by death. A 
 marriage is not merely a union of two in one flesh, but also of 
 two in one spirit. The more perfect thing, therefore, would be 
 to consider the bond of love lasting right through death. The 
 reason why the Church allows remarriage after the death of one 
 of the partners is because there are other ends of matrimony be- 
 sides mutual love. To give expression to her wish, however, and 
 to mark the distinction between the more perfect state and the 
 less perfect state, the Church does not give the nuptial blessing 
 in cases where the bride is a widow. She gives it where the bride 
 is being married for the first time, even though the bridegroom 
 be a widower. Having regard to the dignity of the bride, the 
 Church in this case overlooks the defect in the bridegroom. Her
 
 THE SACRAMENT OF MARRIAGE 157 
 
 end is achieved by withholding the blessing only in the case of 
 the marriage of widows. She wishes to hold up an ideal, to em- 
 phasize the unity and perpetuity of the bond. 
 
 This brings us to the all-important question of divorce. If 
 both the natural and divine laws maintain the unity and per- 
 petuity of the marriage bond, then no power on earth, not even 
 the Church, has power to grant a divorce. "What, therefore, 
 God hath joined together let no man put asunder." Here, on the 
 threshold of the question, it is necessary to make a clear distinc- 
 tion of terms. When it is said that no power on earth can grant 
 a divorce, divorce must be understood in a particular and strict 
 sense of the word. Let us distinguish, then, between three kinds 
 of separation. First, there is a separation which implies that the 
 husband and wife are allowed to live apart. It is called in jurid- 
 ical language a judicial separation. It is called in theological 
 language separatio a mensa et thoro, or separation from bed and 
 board. Its meaning is that although the parties are separated 
 from each other, yet they are not free to marry again. If they 
 were allowed to marry again the separation would be said to be 
 tf vinculo, or separation from the bond. The actual contract or 
 tie would be broken. Now the first kind of separation is allowed 
 by the Church whenever there is a grave reason, such, for in- 
 stance, as the misconduct of one of the parties. But the second 
 kind the Church allows never. The bond which has been made 
 by God may not be broken by man. One of the parties may for- 
 feit certain rights of marriage through infidelity to the partner, 
 but can never thereby acquire the freedom to marry again. And 
 further, the Church makes no distinction in this respect between 
 the innocent party and the guilty. A bond is a bond, the contract 
 is a two-sided one, and, therefore, as long as the bond or contract 
 remains it must bind both the parties. However unfair it may 
 seem to the innocent party, yet it is God's law, and God will see 
 to it that those who observe His law will, in the final balancing, 
 receive their just reward. 
 
 Then there is another kind of separation which is frequently 
 believed to be a divorce and which is a source of much perplexity 
 to Catholics and non-Catholics alike. It is called a declaration of 
 nullity. It means that that which has appeared to be a marriage
 
 158 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 is declared never to have been a marriage from the beginning. 
 The parties have gone through the ceremony, but there has been 
 some obstruction in the way which has prevented the knot from 
 being tied and so the supposed marriage must be declared null 
 and void. Let us take an instance. A certain Jew married to a 
 Jewish wife seeks for a divorce in the law courts. He is success- 
 ful in his suit. Then he becomes a Catholic, falls in love with a 
 Catholic girl, and wishes to be married to her in the Catholic 
 Church. There is no difficulty, the Church approves of the mar- 
 riage. What has happened? The undiscerning public think that 
 the Church approved of divorce and of the remarriage of a 
 divorced person. And if the man happens to have been a wealthy 
 Jew the undiscerning public is not slow to attribute unworthy 
 motives to the Church. But again, what has really happened? 
 The Jew's first marriage was really no marriage at all in the sight 
 of the Church. Baptism is the first Sacrament and the door of 
 the other Sacrament. The Jew had not received the Sacrament 
 of Baptism and so was incapable of receiving the Sacrament of 
 Marriage. And being incapable of receiving the Sacrament of 
 Marriage he was incapable of making the contract of marriage, 
 for the Sacrament is the contract. Therefore, the marriage 
 which, by the law of the land, was declared to be dissolved was 
 by the law of the Church declared never to have existed, to have 
 been null and void from the beginning. Consequently, when the 
 Jew became a Catholic and received the Sacrament of Baptism 
 he was quite free and capable of uniting himself with the partner 
 of his choice. 
 
 Again, there are cases in history where the Church had sanc- 
 tioned the dissolution of the actual bond of matrimony, the pe- 
 culiar circumstances of which must be clearly understood. It 
 can only take place when the marriage has been merely ratified 
 and not consummated. That means that the church ceremony 
 has been performed, but the two have not yet become one flesh. 
 In such circumstances the Church teaches that either of the 
 parties may enter religion and take a solemn vow of chastity. 
 By a divine dispensation the solemn vow of chastity renders the 
 marriage bond dissolved, and the party who does not take the 
 vow is free to marry again.
 
 THE SACRAMENT OF MARRIAGE 159 
 
 Within these limitations the Church is absolutely inexorable 
 against any attempt at separation from the bond. She has suf- 
 fered the loss of whole nations from the faith rather than sacri- 
 fice one jot or tittle of her principle. The care of the Sacrament 
 has been committed to her keeping, and to have condoned a 
 denial of the sacramental nature of the matrimonial bond, even 
 in one case, would have been to renounce the divine charge given 
 to her. For the English-speaking world the Pope's firmness, in 
 refusing to grant a divorce to Henry VIII, must ever be a monu- 
 ment of the fidelity of the Church to the sanctity of the mar- 
 riage state. And the famous Encyclical of the illustrious Pope, 
 Leo XIII, must ever remain the charter of woman's dignity 
 and safety as to her marriage right. "The great evils," wrote 
 the Pontiff, " of which divorce is the spring can hardly be enu- 
 merated. When the conjugal bond loses its immutability we may 
 expect to see benevolence and affection destroyed between hus- 
 band and wife ; an encouragement given to infidelity ; the protec- 
 tion and education of children rendered more difficult; the germs 
 of discord sown between families; woman's dignity disowned; 
 the danger for her of seeing herself forsaken, after having served 
 as the instrument of man's passions. And as nothing ruins fami- 
 lies and destroys the most powerful kingdoms like the corruption 
 of manners, it is easy to see that divorce, which is only begotten 
 of the depraved manners of a people, is the worst enemy of 
 families and of States, and that it opens the door, as experience 
 attests, to the most vicious habits, both in private and in public 
 life." 
 
 Views subversive of the Catholic ideal are now very prevalent, 
 and are becoming day by day more prevalent. In the matter of 
 the sanctity of marriage, as in many other things, it is the Catho- 
 lics who are the salt of the earth. While other religious bodies 
 are prepared to give way under any specious pretext which may 
 arise, the See of Peter proclaims the principle of no compromise. 
 And when the Churches which ought to guard the sanctity of 
 marriage show themselves weak arid accommodating to the lower 
 pleasures of man, we must not be surprised if non-religious 
 bodies speak openly in favor of divorce and, all unashamed, make 
 profession of free love. This, indeed, has come to pass. High
 
 160 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 time is it then for Catholics to make their voice heard in protest. 
 Nay, absolutely imperative is it that Catholics should rally them- 
 selves anew with even greater loyalty around the Holy Father 
 who watches the marriage Sacrament so anxiously and sees its 
 dangers so clearly. Legislation is made which may be irksome; 
 but the irksomeness thereby suffered is trifling compared with the 
 irksomeness thereby avoided. Let us admit boldly that the mar- 
 riage state is fraught with difficulties, that love is liable to grow 
 cold, that child-bearing is a burden, that the education of many 
 children is a tax: on the family's resources, that a drunken hus- 
 band is an almost intolerable nuisance, that a gossiping wife is 
 a plague of a life; let us admit all this, but at the same time in- 
 sist that the Sacrament of Marriage has power either to prevent 
 or mitigate the evils. It restrains the passions. But let the idea 
 of divorce once get established and there is an end of restraint. 
 The passions are let loose and fall victim to every little counter- 
 attraction to family life. The half-hearted partner who realizes 
 that there is an easy escape from the burden of married life 
 makes no serious attempt to bear it. Then comes the sad spec- 
 tacle of a mother left alone with a house full of children and 
 no father to provide for them ; or what is perhaps even more sad, 
 a father with a house fu 1 ! of children and no mother to take care 
 of them. The Church's laws may be hard to bear at times. They 
 are, however, as the yoke of Christ, sweet and easy to bear if 
 only we spread them out over the short run of life. 
 
 THE SANCTITY AND UTILITY OF MARRIAGE 
 BY THE REV. P. HEHEL, S.J. 
 
 I. Matrimony is a holy thing, being a Sacrament. Virginity 
 and widowhood are both excellent, but our Lord raised neither 
 to this dignity, whereas He applied His sufferings and merits to 
 Matrimony, as well as to Baptism and Confirmation, and gives a 
 peculiar grace by means of the outward signs. It is no easy 
 matter for two persons to live together, pledged never to part, 
 and to take upon themselves the heavy responsibility of bringing 
 up children. The special grace conveyed by this Sacrament en- 
 ables married people to fulfil their duties towards each other and
 
 THE SACRAMENT OF MARRIAGE 161 
 
 towards their children. Marriage is undoubtedly a Sacrament, 
 and it is called so not only by St. Paul, but also by the fathers. 
 
 St. Augustine says : " In the city of our God, on His holy 
 mountain (i.e., in the Church), marriage is regarded not merely 
 as an alliance, but also as a Sacrament." 
 
 St. Leo writes: "Union by marriage was from the beginning 
 instituted in such a way as to contain within itself the Sacrament 
 of Christ and His Church" (Epist. 92, c. 4). 
 
 The Council of Trent stated : " If anyone asserts that marriage 
 is not truly one of the Sacraments of the evangelical law, insti- 
 tuted by Christ our Lord, or that it does not convey grace, let 
 him be anathema " ( Sess. 24, c. I ) . 
 
 A Catholic regards marriage not so much as a natural union, 
 but as a Sacrament, deriving its efficacy from the sufferings of 
 Christ, and no less holy and worthy of respect than Baptism or 
 any of the other Sacraments. 
 
 Marriage gains an additional sanctity from the fact that it typi- 
 fies the union of Christ and the Church. He, the only-begotten 
 Son of God, came forth from the Father into the world, being 
 influenced by His love for His bride, the Catholic Church, whose 
 beauty He beheld from all eternity, and, as St. Paul says, He de- 
 livered Himself up for the Church. 
 
 The Catholic Church consists of all baptized Christians who 
 believe what Christ taught, make use of the means of grace that 
 He instituted, and are in communion with His visible representa- 
 tive on earth. This vast association of all the faithful is de- 
 scribed symbolically as a spotless maiden, united to our Lord by 
 His incarnation and redemption. Our human nature is now 
 united so closely with His Divine nature, that " we are members 
 of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones" (Eph. v. 30). 
 
 This spiritual union of Christ and the Church is a type of 
 Christian marriage. He left the Father and was united with the 
 Church so as to form one body with her ; and in the same way a 
 man leaves his father and mother and cleaves to his wife, and 
 they are two in one flesh. Christ founded but one Church, from 
 which He can never be separated, and so a man can have but one 
 wife, and their union is indissoluble. 
 
 The Church, through her union with Christ, became a fruitful
 
 162 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 mother, bringing forth children in every age to people the king- 
 dom of heaven; and in the same way Christian marriage is in- 
 tended for the propagation of the race ; but the children are to be 
 brought up so as to complete the number of the elect, and be 
 born " not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of 
 man, but of God" (John i. 13). 
 
 When therefore St. Paul calls marriage a great Sacrament, he 
 means that it is a Sacrament typifying the union of Christ and 
 His Church, and it is great, because it represents the greatest of 
 all mysteries, the Incarnation of the Word. 
 
 God Himself instituted marriage in Paradise, and it must there- 
 fore be an honorable state, pleasing to Him. Under the old cove- 
 nant it was regarded as a disgrace not to be married, and a 
 woman who had no husband, or whose marriage was childless, 
 believed herself to be abandoned by God. In the New Testament 
 preference is given to virginity, but our Lord was far from de- 
 spising marriage; indeed, recognizing it as an honorable condi- 
 tion, He sanctified the natural union by the gift of sacramental 
 grace. Our Lady and St. Joseph were married people, and Christ 
 was a guest at the marriage at Cana in Galilee and worked His 
 first miracle there. The Apostles speak of marriage as a holy 
 state instituted by God. St. Paul says that he will lay down no 
 law for his converts on the subject of virginity, because a special 
 vocation is required to this state, and whoever does not feel him- 
 self called to it, is advised to marry. 
 
 II. In the married state certain things are permissible which 
 are otherwise forbidden; and there are three blessings peculiar 
 to it, viz., children, conjugal fidelity, and the special grace con- 
 veyed by the Sacrament of holy Matrimony. We owe our exist- 
 ence to the marriage of our parents, and it is a great boon when 
 a marriage is blessed with children. " A woman," says St. Paul, 
 " shall be saved through child-bearing, if she continue in faith 
 and love and sanctification with sobriety" (i Tim. ii. 15). 
 People have a very mistaken idea of marriage who complain of 
 having children ; and still worse are those who are ready to en- 
 joy the privileges of married life but not its burdens. 
 
 The married state is, however, good and useful even when the 
 blessing of children is denied by God, or when the man and
 
 THE SACRAMENT OF MARRIAGE 163 
 
 woman mutually agree to refrain altogether from conjugal inter- 
 course. " In our marriages," says St. Augustine, " the sanctity 
 of the Sacrament is more highly prized than its fecundity. 
 Among all heathen nations the advantages of marriage are its 
 right to produce children and conjugal fidelity ; among the people 
 of God there is the further advantage of the sanctity of the 
 Sacrament." 
 
 There are many instances of married couples who have pre- 
 served their virginity ; such were St. Henry the Emperor and his 
 wife Cunigunde, Marcian and Pulcheria, Count Elzearius and 
 Delphine, St. Julian and Basilissa. 
 
 The second blessing peculiar to the married state is conjugal 
 fidelity. This implies that the two persons, united by the holy 
 bond of matrimony, never abandon one another even in time of 
 trouble, but hold fast one to the other in loyalty and love, having 
 common interests and remaining true until death parts them. 
 This they promise solemnly at the time of their marriage, when 
 they stand before the priest, God's representative, and all the 
 congregation. It is a great consolation for each to know that 
 there is someone pledged to love and help them, in sickness and 
 health, in joy and sorrow. In order to strengthen and preserve 
 this bond, God has made marriage indissoluble ; nothing can 
 sever it, and whoever leaves wife or husband and attaches himself 
 or herself to another is guilty of adultery. 
 
 The third great blessing conferred by marriage is the grace 
 peculiar to the Sacrament of Matrimony. The matter is the 
 mutual surrender of the body, which takes place at the moment 
 when the man and woman declare that they there and then marry 
 each other. Thenceforth, as St. Paul says: "The wife hath not 
 power of her own body, but the husband. And in like manner 
 the husband also hath not power of his own body, but the wife " 
 (i Cor. vii. 4). This surrender, made by one contracting party, 
 must be accepted by the other, and each signifies assent, this 
 assent being the form of the Sacrament. As soon as these words 
 have been uttered in the presence of the priest and witnesses, the 
 marriage is completed and the Sacrament has been received, in 
 consequence of which the following special graces are bestowed 
 upon the married couple: (i) Grace to possess their vessel in
 
 164 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 sanctification and honor, as St. Paul expresses it ( i Thess. iv. 4) , 
 or, in other words, to avoid any breach of the marriage bond ; 
 (2) grace to love one another, as Christ loves the Church, so 
 that they may be one in spirit and will, as well as in body; (3) 
 grace to overcome the difficulties attendant upon living together 
 and bringing up children. 
 
 The married state is, according to the Council of Trent, a holy 
 thing, and must be treated as such; it must be kept holy in the 
 begetting and rearing of children, in the preservation of conjugal 
 fidelity, and in the use made of the graces which the Sacrament 
 of Matrimony confers upon those who receive it worthily, and 
 ask God for aid to do their duty. 
 
 References 
 
 Hehel, in Short Sermons on Catholic Doctrine; Newell, in Short Ser- 
 mons for the Sundays of the Year; Monsabre, in Lenten Conferences of 
 1887. 
 
 Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. IX, pp. 707 ff. ; Summa Theol., Suppl., 
 qq. 42-49, 63-68; Tanquerey, De Matrimonio; Hurter, Theol. Dog., Vol. 
 Ill, Nos. 721 ff. ; Pohle-Preuss, The Sacraments, Vol. IV, pp. 140 ff. ; 
 Vaughan, The Divine Armory, etc., pp. 818 ff. ; Callan, Illustrations for 
 Sermons, etc., pp. 232 ff. ; Bellord, Meditations, etc., Vol. II, p. 330. 
 
 THIRD SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY 
 
 SUBJECT 
 HELL 
 
 TEXT 
 
 The children of the kingdom shall be cast out into exterior darkness: 
 there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. MATT. viii. 12. 
 
 Analysis 
 
 INTRODUCTION. Our Lord is contrasting in this Gospel the 
 faith of the Gentile centurion with the obstinate unbelief of the 
 Jews; and He says that the reward of the former shall be 
 the possession of His Kingdom, while the latter shall receive as 
 their portion the exterior darkness and pains of hell.
 
 HELL 165 
 
 I. The meaning of hell. i. Hell is the abode of fallen angels 
 and of all human beings who have departed this life not in the 
 state of grace. 2. There are two punishments of hell : a primary 
 torment, which consists in the loss of God ; and a secondary pain, 
 which consists in mental and physical sufferings. 
 
 II. The twofold punishment of hell. i. The pain of loss 
 They " shall be cast out into exterior darkness." As the lost 
 have willingly separated themselves from God, so shall they be 
 deprived of His presence. This means banishment from God's 
 sight, exclusion from every happiness, loss of the one great 
 good for which we were created and for which our nature 
 yearns, separation from all the good we know and love here on 
 earth. Coupled with all this is the bitter realization that the loss 
 has been entirely through one's own fault, and that things might 
 have been so different. Hence the damned will say : " Therefore 
 we have erred from the way of truth, and the light of justice 
 hath not shined unto us, and the sun of understanding hath not 
 risen upon us," etc. (Wis. v. 6 ff.). Illustrations: the void that 
 follows the death of parents, children, relatives, and friends; the 
 homesickness of an exile banished to foreign lands ; the horror of 
 a condemned criminal who realizes his doom; the gloom and 
 sorrow that follow upon utter failure in life. 2. The pain of 
 sense " there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." This 
 means that as the damned have given themselves inordinately to 
 creatures, so shall they be afflicted by means of created things: 
 (a) The fire prepared for the devil and his angels confines the 
 damned within their loathsome prison and scourges and stings 
 them unceasingly; (b) remorse of conscience, like a gnawing 
 worm, torments the mind of the lost souls with thoughts of their 
 wasted lives, their neglect of graces and opportunities, their hor- 
 rible sins and black misdeeds; (c) the companions of the damned 
 will be fierce devils and all the wicked of earth, such as murderers, 
 thieves, and the like. 
 
 III. The eternity of hell. I. This doctrine is denied nowa- 
 days by most non-Catholics, and yet hardly any teaching is more
 
 166 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 clearly or more frequently asserted in Scripture (compare Isa. 
 Ixvi. 24; Dan. xii. 2; Eccl. xi. 3; Matt. xii. 31; xxv. 41, 46; 
 Mark ix. 43 ; Luke xvi. 26) . 2. It is fitting that hell should be 
 eternal, (a) because the guilt of the impenitent sinner is eter- 
 nal; (b) because mortal sin is an offence against an infinite being; 
 
 (c) because a temporary hell would not be a real deterrent; 
 
 (d) even in this life the civil authority often inflicts an irrevo- 
 cable punishment for certain crimes, e.g., life imprisonment or 
 death. 
 
 LESSONS. We should often meditate upon hell as a preservative 
 against mortal sin and as a spur to faithfulness in God's service, 
 or as an incentive to repentance and newness of life. 
 
 Catechism of the Council of Trent, Part I 
 (See Last Sunday after Pentecost, and Palm Sunday.) 
 
 Sermons 
 
 THE NATURE OF HELL 
 BY THE RT. REV. JAMES BELLORD, D.D. 
 
 In considering the nature of the pains of hell we shall take 
 three points : I. The meaning and the fitness of the word " fire." 
 II. The nature of the punishment itself. III. Its connection as 
 to kind and degree with sin as its cause. 
 
 I. i. Hell is usually described in Holy Scripture as fire. The 
 various descriptions would suggest to us a volcano in full erup- 
 tion, shaken to its base by earthquakes and peals of rolling thun- 
 der, overhung by massive clouds of smoke, pouring forth torrents 
 of fiery lava that devour everything in their path. So we read, 
 " Thou [O Lord] shalt make them as an oven of fire, in the 
 time of Thy anger: The Lord shall trouble them in his wrath, 
 and fire shall devour them" (Ps. xx. 10). " Topheth is pre- 
 pared from yesterday, prepared by the king, deep, and wide. 
 The nourishment thereof is fire and much wood: the breath of 
 the Lord as a torrent of brimstone kindling it" (Isa. xxx. 33). 
 " The streams thereof shall be turned into pitch, and the gro.und
 
 HELL 167 
 
 thereof into brimstone : and the land thereof shall become burn- 
 ing pitch. Night and day it shall not be quenched, the smoke 
 thereof shall go up for ever: from generation to generation it 
 shall lie waste" (Isa. xxxiv. 9, 10). 
 
 And St. John says of antichrist " He . . . shall be tormented 
 with fire and brimstone in the sight of the holy angels, and in 
 the sight of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torments shall 
 ascend up for ever" (Apoc. xiv. 10, n). 
 
 Almost all the references to hell are similar to these. Some 
 have interpreted these expressions too literally, and so have either 
 fallen into errors themselves, or have tried to discredit the doc- 
 trine of hell by giving it too material and gross an aspect. To 
 picture hell as a real volcano, or a lake of real fire, would make 
 it too objective. So hell would appear too much like the direct 
 creation of God, and too little like the creation of man's own sin ; 
 the idea that hell is the immediate outcome and growth from sin, 
 and even identical with sin, would be lost. We should lose sight 
 of the fact that the kind and degree of suffering is exactly 
 adapted to each man's sins and his precise measure of guilt. St. 
 John Chrysostom cautions us of this danger. He blames the folly 
 of those who dwell more on the sensible torments of hell than on 
 the loss of God ; and he says that the reflection of the soul on the 
 loss of glory is more bitter than all the pains of sense. We must 
 remember, then, that the expressions of Holy Scripture are to a 
 considerable extent figurative, that the torments are in great 
 measure subjective, within the sinner's self, and that the chief 
 element in the true idea of hell is not the fire, but the loss of God. 
 
 2. Figurative and inadequate expressions are a matter of ne- 
 cessity in conveying Divine truths in human language. Eye hath 
 not seen and the heart cannot conceive the things of God. Human 
 ideas and human words both fall short of the reality ; Divine facts 
 have to be likened to earthly images that have fallen within our 
 experience. This was especially the case with an Eastern people 
 like the Jews, and the carnal-minded and materialistic. Abstract 
 truths had to be conveyed to therri in parables and figures. The 
 loss of God's truth and beauty, the unsatisfied cravings of the 
 soul after its natural end and its perfection, the pangs of remorse, 
 would hardly have impressed the Jews. They needed images of
 
 168 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 bodily pain, caused by natural agents, to give them any idea 
 of hell. Outside Jerusalem was Gehenna, the valley of Hinnom, 
 an accursed, abominable spot dedicated to the hideous worship of 
 Moloch and Astarte. There were the horrible figures of the 
 idols, the odor of blood and putrefaction, the fires and the brood- 
 ing cloud of smoke, and the piercing shrieks of children burning 
 to death. The sacred writers took this as the principal figure of 
 hell. 
 
 Fire, although far from being an adequate comparison, is the 
 most apt image for representing the wild fury of passion in the 
 soul, the swift destruction, of life and grace wrought by sin, 
 the frightful ravages left behind it. Fire is a ruthless, irresist- 
 ible, terrifying element ; it is the very symbol of quick, piercing, 
 agonizing! pain. To express violent pain, disease, excitement, 
 passion, sorrow, we always use the comparison of fire. We speak 
 of burning anger, flaming fury, being consumed by the ardor of 
 passion, on fire with desire. So too we speak of the sufferer, 
 whatever the source of his afflictions, as being fried in the fur- 
 nace of tribulation. Fire is the most apt expression for that state 
 of sin and pain which exists in hell. 
 
 3. How far the word " fire " may be literally spoken of hell we 
 have no means of judging. God has made no revelation; the 
 Church has given no definition on the point. We are at liberty to 
 interpret it as may seem best to each. We cannot explain it quite 
 literally of fire such as we have on earth. That is a creation of 
 God, beneficial, cheerful, intended for our use and comfort. The 
 fire of hell has no beneficial qualities ; it is not fed with fuel and 
 liable to extinction, but is lighted and fed by sin and fanned by 
 the breath of God's anger. The Fathers and spiritual writers tell 
 us that earthly fire, however furious, is but a dead, lifeless image 
 compared with the terrible reality of hell. That fire is of such a 
 kind that it can torment spiritual beings, fallen angels, and 
 human souls. St. Bernard would seem to make it wholly imma- 
 terial where he says, " Nothing burns in hell except our own 
 self-will." 
 
 Yet though we know so little, and though that little is so con- 
 flicting as to the nature of the fire of hell, " we cannot doubt 
 that there is some special and awful significance in the terms
 
 HELL 169 
 
 which are so persistently applied in Scripture to hell." That 
 there will be physical pain in hell (poena sensus) we know for 
 certain, for the bodies of the lost will live again, and suffer with 
 the souls after the last judgment. We are told also that God 
 "will arm the creature for the revenge of his enemies" (Wisd. 
 v. 18) ; and there would be special fitness in the employment of 
 natural elements for the punishment of those who have sinned by 
 their misuse or worship of material things. 
 
 Heat, or fire, is one of the great immaterial agents of God's 
 work in the world. It is universal, most powerful, most various 
 in its forms. It has often been used as the instrument of Divine 
 wrath. Fire fell from heaven on the cities of the plain. Fire 
 issued from the tabernacle and consumed the sacrilegious priests, 
 Nadab and Abin. Fire rose from the earth and prevented the 
 rebuilding of the Temple of Jerusalem, which was undertaken in 
 defiance of prophecy. Fire will destroy the earth at the last day. 
 This was almost the only torture that our Lord did not endure 
 in His Passion, and it has been suggested that this was because 
 of fire being the special punishment of the lost in hell. 
 
 These considerations, however, pertain less to edification than 
 to the satisfaction of curiosity. The practical tenet is, that there 
 is a place of suffering hereafter, fearful in its intensity and of 
 everlasting duration, and that no agony of pain and remorse in 
 this life can be equal one moment to the flames of hell. 
 
 II. We have now to consider the nature of the different suffer- 
 ings in hell. The texts about the torments of flame and the lake 
 of fire, the pitch, the darkness, are more pictorial and, to the 
 majority of men, more useful for conveying an idea of hell; but 
 the text from Job seems to convey a truer though a more indefi- 
 nite notion of it. " A land that is dark and covered with the mist 
 of death: a land of misery and darkness, where the shadow of 
 death, and no order, but everlasting horror dwelleth" (Job x. 
 21, 22). This points out rather the spiritual than the material 
 aspect of hell; it suggests agony of mind and soul, the absence 
 of God and of all that is good. 
 
 I. The primary thing in the sufferings of hell is the pain and 
 loss, poena damni, a damnation properly so called. This may be 
 said to be identical with mortal sin, rather than its consequence.
 
 170 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 The first quality of mortal sin in this life is that it is mortal or 
 death-dealing. It deprives the soul of supernatural life, which 
 is the same as excluding it from that sphere of being of which 
 God is the centre. So sin is itself death. So also it is separation 
 from God; it is itself poena damni; it is damnation, although 
 here only incipient and not yet irreparable. In the next world it 
 is the same. Mortal sin is death, only there it is eternal. It is 
 separation from God, only there it is the complete loss of all the 
 good that God has made; and besides, there is no mitigation of 
 that supreme evil, and no distraction to prevent the mind from 
 grasping the reality of its misfortune. Thus, in its essence, hell 
 is not so much a special place, with special torments, specially 
 created by God ; but rather the state of sin, the state of separation 
 from God, which the sinner has created for himself by his own 
 act. 
 
 As God is the supreme good, the loss of God is the supreme 
 evil, and involves all other evils. For evil is not a positive, cre- 
 ated thing, but a negation, the absence of good. God is the light 
 of truth, satisfying the intellect. Where He is not, there is a land of 
 darkness, according to the passage from Job. God is transcendent 
 life: apart from Him all is "covered with the mist of death." 
 God is order, i.e., harmony and perfection, the condition of all 
 goodness, beauty, virtue, enjoyment. Where there is " no order," 
 there is every kind of evil. Disorder within and disorder around 
 one, disorder intellectual and disorder physical and disorder 
 moral, disorder in the body and all its functions, disorder in the 
 tone and all its qualities and powers what else is all this but 
 " everlasting horror " ? 
 
 The sinner is left to the self that he has chosen to serve, and 
 self is always defilement, weariness, misery, and sin. Moreover, 
 the self is not complete when alone and without God. It cannot 
 stand alone; it requires some external support; it requires some 
 object other than itself on which to employ its faculties. It has 
 been created with an aptitude for God. God is its end; He is 
 necessary for the completion of its being. There is a terrible 
 void in the soul that is without God, an insatiable craving for 
 the satisfaction of its powers; yet there is an intense repulsion, 
 the result of sin, against Him who alone can satisfy the soul.
 
 HELL 171 
 
 Recall the absolute ruin of life that is so often caused by the 
 loss of the chief object of life, or of some faculty, or by some 
 change of circumstances. The loss of a wife, of an only child, 
 on whom all a man's affection has been poured out, the loss of 
 fortune, or the loss of the occupation in which all his life has 
 been passed, even the privation of light and companionship in 
 a solitary dungeon such cases as these wreck all happiness, 
 all energy, even reason and life itself. Now, the loss of God 
 is the loss of everything at once. A distinguished writer lately 
 dead describes the state of the lost thus: It is "an abiding con- 
 sciousness of having missed the aim of life, a loss of all that the 
 heart before clung to ; an absolute impotence and want of energy, 
 because all the powers of life are withdrawn, and the will is 
 now empty and unfruitful, and only fixed on evil; the constant 
 burning of unsatisfied passions, and the gnawing pain of a con- 
 science which cannot again be laid to sleep." The sinner is de- 
 prived of the essential Being, Truth, Beauty, which is God ; and 
 nothing is left but the nothingness of sin, with the vivid con- 
 sciousness of it, and imperishable existence. 
 
 2. The pain of sense, which is more particularly represented by 
 the term " fire," is the accompaniment and immediate consequence 
 of the pain of loss. The primary harmony, i.e., subordination 
 and union with God, is the source of all other harmony in our 
 lives. If this is destroyed, there arises the utmost disorder in 
 every subordinate department. One single sin is a centre of cor- 
 ruption, which is capable of extending far beyond its original 
 point and tainting the whole of our being. Its chief effects are 
 spiritual, but it has physical effects as well. The body is closely 
 connected with the soul ; it is the instrument of the soul in carry- 
 ing out its evil determinations ; the sensual impulses of the body 
 lead the immaterial soul into sin. The character of each is im- 
 pressed on the other. Purely mental sins, conceit, arrogance, 
 hatred, cruelty, lust, express themselves in the lineaments of the 
 face, the tone of voice, the general bearing of the body. Intensity 
 of passion will disorganize the bodily functions, the digestion 
 and sleep, the nerves, the blood, and the brain. And when the sin 
 has taken external form it produces still more destructive effects 
 on the body. The sin of Adam was chiefly of the soul, dis-
 
 172 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 belief, disobedience, and an exalting of himself against God, 
 but its effects were not merely mental, obscuring the intellect 
 and weakening the will; there was also the indulgence of the 
 carnal and lower nature against the spiritual: that good order 
 of the body which ensured it against disease and death was de- 
 stroyed, and the mastery over external nature was lost. In hell, 
 similarly, the effect of any mortal sin will be to disorganize the 
 whole soul by the withdrawal of God, and then the body. There 
 will be a wild flaming up of all the passions. We can only picture 
 to ourselves such as we know here: rebellion against an irre- 
 sistible fate ; hatred of God, of self, and all others ; fear, anxiety, 
 baffled effort, disappointment of all hopes, vain desire, humilia- 
 tion, despair, disgrace. We can imagine to ourselves what the 
 effect would be here on the bodily frame and on health. How 
 much comfort, peace, enjoyment could exist in this turmoil of 
 disorder? Disorder of this kind, even as it exists on earth, 
 would be spoken of by us as a raging fire of passion, or even as 
 hell-fire. In the next world this kind of suffering will be inten- 
 sified indefinitely both in mind and body. This is the pain- of 
 sense. This may well be described as "fire," whatever other 
 dread significance the void may contain. 
 
 3. Another class of suffering is the worm that dieth not. 
 This is a figure for conscience and remorse, for memory and 
 anticipation. It is not a different form of suffering; it is only 
 the reflex action of the mind on its actual sufferings ; but it will 
 be so great an aggravation as to amount almost to a new sense 
 of pain. This is an accompaniment of human suffering that is 
 more bitter than the physical pain itself. In many cases this 
 reflection or brooding so magnifies the suffering as to make it 
 seem unendurable, when in reality it is well within the limits of 
 our endurance. This is a self-inflicted pain, or rather rises from 
 our natural faculties. The faculty of reflection is available both 
 for pleasure and for pain ; it is we ourselves who determine by 
 our deeds the direction in which it shall be exercised. 
 
 This suffering is indicated by the word of Abraham to Dives 
 in the parable : " Son, remember." And what is the sinner to re- 
 member? That he has lost God, that he has lost all things, all 
 good, all happiness, and for all eternity. That he has lost God
 
 HELL 173 
 
 for so little. What has he gained? A little honor, a little re- 
 venge, a little satisfaction, a little wealth, which has slipped 
 through his hands, and is as if it had never been. That he has 
 spent so much valuable time, so much energy on such worthless 
 things time and energy enough, differently applied, to have 
 purchased eternal happiness. That it was so easy to have saved 
 his soul: so little was demanded by God in the way of prayer, 
 endurance, mortification, as compared with the horrible woe of 
 hell ; grace was so abundant, God so ready to help him. So many 
 others whom he knew, and perhaps despised, have saved their 
 souls, and he with all his wisdom has committed the grossest 
 folly. 
 
 There will be bitterness of deepest remorse, but it will not be 
 saving contrition, it will not be hatred of sin. The lost will be 
 conscious of their utter impotence, but it will not be submission 
 to God. They will curse the misery of their fate, but they will 
 have no desire for God ; they will feel the want of Him, but they 
 will never turn to Him. 
 
 III. The sufferings of hell as to their kind and their degree 
 are caused and are measured by each one's particular sins. This 
 is the third point that comes before us in considering the nature 
 of the pains of hell. We have to see that the punishment is 
 exactly adequate to the sin, and that it is in no way excessive. 
 Many of the difficulties felt about hell turn on this point. As 
 hell is sometimes presented, it might seem as if there was the 
 same punishment for all sinners, the same loss of God, the same 
 torment of the lake of fire, the same intolerable misery ; and yet 
 it is apparent that no two men are exactly alike in guilt, and that 
 the difference between the most guilty and the least guilty must 
 be enormous. And again it might seem as if punishments so 
 terrible and so enduring are out of proportion with sins, which 
 last but a short time and may have some minimizing circum- 
 stances. 
 
 i. But Divine is not like human justice that it should err. 
 The Divine punishments can take exact account of the guilt and 
 of the excuses for sin. Though there may be a certain identity 
 in the punishments of different sinners, as in the rewards of dif- 
 ferent saints, yet they vary as justice demands in each case. In
 
 174 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 heaven there is the sight of God for all alike, yet " star differeth 
 from star in glory" (i Cor. xv. 41). The measure of the dif- 
 ference is in each one's capacity for glory, as determined by his 
 life and merits on earth. Similarly in hell: each sin has created 
 more or less disorder in each soul, and therefore more or less 
 capacity for suffering. According to the number of sins, their 
 grievousness, and the grace accorded by God, the punishment 
 will be greater or less. " That servant who knew the will of his 
 lord, . . . and did not according to his will, shall be beaten 
 with many stripes. But he that knew not, and did things worthy 
 of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes" (Luke xii. 47, 48). 
 
 2. The cause and the condemnation pronounced on the sinner, 
 are rather from his sin than from God. " Destruction is thy own, 
 O Israel: thy help is only in me" (Osee xiii. 9). It is the sin 
 itself that separates from God and inflicts supernatural death, 
 of its own nature, and apart from a special sentence of God; 
 and so, too, in the next life. The sentence of God and His curse 
 are the same as that pronounced on Ephraim : " Ephraim is a 
 partaker with idols, let him alone" (Osee iv. 17). God does not 
 curse ; with Him there is only blessing. Essential evil, such as 
 is hell, is not from God; He is the source of good only, or of 
 those evils, improperly so called, like afflictions, which are for 
 our ultimate good. All that God does is to gather up these gifts 
 which man refuses and tramples on, and to withdraw Himself 
 when man has rejected Him. His curse is rather a declaration 
 of the evil which the sinner has inflicted on himself, and an 
 acceptance of the separation which the sinner has decreed. So 
 it was with Adam. Before God had cast him out of Paradise he 
 had shrunk from His presence and hidden himself, passing sen- 
 tence of separation on himself. 
 
 3. Holy Scripture shows us how punishment follows the 
 nature of the faculty abused and the gratification enjoyed. " By 
 what things a man sinneth, by the same also he is tormented " 
 (Wisd. xi. 17). And again, "Thou hast also greatly tormented 
 them who in their life have lived foolishly and unjustly, by the 
 same things which they worshipped" (Wis. xii. 23). It is the 
 same as on earth, where different sins intemperance, pride, 
 sensuality, dishonesty, falsehood traduce, each its own specific
 
 HELL 175 
 
 effect on the character, its own special disorder or punishment 
 on mind and body. The rich man of the parable was tormented 
 with a burning thirst for his gluttony, and with the garment 
 of flame for his purple and fine linen. In this there will be not 
 only exactness of punishment but a special bitterness, as the 
 sinner realizes that he is caught in the snares he has himself laid, 
 that he has digged a pit and fallen into it himself, that he has 
 sown the wind and reaped the whirlwind, that his own deeds have 
 recoiled on his head, and that his undue love of enjoyment has 
 wrought his eternal misery. In all this there is no excess, for 
 effects do not exceed their causes; the force applied and the re- 
 sult obtained must correspond accurately; the evil consequence 
 of sin will be exactly determined by the faculty which has sinned 
 and the amount of malice in the action. 
 
 4. The loss of God is an infinite punishment, yet it is not out 
 of proportion to sin; for man's will can resist even God the 
 Almighty ; and the finite act of man is in a sense infinite as being 
 a rejection of the Infinite, and a perseverance for ever in that 
 rejection. 
 
 The loss of God is indeed the same in all the condemned, yet 
 even this may be a different punishment to different men, as 
 being differently realized by each according to his transgression. 
 
 5. As the punishment of hell varies for each one, as the real- 
 ization of the loss of God depends on previous knowledge and 
 guilt, there will evidently be some on whom the punishment of 
 hell will fall very lightly. There are some, such as unbaptized 
 children, savages, and possibly other adults (Balmez), who are 
 not qualified for the supernatural vision of God, but who have 
 never deliberately averted their will from Him. Such lose God 
 indeed supernaturally, and it is an infinite loss; but no injustice 
 is done to them thereby, for this supernatural possession of God 
 is beyond all claims, requirements, and even beyond the ideas 
 and desires of men in the state of merely natural endowments. 
 Such souls are supernaturally dead; they are in the state of the 
 loss of God, or of damnation; but in another sense they may be 
 said to be saved. They are saved from the hell of conscious woe 
 or loss; they may possess God by natural knowledge and love, 
 and so do not suffer from entire loss of God or damnation.
 
 176 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 St. Thomas Aquinas says of such: "They are joined to God 
 by their participation in natural good; and thus they are able 
 to enjoy Him by a natural knowledge and love." (See F. Cole- 
 ridge, S.J., "The Sermon on the Mount." Chapter, "The 
 Narrow Gate.") 
 
 From the foregoing reflections we should learn how great is 
 the enormity of sin which produces as its fruit the loss of God 
 and the terrible evils thence resulting. We should learn also 
 that our sins will certainly find us out in the long run, and work 
 their terrible effects upon us, unless we prove ourselves worthy 
 of God's grace. It is an incredible folly for men to barter their 
 eternal happiness and run the risk of endless misery for the sake 
 of some poor transitory pleasure. Let the fear of hell lead us 
 to a hatred of sin and this will conduct us to the love of God. 
 
 References 
 
 Bellord, in Pulpit Commentary; Corsi in Little Sermons on the Cate- 
 chism; Hehel, in Sermons on Christian Doctrine; Hughes, in Homiletic 
 Monthly, Oct., 1913; March, 1919; Newell, in Short Sermons for the 
 Sundays of the Year; Monsabre, in Lenten Conferences of 1889. 
 
 Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. VII, pp. 207 ff. ; Summa Theol., Suppl., 
 qq. 97-99; Tanquerey, De Deo Remuneratore, Nos. 8 ff. ; Hurter, Theol. 
 Dog., Vol. Ill, Nos. 792 if.; Pohle-Preuss, Eschatology, pp. 45 ff.; Vaughan, 
 The Divine Armory, etc., pp. 883 ff. ; Callan, Illustrations for Sermons, 
 etc., pp. 93 ff. ; Bellord, Meditations, etc., Vol. I, p. 356; Manning, 5m 
 and Its Consequences; Rickaby, Everlasting Punishment. 
 
 FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY 
 
 SUBJECT 
 GOD THE ALMIGHTY CREATOR 
 
 TEXT 
 The winds and the sea obey him. MATT. viii. Vj. 
 
 Analysis 
 
 INTRODUCTION. The disciples with our Lord, as the Gospel 
 tells us, were overtaken by one of those sudden and violent
 
 GOD THE ALMIGHTY CREATOR 
 
 storms that frequently occur on the lake of Genesereth. The 
 Saviour was asleep, and to the human eyes of the disciples it 
 seemed that all must surely perish. In terror they aroused the 
 Master. With one word of command He stilled the raging 
 waves and wind, giving another instance of His absolute con- 
 trol of creation and all its elements, which, as the Almighty 
 Creator, was easy and natural to Him. 
 
 I. "I believe in God, the Father Almighty." i. The maj- 
 esty of God is most often designated by the term "Almighty." 
 2. God can do all things which do not involve a contradiction. 
 Compare the weakness of man with the power of God. 3. The 
 Creed speaks only of "omnipotence" among the attributes of 
 God, because an acknowledgment of this attribute disposes us 
 to admit the wondrous mysteries that follow in the Creed, and 
 because it is the attribute most easily apprehended by the aver- 
 age intellect. 4. The Creed attributes omnipotence to the Father 
 only, because He is the principle of the other Divine Persons. 
 The Son and the Holy Ghost may also be called Almighty, since 
 they are equal in all things to the Father. 
 
 II. "Creator of heaven and earth." i. God formed the uni- 
 verse out of nothing. 2. God created the universe not from 
 necessity, or to increase His own happiness, but out of goodness, 
 in order to communicate something of His perfections to 
 creatures. 3. God made not only the heavens and the earth, i.e., 
 the firmament and the heavenly bodies, the mountains, valleys, 
 seas, continents, etc., but also every living thing, plants, ani- 
 mals, men, and angels; in a word, He made all things, visible 
 and invisible. 4. Creation took place not in eternity, but in time ; 
 hence the world is temporal, not eternal. 
 
 CONCLUSION. I. The thought of God's omnipotence should in- 
 spire us with great confidence when seeking to obtain any favor 
 through prayer. Example, the incident in to-day's Gospel, when 
 at the prayer of the disciples the winds and the waves were 
 stilled. 2. Contemplation of the beauty, harmony, and variety 
 of God's creation should increase our faith and lead us to glorify
 
 178 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 our Creator in His wondrous works. Everywhere in nature we 
 see traces of the divine Artisan. 
 
 Catechism of the Council of Trent, Part I 
 
 ARTICLE I OF THE CREED 
 
 WHY THE POWER AND MAJESTY OF GOD ARE DESIGNATED BY 
 
 MANY NAMES IN THE SACRED SCRIPTURES; THAT OF 
 
 ALMIGHTY MOST FREQUENT 
 
 Almighty. The Sacred Scriptures, in order to mark the piety 
 and devotion with which the God of holiness is to be adored, 
 usually express His supreme power and infinite majesty in a 
 variety of ways ; but the pastor should impress particularly on 
 the minds of the faithful that the attribute of omnipotence is 
 that by which He is most frequently designated. Thus He says 
 of Himself, " I am the Almighty God " ; * and again, Jacob when 
 sending his sons to Joseph thus prayed for them, " May my 
 almighty God make him favorable to you." 2 In the Apocalypse 
 also it is written, "The Lord God, who is, and who was, and 
 who is to come, the Almighty " ; 3 and in another place the last 
 day is called the " day of the Almighty God." 4 Sometimes the 
 same attribute is expressed in many words ; thus : " No word 
 shall be impossible with God " : 5 " Is the hand of the Lord un- 
 able ? " e " Thy power is at hand when thou wilt." 7 
 
 ITS MEANING 
 
 Many other passages of the same import might be adduced, 
 all of which convey the same idea, which is clearly comprehended 
 under this single word "Almighty." By it we understand that 
 there neither is nor can be imagined anything which God cannot 
 do; for not only can He annihilate all created things, and in a 
 moment summon from nothing into existence many other worlds, 
 an exercise of power which, however great, comes in some 
 degree within our comprehension, but He can do many things 
 still greater, of which the human mind can form no conception. 
 
 1 Gen. xvii. I. * Gen. xliii. 14. a Apoc. i. 8. * Apoc. xvi. 14. 
 * Luke i. 37. * Num. xi. 23. T Wisd. xii. 18.
 
 GOD THE ALMIGHTY CREATOR 179 
 
 But though God can do all things, yet He cannot lie or deceive 
 or be deceived ; He cannot sin or be ignorant of anything or cease 
 to exist. These things are compatible with those beings only 
 whose actions are imperfect, but are entirely incompatible with 
 the nature of God, whose acts are all-perfect. To be capable of 
 these things is a proof of weakness, not of supreme and infinite 
 power, the peculiar attribute of God. Thus, while we believe 
 God to be omnipotent, we exclude from Him whatever is not 
 intimately connected, and entirely consistent with the perfection 
 of His nature. 
 
 OMNIPOTENCE, WHY THE ONLY ATTRIBUTE OF GOD 
 MENTIONED IN THE CREED 
 
 But the pastor should point out the propriety and wisdom of 
 having omitted all other names of God in the Creed, and of 
 having proposed to us that alone of " Almighty " as the object 
 of our belief. For by acknowledging God to be omnipotent, we 
 also of necessity acknowledge Him to be omniscient, and to 
 hold all things in subjection to His supreme authority and do- 
 minion. When we doubt not that He is omnipotent, we must 
 be also convinced of everything else regarding Him, the absence 
 of which would render His omnipotence altogether unintelligible. 
 
 Besides, nothing tends more to confirm our faith and animate 
 our hope than a deep conviction that all things are possible to 
 God; for whatever may be afterwards proposed as an object of 
 faith, however great, however wonderful, however raised above 
 the natural order, is easily and at once believed when the mind 
 is already imbued with the knowledge of the omnipotence of 
 God. Nay more, the greater the truths which the divine oracles 
 announce, the more willingly does the mind deem them worthy 
 of belief ; and should we expect any favor from heaven, we are 
 not discouraged by the greatness of the desired benefit, but are 
 cheered and confirmed by frequently considering that there is 
 nothing which an omnipotent God cannot effect. 
 
 NECESSITY OF FAITH IN GOD ALMIGHTY 
 
 With this faith, then, we should be specially fortified when- 
 ever we are required to render any extraordinary service to our
 
 i8o PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 neighbor or seek to obtain by prayer any favor from God. Its 
 necessity in the one case we learn from the Redeemer Himself, 
 who, when rebuking the incredulity of the Apostles, said to them, 
 "If you have faith as a grain of mustard-seed, you shall say to 
 this mountain : Remove from hence thither, and it shall remove : 
 and nothing shall be impossible to you " ; * and in the other, from 
 these words of St. James : " Let him ask in faith, nothing waver- 
 ing. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea, which is 
 moved and carried about by the wind. Therefore let not that 
 man think that he shall receive anything of the Lord." 8 
 
 This faith brings with it also many advantages. It forms us, in 
 the first place, to all humility and lowliness of mind, according to 
 these words of the Prince of the Apostles : " Be you humbled 
 therefore under the mighty hand of God." 3 It also teaches us 
 not to fear where there is no cause of fear, but to fear God 
 alone, 4 in whose power we ourselves and all that we have are 
 placed ; 5 for our Saviour says, " I will show you whom you shall 
 fear: fear ye him, who after he hath killed, hath power to cast 
 into hell." 6 This faith is also useful to enable us to know and 
 exalt the infinite mercies of God towards us. He who reflects 
 on the omnipotence of God, cannot be so ungrateful as not 
 frequently to exclaim, " He that is mighty, hath done great things 
 tome." T 
 
 NOT THREE ALMIGHTIES BUT ONE ALMIGHTY 
 
 When, however, in this Article we call the Father " Almighty," 
 let no person be led into the error of excluding, therefore, from 
 its participation the Son and the Holy Ghost. As we say the 
 Father is God, the Son is God, the Holy Ghost is God, and yet 
 there are not three Gods but one God; so in like manner we 
 confess that the Father is Almighty, the Son Almighty, and the 
 Holy Ghost Almighty, and yet there are not three Almighties but 
 one Almighty. The Father, in particular, we call Almighty, 
 because He is the source of all being; as we also attribute wis- 
 dom to the Son, because the eternal Word of the Father; and 
 goodness to the Holy Ghost, because the love of both. These, 
 
 1 Matt. xvii. 19. * James i. 6, 7. * i Pet. v. 6. 
 
 * Ps. xxxii. 8; xxiii. 10. * Wisd. vii. 16. * Luke xii. 5. 
 
 1 Luke i. 49.
 
 GOD THE. ALMIGHTY CREATOR 181 
 
 however, and such appellations, may be given indiscriminately 
 to the three Persons, according to the rule of Catholic faith. 
 
 FROM WHAT, HOW, AND WHY GOD MADE THE WORLD 
 
 Creator of Heaven and Earth. The necessity of having previ- 
 ously imparted to the faithful a knowledge of the omnipotence 
 of God will appear from what we are now about to explain with 
 regard to the creation of the world. For when we are convinced 
 of the omnipotence of the Creator, we more readily believe the 
 wondrous production of so stupendous a work. For God formed 
 the world not from materials of any sort, but created it from 
 nothing, and that not by constraint or necessity, but spontane- 
 ously, and of His own free will. Nor was He impelled to 
 create by any other cause than a desire to communicate to crea- 
 tures the riches of His bounty; for essentially happy in Him- 
 self, He stands not in need of anything ; as David expresses it : 
 " I have said to the Lord, thou art my God, for thou hast no 
 need of my goods." * But as, influenced by His own goodness, 
 " he hath done all things whatsoever he would," 2 so in the work 
 of the creation He followed no external form or model, but con- 
 templating, and as it were imitating, the universal model con- 
 tained in the divine intelligence, the supreme Architect, with 
 infinite wisdom and power attributes peculiar to the Divinity 
 created all things in the beginning : " he spoke and they were 
 made: he commanded and they were created." 3 The words 
 "heaven "and "earth "include all things which the heavens and the 
 earth contain ; for besides the heavens, which the Prophet David 
 called the works of His fingers, 4 He also gave to the sun its 
 brilliancy, and to the moon and stars their beauty ; and that they 
 may be "for signs, and for seasons, and for days and years," 5 
 He so ordered the celestial bodies in a certain and uniform course, 
 that nothing varies more than their continual revolution, yet 
 nothing is more fixed than that variety. 
 
 CREATION OF ANGELS 
 
 Moreover, He created from nothing spiritual nature, and angels 
 innumerable to serve and minister to Him ; and these He replen- 
 
 1 Ps. xv. 2. * Ps. cxiii. 3. Ps. xxxii. 9; cxlviii. 5. 
 
 * Ps. viii. 4. Gen. i. 14.
 
 182 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 ished and adorned with the admirable gifts of His grace and 
 power. 
 
 That the devil and his associates, the rebel angels, were gifted 
 at their creation with grace, clearly follows from these words 
 of the Sacred Scriptures: "He [the devil] stood not in the 
 truth"; 1 on which subject St. Augustine says, "In creating 
 the angels he endowed them with good will, that is, with pure 
 love, by which they adhere to him, at once giving them existence, 
 and adorning them with grace." 2 Hence we are to believe that 
 the holy angels were never without " good will," that is, the love 
 of God. As to their knowledge we have this testimony of Holy 
 Scripture : " Thou, my lord, O king, art wise, according to the wis- 
 dom of an angel of God, to understand all things upon earth." 3 
 Finally, David ascribes power to them, saying that they are 
 " mighty in strength, and execute his word " ; 4 and on this ac- 
 count they are often called in Scripture the " powers " and " the 
 hosts of heaven." 
 
 THEIR FALL 
 
 But although they were all endowed with celestial gifts, very 
 many rebelled against God, their Father and Creator, were in 
 punishment hurled from the mansions of bliss, and shut up 
 in the dark dungeons of hell, there to suffer for eternity the 
 punishment of their pride. Speaking of them the Prince of the 
 Apostle says : " God spared not the angels that sinned, but de- 
 livered them, drawn down by infernal ropes to the lower hell, 
 into torments, to be reserved unto judgment." 6 
 
 CREATION OF THE EARTH 
 
 The earth also God commanded to stand in the midst of the 
 world, rooted in its own foundation, and made " the mountains 
 ascend, and the plains descend into the place " which He had 
 founded for them. That the waters should not inundate the 
 earth, He hath " set a bound which they shall not pass over ; 
 neither shall they return to cover the earth." 6 He next not only 
 clothed and adorned it with trees, and every variety of herb and 
 
 1 John viii. 44. * Aug. lib. 12, de Civit. Dei, cap. 9. 
 
 ' 2 Kings xiv. 20. * Ps. cii. 2O. 
 
 ' 2 Pet. ii. 4. * Ps. ciii. 8, 9.
 
 GOD THE ALMIGHTY CREATOR 183 
 
 flower, but filled it, as He had already filled the air and water, 
 with innumerable sorts of living creatures. 
 
 CREATION OF MAN 
 
 Lastly, He formed man from the slime of the earth, immortal 
 and impassible, not, however, by the strength of nature, but by 
 the bounty of God. Man's soul He created to His own image and 
 likeness ; gifted him with free will, and tempered all his motions 
 and appetites, so as to subject them, at all times, to the dictates 
 of reason. He then added the invaluable gift of original right- 
 eousness, and next gave him dominion over all other animals. 
 By referring to the sacred history of Genesis the pastor will make 
 himself familiar with these things for the instruction of the 
 faithful. 
 
 GOD THE CREATOR OF ALL 
 
 What we have said, then, of the creation of the universe is to 
 be understood as conveyed by the words " heaven " and " earth," 
 and is thus briefly set forth by the Prophet: "Thine are the 
 heavens, and thine is the earth : the world and the fulness thereof 
 thou hast founded " ; 1 and still more briefly by the Fathers of the 
 Council of Nice, who added in their Creed these words : " of all 
 things visible and invisible." Whatever exists in the universe, 
 and was created by God, either falls under the senses and is in- 
 cluded in the word " visible," or is an object of perception to the 
 mind and is expressed by the word " invisible." 
 
 THE PRESERVER AND GOVERNOR 
 
 We are not, however, to understand that the works of God 
 when once created could continue to exist unsupported by his 
 omnipotence. As they derive existence from his supreme power, 
 wisdom, and goodness, so unless preserved continually by his 
 superintending providence, and by the same power which pro- 
 duced them, they should instantly return into their original 
 nothingness. This the Scriptures declare when they say, 
 "How could anything endure, if thou wouldst not? or be pre- 
 served, if not called by thee?" 2 Not only does God protect and 
 
 1 Ps. Ixxxviii. 12. * Wis. xi. 26.
 
 184 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 govern all things by His providence, but also by an internal 
 power He impels to motion and action whatever moves and acts, 
 and this in such a manner that, although He excludes not, He 
 yet precedes the agency of secondary causes. His invisible in- 
 fluence extends to all things, and as the wise man says, reaches 
 "from end to end mightily, and ordereth all things sweetly." 1 
 This is the reason why the Apostle, announcing to the Athenians 
 the God whom not knowing they adored, said, " He is not far 
 from every one of us : for in him we live, and move, and are." 2 
 
 CREATION, THE WORK OF THE THREE PERSONS 
 
 Let so much suffice for the explanation of the first Article of 
 the Creed. It may not be superfluous, however, to add that 
 creation is the common work of the three Persons of the Holy 
 and undivided Trinity, of the Father, whom according to the 
 doctrine of the Apostles we here declare to be " Creator of 
 heaven and earth " ; of the Son, of whom the Scripture says, " all 
 things were made by him " ; 3 and of the Holy Ghost, of whom 
 it is written, " The spirit of God moved over the waters," * and 
 again, " By the word of the Lord the heavens were established ; 
 and all the power of them by the spirit of his mouth." 5 
 
 Sermons 
 
 GOD THE FATHER AND CREATOR 
 BY THE REV. THOMAS J. GERRARD 
 
 The first article of the Creed is the first article of our morals. 
 We profess our belief in God the Father Almighty, Creator of 
 heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible. We thereby 
 imply that we have an obligation of acknowledging ourselves the 
 creatures of God, of living and acting as children and subjects 
 of God, of rendering to God our supreme homage, worship, 
 obedience, and service. That truth is written both in the hearts 
 of men and in the revealed book of God. By neglecting either 
 of these sources of information, confused, inadequate, and even 
 false ideas concerning the relationship between Creator and 
 
 1 Wis. viii. I. * Acts xvii. 27, 28. John i. 3. 
 
 4 Gen. i. 2. * Ps. xxxii. 6.
 
 GOD THE ALMIGHTY CREATOR 185 
 
 creature arise. Let us then try to look at this truth from the two 
 points of view. Let us first consult human reason and experi- 
 ence and see how our nature demands the truth of God the 
 Creator; and then let us consult the revealed word of God and 
 see how fully that demand is satisfied. 
 
 One of the first instincts of our nature is our sense of depend- 
 ence on one another. The words " dependence," " independence," 
 and " freedom " have been used with varying significations. 
 Man, along with his sense of dependence on another, has a 
 sense of the need of freedom. The exaggeration of these two 
 needs has led to errors in both directions. The exaggeration 
 of the " dependence " notion has led to tyranny and slavery. 
 The exaggeration of the " freedom " notion has led to license 
 and rebellion. There is a golden mean between the two. There 
 is a dependence on lawful authority which is the guarantee of 
 the most perfect freedom. This is the true instinct which man 
 feels. 
 
 A man's life history is a gradual learning of this fact. He is 
 born a helpless infant. All he can do is to experience his simple 
 needs and cry about them. He could not live for a day were it 
 not that the kindly hands of his mother kept him folded to her 
 breast and controlled his constantly erring ways. His educa- 
 tion consists of one long series of alternate mistakes and cor- 
 rections. His dependence on others is maintained right until the 
 end of life. Nay, as he approaches the end of life his depend- 
 ence on others increases more and more. When he is younger 
 he may gird himself and walk where he will ; but when he is old 
 another must gird him and lead him whither he will not. 
 
 This sense of dependence felt so keenly in the social affairs 
 of life becomes accentuated immensly when one considers the 
 higher issues: our beginning and our end; our powers of doing 
 good and evil. We feel instinctively that we did not make our- 
 selves and that we do not belong to ourselves. Then our reason 
 sets to work to justify our feeling. We argue back from effect 
 to cause until at last we must come to the Being who is the First 
 Cause of all things. Things cannot make themselves. Neither 
 can there be a long endless chain of them with no beginning. 
 Neither do we escape the difficulty by saying that we do not
 
 i86 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 know our origin. The mind can only find rest in the same truth 
 in which the whole human spirit finds rest, in the truth of our 
 God who is Maker of heaven and earth. 
 
 The act by virtue of which God brought the world into exist- 
 ence is a great mystery and quite beyond our imagination. The 
 human mind, however, has made various attempts to express the 
 nature of this act. Thus the symbol of "parent" has always 
 been the first attempt to represent the divine causality. The first 
 link in the chain of thought by which we go back from ourselves 
 to the beginning of things is the link between father and son. 
 Our first conception, therefore, of the great Being who was the 
 author of our being is that of a father: I believe in God the 
 Father Almighty. 
 
 Alongside the notion of fatherhood there is the notion of the 
 intelligent workman. The work of the great God was manifestly 
 one of vast genius. The artist who modeled in clay was a fitting 
 symbol of the skill required for shaping the sun, moon, and 
 stars ; the land and the sea ; the green herb, and cattle, and man. 
 And so we have a synthesis made expressing fatherhood and 
 makership: I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of 
 heaven and earth. 
 
 Yet even this expression was crude as a representation of 
 God's creative act. Accordingly the most spiritual faculty of man 
 was chosen, his will. This was made the final symbol of God's 
 creative act. "Thou hast created all things; and for thy will 
 (propter voluntatem tuam) they were, and have been created." 
 By the simple nod of God's will things are produced out of noth- 
 ing. Fiat lux: et facta est lux: "Let there be light and there 
 was light." Thus, although there are so many proofs from 
 reason of God the Creator of all things, the proof which touches 
 nearest to the truth and which gives most of the truth, is the 
 proof from human conscience; for it is conscience which tells 
 us what is moral goodness and is thus the most perfect image 
 we possess of Divine Goodness. It is by the voice of conscience 
 that we hear most distinctly the voice of the Holy Spirit : " Know 
 ye that the Lord he is God: he made us and not we ourselves." 
 
 Turning to the pages of Holy Writ we strike new and rich 
 sources of knowledge concerning creation. First we are told
 
 GOD THE ALMIGHTY CREATOR 187 
 
 of creation in time. The greatest of pagan philosophers held that 
 matter was eternal. St. Thomas, probably out of respect for 
 Aristotle, taught that eternal creation was not intrinsically im- 
 possible. Theologians are divided with regard to this specula- 
 tion. We know, however, from divine revelation, that the world 
 was not eternal. " In the beginning God created heaven and 
 earth." God's internal activity had gone on through all ages 
 producing 1 the three Divine Persons. Then the divine will sought 
 an external object for its activity. First it produced a world of 
 angels. They had a system of laws of their own ; and though 
 many interesting facts concerning them have been revealed to 
 us, their manner of life and action is beyond our understanding. 
 Then the divine activity produced our material world. Finally 
 God combined a material and spiritual world in one creation, 
 man; and with man created the world of supernatural grace, 
 raising man to the higher plane of union with God. 
 
 Secondly, we are told of the order of creation. Various inter- 
 pretations have been given to the opening chapters of the book 
 of Genesis. A very plausible explanation is what is known as the 
 " vision theory." A vision may be seen either of present or of 
 future or of past events. In the case of creation the sacred 
 writer would, as it were, look backwards. His description need 
 not correspond with the events in every detail. His vision would 
 be partly symbolical, since he would have to describe the action 
 of God whom he could not see; and partly realistic, since he 
 would have to describe events just as they happened. It is now 
 universally believed that the days were periods of time some of 
 which may have consisted of millions of years. These periods 
 would be presented before the mind of the sacred writer as 
 separate scenes of the vision. Apart from little differences of 
 this kind the order of creation, as revealed in the strata of the 
 earth, agrees with the order revealed in the opening chapters of 
 the book of Genesis. 
 
 The word "creation" has two meanings. In one sense it 
 means the making of something out of nothing. In another 
 sense it means the arrangement and development or evolution of 
 that first something into the subsequent forms of nature. There 
 are various opinions as to what extent this evolution took place.
 
 i88 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 A Catholic is allowed much freedom in this matter. One thing, 
 however, he is bound to hold against all extreme evolutionists, 
 namely, that the soul of man was specially created and infused 
 into the body by God. There are other truths bearing on this 
 subject which, though not of Catholic faith, should be insisted 
 upon in the name of science. The two most important are, first, 
 that no one has yet succeeded in producing life from non-life ; 
 and secondly, that no one has yet bridged the gulf between 
 reason and sensation. These truths are the two great stumbling- 
 blocks which lie in the way of those shallow scientists who 
 would explain away the dogma of creation by an artificial and 
 exaggerated system of evolution. It is well to insist upon the 
 fact that the records of the rocks show practically the same order 
 as the records of Scripture. First the common substance of the 
 whole universe was produced from nothing. " In the beginning 
 God created heaven and earth." From parallels throughout the 
 whole Bible it is seen that " heaven and earth " is the usual ex- 
 pression for " all things." " I am the Lord that make all things, 
 that alone stretch out the heavens, that establish the earth, and 
 there is none with me." From the first common substance there 
 is made the division of this planet from other planets, of the 
 world from the sky. Then comes the separation of the land 
 from the water, the two great divisions of lifeless nature. From 
 the germs of life planted in each of these there springs succes- 
 sively the life of the green herb, and fruitful tree ; of the fishes 
 of the sea and the birds of the air; of the beasts and creeping 
 creatures of the earth. Finally man is made by the special crea- 
 tion of his soul and the infusion of it into his already prepared 
 body. The grace by which he is raised to a supernatural dignity 
 is conferred at the first moment of his creation. 
 
 There are two classes of objections which are urged against 
 the fact of creation. The first class is based on the absence of 
 positive evidence for the fact. The answer to this difficulty has 
 already been anticipated in the evidence of divine revelation. 
 Were it not for revelation we should not be so sure of our an- 
 swer, for, as we have seen, the idea of possible eternal creation 
 is one that commended itself to the greatest of our theologians. 
 We cannot wonder then if those who reject the express revela-
 
 GOD THE ALMIGHTY CREATOR 189 
 
 tion of God find themselves obliged to profess ignorance con- 
 cerning the origin of the world. 
 
 The other class may be reduced to one difficulty, namely, the 
 intrinsic impossibility of producing something out of nothing. 
 It is expressed in the trite formula: Ex nihilo nihil fit. This 
 axiom of the old philosophers was formulated out of their ex- 
 perience of particular causes and effects. Certainly there has 
 never been known a particular agent who could produce some- 
 thing out of nothing. But the same cannot be said of the uni- 
 versal cause of all things. The fact that God is God and that 
 He is omnipotent is sufficient to assure us that He can produce 
 something from nothing, though how He does it must remain 
 to us a lifelong mystery. 
 
 From experience and life we have reasoned to the fact of 
 creation. From revelation we learnt many supplementary truths 
 about creation. Now we may direct our fuller knowledge to a 
 more fruitful life and experience. The first fruit is especially 
 seasonable in these days a knowledge of the supreme majesty 
 of God. Among many classes, even where the existence of God 
 is admitted, His rights are conceded sparingly, as if man were 
 only a little smaller than God. In Germany there is one sect 
 which has altered the form of the Lord's Prayer to express this 
 feeling. 1 They do not say " Vater unser " as of old, but " Unser 
 Vater," signifying that we come first and God second, that we 
 must decide how far God shall exercise His dominion over us. 
 Our appreciation of the dogma of creation, however, saves us 
 from such unspeakable conceit. The new discoveries of astron- 
 omy, although they may spoil our childhood imagination of a 
 heaven just on the other side of that blue sky which we see, 
 unfold for us vaster conceptions of the immensity of God and 
 of the magnitude of His creation. It has been computed that 
 an express train, going fifty miles an hour, would take forty-five 
 hundred million centuries to cross our universe. It can therefore 
 only be the most blind infatuation that can seek to exalt small 
 
 1 " Das ' Unser Vater ' ein schon Gebet 
 Es dient und hilft, in alien Nothen; 
 Wenn einer auch ' Vater Unser ' fleht, 
 In Gottes Namen, lass ihn beten." 
 
 Goethe.
 
 190 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 man to a level of divinity. On the other hand, the acknowledg- 
 ment of our smallness in the midst of God's vast creation is the 
 root and beginning of all our spirituality. It crushes our inborn 
 pride. It make us realize at once that God is the Alpha and 
 Omega, the beginning and the end, who is, who was, and who 
 is to come, the Almighty. 
 
 Next will come a sense of thankfulness to God. If it be so 
 true that once we were nothing, that once the present vast uni- 
 verse was nothing, that every phase of life which we enjoy comes 
 from the creative hand of God, then there can be no degree of 
 gratitude too great to express our indebtedness to God. St. Paul 
 may well ask of God's ministers : " What hast thou that thou 
 hast not received?" The same question may be asked of every 
 man, and it is the duty, or rather the privilege, of every man to 
 refer his gifts to their source : " Bless the Lord, O my soul, and 
 never forget all that He hath done for thee." 
 
 The same dogma shows us the appointed way to union with 
 God. St. Ignatius explains it in his famous meditation on the 
 right use of creatures. If God created all things, then God alone 
 has supreme dominion over them. Man has only the temporary 
 use of them. Man therefore must use them as God's property. 
 It is expressly written: "The Lord hath made all things for 
 [himself." On the other hand, the enjoyment of these things is 
 for man, but only so far as God sees fit: "Of every tree of 
 paradise thou shalt eat : but of the tree of knowledge of good 
 and evil thou shalt not eat." Our duties in this respect therefore 
 fall into two classes, the pleasant duties and the unpleasant ones. 
 It is our duty, for instance, to love all our neighbors they are 
 all creatures of God. But then among neighbors there are the 
 disagreeable as well as the agreeable. It would be impossible 
 and contrary to human nature that our love should in all respects 
 be the same towards each. We can, however, find different 
 motives, all based on the dogma of creation, by which we can 
 fulfil our duty of loving all men. In so far as our neighbor is 
 agreeable, attractive, and winning, he manifests some reflection 
 of divine goodness, and we are said to love him in God. In this 
 case we draw near to God through our neighbor. In the other 
 case, however, we must go to our neighbor through God. Know-
 
 GOD THE ALMIGHTY CREATOR 191 
 
 ing that God created him, we must believe that God had some 
 beautiful design in doing so and love him accordingly. Here we 
 are said to love our neighbor for the sake of God. Indeed the 
 whole order of creatures, according as they are rightly used, is 
 the ladder which leads from earth to heaven. 
 
 This middle place between the rest of creatures and God gives 
 to man a great dignity. "Thou hast subjected all things under 
 his feet, all sheep and oxen: moreover the beasts also of the 
 fields." The subjection of the lower creation to man is symbol- 
 ical of man's subjection to God. It is through the intelligent 
 will of man that God receives the homage of irrational nature. 
 If, therefore, man does not use his possessions intelligently for 
 God's glory he fails in his high office to which he has been deputed. 
 
 Lastly, the dogma of creation reveals to us the fatherhood of 
 God. The Creator of heaven and earth is God the Father Al- 
 mighty. The notion of God the Creator implies that we are 
 creatures and absolutely subject to God; but the notion of the 
 Creator- Father implies that we are children and the objects of 
 fatherly love and solicitude. And the fruit of this truth is pa- 
 tience in the misfortunes of life. At each -stage of creation God 
 looked upon His work and pronounced it to be good. At the 
 end He took a view of the whole of what He had made and said 
 it was very good. We therefore must believe that God could 
 not create anything knowing it to be bad. This was the truth 
 that inspired the mother of the Machabees to take her sons so 
 heroically and with them to go to martyrdom. The story may 
 well express what ought to be our attitude in the face of the 
 comparatively small troubles which we have to meet. The sacred 
 writer describes her as possessed of a man's heart and a woman's 
 thought and as thus speaking to her sons : " I know not how you 
 were formed in my womb: for I neither gave you breath, nor 
 soul, nor life, neither did I frame the limbs of every one of you. 
 But the Creator of the world, that formed the nativity of man, 
 and that found out the origin of all, he will restore to you again 
 in his mercy, both breath and life, as now you despise yourselves 
 for the sake of his laws." And when she was asked by the cruel 
 Antiochus to advise her youngest son to save his life, she only 
 bent down to her child and whispered in her own language:
 
 192 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 "I beseech thee, my son, look upon heaven and earth, and all 
 that is in them: and consider that God made them out of noth- 
 ing, and mankind also; So thou shalt not fear this tormentor, 
 but being made a worthy partner with thy brethren, receive 
 death, that in that mercy I may receive thee again with thy 
 brethren." 
 
 I BELIEVE IN GOD THE FATHER ALMIGHTY 
 BY THE REV. P. HEHEL, S.J. 
 
 Even the Pharisees, that hypocritical race, said to Jesus: 
 " Master, we know that thou art truthful, and teachest the way 
 of God according to the truth." He is the foundation of our 
 faith. He alone it is through whom we believe in our hearts 
 what we profess with our lips. In His most holy name, there- 
 fore, I begin to explain to you the twelve chief points of this 
 faith, praying that I may be enlightened by Him who filled with 
 His grace and inspired the Disciples to compose this creed. 
 
 According to the first article of this creed, therefore : 
 I. What have we to believe? 
 
 II. What have we to do? 
 
 I. " I believe in God the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven 
 and earth." As often as we repeat these words in prayer we 
 utter an abundance of the greatest truths. 
 
 " I believe," we say ; that means : I profess and affirm, that 
 everything that is contained in these twelve articles is the eternal, 
 infallible, and incontestable truth, for which I, as a Christian, 
 am obliged to answer for with life and property. First, " I 
 believe in God," we say. With these words we profess that we 
 believe firmly that there is a God. " I believe in God," we say, 
 not " I believe in the gods," so as to show that we confess and 
 adore only one God, and to distinguish ourselves from the pagans 
 and unbelievers who, having lost the knowledge of the one God, 
 are sunk in idolatry and worship animals, plants, and stones, as 
 gods. 
 
 Secondly, When we say " I believe in God the Father," we 
 confess at the same time the distinction of Persons and the one- 
 ness of the Godhead. For the first Person of the Godhead is the
 
 GOD THE ALMIGHTY CREATOR 193 
 
 Father, who according to His Person is distinct from the Son 
 and the Holy Ghost, but yet with them constitutes only one God, 
 therefore is not earlier, not older, not greater, not more in the 
 Godhead than the Son and the Holy Ghost. 
 
 Thirdly, we confess of this Divine Father that He is "al- 
 mighty " ; that means, so mighty that He can do all things, that 
 He has all power, all strength and might to operate, to create, 
 and to make what and how He will, without having need of any 
 assistance. 
 
 And of this Almighty Father we confess that He is the 
 " Creator of heaven and earth " ; that is to say, of all visible and 
 invisible creatures which are in heaven or out of heaven, upon 
 earth or under the earth, which are of body or soul, which have 
 been or will be. We confess that in the beginning He made the 
 world and the heavens out of nothing, by His word alone, which 
 no man, no angel, could do, which God alone can do. 
 
 We confess all this in the words of the first article : " I believe 
 in God the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth." Still 
 it is not enough for us to believe and confess that there is one 
 God, who alone is God the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven 
 and earth. The spirits in hell believe this, and they tremble on 
 that account. Nor is it enough that we believe His words and 
 works, and hold this for an undoubted truth of faith; for this 
 is known no less by the damned and is experienced by them as 
 well as by the blessed. But for true faith it is expected that we 
 also agree to all this with our hearts, that we embrace all this 
 faithfully with our hearts, and consequently direct our heart and 
 mind to God, place all our confidence, our love, and hope, in 
 Him, adore Him as our Lord and God, fear and love Him as our 
 Father, never despair of His goodness and mercy. For it is 
 written, " Not every one who says, Lord, Lord," will be saved, 
 but only those may hope to enter the kingdom of heaven who 
 live according to the will of the Father, who by their works 
 show forth and attest His faith. 
 
 Now, dear brethren, listen and learn how you should live ac- 
 cording to the first article, so that your faith may not be fruit- 
 less and lifeless, but living, i.e., profitable and conducive to 
 eternal life.
 
 194 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 II. First, then, when we believe according to our confession 
 that there is a God, we must not live like heathens, who either 
 observe no law, because they do not know of the existence of a 
 God, or live so godlessly, being blinded by the evil spirit whom 
 they worship in their gods and who incites them to impurity, 
 murder, and criminal actions, so that under the appearance of 
 devotion they practise the most abominable vices. 
 
 What must we think of those Christians who live so godlessly 
 that they neither keep the Divine law nor the commandments of 
 the Church? You who lie, do you believe that there is a God 
 who "will destroy all that speak a lie" (Ps. v. 7) ? You who 
 deceive, do you believe that there is a God who " curses him that 
 acts deceitfully" (Matt. i. 14)? Do you believe, you who are 
 addicted to impurity, that there is a God " who shall judge for- 
 nicators and adulterers" (Heb. xiii. 4)? Do you believe, you 
 who sin by stealing, that there is a God who says that " confu- 
 sion and repentance is upon a thief" (Ecclus. v. 17) ? Behold, 
 this means to act in one manner and believe in another: to say 
 I believe in a God and to act as if there were no God. 
 
 Secondly, if you believe, as you profess, dear Christian, " that 
 God is thy Father, that He hath possessed thee and made thee " 
 of all mankind, you must be subject to Him like a devout child. 
 You must obey Him from your heart, and endeavor to do His 
 will in all things. You must undertake nothing that could offend 
 Him, do nothing that might call forth His Holy anger. You 
 must relinquish to His paternal dispensations, to His solicitude, 
 your life and all that is yours; you must abandon yourself as 
 completely as a blind man to his leader, as the child lets itself 
 be led by the loving mother's hand. This is to show in reality 
 that you believe in " God the Father." " Dost thou then not re- 
 member," says the Holy Ghost, "that God is thy Father, that 
 He hath possessed thee and made thee and created thee? That 
 He preserves thee, feeds, watches over and cares for thee?" 
 Now, if you think and believe this, where then is the honor, 
 the love, the obedience, the resignation, the childlike confidence 
 towards your Father? Ah, your works are different from your 
 words: they do not agree with your faith. 
 
 Thirdly, if you believe as you profess, that God is almighty,
 
 GOD THE ALMIGHTY CREATOR 195 
 
 you would always gladly submit your understanding and will 
 to His words. You would leave no room for unbelief, allow no 
 doubt to take root in your heart in regard to what He has said 
 and promised. You would never ponder over His mysteries, 
 never make over-curious inquiries as to how this or that could 
 or could not happen, why and for what reason this so happened, 
 will or might happen, how this is possible and can be true, and 
 so forth. But it would be sufficient for you to know that He is 
 truthful in His words, wonderful in His works, that He is al- 
 mighty, and that for this reason nothing that He has ever said or 
 promised can be impossible. And for this very reason you must 
 know that everything comes from God, sin only excepted. You 
 should thank Him for the good that He shows you, and praise 
 Him also for that which appears to you to be a misfortune. For 
 He can, as the Apostle says, "even out of temptation, i.e., out 
 of evil, prepare an advantage for you." You must never doubt 
 when want oppresses you, never despair when you no longer 
 know how to help yourself. For the hand of the Lord is not 
 shortened, His almighty arm has never been weakened. Aban- 
 don yourself therefore to the Lord, and you will experience that 
 God can always help, when even man is of no further assistance. 
 The reason that want always oppresses you is because your hope, 
 your confidence, is far from being as strong as it ought to be, 
 if your belief and profession really is, as you say : " I believe in 
 God the Father Almighty." 
 
 In conclusion, if you believe, as you profess to do, that God is 
 the Creator of all things in heaven and upon earth, you ought also 
 to believe and know that from Him alone you have to beg and 
 to expect all graces, everything necessary for your salvation in 
 time and eternity. You should believe and know that He has 
 created all creatures not without a purpose, but each one has a 
 destined end and aim, namely, in the case of man, to serve God, 
 his Creator, love and honor Him, and thus be blessed some day ; 
 in the case of other creatures, to serve man so that through them 
 he may attain to the end and aim appointed for him. Hence you 
 are not at liberty to use God's creatures according to your will 
 and opinion, but according to the will of God for His honor and 
 your salvation. If you do otherwise you violate God's property,
 
 196 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 antagonize all creatures, because you deprive them of their end 
 and aim and oppose yourself to the will of God. As heaven 
 and earth and everything therein are the works of the omnip- 
 otent Creator, so must you know that He preserves and rules 
 them as He does you, and that none of them would serve you if 
 He had not decreed and permitted it. 
 
 This is all deduced from the first article. We declare all this 
 when we say : " I believe in God the Father Almighty, Creator 
 of heaven and earth." We must observe all this that our works 
 may agree with our faith. Then shall we one day enjoy the fruit 
 of the true faith, namely, everlasting life in heaven. 
 
 References 
 
 Hughes, " The Almighty Power of God," in A Year's Sermons, Series 
 IV; Sullivan, " The Creation of Man," in Pulpit Com.; Lacordaire, in Con- 
 ferences on God; Bossuet, in Elevations sur les Myst., Sieme Semaine ; 
 Monsabre, in Lenten Conferences of 1875. 
 
 Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. XI, pp. 252 ff. ; Vol. IV. pp. 470 ff. ; Summa 
 Theol., I, qq. 25, 44 ff ., 65 ff. ,"' Tanquerey, De Deo Una, Nos. 436-440 ; De 
 Deo Creante, cap. I; Hurter, Theol. Dog., Vol. II, Nos. 79 ff., 264 ff.,; 
 Pohle-Preuss, God the Author of Nature and the Supernatural; Vaughan, 
 The Divine Armory, etc., pp. 15, ff., 37 ff. ; Callan, Illustrations for Ser- 
 mons, etc., pp. 6, 67, 104, 137; Bellord, Meditations, etc., Vol. I, pp. 68, 
 116, 168; Wassmann, The Problem of Evolution; Menge, The Beginnings 
 of Science; Windle, The Church and Science; Husslein, Evolution and 
 Social Progress. 
 
 FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY 
 
 SUBJECT 
 THE HOLINESS OF THE CHURCH 
 
 TEXT 
 
 Put ye on therefore, as the elect of God, holy, and beloved, the bowels 
 of mercy, etc. COL. iii. 12. 
 
 The kingdom of heaven is likened to a man that sowed good seed in 
 his field. MATT. xiii. 24. 
 
 Analysis 
 
 INTRODUCTION. Our Lord in the Gospel of to-day compares 
 His Church to a field in which there is sowed good and bad seed.
 
 THE HOLINESS OF THE CHURCH 197 
 
 By this parable, as He Himself later explained, He meant to 
 show that there would be both good and bad members in the 
 Church. But the presence of some evil members in His King- 
 dom does not destroy the holiness of the Church, and in the end 
 He will gather up these evil-doers and cast them out into the 
 furnace of fire. 
 
 I. The Church is holy in her founder and in her doctrine. 
 
 1. Unlike the originators of the various sects, who were merely 
 human and oftentimes notorious sinners, the founder of the 
 Catholic Church was Christ, the fountain of all holiness. 2. The 
 teaching of the Church is holy because she has never departed 
 from the commandments of God, nor ceased to urge upon men 
 the necessity of good works, and to counsel the highest perfec- 
 tion. Rather than sacrifice any portion of divine law she has 
 endured persecution and suffered the loss of entire nations. We 
 must obey God rather than men, has been her motto. Compare 
 the conduct of Luther, who permitted Philip of Hesse to have 
 two wives, with that of Pope Clement VII, who excommunicated 
 Henry VIII rather than annul the latter's marriage. 
 
 II. The Church possesses the means of holiness, i. The 
 Catholic Church alone has all the Sacraments and the true sacri- 
 fice of the New Law, which are the main channels of grace and 
 sanctification. 2. Only in the Catholic Church do we find a 
 complete and proper use of sacramentals, feasts, observances, and 
 devotions, by which the mind is elevated to heavenly things and 
 holiness made more easily attainable. 
 
 III. The Church is holy in her members. I. Only in the 
 Catholic Church are there to be found, in every age, in every 
 country, and from every condition of life, persons whose extraor- 
 dinary sanctity has been attested to by God Himself through 
 the gift of miracles, and who, in consequence, have been raised 
 to the altars by canonization and beatification. The number of 
 holy confessors, martyrs, virgins, and widows thus officially in- 
 scribed in the catalogue of the saints is well nigh innumerable. 
 
 2. Besides this great number of saints officially recognized in
 
 198 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 the Church there are at all times and in all countries vast mul- 
 titudes of holy souls who, though not possessing the gift of 
 miracles like the canonized saints, have nevertheless a sanctity 
 far exceeding anything outside the Church, e.g., devout priests, 
 the members of religious orders of men and women, self-sacrific- 
 ing missionaries to foreign lands, daily and weekly communi- 
 cants, etc. 3. If all the members of the Church are not holy, 
 it is only because the cockle grows along with the wheat, as our 
 Lord foretold in to-day's Gospel. Human nature always retains 
 its propensities to evil, and men are at all times free to use or 
 abuse the gifts of grace. That there should be some wicked 
 members in the true Church ought not to cause any surprise 
 when we remember that even among the twelve Apostles whom 
 Christ Himself chose one was a traitor. 
 
 CONCLUSION. All the members of the Church are called to be 
 saints. We should strive faithfully to live according to this high 
 vocation by putting into practice the holy teachings of the Church 
 (see to-day's Epistle), by making use of the sacraments and the 
 other means of sanctification which the Church affords, by study- 
 ing the lives of the saints and trying to imitate the good example 
 of the Church's holy members. 
 
 Catechism of the Council of Trent, Part I 
 
 ARTICLE IX OF THE CREED 
 
 HOLINESS OF THE CHURCH 
 
 Another distinctive mark of the Church is holiness, as we 
 learn from these words of the prince of the apostles : " You are 
 a chosen generation, a holy nation." * The Church is called holy 
 because she is consecrated and dedicated to God, 2 as other things, 
 such as vessels, vestments, altars, when appropriated and dedi- 
 cated to the worship of God, although material, are called holy. 
 In the same sense the first-born, who were dedicated to the Most 
 High God, were also called holy. 8 
 
 It should not be deemed matter of surprise that the Church, 
 
 1 I Pet ii. 9. ' Levit. xxvii. 28, * Exod. xiii. 12.
 
 THE HOLINESS OF THE CHURCH 199 
 
 although numbering among her children many sinners, is called 
 holy; for as those who profess any art, although they should 
 depart from its rules, are called artists, so the faithful, although 
 offending in many things, and violating the engagements to the 
 observance of which they had solemnly pledged themselves, are 
 called holy, because they are made the people of God, and are 
 consecrated to Christ, by Baptism and faith. Hence, St. Paul 
 calls the Corinthians sanctified and holy, although it is certain 
 that among them there were some whom he severely rebuked 
 as carnal, and also charged with grosser crimes. 1 
 
 The Church is also to be called holy because, as the body, she 
 is united to her head, Christ Jesus, 2 the fountain of all holiness, 
 from whom flow the graces of the Holy Spirit and the riches of 
 the divine bounty. St. Augustine, interpreting these words of 
 the prophet, " Preserve my soul, for I am holy," 3 thus admirably 
 expresses himself : " Let the body of Christ boldly say, let also 
 that one man, exclaiming from the ends of the earth, boldly say, 
 with Christ his head, and under Christ his head, * I am holy ' : 
 for he received the grace of holiness, the grace of baptism and 
 of remission of sins." And a little further on : " If all Christians 
 and all the faithful, having been baptized in Christ, have put him 
 on, according to these words of the Apostle : ' as many of you as 
 have been baptized in Christ, have put on Christ ' ; 4 if they are 
 made members of his body, and yet say they are not holy, they 
 do an injury to their head, whose members are holy." B 6 
 
 Moreover, the Church alone has the legitimate worship of 
 sacrifice, and the salutary use of the sacraments, by which, as the 
 efficacious instruments of divine grace, God establishes us in true 
 holiness ; so that to possess true holiness we must belong to this 
 Church. The Church, therefore, it is clear, is holy, 7 and holy 
 because she is the body of Christ, by whom she is sanctified, and 
 in whose blood she is washed. 8 9 
 
 1 i Cor. i. 2', iii. 3. * Eph. iv. 15, 16. ' Ps. Ixxxv. 2. 
 4 Gal. iii. 27. * Eph. v. 26, 27, 30. ' St Aug. in Psalm Ixxxv. 2. 
 
 1 Eph. i. 1-4. Eph. i. 7, 13; v. 26. 
 
 * On the holiness of the Church, see Justin Martyr, in Apologies ; Ter- 
 tullian, in Apology; Aug. contra Fulg. c. 17; Gregory, Moral. L. 3, 7, c. 7.
 
 200 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 Sermon 
 THE CHURCH is HOLY 
 
 BY THE RT. REV. WM. T. RUSSELL, D.D., LL.D. 
 
 Theological terms for the most part convey a rather misty and 
 confused conception to the average mind. The words " holy," 
 " sanctified," " religious," " righteous," and " justified " mean the 
 same thing to most people, and to many they are mere cant ex- 
 pressions, so vague as to mean almost nothing. When we claim 
 for any religious organization that it is the holy Church of 
 Christ, we must first clearly define the meaning of the word 
 holy according to Scriptural usage, and secondly we must show 
 that the religious organization in question has a right to claim 
 the title holy as its special attribute. 
 
 In Scripture, the two words "holy" and "sanctified" mean 
 the same. They are used in regard to places, things, and per- 
 sons. For example, certain lands among the Israelites were to 
 be holy to the Lord, that is, separated, set apart from other lands, 
 for religious purposes. Again, the Israelites are commanded to 
 sanctify the first fruits and the first-born of all animals, that is, 
 set them apart unto the Lord for sacrifice. Likewise Aaron and 
 his sons were to be holy to the Lord, that is, separated from the 
 rest of the Israelites and devoted to the special work of the altar. 
 Finally, God is called holy, holy, holy, that is, the One who is 
 separated from and transcends all else. The basic idea under- 
 lying all usage of the word "holy" is, therefore, found in such 
 words as " separated," " set apart," " isolated," " distinct," " dif- 
 ferent from others," "exclusive," and "select." 
 
 The Church of Christ we should expect to find holy, that is, 
 unlike other organizations, (i) in its life and character, (2) in 
 its purpose and the means to attain that purpose, (3) in its 
 fruits. 
 
 I. Holy in its Life and Character. In its life the true Church 
 of Jesus Christ must resemble its Master in being separated from 
 the world. " If you had been of the world," said our Lord, "the 
 world would love its own : but because you are not of the world, 
 but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world 
 hateth you" (John xv. 19). "The disciple is not above the
 
 THE HOLINESS OF THE CHURCH 201 
 
 master, nor the servant above his lord. ... If they have c? ^d 
 the good man of the house Beelzebub, how much more the* of 
 his household. . . . Do not think that I came to send peace ripon 
 earth : I came not to send peace, but the sword. For I ca 1 J >v to 
 set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against 
 her mother, and the daughter in law against the mother in law. 
 And a man's enemies shall be they of his own household. He 
 that lovefh father or mother more than me, is not worthy of me ; 
 and he that loveth son or daughter more than me, is not worthy 
 of me. And he that taketh not up his cross, and followeth me, 
 is not worthy of me." " Every one therefore that shall confess 
 me before men, I will also confess him before my Father who 
 is in heaven. But he that shall deny me before men, I will also 
 deny him before my Father who is in heaven" (Matt. x. 24, 25, 
 33-38, 32, 33). 
 
 Our Lord warned His Church beforehand of its future trials, 
 lest it be scandalized at the things which were to come upon it. 
 " They will put you out of the synagogues," He said, " yea, the 
 hour cometh, that whosoever killeth you, will think that he doth 
 a service to God" (John xvi. 2). 
 
 Now, I ask, which of all the denominations calling themselves 
 Christian does this description fit ? Of all the Christian churches, 
 which is the one that is looked upon as a separate organization? 
 which stands apart from all the others? Against which one 
 are all the others united in opposition? Is it not true that all 
 the numerous Protestant denominations are at variance on every 
 point except one hostility to the Catholic Church? Is it not 
 true that while Protestants profess to leave every one to his own 
 interpretation of the Scriptures, and find no fault with a friend 
 who becomes an Episcopalian, a Presbyterian, a Methodist, or a 
 Baptist, they will condemn and often ostracize one who becomes 
 a Catholic? Is it not true that there is only one church which 
 demands for Christ's sake a separation even from father, mother, 
 and all that is dear? 
 
 Which church to-day is in every land under the sun, and by 
 every nation is persecuted? A few years ago there were Catho- 
 lics among us so weak as to be ready to admit that all Christian 
 denominations were more or less alike; but during the last five
 
 202 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 years, in which the Catholic Church has been singled out for 
 misrepresentation, calumny, and vile persecution in this country, 
 those weak-spined Catholics must be convinced that they are not 
 rr ^rded as other people. They may be surprised at the position 
 m which they find themselves. It is unjust, yes, often cruel; 
 but let them not be shocked. They knew not formerly of what 
 spirit they were. Through this persecution our Lord has taught 
 them that His Church is not like other churches. If it were of 
 the world, the world would love its own. 
 
 It was said of our Lord that He was holy; in this, that He was 
 not like other teachers of religion. " Behold," they said, " he 
 teaches as one having authority, and not as the scribes and 
 Pharisees" (Matt. vii. 29; Mark i. 22). Of all the Christian 
 denominations to-day, which church stands apart, is holy, like 
 Christ, in this respect ? There can be only one which speaks with 
 authority the Catholic Church. For all the others the Prot- 
 estant churches have abandoned authority and rest merely on 
 private judgment. There is not a single Protestant teacher, min- 
 ister, or bishop, however learned or eminent, who can say with 
 authority to the most ignorant of his congregation : " My friend, 
 the law of God commands thus and so." The other, according 
 to Protestant principles, will have an unquestionable right to 
 reply : " I am sorry we can't agree. My interpretation of the 
 law is different." 
 
 II. Holy in its Purpose and Means. The Church of Christ 
 must be holy, that is, distinct and separated from all other organi- 
 zations, in the purpose of its existence, and the means it uses to 
 attain that purpose. 
 
 " I came down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will 
 of him that sent me. . . . And this is the will of my Father that 
 sent me : that every one that seeth the Son, and believeth in him, 
 may have life everlasting" (John vi. 38, 40). "As the Father 
 hath sent me, so also I send you" (John xx. 21). 
 
 It is plain from this that the special purpose of the Church of 
 Christ is to save men by teaching them to do God's will. The 
 idea of doing God's will whether one likes it or not, whether one 
 derives comfort from it or not, is foreign to the Protestant con- 
 ception of religion. The Protestant regards religion from the
 
 THE HOLINESS OF THE CHURCH 203 
 
 viewpoint of man. The Catholic considers religion from the 
 viewpoint of God. The Protestant asks : How shall I attain com- 
 fort? The Catholic asks, What is my duty? The former aims 
 at a self-conscious righteousness; the latter aims to please God. 
 Protestants generally regard religion as a convenient means to 
 make children docile, husbands and wives faithful, and to pro- 
 duce good, patriotic citizens ; the duty to God is secondary. The 
 Catholic looks upon religion primarily as his reasonable service 
 to God, his Creator, Preserver, and Redeemer ; all other consider- 
 ations are secondary. Civilization and humanitarianism are the 
 results of the Church's influence, but from the words of our Lord 
 it is evident that they cannot constitute the primary purpose of 
 the Church's activity. Many of the non-Catholic churches to-day 
 are devoting themselves almost exclusively to the relief of hu- 
 manity, while neglecting the worship of the Deity. 
 
 Furthermore, the Church of Christ must be holy, that is differ- 
 ent from all other organizations, in the kind of means it employs 
 to attain its end. For the doing of His Father's will our Lord 
 employed not riches, nor social influence, nor political power. 
 On the contrary, He was so poor that He had not whereon to lay 
 His head. Socially it was said of Him that he was a wine-bibber 
 and "a friend of publicans and sinners" (Matt. xi. 19; Luke vii. 
 34). While He taught obedience and respect for all authority, 
 He allied Himself with no political party. When approached on 
 the subject He said : " Render to Caesar the things that are 
 Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's." Referring to 
 His Church, He said : " I am come to call not saints but sinners " 
 (Mark ii. 17). The Kingdom of Heaven (His Church) is like 
 a net, gathering good and bad fish (Matt. xiii. 47-49). It is 
 a field sown with both wheat and cockle (Matt. xiii. 24-30). 
 
 Now, when I speak of a church that is the wealthiest and most 
 fashionable, you know what church I mean, and that it is not the 
 Catholic Church. When I speak of churches that preach politics 
 instead of religion from their pulpits and use political power to 
 advance their spiritual hobbies, you know I do not refer to the 
 Catholic Church. When I speak of churches that use, as their 
 special means of proselytism, concerts, gymnastic associations, 
 and swimming pools, you know that I do not refer to the Catho-
 
 204 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 lie Church. Neither can it be said that the characteristics I have 
 just mentioned are the marks of the Church of Christ. When, 
 however, I speak of a church that is called a wine-bibber, a friend 
 of publicans and harlots; a church which has little wealth, and 
 whose members suffer from unjust discrimination ; a church that 
 is the refuge of the sinner and the outcast ; a church which relies 
 upon spiritual means primarily for the conversion of sinners and 
 the spread of the faith, you know that I cannot refer to any 
 Protestant denomination. These things can be said of only one 
 church, which stands apart from all others. As these things were 
 said of Christ, they are said of the Catholic Church to-day. 
 
 III. Holy in its Effects. The Church of Christ should always 
 be distinguishable from all other organizations by its spiritual 
 effects ; for Christ promised that His Church would endure to the 
 end of the world. The average Protestant has a very hazy notion 
 about the purpose of Christ's mission on earth. Vaguely, and in 
 a large, confused sort of way, he will say that Christ came to do 
 good, and that He established His Church to do good. True, but 
 all men are engaged in doing good; and, generally speaking, all 
 organizations are for some good purpose. Every beneficial so- 
 ciety, life-insurance company, every city and state, is an organi- 
 zation for doing good. What is it, then, that makes Christ and 
 His Church holy, that is, apart from all others in the kind of 
 good they are doing? 
 
 The holiness or distinctness of the Church of Christ should 
 consist in this, that, resembling its Divine Master, the good it 
 accomplishes must be, first, of a superior order, and secondly, the 
 outcome of the most exalted motives. The goodness of Christ 
 was unselfish and heroic. " Greater love than this," He said, " no 
 man hath that he lay down his life for his friend." Can we 
 find such transcendent goodness in the world to-day? This 
 heroic, unselfish goodness, I assert without fear of contradic- 
 tion, you will find in the Catholic Church as you will find it no- 
 where else. It is part of her ordinary life it is continuous 
 throughout the ages. Come with me to the leper settlements, 
 where priests and nuns are giving their lives for the afflicted, 
 after sacrificing home, relatives, friends, comforts, riches, and 
 all else that is dearest to the human heart. Call to mind the
 
 THE HOLINESS OF THE CHURCH 205 
 
 devoted missionaries who go out from home to foreign lands 
 not, like Protestant missionaries, with their wives and children 
 and servants and plenty of money, but to suffer and to die. 
 But you need not go so far afield. The great sacrifice that the 
 Catholic priesthood represents is so general as to attract little or 
 no attention. With all our faults, it is a noticeable fact that Prot- 
 estant ministers endeavor to imitate us by wearing the Roman 
 collar, and nothing pleases a preacher more than to be mistaken 
 for a Catholic priest, and called " Father." Imitation is born of 
 admiration. Seldom do we realize the enormous sacrifice exem- 
 plified in this city by the Little Sisters of the Poor, the sisters in 
 our hospitals and schools, and the Sisters of the Good Shepherd. 
 Protestantism unfurls its flags and beats its drums and grows 
 eloquent over the achievements of a Florence Nightingale or a 
 Clara Barton. It is right that it should. They deserve all 
 honor. They were noble women. But let us remember that the 
 Catholic Church numbers such heroines, not by ones and twos, 
 but by the thousand, in every land and in every age. 
 
 Not only is superior virtue so general in the Catholic Church 
 as to be almost common, but it is prompted by the most exalted 
 motives. There are some, indeed, outside the Church who give 
 themselves without money consideration for the service of others, 
 in helping the poor, in teaching the ignorant, and in alleviating 
 the sorrows of the afflicted, but they do so almost invariably from 
 a feeling of mere human sympathy or pity. The instances, more- 
 over, of such generosity are exceedingly rare. The Catholic 
 Church, however, proposes to her children all that is noble and 
 generous in the motives and activities of the uplifter, but over 
 and above the mere human sympathy that actuates the uplifter, 
 she inspires her priests, nuns, and laity to labor for the highest 
 conceivable motive the love of God. Animated by such sub- 
 lime motives, Catholic charity is as much exalted above ordinary, 
 non-Catholic humanitarianism as Heaven is above earth. 
 
 This explains why heroic virtue can be a part of the ordinary 
 life of the Catholic Church. This is the keynote of the life of a 
 Father Damien, a Francis of Assisi, and a Vincent de Paul, all of 
 whom have many followers to-day. Inspired by this high motive 
 in the Middle Ages, a St. Raymond could gather round him a
 
 206 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 multitude of men in the association for the redemption of cap- 
 tives, who bound themselves by vow to take the places of the 
 Christian captives, and to live in slavery among the Turks, in 
 order that prisoners with wives and children might return to 
 their homes. Has the world ever witnessed the equal of such 
 goodness? It is fruit like this which proclaims the Catholic 
 Church divine, and makes her holy infinitely apart from and 
 superior to all other religious bodies. 
 
 "I beseech you, therefore, brethren, that you present your 
 bodies a living sacrifice, holy, pleasing to God, and be not con- 
 formed to this world." Thus did St. Paul exhort the Christians 
 of his day. It is to be regretted that while the Church aims to 
 make her children holy unlike and apart from the children of 
 the world not all her children appreciate their superior voca- 
 tion. From even its imperfect knowledge of Catholic teaching, 
 the world expects the Catholic to be a leader in good example. 
 The Catholic too often, instead of asking himself, What are the 
 ideals of my glorious Church? asks himself, What is the rest of 
 the world doing? Instead of courageously upholding the sub- 
 lime principles of the Catholic Faith, there are some who are 
 nervously anxious lest they be judged different from the world- 
 lings around them. " My brethren," as the Apostle says, " we 
 are a holy people," that is, "a people apart." We are in the 
 world religiously what the Jews are racially. Whether we will 
 it or not, as long as we are of the Catholic Church, God has pro- 
 vided that the world will not regard us as other men. 
 
 References 
 
 Hehel, " The Ninth Article of the Creed," in Sermons on Christian 
 Doctrine; Corsi, in Little Sermons on the Catechism; Halpin, in Pulpit 
 Commentary, Vol. I; Monsabre, in Lenten Conferences of 1881. 
 
 Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. VII, p. 759; Vol. Ill, p. 758; De Groot, 
 Summa Apol. de Eccl. Cath., q. 5, a. 3; q. 7, aa. 1-3 ; Tanquerey, De Eccl. 
 Christi, Part I, cap. Ill; Hurter, Theol. Dog., Vol. I, Nos.4ii ff.; Vaughan, 
 The Divine Armory, etc., pp. 567 ff. ; Callan, Illustrations for Sermons, etc., 
 pp. 112, 127, 132-134, 157, 170 ff. ; Berington and Kirk, The Faith of Catho- 
 lics, Vol. I, p. 302; Benson, Christ in the Church; Fonck, The Parables of 
 the Gospel; Maturin, Practical Studies on the Parables of Our Lord; Gib- 
 bons, Th'e Faith of Our Fathers, ch. III.
 
 THE CATHOLICITY OF THE CHURCH 207 
 
 SIXTH SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY 
 
 SUBJECT 
 THE CATHOLICITY OF THE CHURCH 
 
 TEXT 
 
 From you was spread abroad the word of the Lord, not only in Mace- 
 donia, and Achaia, but also in every place, your faith which is towards 
 God, is gone forth. i THESS. i. 8. 
 
 The kingdom of heaven is likened to a grain of mustard seed, . . . which 
 is the least indeed of all seeds; but when it is grown up, it is greater than 
 all herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of ihe air come and dwell 
 in the branches thereof. MATT. xiii. 31, 32. 
 
 Analysis 
 
 INTRODUCTION. The parable of the mustard seed is intended 
 to illustrate the external growth of the Church which, despite 
 its humble beginning, is now spread over the entire world. 
 
 I. The Church of Christ must be Catholic, i. Catholicity 
 is a distinguishing mark or sign of the true Church, by which, 
 while remaining one, she is at the same time universal, that is, her 
 members are sufficiently numerous to render her easily conspicu- 
 ous, and are found in all parts of the world. 2. It was foretold 
 in the Old Testament that the Church of Christ would be uni- 
 versal, "in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be 
 blessed" (Gen. xxii. 18) ; Daniel saw in vision the Church as a 
 stone, which grew into a great mountain and filled the whole 
 earth (Dan. ii. 35, 44) ; Malachy predicted that from the rising 
 to the setting of the sun God's name would be great among the 
 Gentiles ( Malachy i. 1 1 ) ; Our Lord commanded His disciples to 
 teach all nations (Matt. -xxviii. 19). 3. This universality of the 
 Church was not to be instantaneous, but was to be the result 
 of a gradual growth, like the mustard seed of to-day's Gospel. 
 Even in the time of the Apostles the Church had begun to spread
 
 208 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 over the then known world, as St. Paul asserts in to-day's Epistle. 
 See also Rom. xii. 18. After the Council of Jerusalem in A.D. 51 
 the Apostles divided the world among them, and separated for 
 their work of preaching the Gospel. 
 
 II. The Church of Rome alone is Catholic, i. Only the 
 Church of Rome is everywhere one in her teaching, her worship, 
 and her government. While Rome is her centre, her circumfer- 
 ence is the extremity of the earth. 2. The great majority of all 
 Christians are Catholics ; the Roman Church has far more in her 
 fold than all the sects combined. 3. The name Catholic has been 
 attributed to the Church of Rome from the very beginning down 
 to the present time, and to her alone. 
 
 CONCLUSION. As the Church is Catholic so should be its mem- 
 bers; that is, all should strive by good example, by prayer, by 
 assisting domestic and foreign missions, to spread abroad the 
 word of the Lord and bring others to the one true fold of 
 Christ. 
 
 Catechism of the Council of Trent, Part I 
 ARTICLE IX OF THE CREED 
 
 CATHOLICITY OF THE CHURCH 
 
 The third mark of the Church is, that she is Catholic, that is, 
 universal. And justly is she called Catholic, because, as St. Au- 
 gustine says, " she is diffused- by the splendor of one faith from 
 the rising to the setting sun." * Unlike republics of human insti- 
 tution, or the conventicles of heretics, she is not circumscribed 
 within the limits of any one kingdom, nor confined to the mem- 
 bers of any one society of men, but embraces within the ampli- 
 tude of her love all mankind, whether barbarians or Scythians, 
 slaves or freemen, male or female. Therefore it is written, 
 " Thou . . . hast redeemed us to God, in thy blood, out of every 
 tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation, and hast made us to 
 our God a kingdom." 2 Speaking of the Church, David says: 
 " Ask of me, and I will give thee the Gentiles for thy inheritance, 
 
 1 S. Aug. serm. 131 and 181, de temp. * Apoc. v. 9, 10.
 
 THE CATHOLICITY OF THE CHURCH 209 
 
 and the utmost parts of the earth for thy possession " ; l and also, 
 " I will be mindful of Rahab and of Babylon knowing me " ; 2 and 
 " This man and that man is born in her." 3 To this Church, 
 moreover, " built upon the foundation of the apostles and 
 prophets," 4 belong all the faithful who have existed from Adam 
 to the present day, or who shall exist, in the profession of the 
 true faith, to the end of time ; all of whom are founded and raised 
 upon the one corner-stone, Christ, who made both one, and an- 
 nounced peace to them that are near and to them that are afar. 
 She is also called universal, because all who desire eternal salva- 
 tion must cling to and embrace her, like those who entered the ark 
 to escape perishing in the flood. 5 This, therefore, is to be taught 
 as a most just criterion, to distinguish the true from a false 
 church. 
 
 Sermons 
 
 THE RACES WITHIN THE FOLD 
 BY THE REV. JOHN H. STAPLETON 
 
 I. The religious world offers the spectacle of folds and shep- 
 herds, of which there is number and variety infinite. And when 
 men have wearied of contradictory messages, opposing standards, 
 hostile attitudes and warring sects, they settle down to the com- 
 fortable conviction that one religion is as good as another. There 
 is, however, another ideal in the world, whose aim is one fold 
 and one shepherd for all the sheep for whom Christ gave His 
 life, one Church for all men. The Catholic Church stands alone 
 in this respect, for she claims to have been sent to realize this 
 ideal ; and what is more, claims to have realized it in very fact. 
 She is the only religious body that has ever come forward and, 
 with credentials from God, laid claim to the extraordinary title 
 of Unity and Catholicity. To teach all truth, to all men, in all 
 times and in all places no other religion ever advanced such 
 a claim, ever attempted such a mission or ever succeeded in such 
 an attempt. And what is still more singular, on whatever topic 
 of Christian faith she speaks, whatever manner of men she ad- 
 
 Ps. ii. 8. Ps. Ixxxvi. 4. Ps. Ixxxvi. 5. 
 
 4 Eph. ii. 20. ' Gen. vii. 7.
 
 210 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 dresses, in whatever age or clime she exercises her mission, her 
 teaching, like the God she believes has sent her, like the truth 
 she believes she utters, is one, unchanged and unchangeable, 
 amid the universal flood of unstable, shifting, conflicting doc- 
 trines and opinions that storm and roar about her. One therefore 
 she is, not only in the possession of all Divine truth, as the refuge 
 of all men called to the knowledge of the truth of God, but one 
 also in teaching, explaining, defending, and defining the revealed 
 word. Men may or may not honor with their approval and ac- 
 ceptance these unique claims; they may or may not prefer for 
 themselves principles less rigid and exacting, less uncompromis- 
 ing with the pride of life so strong within us all. But they rarely 
 refuse just credit and a generous meed of admiration for an in- 
 stitution that has taught mankind and the centuries, and then, on 
 the oneness and harmony of every official statement she has made, 
 of every definition she has uttered with the whole body of her 
 teaching, stakes her honor and her life. 
 
 II. And why should this attitude appeal to the fair-minded? 
 It is considered the plain duty of every man who would be hon- 
 est with himself to stick to the truth. And if he does, he will 
 never change in mind, heart, or outward expression towards it. 
 For truth does not and cannot change; it is ever the same. If 
 it did change, it could change only to error and falsehood, and 
 then would of course cease to exist. Thus does truth perish. It 
 is therefore required of every man and of a church or creed or 
 religion as well not to depart one jot or tittle from those truths 
 which God has revealed, and to remain in possessing and pro- 
 pounding them as firm, as unyielding, as immutable as the ever- 
 lasting hills. Now, to the Church of Christ, the one true Fold, 
 such Divine revelation has been made, and to her these truths have 
 been confided. But if there be many folds and one as good as 
 another, what becomes of truth and loyalty to truth, since truths 
 received in one place are rejected in another, beliefs honored to- 
 day are cast off to-morrow, creeds, the expression of those truths 
 and beliefs, are tinkered to suit passing fancy or popular passion ! 
 What is all this maze of contradiction but the destruction of truth ! 
 And when each is taught to believe what he likes, what is this 
 huge compromise with error but the denial of truth !
 
 THE CATHOLICITY OF THE CHURCH 211 
 
 Common sense makes it clear to us that contradiction is the 
 destruction of truth, that compromise with error is its denial. To 
 allow a thing 1 to be at one and the same time true and false, is to 
 stultify oneself mentally and morally. To let go the truth once 
 consciously possessed, is the lowest form of moral cowardice; to 
 receive as truth that which is not known to be the truth, is a 
 crime against the human mind. And no official expounder of 
 Divine teachings can allow them to be altered under penalty of 
 making God a liar, God Who is Truth Itself. It is in obedience 
 to this fundamental principle that the Catholic Church as the One 
 true Fold puts forth Unity as one of her marks of Divine origin 
 and remains faithful to it even when men would prefer otherwise. 
 God is not where disorder is ; His truth is not where contradiction 
 is. If His revealed Word is still on earth, having been delivered 
 into the keeping of man, it is to be found where the teaching is 
 one, as truth is one and as God is one. 
 
 And this teaching that is one, uniform, logical, and uncompro- 
 mising, is really the soul food intended by the Almighty for every 
 creature come from His hand. It is evident that He created the 
 human mind normally receptive of truth alone, without admix- 
 ture of error or contradiction. The normal man has therefore 
 a natural right to hear from the lips of the authorized custodian 
 of the Divine word nothing but the truth, and that perpetually. 
 Men are all destined for one goal; the path of salvation is the 
 same for all. All men are created equal and in this sense alone 
 is the famous saying perfectly true ; human nature is substan- 
 tially the same always and everywhere. Men have to-day, as 
 they have always had, the same needs ; they have the same strug- 
 gles for good, the same difficulties against evil, the same moral 
 miseries. Hence they require the same guiding knowledge, the 
 same spiritual sustenance, the same helps and remedies. They 
 can no more thrive on truth and error than they can thrive on 
 meat and poison. And therefore, being all called to a knowledge 
 of the same Divine truths, they are all called to the one fold, and 
 to them all the one shepherd is sent. 
 
 Whether or not the words "there shall be one fold," fallen 
 from the lips of Christ, contain a prediction or a command, mat- 
 ters little. For we know that a prophecy from God, in so far as
 
 212 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 it concerns something to be done by His creatures, amounts to a 
 command. What God says will be done, must and shall be done ; 
 His words foretelling an effect to be produced by human agency, 
 resolve themselves into a law whereby men are bound to make 
 His words come true and to see to it that His will is done on 
 earth as it is in heaven. Thus when Mary spoke by the Spirit of 
 God and announced that all nations should arise and called her 
 blessed, men were thereby commanded to fulfil the prediction in 
 the designs of God. In like manner, when Christ said " there 
 shall be one fold and one shepherd," He spoke of a reality to be 
 accomplished, even though many might perversely oppose it, 
 remain outside the fold, refuse to listen to His voice. One king- 
 dom without rival or division, to which should be called and into 
 which should gather the multitudes of the nations this is what 
 Christ foretold. A church which should be One and Catholic 
 this is what had to come to pass, or Christ must be counted with 
 the prophets of falsehood. 
 
 He would also be reckoned with those unworthy suppliants 
 whose prayer has no power with the heavenly Father, He who as 
 God is equal to the Father, and as man, St. Paul tells us, was 
 "heard for his reverence." How blasphemous to assert that 
 Jesus' petition before the throne of heaven was spurned! Yet 
 this is the prayer the Divine Saviour uttered to His " Holy 
 Father " in favor of those whom He was sent to save " whom 
 thou hast given me" that is, all men: "that they all may be 
 one, as thou, Father, in me and I in thee; that they also may 
 be one in us; that the world may believe that thou hast sent 
 me." 
 
 Finally, this scheme of one religion for all men did not origi- 
 nate in the fertile mind of some idle dreamer. Its source is em- 
 phatically in the Law : " go, teach all nations." Here is a com- 
 mission, a Divine commission. It was given to a church which 
 Christ had founded ; which, according to the Apostle, was built 
 precisely and equipped exactly for such a task, framed together, 
 compacted, and fitly joined together by joints and bands, "one 
 body and one spirit ; as you are called in one hope of your call- 
 ing. One Lord, one faith, one Baptism"; which was therefore 
 endowed with the energy and faculty to preserve its unity in the
 
 THE CATHOLICITY OF THE CHURCH 213 
 
 bonds of faith, to spread out to all men and gather them into the 
 fold ; to which if men hearken not, they are to be regarded as 
 heathens and publicans. The commission reads : " teach . . ." 
 not what she felt like teaching, what might suit her, what might 
 suit the men to whom she spoke; but "all things whatsoever I 
 have commanded you." Here is a commission. A church was 
 sent by Christ, who is God, on such a mission ; this much is clear. 
 Where is that church? Or rather, where is the adverse claimant 
 of such a tremendous mandate? Who else but the Church 
 known as the One and Catholic has ever dared to assume such 
 a colossal responsibility? 
 
 III. We need not look farther than our own land to discover 
 the reality of the Church's claim to be one and Catholic, that is, as 
 a Church with one object before her vision men, namely all 
 men, human beings with souls purchased by Christ; with one 
 message for them all the truths of God deposited in her bosom; 
 and with a voice of authority and the knowledge of all men and 
 all tongues to deliver that message. Here are all the nations of 
 earth gathered together. Here swarm representatives of every 
 race under the sun. In this modern Babel of mankind we behold 
 men from the remote corners of the habitable globe standing 
 shoulder to shoulder, kneeling side by side, in one faith and re- 
 ligious obedience. They differ seemingly in all things save hu- 
 manity and religion. And while they await the process of 
 amalgamation at work about them, they stand forth in their vari- 
 ous nationalities and tongues as members of the Fold that is One 
 and Catholic. What was the pentecostal gathering Parthians, 
 and Medes, and Elamites, and inhabitants of Mesopotamia, 
 Judea, and Cappadocia, etc., compared with the myriad-tongued 
 immigrants landing on our shores ? Truly the world is hers. . 
 
 Here she meets her children and gathers them into her ample 
 fold, into her motherly and all-embracing arms. The worldling 
 has seen her at work in our midst and has noted how she knows 
 no difference of race, color, or language, of time, place, or social 
 condition ; how, she ignores all distinctions and how to all these 
 children of men she speaks alike with the voice of God's repre- 
 sentative of the things that pertain to God. They all have a call- 
 ing to and a place at her table where she breaks bread to the soul
 
 214 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 hungry for God ; and every one is sure to receive from her hands 
 the same spiritual food and to hear from her lips the same spir- 
 itual truths, whether his abode had been among the snows and 
 ice of the north or he dwelt on the luxuriant plains of the tropics 
 or amid the gaiety of the capitals of the world. He is the same 
 to her, no more, no less, whether he be prince or pauper, black, 
 white, or yellow, refined or uncouth in the degree of his civiliza- 
 tion, whatever the mellifluous sweetness or the broken jargon of 
 ihis native speech. Language may divide nation, but it makes no 
 difference to her. Diversity of tongue is an accident. It bars 
 none, estranges none; it is no title to preferment, no badge of 
 dishonor or disgrace. Neither is it an obstacle to her activity and 
 success. When she speaks, it is Peter's voice that is heard from 
 Maine to Texas, asf it was heard when it rang out so fearlessly 
 in Jerusalem on the memorable Pentecost morning when, in com- 
 pany with the other disciples, with one accord, delivering the 
 same message but with divers tongues according as the Holy 
 Ghost gave them to speak, he astonished the various tribes that 
 heard him, every man in his own tongue wherein he was born, 
 announcing the wonderful works of God. 
 
 And so here, as everywhere in the world, the familiar sounds 
 of many tongues are music to her well-trained ear. Strangers 
 though we may be in a strange land, we are no strangers to her. 
 For to whatever corner of the earth we trace our origin, to what- 
 ever race we belong, she begat us in the Christian faith and stood 
 sponsor at the baptism of our people. She knows us and we 
 know her, like the Good Shepherd and His flock. The problem 
 of races is no problem to her, for she was formed from the be- 
 ginning to the task of catechising the universal race of men. 
 In an atmosphere like ours politically, with our habits <and insti- 
 tutions, this heterogeneous mass will one day be welded together 
 and moulded into a type of mankind unknown before in the 
 world, which we fondly believe will exhibit itself as the best 
 product of the human race. It will take years, it may take cen- 
 turies, to effect the transformation. But even if it should never 
 come to pass, the spiritual and religious homogeneity of the bulk 
 of our foreign population is an accomplished fact. The Church 
 would not be One, if her many-tongued children proved here
 
 THE CATHOLICITY OF THE CHURCH 215 
 
 capable, as they have never elsewhere been capable, of disinte- 
 grating the inviolable body of her doctrines. She would not be 
 Catholic if she could not assimilate them all. 
 
 IV. When the mission of the Church to teach all truth to all 
 men, in all times and in all climes, shall have been fulfilled, she 
 will pass away. When will that be ? Twenty centuries that have 
 leveled every human institution to the dust and buried the very 
 ruins from the sight of men, have left her younger and more 
 vigorous than ever. Will twenty centuries more succeed better 
 in the work of destruction ? Let prophets forecast as they must. 
 This much is true: the mission of the Church will certainly one 
 day be accomplished and she will pass away. But when she does, 
 it will be in the fulness of time proposed to her work. It will 
 be when men, for whose needs she was established, shall them- 
 selves have passed away and have no further need of her. She 
 will cease to exist, but that will be when the great heart of nature 
 ceases to throb in the heaving bosom of the ocean, for Christ's 
 word is truth : " Behold I am with you all days, even to the con- 
 summation of the world." " And the gates of hell shall not pre- 
 vail against it." 
 
 References 
 
 Corsi, in Little Sermons on the Catechism; Hehel, in Sermons on Chris- 
 tian Doctrine; Monsabre, in Lenten Conferences of 1881. 
 
 Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. Ill, pp. 450, 457; De Groot, Summa Apol. 
 de Eccl. Cath., q. 5, a. 4; q. 7, a. I, 2, 4; Tanquerey, De Eccl. Christi, P. I, 
 Cap. Ill ; Hurter, Theol. Dog., Vol. I, Nos. 416 ff. ; Vaughan, The Divine 
 Armory, etc., pp. 569 ff. ; Callan, Illustrations for Sermons, etc., p. 128; 
 Berington and Kirk, The Faith of Catholics, Vol. I, p. 282 ; Benson, Christ 
 in the Church; Fonck, The Parables of the Gospels; Maturin, Practical 
 Studies on the Parables, etc. ; Gibbons, The Faith of Our Fathers, ch. IV.
 
 216 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 SEPTUAGESIMA SUNDAY 
 
 SUBJECT 
 BAPTISM, ITS NATURE AND INSTITUTION 
 
 TEXT 
 
 And all in Moses were baptized, in the cloud, and in the sea. I COR. x. 2. 
 Go you also into my vineyard, and I will give you what shall be just. 
 MATT. xx. 4. 
 
 Analysis 
 
 INTRODUCTION. The passing of the Jews through the Red Sea 
 was a type of Christian Baptism, as St. Paul tells us in to-day's 
 Epistle. As the Israelites by the waters of the sea escaped from 
 the tyranny of Pharaoh, so the Christian by the waters of Bap- 
 tism is freed from the bondage of Satan. But the reception of 
 this Sacrament is not only a liberation from sin, it is also an ad- 
 mission into the vineyard of the Lord, and imposes upon us the 
 obligation of faithfully serving the Master and of living our 
 lives for God. 
 
 I. The meaning of Baptism, i. Names of this Sacrament: 
 (a) Baptism signifies washing; (b) it is called the Sacrament 
 of faith, because by it we profess our faith in the doctrines of 
 Christianity; (c) it is called Christening, because it makes one 
 a Christian; (d) it is called purgation, burial, etc., by St. Paul, 
 because by it we die and are buried to sin ; (e) finally, it is called 
 the beginning of the most holy commandments, because it is 
 the beginning of the Christian life. 2. Baptism is defined: the 
 Sacrament of regeneration by water in the words of Christ. 
 
 II. The constituent elements of Baptism, i. The matter of 
 Baptism is natural water of any kind, as is evident from Scrip- 
 ture (John iii. 5; Eph. v. 26; I John v. 8, etc.). That water 
 should be the matter of this Sacrament was previously signified : 
 (a) by many figures, such as the Deluge (i Peter iii. 20, 21), the
 
 BAPTISM, ITS NATURE AND INSTITUTION 217 
 
 cleansing- of Naaman the Syrian (4 Kings v. 14), the virtue of 
 the Pool of Bethsaida (John v. 2), the passage of the Red Sea 
 (to-day's Epistle) ; (b) by prophecies, such as the invitation of 
 Isaias to all that thirst (Isa. Iv. i), the waters issuing from the 
 Temple seen by Ezechiel (Ezech. xlvii. i) ; etc. Water is an ap- 
 propriate element of this Sacrament; it is easy to find, and its 
 properties of washing and cooling signify the effects of the Sac- 
 rament. According to the law of the Church, chrism is mingled 
 with the baptismal water. 2. Baptism may be administered by 
 immersion, sprinkling, or pouring, since in any one of these 
 ways the effect of the Sacrament is signified. That the last two 
 ways are valid methods of administering the Sacrament is proved 
 by Scripture (Acts ii. 41 ; xvi. 33) and ecclesiastical tradition. 
 Not infrequently in the early Church, Baptism was administered 
 to prisoners, the sick, and those on shipboard, who could not have 
 been baptized by immersion. The baptismal water should be 
 poured on the head when possible. 3. The form of Baptism uses 
 the words appointed by Christ : " I baptize thee in the name of the 
 Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost," which must be 
 pronounced simultaneously with the pouring of the water. 
 
 III. The institution of Baptism, i. Baptism was foretold 
 by our Lord to Nicodemus (John iii). 2. It was instituted most 
 probably when our Lord Himself was baptized in the Jordan. 
 3. Its use began when Christ and His disciples were baptizing 
 (John iii. iv). 4. The Sacrament became of precept when our 
 Lord expired on the cross. 5. The necessity of Baptism was pro- 
 claimed by the Saviour after the Resurrection (Matt, xxviii. 19; 
 Mark xvi. 15), and its solemn promulgation took place on the 
 day of Pentecost (Acts ii. 38, 39). 
 
 CONCLUSION, i. Gratitude to God for the inestimable bless- 
 ings of Baptism. 2. The faithful should realize the obligation 
 of the vows made in Baptism to renounce Satan and all his works 
 and pomps, and to be ever devoted laborers in the vineyard of 
 Christ.
 
 218 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 Catechism of the Council of Trent, Part II 
 
 THE SACRAMENT OF BAPTISM 
 IMPORTANCE OF A KNOWLEDGE OF THE SACRAMENT OF BAPTISM 
 
 From what has been hitherto said on the Sacraments in gen- 
 eral, we may judge how necessary it is, to a proper understand- 
 ing of the doctrines of the Christian faith, and to the practice 
 of Christian piety, to know what the Catholic Church proposes 
 for our belief on the Sacraments in particular. That a perfect 
 knowledge of baptism is particularly necessary to the faithful, an 
 attentive perusal of the epistles of St. Paul will force upon the 
 mind. The Apostle, not only frequently, but also in language 
 the most energetic, in language full of the Spirit of God, renews 
 the recollection of this mystery, exalts its transcendent dignity, 
 and in it places before us the death, burial, and resurrection of 
 our Lord as objects of our contemplation and imitation. 1 The 
 pastor, therefore, can never think that he has bestowed sufficient 
 labor and attention on the exposition of this Sacrament. 
 
 WHEN MOST CONVENIENTLY EXPLAINED 
 
 Besides the Vigils of Easter and Pentecost, days on which the 
 Church used to celebrate this Sacrament with the greatest solem- 
 nity and devotion, and on which particularly, according to ancient 
 practice, its divine mysteries are to be explained, the pastor 
 should also take occasion at other times to make it the subject of 
 his instructions. 2 For this purpose a most convenient oppor- 
 tunity would seem to present itself whenever the pastor, being 
 about to administer this Sacrament, finds himself surrounded by 
 a considerable number of the faithful. On such occasions, it is 
 true, his exposition cannot embrace everything that regards bap- 
 tism ; but he can develop one or two points with greater facility, 
 while the faithful see them expressed and contemplate them with 
 devout attention, in the sacred ceremonies which he is perform- 
 ing. Thus each person, reading a lesson of admonition in the 
 person of him who is receiving baptism, calls to mind the prom- 
 
 1 Rom. vi. 3; Col. ii. 12, 13. 
 
 * On this ancient practice see Tertul. lib. de Baptis. c. 19; Basil, in 
 exhort, ad bapt. ; Amb. lib. de myst. Paschac.
 
 BAPTISM, ITS NATURE AND INSTITUTION 219 
 
 ises by which he has bound himself to the service of God when 
 initiated by baptism, and reflects whether his life and morals 
 show that fidelity to which every one pledges himself by profess- 
 ing the name of Christian. 
 
 MEANING OF THE WORD " BAPTISM " 
 
 To render what we have to say on this subject perspicuous, we 
 shall explain the nature and substance of the Sacrament, premis- 
 ing, however, an explanation of the word " baptism." The word 
 " baptism," as is well known, is of Greek derivation. Although 
 used in Scripture to express not only that ablution which forms 
 part of the Sacrament, but also every species of ablution, 1 and 
 sometimes, figuratively, to express sufferings, yet it is employed 
 by ecclesiastical writers to designate not every sort of ablution, 
 but that which forms part of the Sacrament and is administered 
 with the prescribed sacramental form. In this sense the Apostles 
 very frequently make use of the word in accordance with the in- 
 stitution of Christ. 2 
 
 OTHER NAMES 
 
 This Sacrament the Holy Fathers designate also by other 
 names. St. Augustine informs us that it was sometimes called 
 the Sacrament of Faith, because by receiving it we profess our 
 faith in all the doctrines of Christianity ; 3 by others it was de- 
 nominated " Illumination," because by the faith which we pro- 
 fess in baptism the heart is illumined : " Call to mind," says the 
 Apostle, alluding to the time of baptism, "the former days, 
 wherein, being illumined, you endured a great fight of afflic- 
 tions." * St. Chrysostom, in his sermon to the baptized, calls it 
 a purgation, through which " we purge away the old leaven, that 
 we may become a new paste " ; 5 he also calls it a burial, a plant- 
 ing, and the cross of Jesus Christ.' The reasons for all these 
 appellations may be gathered from the epistle of St. Paul to the 
 Romans. 7 St. Denis calls it the beginning of the most holy com- 
 mandments, for this -obvious reason, that baptism is, as it were, 
 
 1 Mark vii. 4. 
 
 1 Rom. vi. 3 ; i Pet. iii. 21 ; on the eight kinds of baptism, see Damasc. 
 lib. 4, de fide orthod. 10. Aug. epist. 25, in fin. 4 Heb. x. 32. 
 i Cor. v. 7. S. Chrysost x. 5. T Rom. vi. 3.
 
 220 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 the gate through which we enter into the fellowship of the 
 Christian life, and begin thenceforward to obey the command- 
 ments. 1 This exposition of the different names of the Sacrament 
 of baptism the pastor will briefly communicate to the people. 2 
 
 DEFINITION OF BAPTISM 
 
 With regard to its definition, although sacred writers give 
 many to us, that which may be collected from the words of our 
 Lord, recorded in the Gospel of St. John, and of the Apostle in 
 his epistle to the Ephesians, appears the most appropriate : " Un- 
 less," says our Lord, "a man be born again of water and the 
 Holy Ghost, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God " ; 3 and, 
 speaking of the Church, the Apostle says, " cleansing it by the 
 laver of water in the word of life." 4 From these words, bap- 
 tism may be accurately and appropriately defined : " The Sacra- 
 ment of regeneration by water in the word." By nature we are 
 born, from Adam, children of wrath; but by baptism we are 
 regenerated in Christ, children of mercy ; for He gave power to 
 men "to be made the sons of God, to them that believe in his 
 name, who are born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, 
 nor of the will of man, but of God." 6 
 
 IN WHAT THE SACRAMENT CONSISTS 
 
 But define baptism as we may, the faithful are to be informed 
 that this Sacrament consists of ablution, accompanied neces- 
 sarily, according to the institution of our Lord, by certain solemn 
 words. 8 This is the uniform doctrine of the holy Fathers; a 
 doctrine proved by the authority of St. Augustine. " The word," 
 says he, " is joined to the element, and it becomes a Sacrament." 
 That these are the constituents of baptism it becomes more neces- 
 sary to impress on the minds of the faithful, so that they may 
 not fall into the vulgar error of thinking that the baptismal water, 
 preserved in the sacred font, constitutes the Sacrament. Then 
 only is it to be called the Sacrament of Baptism when it is really 
 
 1 De Ecc. Hier. c. 2. 
 
 * On the various names of Baptism, see Gregor Nazianz. orat. in sancta 
 lumina ; Clem. Alex. lib. I, Poedag. cap. 6. 
 
 1 John iii. 5. 4 Eph. v. 26. 
 
 John i. 12, 13. Matt, xxviii. 19.
 
 BAPTISM, ITS NATURE AND INSTITUTION 221 
 
 used in the way of ablution, accompanied by the words appointed 
 by our Lord. 1 
 
 ITS MATTER 
 
 But as we said above, when treating of the Sacraments in gen- 
 eral, that every Sacrament consists of matter and form, it is 
 therefore necessary to point out what constitutes each of these 
 in the Sacrament of Baptism. The matter, then, or element of 
 this Sacrament, is any sort of natural water, which is simply 
 and without qualification commonly called water, be it sea water, 
 river water, water from a pond, well, or fountain. Our Lord 
 has declared that "unless a man be born again of water and the 
 Holy Ghost, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." 2 The 
 Apostle also says that the Church was cleansed "by the laver 
 of water " ; 3 and in the epistle of St. John we read these words : 
 " There are three that give testimony on earth : the spirit, and 
 the water, and the blood." 4 Scripture affords other proofs 
 which establish the same truth. When, however, the Baptist 
 says that the Lord will come who will baptize in the Holy 
 Ghost, and in fire, 5 he is not to be understood to speak of the 
 matter, but of the effect of baptism,' produced in the soul by 
 the interior operation of the Holy Ghost ; or of the miracle per- 
 formed on the day of Pentecost, when the Holy Ghost descended 
 on the Apostles in the form of fire, 8 as was foretold by our Lord 
 in these words : " John indeed baptized with water, but you shall 
 be baptized with the Holy Ghost, not many days hence." 7 
 
 FIGURE AND PROPHECIES OF THE MATTER OF BAPTISM 
 
 That water is the matter of baptism, the Almighty signified 
 both by figures and by prophecies, as we know from holy Scrip- 
 ture. According to the prince of the Apostles, in his first epistle, 
 the deluge which swept the world because "the wickedness of 
 men was great on the earth," and " all the thought of their heart 
 was bent upon evil," 8 was a figure of the waters of baptism.' 
 
 1 See Chrysost. horn. 24, in Joan.; Aug. lib. 6, contra Donatist. c. 25; 
 CC. of Flor. and Trent; Aug. tract. 80 in Joan. 
 
 1 John iii. 5. Eph. v. 26. * I John v. 8. 
 
 1 Matt. iii. 11. Acts ii. 3. 7 Acts i. 5. 
 
 8 Gen. vi. 5. i Pet. iii. 20, 21.
 
 222 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 To omit the cleansing of Naaman the Syrian, 1 and the admirable 
 virtue of the pool of Bethsaida, 2 and many similar types, mani- 
 festly symbolic of this mystery, the passage through the Red 
 Sea, according to St. Paul in his epistle to the Corinthians, was 
 typical of the waters of baptism. 3 With regard to the oracles 
 of the prophets, the waters to which the prophet Isaias so freely 
 invites all that thirst, 4 and those which Ezekiel saw in spirit, 
 issue from the temple, 5 and also the " fountain " which Zachary 
 foresaw, "open to the house of David, and to the inhabitants 
 of Jerusalem : for the washing of the sinner, and of the unclean 
 woman," 6 were, no doubt, so many types which prefigured the 
 salutary effects of the waters of baptism. 
 
 WHY WATER IS THE MATTER OF BAPTISM 
 
 The propriety of constituting water the matter of baptism, of 
 the nature and efficacy of which it is at once expressive, St. 
 Jerome, in his epistle to Oceanus, proves by many arguments. 7 
 Upon this subject, however, the pastor will teach that water, 
 which is always at hand and within the reach of all, was the 
 fittest matter of a Sacrament which is essentially necessary to 
 all; and also, that water is best adapted to signify the effect of 
 baptism. It washes away uncleanness, and is therefore strik- 
 ingly illustrative of the virtue and efficacy of baptism, which 
 washes away the stains of sin. We may also add that, like 
 water which cools the body, baptism in a great measure extin- 
 guishes the fire of concupiscence in the soul. 8 
 
 CHRISM, WHY USED IN BAPTISM 
 
 But although in case of necessity simple water unmixed with 
 any other ingredient is sufficient for the matter of baptism, yet 
 when administered in public with solemn ceremonies, the Catho- 
 lic Church, guided by apostolic tradition, the more fully to ex- 
 press its efficacy, has uniformly observed the practice of adding 
 
 1 4 Kings v. 14. * John v. 2. ' I Cor. x. I, 2. 
 
 4 Isaias Iv. I. Ezek. xlvii. I. * Zach. xiii. I, 
 
 1 epist. 85. 
 
 ' On the matter of Baptism see CC. of Florence & Trent, sess. 7, can. 2; 
 de consecrat. dist. 4 ; St. Thorn, p. 3, q. 56, art. 5.
 
 BAPTISM, ITS NATURE AND INSTITUTION 223 
 
 holy chrism. 1 And although it may be doubted whether this or 
 that water be genuine, such as the Sacrament requires, it can 
 never be matter of doubt that the proper and the only matter 
 of baptism is natural water. 
 
 FORM OF BAPTISM TO BE CAREFULLY EXPLAINED 
 
 Having carefully explained the matter, which is one of the 
 two parts of which the Sacrament consists, the pastor will show 
 equal diligence in explaining the second, that is the form, which 
 is equally necessary with the first. In the explanation of this 
 Sacrament a necessity of increased care and study arises, as the 
 pastor will perceive, from the circumstance that the knowledge 
 of so holy a mystery is not only in itself a source of pleasure 
 to the faithful, as is generally the case with regard to religious 
 knowledge, but also very desirable for almost daily practical 
 use. This Sacrament, as we shall explain in its proper place, is 
 frequently administered by the laity, and most frequently by 
 women ; and it therefore becomes necessary to make all the faith- 
 ful, indiscriminately, well acquainted with whatever regards its 
 substance. 
 
 IN WHAT THE FORM CONSISTS, AND WHEN INSTITUTED 
 
 The pastor, therefore, will teach, in clear, unambiguous lan- 
 guage, intelligible to every capacity, that the true and essential 
 form of baptism is : "I BAPTIZE THEE IN THE NAME OF THE 
 FATHER, AND OF THE SON, AND OF THE HOLY GHOST," a form 
 delivered by our Lord and Saviour when, as we read in St. 
 Matthew, he gave to His Apostles the command : " Going, . . . 
 teach ye all nations: baptizing them in the name of the Father, 
 and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." 2 By the word " baptiz- 
 ing," the Catholic Church, instructed from above, most justly 
 understands that the form of the Sacrament should express the 
 action of the minister, and this takes place when he pronounces 
 the words, " I baptize thee." Besides the minister of the Sacra- 
 ment, the person to be baptized and the principal efficient cause 
 
 1 Ambr. lib. I, sacr. c. 2; Innoc. lib. I, deer, tit I, c. 3. 
 
 1 Matt, xxviii. 19.
 
 224 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 of baptism should be mentioned. The pronoun " thee," and the 
 names of the Divine Persons are therefore distinctly added ; and 
 thus the absolute form of the Sacrament is expressed in the 
 words already mentioned : " I baptize thee in the name of the 
 Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." Baptism is 
 the work not of the Son alone, of whom St. John says, " He it is 
 that baptizeth," 1 but of the three Persons of the Blessed Trinity. 
 By saying, however, " in the name," not names, we distinctly 
 declare that in the Trinity there is but one nature and Godhead. 
 The word " name " is here referred not to the persons, but to 
 the divine essence, virtue, and power, which are one and the 
 same in three Persons. 2 
 
 WHAT ESSENTIAL, WHAT NOT ESSENTIAL 
 
 It is however to be observed, that of the words contained in 
 this form, which we have shown to be the true and essential 
 one, some are absolutely necessary the omission of them ren- 
 dering the valid administration of the Sacrament impossible; 
 while others, on the contrary, are not so essential as to affect 
 its validity. Of the latter kind is, in the Latin form, the word 
 ego (I), the force of which is included in the word baptiso (I 
 baptize). Nay more, the Greek Church, adopting a different 
 manner of expressing the form, and being of opinion that it is 
 unnecessary to make mention of the minister, omits the pronoun 
 altogether. The form universally used in the Greek Church is: 
 " Let this servant of Christ be baptized in the name of the Father, 
 and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." It appears, however, 
 from the opinion and definition of the Council of Florence, that 
 the Greek form is valid, because the words of which it consists 
 sufficiently express what is essential to the validity of baptism, 
 that is, the ablution which then takes place. 
 
 BAPTISM IN THE NAME OF CHRIST ONLY 
 
 If at any time the Apostles baptized in the name of the Lord 
 Jesus Christ only, 8 they did so, no doubt, by the inspiration of 
 
 John i. 33. 
 
 See Aug. contra Donatist. lib. 6, c. 25 ; St. Thorn, p. 3, q. 66, art. 5. 
 
 Acts ii. 38; viii. 16; x. 48; xix. 5.
 
 BAPTISM, ITS NATURE AND INSTITUTION 225 
 
 the Holy Ghost, in order, in the infancy of the Church, to render 
 their preaching in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ more illus- 
 trious, and to proclaim more effectually his divine and infinite 
 power. If, however, we examine the matter more closely, we 
 shall find that such a form omits nothing which the Saviour 
 himself commands to be observed ; for the name of Jesus Christ 
 implies the Person of the Father by whom, and that of the Holy 
 Ghost in whom, he was anointed. However, the use of this form 
 by the Apostles becomes, perhaps, matter of doubt, if we yield 
 to the opinions of Ambrose 1 and Basil, 2 holy Fathers eminent 
 for sanctity and of paramount authority, who interpret " baptism 
 in the name of Jesus Christ " as contradistinguished to " baptism 
 in the name of John," and who say that the Apostles did not de- 
 part from the ordinary and usual form which comprises the dis- 
 tinct names of the three Persons. Paul also, in his epistle to the 
 Galatians, seems to have expressed himself in a similar manner. 
 " As many of you," says he, " as have been baptized in Christ, 
 have put on Christ," a meaning that they were baptized in the 
 faith of Christ, and with no other form than that commanded 
 by him to be observed. 
 
 BAPTISM MAY BE ADMINISTERED BY IMMERSION, POURING, 
 OR SPRINKLING 
 
 What has been said on the principal points which regard the 
 matter and form of the Sacrament will be found sufficient for 
 the instruction of the faithful ; but as in the administration of 
 the Sacrament the legitimate ablution should also be observed, 
 on this point too the pastor will explain the doctrine of the 
 Church. He will briefly inform the faithful that, according to 
 the common practice of the Church, baptism may be administered 
 by immersion, infusion, or aspersion, and that administered in 
 any of these forms it is equally valid. In baptism water is 
 used to signify the spiritual ablution which it accomplishes, and 
 on this account baptism is called by the Apostle a a laver." * This 
 ablution takes place as effectually by immersion, which was for 
 
 1 Ambr. lib. r, de Spiritu Sancto, c. 3. 
 
 1 Basil, lib. i, de Spiritu Sancto. c. 12. 
 
 * Gal. iii. 27. 4 Eph. v. 26.
 
 226 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 a considerable time the practice in the early ages of the Church, 
 as by infusion, which is now the general practice, or by asper- 
 sion, which was the manner in which Peter baptized, when he 
 converted and gave baptism to about three thousand souls. 1 
 It is also a matter of indifference to the validity of the Sacra- 
 ment whether the ablution is performed once or thrice. We learn 
 from the epistle of St. Gregory the Great to Leander, that bap- 
 tism was formerly and may still be validly administered in the 
 Church in either way. 2 The faithful, however, will follow the 
 practice of the particular Church to which they belong. 
 
 TWO IMPORTANT MATTERS TO BE OBSERVED IN THE 
 ADMINISTRATION OF BAPTISM 
 
 The pastor will be particularly careful to observe that the 
 baptismal ablution is not to be applied indifferently to any part 
 of the body, but principally to the head, which is pre-eminently 
 the seat of all the internal and external senses ; and also that he 
 who baptizes is to pronounce the words which constitute the 
 form of baptism, not before or after, but when performing the 
 ablution. 
 
 BAPTISM WHEN INSTITUTED 
 
 When these things have been explained, it will also be ex- 
 pedient to remind the faithful that, in common with the other 
 Sacraments, baptism was instituted by Christ. On this sub- 
 ject the pastor will frequently point out two different periods of 
 time which relate to baptism, one the period of its institu- 
 tion by the Redeemer, the other, the establishment of the law 
 which renders it obligatory. With regard to the former, it is 
 clear that this Sacrament was instituted by our Lord when, 
 being baptized by John, he gave to the water the power of sanc- 
 tifying. St. Gregory Nazianzen 8 and St. Augustine testify that 
 to the water was then imparted the power of regenerating to 
 spiritual life. In another place St. Augustine says : " From the 
 moment that Christ is immersed in water, water washes away all 
 sins." 4 And again : " The Lord is baptized, not because he had 
 
 1 Acts ii. 41. * Greg. lib. i. regist. cpist. 41. 
 
 Greg. orat. in nat. Salvat. circa finem. 
 Aag. serm. 29, 36, 37, de temp.
 
 BAPTISM, ITS NATURE AND INSTITUTION 227 
 
 occasion to be cleansed, but in order that, by the contact of his 
 pure flesh, He might purify the waters and impart to them the 
 power of cleansing." The circumstances which attended the 
 event afford a very strong argument to prove that baptism was 
 then instituted by our Lord. The three persons of the most 
 Holy Trinity, in whose name baptism is conferred, manifested 
 their august presence; the voice of the Father was heard, the 
 Person of the Son was present, the Holy Ghost descended in the 
 form of a dove, and the heavens, into which we are enabled to 
 enter by baptism, were thrown open. 1 
 
 WATER CONSECRATED TO THE USE OF BAPTISM WHEN CHRIST 
 WAS BAPTIZED 
 
 Should we ask how our Lord has endowed water with a virtue 
 so great, so divine, this indeed is an inquiry which transcends 
 the power of the human understanding. Yet this we do know, 
 that when our Lord was baptized water was consecrated to the 
 salutary use of baptism, and that, although instituted before the 
 passion, it derived all its virtue and efficacy from the passion, which 
 is the consummation, as it were, of all the actions of Christ. 2 
 
 THE LAW OF BAPTISM, WHEN PROMULGATED 
 
 The second period to be distinguished, that is, when the law 
 of baptism was promulgated, also admits of no doubt. The 
 holy Fathers are unanimous in saying, that after the resurrec- 
 tion of our Lord, when he gave to his Apostles the command 
 to go, and " teach all nations : baptizing them in the name of the 
 Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost," 3 the law of 
 baptism became obligatory on all who were to be saved. This 
 is to be inferred from the words of St. Peter, that God " hath 
 regenerated us unto a lively hope, by the resurrection of Jesus 
 Christ from the dead"; 4 and also from the words of St. Paul 
 that Christ " delivered himself up for it : [he speaks of the 
 Church] that he might sanctify it, cleansing it by the laver of 
 water in the word of life." 5 In both passages the obligation of 
 
 1 Matt. iii. 16, 17; Mark i. 10, n; Luke ii. 21, 22. 
 
 1 See St. Jerome in com. in. 3 cap. Matt. ; Aug. serm. 36 de temp. 
 
 1 Mark xvi. 15; Matt, xxviii. 19. 
 
 4 i Pet. i. 3. * Eph. v. 25, 26.
 
 228 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 baptism is referred to the time which followed the death of our 
 Lord. These words of our Lord : " Unless a man be born again 
 of water and the Holy Ghost, he cannot enter into the kingdom 
 of God," 1 refer also, no doubt, to the time subsequent to his 
 passion. If then the pastor use all diligence in explaining these 
 truths accurately to the faithful, it is impossible that they should 
 not fully appreciate the high dignity of this Sacrament, and 
 entertain towards it the most profound veneration, a venera- 
 tion which will be heightened by the reflection that the Holy 
 Ghost, by his invisible agency, still infuses into the heart at the 
 moment of baptism those blessings of incomparable excellence 
 and of inestimable value which were so strikingly manifested by 
 miracles at the baptism of Christ our Lord. Were our eyes, like 
 those of the servant of Eliseus, 2 opened to see these heavenly 
 things, who so insensible as not to be lost in rapturous admira- 
 tion of the divine mysteries which baptism would then present to 
 the astonished view ! When, therefore, the riches of this Sacra- 
 ment are unfolded to the faithful by the pastor, so as to enable 
 them to behold them, if not with the eyes of the body, with those 
 of the soul illumined by the light of faith, is it not reasonable 
 to anticipate similar results? 
 
 Sermons 
 
 BAPTISM 
 BY THE RT. REV. ALEXANDER MACDONALD, D.D. 
 
 Baptism is the first of the Sacraments, the gate, as it were, by 
 which we gain entrance into the kingdom of God. The Cate- 
 chism of the Council of Trent briefly defines it as the Sacrament 
 of rebirth by water in the word, and the definition is plainly 
 founded on the words of Our Lord that are cited above. The 
 Sacrament of Baptism cleanses us from original sin, and from 
 actual sin, if such there be, makes us Christians, members of 
 God's visible Church on earth, children of God and heirs of 
 heaven. We are to consider the institution of baptism, the matter 
 and the form, the effect, the minister, the subject and the cere- 
 monies that hedge it round. 
 
 1 John iii. 5. * 4 Kings vi. 17.
 
 BAPTISM, ITS NATURE AND INSTITUTION 229 
 
 Our blessed Lord is of baptism, as of each of the other Sacra- 
 ments, alone the author. Sacraments convey grace, and Our 
 Lord as God, is the fountain source of all grace, and as man 
 alone bought with His blood a title to saving grace. Therefore 
 none but He can, in his own right, confer grace, whether with 
 or without the sensible signs which we call Sacraments. He in- 
 stituted baptism, so the Fathers tell us, on the day that He was 
 Himself baptized by John in the Jordan. He then bestowed upon 
 water a Sacramental efficacy: the cleansing from sin. But it was 
 not till He had risen from the dead, when He charged His 
 apostles to teach all nations, that He laid upon all the obligation 
 of being baptized. 
 
 The matter of baptism is water, whether it be fresh or salt, 
 from river or lake, from a well or from the clouds. Our Lord 
 says " water " simply, and baptism in any water is therefore valid, 
 but the Church requires that baptismal water should be blessed. 
 There is a fitness in the choice of this element as the matter of 
 baptism, for this Sacrament is necessary to salvation, and the 
 matter used in conferring it should therefore be easily procurable 
 in every quarter of the globe. Again, as the sacraments signify 
 the grace which they confer, water most aptly signifies the effects 
 of baptism. It has the property of cleansing, the property of 
 cooling, and the property of clearness or transparency. Even so 
 baptism cleanses the soul from sin, cools the ardor of concu- 
 piscence, and lets the clear light of faith into the soul. 
 
 The form of a Sacrament is that part of the sensible sign which 
 signifies the effect of the Sacrament distinctly. It always con- 
 sists of words, for words surpass every other sign or symbol in 
 the clearness and distinctness with which they signify. The form 
 of baptism, adapted from the words of Our Lord in the last 
 chapter of St. Matthew is, " I baptize thee in the name of the 
 Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." The form is, 
 as it were, the soul of the Sacrament. And just as man is not 
 soul alone, or body alone, but soul and body united in one, so 
 the matter alone is not the Sacrament, nor the form alone, but 
 matter and form united. Hence it is not enough to pour the 
 water on without saying the words, or to say the words without 
 pouring on the water; both must be done, as far as may be, at
 
 230 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 the same time. It is important to note this, as any one may be 
 called upon to christen a child in case of necessity. It would not 
 do, in such a case, first to say the words and then pour on the 
 water, or conversely. Still less would it do, as persons have 
 been known to do through ignorance or under excitement, to 
 pour on the water, saying, " In the name of the Father, and of 
 the Son, and of the Holy Ghost," for the simple reason that this 
 is not the form of baptism but the form of words used in making 
 the sign of the cross. But suppose one were to omit a single 
 word of the baptismal form, would the baptism be valid? That 
 would depend altogether on the word omitted. If one should 
 omit the article " the," for instance, the form would still be valid. 
 But if one were to omit " I," or " thee," or " baptize," or " Son," 
 it would not. Any omission which substantially changes the 
 meaning of the form renders the Sacrament null. Or, to put it in 
 another way, no word may be omitted which is needed to express 
 the essential meaning of the form. 
 
 Baptism is necessary to salvation. The words of Our Lord are 
 plain : " Unless a man be born again of water and the Holy Ghost 
 he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." These words, on the 
 face of them, would seem to mean that heaven is forever closed 
 to every one who has not received the baptism of water. Yet the 
 Church has always taught that martyrdom supplies the place of 
 baptism by water, and not only martrydom but also an act of 
 perfect contrition, with at least an implicit desire of baptism. 
 But how is this to be reconciled with the plain words of Our 
 Lord? In the first place, the meaning of these words has to be 
 gathered not merely from the text itself and context, but from 
 other passages of Scripture as well. Scripture cannot contradict 
 Scripture, else would God contradict Himself. Now, in another 
 passage of Scripture, Our Lord declares that every one who loses 
 his life for His sake shall find it; and in yet another passage, 
 when asked by the young man what he must do to obtain eternal 
 life, replies : " Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole 
 heart; . . . this do and thou shalt live." Suppose, then, a per- 
 son believes in Jesus Christ, and is put to death for confessing 
 this faith before he can be baptized, those words of Our Lord 
 ensure him salvation : " He who loses his life for my sake shall
 
 BAPTISM, ITS NATURE AND INSTITUTION 231 
 
 find it." Suppose, again, that one who has been instructed in the 
 faith, and is sorry from his heart for his sins because they are 
 displeasing to God, who is so good in Himself, dies suddenly 
 before he can receive the Sacrament, the Church teaches that he 
 is saved because he has fulfilled to the letter the conditions laid 
 down by Our Lord Himself : " Thou shalt love the Lord thy God 
 with thy whole heart." 
 
 There does not appear to be any good reason why we should 
 not take " the kingdom of God," in the third chapter of St. John, 
 to mean the visible society founded by Jesus Christ on earth, for 
 this is the meaning the words bear in many passages of the Gos- 
 pel. So understood, the words of Our Lord may be taken in 
 their strict and literal sense, without limitation or exception, for 
 no one can enter the Catholic Church except by baptism. He 
 may have faith so as to move mountains, and an ardent love of 
 God and his neighbors, but until the water of baptism has been 
 poured on him he remains without the Church, in token of which 
 the catechumens of old were kept without the churches during 
 the solemn part of the Mass. 
 
 The baptism of water alone is a sacrament, and imprints a 
 character. The baptism of blood has all the effects of the Sacra- 
 ment, except the imprinting of the character. It cleanses from 
 all sin, and frees from all the consequences of sin. Hence the 
 Church has never prayed for martyrs, but always invoked their 
 prayers. 
 
 On the day of our baptism we were born to a new life. We 
 took vows to serve God as our only Lord and love Him as our 
 Father. But these vows, alas! we have broken time and time 
 again. We have left God the fountain of living water, and have 
 hewed out unto ourselves cisterns, broken cisterns that can hold 
 no water. We have turned to false gods, have set up in our 
 hearts the idol of self-love, of pride, or lust, or worldliness, as 
 did the Israelites of old their golden calf, and have fallen down 
 and worshipped it. B-ut the Lord our God, whom we have vowed 
 in baptism to serve, is charity itself, and charity, St. Paul tells 
 us, is kind, is patient, is long-suffering. God is ever calling to us 
 with a father's voice, if haply we shall hear Him, and turn from 
 our sins, and prove ourselves faithful to our baptismal vows while
 
 232 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 yet it is day; for the night cometh when no man can labor. 
 " Now is the acceptable time ; now are the days of salvation." 
 Let us heed the call of God our Father in this holy season. Let 
 us forsake the service of Satan, put on the livery of Christ, and, 
 with the great apostle, fight the good fight, that, like him, we too 
 may win a crown of glory. 
 
 References 
 
 Raineri-Hagan, Catechetical Instructions on the Sacraments, Vol. II, 
 PP- 35 ff- 5 Richter, Sunday School Sermonettes, p. 306 ; Urban, Teachers' 
 Handbook to the Catechism, Vol. II, p. 27; Monsabre, in Lenten Conf. of 
 1883. 
 
 Catholic Encyc., Vol. II, pp. 528 ff. ; Vol. XIII, pp. 721 ff. ; Summa Theol, 
 III, qq. 66-71 ; Tanquerey, Theol. Dog., De Baptismo, cap. I ; Hurter, 
 Theol. Dog., Vol. Ill, Nos. 349 ff. ; Pohle-Preuss, The Sacraments, Vol. I, 
 pp. 240 ff. ; Vaughan, The Divine Armory, etc., pp. 658 ff. ; Callan, Illustra- 
 tions for Sermons, etc., pp. 188 ff. ; Berington and Kirk, The Faith of 
 Catholics, Vol. II, p. 108; Bellord, Meditations, etc., Vol. II, p. 270. 
 
 SEXAGESIMA SUNDAY 
 
 SUBJECT 
 ANGELS AND DEMONS 
 
 TEXT 
 
 There was given me a sting of my flesh, an angel of Satan to buffet me. 
 2 COR. xii. 7. 
 
 The devil cometh, and taketh the ward out of their heart, lest believing 
 they should be saved. LUKE viii. 12. 
 
 Analysis 
 
 INTRODUCTION. There are three reasons assigned in to-day's 
 Gospel why the word of God, or the teachings of Christ, do not 
 bear fruit in the hearts of men, namely, the devil, the flesh, and 
 the world. That we are beset with temptations of the flesh from 
 within, and the allurements of riches and pleasures in the world 
 from without, no one will easily deny. But it is frequent in the 
 present age to question the very existence, let alone the inter- 
 vention in human affairs, of angels and demons. And yet an
 
 ANGELS AND DEMONS 233 
 
 invisible world of spirits which we do not see, as really exists 
 as the visible world around us which we do see. It is important 
 that we should reflect upon this doctrine of divine revelation. 
 
 I. Creation and trial of the angels. I. Angels are pure 
 spirits endowed with intellect and will; their number is exceed- 
 ingly great, "thousands of thousands ministered to him, and 
 ten thousand times a hundred thousand stood before him " 
 (Daniel vii. 10) ; our Lord spoke of "legions of Angels" (Matt, 
 xxvi. 53). 2. The angels, like the rest of the universe, were 
 created out of nothing; they were adorned from the beginning 
 with grace. 3. Many of the angels rebelled and were cast into 
 eternal punishment with their leader, the devil, who is also called 
 Lucifer, or Satan. 4. The rest of the angels remained faithful 
 and were granted the vision of God and confirmed in grace and 
 glory. 
 
 II. Bad angels or demons are the enemy of man. I. The 
 devil was the tempter who caused the fall of our first parents 
 and brought sin upon the whole race (Wisdom ii. 24) ; he also it 
 was who tempted our Lord in the wilderness (Matt. iv. 3 ff.). 
 
 2. The demons also strive to injure mankind by external injuries 
 and bodily annoyances, as they' vexed holy Job and buffeted St. 
 Paul (to-day's Epistle). At times they have even taken posses- 
 sion of the bodies of men, as we know from the New Testament. 
 
 3. But the demons chiefly seek the spiritual ruin of man. Their 
 temptations are formidable (Eph. vi. 12), unwearied (i Peter v. 
 8), audacious (Luke xxii. 31 ; Matt. iv. 1-9), crafty (2 Cor. xi. 
 14). To this end they try to take the word of God out of men's 
 hearts, alluring them by novel teachings, by false apostles, by 
 seeming miracles, as in Necromancy, Spiritism, etc. 4. The 
 demons are actuated by hatred of God and jealousy of man. 
 God permits them thus to harass men for the trial and greater 
 victory of the just ("For which thing," etc. Epistle), and for 
 the punishment of the wicked (i Tim. i. 20; I Cor. v. 5). 
 
 III. Good angels are the Guardians of Men. i. The good 
 angels pray for us and rejoice over our prosperity. 2. Some of
 
 234 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 them are commissioned by God to protect and guide us towards 
 salvation. As a traveller through perilous ways is assisted by a 
 faithful guide, so we are helped and defended by ministering 
 spirits. 3. Sacred Scripture abounds in proof of the benefits, 
 temporal and spiritual, conferred through guardian angels (To- 
 bias; Acts xii. 7 ff. ; Ps. xc. n, 12). 4. The good angels are 
 also the messengers of God to man (Luke i. 26; ii. 10; Mark xvi. 
 6, 7; Matt. ii. 13, etc.) ; the executors of His decrees (Acts xii. 
 23 ; Luke xvi. 22) ; they preside over nations and over the 
 material world. 
 
 CONCLUSION. I. Against the attacks of the evil spirits we 
 should watch and pray (i Peter v. 8), ever invoking the aid of 
 our guardian angels. 2. To these latter we owe reverence (Gen. 
 xviii. 2), gratitude (Exodus xxiii. 21 ; Tobias xii. 5), and 
 confidence. 
 
 Catechism of the Council of Trent, Parts I and IV 
 
 (See Fourth Sunday after Epiphany; Fifth Sunday after 
 Easter in Dogmatic Series ; and Palm Sunday and Ninth Sunday 
 after Pentecost in Moral Series.) 
 
 Sermon 
 
 THE ANGELS; GOOD AND BAD ANGELS; GUARDIAN ANGELS 
 BY THE REV. H. G. HUGHES 
 
 (a) The existence of Angels. 
 
 The existence, dear brethren, of innumerable hosts of angels, 
 of purely spiritual beings, created, as we ourselves were created, 
 by the fiat of the Almighty word, yet more noble than we 
 by nature, and higher in the scale of created things, is a truth 
 that can be known to us with certainty only by means of some 
 interposition from the other world, the world of spirits, to which 
 they belong. Such interposition may take the form either of a 
 divine revelation on the point, or of some sensible physical action 
 exercised, with the divine command or permission, by angels 
 themselves. Of such action, both by good and bad spirits, there
 
 ANGELS AND DEMONS 235 
 
 is evidence amply sufficient for those who are not prejudiced. 
 There can be no doubt that instances have occurred, and still 
 do occur, for example, of possession by the devil. Some of the 
 phenomena of spiritism, which is attracting in the present day 
 the morbid curiosity of many, cannot be attributed to anything 
 but the malevolent and mischievous action of evil spirits. The 
 history of the Church and the lives of the saints present to us, on 
 the other hand, many well-attested instances of the action both 
 of good and bad angels. But it may be doubted and the scep- 
 ticism in this matter of those who believe neither in Church nor 
 Bible would appear to bear out the supposition whether with- 
 out the express teaching of the Church and of God's written word 
 such occurrences as I have referred to would have been sufficient 
 to prove with entire certainty to men in general the existence of 
 purely spiritual beings. 
 
 But " we have a more sure word of prophecy." We are not 
 left to the teaching of experiences which cavillers might always 
 represent as deceptive, or due to unknown natural causes. God 
 Himself, by the word of the inspired writers and through the 
 mouth of His Church, has assured us of the fact of the existence 
 of angels, good and evil. 
 
 In proposing, then, my dear brethren, to give you an instruction 
 on the subject of the angels, I take it for granted that I am ad- 
 dressing an audience most of whom are firm believers in the 
 authority and testimony of the Holy Catholic Church as the 
 teacher of God's truth ; and that those of you who are not Catho- 
 lics believe, as we also do, in the Holy Scriptures- as the very 
 word of God Himself. Now there is scarcely a truth more 
 plainly and more often written in the pages of the Bible, from be- 
 ginning to end, than that of the existence of angels. Much, more- 
 over, is there told us concerning their origin, their nature, their 
 present state, and their occupations ; so that if we believe in the 
 Bible at all, we must believe in those beings of another world. 
 
 This particular teaching of the Church and the Holy Scriptures 
 no more than any other has escaped the attacks of modern criti- 
 cism. Unbelievers have endeavored to discredit the very strong 
 testimony which we possess in the records of the Old Testament 
 to the belief of the Jewish people on this subject, by representing
 
 236 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 their doctrine concerning angels as having been borrowed by them 
 from the heathen people among whom they lived in captivity, 
 and particularly from the Persians. But it has not been difficult 
 for Catholic and Christian scholars to show that the people of 
 Israel had nothing to learn from other races on this matter. 
 There is, it is true, a resemblance between the system of Persian 
 mythology and that of the Holy Scriptures in regard to angels ; 
 but it is no more than a resemblance ; and inspired authors of the 
 Old Testament had written of angels long before their country- 
 men came into connection with the Persians. A similar objection 
 has been made against the doctrine of angels as taught by the 
 Christian Church. Christians, it is declared, borrowed many of 
 their ideas on this subject from the old pagan religions of Greece 
 and Rome. The only ground for this statement is found in a fact 
 not always sufficiently taken into account, namely, that not in 
 their doctrines, but in the verbal and pictorial expressions of their 
 doctrines, the early Christians made use of symbolisms which 
 they sometimes borrowed from the more innocent elements of the 
 old religions. Thus an angel may be so represented in an early 
 Christian painting as to be scarcely distinguishable from the 
 figures of Genii, or the figures, for instance, of the goddess Vic- 
 tory. But a little examination will show that the resemblance is 
 only external; that there is nothing in common between Chris- 
 tian teaching about angels, and the fanciful, if not evil, legends 
 of heathendom. 
 
 Let us turn from such objections and ask what Holy Scripture 
 tells us about the angels. In the very beginning of the Bible we 
 read of the cherubim who guarded the entrance to Eden after the 
 unhappy fall of our first parents. You will remember, too, the 
 heaven-sent messengers who delivered Lot and his family from 
 the wicked city of Sodom. The beautiful record of Jacob's 
 dream has been familiar to you from your childhood ; how " he 
 saw in his sleep a ladder standing upon the earth, and the top 
 thereof touching heaven: the angels also of God ascending and 
 descending by it" (Gen. xxviii. 12). Prophets in vision saw the 
 heavenly country, and the throne of God surrounded by angels, 
 made known to them, it is true, under various material forms and 
 images, but nevertheless representing the truth. And that none
 
 ANGELS AND DEMONS 237 
 
 may doubt this, that none may suppose that the Old Testament 
 imagery is nothing else than imagery, that there are no real 
 spiritual beings who were represented to the prophets of old, 
 Our Blessed Lord Himself and the sacred writers of the New 
 Testament plainly teach the existence of a world of spiritual 
 beings, created by God, of a higher order than men. " See that 
 you despise not one of these little ones: for I say to you, that 
 their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father who is 
 in heaven" (Matt, xviii. 10). "I say to you, there shall be joy 
 before the angels of God upon one sinner doing penance" 
 (Luke xv. 10). "He that shall be ashamed of me and of my 
 words, of him the Son of man shall be ashamed, when he shall 
 come in his majesty, and that of his Father, and of the holy 
 angels " (Luke ix. 26). These are some of the passages in which 
 Our Lord Himself speaks of the angels ; nor must we forget those 
 terrible words in which our Divine Teacher speaks also of the 
 devil and his angels. If we look to the epistles, both of St. Paul 
 and the other New Testament authors, we find the same truth 
 constantly stated. " I think that God," writes St. Paul, " hath set 
 forth us apostles, the last, as it were men appointed to death: 
 we are made a spectacle to the world, and to angels, and to 
 men" (i Cor. iv. 9). "Angels and powers and virtues," St. 
 Peter declares, are made subject to Our Lord Jesus Christ in 
 His glory (i Pet. iii. 22). And in those marvellous visions of 
 the heavenly country shown to St. John the Apostle, and written 
 down by him in the Book of the Apocalypse, how great a part 
 is played by the angels ! 
 
 The teaching of the Church is explicit, as indeed it must needs 
 be concerning a fact so plainly stated in God's written word. 
 "God," declares the Vatican Council (Sess. Ill, cap. i) "of his 
 own free counsel, in the beginning of time created from nothing 
 . . . both spiritual and corporeal creatures, angels, that is to 
 say, and the world, and lastly man, composed of both body and 
 soul." 
 
 (b) The nature of Angels. 
 
 What, then, is the nature of these beings. The Vatican Coun- 
 cil speaks of them as " spiritual," and contrasts them with man, 
 who is made up of matter as well as spirit. Everything that we
 
 238 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 read about the angels in Holy Scripture makes it clear that they 
 are not as we are. Except by means of some supernatural inter- 
 vention, they are invisible to the eyes of the body. Had they 
 bodily frames as we have, we should see them without the need 
 of a miracle to enable us to do so. Not till his eyes were opened 
 by the Lord, not otherwise, that is, than by some special inter- 
 vention, was Balaam able to see the angel of the Lord. " Forth- 
 with the Lord opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel, 
 standing in the way with a drawn sword, and he worshipped him, 
 falling flat on the ground" (Num. xxii. 31). The angel who 
 appeared to Gedeon disappeared suddenly from his sight, by 
 which fact he knew that it was an angel who had been speaking 
 with him. " The angel of the Lord vanished out of his sight. 
 And Gedeon seeing that it was the angel of the Lord, said : Alas, 
 my Lord God : for I have seen the angel of the Lord face to 
 face" (Judges vi. 21, 22). 
 
 To Tobias the angel Raphael declared that he eat only in 
 appearance, that he had another, a spiritual, food and drink. 
 " I seemed indeed to eat and to drink with you : but I use an 
 invisible meat and drink, which cannot be seen by men. . . . 
 And when he had said these things, he was taken from their 
 sight, and they could see him no more" (Tob. xii. 19-21). The 
 blessed, in the resurrection, Our Blessed Lord has told us, will 
 be similar to the angels of God, precisely because they will be 
 free from those trammels which are associated with flesh and 
 blood in our present condition. " You err," He said to the Sad- 
 ducees, " not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God. For 
 in the resurrection they shall neither marry nor be married; but 
 shall be as the Angels of God in heaven" (Matt. xxii. 29, 30). 
 
 In the light of these and similar passages of Holy Scripture 
 and with faithful adherence to her constant tradition, the Church 
 teaches as a sure and certain point of Catholic doctrine that the 
 angels are spirits; that they have nothing material about them. 
 When they have appeared to men it has been by taking, for the 
 time being, some visible appearance. It is not easy, indeed, for 
 us to conceive of a being, an intelligent, powerful, noble being, 
 under any form but that of a man. In other words, it is difficult 
 for us to conceive what a spirit is. Nor is it within the scope of
 
 ANGELS AND DEMONS 239 
 
 this instruction to enter into an explanation of spiritual natures 
 in general. Yet I may suggest, in passing, a few thoughts that 
 may help us to form some idea of the angelic nature. What is 
 it that is most powerful in man ? What is it in man that has pro- 
 duced the greatest events, exercised the greatest influence in the 
 history of the world and of mankind. Has it been brute force, 
 or bodily strength ? At first sight it might seem that at least in 
 some periods of the world's history, and among barbarous 
 peoples, this has been so. That it has been so at certain times 
 and over a restricted area of time and place I would not deny. 
 But what really great movement, what accomplishment lasting 
 in its effects has been the outcome of mere brute bodily strength? 
 Behind such movements and such effects we shall always find a 
 master mind ; a will and an intelligence, intelligence to know and 
 foresee, the will to accomplish and to bend other wills to the 
 accomplishment desired. And to which part of our nature do 
 will and intelligence belong? To our spiritual part. And if we 
 reflect, the body is a hindrance rather than a help. It has so 
 many necessities ; it is so soon fatigued ; oft and again " the spirit 
 is willing, but the flesh is weak." For us, indeed, it is a neces- 
 sary instrument for the accomplishment of most of our purposes, 
 but one of which we should often like to be independent. An 
 angel, dear brethren, is will and intelligence unhampered and 
 untrammelled by the flesh. How often our soul sighs to be free 
 from bodily hindrances ; to feel no longer the fatigue and heavi- 
 ness which oppress the bodily frame. Such is the condition of 
 God's holy angels. And to take another thought; what intense 
 activity may be exercised in the spiritual part of our nature while 
 the body is still. What wide tracts we can range over in thought ; 
 what violent struggles can take place in our inmost souls; what 
 burning desires, what joy, what deepest grief, what serenity, and 
 what desolation our spirits can experience, yet none know by 
 any external act what is taking place within. From our own 
 inner experience, then, by multiplying a thousandfold the ener- 
 gies of our souls, we may gain some notion of the vast activities 
 of those spirits whom God has created, unfettered by fleshly 
 bond, to be His court and to do His behests. This, then, is an- 
 other truth taught us by Holy Scripture and the Church, that
 
 240 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 angels are purely spiritual, without any admixture of material 
 and bodily elements. 
 
 (c) Their origin. 
 
 And these powerful spirits were created by God. This is a 
 truth which we profess every time we recite the words of the 
 creed which is said in Holy Mass : " Creator of all things visible 
 and invisible." In those words we confess Almighty God to be 
 the Creator of all things that are ; of the invisible, spiritual world, 
 as well as of the visible universe. The words of the Vatican 
 Council, which I have already quoted to you : " God ... in the 
 beginning of time created from nothing . . . both spiritual and 
 corporeal creatures," are but a more emphatic and explicit decla- 
 ration of the words of the Nicene Creed, and of those still more 
 ancient words of the Apostles' Creed : " I believe in God the 
 Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth," of heaven, 
 with its hosts of angels ; of earth, with its manifold forms of life. 
 
 To sum up, then, the teaching of Church and Bible so far, we 
 are plainly taught by Holy Scripture, and by the Church, who is 
 the authorized exponent and interpreter of Scripture, that angels 
 certainly exist, that they are entirely spiritual in their nature, 
 and that they come forth, by creation out of nothing, from God 
 the Author of all that is. 
 
 (d) Good and Bad Angels. 
 
 The Vatican Council, in the place from which I have already 
 twice quoted, tells us what was the end which God had in view 
 in creating all things. " God, of His goodness and by His al- 
 mighty power, made creatures . . . not in order to increase His 
 own blessedness, nor to acquire any perfection for Himself, but 
 to manifest forth His perfections by the good which He has im- 
 parted to His creation" (Loc. cit.). 
 
 In other words, God made all things out of love ; to make them 
 sharers in His own goodness. Necessarily, also, He made them 
 for His own honor and glory ; for no more perfect end could He 
 have than that, and, being perfect, He must have the most per- 
 fect end in view. But the Vatican Council here insists upon the 
 fact that God's honor and glory involves the happiness of His 
 creatures. Again, that happiness can only be assured to them by 
 their loving and serving their good Father and Creator. It is
 
 ANGELS AND DEMONS 241 
 
 the destiny, then, of all free creatures of God to glorify Him, 
 and to attain the happiness He offers to them, by loving Him 
 and doing His will. And this end is to be carried out by each 
 according to his place in God's creation. The angels were cre- 
 ated especially to form the court of the King of heaven; to 
 minister to Him in His own high sanctuary. This, too, is the 
 teaching of Holy Scripture and the Church. 
 
 The holy Prophet Daniel saw in vision the Ancient of days. 
 " His throne like flames of fire : the wheels of it like a burning 
 fire. A swift stream of fire issued forth from before him : thou- 
 sands of thousands ministered to him, and ten thousand times a 
 hundred thousand stood before him." What a glorious destiny 
 was that of the angels to be the immediate attendants of the 
 heavenly court; to surround the very throne of the Almighty 
 God. Truly to hold such an office is to be a prince, higher and 
 nobler by far than any prince among men. And so it is. The 
 angels and princes ; each has his own glorious throne and crown. 
 
 But, dear brethren, could we look into the inmost courts of the 
 heavenly country, were we favored with the visions that entranced 
 the souls of the prophets of old, we should see that now, in 
 heaven, many angelic thrones stand empty, many glorious crowns 
 have been cast down and trodden in the dust. What does this 
 mean? It means that multitudes of the angelic host have fallen 
 forever from their high estate, and have been hurled down with 
 " everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels." Those 
 who fell, like those who stood firm, were created for God's glory 
 and their own happiness. But God would have free and willing 
 service, and to this end it was necessary that his glorious crea- 
 tures, the angels, should be endowed with free-will, with the 
 mastery over their own actions, with the power of choice between 
 God's service or the worship and service of self. We can gather 
 from Holy Scripture that the sin of the angels was a sin of im- 
 mense and overweening pride. St. Paul, writing to his disciple 
 Timothy, warns him not to elevate to the episcopate one who is 
 a new convert, " but," he says, " being puffed up with pride, he 
 fell into the judgment of the devil " ; into the judgment, that 
 is, into which the devil himself fell. " Satan," writes St. Atha- 
 nasius, " was not driven from heaven for a sin of fornication or
 
 242 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 adultery or robbery; but pride cast him down into the lowest 
 depths of the abyss." That the sin of the angels was a sin of 
 pride is the common and universal teaching of fathers and doc- 
 tors of the church. Of the details of that sin, how and in regard 
 to what in particular the angels set themselves up in rebellion 
 against the power of the Almighty, we do not know with cer- 
 tainty. Some great theologians have put forth as a probable 
 conjecture that it was revealed to the angels that the Eternal 
 Son would assume to Himself, and raise up to the very throne 
 of God, a nature lower than their own, and that they were called 
 upon to worship Him in that human nature, whereupon Satan, 
 thinking that the angelic nature should have been thus honored, 
 refused to adore, and drew innumerable hosts after him in his 
 sin. But be that as it may, it is a truth of faith that the angels 
 sinned; it is the unanimous doctrine of fathers and doctors that 
 their sin was pride; and it is a truth of faith that they fell 
 thereby into the misery of utter damnation and eternal banish- 
 ment from God in the torments of hell. " And the angels," writes 
 St. Jude (Jude vi), "who kept not their principality, but forsook 
 their own habitation, he hath reserved under darkness in ever- 
 lasting chains." "God," says St. Peter (2 Pet. ii. 4), "spared 
 not the angels that sinned, but delivered them, drawn down by 
 infernal ropes to the lower hell, unto torments, to be reserved 
 for torments." 
 
 What a lesson, dear brethren, for us ! What a warning against 
 sin; against pride especially, which indeed enters essentially into 
 every mortal sin, since in every mortal sin the creature lifts him- 
 self against his Creator and declares, "Nolo servire I will 
 not serve Thee I will do my will, not Thine ! " 
 
 Alas for that unhappy fall ! They who were glorious princes 
 made themselves devils. From that time they have not ceased 
 to hate God and all His works. By their fall they have not, 
 however, lost all the powers that belong to angelic nature; and 
 they exercise those powers, as far as God permits, for the de- 
 struction and ruin of man; anxious, if they can, to frustrate, in 
 spite and envy, the merciful designs of God in regard to those 
 favored creatures whose nature He Himself has condescended 
 to take. Thanks be to God that, though for our trial and proba-
 
 ANGELS AND DEMONS 243 
 
 tion He permits them to tempt us, they can do us no harm unless 
 we willingly give ourselves over to their evil suggestions. Armed 
 with His divine grace, we can extinguish all the fiery darts of 
 the evil one. On our side are the hosts of those who remained 
 faithful ; who passed successfully through the trial of temptation ; 
 who are now enjoying, without possibility of falling, the vision 
 of God in heaven, and who, by His merciful providence, guard 
 and guide and assist us in our warfare upon earth. 
 
 (e) The ministry of the Angels. Guardian Angels. 
 
 We have seen what is the office of the angels in regard to God. 
 They are the attendants of His heavenly court; they cease not 
 to worship and adore Him day and night, saying Holy, Holy, 
 Holy, Lord God of Hosts. But He has given them also duties 
 in regard to us. They are His messengers ; they have charge of 
 the Holy Church, of kingdoms and nations, and, moreover, of 
 individuals. It is the teaching of Holy Church that at least each 
 of the faithful enjoys the protection and aid of an angel guardian ; 
 and it is not in any way contrary to Holy Scripture to suppose 
 that every child of man is thus protected. From the beginning 
 the Catholic Church has honored the holy angels, has invoked 
 them and solicited their aid; and it behooves us, dear brethren, 
 to follow this example by being devout to our guardian angel. 
 How consoling is the thought of princes of the heavenly court 
 charged with the care of our souls and bodies ; ever at hand to 
 ward off temptation ; to repulse the demons, to suggest good and 
 holy thoughts, to protect us from bodily danger and accidents 
 in our coming and going; to stand by us and care for us till at 
 last they shall joyfully present our souls, redeemed and cleansed, 
 before the throne of God to receive the reward. We should ex- 
 amine ourselves to see whether we have neglected and forgotten 
 our angel guardian. It is to our interest to invoke him ; to second 
 his efforts by our earnest endeavors to avoid sin. How often 
 we frustrate those endeavors by wilfully running into temptation ! 
 It is a matter of common gratitude, too, that we should remember 
 him who has the charge of us ; that we should thank him for his 
 care, that we should try to live more in his presence. It is need- 
 less to say that the greatest spiritual good must be the result of 
 such a practice. Remembering the presence of our guardian
 
 244 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 angel, we shall remember also the presence of God. We shall 
 thereby be supported in temptation and restrained from sin; we 
 shall be consoled in affliction and kept temperate in the time of 
 joy: cultivating the friendship of our celestial companion we shall 
 be kept from harmful affection for the creatures of earth ; more 
 than any earthly guide and counsellor he will teach and lead us 
 along the heavenly way, until the veil is taken from our eyes, and 
 we shall behold at the last the angel of the Lord with whom we 
 shall praise and bless the Father of us both forever in heaven. 
 
 References 
 
 Hughes, in Pulpit Commentary, Vol. I; Corsi, in Little Sermons on the 
 Catechism, Part II ; Newman, " The Invisible World," in Parochial and 
 Plain Sermons, Vol. IV; Bossuet, in Elevations sur les Myst., 4ieme 
 Semaine. 
 
 Cath. Encyc., Vol. I, pp. 476 ff . ; Vol. IV, pp. 710, 764 ; Vol. VII, pp. 49 ff. ; 
 Vol. XII, pp. 315 ff.; Vol. XIII, pp. 747 ff.; Summa Theol., I, qq. 50-64, 
 106-113 5 Tanquerey, De Deo Creante, cap. II ; Hurter, Theol. Dog., Vol. II, 
 No. 422; Pohle-Preuss, God the Author of Nature, etc., pp. 308 ff. ; 
 Vaughan, The Divine Armory, etc., pp. 40 ff. ; Callan, Illustrations for 
 Sermons, etc., pp. 58 ff. ; Bellord, Meditations, etc., Vol. I, pp. 118 ff. 
 
 QUINQUAGESIMA SUNDAY 
 
 SUBJECT 
 THE SUFFERINGS OF OUR LORD 
 
 TEXT 
 
 Then Jesus took unto him the twelve, and said to them: Behold, we go 
 up to Jerusalem, and all things shall be accomplished which were written 
 by the prophets concerning the Son of man. For he shall be delivered to 
 the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and scourged, and spit upon: and after 
 they have scourged him, they will put him to death; and the third day he 
 shall rise again. LUKE xviii. 31-33- 
 
 Analysis 
 
 INTRODUCTION. Our Lord with the twelve Apostles was on His 
 way to Jerusalem for the last time. It was the final year of the 
 public ministry. In the previous year the Saviour had twice 
 foretold His coming passion and death, and now for the third
 
 THE SUFFERINGS OF OUR LORD 245 
 
 time He predicts it, and reminds the twelve, who did not under- 
 stand Him, that His imminent sufferings had been foretold by 
 the prophets. 
 
 I. The prophecies of Our Lord's sufferings. I. Types 
 were : Abel, slain by his brother ; Isaac, offered in sacrifice by his 
 father ; the paschal lamb ; the brazen serpent, etc. 2. Prophecies 
 are found in Psalms ii, xxi, Ixvi, and in Isa. liii, etc. 
 
 II. The fulfillment of the prophecies, i. "He suffered." 
 The chief sufferings of our Lord's Passion were : the agony, the 
 sweat of blood, the betrayal by Judas and the abandonment by 
 the Apostles, the scourging at the pillar, the crowning with 
 thorns, the carrying of the cross. 2. " Under Pontius Pilate." 
 Pontius Pilate was the Roman Governor of Judea (A.D. 27-37) 5 
 he is named in the Creed in order to show the fulfilment of our 
 Lord's prediction in to-day's Gospel that He Himself would be 
 delivered to the Gentiles. Pilate was a Gentile, and it was he 
 who condemned our Lord to death. 3. " Was crucified." Christ 
 chose to be crucified because this form of death was the most 
 painful and ignominious. 
 
 CONCLUSION, i. It is important frequently to reflect and medi- 
 tate on the passion of Christ, because nothing could show us more 
 clearly the great value of our own souls, which cost such a price, 
 and the extraordinary love which God has for us. 2. As a means 
 of promoting such meditation let us make frequent use of such 
 devotions as the five sorrowful mysteries of the Rosary, the 
 stations of the cross, and the like. 
 
 Catechism of the Council of Trent, Part I 
 
 ARTICLE IV OF THE CREED 
 Suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried. 
 
 NECESSITY OF A KNOWLEDGE AND FREQUENT EXPOSITION 
 OF THIS ARTICLE 
 
 Suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified. How necessary 
 a knowledge of this Article, and how assiduous the pastor should
 
 246 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 be in stirring up in the minds of the faithful the frequent recol- 
 lection of our Lord's passion, we learn from the apostle when 
 he says that he knows nothing but Christ and Him crucified. 1 
 In illustrating this subject, therefore, the greatest care and pains 
 should be taken by the pastor that the faithful, excited by the 
 remembrance of so great a benefit, may be entirely devoted to the 
 contemplation of the goodness and love of God towards us. 
 
 WHAT THIS PART OF THE ARTICLE PROPOSES FOR OUR 
 BELIEF 
 
 The first part of this Article (of the second we shall treat here- 
 after) proposes for our belief that when Pontius Pilate governed 
 the province of Judea, under Tiberius Caesar, Christ the Lord 
 was nailed to a cross. Having been seized as a malefactor, 
 mocked, outraged, and tortured in various forms, He was finally 
 crucified. 
 
 Nor can it be a matter of doubt that His soul, as to its in- 
 ferior part, was sensible of these torments ; for as He really 
 assumed human nature, it is a necessary consequence that He 
 really, and in His soul, experienced a most acute sense of 
 pain. Hence these words of the Saviour : " My soul is sorrow- 
 ful even unto death." 2 Although human nature was united to 
 the divine person, He felt the bitterness of His passion as acutely 
 as if no such union had existed, because in the one person of 
 Jesus Christ were preserved the properties of both natures, human 
 and divine ; and therefore what was passible and mortal remained 
 passible and mortal ; and again, what was impassible and immor- 
 tal, that is His divine nature, continued impassible and immortal. 
 
 WHY THE TIME OF THE PASSION IS SPECIALLY RECORDED 
 
 But if we find it here recorded with sucti historical minute- 
 ness that Jesus Christ suffered when Pilate was procurator of 
 Judea, 8 the pastor will explain the reason, it is, that by fixing 
 the time, as the apostle does, in the sixth chapter of his First 
 Epistle to Timothy, so important and so necessary an event may 
 be ascertained by all with greater certainty ; and to show that the 
 
 1 I Cor. ii. 2. " Matt. xxvi. 38; Mark xiv. 34. 
 
 ' i Tim. vi. 13.
 
 THE SUFFERINGS OF OUR LORD 247 
 
 event verified the prediction of the Saviour : " They shall deliver 
 him to the Gentiles to be mocked, and scourged, and crucified." 1 
 
 WHY CHRIST DIED ON A CROSS 
 
 That He suffered the particular death of the cross is also to be 
 traced to the economy of the divine councils, " that whence death 
 came, thence life might arise." The serpent, which overcame 
 our first parents by the fruit of the tree, was himself overcome 
 by Christ on the wood of the cross. Many reasons, which the 
 holy Fathers have evolved in detail, may be adduced to show the 
 congruity of the Saviour's having suffered the death of the cross 
 rather than any other; but it is enough that the faithful be in- 
 formed by the pastor that that species of death, because con- 
 fessedly the most ignominious and humiliating, was chosen by 
 the Saviour as most consonant and best suited to the plan of 
 redemption ; for not only among the Gentiles was the death of 
 the cross deemed execrable and loaded with disgrace and infamy, 
 but also among the Jews; for in the law of Moses the man is 
 pronounced accursed who hangeth on a tree. 2 
 
 HISTORICAL PART OF THIS ARTICLE NOT TO BE OMITTED 
 
 But the historical part of this Article, which has been narrated 
 by the Holy Evangelists with the most minute exactness, is not 
 to be omitted by the pastor, in order that the faithful may be 
 familiarly acquainted with at least the principal heads of this 
 mystery, which are of more immediate necessity to confirm the 
 truth of our faith. For on this Article, as on a sort of founda- 
 tion, rest the religion and faith of Christians, and on this foun- 
 dation, when once laid, the superstructure rises with perfect 
 security. If any other truth of Christianity presents difficulties 
 to the mind of man, the mystery of the cross must, assuredly, 
 be considered to present still greater difficulties. We can scarcely 
 be brought to think that our salvation depends on the cross, and 
 on Him who for us was fastened to its wood. But in this, as the 
 apostle says, we may admire the supreme wisdom of divine 
 providence : " For seeing that in the wisdom of God the world, 
 by wisdom, knew not God, it pleaseth God, by the foolishness 
 
 1 Matt. xx. 19. * Deut. xxi. 23 ; Gal. iii. 13.
 
 248 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 of our preaching, to save them that believe." * We are not, 
 therefore, to be surprised that the Prophets, before the coming 
 of Christ, and the apostles after His death and resurrection, 
 labored so industriously to convince mankind that He was the 
 Redeemer of the world, and to bring them under the power and 
 obedience of Him who was crucified. 
 
 FIGURES AND PROPHECIES OF THE PASSION AND DEATH OF 
 THE SAVIOUR 
 
 Knowing, therefore, that nothing is so far above the reach of 
 human reason as the mystery of the cross, Almighty God, im- 
 mediately from the fall of Adam, ceased not, both by figures and 
 by the oracles of the Prophets, to signify the death by which 
 His Son was to die. Not to dwell on these figures, Abel who 
 fell a victim to the envy of his brother, 2 Isaac who was com- 
 manded to be offered in sacrifice, 3 the lamb immolated by the 
 Jews on their departure from Egypt, 4 and also the brazen ser- 
 pent lifted up by Moses in the desert, 5 were all figures of the 
 passion and death of Christ the Lord. That this event was 
 foretold by many Prophets is a fact too well known to require 
 development here. Not to speak of David, whose Psalms em- 
 brace the principal mysteries of redemption, 6 the oracles of Isaias 
 are so clear and graphic 7 that he may be said rather to have re- 
 corded a past than predicted a future event. 8 
 
 Sermons 
 
 PROPHECIES RELATING TO OUR LORD'S PASSION 
 BY CANON J. S. RICHTER 
 
 God is eternal, and His eye discerns all that is still hidden from 
 us in the future, while it also searches the hearts of all His 
 creatures. No man can know what God discovers there, unless 
 by special revelation, such as. is vouchsafed to His ambassadors, 
 whose prophetic utterances convey the knowledge to others. God 
 does not speak in words only, but also in deeds, deeds which He 
 
 * i Cor. i. 21. * Gen. iv. 8. * Gen. xxii. 6-8. 
 
 * Exod. xi. 5-7. * Num. xxi. 8, 9; John iii. 14. 
 
 * Psalms ii, xxi, Ixvi, cix. 7 Is. liii. 8 St. Jerome, Epist. ad Paulin.
 
 THE SUFFERINGS OF OUR LORD 249 
 
 alone performs and of which He determines the significance. 
 These deeds we call types ; they are, as it were, pictures of what 
 will eventually take place ; and prophecies and types go together, 
 because both come from God, and together form the signature 
 that He sets upon the credentials of His ambassadors. Both refer 
 in an especial manner to the one great Ambassador, whose path 
 was prepared by all the other prophets, namely, the only begotten 
 Son of God, our Lord and Saviour, whose lifework was our re- 
 demption. The Gospel tells us that towards the close of His life 
 our Lord hid Himself, and that is why the Church covers up His 
 figure on the Crucifix for the last fortnight of Lent, although 
 He ought to be continually in our thoughts at this time. In a 
 somewhat similar fashion our Saviour's figure is concealed in the 
 prophecies and types of the Old Testament; let us consider it 
 to-day as God revealed it to His people ages before our Lord's 
 coming. St. Bernard tells us that there are three points of which 
 we ought not to lose sight in meditating upon the Passion ; viz. : 
 What did Christ suffer? How did He suffer? Why did He 
 suffer? The prophets will answer these questions. 
 
 I. They tell us in great detail precisely what Christ was to 
 suffer. All men were to conspire against Him. " Why have the 
 Gentiles raged, and the people devised vain things? The kings 
 of the earth stood up, and the princes met together, against the 
 Lord, and against his Christ " (Ps. ii. I, 2). But how could they 
 hope to seize one who, whenever He chose, cast blindness upon 
 them and vanished ? They had recourse to treachery : " The man 
 of my peace, in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, hath greatly 
 supplanted me" (Ps. xl. 10). " If he that hated me had spoken 
 great things against me, I would perhaps have hidden myself 
 from him. But thou a man of one mind, my guide, and my 
 familiar, who didst take sweetmeats together with me: in the 
 house of God we walked with consent" (Ps. liv. 13-15). Thirty 
 pieces of silver were weighed out to the traitor (Zach. xi. 12), 
 and false witnesses came forward so that sentence was given 
 against Him, and He was condemned to a most shameful death. 
 They pierced His Hands and Feet and numbered all His bones ; 
 they parted His garments among them, and for His vesture they 
 cast lots; they gave Him vinegar to drink, and at last He re-
 
 250 PAROCHIAL 1 COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 sembled a worm, and no man; He was the reproach of men and 
 the outcast of the people ; all they that saw Him laughed Him to 
 scorn, saying : " He hoped in the Lord, let him deliver him " 
 (Ps. xxi and Ixviii). At last He opens His mouth and cries: 
 " O God, my God, look upon me : why hast thou forsaken me ? " 
 " And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord God, that 
 the sun shall go down at midday, and I will make the earth dark 
 in the day of light" (Amos viii. 9). You all know this story, 
 but every detail was foretold by David and Isaias, the one over 
 a thousand, and the other six or seven hundred years before our 
 Lord's birth. The Evangelists have recorded how their prophe- 
 cies were fulfilled, and it is impossible to suppose that He of 
 whom such wonderful things were predicted was merely an ordi- 
 nary human being; God Himself could hardly prove more clearly 
 that the one who suffered such indignities was He of whom 
 Isaias said that God Himself would come and save us (Is. 
 xxxv. 4). 
 
 II. God told us how our Redeemer would suffer, as well as 
 the kind of His sufferings. Let us call to mind how Abraham 
 and Isaac, the son of the promise, went to Mount Moria. God 
 had called Abraham and said : " Take thy only begotten son Isaac, 
 whom thou lovest . . . and offer him for an holocaust upon one 
 of the mountains which I will show thee." They set out without 
 delay, Isaac carrying the wood for the holocaust, and Abraham 
 bearing fire and a sword. Isaac asked where the victim was, and 
 Abraham replied that God would provide Himself a victim for 
 a holocaust. Having reached the place which God had shown 
 him, he built an altar and laid the wood in order upon it; and 
 when he had bound Isaac, he laid him on the wood ; then, putting 
 forth his hand he took the sword to sacrifice his son. But God 
 did not desire the boy's death and was satisfied with this proof 
 of Abraham's obedience. Isaac was, however, a type of another 
 sacrifice, another son of the promise, and Moria was a type of 
 Golgotha, as Isaac was of Christ. Our Lord bore His Cross just 
 as Isaac had carried the wood, but there was no need for Him to 
 ask where the victim was. He had already said : " A body thou 
 hast fitted to me: ... Behold I come" (Heb. x. 5, 7), and He 
 clasped in His arms the cross on which He was about to die.
 
 THE SUFFERINGS OF OUR LORD 251 
 
 He went like a lamb to the slaughter, not opening His mouth, 
 and when He came to the place, He allowed Himself to be nailed 
 to the cross without uttering a word of protest. This time the 
 blow was really struck, and Christ, the second Isaac, was slain; 
 He did not resist, but gave His Body to the strikers ; He turned 
 not away His face from them that rebuked Him and spat upon 
 Him. He was offered because it was His own holy will (Is. 1 
 and liii). 
 
 We cannot without emotion think of Isaac lying bound upon 
 the altar of sacrifice, but surely our hearts should be touched still 
 more when we think of Christ, the only begotten Son of God, 
 hanging on the cross, willing and eager to be a sacrifice for our 
 sins. 
 
 III. Lastly, the prophets tell us why Christ was to suffer. In 
 speaking of the Man oi Sorrows, acquainted with infirmity, Isaias 
 says : " Surely he hath borne our infirmities and carried our sor- 
 rows: ... he was wounded for our iniquities, he was bruised 
 for our sins: the chastisement of our peace was upon him, and 
 by his bruises we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray, 
 every one hath turned aside into his own way : and the Lord hath 
 laid on him the iniquity of us all" (Is. liii. 4-6). Any one read- 
 ing these words must be reminded of the sin-offerings in the 
 Levitical law, the victims on whom the priests laid the sins of the 
 people. He will be reminded, too, of the Paschal lamb, whose 
 blood was sprinkled on the doorposts of the Israelites, and of the 
 brazen serpent in the wilderness. The people had murmured 
 against God, and to punish them He sent serpents among them, 
 which bit them and killed many. The Israelites in dismay came 
 to Moses, saying, " We have sinned, . . . pray that he [the 
 Lord] may take away these serpents from us. And Moses prayed 
 for the people. And the Lord said to him : Make a brazen ser- 
 pent, and set it up for a sign : whosoever being struck shall look 
 on it, shall live. Moses therefore made a brazen serpent, . . . 
 which when they that were bitten looked upon, they were healed 
 (Num. xxi. 7-9). The Israelites represent the human race; the 
 desert is the world. Ever since our first parents listened to the 
 serpent in Paradise, the brood of noxious reptiles has been mul- 
 tiplying, and now they are all around us, watching for an oppor-
 
 252 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 tunity to assail us and set their poisonous fangs into our souls. 
 There are serpents of pride, envy, hatred, intemperance, impurity, 
 doubt, and despair. Who can heal a soul once wounded by any 
 of these? " As Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must 
 the Son of man be lifted up" (John iii. 14). He hung on the 
 cross, sinless though He was, and desired that the blood flowing 
 from His wounds should heal us; but just as the Israelites had 
 to look at the brazen serpent, so must we look up at Christ with 
 faith and love. The Jews watched Him hanging on the cross, 
 but it did them no good, for they did not believe in Him. The 
 penitent thief received forgiveness, for he had unbounded con- 
 fidence in our Lord's goodness and mercy. Our Saviour Him- 
 self promised, if He were lifted up from the earth, to draw all 
 men to Him ; may He draw us and give us pardon and the kiss 
 of peace! This, my brethren, is the meaning of the brazen ser- 
 pent it is a type of the mystery of the cross, a type devised by 
 God long before the crucifixion. O Crux, avel Christ Himself 
 foretold the fulfilment of the prophecies of the Old Testament. 
 For instance, before His last journey to Jerusalem, as we read in 
 to-day's Gospel, He said to His disciples : " Behold, we go up to 
 Jerusalem, and all things shall be accomplished which were writ- 
 ten by the prophets concerning the Son of man. For he shall 
 be delivered to the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and scourged, 
 and spit upon : And after they have scourged him, they will put 
 him to death; and the third day he shall rise again" (Luke xviii. 
 3 I- 33)- Yes, our Lord foretold His resurrection as well as His 
 death, but even the darkest depths of His shame are lighted up 
 by the Divine power and wisdom the wisdom that so wonder- 
 fully foresaw all that would come to pass, and the power that 
 fulfilled all predictions. Thus in Passiontide we see the Man 
 of Sorrows with the glory of heaven shining on Him. Let us 
 think how much He suffered, and with what inexhaustible pa- 
 tience, remembering that it was all for us, for every one of us, 
 to make atonement for our sins and to obtain for us strength to 
 avoid sin in future. Listen to the voice of Holy Church, who 
 reminds us how the prophecies and types of the Old Testament 
 were fulfilled most perfectly during our Saviour's passion. But 
 the Church shows us another picture and a still sadder one, for
 
 THE SUFFERINGS OF OUR LORD 253 
 
 it represents ourselves. The sinful, ungrateful city of Jerusalem 
 is a type of us, and it is to us that the words are addressed : 
 " Jerusalem, Jerusalem, O turn thee to the Lord thy God." Let 
 us obey the call. Amen. 
 
 THE PASSION OF CHRIST 
 , BY THE REV. J. R. NEWELL, O.P. 
 
 From the liturgical offices and prayers of the Church during 
 the approaching Lent it is evident that her mind and heart are 
 entirely occupied throughout the holy season with the memory 
 of our Saviour's redeeming Passion the sufferings by which 
 Jesus drank for us to the very dregs the bitter chalice of woe. 
 
 To-day the Church selects the portion of the Gospel just read 
 in order to direct our thoughts betimes, as Jesus directed the 
 minds of His Apostles, to the great mystery of our Redemption. 
 We shall therefore be in harmony with the spirit of the Church 
 if we devote a few moments this morning to some considerations 
 on the Passion of Christ. That adorable Passion the last phase 
 in the earthly life of Jesus is the greatest and most fruitful 
 of devotions. There we see how much God loved us, and we 
 are powerfully drawn to love Him in return; and love is the 
 direct way to God and to all moral power and wisdom. There 
 we see exemplified the fundamental virtues of the Christian life, 
 humility, obedience, constancy, and justice; and there we learn 
 to shun sin with horror, seeing the tremendous price that was 
 paid for our deliverance from it, even the precious Blood of a 
 God-man. 
 
 In meditating on the Passion of Jesus we should bear in mind 
 that His sufferings were pre-ordained by God for our redemption. 
 Our relation to God is of a moral and religious character; and 
 by our fall from original grace we were spiritually outcast from 
 Him, and were amenable to the claims of His infinite retributive 
 justice ; and that divine Justice, for its own due satisfaction and 
 our redemption, decreed the sufferings of the Incarnate Son of 
 God. As St. Leo expresses it: "Unless Jesus were man He 
 could not suffer ; unless He were God His sufferings could bring 
 us no remedy."
 
 254 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 This divine plan of redemption was revealed to mankind in 
 the hour of our fall, and the revelation of it was repeated 
 throughout the ages. It was prefigured in the immolation of 
 Isaac; in the sacrifice of the Paschal Lamb, and in the setting 
 up of the Brazen Serpent in the desert for the healing of the 
 penitent. It was the chief theme of the prophets. Speaking 
 of the promised Messias, Isaias said : " All we like sheep had 
 gone astray, . . . but the Lord hath laid on him the iniquities 
 of us all. . . . He hath borne our infirmities and carried our 
 sorrows. . . . He was immolated because he willed it, ... and 
 by his stripes we were healed. . . . He was led like a lamb to 
 the slaughter, not opening his mouth. ... I beheld him a man 
 of sorrows and acquainted with infirmity. . . . He was wounded 
 for our transgressions and bruised for our sins." And Daniel 
 said : " Thus saith the Lord, seventy weeks of years " four 
 hundred and ninety years "are set from the decree of Cyrus 
 to rebuild the City and the Temple, when the Christ shall appear. 
 . . . And he shall be slain, and iniquity shall be atoned. . . . And 
 his people that shall deny him shall be his no more." Again: 
 the Royal Prophet portrayed the Messias grieving and praying 
 in His atoning sorrows : " O God, my God, look upon me . . . 
 the sins of my people cry out upon me . . . our fathers hoped 
 in thee and were delivered. . . . Save my soul from the jaws of 
 the wicked. . . . All the ends of the earth shall remember and 
 shall be converted to thee." And Jeremias : " All ye that pass by 
 the way attend, and see if there be any sorrow like to my sor- 
 row." Jesus cited these prophecies and predicted their approach- 
 ing fulfilment in Himself at the hands of the Jews in Jerusalem. 
 And He found there ready at hand all the elements that were to 
 contribute to the accomplishment of His death; for He found a 
 degenerate people; a dominant class of proud and avaricious 
 pharisees; a cowardly Gentile ruler, and a traitorous disciple 
 a Judas. Amid such conditions His Passion was inevitable in 
 view of the abasement enacted by His Incarnation and of the 
 revelation of His Divinity to men determined not to believe Him. 
 His own testimony to Himself gave them the power to accuse 
 and condemn Him. 
 
 The sorrows of Jesus were unfathomable, as they sprang from
 
 THE SUFFERINGS OF OUR LORD 255 
 
 His knowledge and His love. From His knowledge of God, 
 for His human Soul possessed the immediate vision of the Divine 
 Essence of the face of God. From His knowledge of mortal 
 sin, for He comprehended its immeasurable heinousness as an 
 infinite affront to God. From His love for God and for man, by 
 which He embraced both, and sought, with all the might of a 
 God-man, to reconcile and unite the adorable Creator and His 
 erring creature. His sufferings were intense beyond compre- 
 hension, both from His surpassing sensitiveness and the bound- 
 less cruelty of the Jews ; and He was buffeted in the face, dragged 
 about, thrown down, scourged, crowned with thorns, mocked, 
 execrated, spit upon, and crucified. 
 
 To Jesus, therefore, the Divine Victim and hero of eternal 
 justice and love, who for the honor of God and human redemp- 
 tion gave His precious life for all and each of us, let us render 
 grateful and loving sympathy by the avoidance of sin and the 
 constant remembrance of His passion. Let us be imbued with 
 the spirit of the Cross. It is the science of the Saints. It fired 
 the Apostles with the love and intrepidity that converted the 
 world. It sustained the martyrs in their heroic testimony for the 
 faith, and it inspired the works of benevolence and charity that 
 have dignified and blessed human society throughout the Chris- 
 tian ages. Let no one shrink from partaking in the sorrows and 
 humiliation of the Cross of Christ. He, the Incarnate God, has 
 stripped it of all its ignominy and woe, and has made it to be 
 for all who embrace it the source of divinest honor and glory. 
 So teaches St. Paul : " If we suffer with Christ we shall also be 
 glorified with Him." And St. Peter : " This is thanksworthy ; 
 for unto this are you called ; because Christ also suffered for us, 
 leaving you an example that you should follow His steps. . . . 
 Christ therefore having suffered for us be you also armed with 
 the same thought." And let this saving thought, which is our 
 faith, find expression in devotion, and bring us all together dur- 
 ing Lent to make the way of the Cross and to attend daily, if 
 possible at Holy Mass, which is the perpetuation of the heroic 
 Passion and death of Jesus the unbloody sacrifice of the same 
 living glorious victim who died for our redemption in Calvary.
 
 256 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 References 
 
 Hehel, " The Fourth Article of the Creed," in Sermons on Christian 
 Doctrine; Graham, in Pulpit Commentary, Vol. I; Smith, in Horn. Monthly, 
 January and February, 1918; Bourdaloue and Bossuet, in Great French 
 Sermons, Series I ; Monsabre, in Lenten Conferences of 1880. 
 
 Cath. Encyc., Vol. XI, pp. 530 ff. ; Vol. I, pp. 224 ff. ; Vol. VI, pp. 92 ff. ; 
 Vol. IV, pp. 517, 540; Vol. XII, pp. 614 ff. ; Summa Theol., Ill, qq. 46-49; 
 Tanquerey, De Verbo Incarnato, Nos. 1105, 1106, mo ff. ; Pohle-Preuss, 
 Soteriology, pp. 41 ff. ; Maas, Christ in Type and Prophecy; Vaughan, The 
 Divine Armory, etc., pp. 105 ff. ; Callan, Illustrations for Sermons, etc., 
 pp. 22 ff. ; Bellord, Meditations, etc., Vol. I, p. 304 ; Marsh, in Messianic 
 Philosophy, p. 166; Poelzl-Martindale, The Passion and Glory of Christ. 
 
 FIRST SUNDAY OF LENT 
 
 SUBJECT 
 THE HOLY EUCHARIST 
 
 TEXT 
 
 And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterwards he was 
 hungry. . . . And behold angels came and ministered to him. MATT. 
 iv. 2, ii. 
 
 Analysis 
 
 INTRODUCTION. Christ in to-day's Gospel rejected the devil's 
 proposal to change stones into bread to satisfy His hunger, and 
 later He received food through the ministration of Angels. Our 
 souls in this life are frequently tempted with the food offered 
 by the evil one, which consists in forbidden pleasures and satis- 
 factions ; but against this table of devils Christ has prepared for 
 our souls the food of Angels in the Holy Eucharist. 
 
 I. Institution of the Holy Eucharist, i. At the synagogue 
 in Capharnaum a year before His death our Lord promised His 
 disciples and the Jews that He would give them His flesh to eat 
 and His blood to drink (John vi). 2. This promise the Saviour 
 fulfilled the night before He suffered when, at the Last Supper, 
 He changed bread and wine into His body and blood and gave 
 to His disciples, empowering them and their successors to do 
 what He had done. 3. Christ instituted the Holy Eucharist after
 
 THE HOLY EUCHARIST 257 
 
 the Paschal meal in order to show that the ancient law had now 
 given way to the New Law, the shadow to the reality. This took 
 place on the eve of our Lord's death, because the Eucharist was 
 His last bequest to the world. 
 
 II. The names by which the Holy Eucharist is designated. 
 
 1. Eucharist signifies grace or thanksgiving. This Sacrament 
 contains the Author of Grace Himself, and it was instituted with 
 an act of thanksgiving. 2. Communion signifies that this is 
 the Sacrament of unity and charity. 3. Viaticum signifies that 
 the Holy Eucharist is the food of our mortal pilgrimage and the 
 preparation for our eternal life. 
 
 III. The Holy Eucharist as a Sacrament, i. Three things 
 are required for a sacrament: (a) institution by Christ; (b) a 
 sensible sign; (c) inward grace. The Holy Eucharist was in- 
 stituted by Christ, as said above ; its sensible sign consists in the 
 species of bread and wine; its inward grace is a special union 
 with Christ. 2. The Holy Eucharist has at all times from its in- 
 stitution been regarded as a true Sacrament, as we know from 
 tradition and the inspired writers. 3. The Holy Eucharist dif- 
 fers from other Sacraments in that it is permanent, whereas 
 they are transient; its elements are changed, whereas the ele- 
 ments of the other Sacraments remain. 4. The Eucharist, al- 
 though consisting of the two elements of bread and wine, is but 
 one Sacrament, since it signifies but one thing, namely, the nour- 
 ishment of the soul. 5. The Eucharist calls to mind three things: 
 (a) the passion of Christ in the flesh, of which it is the com- 
 memoration; (b) the grace of spiritual nourishment, of which 
 it is the cause, in the present; (c) eternal glory in the future, of 
 which it is the pledge. 
 
 CONCLUSION, i. To the Eucharist are due the greatest honor 
 and reverence, which should be manifested by frequently receiv- 
 ing Holy Communion, by devout prayers and genuflections, visits 
 to the Blessed Sacrament, proper behavior in Church, etc. 
 
 2. Meditation on the Holy Eucharist should raise the mind to 
 the heavenly mysteries which it contains, represents, and fore- 
 shadows.
 
 258 
 
 Catechism of the Council of Trent, Part II 
 
 THE SACRAMENT OF THE EUCHARIST 
 DIGNITY OF THE EUCHARIST 
 
 Of all the sacred mysteries bequeathed to us by our Lord as 
 unfailing sources of grace, there is none that can be compared 
 to the most holy Sacrament of the Eucharist. For no crime, 
 therefore, is there reserved by God a more terrible vengeance 
 than for the sacrilegious abuse of this adorable Sacrament, which 
 is replete with holiness itself. 1 The Apostle, illumined with wis- 
 dom from above, clearly saw and emphatically announced these 
 awful consequences, when, having declared the enormity of their 
 guilt who discern not "the body of the Lord," he immediately 
 added, "therefore are there many infirm and weak among you, 
 and many sleep." z That the faithful, therefore, deeply impressed 
 with the divine honor due to this heavenly Sacrament, may derive 
 from its participation abundant fruit of grace and escape the just 
 anger of God, the pastor will explain with indefatigable diligence 
 all those things which seem best calculated to display its majesty. 
 
 ITS INSTITUTION 
 
 Following the example of St. Paul, who declares to the Corin- 
 thians what he had received from the Lord, the pastor will begin 
 by explaining to the faithful the circumstances of its institution. 
 These he will find thus clearly recorded by the Evangelist: our 
 Lord, who " having loved his own . . . loved them to the end," s 
 to give them some admirable and divine pledge of this His love, 
 aware that the hour was come when He should pass out of this 
 world to the Father, by an effect of wisdom which transcends the 
 order of nature, devised a means of being always present with 
 His own. Having celebrated the feast of the paschal lamb with 
 His disciples, that the figure might give way to the reality, the 
 shadow to the substance, " Jesus took bread," and giving thanks 
 to God, " blessed and broke : and gave to his disciples, and said : 
 Take ye, and eat. This is my body, which shall be delivered for 
 you : do this for a commemoration of me." And taking the 
 
 * Dionys. de Eccl. Hier, c. 6; et de consec. dist. c. 2, nihil in. 
 1 I Cor. xi. 30. * John xiii. I.
 
 THE HOLY EUCHARIST 259 
 
 chalice also after he had supped, he said, " This chalice is the 
 new testament in my blood : this do, as often as you shall drink it 
 in commemoration of me." 1 
 
 WHY CALLED " THE EUCHARIST " 
 
 Satisfied that language could supply no one word sufficiently 
 comprehensive to give full expression to the dignity and excel- 
 lence of this Sacrament, sacred writers have endeavored to ex- 
 press it by a variety of appellations. It is sometimes called the 
 " Eucharist," a word which may be translated " good grace," or 
 "thanksgiving." The propriety of the first translation appears 
 from two considerations : the Eucharist gives a foretaste of eter- 
 nal life, of which it is written: "The grace of God [is] life ever- 
 lasting." 2 It also contains Christ our Lord, the true grace, and 
 the source of all heavenly gifts. The other translation is no less 
 appropriate, for when we offer this most spotless victim, we ren- 
 der to God a homage of infinite value in return for all the benefits 
 which we have received from His bounty, particularly for the in- 
 estimable treasure of grace bestowed on us in this Sacrament. 
 The word " thanksgiving," also accords with the conduct of our 
 Lord when instituting this mystery : " Taking bread, he brake it, 
 and gave thanks." 3 David too, contemplating the grandeur of 
 this mystery, says : " He hath made a remembrance of his won- 
 derful works, being a merciful and gracious Lord : he hath given 
 food to them that fear him " ; 4 but he had premised these words 
 of thanksgiving with, " His work is praise and magnificence." 5 
 
 THE EUCHARIST IS ALSO CALLED "SACRIFICE," "COMMUNION" 
 
 The Eucharist is also frequently called the " Sacrifice," of 
 which we shall treat more at large in the subsequent part of this 
 exposition. It is also called " Communion," a word borrowed 
 
 1 Matt. xxvi. 26; Mark xiv. 22; Luke xxii. 19; I Cor. xi. 24. On the 
 institution of the Eucharist, see C. Trent, Sess. 13, c. 2, de Euch. ; Leo, 
 serm. 7, de Pass. c. 3 ; Euseb. Emiss. horn. 4 ; de consec. dist. 2, 1, quia corpus. 
 
 1 Rom. vi. 23. 
 
 * Matt. xxvi. 26; Mark xiv. 22; Luke xxii. 19; I Cor. xi. 24. 
 
 4 Ps. ex. 4, 5. 
 
 ' Ps. ex. 3. Chrysost. hom. 24, in i ad Cor. ad haec verba, Calix 
 benedictionis ; Cypr. lib. de lapsis. ; Ambr. lib. 5, de Sacr. c. 3 ; St. Th. p. 3, 
 q. 73, a. 4.
 
 26o PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 from the Apostle, when he says : " The chalice of benediction, 
 which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? 
 And the bread, which we break, is it not the partaking of the 
 body of the Lord?" 1 
 
 THE " SACRAMENT OF PEACE AND CHARITY " 
 
 " This Sacrament," to use the words of Damascene, " unites us 
 to Christ, and renders us partakers of his flesh, and of his divinity, 
 reconciles us to each other in the same Christ, and consolidates 
 us as it were into one body." 2 Hence it is also called the " Sacra- 
 ment of peace and charity," giving us to understand how un- 
 worthy the name of Christians are they who indulge in enmity ; 
 and that hatred, discord, and strife are to be banished from the 
 society of the faithful, as their worst enemies. This obligation 
 becomes still more imperative when we reflect that in the daily 
 oblation of the sacred mysteries we profess to study with watch- 
 ful solicitude to preserve peace and charity inviolate. 
 
 ALSO CALLED " VIATICUM " 
 
 Sacred writers also frequently call it the " Viaticum," as well 
 because it is the spiritual food by which we are supported during 
 our mortal pilgrimage, as also because it prepares for us a passage 
 to eternal happiness and everlasting glory. Hence, in accordance 
 with the ancient practice of the Church, none of the faithful are 
 suffered to depart this life without being previously fortified with 
 this living bread from heaven. 
 
 THE " SUPPER " 
 
 The name of the " Supper " has also been sometimes given to 
 this Sacrament by the most ancient Fathers, in imitation of the 
 Apostle, 8 because it was instituted by our Lord at the saving 
 mystery of the Last Supper. 4 
 
 1 i Cor. x. 16. 
 
 * Damasc. lib. 4, de fid. orthod. c. 4. See Iren. lib. 5, c. 7; Chrys. hom. 
 44 et 45 in Joan.; Cyrill. in lib. 7, in Joan. c. 13; St Cyril of Jerusalem 
 Catech. 4 ; Aug. Tract, 26, in Joan. ; C. Trent, sess. 13, de Euchar. in proef. 
 Concil. Nicoen. 21, Cart. 4, c. 77 et 26, q. 6, passim, 
 
 * I Cor. xi. 20. * Cypr. de coena. Domini.
 
 THE HOLY EUCHARIST 261 
 
 THE EUCHARIST TO BE CONSECRATED AND RECEIVED FASTING 
 
 This circumstance, which regards the time of its institution, 
 does not, however, justify the inference that the Eucharist is to 
 be consecrated or received by persons not fasting. The salutary 
 practice of consecrating and receiving it fasting, introduced, as 
 ancient writers record, by the Apostles, has always been observed 
 in the Church. 1 
 
 THE EUCHARIST A SACRAMENT 
 
 Having thus premised an explanation of the names by which 
 this Sacrament is distinguished, the pastor will teach that it has 
 all the qualities of a true Sacrament, and is one of the seven 
 which have been at all times recognized and revered by the Cath- 
 olic Church. Immediately after the consecration of the chalice, 
 it is called " a mystery of faith " ; and, to omit an almost innumer- 
 able host of sacred writers, vouchers of the same doctrine, that 
 the holy Eucharist is a Sacrament is demonstrated by the very 
 nature of a Sacrament. It has sensible and outward signs : it sig- 
 nifies and produces grace in the soul ; and all doubt as to its insti- 
 tution by Christ is removed by the Apostle and the Evangelists. 
 These circumstances, combining as they do to establish the truth 
 of the Sacrament, do away with the necessity of pressing the 
 matter by further argument. 2 
 
 THE NAME OF SACRAMENT, GIVEN TO MANY THINGS IN THE 
 EUCHARIST, STRICTLY APPLIES TO THE SPECIES ONLY 
 
 That in the Eucharist there are many things to which sacred 
 writers have occasionally given the name of Sacrament, the pas- 
 tor will particularly observe. Sometimes its consecration, some- 
 times its reception, frequently the body and blood of our Lord 
 which are contained in it, are called the Sacrament; because, as 
 St. Augustine observes, this Sacrament consists of two things, 
 the visible species of the elements, and the invisible flesh and 
 blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. 3 We also say that this Sacra- 
 
 i Aug. Epist 1 88, c. 6. 
 
 1 Aug. lib. 3, de Trinit. cap. 4, et I, 20; contra Faust, cap. 13 ; Ambr. lib. 
 I, de sacram. cap. 2; C. Trent, sess. 13, de Euch. c. 5; St. Thomas, 3, p. g. 
 73, art. i. 
 
 * De Catec. erud. lib. 5, c. 16. The sense of St. Augustine is quoted here,
 
 262 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 ment is to be adored, 1 meaning, of course, the body and blood of 
 our Lord. But all these, it is obvious, obtain the name of Sacra- 
 ment in its less strict sense ; the species of bread and wine, strictly 
 speaking, constitute the Sacrament. 
 
 THE EUCHARIST DIFFERS FROM THE OTHER SACRAMENTS 
 
 The great points of difference between this and the other Sac- 
 raments are easily understood. The other Sacraments are per- 
 fected by the use of their matter, that is, by their administration ; 
 Baptism, for instance, becomes a Sacrament when the ablution 
 has been performed. But the Eucharist is constituted a Sacra- 
 ment by the sole consecration of the elements, and when preserved 
 in a pyx, or deposited in a tabernacle, under either species it 
 ceases not to be a Sacrament. In the material elements of which 
 the other Sacraments are composed, no change takes place. In 
 baptism, for instance, the water, in confirmation the chrism, lose 
 not, in their administration, the nature of water and of oil. But 
 in the Eucharist, that which before consecration was bread and 
 wine, becomes, after consecration, really and substantially the 
 body and blood of our Lord. 
 
 THE SACRAMENTAL MATTER COMPOSED OF TWO ELEMENTS, BUT 
 CONSTITUTIVE OF ONE SACRAMENT 
 
 But although in the Eucharist the sacramental matter consists 
 of two elements, that is, of bread and wine, yet guided by the 
 authority of the Church, we profess that they are elements, not 
 of two, but of one Sacrament. This is proved by the very num- 
 ber of the Sacraments, which, according to the doctrine of apos- 
 tolic tradition and the definitions of the Councils of Lateran, 2 
 Florence, 3 and Trent, 4 is confined to seven. It also follows from 
 the nature of the Holy Eucharist. The grace which it imparts 
 renders us one mystic body; and to accord with what it accom- 
 
 not his words; see the book of Lanfranc against Berengarius; also de 
 consecratione, clist. 2. 
 
 1 C. Trent, sess. 15, de Euch. cap. 5, et can. 6. 
 
 * Of the councils here cited, the general council of the Lateran under 
 Innocent II does not distinctly number the seven Sacraments, but from 
 its canons their number is clearly obtained. 
 
 1 C. of Florence, de sacramentis. * C. of Trent, sess. 7, can. i.
 
 THE HOLY EUCHARIST 263 
 
 plishes, the Eucharist must constitute but one Sacrament one, 
 not by consisting of one element, but by signifying one thing. 
 Of this, the analogy which exists between this our spiritual food 
 and the food of the body furnishes an illustration. Meat and 
 drink, although two different things, are used only for one object, 
 the sustenance of the body ; so should the two different species of 
 the Sacrament, to signify the food of the soul, be significant of 
 one thing only, and constitute therefore but one Sacrament. The 
 correctness of this analogy is sustained by these words of our 
 Lord : " My flesh is meat indeed : and my blood is drink indeed." * 
 
 THE EUCHARIST SIGNIFIES THREE THINGS 
 
 What the Sacrament of the Eucharist signifies the pastor will 
 also carefully explain, that on beholding the sacred mysteries the 
 faithful may at the same time feed their souls on the contempla- 
 tion of heavenly things. This Sacrament, then, is significant of 
 three things : the passion of Christ, a thing past ; divine grace, a 
 thing present ; and eternal glory, a thing future. It is significant 
 of the passion of Christ : " Do this," says our Lord, " for a com- 
 memoration of me." z " As often," says the Apostle, " as you 
 shall eat this bread, and drink the chalice, you shall show the 
 death of the Lord, until he came." 3 It is significant of divine 
 grace, which is infused, on receiving this Sacrament, to nurture 
 and preserve the soul. 4 As by Baptism we are begotten to new- 
 ness of life, and by Confirmation are strengthened to resist Satan 
 and to profess openly the name of Christ, so by the Sacrament of 
 the Eucharist are we spiritually nurtured and supported. It is 
 also significant of eternal glory, which, according to the divine 
 promises, is reserved for us in our celestial country. These three 
 things, distinguished as they are by different times, past, pres- 
 ent, and future, the Holy Eucharist, although consisting of 
 different species, marks as significantly as if they were but one. 
 
 1 John vi. 56. . * Luke xxii. 19. 
 
 * I Cor. xi. 26. * Tertul. de Resur. carnis, c. 8.
 
 264 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 Sermons 
 
 THE MOST HOLY SACRAMENT OF THE ALTAR 
 BY THE REV. P. HEHEL, S.J. 
 
 I. Various Names Given to this Sacrament. This Sacrament 
 is known by many different names in the writings of the Fathers, 
 who seem to have had recourse to them in order to express its 
 wonderful excellence, one word being insufficient to do so. 
 
 (a) The name Eucharist is the one most commonly used 
 by early writers, and denotes " good grace," " thanksgiving," 
 "praise." It is a name peculiarly applicable to this Sacrament, 
 for it not only brings before us the thought of everlasting life, 
 "The grace of God [is] life everlasting" (Rom. vi. 23), 
 but the Sacrament of the Altar truly contains Christ our Lord, 
 who is Himself grace and the source of all grace. The word 
 "Eucharist" means also "thanksgiving" and "praise," and it is 
 by means of this Holy Sacrament that we daily give thanks to 
 God for all His benefits, and especially for the highest gift of 
 all, bestowed upon us in this mystery. Our Lord Himself offered 
 it in thanksgiving, for the evangelists record that at its institution 
 He took bread, and blessed it, and broke it, and gave thanks. 
 
 (b) The Fathers speak of this Sacrament also as the Sacri- 
 fice. They do this for two reasons : ( I ) it is a constant commem- 
 oration of the sacrifice of the innocent Lamb of God who was 
 slain on the altar of the cross and offered to His Heavenly Father 
 for the salvation of mankind, and (2) it contains everything 
 which according to the Old Law had to be observed in connection 
 with sacrifices. A lamb had to be slain, offered to God, and then 
 consumed by fire. So, too, the Body and Blood of the Lamb of 
 God are offered up, as a sacrifice, by the words of consecration, 
 and finally consumed by the priest. 
 
 (c) A third name given to this Sacrament is Communion. It 
 unites us with Christ and makes us participate in His Body and 
 His divinity. St. Paul says ( i Cor. x. 16) : " The chalice of bene- 
 diction, which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of 
 Christ ? " It unites us also one with another, so that we may be 
 one in Christ, and incorporated as members of His Body. We
 
 THE HOLY EUCHARIST 265 
 
 are united in one vast association, and live as brothers and sisters 
 in Him. Whoever desires to come to this Sacrament must lay 
 aside all enmity and ill will, and must love his neighbors as him- 
 self. Hence it is also known as the Sacrament of Peace, for none 
 can receive it worthily whose hearts are full of bitterness and 
 wrath. 
 
 (d) Another name is The Lord's Supper; it is so called be- 
 cause it was instituted by our Lord at the Last Supper which He 
 ate with His disciples before His Passion. It may be called a 
 supper also because we receive His Body and Blood under the 
 forms of bread and wine to nourish our souls that they may enjoy 
 eternal life. 
 
 (e) It is also called the Commemoration or Memorial of the 
 death of Christ. He offered Himself for the sins of the world 
 and shed His Blood for us, and we ought always to remember 
 His Love. At the Last Supper He said : " This do ye ... for 
 the commemoration of me. For as often as you shall eat this 
 bread, and drink the chalice, you shall show the death of the 
 Lord" (i Cor. xi. 25, 26). 
 
 (f) When given to the dying, this Sacrament is termed the 
 Viaticum. We are all wanderers here on earth, travellers mak- 
 ing our way to our heavenly home, and the Body of Christ is our 
 food on our journey, and especially when we are on the point of 
 departure from this world. Every Christian must desire to re- 
 ceive his viaticum his food for the journey before he dies. 
 
 (g) We speak generally of the Sacrament of the Altar because 
 it is offered at an altar, and because it fulfils all the three condi- 
 tions of a Sacrament : viz., it has the outward signs of bread 
 and wine ; it was instituted by Christ ; and it imparts grace, 
 which is given most abundantly in this Sacrament, for it contains 
 the author of all grace, the Body and Blood which Christ took 
 of the Blessed Virgin His Mother, and which He carried into 
 heaven. 
 
 It follows that this Sacrament far surpasses all the rest in 
 value and dignity. In the others God gives grace through 
 things of His own creation, water, oil, balsam, etc., but in 
 this Sacrament we receive not merely grace, but the Lord of 
 Grace Himself, the Author and Source of all graces.
 
 266 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 In the other Sacraments the outward signs remain unchanged ; 
 in Baptism the water continues to be natural water ; in Confirma- 
 tion the oil and balm are not altered, although God has con- 
 nected His grace with, these outward signs in such a way that 
 He gives grace at once, whenever these signs are used in ad- 
 ministering the Sacraments. But in the Sacrament of the Altar, 
 after the words of consecration have been uttered, the bread and 
 wine have ceased to be bread and wine, and have been changed 
 into the living Body and most holy Blood of Christ only in 
 outward appearance do the bread and wine seem unchanged. 
 
 In the other Sacraments the things that serve as their matter, 
 the water, oil, and balsam, are created and given by God. But in 
 the Sacrament of the Altar God Himself is present, giving the 
 most wonderful gifts of grace. Christ our Saviour comes so 
 close to us that He allows us really to receive Him. He becomes 
 part of our very selves, unites Himself so intimately with us that 
 we become " members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones " 
 (Eph. v. 30). 
 
 God is far above the grace that He gives us, and so this Sacra- 
 ment far surpasses all the rest in value and excellence. 
 
 But if this is so, why is it placed third in the list of Sacraments 
 and not first? 
 
 Because the natural order of things requires this arrangement. 
 Man is born again in Baptism, he is strengthened in Confirma- 
 tion, and then he requires food to sustain him in the spiritual life. 
 As the Sacrament of the Altar supplies this food, it occupies the 
 third place, although its great dignity would otherwise make us 
 set it at the head of the list. 
 
 II. Types of this Sacrament. The whole of the Old Cove- 
 nant was a figure or type of the New ; it all refers to the mysteries 
 to be instituted by Christ under the New Law, and to none is 
 such frequent allusion made as to the mystery of the Holy 
 Eucharist, being the greatest of all. From it, as from their 
 source, flow all graces ; about it, as their centre, all converge ; in 
 it culminate all the benefits of our redemption by Christ. It is 
 therefore natural that there should be many types of it in the 
 Old Testament. The earliest is the sacrifice of bread and wine 
 offered by Melchisedech, for which reason Christ is called "a
 
 THE HOLY EUCHARIST 267 
 
 high priest for ever according to the order of Melchisedech " 
 (Heb. vi. 20). 
 
 Another obvious type was the manna, with which God fed the 
 Israelites for forty years in the desert. The Paschal lamb was 
 also a type ; God commanded the Israelites to kill and eat it once 
 each year, with unleavened bread. 
 
 Another type was the shevvbread or loaves of proposition, 
 offered daily in the name of the twelve tribes of Israel and kept 
 perpetually in the Temple. 
 
 There is reference to this Sacrament in the book of Proverbs 
 (ix. 2), where we read that Wisdom "hath slain her victims, 
 mingled her wine, and set forth her table." 
 
 By means of these and many other passages in Holy Scripture, 
 God wished to prepare men for the institution of this greatest of 
 all mysteries. 
 
 III. Significance of this Sacrament. There are two elements 
 in this Sacrament, bread and wine ; the former is changed into 
 the Body of Christ and the latter into His Blood, but although 
 two quite distinct substances are changed, they constitute only 
 one Sacrament, not two. In the natural order, bread and wine, 
 though two different things, serve the same purpose; they both 
 nourish and strengthen our bodies ; and in the same way the Body 
 and Blood of Christ, being the spiritual food of our souls, answer 
 the same purpose and form but one Sacrament. For Christ Him- 
 self said : " My flesh is meat indeed : and my blood is drink in- 
 deed" (Johnvi. 56). 
 
 In considering this Sacrament we ought to be reminded of 
 three things: one concerns the past, the second belongs to the 
 present, and the third suggests the future. We ought to remem- 
 ber our Lord's Passion, which is already finished, for He said : 
 " This do in commemoration of me." We ought to think of the 
 divine grace that we now receive whenever we approach this Sac- 
 rament. And lastly we ought to call to mind the everlasting joy 
 and glory which are, as it were, the fruit of the Sacrament, and 
 which we shall some 'day enjoy in our heavenly home. 
 
 Our participation in this happiness depends upon the manner 
 in which here on earth we receive our Lord's Body, for it is the 
 pledge of everlasting glory.
 
 WHY THE SACRAMENT OF THE ALTAR WAS INSTITUTED. I. To 
 be a Memorial of Christ's Death. God forbade Adam to eat of 
 the tree of knowledge and said : " In what day soever thou shalt 
 eat of it, thou shalt die the death" (Gen. ii. 17). The fruit of 
 this tree was therefore a food that brought death to the soul, and 
 it was by means of another kind of food that Christ purposed to 
 revive, preserve, and strengthen us, and He desired all the mem- 
 bers of His Body the Church, all Christians, to share in this 
 food. He said: "If any man eat of this bread, he shall live 
 for ever." ..." Except you eat the flesh of the Son of man, 
 and drink his blood, you shall not have life in you " (John vi. 52, 
 
 54). 
 
 He taught us, therefore, that the Sacrament of His Body and 
 Blood was as indispensable to the eternal life of the soul as or- 
 dinary food is to the physical life of the body. This food is to 
 be eaten as a memorial of what He did and suffered for us 
 and of the unfailing love of God. Therefore St. Paul writes, 
 " As often as you shall eat this bread, and drink this chalice, you 
 shall show the death of the Lord, until he come " (i Cor. xi. 26). 
 And our Lord Himself said, " This do ye ... for the commemo- 
 ration of me " (verse 25). He seems to bid us think of Him and 
 the boundless love He shows us ; of His Body, given to the death 
 of the Cross, of His Blood shed for us, of His Life laid down, 
 and of all that He suffered for our sake. 
 
 II. To be a Bond of Union. When friends are about to part 
 for a long time they often take a farewell meal together, and 
 renew their bond of friendship as they eat and drink. Our Lord 
 did the same, but in a higher and spiritual manner. He was truly 
 the friend of men and desired not to leave them without once 
 more gathering them about Him and entertaining them. When 
 He knew that His hour was come when He should die, He called 
 the Apostles and gave Himself to them to be their food. " With 
 desire I have desired to eat this pasch with you, before I suffer " 
 (Luke xxii. 15). He longed to be most closely united with men; 
 not only as their Father in their creation, their Brother in His 
 Incarnation, and their Redeemer in His death, but He wished to 
 be and live within them, and so He became our food. What 
 union could possibly be more intimate than this ? " He that eateth
 
 THE HOLY EUCHARIST 269 
 
 my flesh, and drinketh my blood, abideth in me, and I in him" 
 (John vi. 57). St. Cyril in discussing these words says, that we 
 actually are to some extent incorporated into His Body, and be- 
 come His kinsmen. We receive His Flesh and Blood and par- 
 ticipate in His divinity, and thus are so closely united to Him 
 that Christ dwells in us and we in Him. 
 
 III. To be a Sacrifice. Jesus Christ died on the cross as a 
 sacrifice for the sins of the whole world, but He knew that men 
 would sin again and provoke God's wrath and so need further 
 reconciliation. He arranged therefore that His offering should 
 perpetually be renewed for the good of the whole Church, so 
 that every one might have a true sacrifice with which to make 
 atonement for sin. In this Sacrament He is offered in an un- 
 bloody manner, but no less really than on the altar of the cross. 
 
 This is evident from His own words, for when at the Last 
 Supper He instituted this holy Sacrament, He took bread in His 
 sacred hands and said : " Take ye, and eat : this is my body, which 
 shall be delivered for you: . . . This chalice is the new testa- 
 ment in my blood : ... as often as you shall eat this bread, and 
 drink the chalice, you shall show the death of the Lord " ( I Cor. 
 xi. 24-26), i.e., as often as you renew the sacrifice that I am 
 about to offer on the cross, you will show forth my death. 
 
 All the Fathers and Doctors of the Catholic Church agree in 
 calling the Sacrament at Mass a true unbloody sacrifice, no less 
 precious than the bloody sacrifice which Christ, our high priest 
 for ever, offered for us. The bloody and the unbloody sacrifices 
 are not two, but one, for the latter does not secure fresh merit, 
 but communicates to each one of us the merit won by Christ 
 through His bloody sacrifice on the cross. We are allowed to 
 participate in all the graces and benefits purchased by His death. 
 The council of Trent declared : " If any one asserts that the 
 sacrifice of the Mass is a mere commemoration of the sacrifice 
 of the cross and not a propitiatory sacrifice, or if he maintains 
 that it benefits those only who receive it, and cannot be offered 
 for the living and the dead, for sins, penalties, and in other neces- 
 sities, let him be anathema." 
 
 It is therefore the authoritative teaching of the Church that we 
 ought to have recourse to the Holy Eucharist, to thank God for
 
 270 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 the favors and benefits that He bestows upon us, and to seek de- 
 liverance from dangers and difficulties, for in this holy Sacra- 
 ment our Lord Himself is present, ready to cure all our defects, 
 ready to give all that we need. He is there, no less ready to 
 pardon us than when He said to the penitent thief : " This day 
 thou shalt be with me in Paradise." Is there anything that God 
 can refuse us when we ask it through this sacrifice, in which His 
 only begotten Son is present and is offered up? 
 
 What return can we make for all that He has done? Silver 
 and gold are worthless in His sight, and were we pure as the 
 angels, singing His praises day and night, we could never make 
 Him any thanksgiving comparable to His goodness in instituting 
 this most holy Sacrament. 
 
 Yet there is one offering that we can make to God, and it is 
 precious in His sight. We can give Him ourselves, our hearts, 
 our mind, and our will. We can have true faith, firm hope, and 
 loving obedience to His will, and these are what He asks of us 
 in return for all that He has done for the salvation of our souls. 
 
 THE MOST HOLY SACRAMENT OF THE ALTAR 
 BY CARDINAL CORSI 
 
 As the time of His Passion approached, Jesus Christ desired 
 to celebrate once more with His apostles the Paschal meal pre- 
 scribed by the law. Now, as they were at the table, He took 
 bread, blessed it, broke it, and gave it to His disciples with the 
 words : " Take ye, and eat. This is my body " (Matth. xxvi. 26). 
 In like manner He took wine, returned thanks, and gave it to 
 them, saying: "Drink ye all of this. For this is my blood" 
 (verses 27, 28). In this manner Jesus instituted the most holy 
 Sacrament of the Eucharist, this holiest of Sacraments, in which 
 He, in the words of the royal Prophet (Ps. ex. 4), "made a re- 
 membrance of his wonderful works." 
 
 And as this miracle was to be perpetuated in the Church, Jesus 
 Christ gave to His apostles, and to all their successors, the priests, 
 the authority to do as He had done, until the end of the world, 
 by commanding them : " This do for the commemoration of me " 
 (i Cor. xi. 24).
 
 THE HOLY EUCHARIST 271 
 
 I wish to say a few words about the sublimity of the Sacrament 
 of the holy Eucharist, to remind you of the gratitude which we 
 owe to Jesus Christ for this magnificent pledge of His infinite 
 love. 
 
 The holy Eucharist is one of the seven Sacraments of the 
 Catholic Church, and, as St. Thomas observes, the sublimest of 
 them all. While in the other Sacraments we receive a share in 
 the graces and merits of the Saviour, we receive in the holy 
 Eucharist Jesus Christ Himself, the author of all graces. As the 
 brook is produced by the spring, so is, in the words of St. 
 Thomas, the holy Eucharist the wellspring of the graces dis- 
 pensed by the other Sacraments ; they are directed towards it as 
 to their final purpose. 
 
 The royal Prophet foresaw how God the Father of Mercy, by 
 preparing this heavenly Bread for us, would work the greatest 
 of all His miracles (Ps. ex. 4). Our holy faith teaches us that 
 by uttering the words of consecration the priest changes the sub- 
 stance of the bread immediately into the Body of Christ, and the 
 substance of the wine into His Blood. Of the bread and wine 
 only the forms remain the exterior appearances. Thus the 
 only begotten Son of God, born of Mary the Virgin, is present 
 really and substantially in the most holy Sacrament under both 
 forms. Hence there is due to Jesus Christ in the holy Eucharist 
 the same adoration that the angels and saints offer to Him in 
 heaven the adoration which all creatures owe to their God and 
 Creator. 
 
 St. Ambrose remarks : " If the creation of the universe cost the 
 almighty God only a word, only an act of the will, how can it be 
 difficult for the same omnipotent word to change bread and wine 
 into the Body and Blood of the Saviour, who, by virtue of His 
 omnipresence, as enthroned gloriously in heaven, and at the same 
 time present in the Sacrament of the altar (Lib. 4, de Sacr. c. 4). 
 
 St. Paul, in his Epistle to the Romans, reminds that the eternal 
 Father, by sending into the world His only begotten Son for the 
 redemption of mankind, gave us in Him all the boundless riches 
 of His heavenly treasures (Rom. viii. 32). When, therefore, 
 Jesus Christ in the Sacrament of the Eucharist gives Himself 
 wholly to us, with His divinity and humanity, assuredly He can
 
 272 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 give us no more. Therefore the Angelical Teacher calls it justly 
 the greatest of all miracles. Here shine in brightest radiance 
 Divine omnipotence, mercy, wisdom, generosity, and, above all, 
 God's infinite love. St. Augustine calls this divine Sacrament the 
 sacred bond of love, for he. who receives it with befitting prepara- 
 tion becomes united with Jesus Christ, and Jesus Christ with 
 him. The Lord said : " He that eateth my flesh and drinketh 
 my blood, abideth in me, and I in him" (John vi. 57). 
 
 Our loving Saviour not only dwells among us until the end of 
 the world, as He promised, but He is the compassionate Phy- 
 sician who heals our wounds, the Teacher who enlightens our 
 understanding and strengthens it in the faith, the loving Shep- 
 herd, He who not only invites His faithful to His Table, but 
 feeds them with His own Flesh and gives them to drink of 
 His own Blood, so that they may be united most intimately 
 with Him. How great, therefore, should be our appreciation 
 for this infinite love! Oh, when we approach the holy Table, 
 the very thought of the fact that Jesus Christ is present upon 
 the altar should fill us with love, should incite us to offer up 
 to our gracious Saviour our hearts, our inclinations, our wills; 
 we should lament with David that we are so poor, and so little 
 able to make return to Him for the magnitude of the gifts that 
 He bestows upon us (Ps. cxv. 12). 
 
 And yet there are among Christians those whose faith is .not 
 strong, who are sadly indifferent to this miracle of divine love. 
 Many allow month after month to pass without once approaching 
 the eucharist banquet. They keep distant from the heavenly 
 Physician, the divine Teacher, the good Shepherd. Jesus Christ 
 tarries upon our altars, ready day and night to listen to our peti- 
 tions ; and daily the priests offer up upon the altars this sacrifice 
 of expiation for the sins of mankind. But while the market- 
 places are filled with people, and the meeting-places with gossip- 
 ers and idlers, our churches are often deserted. Even many 
 Christians give not a thought to Jesus, who longs for them to 
 lavish upon them His gifts, of which they stand so greatly in 
 need. And when exposed for public adoration, the blessed Sacra- 
 ment often meets with indifference, irreverence, even contempt. 
 
 What greater insult, what baser ingratitude, could there be,
 
 THE EFFECTS OF HOLY COMMUNION 273 
 
 dear brethren! Oh, if only the eyes of men's understanding 
 were opened to make them realize in the blessed Sacrament the 
 glorious miracle of Divine omnipotence, the source of all graces, 
 the triumph of love, the pledge of salvation, God Himself, clothed 
 in our flesh ! Oh, let us unite ourselves with the angels of heaven 
 in the praise and adoration of the Lord. Let us approach Him 
 with pure hearts, with living faith, with burning love, to receive 
 Him under the veil of the eucharistic forms as our own spiritual 
 Food ; let us live intimately united to Him, never to be separated 
 from Him. Then we may hope to behold in heaven face to face 
 His inexpressible beauty, and taste of that blessed fruit which 
 He has promised to those who receive Him worthily at His own 
 Table (John vi. 52). Amen. 
 
 References 
 
 Bruehl, in Pulpit Commentary, Vol. Ill; Phelan, in Horn. Monthly, 
 Sept. 1919; Burke, O. P., in Sermons and Lectures, Vol. I, pp. 500 ff. ; 
 Bossuet, in La Cene, liere partie; Monsabre, in Lenten Conferences of 
 1884. 
 
 Cath. Encyc., Vol. V, pp. 588 ff . ; Vol. IX, pp. 152 ff.; Summa Theol, 
 III, q. 73 ; Tanquerey, Theol Dog., De S. S. Eucharistia, cap. II ; Hurter, 
 Theol Dog., Vol. Ill, Nos. 384 ff.; Pohle-Preuss, The Sacraments, Vol. II, 
 p. 185; Vaughan, The Divine Armory, etc., pp. 675 ff . ; Callan, Illustra- 
 tions for Sermons, etc., pp. 191 ff. ; Berington and Kirk, The Faith of 
 Catholics, Vol. II, p. 150; Bellord, Meditations, etc., Vol. II, pp. 276 ff. ; 
 Germing, Latin Hymns; Hedley, The Holy Eucharist. 
 
 SECOND SUNDAY OF LENT 
 
 SUBJECT 
 THE EFFECTS OF HOLY COMMUNION 
 
 TEXT 
 Lord, it is good for us to be here. MATT. xvii. 4. 
 
 Analysis 
 
 INTRODUCTION. The transfiguration of our Lord took place 
 on Mt. Thabor in Galilee but a short time before His passion. 
 The Saviour foresaw the severe trials to which His disciples
 
 274 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 would shortly be subjected in witnessing His bitter sufferings 
 and death, as well as the more distant crosses which, when He 
 had finally departed from them, would be theirs on their journey 
 through life. He was moved, therefore, with compassion for 
 them and their weakness, and to strengthen them for their bur- 
 dens ahead and give them a foretaste of the eternal rewards in 
 store for them hereafter He took apart those most devoted to 
 Him, and unfolded to their eyes a passing glimpse of His glori- 
 fied Humanity. 
 
 Effects similar to those which the three Apostles experienced 
 on Mt. Thabor are wrought in the souls of those who partake 
 worthily of Holy Communion, they are fortified against the 
 assaults of passion, they are powerfully assisted in bearing the 
 crosses of life, and they receive here below a foretaste of heavenly 
 joy and bliss. Truly, each time the worthy communicant kneels 
 at the holy table he can say with Peter, " Lord, it is good for us 
 to be here." 
 
 I. The greatness of the effects of Holy Communion, i. The 
 Eucharist is the living fountain of graces, whereas the other 
 Sacraments are as so many streams conveying graces to our 
 souls; the latter contain grace, the former contains the Author 
 of grace. 2. The grace of the Eucharist is superior to that of 
 the other Sacraments; these others are but a preparation for, 
 and are ordained to, Holy Communion; Baptism and Penance 
 remove sin, Confirmation and Extreme Unction strengthen the 
 soul against external assaults or spiritual debility, Holy Orders 
 and Matrimony dispose a man for the proper fulfilment of 
 certain special duties. Thus the grace of each of the other 
 Sacraments is a preparation for the crowning grace of the 
 Eucharist. 
 
 II. The grace produced by Holy Communion, i. The 
 grace of this Sacrament is that of spiritual nourishment, by 
 which the soul is transformed into the likeness of Christ. 2. The 
 results of this grace are similar to those which ordinary food 
 produces in the body, (a) it repairs; (b) it strengthens; (c) it
 
 THE EFFECTS OF HOLY COMMUNION 275 
 
 delights; (d) it sustains. 3. The Eucharist by remitting venial 
 sins repairs the losses which the soul suffers through these sins ; 
 it strengthens the soul by uniting man through charity more 
 closely with God and his neighbor; it delights the soul by excit- 
 ing actual devotion and fervor ; it sustains the soul by fortifying 
 it against temptation, by repressing concupiscence and passion, 
 and by facilitating the attainment of eternal life. 
 
 III. Conditions requisite for the grace of Holy Communion, 
 i. As natural food is not of use to one who is physically dead, 
 so neither does Holy Communion produce spiritual nourish- 
 ment in a soul that is spiritually dead. Those who receive Com- 
 munion unworthily do not receive benefit, but on the contrary eat 
 and drink judgment to themselves (i Cor. xi. 29). 2. Those 
 who approach this Sacrament worthily receive the graces ex- 
 plained above. Frequent Communion is profitable when received 
 in the state of grace and with the intention of pleasing God 
 (Pius X). 3. Spiritual Communion, which consists in an ardent 
 desire of sacramental Communion, confers a considerable fruit 
 of the Holy Eucharist, although it is inferior to sacramental 
 Communion. 
 
 CONCLUSION. Let us never omit a diligent preparation for 
 Holy Communion, and a fervent thanksgiving after it. 
 
 Catechism of the Council of Trent, Part II 
 
 THE SALUTARY EFFECTS OF THE EUCHARIST 
 
 The salutary effects of this Sacrament, since they should be 
 known by all, the pastor will expound to all, indiscriminately and 
 without reserve. 1 What we have said at such length on this 
 subject is to be made known to the faithful, principally with 
 a view to make them sensible of the advantages which flow from 
 its participation, advantages too numerous and important to 
 be expressed in words, and among which the pastor must be 
 content to select one or two points for explanation, to show the 
 
 1 C. Trent, sess. 13, c. 3, ct can. 5; Iren. lib. 4, c. 14; Cyril, lib. 4, in 
 Joan. cc. 11, 14; Chrysost, horn. 45, in Joan.; St. Thomas, 3, p. q. 79.
 
 276 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 superabundant graces with which the holy mysteries abound. To 
 this end it will be found conducive to premise an explanation 
 of the nature and efficacy of the other Sacraments, and then com- 
 pare the Eucharist to the living fountain, the other Sacraments 
 to so many rivulets. With great truth is the Holy Eucharist 
 called the fountain of all grace, containing as it does, after an 
 admirable manner, the source of all gifts and graces, the author 
 of all the Sacraments, Christ our Lord, from whom as from their 
 source they derive all their goodness and perfection. This com- 
 parison, therefore, serves to show how great are the treasures of 
 grace which are derived from this Sacrament. 
 
 It will also be found expedient to consider attentively the na- 
 ture of bread and wine, the symbols of this Sacrament. What 
 bread and wine are to the body, the Eucharist is, in a superior 
 order, to the health and joy of the soul. It is not, like bread 
 and wine, changed into our substance; but in some measure 
 changes us into its own nature, and to it we may apply these 
 words of St. Augustine : " I am the food of the grown ; grow 
 and thou shalt partake of this food; nor shalt thou change me 
 into thee, as thou dost thy corporal food, but thou shalt be 
 changed into me." * 
 
 IT IMPARTS GRACE 
 
 If then grace and truth come by Jesus Christ, 2 these spiritual 
 treasures must be poured into that soul which receives with 
 purity and holiness Him who says of Himself : " He that eateth 
 my flesh, and drinketh my blood, abideth in me, and I in him." * 
 Those who piously and religiously receive this Sacrament, re- 
 ceive no doubt the Son of God into their souls, and are united as 
 living members to His body ; for it is written, " He that eateth 
 me, the same also shall live by me " ; * and also, " The bread that 
 I will give, is my flesh, for the life of the world." 6 Explaining 
 these words of the Saviour, St. Cyril says : " The Eternal Word, 
 uniting himself to his own flesh, imparted to it a vivifying power ; 
 it became him, therefore, to unite himself to us after a wonder- 
 ful manner, through his sacred flesh and precious blood, which 
 
 1 Lib. 7, Conf. c. 10. See Ambr. lib. 5, de sacr. c. 4, and Chrys. horn. 45, 
 in Joan. * John i. 17. * John vi. 57. 
 
 * John vi. 58. * John vi. 52.
 
 THE EFFECTS OF HOLY COMMUNION 277 
 
 we receive in the bread and wine, consecrated by his vivifying 
 benediction." x 
 
 TO COMMUNICATE WORTHILY WE MUST BE IN THE STATE 
 OF GRACE 
 
 But when it is said that the Eucharist imparts grace, this 
 does not mean that to receive this Sacrament with advan- 
 tage it is unnecessary to be previously in the state of grace. 
 Natural food can be of no use to a person who is already dead, 
 and in like manner the sacred mysteries can avail him nothing 
 who lives not in the Spirit. Hence this Sacrament has been in- 
 stituted under the forms of bread and wine, to signify that the 
 object of its institution is not to recall to life a dead soul, but 
 to preserve life to a living one. We say that this Sacrament im- 
 parts grace, because even the first grace, which all should have 
 before they presume to approach this Sacrament, lest they eat 
 and drink judgment to themselves, 2 is given to none unless they 
 desire to receive the Holy Eucharist, which is the end of all the 
 Sacraments, the symbol of that ecclesiastical unity, without which 
 no one can receive divine grace. 
 
 Again, as the body is not only supported but increased by 
 natural food, from which we derive new pleasure every day, so 
 also the life of the soul is not only sustained but invigorated by 
 feasting on the Eucharistic banquet, which imparts to it an in- 
 creasing zest for heavenly things. With strictest truth and pro- 
 priety, therefore, do we say that this Sacrament, which may be 
 well compared to manna, " having in it all that is delicious, and 
 the sweetness of every taste," imparts grace to the soul. 8 
 
 THE EUCHARIST REMITS VENIAL SINS 
 
 That the Holy Eucharist remits lighter offences, or, as they 
 are commonly called, venial sins, cannot be doubted. Whatever 
 losses the soul sustains by falling into some slight offences 
 through the violence of passion, these the Eucharist, which can- 
 cels lesser sins, repairs in the same manner (not to depart from 
 the illustration already adduced that natural food, as we know 
 
 1 Lib. 4, in Joan., cc. 12, 14, and ep. 10, ad Nestor. 
 * i Cor. xi. 29. s Wisd. xvi. 20.
 
 278 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 from experience, gradually repairs the daily waste caused by the 
 vital heat of the system. Of this heavenly Sacrament justly, 
 therefore, has St. Ambrose said, "This daily bread is taken as 
 a remedy for daily infirmity," 1 which, however, is to be under- 
 stood of venial imperfections only. 
 
 IT IS AN ANTIDOTE AGAINST THE CONTAGION OF SINS 
 
 The Holy Eucharist is also an antidote against the contagion 
 of sin, and a shield against the violent assaults of temptation. 2 
 It is, as it were, a heavenly medicine, which secures the soul 
 against the easy approach of virulent and deadly infection. St. 
 Cyprian records that when in the early ages of the Church 
 Christians were hurried in multitudes by tyrants to torments 
 and death because they professed the name of Christ, they re- 
 ceived from the hand of the Bishop the Sacrament of the body 
 and blood of our Lord, lest, perhaps overcome by excess of 
 torments, they should yield in the conflict. 3 
 
 IT REPRESSES CONCUPISCENCE 
 
 It also represses the licentious desires of the flesh, and keeps 
 them in due subjection to the spirit. In proportion as it inflames 
 the soul with the fire of charity, in the same proportion does it 
 necessarily extinguish the fire of concupiscence. 
 
 IT FACILITATES THE ATTAINMENT OF ETERNAL LIFE 
 
 Finally, to narrow within the compass of a few words all the 
 advantages and blessings which emanate from this Sacrament, 
 the Holy Eucharist facilitates to an extraordinary degree the 
 attainment of eternal life : " He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh 
 my blood," says the Redeemer, "hath everlasting life: and I 
 will raise him up in the last day." 4 The grace which it im- 
 parts, brings peace and tranquillity to the soul; and when the 
 
 1 Lib. 4, de Sacram. c. 6, et lib. 5, c. 4; Innocent III, lib. 4, de myst. 
 Miss. c. 44; Cyril, lib. 4, in Joan. c. 17, and lib. 3, c. 36. Among the writ- 
 ings of St. Bernard there is a notable one which begins: Panem Angelo- 
 rum. See also St. Thomas, III, q. 79. 
 
 * Aug. tract. 26, in Joan. * Lib. I, Epist. 2, ad Cornel. 
 
 4 John vi. 55; vii. Chrys. de sacerdotio dial. 6; St. Thomas, 3, p. q. 79, 
 art. 2.
 
 THE EFFECTS OF HOLY COMMUNION 279 
 
 hour arrives in which he is to take his departure from this mortal 
 life, like another Elias, who in the strength of his miraculous 
 repast walked to Horeb the mount of God, 1 the Christian, in- 
 vigorated by the strengthening influence of this heavenly food, 
 shall wing his way to the mansions of everlasting glory and 
 never-ending bliss. 
 
 THESE EFFECTS EXPLAINED AND ILLUSTRATED 
 
 All these important particulars the pastor will be able fully 
 to expound to the faithful if he but dilate on the sixth chapter 
 of St. John, in which are developed the manifold effects of this 
 Sacrament; or if, glancing through the life and actions of our 
 Lord, he shows that if they who received Him beneath their roof 
 during His mortal life, 2 or were restored to health by touching 
 His vesture, or even the hem of His garment, 3 were justly 
 deemed happy, how much more happy we, into whose souls, re- 
 splendent as He is with unfading glory, He disdains not to enter, 
 to heal all our spiritual wounds, to enrich us with His choicest 
 gifts, and to unite us to Himself! 
 
 THE MANNER OF COMMUNICATING IS THREEFOLD 
 
 But to excite the faithful to emulate better gifts, 4 the pastor 
 will also point out who they are who derive these inestimable 
 blessings from a participation of the holy mysteries, reminding 
 them that Christians may communicate differently and with dif- 
 ferent effects. Hence our predecessors in the faith, as we 
 read in the Council of Trent, 6 distinguished three classes of com- 
 municants : Some receive the Sacrament only ; such are those 
 sinners who dread not to approach the holy mysteries with pol- 
 luted lips and depraved hearts, who, as the Apostle says, eat 
 and drink unworthily. 6 Of this class of communicants St. 
 Augustine says : " He who dwells not in Christ, and in whom 
 Christ does not dwell, most certainly eats not spiritually his 
 flesh, although carnally and visibly he press with his teeth the 
 Sacrament of his flesh and blood." T Not only, therefore, do 
 
 1 3 Kings xix. 8. * Luke xix. 9. 
 
 s Matt. xiv. 36 and ix. 20. * i Cor. xii. 31. 
 
 ' De consecr. dist. 2, can. 46, sess. 13, cap. 8. i Cor. xi. 29. 
 
 1 In Joan, tract. 16, and contra Donat. lib. 5, c, 8.
 
 280 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 those who receive the Holy Eucharist with these dispositions 
 obtain no fruit from its participation, but, as the Apostle says, 
 they eat and drink judgment to themselves. 1 Others are said 
 to receive the Holy Eucharist in spirit only. They are those who, 
 inflamed with a lively " faith that worketh by charity," 2 partic- 
 ipate in desire of this celestial food, from which they receive, 
 if not the entire, at least very considerable fruit. Lastly, there 
 are some who receive the Holy Eucharist both spiritually and 
 sacramentally, those who, according to the advice of the Apostle, 
 having first proved themselves, 3 approach this divine banquet, 
 adorned with the nuptial garment, 4 and derive from it all those 
 superabundant graces which we have already mentioned. Those, 
 therefore, who, having it in their power to receive with due 
 preparation the Sacrament of the body and blood of the Lord, 
 are yet satisfied with a spiritual communion only, manifestly 
 deprive themselves of a heavenly treasure of inestimable value. 
 
 Sermons 
 
 THE EFFECTS OF HOLY COMMUNION 
 BY THE REV. P. HEHEL, S.J. 
 
 I. In Holy Communion we receive all that God contains in 
 Himself, for we really and truly receive God. 
 
 If the presence of Christ on earth was enough to cure many 
 diseases and work many miracles, what can He not effect in a 
 soul with which He is so closely united ? 
 
 If the ark of the covenant containing the rod of Moses, the 
 tables of the law, and some manna, brought a blessing upon the 
 houses of David and of Obededom, how much greater must be 
 the effect upon a soul of this most holy Sacrament, in which 
 God's almighty power, His goodness, His mercy, and all the 
 other treasures of heaven, are conceded ! 
 
 If wonderful graces are given us through the relics of the 
 saints ; if, for instance, the bones of the prophet Eliseus were al- 
 lowed to be the means of raising a dead man to life ; if through 
 the touch of relics the deaf receive their hearing, the blind their 
 
 > I Cor. xi. 29. s Gal. v. 6. 
 
 I Cor. xi. 28. * Matt. xxii. n.
 
 THE EFFECTS OF HOLY COMMUNION 281 
 
 sight, and the sick recover their health, what a marvellous 
 effect must the living body of our Lord Jesus Christ have upon a 
 soul! 
 
 Many roots and herbs possess medicinal properties and are pre- 
 scribed as remedies for various diseases; what a wonderful 
 remedy we have in this Sacrament when we receive the Giver of 
 all means of cure! 
 
 We pay great reverence to the Cross and to the thorns, nails, 
 lance, and all the instruments of our Lord's Passion ; surely we 
 cannot sufficiently reverence our Lord Himself when He comes 
 to us in the Sacrament of His Love! 
 
 II. In this Sacrament we receive all the gifts and graces that 
 we need. In it the impatient and quarrelsome find patience and 
 love ; the ignorant may derive knowledge from the source of all 
 wisdom ; in short, the faithful receive in Holy Communion all the 
 virtues that they require. 
 
 Moreover, we are by it made holy in body and soul, for we 
 come into contact with God, who is all-holy. St. Cyril says of 
 Moses that he went up Mount Sinai a man, but he came down 
 filled with the Godhead, and the same is true of us when we have 
 received our Lord's Body. We are but human beings as we ap- 
 proach the altar, but we bring God away with us, we are even in 
 a certain sense sharers in His Divinity; for what we receive in 
 Holy Communion is "the Flesh of God, and it has power to 
 deify." 
 
 As soon as we receive our Lord, He begins to quicken us to 
 new life ; He is the soul of our soul, the life of our life, and we 
 can truly say with St. Paul, " I live, now not I ; but Christ liveth 
 in me" (Gal. ii. 20). He thinks, speaks, acts, loves, and suffers 
 within me. This is why St. Augustine imagines Him uttering 
 these beautiful words : " I am the food of the strong. Grow, and 
 ye shall receive me ; ye shall not change me into yourselves, as is 
 done in the case of bodily food, but I will transform you into 
 myself." 
 
 Would that every Christian remembered this wonderful truth ! 
 Our Lord Himself taught us that it was not fitting to cast the 
 bread intended for God's children to the dogs, nor to throw pearls 
 before swine. How can it be right for one who has received
 
 Holy Communion, and has been, so to say, deified by it, to give 
 his body up to impurity? 
 
 We derive from this Sacrament strength to resist all tempta- 
 tions. Experience forces us to acknowledge our weakness and 
 frailty, for a good resolution is often broken almost as soon as it 
 is made ; scarcely have we risen again after a fall, than we stumble 
 afresh. We seem to avoid one temptation only to run into an- 
 other, and no one can deny that the spirit is indeed willing, but 
 the flesh is weak. 
 
 We have no excuse, however, if, knowing our weakness, we do 
 not have recourse to the Sacrament which is the food of the 
 strong. St. Jerome says that nothing has so much power as the 
 Bread of Life to strengthen men to resist the temptations of 
 the devil, the evil examples, and the luxury and vanity of the 
 world. 
 
 King David, speaking prophetically of this Sacrament, ex- 
 claims (Ps. xxii. 5) : "Thou hast prepared a table before me, 
 against them that afflict me." St. Cyprian has recorded that 
 Holy Communion was given to the martyrs on their way to exe- 
 cution, because their steadfastness would be tried in every pos- 
 sible way before their death. St. John Chrysostom says that the 
 Christians were made so strong by Holy Communion that they 
 returned from the altar with the courage of lions. How is it 
 possible for us to fear anything when God is truly with us? 
 What harm can the world and the flesh do us when we carry the 
 mighty God within our hearts? As long as we have recourse to 
 this holy Sacrament and receive it worthily, we are invincible; 
 but if we receive it unworthily, that alone is enough to cause our 
 defeat and ruin. 
 
 In the book of Proverbs (xxiii. I, 2), Solomon thus addresses 
 a man invited to eat with a prince : " Consider diligently what is 
 set before thy face : and put a knife to thy throat." The learned 
 Cornelius a Lapide, in commenting upon this passage, remarks 
 that the knife is meant to signify discrimination and faith, en- 
 abling us to distinguish the Bread of Life from ordinary food. 
 
 Take therefore this knife of discrimination and faith and cut 
 away all unworthy motives for approaching the Sacrament, all 
 human respect, vanity, spurious devotion and hypocrisy, all de-
 
 THE EFFECTS OF HOLY COMMUNION 283 
 
 sire to please others and to seem pious, and go to Holy Com- 
 munion with the pure intention of receiving God and being united 
 with Him. 
 
 Cut away also all feelings of anger and enmity, and be recon- 
 ciled to thy neighbor before coming to Holy Communion. Put 
 aside all unbecoming and inordinate affections, all vain thoughts, 
 and especially all doubts which the devil may suggest. Leave all 
 anxiety and trouble behind, and with firm purpose and mind en- 
 lightened by faith go forward to adore God in His majesty. 
 
 Be careful also to avoid causing distraction and inconvenience 
 to others either by frivolous behavior or by long prayers and ex- 
 cessive outward devotion; faith and good sense should regulate 
 all our manner of receiving Holy Communion, and we should 
 edify others rather than annoy them. If frequent Communion 
 seems to make us worse and not better, the fault must be ours, 
 and we must approach the Sacrament unworthily, for the 
 " food of the strong " cannot fail to impart strength to those who 
 receive it well. 
 
 THE EFFECTS OF HOLY COMMUNION 
 BY CARDINAL CORSI 
 
 As the Most Holy Eucharist surpasses all other Sacraments in 
 excellence and dignity, so it also surpasses them in power and 
 efficacy. The growth of grace effected through other Sacraments 
 of the living is in the holy Eucharist all the greater as the nature 
 of this Sacrament is more exalted. The other Sacraments are 
 channels which bring to us the saving waters of grace ; this one, 
 however, brings the very source of grace, and while the others 
 operate through the strength which comes through Jesus Christ, 
 in this one Jesus Christ Himself, in His own Person, pours out 
 upon us the effects of His grace, nourishes us with His Presence, 
 lives and dwells in us with all the treasures of His grace. Of 
 such magnitude is the growth of grace which this Sacrament 
 effects in those who worthily communicate, that we may call it 
 the abundance and fulness of graces : the grace of enlightenment 
 for the understanding of charity for the heart, strength for the 
 will, fortitude, sweetness, and delight for the spirit.
 
 284 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 But the characteristic and very special effect of this Sacrament 
 is that it feeds our souls. Jesus Christ willed to institute this 
 Sacrament under the forms of bread and wine, in order to show 
 us that He is the supernatural food of our souls. 
 
 The first effect of food, one upon which all other effects de- 
 pend, is to unite itself most intimately with us. It not only enters 
 the body, it becomes part of it, of the flesh, nerves, and bones. 
 So, too, Jesus Christ in the holy Eucharist unites Himself sub- 
 stantially and intimately with us, that we, as it were, form with 
 Him only one body and one soul. " He that eateth my flesh, and 
 drinketh my blood, abideth in me, and I in him" (John vi. 57). 
 And as material food preserves the life of the body, which could 
 not exist without it, gives it strength and promotes its growth, 
 so the holy Eucharist supports the life of our soul, which is sanc- 
 tifying grace ; it gives it power and strength and elevates it to a 
 higher degree of perfection and sanctity. 
 
 The holy Eucharist is our remedy for the weakness of the soul, 
 temptations which assail us, passions which cause us perpetual 
 warfare, lapses into venial sin to which we are daily exposed ; all 
 things that enfeeble our soul, and if not checked would lead to 
 the death of mortal sin. The holy Eucharist helps in a marvel- 
 lous way to overcome temptations, and affords us mighty weap- 
 ons against Satan and his suggestions. 
 
 As regards our passions, that other source of our weakness, it is 
 certain that if the holy Eucharist does not wholly deliver us from 
 them, it at least alleviates their violence and subdues them. Hence 
 St. Bernard said to the faithful : " If some of you no longer ex- 
 perience the violent emotions of anger, of envy, of intemperance, 
 ascribe it to the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ which you have 
 received in holy Communion." For the sensual passion in par- 
 ticular, which is by far the most violent and most dangerous of 
 our enemies, this Sacrament is a powerful bridle. For it is spe- 
 cially ordained to heal the mortal wounds inflicted by the evils of 
 concupiscence, and to moderate its fire. The immaculate Flesh 
 of Christ imparts its purity to ours ; His pure Blood purifies our 
 blood which has been corrupted by sin. 
 
 Finally, the holy Eucharist purifies us from our daily faults, 
 whereby are not understood grievous sins, which, as a rule, are
 
 THE EFFECTS OF HOLY COMMUNION 285 
 
 only wiped out through the Sacrament of Penance, but those 
 lesser faults into which we fall daily. The Council of Trent 
 assures us that the holy Eucharist has the power to efface the 
 same. So, therefore, the holy Eucharist preserves in us the spir- 
 itual life by removing or suppressing everything that tends to 
 destroy it. 
 
 Furthermore, corporal food not only preserves the life of the 
 body, but fortifies, strengthens, and develops it, so the Eucharis- 
 tic Bread not only preserves the soul from death, but causes it 
 to acquire virtue upon virtue and to increase in holiness. Hence, 
 in holy Scripture it is prefigured in that mysterious bread which 
 the Angel presented to Elias in the wilderness. This bread gave 
 to the Prophet such extraordinary power that he, without par- 
 taking of any other food, journeyed for forty days and forty 
 nights unto the summit of Mount Horeb. What an impressive 
 picture of the strength with which the holy Eucharist inspires us 
 to walk upon the path of the Lord, and upon the difficult road 
 of our pilgrimage, unto the Kingdom of Heaven. 
 
 The power of this Divine Food is so great that it uplifts us 
 above ourselves and makes of us spiritual and heavenly beings. 
 Jesus Christ desired to let us participate in this Sacrament, in His 
 Flesh and Blood, in His Divinity, so as to grant us participation 
 in His Divine Spirit, and through this Sacramental union to lead 
 us to a perfect union with Himself. He desired to transform us 
 completely into Himself, not by changing our nature into His, 
 but by transforming our spirit into His. This is the great and 
 principal effect of the holy Eucharist: it clothes, penetrates, and 
 fills us with the Spirit of Jesus Christ, with His humility, His 
 meekness, His charity, and all His virtues. Hence, those who 
 worthily communicate may exclaim with the Apostle : " And I 
 live, now not I ; but Christ liveth in me." For the Spirit of Jesus 
 Christ, which He imparts to us in the most holy Sacrament, be- 
 comes the source and the soul of all our thoughts, our inclinations, 
 and actions. What more can be said to illustrate the power and 
 efficay of this Divine Sacrament? 
 
 Dear brethren, if you approach the Lord's Supper merely from 
 habit or because it is the custom, with little devotion and luke- 
 warm preparation, with a heart filled with worldly, even sinful
 
 286 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 inclinations, small wonder if you feel no spark of that saving 
 power which the holy Eucharist bestows. The salutary effects 
 of food stand in relation to the more or less regular use we make 
 of it. A food may be ever so nourishing and strengthening, yet 
 this strength must be renewed. And as Christ is the food and 
 nourishment of the soul, why do you remain away from Him for 
 months at a time ? Why do some, indeed, receive Him only once 
 a year? Food partaken of so seldom cannot produce lasting 
 results. 
 
 Let us, therefore, approach not only well prepared, but fre- 
 quently, the holy Table. Let us put aside lukewarmness and in- 
 difference. Then we shall learn to know from actual experience 
 the salutary and precious effects of the holy Eucharist, which will 
 be produced in us to the sanctification of our souls. Amen. 
 
 References 
 
 MacDonald, in Pulpit Comm., Vol. Ill ; Bossaert, " Holy Communion," 
 in Short Sermons on Gospel Texts; Moore, in A Year's Sermons; Richter, 
 in Sunday School Sermonettes; Cure of Ars, in Sermons, p. 201 ; Mon- 
 sabre in Lenten Confer, of 1884. 
 
 Cath. Emcyc., Vol. V, pp. 588 ff. ; Summa Theol, III, q. 79; Tanquerey, 
 Theol. Dog., D'e SS. Eucharistia, No. 101 S. ; Hurter, Theol. Dog., Vol. 
 Ill, Nos. 469 ff. ; Pohle-Preuss, The Sacraments, Vol. II, p. 218; Vaughan, 
 The Divine Armory, etc., pp. 684 ff. ; Callan, Illustrations for Sermons, 
 etc., pp. 196 ff. ; Bellord, 'Meditations, etc., Vol. II, pp. 284. 
 
 THIRD SUNDAY OF LENT 
 
 SUBJECT 
 THE HOLY SACRIFICE OF THE MASS 
 
 TEXT 
 
 Christ also hath loved us, and hath delivered himself for us, an oblation 
 and a sacrifice to God for an odor of sweetness. EPH. v. 2. 
 
 Analysis 
 
 INTRODUCTION. St. Paul, writing to the Ephesians from his 
 prison in Rome, exhorts them, after the example of Christ, to 
 walk in love and practise mutual charity. Christ, he reminds
 
 THE HOLY SACRIFICE OF THE MASS 287 
 
 them, has so loved them as to become their sacrifice, offering 
 Himself for them on the cross. That same sacrifice of love is 
 perpetually continued in the Mass. 
 
 I. The Mass is a sacrifice, i. A sacrifice is the offering of 
 a gift by a priest to God alone in acknowledgment of His supreme 
 sovereignty. Sacrifice belongs to the true religion, because it is 
 the external and ritualistic expression of God's supreme dominion 
 over all creation, and of man's surrender of himself to his Cre- 
 ator. 2. Sacrifice is a form of worship practised by all peoples 
 in all ages. It was revealed by God to our first parents and 
 handed down by tradition, as we learn from the sacrifices offered 
 by Cain and Abel, the Patriarchs, Melchisedech, etc. 3. Various 
 forms of sacrifice were revealed by God to Moses: (a) the holo- 
 caust, in token of God's supreme dominion; (b) the peace- 
 offering, intended for thanksgiving; (c) the sin-offering, to atone 
 for offences against God or the neighbor. 4. All these ancient 
 sacrifices were figures and types of the Sacrifice of the Mass 
 foretold by the prophet Malachy (Mai. i. li). 5. At the Last 
 Supper our Lord instituted the Holy Eucharist as a sacrament 
 for our sanctification and as a sacrifice whereby to worship God. 
 
 II. The excellence of the sacrifice of the Mass. i. The 
 Mass is the same as the sacrifice of the cross, since the victim 
 and the principal offerer are the same, namely, Christ Himself. 
 2. The Mass is offered for four ends: (a) to give honor and 
 glory to God; (b) to thank God for His benefits; (c) to obtain 
 remission of sins and of temporal punishments due to sin; (d) 
 to obtain from God blessings spiritual and temporal. 3. The 
 Mass profits not only the celebrant and the communicants, but 
 all the faithful, living and dead. It is of special benefit to those 
 for whom it is applied by the priest. The stipend offered is not 
 pay for the Mass, which is of infinite value, but a slight contri- 
 bution toward the temporal support of the priest. 
 
 CONCLUSION, i. Esteem and reverence is due to this august 
 sacrifice. 2. Never miss Mass on Sundays and Holy Days. 3. 
 Hear Mass as frequently as possible, even on week-days. 4. Al-
 
 288 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 ways assist at Mass with devotion: (a) Stand in spirit on Cal- 
 vary; (b) use a prayer-book or say the beads; (c) intend to 
 derive some particular benefit from the Mass you hear. 
 
 Catechism of the Council of Trent, Part II 
 
 THE EUCHARIST is A SACRIFICE 
 
 We now come to explain the nature of the Eucharist as a 
 sacrifice, that pastors may know what are the principal instruc- 
 tions to be communicated to the faithful regarding- this mystery, 
 on Sundays and holy days, in compliance with the decree of the 
 Council of Trent. 1 Not only is this Sacrament a treasure of 
 heavenly riches, which if we turn to good account will purchase 
 for us the favor and friendship of heaven, but it also possesses 
 the peculiar and extraordinary value of enabling us to make 
 some suitable return to God for the inestimable benefits bestowed 
 on us by His bounty. If duly and legitimately offered, this vic- 
 tim is most grateful and most acceptable to God. Of the sacri- 
 fices of the old law it is written : " Sacrifice and oblation thou 
 wouldest not " ; 2 and also, " If thou hadst desired sacrifice, 
 I would indeed have given it : with burnt offerings thou wilt not 
 be delighted." 3 Yet so acceptable in His sight were those sacri- 
 fices that, as the Scripture testifies, from them He " smelled a 
 sweet savor," 4 that is to say, they were grateful and acceptable 
 to Him. What, then, have we not to hope from the efficacy of 
 a sacrifice in which is immolated and offered no less a victim 
 than He of whom a voice from heaven twice proclaimed, " This 
 is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased ! " 8 This mystery, 
 therefore, the pastor will carefully explain to the people, that 
 when assembled at its celebration, they may learn to make it the 
 subject of attentive and devout meditation. 
 
 INSTITUTED FOR TWO GREAT ENDS 
 
 He will teach, in the first place, that the Eucharist was insti- 
 tuted by our Lord for two great purposes, to be the celestial 
 food of the soul, preserving and supporting spiritual life, and to 
 
 1 Sess. 22, princip. c. 8. * Heb. x. 5. * Ps. 1. 18. 
 
 * Gen. viii. 21. ' Matt Ui. 17.
 
 THE HOLY SACRIFICE OF THE MASS 289 
 
 give to the Church a perpetual sacrifice, by which sin may be 
 expiated, and our heavenly Father, whom our crimes have often 
 grievously offended, may be turned from wrath to mercy, from 
 the severity of just vengeance to the exercise of benignant 
 clemency. Of this the paschal lamb, which was offered and eaten 
 by the Israelites as a sacrament and sacrifice, was a lively figure. 1 
 Nor could our divine Lord, when about to offer himself to his 
 eternal Father on the altar of the cross, have given a more illus- 
 trious proof of his unbounded love for us than by bequeathing 
 to us a visible sacrifice, by which the bloody sacrifice, which a 
 little after was to be offered once on the cross, was to be re- 
 newed, and its memory celebrated daily throughout the universal 
 Church even to the consummation of time, to the great advantage 
 of her children. 
 
 THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE EUCHARIST AS A SACRAMENT 
 AND A SACRIFICE IS TWOFOLD 
 
 The difference between the Eucharist as a sacrament and a 
 sacrifice is very great ; it is twofold : as a sacrament it is per- 
 fected by consecration; as a sacrifice all its efficacy consists in 
 its oblation. When deposited in a tabernacle or borne to the 
 sick it is, therefore, a sacrament, not a sacrifice. As a sacra- 
 ment it is also to the worthy receiver a source of merit, and 
 brings with it all those advantages which we have already men- 
 tioned ; as a sacrifice it is not only a source of merit, but also^of 
 satisfaction. As in His passion our Lord merited and satisfied 
 for us, so in the oblation of this sacrifice, which is a bond of 
 Christian unity, Christians merit the fruit of His passion and 
 satisfy for sin. 
 
 THIS SACRIFICE WHEN AND BY WHOM INSTITUTED 
 
 With regard to the institution of this sacrifice the Council 
 of Trent has removed all doubt by declaring that it was insti- 
 tuted by our Lord at His last supper, while it denounces 
 anathema against all who assert that in it is not offered 
 to God a true and proper sacrifice, or that to offer means 
 nothing more than that Christ gives Himself to be our spiritual 
 
 1 Deut xvi. i ff.
 
 290 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 food. 1 That sacrifice is due to God alone, the holy Council also 
 states in the clearest terms. 2 The solemn sacrifice of the Mass is, 
 it is true, sometimes offered to honor the memory of the Saints ; 
 but it is never offered to them, but to Him alone who has crowned 
 them with unfading glory. Never does the officiating minister 
 say : " I offer sacrifice to thee, Peter, or to thee, Paul " ; but while 
 he offers sacrifice to God alone, he renders Him thanks for the 
 signal victories won by the martyrs and implores their patron- 
 age, "that they whose memory we celebrate on earth, may 
 vouchsafe to intercede for us in heaven." 3 The doctrine of the 
 Catholic Church with regard to this sacrifice she received from 
 our Lord when at His last supper, committing to his Apostles the 
 sacred mysteries, He said: "Do this for a commemoration of 
 me." 4 He then, as the holy Synod has defined, ordained them 
 priests, and commanded them and their successors in the ministry 
 to immolate and offer in sacrifice his precious body and blood. 5 
 Of this the words of the Apostle to the Corinthians also afford 
 sufficient evidence. " You cannot," says he, " drink the chalice 
 of the Lord, and the chalice of devils: you cannot be partakers 
 of the table of the Lord, and of the table of devils." 6 As, then, 
 by the "table of devils" we understand the altar upon which 
 sacrifice was offered to them, so by " the table of the Lord," to 
 bring the words of the Apostle to an apposite conclusion, should 
 be understood the altar on which sacrifice was offered to the 
 Lord. 
 
 FIGURES AND PROPHECIES OF THIS SACRIFICE 
 
 Should we look for figures and prophecies of this sacrifice in 
 the Old Testament, we find, in the first place, that its institution 
 was clearly foretold by Malachy in these words : " From the 
 rising of the sun even to the going down, my name is great 
 among the Gentiles, and in every place thore is sacrifice, and 
 there is offered to my name a clean oblation : for my name is 
 
 i See C. Trent, de Sacrif. Missae, c. i, 3; Dionys. lib. 17, de Eccles. c. 3; 
 Ignat. epist. ad Smyrn. ; Tert. lib. de Orat. ; Iren. lib. 4, c. 32 ; Aug. lib. 10, 
 de Civit. Dei, c. 10; lib. 17, c. 20; lib. 18, c. 35; lib. 10, c. 13; lib. 22, c. 8, 
 and in various other places. See also C. Trent, Sess. 22, de sacrific. Missae, 
 c. I, can. i and 2. * C. of Trent, sess. 21, c. 3. 
 
 Aug. contra Faust, lib. 20, c, 21. Luke xxii. 19; I Cor, xi. 24. 
 
 C. of Trent, sess. 22, c. i. i Cor. x. 21.
 
 THE HOLY SACRIFICE OF THE MASS 291 
 
 great among the Gentiles, saith the Lord of hosts." l This saving 
 victim was also foretold, as well before as after the promulga- 
 tion of the Mosaic law, by a variety of sacrifices ; for this alone, 
 as the perfection and completion of all, comprises all the advan- 
 tages which were typified by the other sacrifices. In none of the 
 sacrifices of the Old Law, however, do we discover a more lively 
 image of the Eucharistic sacrifice than in that of Melchisedech. 2 
 Our Lord Himself, at His Last Supper, offered to His Eternal 
 Father His precious body and blood under the appearances of 
 bread and wine, at the same time declaring Himself " a priest for 
 ever, according to the order of Melchisedech." 3 
 
 THE SACRIFICE OF THE MASS THE SAME AS THAT OF THE CROSS 
 
 We therefore confess that the sacrifice of the Mass is one 
 and the same sacrifice as that of the cross. The victim is one 
 and the same, Christ Jesus, who offered Himself, once only, a 
 bloody sacrifice on the altar of the cross. The bloody and un- 
 bloody victim is still one and the same, and the oblation of the 
 cross is daily renewed in the eucharistic sacrifice, in obedience to 
 the command of our Lord : " Do this for a commemoration of 
 me." * The priest is also the same, Christ our Lord. The min- 
 isters who offer this sacrifice, consecrate the holy mysteries not 
 in their own but in the person of Christ. This the words of con- 
 secration declare. The priest does not say, "This is the body 
 of Christ," but, " This is my body " ; and thus invested with the 
 character of Christ, he changes the substance of the bread and 
 wine into the substance of his real body and blood. 5 
 
 THE MASS IS A SACRIFICE OF PRAISE, THANKSGIVING, AND 
 PROPITIATION 
 
 That the holy sacrifice of the Mass, therefore, is not only a 
 sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving, or a commemoration of the 
 sacrifice of the cross, but also a sacrifice of propitiation, by which 
 God is appeased and rendered propitious, the pastor will teach 
 as a dogma defined by the unerring authority of a general Coun- 
 
 1 Malach. i. n. * Gen. xiv. 18. ' Heb. vii. 17; Ps. cix. 4. 
 
 * Luke xxii. 19; i Cor. xi. 24. 
 
 " Chrys. horn. 2; in 2, ad Timoth. ; horn, de prod. Judae; Ambr. lib. 4, 
 de Sacram. c. 4.
 
 292 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 cil of the Church. 1 If, therefore, with pure hearts and a lively 
 faith, and with a sincere sorrow for past transgressions, we im- 
 molate and offer in sacrifice this most holy victim, we shall, no 
 doubt, receive from the Lord " mercy, and find grace in season- 
 able aid." 2 So acceptable to God is the sweet odor of this 
 sacrifice that through its oblation He pardons our sins, bestowing 
 on us the gifts of grace and of repentance. Hence the Church 
 solemnly prays : " As often as the commemoration of this victim 
 is celebrated, so often is the work of our salvation promoted, 
 and the plenteous fruits of that bloody victim flow in upon us 
 abundantly, through this unbloody sacrifice." 3 
 
 THE MASS IS BENEFICIAL TO THE LIVING AND THE DEAD 
 
 The pastor will also teach that such is the efficacy of this 
 sacrifice that its benefits extend not only to the celebrant and 
 the communicant, but also to all the faithful, whether living, or 
 numbered among those who have died in the Lord but whose 
 sins have not yet been fully expiated. According to apostolic 
 tradition the most authentic, it is not less available when offered 
 for these departed than when offered for the living in atonement 
 for sins, in alleviation of punishments, satisfactions, calamities, 
 or for the relief of necessities. 4 It is hence easy to perceive that 
 the Mass, whenever and wherever offered, because conducive to 
 the common interests and salvation of all, is to be considered 
 common to all the faithful. 
 
 Sermon 
 
 THE HOLY SACRIFICE OF THE MASS 
 BY THE RT. REV. ALEXANDER MACDONALD, D.D. 
 
 Altar, priest, sacrifice, these three go together. There is 
 no altar but for the offering of sacrifice, no lawful sacrifice with- 
 out a priest called of God as Aaron was. Hence, where sacrifice 
 is abolished the priesthood is done away with, altars are pulled 
 down, and prayer becomes the highest form of religious wor- 
 
 1 C. of Trent, sess. 22, de sacrif. Missae, c. 2, can. 3. * Heb. iv. 16. 
 Secret Prayer for Ninth Sunday after Pentecost. 
 4 C. of Trent, sess. 22, cap. 206.
 
 THE HOLY SACRIFICE OF THE MASS 293 
 
 ship. And because the highest form of worship can be offered 
 to God alone, where sacrifice is no longer offered, no voice is 
 raised in prayer to the saints that reign with Christ. The human 
 mind is logical even when entangled in the mazes of error; for 
 error follows from the logical working out of false principles, 
 as truth does from the logical working out of true ones. Is 
 prayer, then, the highest form of Christian worship? Is the 
 Christian religion without a sacrifice? Let the words of the text 
 supply the answer : " We have an altar, whereof they have no 
 power to eat who serve the tabernacle." Christians have an 
 altar, as the Jews had theirs; therefore Christians have a sacri- 
 fice, as the Jews had theirs. This sacrifice is the Holy Mass. 
 
 The blessed Eucharist is at once a Sacrament and a sacrifice 
 the one great sacrifice of the New Law. As a Sacrament, it is 
 in one sense an abiding thing, a presence on our altars that is 
 with us always; as a sacrifice, it is an action, transient in its 
 nature, begun and ended all in half an hour. As a Sacrament, 
 it is given to men ; as a sacrifice, it is offered to God. As a 
 Sacrament, it is the manna of the soul, the staff of the spiritual 
 life ; as a sacrifice it presents again the price of our redemption, 
 the blood of the Lamb that was slain from the foundation of the 
 world, a propitiation for the sins of the whole world. 
 
 By sacrifice, in its widest sense, is meant any good work done 
 to honor God and unite us with Him in holy fellowship. In this 
 sense prayer is a sacrifice, and so is sorrow for sin, of which 
 the Psalmist says, " A sacrifice to God is an afflicted spirit." But 
 in the strict and proper sense, sacrifice means the offering to God 
 and immolation of some sensible thing in token of His sovereign 
 dominion over all creatures, and of our subjection to Him. That 
 which is offered must be something sensible, for sacrifice is an 
 outward sign or token of the worship that is in the heart, and 
 every such sign of inner thought or feeling is, from the nature 
 of the case, perceptible by the senses. God, from the cradle of 
 the race, bade men offer things that are sensible, as when Cain 
 offered the first fruits of the earth and Abel the firstlings of the 
 flock. But that which is offered must be immolated, else it will 
 be only a gift, and no true sacrifice. " For every high priest," 
 says St. Paul, "is ordained to offer" not only "gifts" but
 
 294 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 " sacrifices " as well ( Heb. viii. 3 ) . Immolation is the real 
 sacrificial action, the distinctive note of sacrifice. Hence, in the 
 olden time the thing offered in sacrifice had always to be de- 
 stroyed, if a solid substance, by breaking it up or burning it ; 
 if a liquid, by pouring it out on the ground; if an animal, by 
 shedding its blood. And to God alone can a victim be immolated. 
 " I am the Lord thy God, thou shalt not have strange gods be- 
 fore me." The great end of sacrifice is the worship of God, but 
 it is offered also to satisfy the justice of God for our sins, to 
 obtain favors from Him, and to return Him thanks. Corre- 
 sponding to these four ends, there were in the Old Law four 
 kinds of sacrifice, holocausts, or whole burnt offerings, sin 
 offerings, peace offerings, and thanks offerings. A sacrifice is 
 an act of divine worship ; and as we must worship God, not after 
 our own caprice, but in the way He has appointed, no one can 
 take upon him to offer sacrifice unless he be called of God as 
 was Aaron. Under the law of nature, from Adam to Moses, the 
 priests were the first born, and also the heads of families ; under 
 the Mosaic Law, the sons and descendants of Aaron, of the tribe 
 of Levi ; under the New Law, the one high priest is Christ, and 
 men are His ministers, sharing His priesthood forever after the 
 order of Melchisedech. 
 
 In all lands, among all peoples, in all forms of religion, Jew- 
 ish or Pagan, from the beginning of the world down to the 
 coming of Christ, there was sacrifice. The pagan Plutarch tes- 
 tifies that if you were to go round the world you might find cities 
 without walls, or literature, or wealth ! but a city in which sacri- 
 fice is not offered to obtain blessings and avert evil no one, he 
 says, ever saw. The impulse to offer sacrifice seems to be im- 
 planted in the nature of man, at least since the fall. He feels 
 his own weakness, he is conscious of his own sinfulness, and a 
 natural instinct prompts him to seek help and make atonement 
 for sin by immolating a victim to some higher power. The 
 pagans, who knew not the one true God, offered sacrifice to idols ; 
 the Jews, of old God's chosen people, offered sacrifice to Jeho- 
 vah, the maker of heaven and earth, almighty and eternal. 
 
 From the very cradle of the race, as I have said, there was 
 sacrifice. It was offered in the outskirts, as it were, of the
 
 THE HOLY SACRIFICE OF THE MASS 295 
 
 earthly paradise, while the pair whose sin and fall made sacrifice 
 a necessity were yet in the flesh. When Noah stepped out of 
 the ark, after the waters of the flood had receded, his first act 
 was to erect an altar and offer a victim to the Most High. So 
 did the patriarchs, by God's own order ; so did Moses in the land 
 of Egypt, when the paschal lamb was slain and its blood sprinkled 
 for the deliverance of his people; so did Aaron, the high priest 
 of God, and the men of the tribe of Levi, from generation unto 
 generation, God Himself having set them apart and ordained 
 them for this special purpose. 
 
 But the sacrifices of the Old Law, in themselves, were of little 
 worth. Not by the blood of goats and oxen could the sins of the 
 world be blotted out. The sacrifices of the olden time were but 
 symbols; they did but shadow forth the one great and perfect 
 sacrifice of the New Law. " Sacrifice and oblation thou wouldest 
 not : but a body thou hast fitted to me : Holocaust for sin did not 
 please thee. Then said I : Behold I come : in the head of the 
 book it is written of me: that I should do thy will, O God." 
 The words are spoken in the person of our high priest, the Son 
 of God, who came into the world, and was born of a virgin, and 
 thus became also the Son of Man, true God and true man in one 
 person. " Sacrifice and oblation thou wouldest not." God had 
 no pleasure in the sacrifices offered by sinful men, save in so 
 far as they adumbrated the sacrifice of the Sinless One. But 
 He that was sinless was " made sin " for us. By a miracle of 
 His wisdom and power He took upon Himself, without sin, our 
 sinful nature, and by a further miracle of His goodness and 
 mercy blotted out "the handwriting of the decree that was 
 against us, ... fastening it to the cross." And the atonement 
 He made for sin, the redemption He wrought with His blood, 
 while, on the one hand, a gratuitous act of pure clemency, satis- 
 fied, oh the other hand, every requirement of the strictest jus- 
 tice. How, it has been asked, is it just that the innocent should 
 suffer for the guilty?. The innocent, the Sinless One, suffered, 
 not as sinless, but as having been " made sin " for us. " A body 
 thou has fitted to me." When the Son of God took upon Him- 
 self our nature, when He " was made of a woman," and born of 
 a woman, He became, not man merely, but the Son of Man, yea,
 
 296 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 of the man who had sinned. " Let us make MAN in our own 
 image and likeness," it was said from the beginning. In creat- 
 ing Adam, God made, not a man, but Man, that is, the whole 
 human race. The Son of God, therefore, in becoming the Son 
 of Man, became a member of the human family, and, on the 
 principle of race solidarity, became answerable for the sins of 
 His fellow men. Had He become man otherwise than by being 
 " made of a woman " and born of a woman, He would not have 
 been of the race of Adam, the fallen race, for the race is propa- 
 gated by birth. In that case, He would not have been "made 
 sin " for us, nor would the shedding of His blood have been an 
 atonement for sin, since justice requires that satisfaction be 
 made, if not by the person, at least in the nature, that has sinned. 
 "The prince of this world cometh," said Our Lord, "and in 
 me he hath not anything." Neither had he, for Our Lord was 
 personally sinless. But He was racially guilty, for God the 
 Father saw in Him the representative of the family of man, 
 made in the image and likeness of a race of sinners, and there- 
 fore delivered over to die, between two of these sinners, upon 
 a cross. "And bearing his own cross, he went forth to that 
 place which is called Calvary, but in Hebrew Golgotha, where 
 they crucified him, and with him two others, one on each side, 
 and Jesus in the midst." The two others were sinners, " male- 
 factors " St. Luke calls them, but what was their guilt in God's 
 eyes compared with that of the One who, though sinless, had yet 
 been " made sin " for us ! 
 
 Thus was offered on the hill of Calvary, for the first time in 
 the history of the world, a victim worthy of the Most High God, 
 even His only begotten Son. But that was well-nigh nineteen 
 hundred years ago, and has there been no sacrifice since then? 
 Certainly none other than the one then offered on the altar of 
 the Cross. That was a finished sacrifice, yet in the sense that 
 every work of the eternal is finished finished, but abiding still. 
 It is written that God rested on the seventh day from all the works 
 that He made. Yet Our Lord could say, " The Father worketh 
 still ; and I work." The work of creation, and of the institution 
 of things, was finished on the seventh day, but the work of con- 
 servation, of the maintenance of things in their primeval con-
 
 THE HOLY SACRIFICE OF THE MASS 297 
 
 stitution, still goes on. Nor is conservation a new work, but the 
 original creative work prolonged forever. God spoke and things 
 came into being, not to pass away, but to endure, and to endure 
 by virtue of the word spoken from the beginning. And the same 
 word, now " made flesh," spoke at the Last Supper, instituting 
 the sacrifice of the New Law in His own body and blood, spoke 
 on the Cross, consummating the sacrifice of His own body and 
 blood, and the selfsame sacrifice still endures by virtue of the 
 selfsame word. " Such a sacrifice," says Cardinal Newman, 
 " was not to be forgotten. It was not to be it could not be 
 a mere event in the world's history, which was to be done and 
 over, and was to pass away except in its obscure, unrecognized 
 effects. If that great deed was what we believe it to be, what 
 we know it is, it must remain present though past; it must be 
 a standing fact for all times." Such is this work of the eternal, 
 like Himself, ever ancient and ever new, past yet always present, 
 done and over yet always being done anew, over and over again. 
 " As often as this commemorative sacrifice is celebrated, the 
 work of our redemption is carried on," and will be carried on till 
 that work is done till the last man has been redeemed. For 
 " the death of the Lord " is to be " shown forth, until he come." 
 
 " The chalice of benediction, which we bless, is it not the com- 
 munion of the blood of Christ ? And the bread, which we break, 
 is it not the partaking of the body of the Lord ? " These words 
 of St. Paul are but an echo of the words of Christ : " This is my 
 body ; this is my blood of the new testament. Do this for a com- 
 memoration of me." What this? This that He did, giving His 
 own body and blood under the forms of bread and wine. Here 
 was a rite and ceremonial, like the rite and ceremonial of the 
 Jewish Pasch, the ceremonial being a breaking and blessing of 
 bread, a blessing and pouring out of wine, the rite a consecration 
 of these elements into the body that was broken and the blood 
 that was shed on the Cross. The bloody sacrifice was offered 
 once, and once for all,- without rite or ceremonial. It was offered 
 by the high priest alone, while the men whom He made sharers 
 of His priesthood were scattered as sheep before the wolf. But 
 never was sacrifice offered by a congregation, or body of wor- 
 shippers, without fitting rite and ceremonial. Therefore did
 
 298 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 Christ, with fitting rite and ceremonial, institute, for Christian 
 worshippers, the unbloody sacrifice, which is unbloody, not that 
 it is without real blood, but that the blood is not really shed. 
 And because the blood that is offered is the selfsame blood that 
 was once really shed, the unbloody sacrifice, with its rite and 
 ceremonial, is the selfsame as the bloody sacrifice. Christ, our 
 high priest, trod the winepress alone. But the price, His blood 
 of the New Testament, is a sacrifice to God, a Sacrament and 
 gift to men; as a sacrifice, pleading the merits of His Passion, 
 speaking better than the blood of Abel ; as a Sacrament, " cleans- 
 ing the conscience from dead works to serve the living God." 
 
 We read in Genesis that Melchisedech, king of Salem, and 
 priest, of the Most High, offered sacrifice in bread and wine. 
 To this Melchisedech, Abraham, though priest himself and patri- 
 arch of God's chosen people, offered tithes of all he possessed, 
 thus doing him homage as his superior in priestly rank. Now 
 Melchisedech was a figure of Christ, who is " a priest forever 
 according to the order of Melchisedech." Therefore Christ has 
 offered sacrifice after the manner of Melchisedech. And because 
 He is " a priest forever," He still does so, in the holy Mass where 
 He is both High Priest and Victim. This precisely is what was 
 foretold by the prophet Malachy a time when the bloody sacri- 
 fices of the Jews should cease, and in every place, from the rising 
 of the sun to its going down, there should be offered to the Most 
 High a clean oblation, and this, too, among the Gentiles, " for 
 great is my name among the Gentiles, saith the Lord of hosts." 
 We have, then, an altar whereof they cannot partake who serve 
 the tabernacle, and whereof they will not partake who, having 
 eyes see not, and having ears hear not, the things that make for 
 their peace. 
 
 " For Christ our Pasch is sacrificed." The Christian Pasch 
 followed the Jewish Pasch, and fulfils it. The relation of anti- 
 type and type between the two is as striking as it is significant. 
 In the former a lamb was slain and offered ; in the latter is slain 
 and offered the Lamb that taketh away the sins of the world. 
 The former wrought redemption of the first born from temporal 
 death, and deliverance of God's people from bondage to a tyrant ; 
 the latter works redemption of the new born from eternal death,
 
 THE HOLY SACRIFICE OF THE MASS 299 
 
 and deliverance of God's people, both Jew and Gentile, from a 
 far worse bondage, in so much as Satan is a far more heartless 
 tyrant and harder taskmaster than was Pharaoh. The Jew ate 
 the flesh of the lamb with unleavened bread; the Christian eats 
 the flesh of the Lamb under the form of unleavened bread. " I 
 am the living- bread that came down from heaven." "And the 
 bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world." The 
 first Jewish Passover wrought deliverance from bondage; the 
 second passover served but to commemorate the first, and to. 
 shadow forth that which was to come. So the first Christian 
 Passover, at the Last Supper and on Calvary, wrought our de- 
 liverance; the second, on the altars of our churches, serves to 
 commemorate the first and to apply its merits for in the New 
 Law is no shadow, but the reality. And just as every subsequent 
 Passover of the Jews, though commemorative and typical, was 
 a true sacrifice, so is every subsequent Christian Passover, though 
 commemorative and symbolic, a true sacrifice, yea, the one true 
 sacrifice of the New Law. But while in each subsequent Jewish 
 Passover a different lamb was slain, and the sacrifice therefore 
 was numerically different from the preceding, in each subsequent 
 Christian Passover the same Lamb is offered and partaken of 
 which was slain once for all on Calvary. The sacrifice is there- 
 fore numerically the same as that which was offered at the Last 
 Supper and on the Cross. No explanation need be given, no 
 explanation can be given, why the Mass is a sacrifice, other than 
 this full and ample one, that it is not a new sacrifice at all, 
 but in all that appertains to the constitution of sacrifice, in its 
 inner essence, in every essential respect, the same sacrifice as 
 that of the Cross ; that it is in reality the sacrifice of the Cross, 
 in a mystery and by a miracle of Christ's power, prolonged for- 
 ever. Every altar is a Calvary, where the same Victim is ever 
 offered by the same High Priest, under the veil of the things 
 that appear to sense. 
 
 The Church commands us, on pain of mortal sin, to assist at 
 the holy sacrifice of the Mass on Sundays and holy days of ob- 
 ligation. Sunday is the Lord's day. The other six days of the 
 week He has made over to us ; the first He reserves as His own. 
 And the way He would have us sanctify it, the duty He lays
 
 300 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 upon us, is to hear Mass. We are earnestly exhorted to sanctify 
 the Sunday in other ways, to give more time to prayer and medi- 
 tation, to read good books, to attend the vesper service, to as- 
 sist at benediction, to visit the sick, to comfort the sorrowful ; 
 all these things we are exhorted to do, but we are commanded 
 to hear Mass, and this, as I have said, on pain of mortal sin. 
 The other works are good, are excellent, each in its way, but. 
 none of them can supply the place of this one, or make up for 
 default in this. Of course there is such a thing as being excused 
 from hearing Mass on Sunday. We are not called upon to put 
 forth an heroic effort to satisfy this obligation, but we are called 
 upon to make an honest effort ; we are called upon to make some 
 exertion and put ourselves to some inconvenience. As for those 
 who live under the shadow of the church, or even within sound 
 of the church bell, there can hardly be any excuse for missing 
 Mass on Sunday save sickness or the like. 
 
 And oh, if we did but realize, as did the Christians of the olden 
 time, as the saints of God have done in every age, what a treasure 
 we have in the holy Mass, we surely should set greater store by it, 
 and put forth greater effort to assist at it more frequently and 
 more devoutly. If we had faith even as a grain of mustard seed, 
 we should surmount every obstacle and even move a seeming 
 mountain of difficulty in order to be present at this august sacri- 
 fice. For faith assures us that here the mystery of our redemp- 
 tion is indeed renewed ; the same body that was pierced for us 
 on Calvary is mystically broken for us on the altar; the same 
 blood that flowed from the wounds in those blessed hands and 
 feet, and trickled from the spear wound in the heart, is once more 
 poured out for us, and cries to heaven with a better pleading than 
 that of Abel. It is good to pray at home, it is good to give alms, 
 it is good to visit the sick, it is good to comfort the sorrowful; 
 but it is better than any of these, better than all of these together, 
 to assist humbly and devoutly at the holy Mass. Through this 
 adorable sacrifice, as the Fathers of Trent tell us, God being ap- 
 peased, grants grace and the gift of repentance, and pardons sins 
 and crimes even the most enormous. Oh, if we did but know 
 this great gift of God, as the angels know it who come down from 
 heaven in troops whenever it is offered, we should think nothing
 
 RITES OF THE HOLY EUCHARIST 301 
 
 of coming miles and miles to be present at holy Mass. We should 
 even be found daily assisting at it, like the sainted Monica, who 
 " never for a day absented herself from the altar whence she 
 knew that Victim to be dispensed, by which the handwriting that 
 was against us is blotted out." 1 
 
 References 
 
 Gerrard, in Pulpit Comnt., Vol. IV ; in Short Sermons on Catholic Doc- 
 trine; Corsi, in Little Sermons on the Catechism; Fuhlrott, in The Holy 
 Sacrifice of the Mass; Gillis, in A Year's Sermons; Hudson, " On the 
 Fruits of Hearing Mass," in Plain Sermons by Practical Preachers, Vol. 
 II ; Monsabre, in Lenten Confer, of 1884. 
 
 Cath. Encyc., Vol. X, pp. 6 ff.; Vol. XII, pp. 409 ff.; Vol. XIII, 
 PP- 309 ff. ; Summa Theol., Ill, q. 83 ; Tanquerey, Theol. Dog., De SS. 
 Euch., Cap. Ill; Hurter, Theol. Dog., Vol. Ill, Nos. 484 ff.; Pohle-Preuss, 
 The Sacraments, Vol. II; Vaughan, The Divine Armory, etc., pp. 700 ff. ; 
 Callan, Illustrations for Sermons, etc., pp. 204 ff. ; Berington and Kirk, 
 The Faith of Catholics, Vol. II, p. 385 ; Bellord, Meditations, etc., Vol. II, 
 p. 292 ; Bona, De Sacrificio Missae; Fortescue, The Mass; Fitzgerald, The 
 Jewels of the Mass; Gihr, The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, etc.; Gibbons, 
 The Faith of our Fathers, ch. xxiii. 
 
 FOURTH SUNDAY OF LENT 
 
 SUBJECT 
 
 THE MATTER, FORM, AND RITES OF THE HOLY 
 EUCHARIST 
 
 TEXT 
 
 Jesus took the loaves: and when he had given thanks, he distributed to 
 them that were set down. JOHN vL II. 
 
 Analysis 
 
 INTRODUCTION. The external sign in which every sacrament 
 consists is twofold, namely, the matter, which is some sensible 
 object; and the form, which is the words used by the minister. 
 In the Holy Eucharist bread and wine constitute the matter, and 
 the words of consecration the form of the sacrament. The same 
 divine power which multiplied the loaves of to-day's Gospel also 
 1 Confessions of St Augustine, bk. ix. c. 13.
 
 302 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 changes bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ in the 
 sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. 
 
 I. The matter of the Eucharist. I. The bread used for the 
 Mass must of necessity be wheaten, and, in the Latin Church, un- 
 leavened. 2. The wine of the Eucharist must be pressed from 
 the grape. According to a very ancient rite derived from the 
 Apostles a little water is mingled with the wine. 3. Bread and 
 wine are most suitable elements for the Holy Eucharist, because, 
 (a) bread and wine, being very nourishing foods, are aptly 
 suited to signify the spiritual nourishment which this Sacrament 
 causes; (b) as bread and wine are naturally changed into our 
 flesh and blood, it is easy to see how by divine power they can 
 be supernaturally changed into the body and blood of Christ; 
 (c) as bread is made from many grains and wine from many 
 grapes, bread and wine appropriately illustrate the unity of the 
 faithful which this Sacrament effects through charity. 
 
 II. The form of the Holy Eucharist. I. The form, or 
 words of consecration of the bread are the words which Christ 
 used at the Last Supper, namely, " This is my body." That these 
 words express the real change of bread into the body of our Lord 
 is clear from Scripture, from the Fathers and tradition, and from 
 reason. 2. The form or words used in the consecration of the 
 wine are the words that Christ pronounced over the chali'ce at 
 the Last Supper, namely, " This is my blood." That these words 
 really express the change of wine into our Lord's blood is also 
 clear from Scripture, tradition, and reason. 3. By reason of 
 natural concomitance Christ whole and entire is present under 
 each species. 
 
 III. The rites observed in administering Holy Communion. 
 I. Communion is administered to the faithful under the form 
 of bread alone for many good reasons: (a) this is necessary to 
 avoid accidents and irreverence ; (b) if the species of wine were 
 preserved in the tabernacle it would corrupt; (c) to many per- 
 sons wine is nauseating; (d) wine is extremely scarce in many 
 countries; (e) Christ is just as much present under one species
 
 RITES OF THE HOLY EUCHARIST 303 
 
 as under both. 2. The practice of the Church of giving Com- 
 munion under one form is merely a matter of discipline, and can 
 be changed if the Church so wishes. That this practice, how- 
 ever, is lawful is evident: (a) from the words of Christ, who 
 made the same promises to those that eat only, as to those that 
 both eat and drink (John vi. 52, 55, 58) ; (b) from the history 
 of the early Church, for we know that in early times Communion 
 under one form only was given to the faithful in their homes 
 during persecutions, and likewise to prisoners, infants, and the 
 sick. 3. To validly ordained clergy alone Christ gave the power 
 of consecrating and administering the Holy Eucharist. 
 
 LESSONS. I. Admire the wisdom and power of Christ who 
 chose such apt means to feed us with His body and blood. Let 
 us imitate the multitude of to-day's Gospel who marvelled at the 
 miracle they had witnessed. 2. The people in the Gospel wished 
 to make Christ their King. Let us desire that He may come to 
 us to reign over our souls in Holy Communion. 
 
 Catechism of the Council of Trent, Part II 
 
 THE MATTER OF THIS SACRAMENT 
 
 To consecrate the Sacrament validly, to instruct the faithful 
 in that of which it is the symbol, and to kindle in their souls an 
 ardent desire of possessing the invaluable treasure which it sig- 
 nifies, it is of vital importance that the pastor make himself 
 acquainted with its matter. The matter of this Sacrament is two- 
 fold, consisting of wheaten bread, and of wine pressed from the 
 grape, mixed with a little water. The first element, then (of the 
 other we shall treat hereafter), is bread, as the Evangelists 
 Matthew, 1 Mark, 2 and Luke 8 testify. Christ our Lord, say they, 
 took bread into His hands, blessed, and brake it, saying, " THIS is 
 MY BODY " ; and according to St. John, He called himself bread 
 in these words : " I -am the living bread which came down from 
 heaven." * 
 
 1 Matt xxvi. 26. " Mark xiv. 22. ' Luke xxii. 19. 
 
 * John vi. 41. See de consecr. disk 2, cc. I, 2, 55, where the decrees 
 of Pope Alexander on this matter are quoted, and also Cypr. lib. 2, Epist. 3 ; 
 Ambr. 1. 4, de Sacram. c. 4; Iren. L 4, c. 34, et 1. 5, c. 2.
 
 304 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 Since, however, there are different sorts of bread, composed of 
 different materials, such as wheat, barley, pease ; or made in dif- 
 ferent manners, such as leavened and unleavened, it is to be 
 observed that with regard to the former the sacramental matter, 
 according to the words of our Lord, should consist of wheaten 
 bread; for when we simply say bread, we mean, according to 
 common usage, " wheaten bread." i This is also distinctly de- 
 clared by a figure of the Holy Eucharist in the Old Testament: 
 the Lord commanded that the loaves of proposition which pre- 
 figured this Sacrament should be made of "fine flour." 2 
 
 THE BREAD IS ALSO UNLEAVENED 
 
 Since, therefore, wheaten bread alone is the proper matter of 
 this Sacrament, a doctrine handed down by Apostolic tradition 
 and confirmed by the authority of the Catholic Church, it may also 
 be inferred from the circumstances in which the Eucharist was 
 instituted, that this wheaten brea,d should be unleavened. It was 
 consecrated and instituted by our Lord on the first day of un- 
 leavened bread, a time when the Jews were prohibited by the 
 law to have leavened bread in their houses. 3 Should the words 
 of the Evangelist St. John, who says that all this was done before 
 the Passover, be objected, the objection is one of easy solution. 
 By the day before the Pasch, 4 St. John understands the same day 
 which the other Evangelists designate as " the first day of unleav- 
 ened bread." He had for object, principally, to mark the natu- 
 ral day, which does not commence until sunrise; and the first 
 natural day of the Pasch, therefore, being Friday, the day before 
 the Pasch, means Thursday, on the evening of which the festival 
 of unleavened bread began, and on which our Lord celebrated the 
 Pasch and instituted the Holy Eucharist. Hence, St. Chrysostom 
 understands the first day of unleavened bread to be the day on 
 the evening of which the unleavened bread was to be eaten. 5 The 
 
 1 St. Thomas, p. 3, q. 74. * Lev. xxiv. 5. 
 
 1 Matt. xxvi. 17; Mark xiv. 12; Luke xxii. 7. See Book 3 of the 
 Decretals, title de celebr. Missarum, last chapter, in which Pope Honorius 
 II is quoted. 
 
 4 John xiii. I. * In Matt horn. 83.
 
 RITES OF THE HOLY EUCHARIST 305 
 
 peculiar propriety of the consecration of unleavened bread, to ex- 
 press that integrity and purity of heart with which the faithful 
 should approach this Sacrament, we learn from these words of 
 the Apostle : " Purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new 
 paste, as you are unleavened. For Christ our Pasch is sacrificed. 
 Therefore let us feast, not with the old leaven, not with the 
 leaven of malice and wickedness ; but with the unleavened bread 
 of sincerity and truth." * 
 
 UNLEAVENED BREAD NOT ESSENTIAL 
 
 This property of the bread, however, is not to be considered so 
 essential that its absence must render the Sacrament null. Both 
 kinds, leavened and unleavened bread, are called by the common 
 name, and have each the nature and properties of bread. 2 No 
 one, however, should on his own individual authority have the 
 temerity to depart from the laudable rite observed in the Church 
 to which he belongs ; and such departure is the less warranted in 
 priests of the Latin Church, commanded as they are by authority 
 of the supreme Pontiff to celebrate the sacred mysteries with un- 
 leavened bread only. 8 With regard to the first element of this 
 Sacrament, this exposition will be found sufficiently comprehen- 
 sive. We may, however, observe in addition, that the quantity of 
 bread to be used is not determined, depending as it does upon the 
 number of communicants, a matter which cannot be defined. 
 
 THE SECOND ELEMENT IS WINE OF THE GRAPE, MINGLED 
 WITH A LITTLE WATER 
 
 We come next to treat of the second element of this Sacra- 
 ment, which forms part of its matter, and consists of wine pressed 
 from the grape, mingled with a little water. That our Lord made 
 use of wine in the institution of this Sacrament has been at all 
 times the doctrine of the Catholic Church. He Himself said, " I 
 will not drink from henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that 
 day." * On these words of our Lord, St. Chrysostom observes : 
 " Of the fruit of the vine, which certainly produces wine, not 
 
 1 i Cor. v. 7, 8. ' C. of Florence, last session. 
 
 1 Lib. 2, decreL de celebr. miss. c. final. 
 * Matt xxvi. 29; Mark xiv. 25.
 
 306 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 water " ; as if he had it in view, even at so early a period, to crush 
 by the evidence of these words, the heresy which asserted that 
 water alone is to be used in these mysteries. 1 With the wine 
 used in the sacred mysteries, the Church of God, however, has 
 always mingled water, because, as we know on the authority of 
 councils and the testimony of St. Cyprian, our Lord Himself did 
 so; 2 and also because this admixture renews the recollection of 
 the blood and water which issued from His sacred side. The 
 word " water " we also find used in the Apocalypse to signify the 
 people, 3 and therefore water mixed with wine signifies the union 
 of the faithful with Christ their head. This rite, derived from 
 apostolic tradition, the Catholic Church has at all times observed. 
 The propriety of mingling water with the wine rests, it is true, on 
 authority so grave that to omit the practice would be to incur the 
 guilt of mortal sin ; however, its sole omission would be insuffi- 
 cient to render the Sacrament null. But care must be taken not 
 only to mingle water with the wine, but also to mingle it in small 
 quantity ; for in the opinion of ecclesiastical writers the water is 
 changed into wine. Hence, these words of Pope Honorius : " A 
 pernicious abuse has prevailed for a long time among you, of 
 using in the holy sacrifice a greater quantity of water than of 
 wine; whereas in accordance with the rational practice of the 
 Universal Church, the wine should be used in much greater 
 quantity than the water." 4 
 
 We have now treated of the two and only elements of this 
 Sacrament; and although some dared to do otherwise, many de- 
 crees of the Church justly enact that no celebrant offer anything 
 but bread and wine. 6 
 
 PECULIAR APTITUDE OF THESE ELEMENTS 
 
 We now come to consider the aptitude of these two elements 
 to declare those things of which they are the sensible signs. In 
 the first place, they signify Christ, the true life of the world ; for 
 our Lord Himself has said: "My flesh is meat indeed: and my 
 
 Horn. 83 in Matt. 
 
 * Cyp. lib. I, epist. 3; C. of Trent, sess. 22, de sacrif. miss. c. 7, can. 9. 
 
 * Apoc. xvii. 15. 4 L 3, Decretal, de eel. miss. c. 13. 
 
 * See de consecr. dist. 2, cc. I, 2, seq.
 
 RITES OF THE HOLY EUCHARIST 307 
 
 blood is drink indeed." l Since, therefore, the body of our Lord 
 Jesus Christ nourishes to eternal life those who receive it with 
 purity and holiness, with great propriety is this Sacrament com- 
 posed principally of those elements which sustain life, thus giving 
 the faithful to understand that the soul is nurtured with grace by 
 a participation of the precious body and blood of Christ. These 
 elements serve also to prove the dogma of the real presence. See- 
 ing, as we do, that bread and wine are every day changed by the 
 power of nature into human flesh and blood, we are, by the ob- 
 vious analogy of the fact, the more readily induced to believe that 
 the substance of the bread and wine is changed, by the celestial 
 benediction, into the real body and blood of Christ. 2 This ad- 
 mirable change also contributes to illustrate what takes place in 
 the soul. As the bread and wine, although invisibly, are really 
 and substantially changed into the body and blood of Christ, so 
 are we, although interiorly and invisibly, yet really, renewed to 
 life, receiving in the Sacrament of the Eucharist the true life. 
 Moreover, the body of the Church, although one and undivided, 
 consists of the union of many members, and of this mysterious 
 union nothing is more strikingly illustrative than bread and wine. 
 Bread is made from many grains, wine is pressed from many 
 grapes, and thus are we too, although many, closely united by this 
 mysterious bond of union, and made as it were one body. 
 
 THE FORM TO BE USED IN THE CONSECRATION OF THE BREAD 
 IS PROVED FROM SCRIPTURE 
 
 The form to be used in the consecration of the bread we now 
 come to explain; not, however, with a view that the faithful 
 should be taught these mysteries unless necessity require it (a 
 knowledge of them is obligatory on ecclesiastics alone), but to 
 obviate the possibility of shameful mistakes on the part of the 
 celebrant, through ignorance of the form. From the Evangelists 
 Matthew and Luke, and also from the Apostle, we learn that the 
 form of the Sacrament consists in these words: "THIS is MY 
 BODY." We read that when they had supped, " Jesus took bread, 
 and blessed, and brake, and gave to his disciples, and said : Take 
 
 1 John vi. 56. * Daraas. 1. 4, de fid. orthod. c. 14.
 
 308 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 ye, and eat. THIS is MY BODY." 1 And this form of consecra- 
 tion, made use of by Jesus Christ, has been uniformly and in- 
 violably observed in the Catholic Church. 
 
 PROOF FROM THE FATHERS AND COUNCILS 
 
 The testimonies of the Fathers in proof of the legitimacy of 
 this form may be here omitted; to enumerate them would prove 
 an endless task. The decree of the Council of Florence to the 
 same effect, because of easy access to all, it is also unnecessary to 
 cite. The necessity of every other proof is superseded by these 
 words of the Saviour : " Do this for a commemoration of me." 2 
 This command of our Lord embraces not only what He did, but 
 also what He said; and especially did it refer to those words 
 which He uttered not less for the purpose of effecting, than of 
 signifying what they effected. 3 
 
 PROOF FROM REASON 
 
 That these words constitute the form is easily proved from 
 reason alone. The form of a Sacrament is that which signifies 
 what is accomplished in the Sacrament. What is accomplished 
 in the Eucharist, that is, the conversion of the bread into the true 
 body of our Lord, the words "This is my body" signify and 
 declare ; they therefore constitute the form. The words of the 
 Evangelist, " he blessed," go to support this reasoning. They are 
 equivalent to saying: "taking bread, he blessed it, saying, This 
 is my body." 4 
 
 The words, " take and eat," it is true, precede the words " This 
 is my body," but they evidently express the use, not the consecra- 
 tion, of the matter, and cannot therefore constitute the form. 
 They must, indeed, be pronounced by the priest, just as the con- 
 junction " for " must be also pronounced in the consecration of 
 the body and blood, but they are not essential to the validity of 
 
 1 Matt. xxvi. 26; Mark xiv. 22; Luke xxii. 19; i Cor. xi. 24. 
 
 1 Luke xxii. 19. In decret. de sacram. ; C. of Trent, sess. 13, c. I. 
 
 * See Amb. 1. 4, de sacram. cc. 4, 5 ; Chrys. horn, de prodit. Judae ; Aug. 
 1. 3, de Trinit. c. 4; Iren. 1. 4, contr. haer. c. 34; Orig. lib. 8, contr. Celsum.; 
 Hesich. 1. 6, in Levit. c. 22; Cyril. Alex, epist. ad Calosorum episcop.; 
 Tertul. 1. 4, contr. Marc, in Hiear. epist. i. 
 
 * Matt. xxvi. 26.
 
 RITES OF THE HOLY EUCHARIST 309 
 
 the Sacrament ; otherwise it would follow that if the Sacrament 
 were not to be administered to any one, it should not, or even 
 could not, be consecrated, whereas, that the priest by pronounc- 
 ing the words of our Lord, according to the institution and prac- 
 tice of the Church, truly consecrates the proper matter of the 
 Sacrament, although it should afterwards happen never to be 
 administered, admits not the least shadow of doubt. 
 
 THE FORM TO BE USED IN THE CONSECRATION OF THE WINE 
 PROVED FROM SCRIPTURE 
 
 The form of the consecration of the wine, the other element of 
 this Sacrament, for the reasons assigned with regard to the bread, 
 should be accurately known, and clearly understood by the priest. 
 We are firmly to believe that the form of consecrating the chalice 
 is comprehended in these words : " THIS is THE CHALICE OF MY 
 
 BLOOD OF THE NEW AND ETERNAL TESTAMENT: THE MYSTERY OF 
 FAITH : WHICH SHALL BE SHED FOR YOU, AND FOR MANY TO THE 
 
 REMISSION OF SINS." 1 These words are for the most part taken 
 from Scripture. Some of them, however, have been preserved in 
 the Church by apostolic tradition. The words "This is the 
 chalice " are taken from St. Luke, 2 and are also mentioned by the 
 Apostle. 3 The words that immediately follow, " of my blood," or 
 " my blood of the new testament, . . . which shall be shed for 
 you, and for many to the remission of sins," are taken in part 
 from St. Luke * and in part from St. Matthew. 5 The words " and 
 eternal," and also the words "the mystery of faith," have been 
 transmitted to us by holy tradition, the interpreter and guardian 
 of Catholic unity. Of the legitimacy of this form we cannot en- 
 tertain a shadow of doubt if we attend to what has been already 
 said of the form used in the consecration of the bread. The form 
 to be used in the consecration of this element should, confessedly, 
 consist of words signifying that the substance of the wine is 
 changed into the blood of our Lord, this the words already 
 cited clearly declare, and therefore they alone exclusively con- 
 stitute the form. 
 
 1 Decretal. 1. 3, de celeb, miss. c. 6. Luke xxii. 20. 
 1 i Cor. xi. 25. Luke xxii. 20. 
 
 5 Matt. xxvi. 28.
 
 310 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 THREE EFFECTS OF THE BLOOD OF THE SAVIOUR 
 
 They also express certain admirable fruits produced by the 
 blood of Christ, which was shed on Calvary fruits which be- 
 long in a special manner to this Sacrament. Of these, one is 
 admission into the eternal inheritance to which we have acquired 
 a right by " the new and everlasting testament." x Another is ad- 
 mission to righteousness by " the mystery of faith," for " God 
 hath proposed" Jesus "to be a propitiation through faith in his 
 blood, to the showing of his justice, . . . that he himself may 
 be just, and the justifier of him, who is of the faith of Jesus 
 Christ" 2 A third is the remission of sin. 3 
 
 THE FORM OF CONSECRATING THE WINE EXPLAINED 
 
 But as the words of consecration are replete with mysteries, 
 and are most appropriate in their application to our present sub- 
 ject, they demand a more minute consideration. When, there- 
 fore, it is said, " This is the chalice of my blood," * these words 
 are to be understood to mean, " This is my blood which is con- 
 tained in this chalice." The mention of "the chalice," at the 
 moment of its consecration, to be the drink of the faithful, is pe- 
 culiarly appropriate; without its mention as the vessel in which 
 it is contained, the words, " This is my blood," would not seem 
 sufficiently to designate this, supernatural species of drink. Next 
 follow the words, " of the New Testament." These are added to 
 give us to understand that the blood of the Saviour is not now 
 given figuratively, as in the Old Law, of which we read in the 
 Apostle, that without blood a testament is not dedicated, 5 but 
 really and truly given, a prerogative peculiar to the New Testa- 
 ment. Hence the Apostle says, "Therefore he [Christ] is the 
 mediator of the New Testament : that by means of his death, . . . 
 they that are called may receive the promise of eternal inherit- 
 ance." 6 The word " eternal " refers to the eternal inheritance, 
 our title to which has been purchased by Christ the Lord, the 
 eternal Testator. The words "mystery of faith," which are 
 added, exclude not the reality, but signify that what lies con- 
 
 1 Heb. x. 20; xiii. 20. 2 Rom. iii. 25, 26. 
 
 * Heb. ix. 12. Decret. 1. 3, de eel. Miss. c. 8. 
 
 Heb. ix. 18. Heb. ix. 15.
 
 RITES OF THE HOLY EUCHARIST 311 
 
 cealed under the veil of mystery, and is far removed from the 
 ken of mortal eye, is to be believed with the certainty of faith. 
 Here, however, these words bear an import entirely different from 
 that which they have when applied to Baptism. Here the mystery 
 of faith consists in this, that we see by faith the blood of Christ, 
 veiled under the species of wine ; but Baptism is properly called by 
 us " the Sacrament of faith," by the Greeks, " the mystery of 
 faith," because it comprises the entire profession of the faith of 
 Christ. There is also another reason why the blood of our Lord 
 is called " the mystery of faith." In its belief human reason ex- 
 periences the greatest difficulties, because faith proposes to us to 
 believe that the Son of God, God and man, suffered death for our 
 redemption, a death signified by the Sacrament of his blood. His 
 passion, therefore, is more appropriately commemorated here in 
 the words, " which shall be shed for the remission of sins," than 
 at the consecration of His body. The separate consecration of 
 the blood places before our eyes in more vivid colors His passion, 
 crucifixion, and death. 
 
 The additional words, " for you and for many," are taken, 
 some from St. Matthew, 1 some from St. Luke, 2 and under the 
 guidance of the Spirit of God combined together by the Catholic 
 Church. They serve emphatically to designate the fruit and 
 advantages of His passion. Looking to the efficacy of the pas- 
 sion, we believe that the Redeemer shed His blood for the 
 salvation of all men ; but looking to the advantages which man- 
 kind derive from its efficacy, we find at once that they are not 
 extended to the whole, but to a large proportion of the human 
 race. When, therefore, our Lord said, " for you," He meant 
 either those who were present, or those whom He had chosen 
 from among the Jews, among whom were, with the exception of 
 Judas, all His disciples with whom He then conversed ; but when 
 He adds, " for many," He would include the remainder of the 
 elect from among the Jews and the Gentiles. With great propri- 
 ety, therefore, were" the words for all omitted, because here the 
 fruit of the passion is alone spoken of, and to the elect only did 
 His passion bring the fruit of salvation. This the words of the 
 Apostle declare when he says, that Christ was offered once, to 
 1 Matt. xxvi. 28. * Luke xxii. 20.
 
 312 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 take away the sins of many ; x and the same truth is conveyed in 
 these words of our Lord recorded by St. John : " I pray for them : 
 I pray not for the world, but for them whom thou hast given me : 
 because they are thine." 2 The words of consecration also convey 
 many other truths, truths, however, which the pastor by the 
 daily meditation and study of divine things, and aided by grace 
 from above, will not find it difficult to discover. 
 
 THE SACRAMENT TO BE RECEIVED UNDER BOTH KINDS BY THE 
 OFFICIATING PRIEST ONLY, AND WHY 
 
 As to the rite to be observed in the administration of this 
 Sacrament, the pastor will teach that the law of the Church inter- 
 dicts its administration under both kinds to any but to the offici- 
 ating priest, unless by special permission of the Church. Christ, 
 it is true, as has been explained by the Council of Trent, 3 insti- 
 tuted and administered to His Apostles, at His last supper, this 
 great Sacrament under both kinds ; but it does not follow of ne- 
 cessity that by doing so He established a law rendering its admin- 
 istration to the faithful under both species imperative. Speaking 
 of this Sacrament He Himself frequently mentions it under one 
 kind only. " If," says He, " any man eat of this bread, he shall 
 live for ever, and the bread that I will give is my flesh, for the life 
 of the world," and "He that eateth this bread, shall live for 
 ever." * The Church, no doubt, was influenced by numerous and 
 cogent reasons, not only to approve, but to confirm by solemn 
 decree the general practice of communicating under one species. 
 In the first place, the greatest caution was necessary to avoid 
 accident or indignity, which must become almost inevitable if the 
 chalice were administered in a crowded assemblage. 
 
 In the next place, the Holy Eucharist should be at all times in 
 readiness for the sick, and if the species of wine remained long 1 
 unconsumed, it was to be feared that it might turn acid. Besides, 
 
 1 Heb. ix. 26. * John xvii. 9. 
 
 1 Sess. 21, De Communione sub utraque specie, can. I, 2, 3. 
 
 * John vi. 52, 59. That the reception of this sacrament under one kind 
 suffices for perfect communion we learn from Tertull. lib. 2, ad uxorem; 
 Cypr. de Lapsis; Orig. horn. 13, in Exod; Basil, epist. ad Caesar patr. ; 
 Aug. ep. 86; Jerome, in Apol. ad Pammach; Chrysost. horn. 41, operis 
 imperf. in Matt.
 
 RITES OF THE HOLY EUCHARIST 313 
 
 there are many who cannot bear the taste or smell of wine. Lest, 
 therefore, what is intended for the nutriment of the soul should 
 prove noxious to the health of the body, the Church, in her wis- 
 dom, has sanctioned its administration under the species of bread 
 alone. We may also observe that in many places wine is ex- 
 tremely scarce, nor can it be brought from distant countries with- 
 out incurring very heavy expense and encountering very tedious 
 and difficult journeys. 
 
 Finally (a circumstance which principally influenced the 
 Church in establishing this practice), means were to be devised 
 to crush the heresy which denied that Christ, whole and entire, is 
 contained under either species, and asserted that the body is con- 
 tained under the species of bread without the blood, and the blood 
 under the species of wine without the body. This object was at- 
 tained by communion under the species of bread alone, which 
 places, as it were, sensibly before our eyes the truth of the Catho- 
 lic faith. Those who have written expressly on this subject will, 
 if it appear necessary, furnish the pastor with additional reasons 
 for the practice of the Catholic Church in the administration of 
 the Holy Eucharist. 
 
 PRIESTS ALONE ARE THE MINISTERS OF THE EUCHARIST 
 
 To omit nothing doctrinal on so important a subject, we now 
 come to speak of the minister of the sacrament, a point, however, 
 on which scarcely any one is ignorant. The pastor then will 
 teach that to priests alone has been given power to consecrate and 
 administer the Holy Eucharist. That the unvarying practice of 
 the Church has also been that the faithful receive the Sacrament 
 from the hand of the priest, and that the priest communicate him- 
 self, has been explained by the Council of Trent. 1 The same holy 
 Council has shown that this practice is always to be scrupulously 
 adhered to, stamped, as it is, with the authoritative impress of 
 Apostolic tradition, and sanctioned by the illustrious example of 
 our Lord Himself, -who with His own hands consecrated and 
 gave to His disciples His most sacred body. 2 
 
 1 Sess. 13, c. 10. ' Matt. xxvi. 26; Matt. xiv. 22.
 
 3H PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 THE LAITY ARE PROHIBITED TO TOUCH THE SACRED VESSELS, ETC. 
 
 To safeguard as much as possible the dignity of this august 
 Sacrament, not only is its administration confined exclusively to 
 the priestly order, but the Church has also, by an express law, 
 prohibited any but those who are consecrated to religion, unless 
 in case of necessity, to touch the sacred vessels, the linen, or other 
 immediate necessaries for consecration. Priests and people may 
 hence learn what piety and holiness they should possess who 
 consecrate, administer, or receive the Holy of Holies. The Eu- 
 charist, however, as was observed with regard to the other Sacra- 
 ments, whether administered by holy or unholy hands, is equally 
 valid. It is of faith that the efficacy of the Sacraments does not 
 depend on the merit of the minister, but on the virtue and power 
 of our Lord Jesus Christ. 
 
 With regard to the Eucharist as a Sacrament, these are the 
 principal points which demanded explanation. 
 
 Sermons 
 
 THE MATTER AND FORM OF THE EUCHARIST 
 BY THE RT. REV. ALEXANDER MACDONALD, D.D. 
 
 All of the seven sacraments instituted by our blessed Lord are 
 holy in themselves and means of holiness to those who receive 
 them worthily. But there is one of them that by common consent 
 of believers is never spoken of save as the Holy or the Most 
 Holy Sacrament. The other sacraments contain grace and are 
 channels of grace; this contains the Author of grace, and is the 
 unfailing fountain of all grace. As the sun is the centre of the 
 system of lesser bodies that circle round it, and the source of light 
 and warmth to all things that live on the earth, so is the Holy 
 Eucharist the centre of the other sacraments, and the source of 
 spiritual light and warmth to the souls of men. 
 
 The Holy Eucharist, as the catechism teaches us, is the Sacra- 
 ment that contains the body and blood, soul and divinity, of Jesus 
 Christ under the appearances of bread and wine. The Eucharist 
 is a sacrifice also ; but with that aspect of it I will not deal now. 
 For the present I will consider it only as a Sacrament, that is to
 
 RITES OF THE HOLY EUCHARIST 315 
 
 say, a sensible sign of grace instituted by Christ Our Lord for 
 the sanctification of souls. We discern in it the three things need- 
 ful to constitute a Sacrament. The bread and wine together with 
 the words of consecration are the sensible sign ; the words of Our 
 Lord at the Last Supper are the guarantee of divine institution ; 
 and as for the conferring of grace, the Eucharist, as has already 
 been observed, contains the very Author of grace. 
 
 By virtue of the words of consecration the body of Our Lord 
 is present under the form of bread and the blood under the form 
 of wine. But since the body has life in it, for having once risen 
 from the dead Our Lord now dieth no more, where the body is 
 there in like manner is the soul and the divinity. For this reason 
 the Church is enabled to administer the Sacrament of the Eucha- 
 rist under one kind. He who receives the Sacrament under the 
 form of bread alone receives a perfect Sacrament, since Christ 
 whole and entire is present under the form of bread. It is to a 
 perfect sacrifice, not to a perfect Sacrament, that the two ele- 
 ments in the Eucharist are essential. 
 
 The form of this Sacrament are the words of Our Lord. The 
 matter is wheaten bread, and wine from the grape. The minis- 
 ter is a validly ordained priest. The subject is a validly baptized 
 person. But not every one who is capable of receiving the 
 Eucharist can lawfully receive it. The person who is in mortal 
 sin can receive it neither lawfully nor fruitfully; and it is not to 
 be given to children, according to the present discipline of the 
 Church, till they reach the years of discretion. Nor is it to be 
 given to insane persons, or people bereft of their senses. But a 
 child in danger of death, who knows enough to distinguish the 
 Eucharist from other food, should receive it as viaticum ; and any 
 insane person who once had the use of reason and led a Christian 
 life may receive the viaticum at the hour of death, so there be 
 no danger of irreverence. 
 
 The Church enjoins upon the faithful to receive Holy Com- 
 munion at least once a year, as well as towards the end of life by 
 way of viaticum. This twofold obligation imposed by the Church 
 is founded upon the divine precept expressed in the words of 
 Our Lord, " Except you eat the flesh of the Son of man, and 
 drink his blood, you shall not have life in you." We are not to
 
 316 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 understand that the Church deems it quite enough to receive Holy 
 Communion once a year. The words of the Lateran Council are, 
 " at least once a year." The Church says to her children, " I bid 
 you perform your Easter duty on pain of being liable to be cut 
 off from me as lifeless and withered members, on pain of spirit- 
 ual death, of spiritual starvation." Now if a man is to live the 
 life of grace and grow spiritually, it is of course not enough just 
 to stave off starvation. The Church would wish to see her chil- 
 dren often, even daily, at the altar where the bread of life is 
 dispensed. At the same time she does not lay this upon their con- 
 sciences, being a wise mother, wise with the wisdom that is from 
 above. She knows that growth is not a thing that can be got by 
 forcing, and that this is as true in the spiritual as it is in the 
 physical world. She realizes indeed that one who is stubbornly 
 bent on keeping from food altogether must be made to take food 
 lest he starve. But she recognizes that such action is not to be 
 resorted to save in this extreme case, and that it is only one who 
 eats with a will and has a relish for his food that can get any real 
 benefit from it. She wishes us to create a relish for the food of 
 our souls by the exercise of the virtues that become a Christian, 
 by honesty, truthfulness, sobriety, chastity; to foster a spirit- 
 ual taste by habits of self-denial, that we may hunger after 
 this divine food, and so be found in the number of those whom 
 Our Lord declares blessed, because, having a hunger after right- 
 eousness, they shall be filled. 
 
 A word in conclusion on the symbolism of this Sacrament. 
 Most aptly does bread symbolize the effects of it. Hence Our 
 Lord, in the sixth chapter of St. John, speaks of it in terms of this 
 symbol only. Bread is the staff of life. It nourishes, fosters 
 growth, imparts strength, sates the hungry. A fourfold corre- 
 sponding effect in the spiritual order is produced by the Eucha- 
 rist, which is the bread of life. 
 
 And first, the Eucharist nourishes the life of the soul. " He 
 that eateth me," says Our Lord, " the same also shall live by me." 
 And again : " Except you eat the flesh of the Son of man, and 
 drink his blood, you shall not have life in you." Nothing could 
 be clearer. But it is only the living who eat bread and are nour- 
 ished by it. Therefore the man who is dead in mortal sin is not
 
 RITES OF THE HOLY EUCHARIST 317 
 
 fit to eat the bread of life. Instead of getting life from it, he does 
 but find fresh cause of death and cripple his chance of ever com- 
 ing to life again. 
 
 The Eucharist fosters the growth of the spiritual life. In the 
 natural order, man's growth is confined to the period between 
 birth and adult age. Again, in the natural order man attains a 
 certain stature, which he may not overpass. Spiritual growth, on 
 the other hand, is not limited to a fixed period of time, but ex- 
 tends over the whole of this mortal life. Neither is it confined 
 within fixed bounds, for there are no bounds to the possible, and 
 we are bidden to be perfect even as Our Father in heaven is per- 
 fect. We shall " reach the measure of the years of the fulness of 
 Christ " only by feeding on the food that Christ has given us. 
 Alas ! that so many souls should be stunted in growth and starved, 
 while this divine banquet is daily spread out before them. For 
 too many Christians the springtime of spiritual growth comes 
 only when the hair is gray and the body bent with years. 
 
 The Eucharist gives strength to the soul. We are laborers in 
 Christ's vineyard; and we are soldiers of Christ. But who can 
 work without bread? Or what soldier can stand day after day 
 in the fighting line if he be without his rations? The man that 
 is famished, starved, is fit for nothing. We cannot do Christ's 
 work in the world, or fight His battles, unless we get strength 
 from the bread of the strong. The prophet went a day's journey 
 into the wilderness and was faint, and lay and slept under a juni- 
 per tree. But when he arose and ate of the bread that was baked 
 in the ashes, he went in the strength of it forty days and as many 
 nights to Horeb the mount of God. So we faint ones are fed 
 by Christ in the wilderness of this world. Even as He multi- 
 plied the five loaves in the desert, and with them fed the five 
 thousand, so He multiplies without limit the bread of life, and 
 with it feeds the multitudes who else must perish of hunger, far 
 from home. 
 
 Lastly, the Eucharist sates the hunger of the soul. Who has 
 not at some time or other felt the pangs of bodily hunger? 
 And even if such a one there be, yet is there no one but has 
 known the hunger after happiness, the hunger of the heart. 
 Men seek to satisfy this hunger with what are called the good
 
 318 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 things of this world. They are even fain to feed on the husks 
 of swine, like the prodigal of old. But if they would keep from 
 starving, they needs must return to the Father's house to receive 
 the bread of life. God alone can satisfy the hunger of the heart. 
 But the heart that God feeds must fast from earthly food, even 
 as one must fast from bodily food to feed on the bread of life. 
 " If the heart were all expended here," says one who was fed 
 of God, " nothing of it would be left for heaven, and I wish to 
 take that which loves me into the other world. Let us not waste 
 on creatures what was made for the Creator. Let us learn to 
 fast from earthly food that we may hunger for the divine ban- 
 quet in which Christ is received, the memory of His passion re- 
 newed, in which the soul is rilled with, and a pledge is given us 
 of, future glory. 
 
 THE MATTER AND FORM OF THE EUCHARIST 
 BY THE REV. P. HEHEL, S.J. 
 
 I. The Matter. In the holy Sacrament of the Altar the mat- 
 ter is twofold, bread and wine, which by the words of consecra- 
 tion become respectively the Body and Blood of Christ. These 
 words are therefore the form of the Sacrament. 
 
 (a) All the evangelists state clearly that bread is the matter; 
 no Sacrament is so well denned as this. St. Matthew (xxvi. 26), 
 St. Mark (xiv. 22), and St. Luke (xxii. 19) all say that Christ 
 took bread and blessed it, and broke it, saying, "This is my 
 body." St. John (vi. 51) records that our Lord said: "I am 
 the living bread which came down from heaven. If any man 
 eat of this bread, he shall live for ever." 
 
 Bread is made of various kinds of flour, and may be either 
 leavened or unleavened. The Catholic Church requires that the 
 bread used in the Sacrament be made of wheat, because (a) as 
 a rule, in speaking of bread, people mean wheaten bread, (b) in 
 Leviticus the loaves of proposition, which were a type of this 
 Sacrament, are ordered to be made of wheat, and (c) the tradi- 
 tion of the Church is that the Apostles used wheaten bread for 
 this purpose. 
 
 In the Latin rite it must not be leavened or made with yeast,
 
 RITES OF THE HOLY EUCHARIST 319 
 
 because our Lord instituted this Sacrament on the feast of un- 
 leavened bread. On that day no Jew would have touched leav- 
 ened bread, so we may assume that Christ used bread that was 
 unleavened. In the first epistle of the Corinthians (v. 7, 8) 
 St. Paul bears witness to this fact, and bids all who approach 
 the Lord's table : " Purge out the old leaven, that you may be 
 a new paste, as you are unleavened. For Christ our Pasch is 
 sacrificed. Therefore let us feast, not with the old leaven, nor 
 with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the un- 
 leavened bread of sincerrty and truth." The Apostle refers here 
 to the custom of using unleavened bread at this Sacrament, in 
 order to teach the faithful that they ought to come to it with 
 hearts free from all leaven of wickedness. 
 
 The Greeks use leavened bread, and the Catholic Church allows 
 them to do so, because wheaten bread that is leavened is still true 
 bread, and thus valid matter of the Sacrament. This practice is 
 permissible, however, only in the Greek and not in the Latin 
 Church. 
 
 (b) The other matter of the Sacrament is wine, that must be 
 made from grapes, for that our Lord used such wine is clear 
 from the words : " I will drink no more of the fruit of the vine, 
 until that day when I shall drink it new in the kingdom of God " 
 (Mark xiv. 25). 
 
 A little water is mixed with the wine for three reasons: (i) 
 because there is a very old tradition that Christ Himself added 
 water to the wine; (2) because blood and water flowed from His 
 pierced side; (3) because in the Apocalypse water represents the 
 multitude of the faithful who are in this Sacrament united with 
 Christ, as the water is mingled with the wine and changed with 
 it into His Blood. 
 
 (c) God in His boundless love of us desires not only to be 
 worshipped, but to be in close contact with us, and for this reason 
 He chose bread and wine to be the matter of this Sacrament. 
 They are the most generally used articles of food, and so are 
 especially adapted to be the matter of the Sacrament, that is the 
 food of our souls. They serve also to remind us of our Lord's 
 sufferings, for the bread represents His body, given for us, and 
 the wine His Blood, shed for our sake.
 
 320 
 
 We have seen that this Sacrament is called Holy Communion, 
 because it unites together all who participate in it, and bread and 
 wine both symbolize this union, for bread is one substance made 
 up of many single grains of corn, and wine is prepared from 
 many single grapes. 
 
 The bread and the wine help us to some extent to realize how 
 bread can become our Lord's Body and wine His Blood. Our 
 daily food becomes our flesh and blood through the action of 
 the natural forces of the body; and if these can effect such a 
 transformation, why should not God's almighty word suffice to 
 make bread cease to be bread, and become the Body of Christ ? 
 
 We must bear in mind that bread and wine are not a Sacra- 
 ment until the form is added to the matter. 
 
 II. The Form. The words " This is my body," " This is my 
 blood," constitute the form of the Sacrament. As soon as a duly 
 ordained priest, having the intention to consecrate the elements, 
 says these words over the bread and wine, they become respec- 
 tively the Body and Blood of Christ, in virtue of the power given 
 by God to these words. 
 
 There can be no doubt about their being the true Sacramental 
 form, for they are the very words which Christ used Himself 
 and prescribed for others. All the evangelists bear witness to 
 them. " And whilst they were at supper, Jesus took bread, and 
 blessed, and broke: and gave to his disciples, and said: "Take 
 ye, and eat. This is my Body. And taking the chalice, he gave 
 thanks, and gave to them, saying : Drink ye all of this. For this 
 is my blood of the New 1 Testament, which shall be shed for many 
 unto remission of sins" (Matt. xxvi. 26-28). 
 
 Being our Lord's own words, whenever they are uttered over 
 bread and wine by a successor of the Apostles, on whom He con- 
 ferred the power, they change them into His Body and Blood. 
 Until they are uttered, there is no Sacrament. Besides effecting 
 this great change, the words themselves are full of meaning, for 
 they reveal to us that after the consecration, not only are Christ's 
 Body and Blood present on the altar, but they contain also the 
 benefit to us which He purchased for us on the Cross. 
 
 At first sight it might seem that our Lord did not shed His 
 Blood for all, but for the Apostles and many others. This, how-
 
 RITES OF THE HOLY EUCHARIST 321 
 
 ever, is a mistake. He died, as He was born, for all without 
 distinction, and yet many are lost; His sacred Blood cannot be 
 applied to them, because they will not have it, and the benefits 
 of His Passion are limited to those who by their faith and good 
 works evince a desire to attain to everlasting happiness. When 
 therefore our Lord said that He shed His Blood for the Apostles 
 and for many, He was speaking with the foreknowledge that they 
 would receive the benefits of His death, but others would reject 
 them. In the same way it is written in Hebrews (ix. 28) : 
 " Christ was offered once to exhaust the sins of many." 
 
 This is a solemn warning for all of us, whenever we are pres- 
 ent at Holy Mass and hear the words of consecration. Unless 
 we do our best to participate in the merits of His Passion, it 
 will, as far as we are concerned, all be in vain ; all His suffering 
 and death will be wasted. 
 
 If a man is determined to drown himself, it is all in vain that 
 we risk our lives in attempting to save him ; he plunges into the 
 water again as soon as he is brought to land. In the same way, 
 it is all in vain that Christ died to save us from eternal destruc- 
 tion if we insist upon perishing. How can we waste His precious 
 Blood by allowing it to have been shed to no purpose? 
 
 O Lord, Thou who art truly present under the forms of bread 
 and wine, mercifully look upon us, and draw us to Thee, kindling 
 in our hearts a holy love of Thee, so that we may flee from sin 
 and self-indulgence. Remember the souls which Thou hast pur- 
 chased by shedding Thy precious Blood, and preserve us from 
 sin. 
 
 References 
 
 Hehel, in Short Sermons on Catholic Doctrine; Urban, in Teacher's 
 Handbook to the Catechism, Vol. Ill; Richter, in Sunday School Ser- 
 monettes; Duffy, "The Rites of Holy Communion," in Pulpit Contm., 
 Vol. IV, pp. 315 ff. ; Hengell, in Horn. Monthly, March, 1919; Monsabre, 
 in Lenten Confer, of 1884. 
 
 Cath. Encyc., Vol. V, pp. 588 ff.; Summa Theol, III, qq. 74, 78, 80, 81 ; 
 Tanquerey, The ol. Dog., De SS. Buch. Nos. 83 ff., 124 ff. ; Hurter, Theol. 
 Dog., Vol. Ill, Nos. 444 ff . ; Pohle-Preuss, The Sacraments, Vol. II, 
 p. 189; Vaughan, The Divine Armory, etc., pp. 683 ff.; Berington and Kirk, 
 The Faith of Catholics, Vol. II, p. 377; Gibbons, The Faith of Our 
 Fathers, ch. xxii ; Cabrol, Lay folk's Ritual.
 
 322 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 PASSION SUNDAY 
 
 SUBJECT 
 
 THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF OUR SAVIOUR'S 
 PASSION 
 
 TEXT 
 
 By his own blood entered once into the holies, having obtained eternal 
 redemption. HEB. ix. n. 
 
 They took up stones therefore to cast at him. But Jesus hid himself, 
 and went out of the Temple. JOHN viii. 59. 
 
 Analysis 
 
 INTRODUCTION. The scene of to-day's Gospel was at the feast 
 of Tabernacles, in the autumn of the year before our Lord's 
 death. The Jews, aroused to violence over the rebuking words 
 of Jesus, sought to kill Him by stoning, but since other circum- 
 stances and another time had been eternally decreed for His 
 passion and death, He easily escaped their hands, as before 
 at Nazareth He had eluded the fury of His own townsmen. 
 Since this Gospel, however, shows us how great and how long 
 continued was the hatred of the Jews for our Lord, it is 
 appropriately read on this Sunday when we begin the solemn 
 commemoration of His passion. 
 
 I. Who it was that suffered. I. The Creator suffered for 
 the creature, holiness for unholiness. 2. The whole of nature 
 was convulsed at the sight of its Maker's agony. 
 
 II. What He suffered. I. Christ's sufferings were so great 
 that the mere anticipation of them caused a sweat of blood. 
 2. Our Lord suffered torture in every part of His body. 3. All 
 ranks and conditions of men contributed to His sufferings. 
 4. His agony was increased by the nature of His sufferings and 
 by the perfection of His body. 5. His mental sufferings were 
 extreme.
 
 CIRCUMSTANCES OF OUR SAVIOUR'S PASSION 323 
 
 III. Why He suffered, (i) Christ suffered to deliver us 
 from sin, from the tyranny of Satan, and from the debt of pun- 
 ishment; (2) to reconcile us to God and to reopen for us the 
 gates of heaven; (3) to make for us a satisfaction full and com- 
 plete and most acceptable to God ; (4) to leave us by His passion 
 an illustrious example of the exercise of every virtue. 
 
 CONCLUSION. I. From the bitter passion and death of the God- 
 man we should learn the enormity of sin. 2. As Christ freely 
 suffered for us, so we should patiently bear our crosses for Him : 
 " If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take 
 up his cross, and follow me" (Matt. xvi. 24). 
 
 Catechism of the Council of Trent, Part I 
 
 ARTICLE IV OF THE CREED 
 
 THE PASSION OF CHRIST. THE DIGNITY OF HIM WHO SUFFERS 
 
 When the faithful have once attained the knowledge of these 
 things, the pastor will next proceed to explain those particulars 
 of the passion and death of Christ which may enable them if 
 not to comprehend, at least to contemplate, the infinitude of so 
 stupendous a mystery. And first we are to consider who it is 
 that suffers. To declare, or even to conceive in thought, His 
 dignity, is not given to man. Of Him St. John says, that He 
 is " the Word " which " was with God " ; * and the apostle de- 
 scribes Him in sublime terms, saying that this is He whom God 
 " hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the 
 world. Who being the brightness of his glory, and the figure 
 of his substance, and upholding all things by the word of his 
 power, making purgation of sins, sitteth on the right hand of the 
 majesty on high." 2 In a word, Jesus Christ, the man-God, suf- 
 fers! The Creator suffers for the creature, the Master for the 
 servant. He suffers by whom the elements, the heavens, men 
 and angels were created, of whom, by whom, and in whom, " are 
 all things." 3 
 
 1 John i. i, 2. ' Heb. i. 2, 3. Rom. xi. 36.
 
 324 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 REFLECTION 
 
 It cannot therefore be a matter of surprise that while He ago- 
 nized under such an accumulation of torments the whole frame 
 of the universe was convulsed, and, as the Scriptures inform us, 
 " the earth quaked, and the rocks were rent," and " the sun was 
 darkened," and "there was darkness over all the earth." 1 If, 
 then, even mute and inanimate nature sympathized with the suf- 
 ferings of her dying Lord, let the faithful conceive, if they can, 
 with what torrents of tears they, the " living stones " of the edi- 
 fice, 2 should manifest their sorrow. 
 
 REASONS WHY HE SUFFERED; FIRST REASON, HIS LOVE OF US 
 
 The reasons why the Saviour suffered are also to be explained, 
 that thus the greatness and intensity of the divine love towards 
 us may the more fully appear. Should it then be asked why the 
 Son of God underwent the torments of His most bitter passion, 
 we shall find the principal causes in the hereditary contagion of 
 primeval guilt; in the vices and crimes which have been perpe- 
 trated from the beginning of the world to the present day; and 
 in those which shall be perpetrated to the consummation of time. 
 In His death and passion the Son of God contemplated the atone- 
 ment of all the sins of all ages, with a view to efface them for- 
 ever, by offering for them to his Eternal Father a superabundant 
 satisfaction ; and thus the principal cause of His passion will be 
 found in His love of us. 
 
 SECOND REASON, TO ATONE FOR ORIGINAL AND ACTUAL SIN 
 
 Besides, to increase the dignity of this mystery, Christ not 
 only suffered for sinners, but the very authors and ministers of 
 all the torments He endured were sinners. Of this the apostle 
 reminds us in these words addressed to the Hebrews : " Think 
 diligently upon him that endured such opposition from sinners 
 against himself; that you be not wearied, fainting in your 
 minds." 8 In this guilt are involved all those who fall frequently 
 
 i Matt, xxvii. 51 ; Luke xxiii. 44, 45. * I Peter ii. 5. 
 
 1 Heb. xii. 3.
 
 CIRCUMSTANCES OF OUR SAVIOUR'S PASSION 325 
 
 into sin ; for, as our sins consigned Christ our Lord to the death 
 of the cross, most certainly those who wallow in sin and iniquity, 
 as far as depends on them, crucify to themselves again the Son 
 of God, and make a mockery of Him. 1 This our guilt takes a 
 deeper die of enormity when contrasted with that of the Jews, 
 who, according to the testimony of the Apostle, " if they had 
 known it, they would never have crucified the Lord of glory " ; z 
 while we, on the contrary, professing to know Him, yet denying- 
 Him by our actions, seem in some sort to lay violent hands on 
 Him. 3 
 
 CHRIST DELIVERED OVER TO DEATH BY THE FATHER AND 
 BY HIMSELF 
 
 But that Christ the Lord was also delivered over to death by 
 the Father and by Himself, we learn from these words of Isaias : 
 " For the wickedness of my people have I struck him." * And a 
 little before, when, filled with the Spirit of God, he sees the 
 Lord covered with stripes and wounds, the same prophet says: 
 " All we like sheep have gone astray, every one hath turned 
 aside into his own way: and the Lord hath laid on him the in- 
 iquities of us all." 5 But of the Saviour it is written : " if he shall 
 lay down his life for sin, he shall see a long-lived seed." 6 This 
 the Apostle expresses in language still stronger when, on the 
 other hand, he wishes to show us how confidently we should 
 trust in the boundless mercy and goodness of God. " He that 
 spared not even his own Son," says the Apostle, "but delivered 
 him up for us all, how hath he not also, with him, given us all 
 things?" 7 
 
 THE BITTERNESS OF CHRIST'S PASSION 
 
 The next subject of the pastor's instruction is the bitterness 
 of the Redeemer's passion. If, however, we bear in mind that 
 "his sweat became as drops of blood, trickling down upon the 
 ground," 8 and this, at the sole anticipation of the torments and 
 agony which He was about to endure, we must at once perceive 
 that His sorrows admitted of no increase; for if and this 
 
 Heb. vi. 6. * I Cor. ii. 8. * Tit i. 16. 
 
 4 Isaias liii. 8. * Isaias liii. 6. Isaias liii. 10. 
 
 7 Rom. viii. 32. 8 Luke xxii. 44.
 
 326 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 sweat of blood proclaims it the very idea of the impending 
 evils was so overwhelming, what are we to suppose their actual 
 endurance to have been? 
 
 That our Lord suffered the most excruciating torments of mind 
 and body is but too well ascertained. In the first place, there was 
 no part of His body that did not experience the most agonizing 
 torture ; His hands and feet were fastened with nails to the cross ; 
 His head was pierced with thorns and smitten with a reed; His 
 face was befouled with spittle and buffeted with blows ; His whole 
 body was covered with stripes; men of all ranks and conditions 
 were also gathered together "against the Lord, and against his 
 Christ." x Jews and Gentiles were the advisers, the authors, the 
 ministers of His passion; Judas betrayed Him; 2 Peter denied 
 Him ; 3 all the rest deserted Him ; 4 and while He hangs from the 
 instrument of His execution, are we not at a loss which to de- 
 plore, His agony or His ignominy, or both? Surely no death 
 more shameful, none more cruel, could have been devised than 
 that which was the ordinary punishment of guilty and atrocious 
 malefactors only, a death the tediousness of which aggravated 
 the protraction of its exquisite pain and excruciating torture! 
 His agony was increased by the very constitution and frame of 
 His body. Formed by the power of the Holy Ghost, it was more 
 perfect and better organized than the bodies of other men can be, 
 and was therefore endowed with a superior susceptibility of pain, 
 and a keener sense of the torments which it endured. And as 
 to His interior anguish of mind, that too was no doubt extreme ; 
 for those among the saints who had to endure torments and tor- 
 tures were not without consolation from above, which enabled 
 them not only to bear their violence patiently, but in many in- 
 stances, to feel, in the very midst of them, filled with interior 
 joy. "I ... rejoice," says the Apostle, " in my sufferings for 
 you, and fill up those things that are wanting of the sufferings 
 of Christ, in my flesh, for his body, which is the church " ; G and 
 in another place, " I am filled with comfort : I exceedingly abound 
 with joy in all our tribulation." e Christ our Lord tempered with 
 an admixture of sweetness the bitter chalice of His passion, but 
 
 1 Ps. ii. 2. Matt. xxvi. 47. * Mark xiv. 68, 70, 71. 
 
 4 Matt. xxvi. 56. Col. i. 24. 2 Cor. vii. 4.
 
 CIRCUMSTANCES OF OUR SAVIOUR'S PASSION 327 
 
 permitted His human nature to feel as acutely every species of 
 torment as if He were only man, and not also God. 
 
 THE BLESSINGS OF WHICH THE PASSION IS THE 
 PLENTEOUS SOURCE 
 
 The blessings and advantages which flow to the human race 
 from the passion of Christ alone remain to be explained. In 
 the first place, then, the passion of our Lord was our deliverance 
 from sin ; for, as St. John says, He " hath loved us, and washed 
 us from our sins in his own blood." 1 You " he hath quickened 
 together with him " ; says the Apostle, " forgiving you all of- 
 fences: blotting out the handwriting of the decree that was 
 against us, which was contrary to us. And he hatH taken the 
 same out of the way, fastening it to the cross." 2 
 
 He has rescued us from the tyranny of the devil, for our 
 Lord Himself says : " Now is the judgment of the world : now 
 shall the prince of this world be cast out. And I, if I be lifted 
 up from the earth, will draw all things to myself." 3 
 
 He discharged the punishment due to our sins; and as no 
 sacrifice more grateful and acceptable could have been offered 
 to God, He reconciled us to the Father, 4 appeased His wrath, and 
 propitiated His justice. 
 
 Finally, by atoning for our sins He opened to us heaven, which 
 was closed by the common sin of mankind, for we have, accord- 
 ing to these words of the Apostle, " therefore, brethren, a confi- 
 dence in the entering into the holies by the blood of Christ." 6 
 
 TYPE AND FIGURE OF THE REDEMPTION 
 
 Nor are we without a type and figure of this mystery in the 
 Old Law. Those who were prohibited to return into their native 
 country before the death of the high priest, 6 typified that no one, 
 however just may have been his life, could gain admission into 
 the celestial country until the supreme and eternal High Priest, 
 Christ Jesus, had' died, and by dying opened heaven to those 
 who, purified by the sacraments, and gifted with faith, hope, and 
 charity, become partakers of His passion. 
 
 1 Rev. i. 5. * Col. ii. 13, 14. ' John xii. 31, 32. 
 
 4 2 Cor. v. 19. B Heb. x. 19. Num. xxxv. 25.
 
 328 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 CHRIST PURCHASED OUR REDEMPTION 
 
 The pastor will teach that all these inestimable and divine 
 blessings flow to us from the passion of Christ; first, because 
 the satisfaction which Jesus Christ has in an admirable manner 
 made to His Eternal Father for our sins is full and complete, and 
 the price which He paid for our ransom not only equals but far 
 exceeds the debts contracted by us. Again, the sacrifice was 
 most acceptable to God, for when offered by his Son on the altar 
 of the cross, it entirely appeased His wrath and indignation. 
 This the Apostle teaches when he says : " Christ . . . hath loved 
 us, and hath delivered himself for us, an oblation and a sacrifice 
 to God for an odor of sweetness." x Of the redemption which 
 He purchased the prince of the Apostles says: "You were not 
 redeemed with corruptible things as gold or silver, from your 
 vain conversation of the tradition of your fathers: but with the 
 precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb unspotted and undefined." z 
 
 IN HIS PASSION HE HAS LEFT US AN EXAMPLE OF EVERY 
 
 VIRTUE 
 
 Besides these inestimable blessings, we have also received 
 another of the highest importance. In the passion alone we 
 have the most illustrious example of the exercise of every virtue. 
 Patience, and humility, and exalted charity, and meekness, and 
 obedience, and unshaken firmness of soul, not only in suffering 
 for justice' sake, but also in meeting death, are so conspicuous 
 in the suffering Saviour, that we may truly say that on the day 
 of His passion alone He offered, in His own person, a living 
 exemplification of all the moral precepts inculcated during the 
 entire time of His public ministry. This exposition of the sav- 
 ing passion of Christ the Lord we have given briefly. Would 
 to God that these mysteries were always present to our minds, 
 and that we learned to suffer, to die, and to be buried with 
 Christ; that, cleansed from the stains of sin, and rising with 
 Him to newness of life, we may at length, through His grace 
 and mercy, be found worthy to be made partakers of the glory 
 of His celestial kingdom! 
 
 1 Eph. v. 2. I Pet. i. 18, 19.
 
 CIRCUMSTANCES OF OUR SAVIOUR'S PASSION 329 
 
 Sermon 
 
 THOUGHTS ON THE PASSION 
 BY THE REV. H. G. HUGHES 
 
 The whole Christian world, dear brethren in Jesus Christ, is 
 about to turn its eyes towards Calvary, to witness the great 
 tragedy that there took place, the greatest, most moving tragedy 
 that the world has ever known. During the coming days all 
 devout Christians will follow in spirit, scene by scene, event by 
 event, the history of the sufferings of Jesus that history which 
 teaches us so much of the love of God and of the terrible malice 
 and evil of sin. It is my intention to-day to suggest to you, with 
 God's help, some few thoughts that may be of assistance to you 
 in your pious meditations on this great subject; that may by 
 God's grace help you to meditate with good results to your souls. 
 We are about to follow Our Divine Lord through all His suf- 
 ferings; watching Him, listening to His words, trying to learn 
 to know Him, love Him, and imitate Him. Let us begin by rais- 
 ing our minds and hearts to God, begging the grace of the Holy 
 Spirit that we may learn well the lessons that He would have 
 us learn the lesson of faith and hope in the great salvation 
 purchased for us at so dear a price ; the lesson of love for that 
 God " who spared not his only begotten Son,* and for Him who 
 " became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross." Let 
 us pray to know something of the infinite depth of divine love 
 for men; something of the horrible evil of sin which required 
 so great an atonement. Throughout our meditation on the Pas- 
 sion, dear brethren, we may with profit keep three thoughts con- 
 stantly before our minds : 
 
 First Who it is that suffers. 
 
 Second Why He had to suffer. 
 
 Third What it was that moved Him thus freely and will- 
 ingly to suffer. 
 
 First, then, who is it that suffers? We are going to watch 
 Him through the events of that last week of His earthly life 
 Holy Week. We shall see His entry into Jerusalem on Palm 
 Sunday ; meek and riding upon an ass. We shall watch Him and 
 listen to Him giving His last lessons in the temple, on the Mon-
 
 330 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 day, Tuesday, and Wednesday. We shall gaze upon Him in 
 spirit at the Last Supper, and shall see Him giving His sacred 
 Body and Blood to the apostles under the outward form of Bread 
 and Wine. We shall watch Him bowed down in agony, pale, 
 trembling, sweating blood in the Garden of Gethsemane. We 
 shall see Him basely betrayed by one of His chosen apostles, 
 sold to His enemies for a paltry sum, brought before unjust 
 judges; condemned, scourged, insulted, and cruelly ill treated 
 by the soldiers, mocked, crowned with thorns, spat upon. We 
 shall follow Him along the Way of the Cross, till at last we 
 shall see Him nailed fast to the shameful tree, where He will 
 hang for three long hours of agony; and finally we shall hear 
 His last cry and see Him draw His last breath. 
 
 And who is He that goes through all this ? To the crowds who 
 surround Him He is but a man; a wonderful man, indeed, but 
 only a man. A man, too, whose life has turned out a failure, in 
 spite of the wonderful deeds He has done, in spite of the devo- 
 tion which He has aroused in the hearts of His followers. A 
 failure ending in a criminal's death. And if we had been 
 there, we should have seen in Him the form and features of a 
 man only. But who in very truth is He who suffers? 
 
 He is the eternal, mighty God, the Maker and Lord of heaven 
 and earth; the Word and Son of the Father, proceeding from 
 Him from all eternity. 
 
 Faith pierces the veil of flesh beneath which God our Lord hid 
 Himself; and in Him we see God made Man; a divine Person, 
 the eternal Word, having two natures, a human nature which 
 He took from the Blessed Virgin His mother, a divine nature 
 which He had from all eternity. He is at once God and Man, 
 truly God and truly Man; but only One Person Jesus Christ, 
 the Word of God made flesh. 
 
 And what is the result of this mysterious joining together of 
 the divine and human natures in One Person what is the re- 
 sult especially in regard to His sufferings? The result is that 
 all He did, all He said, and in His Passion all He suffered, and 
 His very death itself, were the words and deeds, the suffering 
 and death of our God, in a human nature assumed by Him as 
 His instrument in all He did for us.
 
 CIRCUMSTANCES OF OUR SAVIOUR'S PASSION 331 
 
 You know that I, who speak to you, have a human nature. 
 Now, when I am speaking to you, you do not say that it is my 
 nature speaking; you say that I, the person, speak to you. So, 
 when our blessed Lord did anything in His human nature, it 
 was not merely His human nature doing it it was done by the 
 Person to whom that nature belonged; and that person is God. 
 And it is this fact, the fact that the human nature of Our Lord 
 was the instrument of His divine personality, that gives to His 
 Passion its infinite value in the sight of God. 
 
 So, then, when in our meditations on the Passion we ask our- 
 selves " Who did this ? " the answer is : " My Lord and God ; my 
 Maker, the Lord of all things." 
 
 Dear brethren, when we really give ourselves to reflection on 
 this truth, how stupendous it seems! Think of the indignities 
 which Our Lord suffered; think of the scourging; think of that 
 sacred face all filthy with the vile spittle of the soldiers ; and then 
 say to yourself this is my God who is thus stripped and 
 scourged till He is covered with blood: that face, all defiled as 
 it is, is the face of my God. He who stands there and permits 
 Himself to be mocked and insulted is God. He could call a 
 legion of angels to destroy His enemies nay, with one breath 
 of His divine anger He could blast them to destruction. In- 
 deed, had not He Himself proved by His works, and above all 
 by the crowning miracle of His Resurrection, that He is God; 
 were it not for faith, with all the abundant securities which 
 God has given us, not only in the Holy Scriptures, but in 
 the continued and continuous energizing of the divine power 
 of Jesus in the history of His true Church, we could hardly 
 have conceived the possibility that this was God who suffered 
 thus. 
 
 But we will go on to the second thought that we should keep 
 in mind as we meditate upon the Passion of Our Lord. Why 
 had He to suffer? 
 
 Dear brethren, you know why. What says the Creed that we 
 sing every Sunday in the Mass ? " Who for us men and for 
 our salvation came down from Heaven, and was incarnate by the 
 Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary, and was made man ; was cruci- 
 fied also for us ; suffered under Pontius Pilate, and was buried."
 
 332 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 For us men and for our salvation. Why do we need salvation? 
 Because we have sinned; because by sin we have lost God and 
 heaven, and deserved hell. Look at the crucifix and say to your- 
 self, " Were it not for that I could never be saved." Look again 
 and say, " Were it not for sin that need never have taken place." 
 What must sin be, dear brethren? We often hear in sermons 
 and read in pious books of the awful malice of sin how it 
 offends the goodness of God; how it deserves hell; how it cuts 
 us off from God, our only good ; but there is something that more 
 vividly and more effectually than anything else will bring home 
 to us the fearful evil of sin and that is the crucifix. What 
 does it come to? It comes to this that sin, wilful, mortal sin, 
 in such a hideous evil in God's sight that He would not forgive 
 it till a terrible price had been paid. And what was that price? 
 " God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son " ; 
 and that Son so loved us that He did not refuse to come and pay 
 the price. Yes, before God's eternal necessary justice could for- 
 give, before that terrible evil of sin could be done away, God 
 the Father sent His beloved Son, whom from all eternity He 
 loved with all the infinite strength of love divine; sent Him in 
 human form to earth, and laid on Him the iniquities of us all. 
 And then He punished that Son, the all holy innocent one. He 
 poured out upon the Son of His love the heavy, bitter punish- 
 ments of that most just anger which WE deserved. Oh, what must 
 sin be if it made God thus punish His well-loved Son ? Oh, what 
 must sin be that did to death the Lord of life? Oh, what must 
 sin be that so cruelly treated the most Holy One, the most com- 
 passionate and loving Jesus, who all His life went about doing 
 good? 
 
 And, dear brethren, there is something else that we must never 
 forget. That bitter suffering and death was for ME and for YOU, 
 for each one of us singly. Every one of us can look at Jesus in 
 His sufferings and truthfully say, "He is doing this for ME; 
 because of MY sins. My sins drew from Him that agonizing 
 sweat of blood ; my sins mocked and scourged Him : I, wretched 
 sinner that I am I nailed Him to the Cross and slew Him 
 there." You know, dear brethren, that when Our Lord comes 
 to us in Holy Communion, He is not divided among the many
 
 CIRCUMSTANCES OF OUR SAVIOUR'S PASSION 333 
 
 who receive Him. Each one of us receives Him whole and en- 
 tire ; many together do not receive more than one. Similarly in 
 His Passion it is all for each one. St. Paul teaches us this in 
 the words of my text. " He loved me, and delivered Himself up 
 for me." Thus, then, when we ask the question, " Why had 
 He to suffer this ? " the answer is not merely " Because of sin," 
 but " Because of my sins." 
 
 For me ; to atone for my sins ; to obtain forgiveness from God 
 for my most wretched sins. If ever in our lives we have sinned, 
 we must look at the crucifix and say, That is my work; that is 
 my doing; and even if we had never committed actual sin, we 
 should still have to say That was for me, to draw me out of the 
 state of original sin in which I was born, to win for me that 
 sanctifying grace of Baptism without which I could never have 
 been saved. 
 
 Yes ; it is all for me ; to save me from hell ; for me, to teach me 
 what a shocking and dreadful thing is a mortal sin ; for me, to 
 teach me to do penance for my past sins and to strive earnestly 
 to avoid sin in the future; for me, to give me great hope and 
 courage, when I remember that He has so abundantly redeemed 
 me, and that all His Passion is added to my poor, weak prayers 
 and efforts ; for me, to make me love Him and thank Him ; for 
 me, to teach me the worth of my soul which He has bought and 
 redeemed from the devil at so great a price. 1 
 
 And now, dear brethren, let me go on to the third thought that 
 we must have in mind as we follow Our Lord along the way of 
 suffering. What motive had He? What made Him willing to 
 endure all this for our salvation? What was it that could move 
 the God of heaven and earth to " empty himself " ; to " take 
 upon him the form of a servant " ; to walk this earth in human 
 flesh ; to lead a poor, humble, despised life ; freely to give Himself 
 up into the hands of His enemies that they might work their 
 wicked will upon Him? What made Him willing to die that 
 shameful death; the death of an outcast criminal; a death no 
 Roman citizen was allowed to suffer? Was it the goodness, the 
 
 1 This passage is taken from F. Galwey's Watches of the Passion, to 
 which book I have also to acknowledge indebtedness in the preparation of 
 this sermon in general.
 
 334 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 excellence of those whom He came to save? No, for they were 
 a sinful race. Was it that they were his friends ? No, for when 
 we were His enemies He came to redeem us. What then was 
 it? The answer is in one word, LOVE, DIVINE LOVE; PITYING 
 LOVE; love of us; love of you; love of me. 
 
 Dear brethren, a modern spiritual writer has most truly and 
 most wisely said that the day a man truly grasps this great truth 
 of faith that Jesus so loved me that He came to die for me, 
 is a blessed day in that man's life. " He loved me, and delivered 
 Himself up for me." 
 
 And, blessed truth, He loves me still; He loves me now; as 
 much and as well as ever, even as He did when He knelt in an 
 agony of prayer for me, or hung for me upon the Cross. Let us 
 not forget this. He is " Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, to-day, 
 and forever" (Heb. xiii. 8). He never changes. He is ever 
 and always the same dear friend ; the best and dearest friend of 
 all. " I have loved you," He says, " with an everlasting love." 
 And He shows this present love in many ways ; in ways that are 
 the blessed results of His Passion. All that He does for us in 
 His holy Church shows it. One by one He takes each single 
 soul, and by the holy Sacraments and other means of grace pro- 
 vides for individual salvation and applies to each and every one 
 the fruit of His sacred Passion. And now, dear brethren, is it 
 not a wonderful thing, a strange thing, that believing all this, 
 believing that Jesus Christ, who suffered, is Our God; believing 
 that He suffered for our sins, for your sins and for mine ; believ- 
 ing that it was His pitying love for you and me that led Him 
 to the Cross ; and that He loves us still as much as ever He did 
 is it not, I say, a marvelous and strange thing that we are still 
 so cold towards Him, yes, and still so sinful ? And it is because 
 we love Him so little that we give way to temptation and sin 
 against Him. How is it, then, that we are so cold, so ungrate- 
 ful, so unloving, and therefore so sinful? Dear brethren, it is 
 because we do not think enough about these things, about our 
 dear Lord and His sacred Passion. Who are the great heroes of 
 Jesus Christ; those saints filled with an energy of divine love 
 that has made imperishable marks upon the world's history ; men 
 like Francis ; women like Teresa ? They are the ones whose con-
 
 CIRCUMSTANCES OF OUR SAVIOUR'S PASSION 335 
 
 tinual study was the Cross of Christ. To-day, perhaps, after 
 meditating upon the Passion, we too feel divine love burning in 
 our heart; but to-morrow, unless we renew these thoughts we 
 shall forget, the flame of love will die down again. In a few 
 days, perhaps, when some strong, attractive temptation comes, 
 we shall perhaps give way, with never a thought of Jesus and 
 His sufferings, and the smouldering spark of love that still re- 
 mains will be extinguished by mortal sin. Why? It is because 
 we so SELDOM think of Jesus and of all He has done for us that 
 these things take no lasting hold upon our hearts. If we thought 
 of these things oftener, if we often read and prayed and pon- 
 dered over the love and Passion and death of our dear Lord, our 
 minds would become taken up with Him; we should be more 
 like the saints; and when temptation came the thought of Jesus 
 crucified for love of us would stay us from sinning. 
 
 Beg of Him that during this holy Passion-tide the grateful and 
 compassionate remembrance of His love, His Passion, and His 
 death may enter deeply into our souls, so that we may learn to 
 give Him that for which, with outstretched arms, He pleads upon 
 His Cross, the true love of our inmost hearts. 
 
 References 
 
 Hehel, in Short Sermons on Catholic Doctrine; McKenna, in The 
 Treasures of the Rosary, p. 139; Newman, "Mental Sufferings of Our 
 Lord in His Passion," in Discourses to Mixed Congregations; Burke, 
 O. P., in Sermons and Lectures, Vol. Ill, pp. 387 ff. 
 
 Cath. Encyc., Vol. XI, pp. 530 535 ff. ; Summa Theol., Ill, qq. 46-49. 
 Compare also references for Quinquagesima Sunday; Pohle-Preuss, 
 Soteriology; Vaughan, The Divine Armory, etc., pp. 64, 105 ff., 125; 
 'Callan, Illustrations for Sermons, etc., pp. 22 ff. ; Bellord, Medita- 
 tions, etc., Vol. I, p. 304; Poelzl-Martindale, The Passion and Glory of 
 Christ.
 
 336 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 PALM SUNDAY 
 
 SUBJECT 
 THE DEATH OF OUR LORD 
 
 TEXT 
 
 He humbled himself, becoming obedient unto death, even to the death 
 of the cross. For -which cause God also hath exalted him. PHILIP, ii. 
 8,9- 
 
 And Jesus again crying -with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost. 
 MATT, xxvii. 50. 
 
 Analysis 
 
 INTRODUCTION. This is the beginning of Holy Week. It was 
 on this day that our Lord entered Jerusalem in triumph, sa- 
 luted by the cheers and hosannas of the people who six days later 
 were clamoring for His death. The week terminates with the 
 sorrowful scenes of Good Friday and Holy Saturday, as de- 
 scribed in to-day's Gospel. After our Lord's death His body was 
 deposited in the tomb and His soul descended into Limbo. It is 
 on these articles of the Creed that we shall speak to-day. 
 
 I. He died. I. The death of our Lord is mentioned in the 
 Creed that we may know He really died. 2. His soul was sepa- 
 rated from his body, but the Divinity remained united to both His 
 soul and body. 3. Christ's death was voluntary. 
 
 II. He was buried. i. The burial of our Lord is made a 
 distinct part of the Creed in order that His death may be the 
 more certain, and His resurrection the more authentic and glori- 
 ous. 2. As the prophets had foretold, and as the Evangelists 
 narrate, the Saviour's burial was in keeping with the honor and 
 respect due Him ; His body suffered no corruption. 3. Although 
 it was a Divine Person that suffered, died, and was buried for 
 us, our Lord's divine nature remained at all times impassible and 
 immortal ; it was His human nature that suffered.
 
 THE DEATH OF OUR LORD 337 
 
 III. He descended into hell. i. It was the soul of Christ, 
 and not His body, that descended into hell ; His descent was real, 
 and not merely virtual. 2. Christ descended not into the hell of 
 the damned, but into Limbo, the peaceful repose of the just, to 
 liberate the souls that were detained captive there, and to pro- 
 claim His power and authority. 
 
 CONCLUSION. We must learn to die to sin as Christ died to 
 this world, so that at our death we may escape the eternal prison 
 and be conducted by Christ to everlasting rest. 
 
 Catechism of the Council of Trent, Part I 
 ARTICLE IV OF THE CREED 
 
 CHRIST REALLY DIED 
 
 Dead and buried. When explaining these words, the pastor 
 will propose to the belief of the faithful that Jesus Christ, after 
 His crucifixion, was really dead and buried. It is not without 
 just reason that this is proposed as a separate and distinct object 
 of belief ; there were some who denied His death upon the cross. 
 The apostles, therefore, were justly of opinion that to such an 
 error should be opposed the doctrine of faith contained in this 
 Article of the Creed, the truth of which is placed beyond the pos- 
 sibility of doubt by the concurring testimony of all the Evangel- 
 ists, who record that Jesus " yielded up the ghost." * Moreover, 
 as Christ was true and perfect man, He of course was capable of 
 dying, and death takes place by a separation of the soul from 
 the body. When, therefore, we say that Jesus died, we mean 
 that His soul was disunited from His body, not that His divinity 
 was so separated. 
 
 On the contrary, we firmly believe and profess that when His 
 soul was dissociated from His body, His divinity continued al- 
 ways united, both to His body in the sepulchre and to His soul 
 
 1 Matt, xxvii. 50; Mark xv. 37; Luke xxiii. 46; John xix. 30.
 
 338 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 in Limbo. It became the Son of God to die, " that through death, 
 he might destroy him who had the empire of death, that is to 
 say, the devil : and might deliver them, who through the fear of 
 death were all their lifetime subject to servitude." 1 
 
 HIS DEATH WAS VOLUNTARY 
 
 It was the peculiar privilege of the Redeemer to have died 
 when He Himself decreed to die, and to have died not so much 
 by external violence as by internal assent. Not only His death, 
 but also its time and place, were ordained by Him. Thus Isaias 
 wrote : " He was offered because it was his own will." 2 The 
 Redeemer, before His passion, declared the same of Himself. 
 " I lay down my life," said He, " that I may take it again. No 
 man taketh it away from me : but I lay it down of myself, and 
 I have power to lay it down: and I have power to take it 
 again." 3 As to the time and place of His death, He said, when 
 Herod insidiously sought His life : " Go, and tell that fox, Be- 
 hold, I cast out devils, and do cures to-day and to-morrow, 
 and the third day I am consummated. Nevertheless I must 
 walk to-day and to-morrow, and the day following, because 
 it cannot be that a prophet perish, out of Jerusalem." 4 He 
 therefore offered Himself not involuntarily or by external co- 
 action, but of His own free will. Going to meet His enemies 
 He said, " I am he " ; B and all the punishments which injustice 
 and cruelty inflicted on Him He endured voluntarily. 
 
 A STRONG CLAIM TO OUR GRATITUDE AND LOVE 
 
 When we meditate on the sufferings and torments of the 
 Redeemer, nothing is better calculated to excite in our souls sen- 
 timents of lively gratitude and love than to reflect that He en- 
 dured them voluntarily. Were any one to endure by compulsion 
 every species of suffering for our sake, we should deem his 
 claims to our gratitude very doubtful; but were he to endure 
 death freely, and for our sake only, having had it in his power 
 to avoid it, this indeed is a favor so overwhelming as to deprive 
 even the most grateful heart, not only of the power of returning 
 
 1 Heb. ii. 10, 14, 15. * Isaias Hii. 7. John x. 17, 18. 
 
 4 Luke xiii. 32, 33. John xviii. 5.
 
 THE DEATH OF OUR LORD 339 
 
 due thanks, but even of adequately feeling the extent of the 
 obligation. We may hence form an idea of the transcendent and 
 intense love of Jesus Christ towards us, and of His divine and 
 boundless claims to our gratitude. 
 
 WHY THE WORD " BURIED " IS MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE 
 
 If, when we confess that He was buried, we make this, as 
 it were, a distinct part of the Article, it is not because it presents 
 any difficulty which is not implied in what we have said of His 
 death ; for believing, as we do, that Christ died, we can also easily 
 believe that He was buried. The word " buried " was added in 
 the creed, first, that His death may be rendered more certain, for 
 the strongest proof of a person's death is the interment of his 
 body; and, secondly, to render the miracle of His resurrection 
 more authentic and illustrious. It is not, however, our belief 
 that the body of Christ was alone interred. These words propose, 
 as the principal object of our belief, that God was buried; as, ac- 
 cording to the rule of Catholic faith, we also say with the strictest 
 truth, that God was born of a virgin, that God died ; for, as the 
 divinity was never separated from His body which was laid in 
 the sepulchre, we truly confess that God was buried. 
 
 THE BODY OF CHRIST INCORRUPT IN THE SEPULCHRE 
 
 As to the place and manner of his burial, what the Evangelists 
 record on these subjects will be found sufficient for all the pur- 
 poses of the pastor's instructions. 1 There are, however, two 
 things which demand particular attention ; the one, that the body 
 of Christ was, in no degree, corrupted in the sepulchre, according 
 to the prediction of the Prophet : " Thou wilt not . . . give thy 
 holy one to see corruption ; 2 the other, and it regards the several 
 parts of this Article, that burial, passion, and also death, apply 
 to Jesus Christ not as God but as man. To suffer and die are 
 incidental to human nature only, although they are also attributed 
 to God, because predicated with propriety of that person who is 
 at once perfect God and perfect man. 
 
 1 Matt, xxvii. 60; Mark xv. 46; Luke xxiii. 53; John xix. 38. 
 1 Ps. xv. 10; Acts ii. 31.
 
 340 
 
 ARTICLE V OF THE CREED 
 
 He descended into hell, the third day he arose again from the dead. 
 A KNOWLEDGE OF THIS ARTICLE IS MOST IMPORTANT 
 
 He descended into hell. To know the glory of the sepulture 
 of our Lord Jesus Christ, of which we have last treated, is highly 
 important; but of still higher importance is it to the faithful to 
 know the splendid triumphs which He obtained by having sub- 
 dued the devil and despoiled the powers of hell. Of these tri- 
 umphs, and also of His resurrection, we are now about to speak ; 
 and although the latter presents to us a subject which might 
 with propriety be treated under a separate and distinct head, yet, 
 following the example of the holy Fathers, we have deemed it 
 judicious to embody it with His descent into hell. 
 
 WHAT ITS FIRST PART PROPOSES TO OUR BELIEF 
 
 In the first part of this Article, then, we profess that imme- 
 diately after the death of Christ His soul descended into hell, 
 and dwelt there while His body remained in the grave ; and also 
 that the same Person of Christ was at the same time in hell and 
 in the sepulchre. Nor should this excite our surprise; for we 
 have already frequently said, that although His soul was sepa- 
 rated from His body, His divinity was never separated from 
 His soul or body. 
 
 MEANING OF THE WORD " HELL " IN THIS ARTICLE 
 
 But as the pastor, by explaining the meaning of the word 
 " hell " in this place may throw considerable light on the exposi- 
 tion of this Article, it is to be observed that by the word " hell " 
 is not here meant the sepulchre, as some have not less impiously 
 than ignorantly imagined; for in the preceding Article we 
 learned that Christ was buried, and there was no reason why 
 the Apostles, in delivering an article of faith, should repeat the 
 same thing in other and more obscure terms. Hell, then, here 
 signifies those secret abodes in which are detained the souls that 
 have not been admitted to the regions of bliss, a sense in which 
 the word is frequently used in Scripture. Thus the Apostle 
 says, that, " at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of
 
 THE DEATH OF OUR LORD 341 
 
 those that are in heaven, on earth, and under the earth " ; l and 
 in the Acts of the Apostles Peter says, that Christ the Lord is 
 again risen, "having loosed the sorrows of hell." 2 
 
 ITS DIFFERENT MEANINGS 
 
 These abodes are not all of the same nature, for among them 
 is that most loathsome and dark prison in which the souls of the 
 damned are buried with the unclean spirits in eternal and inex- 
 tinguishable fire. This dread abode is called Gehenna, the bot- 
 tomless pit, and is hell strictly so called. 
 
 Among them is also the fire of purgatory, in which the souls 
 of just men are cleansed by a temporary punishment, in order 
 to be admitted into their eternal country, into which nothing 
 defiled entereth. 3 The truth of this doctrine, founded, as holy 
 councils declare, 4 on Scripture, and confirmed by apostolical 
 tradition, demands exposition, all the more diligent and fre- 
 quent, because we live in times when men endure not sound 
 doctrine. 
 
 Lastly, the third kind of abode is that into which the souls of 
 the just, who died before Christ, were received, and where, with- 
 out experiencing any sort of pain and supported by the blessed 
 hope of redemption, they enjoyed peaceful repose. To liberate 
 these souls, who, in the bosom of Abraham were expecting the 
 Saviour, Christ the Lord descended into hell. 
 
 THE SOUL OF CHRIST REALLY DESCENDED INTO HELL 
 
 But we are not to imagine that His power and virtue only, 
 but we are firmly to believe that His soul also, really and sub- 
 stantially, descended into hell, according to this conclusive testi- 
 mony of David: "Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell." 5 But 
 although Christ descended into hell, His supreme power was still 
 the same; nor was the splendor of His sanctity in any degree 
 obscured. His descent served rather to prove that whatever has 
 been already said of His sanctity was true; and that, as He had 
 previously demonstrated by so many miracles, He was truly the 
 Son of God. 
 
 1 Philip, ii. 10. * Acts ii. 24. 3 Apoc. xxi. 27. 
 
 4 C. of Trent, sess. 25, s Ps. xv. l<X
 
 342 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HIS DESCENT AND THAT OF OTHERS 
 
 This we shall easily understand by comparing the descent of 
 Christ, in its causes and circumstances, with that of the just. 
 They descended as captives ; x He as free and victorious among 
 the dead, to subdue those demons by whom, in consequence of 
 primeval guilt, they were held in captivity. They descended, 
 some to endure the most acute torments, others, though exempt 
 from actual pain, yet deprived of the vision of God, and of the 
 glory for which they sighed, and consigned to the torture of sus- 
 pense; Christ the Lord descended, not to suffer, but to liberate 
 from suffering the holy and the just who were held in painful 
 captivity, and to impart to them the fruit of His passion. His 
 supreme dignity and power, therefore, suffered no diminution 
 by his descent into hell. 
 
 WHY HE DESCENDED INTO HELL 
 
 Having explained these things, the pastor will next proceed 
 to teach that the Son of God descended into hell, that, clothed 
 with the spoils of the arch-enemy, He might conduct into heaven 
 those holy fathers, and the other just souls, whose liberation 
 from prison He had already purchased. This He accomplished 
 in an admirable and glorious manner, for His august presence at 
 once shed a celestial lustre upon the captives, filled them with 
 inconceivable joy, and imparted to them that supreme happiness 
 which consists in the vision of God, thus verifying His promise 
 to the thief on the cross: "Amen I say to thee, this day thou 
 shalt be with me in paradise." z This deliverance of the just was 
 long before predicted by Osee in these words : " O death, I will 
 be thy death ; O hell, I will be thy bite " ; 3 and also by the 
 prophet Zachary : " Thou also by the blood of thy testament hast 
 sent forth thy prisoners out of the pit, wherein is no water " ; * 
 and lastly, the same is expressed by the Apostle in these words : 
 " Despoiling the principalities and powers, he hath exposed them 
 confidently in open show, triumphing over them in himself." 5 
 
 However, to comprehend still more clearly the efficacy of this 
 mystery we should frequently call to mind that not only those 
 
 1 Ps. Ixxxvii. 5, 6. * Luke xxiii. 43. 8 Osee xiii. 14. 
 
 4 Zach. ix. ii. Col. ii. 15.
 
 THE DEATH OF OUR LORD 343 
 
 who were born after the coming of the Saviour, but also those 
 who preceded that event from the days of Adam, or shall suc- 
 ceed it to the consummation of time, are included in the redemp- 
 tion purchased by the death of Christ. Before His death and 
 resurrection, heaven was closed against every child of Adam; 
 the souls of the just, on their departure from this life, were borne 
 to the bosom of Abraham ; or, as is still the case with those who 
 require to be freed from the stains of sin, or die indebted to the 
 divine justice, were purified in the fire of purgatory. 
 
 Another reason also why Christ descended into hell is, that 
 there, as well as in heaven and on earth, He might proclaim His 
 power and authority ; and that " every knee should bow, of those 
 that are in heaven, on earth, and under the earth." * And here, 
 who is not filled with admiration and astonishment when he 
 contemplates the infinite love of God for man! Not satisfied 
 with having undergone for our sake a most cruel death, He pene- 
 trates the inmost recesses of the earth to transport into bliss the 
 souls whom He so dearly loved, and whose liberation from prison 
 He had achieved at the price of His blood ! 
 
 Sermon 
 
 THE CRUCIFIXION 
 BY THE REV. M. S. SMITH 
 
 " They crucified him." " Behold," says Father Galwey, in that 
 admirable work The Watches of the Passion, "the few and 
 simple words with which the Inspired Chronicler records this, the 
 most awful yet most sublime and loving tragedy the world has 
 ever witnessed." Only a few words, continues this zealous 
 writer, but, like that other short sentence, " Pilate took Jesus and 
 scourged him," what depths of meaning contained therein, and 
 what an excess of cruelty and torture expressed! 
 
 A tragedy it is indeed, not only of earth but of Heaven, not 
 only affecting time but eternity : for, as its fruits are to be gained 
 in time, its consequences shall be recognized through all eternity. 
 It was, as we have seen in our former meditations, conceived in 
 envy, begotten of hatred, and carried out in the most barbarous 
 
 1 Phil. ii. 10.
 
 344 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 way. Withal, it was a tragedy most loving and merciful, for it 
 manifested the loving mercy of God for man, the Creator for the 
 creature, aye, for the creature who has not only disobeyed the 
 commands of his Creator, but has trampled upon His precepts, 
 laughed to scorn His counsels, and defied His most solemn 
 threats. It is also most sublime, for here we see not only God 
 suffering death at the hands of man, but dying for the sake of 
 those whose hearts are inflamed with hatred towards Him and 
 whose hands are reddened in His blood. 
 
 Scarcely will you find a man willing to give up his life for a 
 just man, says the Holy Ghost, but here we see the God-man lay- 
 ing down His life, laying it down willingly, "with desire I 
 have desired to eat this pasch with you, before I suffer," not 
 only for the just, but, mercy of mercy, for sinners. 
 
 We might ask, How could Jesus of Nazareth endure the tor- 
 tures that thus far have been inflicted upon Him? Simply be- 
 cause His Divinity aided His humanity. In saying this we do 
 not intimate that the Divine Nature made the suffering less hard 
 to bear, rather that it made the human nature able the more to 
 suffer. By right He should long since have died. " My soul," 
 He said, " is sorrowful even unto death." Yet the Divinity, with- 
 out in any way mitigating the suffering, sustains the humanity. 
 Hence, though suffering only in His human nature, we truly say : 
 God suffered, God died for man. 
 
 The place to which they led Him is of historic interest. It 
 was here, according to tradition, that the skull of Adam, given by 
 Noe to one of his sons, was interred, hence the name Golgotha, 
 which, being interpreted, means Skull. Where then rests all that 
 on earth remains of the first Adam, who by his sin brought 
 misery into the world, there shall the second Adam, by His atone- 
 ment, blot out that sin, and by the abundant graces here merited 
 change that misery into blessings and again reconcile man with 
 his God. 
 
 It was not, however, on account of this tradition that the place 
 was chosen, but rather to add odium to His death, for here com- 
 mon criminals were executed, and, wishing to brand Him as such, 
 the cry is " On to Golgotha." How the malicious designs of man 
 are frustrated ! Golgotha, or Calvary, from being a term of re-
 
 THE DEATH OF OUR LORD 345 
 
 proach, has become synonymous with all that is grand and glo- 
 rious, is of infinite mercy and boundless love. In itself so 
 insignificant as scarcely to merit the name of hill on the map of 
 the world, it is now known as Mount Calvary, and its very name 
 gives hope to the soul laden with sin, while to the just it brings 
 increase of joy and consolation ; for the graces there merited give 
 to man a right to Heaven, a right none may gainsay, much less 
 deny. 
 
 The first journey to Calvary was made with difficulty and in 
 torture, in deep humiliation and in sorrow ; now, that the way has 
 been marked, traced by the blood of the Victim, we can make the 
 way in peace, springing from the blessings of hope. Three times 
 He fell on the way, and it would seem at times that worn-out 
 nature would protest and the hill of Calvary never would be 
 reached. 
 
 Now, however, that the journey has ended, will they bring 
 about His death quickly and, as far as may be, painlessly ? Even 
 into the valley of the shadow will hatred follow Him. "They 
 crucified him," says the narrative, and it is left to man to dwell 
 on this mere statement and from it draw some idea of the pain 
 and, above all, the humiliation of the death. 
 
 They offer Him wine mixed with gall. To the condemned 
 wine was given to fortify them, and thus enable them the better 
 to endure the pain about to be inflicted. Behold how even this 
 act of mercy was charged with malice. According to custom, 
 the wine is tendered but mixed with gall ; and the Scripture says : 
 " He would not drink," not, say the Commentators, on account 
 of the bitterness, but because He would not alleviate His suffer- 
 ings even by the merest drop of wine. Stripping Him of His 
 garments they place Him on the hard bed of the cross and fasten 
 Him to it with nails driven through His Hands and Feet. The 
 soldier places the nail in the palm of the right Hand and with 
 heavy hammer drives it through the flesh into the wood of the 
 cross. No bone is broken, for it was said : " of him a bone you 
 shall not break " ; but the sinews are torn as through the Hand 
 the nail finds its way. That Hand which with the Father united 
 in the creation of the world ; that Hand which during His so- 
 journ on earth was raised so often to call down blessings on
 
 346 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 man; behold it now extended, and for what? That it may be 
 grasped in thankfulness and in gratitude for the many times it 
 was raised to call down favors on man? No; but to receive the 
 cruel nail. 
 
 The right Hand fastened, they come to the left and then to the 
 Feet, and now His enemies feel a certain amount of satisfaction, 
 for they see Him on His bed of death and from it He cannot 
 rise as He is fastened with nails. 
 
 How many nails were used in fastening Jesus to the Cross? 
 This question has never been definitely settled. Some contend 
 that four were used, one to each Hand and two to the Feet, while 
 others maintain that He was fastened to the cross with but three 
 nails. Tradition, as manifested in the crucifix in the general 
 usage sanctioned by the Church, favors the latter opinion. The 
 question, however, is of little moment ; all we need know is : that, 
 nailed to the cross, our Jesus in love expiated our sins and recon- 
 ciled us with the offended Father. 
 
 They drag the cross to the place prepared for it, and with 
 much jeering and with shouts of exultation it is lifted up and, 
 with a rude shock, falls into the hole made for it. The shock 
 almost tears His Hands and Feet from the fastening nails, and 
 would have done so had they not taken the precaution of secur- 
 ing Him with cords and ropes, which, though preventing the 
 Body from falling from the cross, in no way mitigated the pain 
 caused by the nails. The shock draws a moan of anguish from 
 the Sufferer that finds a responsive sigh in the heart of the sor- 
 rowful mother. Now the cross stands erect and around it circle 
 the priests and rulers. At first sight of the Victim thus tortured 
 they stand aghast ; the suffering seems too terrible even for their 
 hatred towards Him. Then one, more callous than the rest, cries 
 out : " Behold Him now ; look upon the man who dared de- 
 nounce your priests : He spoke of us as whitened sepulchres, as 
 blind leaders of the blind, for us He had no words but words 
 of censure. Gaze upon Him now and ask: who is the false 
 teacher, who the seducer of the people ? " " Oh, yes," they say, 
 "He is a king; behold His crown," for they had placed the 
 crown of thorns on His head. " Gaze upon His throne ; it stands 
 on high that all may see it, all view the king. No danger of Him
 
 THE DEATH OF OUR LORD 347 
 
 losing His throne ; for, behold, we have fastened Him to it with 
 nails." 
 
 Even the most degraded and depraved are softened at the ap- 
 proach of death, and it is only the most savage that will not do all 
 in his power to assuage the agony of the dying. How act the per- 
 secutors of Jesus? The people stood beholding and the Rulers 
 with them deride Him, saying : " He saved others ; let him save 
 himself." And mocking they say: "If he be king of Israel, let 
 him come down from the cross, and we will believe him." 
 Boldly they pass and repass in front of Him, challenging Him, 
 and calling on Him now to prove that He is the Son of God. 
 " Come down from the cross," they say, " and we will believe 
 you." Proof after proof have they had of His wonderful power. 
 " He hath done all things well," had been the verdict of those 
 who had witnessed His works. Again and again the people said : 
 " His words, like His works, are evidently from God, for no 
 man ever spoke as He speaks." Hearing the people thus speak 
 of Him, the Priests were filled with envy. Will they then be- 
 lieve in Him if He should give the proof they now ask if He 
 come down from the cross? Well does He know the perversity 
 of their hearts, and fully does He understand that even if He 
 should give this last proof they would still repudiate Him. 
 What an insult in being compelled to hear them thus boasting. 
 " Do you hear, O Jesus of Nazareth do you mark our words, 
 O Galilean; come down from the cross and we will believe in 
 you ; nay, we will lead all the people to you, and in you shall all 
 Judea believe. Where is now your boasted power; you, who 
 said ' destroy this temple and in three days I will build it ' ? 
 You a miracle worker ? yes, a miracle worker among the ignorant. 
 Now satisfy us, the Rulers ; satisfy us by a miracle, by one that 
 shall redound to your own benefit; come down from the cross 
 and we, priests and leaders of Israel, will become your disciples, 
 and your followers shall be limited only by the confines of Israel, 
 for we will compel all to acknowledge You." " Vah," they say, 
 " He said He was greater than Abraham, more powerful than 
 Moses, and proclaimed Himself more than a prophet. Let Him 
 give evidence of that power, give proof of that greatness, and 
 we will believe Him."
 
 348 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 Truly was there blasphemy in the very shadow of the cross. 
 " They that passed by blasphemed him, wagging their heads." 
 "He spoke of His trust in God; let God now deliver Him and 
 we will believe," they cry out. To the taunts of the priests are 
 added the insults of the soldiers, who, in derision, say : " If thou 
 be the king of the Jews, save thyself." No taunt more stinging 
 than that which glories in failure, either real or fancied; and 
 how they rejoice in the apparent failure of this Man, how sar- 
 castically they remind Him of the power of which He seemed 
 to boast, and of His present helplessness! 
 
 Behold, in the midst of their exultation the priests receive a 
 humiliation. Pilate has ordered that the cause of His death be 
 proclaimed ; has ordered that an inscription be placed above Him 
 on the cross. In Latin, Greek, and Hebrew it is written, the 
 three principal languages of the time. And what do they read? 
 " Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews." " No, no," say the 
 Rulers, " not this ; write that he said he was King 1 of the Jews." 
 " What I have written, I have written." In other words, " It 
 shall remain as inscribed," curtly answers the Governor, and thus 
 they are compelled to acknowledge that they have crucified their 
 King. "We will have no King but Caesar," they cried out in 
 the Praetorium, and now, on Calvary, they must perforce ac- 
 knowledge Him as a lineal descendant of the Royal House of 
 David. While protesting against this and while circulating about 
 the cross, belching forth insults and blasphemies, the priests are 
 amazed on hearing His voice on the cross. 
 
 Have you ever reflected on the silence of Jesus during the time 
 of His suffering? From the Hall of Judgment until He reaches 
 Calvary He speaks only to the weeping women He met on the 
 way. In all His tortures He asks neither for surcease of suffering 
 nor appeals for sympathy, and His words to the weeping women 
 are more in the nature of an encouragement to them than a 
 begging of consolation for self. At last He breaks the silence, 
 and what is the purport of His words? Will He now sue for 
 clemency ? " Hearken," say the bystanders, " He speaks " ; and 
 they hear the voice of the Son of Man appealing to the Eternal 
 Father and asking what ? that He would visit upon His perse- 
 cutors the vengeance their crime merits? No. Can it be pos-
 
 THE DEATH OF OUR LORD 349 
 
 sible ? " Father ! forgive them, they know not what they do," 
 the sweet voice of the dying Jesus on the cross floats down the 
 hill of Calvary, and those within hearing are filled with astonish- 
 ment. Will not this supreme act of clemency, this unheard-of 
 voice of charity, have some effect on His prosecutors? Even 
 one dying with Him is not moved, but in blasphemous derision 
 says: "If thou be the Son of God, if thou be the Christ, save 
 thyself and us." The other reviles not, but rebukes his com- 
 panion by saying: " We die justly, this man unjustly." He 
 turns to Jesus and adds : " Lord, remember me when thou sKalt 
 enter into thy kingdom." And oh, the reward for this act of 
 sympathy ! " This day thou shalt be with me in paradise." Seven 
 words, that is, seven times according to spiritual writers, He 
 spoke from the cross. Without trying to follow these words in 
 sequence, we shall briefly consider them as found in the Gospels. 
 
 Looking down from the cross, He sees His sorrowing Mother 
 and the beloved disciple. To the Mother He says : " Woman, 
 behold thy son," and to the disciple : " Son, behold thy mother." 
 At that moment, as we saw in our last meditation, He infused 
 into her heart a mother's love for each and every child of earth, 
 a love more tender than earthly mother could have for earthly 
 child. Think you she will ever forget this which may be termed 
 the last Will and Testament of her dying Son? A dark cloud 
 now envelops Calvary, and filled with fear the priests and many 
 of the people, singly and in groups, leave the hallowed spot. 
 
 From out the darkness the voice of the dying Lord is heard: 
 " Eloi, Eloi, lamma sabacthani," which being interpreted is : " My 
 God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?" Many interpreta- 
 tions are given of these words, which, the Scripture says, were 
 uttered in a loud voice. Knowing as we do that by the Incarna- 
 tion the two natures, divine and human, of our Lord are hypo- 
 statically united, and that not even by death can the humanity be 
 separated from the divinity, we can only listen to these words 
 and admire them. ' According to some commentators He speaks 
 merely as man, and as man suffered this abandonment; even as 
 we heard Him last night in the garden cry out : " Father, if it 
 be possible, let this chalice pass by; yet not my will but Thine 
 be done." In what did the abandonment consist? In the fact
 
 350 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 that He not only, at that moment, though innocence itself, felt 
 the weight of the sins of the world, and as one bearing these sins 
 experienced the torments of the damned; but in a manner no 
 tongue may explain the divinity allowed the humanity to undergo 
 the pain of loss that comes to the soul when it hears those awful 
 words : " Depart from me, ye accursed," etc. Whatever the im- 
 port of the words, we know they were wrenched from a soul 
 plunged into the deepest abyss of suffering. Thinking He called 
 Elias, one standing by said : " Let us see if Elias will come to 
 His aid," while others, some friendly, many unfriendly, awaited 
 with bated breath the next scene in this awful drama. 
 
 Once more the voice of the Sufferer is heard, as consumed 
 with agony He cries out, " I thirst." We wonder not that His 
 pain-racked and fevered body was tortured with thirst. Neither 
 food nor drink had been given Him from the time He left the 
 Cenacle the night before, and during that time He had lost much 
 blood and poor human nature had been worn out by the trials 
 to which He had been subjected. This, however, was not the 
 thirst of which He complained; rather, the thirst for souls, es- 
 pecially the souls of those who encompassed His death as well 
 as of those who by that death would not profit. It was also to 
 atone for the sins we commit in indulging our sensual appetites. 
 One of the soldiers dips a sponge in vinegar and, placing it upon 
 a reed, lifts it to the swollen lips of the Victim on the cross. 
 
 When Jesus had tasted the vinegar, He said, " It is consum- 
 mated." 
 
 " It is consummated." The work for which I came to earth 
 is finished, the work of the Eternal Father. The redemption of 
 man is now effected; nothing remains to be done; hence, saying 
 in a loud voice : " Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit," 
 He bows His head and gives up the ghost. " He bows his head," 
 says a holy writer, "thus giving death permission to approach, 
 and dies." " It is consummated." Some time before He had 
 said to His disciples : " I have a baptism wherein I am to be 
 baptized, and how I am constrained until it be accomplished." 
 This is the baptism of which He spoke, and mark how it has 
 been accomplished ; baptized in His own blood, shed freely, shed 
 willingly for the redemption of the world. Now the absolute
 
 THE DEATH OF OUR LORD 351 
 
 reign of sin is at an end and the desolation brought on earth by 
 man's rebellion in the Garden of Eden is changed into the reign 
 of grace by the consummation of the sacrifice which began in the 
 Garden of Gethsemani. Not merely has justice been satisfied ; 
 not only has the debt incurred by sin been paid ; not only has the 
 reconciliation of man with God been effected, but enough has 
 been done to draw the hearts of men to their God, and to infuse 
 into those hearts a hope and a security, a certainty of salvation 
 that the powers of evil can never dim, much less take away from 
 man. Crying out with a loud voice, a voice heard not only on 
 Calvary, but heard throughout the world, heard throughout 
 Heaven, heard even in the uttermost depths of hell, He bows 
 His head and gives up the Spirit. A cry, says another holy 
 writer, of pain and a cry of joy. Of pain, because of death ; 
 for though on account of the hypostatic union the Divine nature 
 will never be separated from the human nature (death is the 
 separation of the soul from the body) , yet death did separate the 
 Divine nature from His manhood, that is from His composite 
 human nature from His Body and Soul united. Hence St. 
 Thomas says : " During the time of death He was not a man ; 
 during His days in the grave He was not God-Man." To under- 
 stand this mystery, which is one of the five principal mysteries 
 of our Holy Religion, we must remember that death is not a 
 separation of the two natures of Christ, but is the separation of 
 the soul from the body. On account of this hypostatic union of 
 the two natures we, as we have seen, truly say: God died for 
 man. 
 
 A cry of joy because victory has been gained and in that vic- 
 tory both Heaven and earth rejoice. " It is consummated," and 
 the first fruit of that consummation is found in the act of faith 
 made by the Centurion at the foot of the Cross : " Indeed this 
 was the Son of God." 
 
 Now, behold, all nature protests against the outrage perpe- 
 trated by man on nature's God. The sun is darkened, the earth 
 trembles, the veil of the Temple is rent in twain, and graves are 
 opened, from which many of the saints who were at rest came 
 out and after the Resurrection appeared to many in Jerusalem. 
 His enemies, solicitous for the letter of the law, go to Pilate and
 
 352 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 "that the bodies might not remain on the cross on the Sabbath 
 Day " ask permission to cause the deaths of the three crucified. 
 They break the legs of the two; but when they come to Jesus, 
 the Centurion (Longinus) says: "You shall not in your hatred 
 pursue Him farther. Can you not see that He is dead? You 
 have had your wishes to the full." To satisfy them, rather than 
 to save the Body, He opens the side with his spear and thence 
 comes blood and water. First blood, then water, to show that 
 the last drop of His Blood had been shed for the redemption of 
 man. 
 
 With Pilate's permission the body is taken down from the cross 
 and placed in a grave, made for the burial of Joseph of Arima- 
 thea, so that, even for His last resting place on earth, the dead 
 Jesus depends on the charity of another. 
 
 With Jesus we have now been during the time of His Passion, 
 and having witnessed in spirit all that has been done for us for 
 our redemption, we might ask, What shall we do to show our 
 appreciation of this manifestation of love? What does He ask? 
 Simply that we return love for the love that He has shown. This 
 we do, not only by sympathizing with Him in His sufferings, but 
 by hating, detesting, and avoiding sin; for, as we have seen, 
 though love was the cause, sin gave the occasion for the Passion, 
 not merely the sins of mankind, but our sins. With feelings, 
 then, of reciprocal love we will go to Calvary, and gazing on that 
 bloody portrait of charity we will bewail our sins, and from 
 hearts burning with love will say, " Mercy, my Jesus, mercy ! " 
 
 References 
 
 McKenna, in Treasures of the Rosary, p. 183 ; Graham, " The Rites of 
 Palm Sunday," in Pulpit Com., Vol. IV, p. 141 ; McGuire, " Rites of Holy 
 Week," in Pulpit Com., Vol. IV, pp. 148, 155, 163; Wylie, "The Cere- 
 monies of this Day," in Plain Sermons, Vol. I, p. 172 ; Newman, " The 
 Crucifixion," in Parochial and Plain Sermons, Vol. VII; Burke, O. P., 
 in Sermons and Lectures, Vol. I, pp. 137 ff. 
 
 Cath. Encyc., Vol. XI, pp. 432 ff., 530 ff. ; Summa Theol, III, qq. 50-52. 
 Compare also references for Quinquagesima and Passion Sunday; Pohle- 
 Preuss, Soteriology; Vaughan, The Divine Armory, etc., pp. 64, 105, 125 ff. ; 
 Callan, Illustrations for Sermons, etc., pp. 22 ff. ; Bellord, Meditations, etc., 
 Vol. I, pp. 306 ff.
 
 THE RESURRECTION OF CHRIST 353 
 
 EASTER SUNDAY 
 
 SUBJECT 
 THE RESURRECTION OF CHRIST 
 
 TEXT 
 He is risen, he is not here. MARK xvi. 6. 
 
 Analysis 
 
 INTRODUCTION. Last week we contemplated the separation of 
 our Lord's body and soul in death ; the former was laid away in 
 the tomb, the latter descended, as we saw, into Limbo. To-day 
 that same body and soul are reunited, and our Lord issues tri- 
 umphantly from the tomb. The Gospel tells us how the holy 
 women were on their way to anoint the body of Christ, and how, 
 as they approached the grave, they found the great stone rolled 
 away, the tomb empty, and an angel there to announce to them 
 that the Lord had risen. 
 
 I. "The third day he arose again from the dead." I. The 
 meaning of this Article of the Creed is that after Christ's death 
 His soul and body were reunited, He returned to life, and rose 
 from the tomb. 2. The difference between our Lord's resurrec- 
 tion and that of others is, that Christ raised Himself by His own 
 power, and that He was the first who rose to die no more. 
 3. Christ rose on the third day, inasmuch as He was in the tomb 
 on Friday, Saturday, and a part of Sunday. He did not rise 
 immediately after being buried, in order to prove His humanity ; 
 He did not defer His resurrection to the end of the world, when 
 all will rise, in order to prove His Divinity. 4. The great im- 
 portance of the resurrection is in this, that Christ foretold it as 
 the crowning miracle of His life, and the Apostles consequently 
 preached it as the greatest proof of the Saviour's Divinity and 
 the truth of His teaching.
 
 354 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 II. The reasons of Christ's resurrection, (i) He rose for 
 His own exaltation: (2) to strengthen our faith; (3) to sustain 
 and nourish our hope; (4) to complete the work of our re- 
 demption. 
 
 III. The blessings of Christ's resurrection. I. His resur- 
 rection is the cause and model of our own future bodily resur- 
 rection. 2. Christ's resurrection is also the cause and model of 
 our spiritual resurrection from sin. 3. The Resurrection of Christ 
 is the basis and foundation of our religion (i Cor. xv. 14), 
 since it is the greatest of miracles and the one to which our 
 Lord chiefly appealed in proof of His Divinity (Luke xi. 29; 
 John ii. 19). It is also one of the best established facts of 
 human history. The testimony of the Roman soldiers, the many 
 apparitions of the risen Saviour, the reluctance at first of the 
 Apostles to believe it, and their later fearlessness in declaring 
 it to the whole world, place the Resurrection beyond all doubt, 
 although it is now the main object of attack on the part of 
 unbelievers. 
 
 LESSONS of the resurrection, i. The newness of life which we 
 should learn from Christ's resurrection consists in the practice 
 of virtue and in perseverance to the end (see to-day's Epistle). 
 2. The chief sign by which we may know that we have risen 
 with Christ to this newness of life is a relish for the things that 
 are above rather than for the things that are of earth ( Col. iii. I ) . 
 
 Catechism of the Council of Trent, Part I 
 ARTICLE V OF THE CREED 
 
 THE SECOND PART OF THE FIFTH ARTICLE 
 
 We now come to the second part of the fifth Article, and how 
 indefatigable should be the labors of the pastor in its exposition 
 we learn from these words of the Apostle to Timothy : " Be 
 mindful that the Lord Jesus Christ is risen again from the 
 dead"; 1 words no doubt addressed not only to Timothy, but 
 to all who have care of souls. 
 
 * 2 Tim. ii. 8.
 
 THE RESURRECTION OF CHRIST 355 
 
 ITS MEANING 
 
 But the meaning of the Article is, that after Christ the Lord 
 had expired on the cross, on Friday at the ninth hour, and 
 was buried on the evening 1 of the same day by His disciples, who 
 with the permission of the governor Pilate laid the body of the 
 Lord, taken down frorn the cross, in a new tomb, in a garden 
 near at hand, His soul was reunited to His body early on the 
 morning of the third day after His death, that is on Sunday, 
 and thus He who was dead during those three days rose, and 
 returned again to life, from which He had departed when 
 dying. 
 
 RESURRECTION SUPERIOR TO THE NATURAL POWER OF MAN 
 
 By the word " resurrection," however, we are not merely to 
 understand that Christ was raised from the dead, a privilege 
 common with Him to many others, but that He rose by his 
 own power and virtue, a singular prerogative peculiar to Him 
 alone, for it is incompatible with our nature, nor was it ever 
 given to man to raise himself by his own power, from death to 
 life. This was an exercise of power reserved for the omnipotent 
 hand of God, as these words of the Apostle declare : " for al- 
 though he was crucified through weakness, yet he liveth by the 
 power of God." x This divine power, having never been separated, 
 either from His body while in the grave, or from His soul while 
 disunited from His body, existed in both, and gave to both a 
 capability of reuniting; and thus did the Son of God, by His 
 own power, return to life, and rise again from the dead. This 
 David foretold when, filled with the spirit of God, he prophesied 
 in these words : " His right hand hath wrought for him salvation, 
 and his arm is holy." 2 This we also have from the divine lips 
 of the Redeemer Himself : " I lay down my life," says He, " that 
 I may take it again . . . and I have power to lay it down: and 
 I have power to take it up again." 8 To the Jews He also said, 
 in confirmation of His doctrine: "Destroy this temple, and in 
 three days I will raise it up." 4 Although the Jews understood 
 
 1 2 Cor. xiii. 4. Ps. xcvii. 2. 
 
 John x. 17, 18. * John ii. 19.
 
 356 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 Him to have spoken thus of the magnificent temple of Jerusalem, 
 built of stone, yet as the Scripture testifies in the same place, " he 
 spoke of the temple of his body." x We sometimes, it is true, 
 read in Scripture that He was raised by the Father; 2 but this 
 refers to Him as man, as those passages which say that He rose 
 by His own power relate to Him as God. 3 
 
 CHRIST "THE FIRST BEGOTTEN OF THE DEAD" 
 
 It is also the peculiar privilege of Christ to have been the first 
 who enjoyed this divine prerogative of rising from the dead, for 
 He is called in Scripture " the first begotten of the dead," 4 and 
 also " the firstborn from the dead." 5 The Apostle also says, 
 " Christ is risen from the dead, the first-fruits of them that sleep : 
 for by a man came death, and by a man the resurrection of the 
 dead. And as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all shall be made 
 alive. But every one in his own order: the first-fruits Christ, 
 then they that are of Christ." 6 These words of the Apostle 
 are to be understood of a perfect resurrection, by which we are 
 resuscitated to eternal life and are no longer subject to death. 
 In this resurrection Christ the Lord holds the first place ; for 
 if we speak of resurrection, that is of a return to life, subject 
 to the necessity of again dying, many were thus raised from the 
 dead before Christ, 7 all of whom, however, were restored to 
 life to die again. But Christ the Lord, having conquered death, 
 rose again to die no more, according to this clear testimony 
 of the Apostle : " Christ rising again from the dead, dieth now 
 no more, death shall no more have dominion over him." 8 
 
 CHRIST ROSE AGAIN ON THE THIRD DAY 
 
 The Third Day. In explanation of these additional words of 
 the Article, the pastor will inform the people that Christ did not 
 remain in the grave during the whole of these three days, but, 
 as He lay in the sepulchre during an entire natural day, during 
 part of the preceding day, and part of the following, He is said, 
 
 1 John ii. 21. * Acts ii. 24; Hi. 15. 
 
 ' Rom. viii. 34. * Apoc. i. 5. 
 
 8 Col. i. 18. ' I Cor. xv. 20-23. 
 
 7 3 Kings xvii. 22; 4 Kings iv. 34. 8 Rom. vi. 9.
 
 THE RESURRECTION OF CHRIST 357 
 
 with strictest truth, to have lain in the grave for three days, and 
 on the third day to have risen again from the dead. 
 
 WHY HE ROSE ON THE THIRD DAY 
 
 To declare his divinity, He deferred not His resurrection to 
 the end of the world; while at the same time to prove His 
 humanity, and the reality of His death, He rose not immediately, 
 but on the third day after His death, a space of time sufficient 
 to prove that He had really died. 
 
 "ACCORDING TO THE SCRIPTURES" WHY ADDED TO THE CREED 
 
 Here the Fathers of the first Council of Constantinople added 
 the words, "according to the Scriptures," which they received 
 from St. Paul. These words they embodied with the creed, be- 
 cause the same Apostle teaches the absolute necessity of the mys- 
 tery of the resurrection when he says: "If Christ be not risen 
 again, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain . . . 
 for you are yet in your sins." 1 Hence, admiring our belief of 
 this Article, St. Augustine says : " It is of little moment to believe 
 that Christ died; this the Pagans, Jews, and all the wicked be- 
 lieve ; in a word, all believe that Christ died ; but that He rose 
 from the dead is the belief of Christians ; to believe that He rose 
 again, this we deem of great moment." 2 Hence it is that our 
 Lord very frequently spoke to His disciples of His resurrection, 
 and seldom or never of His passion without adverting to His 
 resurrection. Thus, when He said : " The Son of man . . . shall 
 be delivered to the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and scourged, 
 and spit upon: and after they have scourged him, they will put 
 him to death," He added : " and the third day he shall rise 
 again." 8 Also when the Jews called upon Him to give an at- 
 testation of the truth of His doctrine by some miraculous sign He 
 said: "A sign shall not be given it, [this generation] but the sign 
 of Jonas the prophet. For as Jonas was in the whale's belly three 
 days and three nights: so shall the Son of man be in the heart 
 of the earth three days and three nights." 4 
 
 1 I Cor. xv. 14, 17. * Aug. in Ps. cxx. 4. 
 
 Luke xviii. 31, 32, 33; Matt. xvi. 21. 
 4 Matt. xii. 39, 40; Luke xi. 29.
 
 358 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 THREE THINGS WHICH ARE HERE TO BE EXPLAINED 
 
 To understand still better the force and meaning of this Ar- 
 ticle, there are three things which demand attentive considera- 
 tion: first, the necessity of the resurrection; secondly, its end 
 and object; thirdly, the blessings and advantages of which it is 
 to us the source. 
 
 I. NECESSITY OF THE RESURRECTION 
 
 With regard to the first, it was necessary that Christ should 
 rise again in order to manifest the justice of God; for it was 
 most congruous that He who through obedience to God was 
 degraded, and loaded with ignominy, should by Him be exalted. 
 This is a reason assigned by the Apostle in his Epistle to the 
 Philippians. " He humbled himself," says he, " becoming obedi- 
 ent unto death, even to the death of the cross. For which cause 
 God also hath exalted him." 1 
 
 He rose also to confirm our faith, which is necessary for justi- 
 fication: the resurrection of Christ from the dead by His own 
 power affords an irrefragable proof of His divinity. It also nur- 
 tures and sustains our hope, for as Christ rose again, we rest on 
 an assured hope that we too shall rise again ; the members must 
 necessarily arrive at the condition of their head. This is the 
 conclusion which St. Paul draws from the reasoning which he 
 uses in his epistles to the Corinthians, 2 and the Thessalonians ; 3 
 and Peter, the prince of the Apostle, says : " Blessed be the God 
 and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to his 
 great mercy hath regenerated us unto a lively hope, by the resur- 
 rection of Jesus Christ from the dead, unto the inheritance 
 incorruptible." * 
 
 II. ITS END AND OBJECT 
 
 Finally, the resurrection of our Lord, as the pastor will incul- 
 cate, was necessary to complete the mystery of our salvation and 
 redemption. By His death Christ liberated us from the thraldom 
 of sin, and restored to us, by His resurrection, the most important 
 of those privileges which we had forfeited by sin. Hence these 
 
 1 Philip, ii. 8, 9. I Cor. xv. 12. 
 
 I Thess. iv. 13. i Pet i. 3, 4-
 
 THE RESURRECTION OF CHRIST 359 
 
 words of the Apostle : " He was delivered up for our sins, and 
 rose again for our justification." * That nothing, therefore, may 
 be wanting to perfect the work of our salvation, it was necessary 
 that as He died, He should also rise again from the dead. 
 
 III. ITS BLESSINGS AND ADVANTAGES 
 
 From what has been said we can perceive the important ad- 
 vantages which the resurrection of our Lord has conferred on 
 the faithful ; in His resurrection we acknowledge Him to be the 
 immortal God, full of glory, the conqueror of death and hell, 
 and this we are firmly to believe and openly to profess of Christ 
 Jesus. 
 
 Again, the resurrection of Christ effects our resurrection, not 
 only as its efficient cause, but also as its model. Thus, with 
 regard to the resurrection of the body we have this testimony 
 of the Apostle : " by a man came death, and by a man the resur- 
 rection of the dead." 2 To accomplish the mystery of our re- 
 demption in all its parts, God made use of the humanity of 
 Christ as its efficient instrument, and hence His resurrection is 
 the efficient cause of ours. It is also the model. His resurrec- 
 tion was the most perfect of all, and as His body, rising to im- 
 mortal glory, was changed, so shall our bodies also before 
 frail and mortal be restored and clothed with glory and immor- 
 tality. In the language of the Apostle, " we look for the Saviour, 
 our Lord Jesus Christ, who will reform the body of our lowness, 
 made like to the body of his glory." * 
 
 The same may be said of a soul dead in sin. How the resur- 
 rection of Christ is proposed to such a soul as the model of her 
 resurrection we learn from the same Apostle, when he says : 
 " Christ is risen from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we 
 also may walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted 
 together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the 
 likeness of his resurrection." Again a little further on : " Know- 
 ing that Christ rising again from the dead, dieth now no more, 
 death shall no more have dominion over him. For in that he 
 died to sin, he died once; but in that he liveth, he liveth unto 
 
 1 Rom. iv. 25. f I Cor. xv. 21. 
 
 Phil. iii. 20, 21.
 
 360 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 God: so do you also reckon, that you are dead to sin, but alive 
 unto God, in Christ Jesus our Lord." x 
 
 From the resurrection of Christ, therefore, we should derive 
 two important lessons of instruction : the one, that after we have 
 washed away the stains of sin we should begin to lead a new 
 life, distinguished by integrity, innocence, holiness, modesty, jus- 
 tice, beneficence, and humility; the other, that we should so 
 persevere in that newness of life as never more, with the divine 
 assistance, to stray from the paths of virtue on which we have 
 once entered. 
 
 Nor do the words of the Apostle prove only that the resurrec- 
 tion of Christ is proposed as the model of our resurrection ; they 
 also declare that it gives us power to rise again, and imparts 
 to us strength and courage to persevere in holiness and righteous- 
 ness, and in the observance of the commandments of God. As 
 His death not only furnishes us with an example, but also sup- 
 plies us with strength to die to sin, so also His resurrection in- 
 vigorates us to attain righteousness, that worshipping God in 
 piety and holiness, we may walk in the newness of life to which 
 we have risen. For the Redeemer achieved principally by His 
 resurrection, that we, who before died with Him to sin, and to 
 the world, may rise also with Him again to a new discipline and 
 manner of life. 
 
 PRINCIPAL PROOFS OF A RESURRECTION FROM SIN 
 
 The principal proofs of this resurrection from sin which de- 
 mand observation are taught us by the Apostle : " If you be risen 
 with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is sit- 
 ting at the right hand of God." 2 Here he distinctly tells us that 
 they whose desire of life, honors, riches, and repose are directed 
 chiefly to the place in which Christ dwells, have truly risen with 
 Him. But when he adds : " Mind the things that are above, not 
 the things that are upon the earth," 3 he gives this, as it were, 
 as another standard by which we may ascertain if we have truly 
 risen with Christ. For as a relish for food indicates a healthy 
 state of the body, so with regard to the soul, if we relish " what- 
 ever things are true, whatever modest, whatever just, whatever 
 
 1 Rom. vi. 4, 5, 9-11. Col. iii. i. * Col. iii. 2.
 
 THE RESURRECTION OF CHRIST 361 
 
 holy," * and experience within us a sense of the sweetness of 
 heavenly things, this we may consider a very strong proof that 
 with Christ we have risen to a new and spiritual life. 
 
 Sermons 
 
 THE RESURRECTION OF CHRIST 
 BY THE REV. THOMAS F. BURKE, C.S.P. 
 
 I. No other fact has been such a power in the world as that 
 which we commemorate to-day, the Resurrection of Jesus Christ 
 from the dead. In the annals of religion and its progress, in 
 the records of faith and its victories, in the history of morality 
 and its advancement, in the story of charity and its achieve- 
 ments, there has been no factor so influential. It is bound up 
 most intimately and closely with human life. Even those who 
 deny it as a myth are living to-day under conditions which would 
 not exist had not centuries of Christian people believed in this 
 great fact. 
 
 The Resurrection of Christ is the foundation of the Christian 
 faith, because it is the proof supreme of His Divinity. Through- 
 out His whole life, indeed, Christ was the revelation of God unto 
 man. " God, who, at sundry times and in divers manners, spoke 
 in times past to the fathers by the prophets, last of all, in these 
 days hath spoken to us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir 
 of all things, by whom also he made the world." The greatness, 
 the beauty, the holiness, the majesty, the love, the mercy, the 
 justice of God were manifested in the human life and actions of 
 our Divine Lord upon earth. When an afflicted woman touched 
 the hem of His garment and He cured her of her sickness ; when 
 the blind man cried out to Him, "Lord, that I may see," and 
 He gave him sight ; when a ruler begged that his child might not 
 die, and Jesus infused new vigor and health ; when a sister and 
 again a mother- were in grief over the loss of a loved one, and 
 He called the dead back to life; when a thief dying on a cross 
 sought for pardon, and Jesus washed away the guilt of sin, 
 in these and in many other instances He gave proof that He was 
 divine. 
 
 i i Phil. iv. 8.
 
 362 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 All these, however, are subordinate to the one grand, triumphal 
 fact which is the corner-stone of Christianity, and upon which 
 all the rest of the structure depends, the Resurrection of Christ 
 from the dead. So could the Apostle say : " If Christ be not risen 
 from the dead, vain is our preaching, vain is your faith." 
 
 He who admits the Resurrection must hold to Christ's Divinity, 
 and consequently to His divine right to be the Guide and Teacher 
 of man. On the other hand, he who denies the Resurrection 
 will not hesitate to sacrifice altogether belief in the divine pre- 
 rogatives and the divine mission of Jesus Christ. 
 
 II. Relying upon the Gospel narrative, my dear brethren, and 
 upon the innumerable references throughout the New Testament, 
 we must conclude that no fact in the world's history is more 
 incontestably established than the Resurrection of Christ; and 
 yet we are brought face to face with the denial of this, by some 
 at least. 
 
 The New Testament gives us evidence after evidence of the 
 Truth. God Himself foretold His resurrection. The spirit of 
 prophecy rested upon Him, and at times, for the sake of His 
 followers, He lifted the veil that hangs beyond and revealed the 
 vision, dimly it may have been, of future triumph and glory. 
 When some would ask Him for a sign, He spoke of the sign of 
 Jonas the prophet : " For as Jonas was in the whale's belly three 
 days and three nights: so shall the Son of man be in the heart 
 of the earth three days and three nights" (Matt. xii. 40). 
 
 When about to go up to Jerusalem for the last time, He fore- 
 told what would happen to the Son of man: "The scribes and 
 Pharisees . . . shall deliver him to the Gentiles to be mocked, 
 and scourged, and crucified, and the third day he shall rise again " 
 (Matt. xx. 18, 19). 
 
 At the time of His glorious transfiguration, when His favored 
 Apostles would have rushed through the world proclaiming the 
 miracle, " he charged them not to tell any man what things they 
 had seen, till the Son of man shall be risen again from the dead " 
 (Mark ix. 8). 
 
 Again, " Destroy," said He, " this temple, and in three days I 
 will raise it up. But he spoke of the temple of his body" (John 
 ii. 19, 21).
 
 THE RESURRECTION OF CHRIST 363 
 
 These are but examples of His declarations to the effect that 
 His suffering would be followed by joy, His night by day, His 
 death by victory. His words were so understood and acted upon 
 by the rulers of the Jews. " Sir," they said to Pilate " we have 
 remembered, that that seducer said, while he was yet alive : After 
 three days I will rise again. Command therefore the sepulchre 
 to be guarded until the third day : lest perhaps his disciples come 
 and steal him away, and say to the people : He is risen from the 
 dead" (Matt, xxvii. 63, 64). The Jews therefore were pre- 
 pared for any trickery. 
 
 The lifeless body was placed in the tomb ; a special detachment 
 of Roman soldiers, with instructions to more than ordinary 
 watchfulness, was placed on guard and the tomb itself was of- 
 ficially sealed. Despite these measures, defying the seal of Rome 
 and its Roman guardians, Christ rose triumphantly from the 
 dead. On the very day of His resurrection He appeared unto 
 the repentant and the rejoicing Mary Magdalen. Then to Peter, 
 His chosen vicar, and to John, His especially beloved. In the 
 evening of the same day He walked with two of His followers 
 to the town of Emmaus, and later appeared unto His assembled 
 Apostles. 
 
 After the first day at least six separate appearances are re- 
 corded. As before His death, now after His resurrection, He 
 conversed with His Apostles, spoke to His disciples, ate and 
 drank with them. He brought certainty to the doubting Thomas, 
 the sceptic apostle whose fault begot those consoling words, 
 " Blessed are they who have not seen and have believed." Upon 
 a mountain in Galilee, in the midst of five hundred people, beside 
 the sacred shores of the Lake of Tiberias, He appeared and spoke 
 the words of light before which all lingering shadows of doubt 
 were dispelled, and the flower of hope was new-born. 
 
 In reality, my dear brethren, if there be one fact in history 
 which is better entitled to credit than any other, I do not hesitate 
 to say that that fact is the glorious resurrection of Jesus from 
 the tomb. Never, no, never, within the memory of man was any 
 transaction transmitted through every successive generation, from 
 the period of its occurrence to the present day, amid such a blaze 
 of evidence. It is attested by the positive and unexceptionable
 
 364 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 testimony of persons of the highest integrity, who were them- 
 selves eyewitnesses of it, who saw Jesus dead, and who after- 
 ward beheld Him alive ; who beheld Him not once or twice only, 
 but frequently ; not transiently, but for a considerable time ; who 
 not only beheld Him but who heard Him, conversed with Him, 
 touched Him, ate and drank with Him, and had every imaginable 
 certainty, both of the reality and identity of His person which 
 it was possible for the evidence of the senses to convey, and 
 who proved, moreover, their honesty and sincerity by that best 
 of arguments, the shedding of their blood. 
 
 Had Christ not risen from the dead, there would be no Chris- 
 tianity. Had not Christ risen from the dead, the preaching of 
 the Apostles would have been vain, and the people's faith would 
 have been vain. A vain preaching and a vain faith would have 
 failed long since. Nineteen centuries would not have passed to 
 find that preaching and hope as strong as ever. Had it been a 
 vain preaching, it would have been annihilated in the ten great 
 persecutions which the power of mighty Rome concocted for its 
 destruction. Had it been a vain preaching, it would have suc- 
 cumbed to the efforts of him who when dying was forced to 
 cry out : " Galilean, Thou has conquered." Had it been a vain 
 preaching, it would have been swept from the face of the earth 
 in the avalanche of paganism that from the north broke through 
 the gates of the empire. Had it been a vain preaching, the third, 
 second, yes, the first century would have stood beside its grave. 
 
 III. Yet in the light of these evidences there are those to-day 
 who deny the Resurrection. Upon theoretical grounds they de- 
 clare its impossibility, because they hold that miracles in general 
 are impossible. It is a question of fact more than theory. They 
 would say : " God cannot interfere with the established laws of 
 the Universe and the decrees of nature." 
 
 God cannot interfere? What kind of a God? An impotent 
 abstraction of the mind? But God is more than this. He is a 
 reality, a personality. We are free agents. Our freedom is a 
 perfection. If there be a God, He too must be free, and this im- 
 plies the right and the power to make exceptions to His own laws. 
 
 IV. We can see that loss of faith in the Resurrection has 
 brought with it the loss of belief in Jesus Christ, God and man,
 
 THE RESURRECTION OF CHRIST 365 
 
 and is leading to the entire giving up of faith in God and the 
 life to come. What is the cause of this? One cause is disbelief 
 in the records of the Resurrection, disbelief in the Scriptural 
 account. Now, I maintain that the only place where belief in 
 the Scriptures is securely retained, and the only place therefore 
 where the fact of the Resurrection is safely guarded, is within 
 the Catholic Church. She is the bulwark of the Resurrection. 
 She is the one living witness of the fact that Christ rose from 
 the dead. 
 
 Look about the world to-day and you will find no body of 
 people among whom there is the same respect, the same rever- 
 ence, for the Scriptures as among the members of the Catholic 
 Church. You will find no other church that holds with the same 
 steadfastness to the sacredness of their character. 
 
 While among Christians outside the Catholic Church the prin- 
 ciple of private interpretation of the Scriptures has led men to 
 believe what they like, and has opened the way not only to diffi- 
 culty but no doubt, she has stood in calm serenity and has held 
 to her position as the teacher of men, the authoritative inter- 
 preter of Scriptures, appointed by Jesus Christ. While outside 
 of her fold men are gradually coming to look upon the Scrip- 
 tures as any other literature, she has unflinchingly declared them 
 to be supreme over all other writings, to be the inspired truth 
 of God. While at the best many will accord them only the cre- 
 dence given to human history, with its liability to prejudice and 
 error, she proclaims them to be without error, because they are 
 a Divine record of facts, stamped with the seal of heaven itself. 
 While among sceptics the Scriptures are considered to be only 
 a legendary legacy of bygone days, she, filled with the conscious- 
 ness of her identity through the ages, can tell the world to-day, 
 as she has told it through nineteen centuries, " I know that these 
 things are true." And when, as the time goes on, amid those 
 who have sacrificed belief in the Divine character of the Scrip- 
 tures, they shall lose for them even the regard that is paid to 
 human documents, she will stand, as heretofore, their staunchest 
 defender. 
 
 V. Church of Christ, Thou art the one witness upon earth 
 to-day of the Resurrection. Thou alone hast breasted the storms
 
 366 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 of the centuries. Thou canst thus speak to the world : " Before 
 Rationalism was, I am; before the Unitarian and the Socinian, 
 I am ; before Renan and Strauss, I am. Nations have lived and 
 died ; people have risen and fallen : ages have come and gone, I 
 have witnessed their coming and their going. I have stood firm 
 and unshaken amidst the storms of persecution, the assaults of 
 infidelity, the ravages of licentiousness. I can carry the mind 
 back to the time when the ' smoke of sacrifice rose from the Pan- 
 theon and camelopards and tigers bounded in the Flavian Am- 
 phitheater.' I have witnessed the destruction of Jerusalem, the 
 downfall of Constantinople, the conquest of Rome. I have wit- 
 nessed the formation of the Christian nations of Europe ; I have 
 seen the savage civilized, the barbarian educated, the wild war- 
 rior subdued. I can link the twentieth century with the first. I 
 have witnessed many of the events recorded in the New Testa- 
 ment. I am the living witness of all Christian ages, and I bear 
 my testimony unto this day that Christ has risen." 
 
 VI. To-day, then, is the day of Christ's triumph, the day of 
 the Church's rejoicing, that Church to which has been committed 
 the preaching of the faith founded on His Resurrection. On the 
 day of His death the world triumphed. Beside the cross the 
 voice went up : " Vah, thou that destroyest the temple of God, 
 and in three days buildest it up again : save thyself, come down 
 from the cross." Even then a word would have brought an 
 army of smiling angels bearing fiery swords; even then a word 
 would have struck down His persecutors; even then, did He 
 desire it, that scene of death and defeat could have been changed 
 into a heavenly victory. He could, but He would not, for then 
 He was suffering for a guilt that was not His own. On the 
 morn of the Resurrection another voice spoke. When the holy 
 woman arrived at the tomb, an angel clothed in white stood 
 before them and cried out, " He is risen, he is not here." 
 
 " Vah, . . . save thyself, come down from the cross." 
 
 And the triumphant answer rolls on through the centuries: 
 "He is risen, he is not here." 
 
 Through the world it echoes : " He is risen, as he said." It is 
 the foundation of Christianity. The Apostles preached it and 
 they knew whereof they spoke.
 
 THE RESURRECTION OF CHRIST 367 
 
 He is risen ! It is confusion to the deniers of Christ's Divinity, 
 for, well founded as it is, it cannot be reasonably denied. 
 
 He is risen! It is the tocsin of Faith, inspiring that belief 
 without which there is no salvation. 
 
 He is risen ! It is the promise and the hope of our resurrection 
 upon the last day. 
 
 As we take a broad general view of the centuries, we seem to 
 be standing in the nave of some vast cathedral. Over the dis- 
 tant altar we can see the inscription, " He is risen, as he said." 
 From within this cathedral there issues forth the Christian song 
 of triumph. Within its confines are gathered the hosts of wit- 
 nesses from all times. We hear again the Evangelists chanting 
 solemnly the simple story of Easter morn. We hear the whole 
 body of the Apostles taking up the refrain and sounding it into 
 all their followers. We hear St. Paul reiterating the sacred words 
 and proclaiming that there is no Christianity without faith in the 
 Resurrection. We hear the witnesses of the first centuries, the 
 martyrs, clothed in blood-red garments, telling how with their 
 life they bore testimony to the Resurrection of Christ. We hear 
 Athanasius, the Saint of the Divinity, using the fact of the 
 Resurrection against his adversaries; we hear his followers, the 
 defenders of Christianity, smiling in their turn with the unan- 
 swerable argument of the Resurrection. From each century a 
 song, and all unite in one grand symphony. The mighty anthem 
 goes up; the song of triumph cleaves the sky: Resurrexit sicut 
 dixit, " He has risen, as he said." 
 
 And if by some miraculous power it were given us to look into 
 the court of heaven; if for a moment, on this day, the eternal 
 gates were lifted, we could hear issuing forth the song of the 
 myriad angels, companions of those who stood within the tomb, 
 the song of heaven's triumph : Resurrexit sicut dixit, " He has 
 risen, as he said." 
 
 Right, then, is it that the Church on earth should on this day, 
 above all others, rejoice. She sings to-day the triumph of her 
 Founder. She chants to-day the glory of the Son of God. Our 
 hearts, our wills, our minds, our souls are with her. 
 
 The faith which springs up lively within our souls, the foun- 
 tain of justification ; the hope that inspires us in consequence of
 
 368 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 the great fact we commemorate; the charity towards God and 
 man which is to be found only in the Christian heart; the joy 
 that is the fruit of all these; the joy of sympathy with Jesus 
 Christ the Victor, the Conqueror, all these are summed up 
 in that cry which our beloved Church in her raptures of love 
 repeats again and again : Resurrexit sicut dixit, " He said he 
 would arise, and he has risen." 
 
 EASTER, A SEASON OF REJOICING 
 BY THE REV. M. BOSSAERT 
 
 Throughout the world, wherever the light of our holy faith 
 shines, is heard to-day the joyful cry of the Catholic Church: 
 " Alleluia, Christ is risen ! " Why, we may be asked, are all 
 men thus called to share in the joy of our Lord's resurrection? 
 It is because He accomplished this work for all mankind as well 
 as for Himself. Just as it was for us that He assumed human 
 nature and suffered on the cross, so was it for us that He rose 
 again from the dead. He rose in order to fill our hearts with 
 joy and consolation, and therefore we may regard Easter as a 
 most joyful festival. 
 
 I. That we may fully realize the gladness of Easter, let us 
 once more survey the days that have just passed. Everything 
 in their course suggested our 'Lord's suffering and death: the 
 lamentations, the black vestments worn by the priests, the bare 
 altars, the silence of the bells, all recalled to us more vividly than 
 ever the Apostle's words that Christ became " obedient unto 
 death, even to the death of the cross." Silently, in sorrow and 
 mourning, we accompanied our Lord in thought from the Mount 
 of Olives to Golgotha ; we watched His agony in the Garden of 
 Gethsemani and heard the sentence against Him pronounced by 
 His unjust judges ; we listened to the strokes of the cruel scourge, 
 tearing His tender Body, we saw the crown of thorns piercing 
 His Sacred Head, and we seemed to catch the words of the in- 
 furiated mob crying: "Crucify him; his blood be upon us and 
 upon our children ! " We saw Him staggering under the weight 
 of the cross on the way to Calvary, and heard the blows of the 
 hammer with which they nailed Him to the cross ; we beheld Him
 
 THE RESURRECTION OF CHRIST 369 
 
 raised aloft, amid the jeers and insults of His enemies, and we 
 heard His last words : " It is consummated ; Father, into Thy 
 hands I commend my spirit." We watched His Sacred Head 
 sink in death, and finally we stood by when His most holy Body 
 was laid in the grave. Had His enemies really triumphed? had 
 death gained dominion over Him? would the grave be His last 
 resting place ? No ; death had no power over the Lord of life. 
 
 II. Where God intends to display His omnipotence, the world's 
 resistance is vain and ineffectual. He broke open the gates of 
 death and destroyed its sway. In spite of the heavy stone barring 
 the entrance to the sepulchre, in spite of the official seal set upon 
 it, and in spite of the guards, our Lord triumphed over death on 
 the morning of Easter Sunday, came forth from the grave and 
 returned to life in undying glory. By His own power and 
 authority He took back the life that He had voluntarily laid down 
 on the cross. Yes, our Lord did indeed rise again on the third 
 day, as He had often foretold, and not only the angels, the pious 
 women and His disciples, but also the soldiers guarding the 
 sepulchre, and even His enemies, bore witness to His Resurrec- 
 tion. It is as much beyond question as any event that ever took 
 place ; it is no less certain than His birth and life, and St. John 
 Chrysostom is right in saying: "If Jesus did not rise again, it 
 cannot be true that He ever was born." 
 
 III. Let us then rejoice at our Lord's Resurrection, for thereby 
 He has given us the surest proof that He is in truth our Re- 
 deemer and the Son of God. We know that the sentence pro- 
 nounced against us by God's justice has been recalled, and the 
 guilt of our sins removed, so that we have regained the grace 
 and friendship with God which had been lost to us through sin. 
 We know in whom we believe, and no doubt or uncertainty can 
 ever disturb us. By His Resurrection Jesus showed Himself to 
 be indeed the Son of God, and therefore what He teaches is 
 the absolute truth, far above the conflict of human opinions and 
 the errors of our age. Our glad conviction is based on no 
 learned arguments, nor on the laborious investigations of men 
 liable to error, nor on our own views which to-day seem true and 
 to-morrow may appear false; but it rests on the Word of the 
 Son of God, which abideth forever. All the promises that He
 
 370 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 made to the just and righteous will be fulfilled, as well as the 
 threats uttered against the ungodly ; no word of His will remain 
 void. If He had not risen from the dead, we should be, as 
 St. Paul says, the most miserable of men, for without His 
 Resurrection there would have been no Redemption, and we 
 should still be in darkness and error; without it all our good 
 works would have been unprofitable, and all our hopes vain. 
 
 Rejoice, therefore, every Christian soul, for your Redeemer 
 liveth; He, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, hath triumphed; He 
 hath overcome death, and by His Resurrection hath manifested 
 His Godhead to the whole world. Amen. 
 
 References 
 
 Graham, in Pulpit Comm., Vol. I ; Hayes, " Easter," in Pulpit Comm., 
 Vol. IV, p. 170; McKenna, in The Treasures of the Rosary, p. 193; 
 Vaughan, in Sermons for the Sundays and Feasts; Phelan, in Horn. 
 Monthly, March, 1919; Bonomelli-Byrne, in Christian Mysteries, Vol. II, 
 pp. 9 ff. ; Burke, O. P., in Sermons and Lectures, Vol.. I, pp. 397 ff. ; New- 
 man, " Witnesses of the Resurrection," in Parochial and Plain Sermons, 
 Vol. I ; Bourdaloue and Bossuet, in Great French Sermons, Series II ; 
 Monsabre, in Lenten Confer, of 1880. 
 
 Cath. Encyc., Vol. XII, pp. 789 ff. ; Vol. V, pp. 224 ff. ; Summon Theol., 
 Ill, qq. 53-56; Tanquerey, De Vera Religione, Nos. 424 ff. ; Pohle-Preuss, 
 Soteriology, pp. 101 ff. ; Vaughan, The Divine Armory, etc., pp. 108 ff. ; 
 Callan, Illustrations for Sermons, etc., p. 25 ; Bellord, Meditations, etc., 
 Vol. I, pp. 316 ff. ; Marsh, "The Resurrection of Christ, Is It a Fact? " in 
 Messianic Philosophy, pp. 24 ff. ; Poelzl-Martindale, The Passion and 
 Glory of Christ. 
 
 LOW SUNDAY I 
 
 SUBJECT 
 THE SACRAMENT OF PENANCE 
 
 TEXT 
 
 Receive ye the Holy Ghost. Whose sins you shall forgive, they are 
 forgiven them; and whose sins you shall retain, they are retained. 
 JOHN xx. 22, 23. 
 
 Analysis 
 
 INTRODUCTION. It was on the very day of our Lord's Resur- 
 rection from the dead that, appearing to His Apostles as they
 
 THE SACRAMENT OF PENANCE 371 
 
 were gathered together in the supper room, He gave them the 
 power of raising souls from spiritual death to life. To convince 
 them that it was Himself, He entered the room, the doors being 
 closed, and showed them His hands and feet; and then, before 
 instituting the Sacrament of Peace, He said : " Peace be to you." 
 Forthwith He continued : " As the Father hath sent me," namely, 
 to save that which was lost, " I also send you," that is, to apply 
 the fruits of my redemption to the souls of men by reconciling 
 them to God. Then, as a sign of the greatness of the power 
 they were receiving, He breathed on them and said: "Receive 
 ye the Holy Ghost," etc. The exercise of this power of forgiv- 
 ing sins is continued in the Sacrament of Penance by the true 
 successors of the Apostles. 
 
 I. The nature of the Sacrament of Penance. I. Penance 
 is a Sacrament in which sins committed after Baptism are for- 
 given. 2. That Penance is a Sacrament is clear, (a) because like 
 Baptism it remits sin; (b) because it has all the elements neces- 
 sary for a Sacrament, since it is an external sign of inward 
 grace instituted by Christ on the evening of the Resurrection. 
 3. This Sacrament was instituted by Christ for two reasons : (a) 
 in order that through the external acts of confession and abso- 
 lution men might have greater assurance of pardon than they 
 could have by internal repentance alone; (b) in order that by 
 the use of a Sacrament men might realize more vividly that 
 their forgiveness was due to the mercy of Christ. 4. Unlike 
 some of the other Sacraments, Penance may be received more 
 than once. 
 
 II. The parts of the Sacrament of Penance, i. The essen- 
 tial parts of this Sacrament are matter and form : (a) the remote 
 matter is all the sins committed after Baptism; (b) the proxi- 
 mate matter is the three acts of the penitent, i.e., confession, 
 contrition, and satisfaction; (c) the form of the Sacrament is 
 the words of absolution pronounced by the priest. 2. In 
 the Old Law the priest merely declared that the leper was 
 cleansed, while the priest in the Sacrament of Penance not only
 
 372 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 declares the sinner absolved but truly frees him from his sins, 
 3. The matter and form of Penance are accompanied by cer- 
 tain prayers and rites on the part of the priest and the peni- 
 tent, which are very ancient and useful, but not essential to 
 the Sacrament, such as the prayer for mercy on the part of the 
 priest, and the confiteor before confession on the part of the 
 penitent. 
 
 III. The effects of the Sacrament of Penance, i. Penance 
 first restores the soul to the grace and friendship of God. 
 2. Penance gives peace and joy of conscience. 3. Finally Pen- 
 ance blots out sins no matter how grievous, how numerous, or 
 how often repeated, provided there be sincere repentance. 
 
 CONCLUSION, i. From the solemn words of our Lord in this 
 day's Gospel it is clear that He has set up in His Church a tri- 
 bunal before which every sinner must appear in order to obtain 
 the forgiveness of sins committed after Baptism (Cone, of Trent, 
 sess. 14, cans. 6, 7, cap. 2). 2. We must remember that the 
 absolution of the priest is not sufficient without the proper acts 
 on the part of the penitent. The penitent must make his con- 
 fession, have true internal contrition, a firm purpose of amend- 
 ment, and the intention of performing his penance. 3. Remem- 
 bering the great blessings of spiritual resurrection and peace 
 conferred by this Sacrament, we should not only make frequent 
 and fervent use of it, but should not fail to return thanks each 
 time we go to confession for the divine mercy that has been 
 shown us. 
 
 Catechism of the Council of Trent, Part II 
 
 PENANCE AS A SACRAMENT 
 
 With regard to external penance, the pastor will teach that it 
 is that which constitutes the Sacrament of Penance: it consists 
 of certain sensible things significant of that which passes inte- 
 riorly in the soul ; and the faithful are to be informed, in the 
 first place, why the Redeemer was pleased to give it a place 
 among the sacraments.
 
 THE SACRAMENT OF PENANCE 373 
 
 WHY INSTITUTED BY OUR LORD 
 
 His object was, no doubt, to remove in a great measure all 
 uncertainty as to the pardon of sin promised by God when He 
 said : " If the wicked do penance for all his sins which he hath 
 committed, and keep all my commandments, and do judgment, 
 and justice, living he shall live, and shall not die." l Pronouncing 
 upon his own actions, every man has reason to question the ac- 
 curacy of his own judgment, and hence, on the sincerity of in- 
 terior penance the mind must be held in anxious suspense. To 
 calm this our solicitude, the Redeemer instituted the Sacrament 
 of Penance, in which we cherish a well-founded hope that our 
 sins are forgiven us by the absolution of the priest ; and the faith 
 which we justly have in the efficacy of the Sacraments has much 
 influence in tranquillizing the troubled conscience and giving 
 peace to the soul. The voice of the priest who legitimately ab- 
 solves our sins is to be heard as that of Christ Himself, who said 
 to the lame man : " Be of good heart, son, thy sins are forgiven 
 thee." 2 
 
 Moreover, as salvation is unattainable except through Christ 
 and the merits of His passion, the institution of this Sacrament 
 was in itself most suitable and for us most useful. Penance is 
 the channel through which the blood of Christ flows into the 
 soul, washes away the stains contracted after Baptism, and calls 
 forth from us the grateful acknowledgment that to the Saviour 
 alone we are indebted for the blessing of a reconciliation with 
 God. 
 
 PENANCE PROVED TO BE A SACRAMENT 
 
 That Penance is a Sacrament the pastor will not find it diffi- 
 cult to establish. Baptism is a Sacrament because it washes 
 away all, particularly original, sin ; Penance also washes away 
 all sins of thought or deed committed after Baptism ; on the same 
 principle, therefore, Penance is a Sacrament. 
 
 Again, and the argument is conclusive, a Sacrament is the sign 
 of a sacred thing, and what is done externally by the priest and 
 the penitent is a sign of what takes place internally in the soul. 
 
 1 Ezek, xviii. 21. 
 
 1 Matt. ix. 2 ; C. of Trent, sess. 14, c. I ; Innoc. I, Epist. 91 of inter episL 
 Aug.
 
 374 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 The penitent unequivocally expresses by words and actions that 
 he has turned away from sin. The priest, too, by words and ac- 
 tions gives us easily to understand that the mercy of God is ex- 
 ercised in the remission of sin. This is also clearly evinced by 
 these words of the Saviour : " I will give to thee the keys of the 
 kingdom of heaven . . . whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth, 
 it shall be loosed also in heaven." 1 The absolution of the priest, 
 which is expressed in words, seals, therefore, the remission of 
 sins which it accomplishes in the soul, and thus is Penance in- 
 vested with all the necessary conditions of a Sacrament, and is, 
 therefore, truly a Sacrament. 
 
 THE SACRAMENT OF PENANCE MAY BE REPEATED 
 
 The faithful are next to be taught that Penance is not only to 
 be numbered among the Sacraments, but also among the Sacra- 
 ments that may be repeated. To Peter, asking if sin may be for- 
 given seven times, our Lord replies : " I say not to thee, till seven 
 times; but till seventy times seven times." 2 Whenever, there- 
 fore, the ministry of the priest is to be exercised towards those 
 who seem to lack trust in the infinite goodness and mercy of God, 
 the zealous pastor will seek to inspire them with confidence, and 
 to reanimate their hopes of obtaining the grace of God. This he 
 will find it easy to accomplish by expounding the preceding words 
 of our Lord, by adducing other texts of the same import, which 
 are to be found numerously scattered throughout the sacred 
 volume, and by adopting those reasons and arguments which are 
 supplied by St. Chrysostom in his book "on the fallen," and by 
 St. Ambrose in his treatise on penance. 3 
 
 THE MATTER OF THE SACRAMENT OF PENANCE 
 
 As, then, among the Sacraments there is none on which the 
 faithful should be better informed, they are to be taught that it 
 differs from the other Sacraments in this : the matter of the other 
 Sacraments is some production of nature or art, but the acts of 
 the penitent contrition, confession, and satisfaction consti- 
 
 1 Matt xvi. 19. a Matt, xviii. 22. 
 
 Chrys. I. 5, lib. de laps, repar. ; de poenit dist 3, c. talis. ; Amb. de 
 poenit. lib. 14 cc. I, 2. See also Aug. lib. de vera et falsa poenit. c. 5, de 
 poenit dist 3, adhuc instant.
 
 THE SACRAMENT OF PENANCE 375 
 
 tute, as has been defined by the Council of Trent, the matter as 
 it were (quasi materia) of the Sacrament of Penance. 1 They are 
 called parts of penance, because required in the penitent, by 
 divine institution, for the integrity of the Sacrament and the full 
 and entire remission of sin. 
 
 When the holy synod says that they are "the matter as it 
 were," it is not because they are not the real matter, but because 
 they are not, like water in Baptism and chrism in Confirmation, 
 matter that may be applied externally. 
 
 IN WHAT SENSE SINS ARE THE MATTER OF THIS SACRAMENT 
 
 With regard to the opinion of some, who hold that the sins 
 themselves constitute the matter of this Sacrament, if well 
 weighed it will not be found to differ from what has been already 
 laid down. We say that wood which is consumed by fire is the 
 matter of fire ; and sins which are destroyed by Penance may also 
 be called, with propriety, the matter of Penance. 
 
 THE FORM OF THE SACRAMENT OF PENANCE 
 
 The form also, because well calculated to excite the faithful 
 to receive with fervent devotion the grace of this Sacrament, the 
 pastor will not omit to explain. The words that compose the 
 form are : " I ABSOLVE THEE," as may be inferred not only from 
 these words of the Redeemer : " Whatsoever you shall loose upon 
 earth, shall be loosed also in heaven," 2 but also from the same 
 doctrine of Jesus Christ as handed down by Apostolic tradition. 
 
 That this is the perfect form of the Sacrament of Penance the 
 very nature of the form of a Sacrament proves. The form of a 
 Sacrament signifies what the Sacrament accomplishes: these 
 words " I absolve thee " signify the accomplishment of absolution 
 from sin through the instrumentality of this Sacrament; they 
 therefore constitute its form. Sins are, as it were, the chains by 
 which the soul is fettered and from the bondage of which it is 
 " loosed " by the Sacrament of Penance. 
 
 This form is not less true when pronounced by the priest over 
 him who by means of perfect contrition has already obtained the 
 pardon of his sins. Perfect contrition, it is true, reconciles the 
 1 Sess. 24, de poeniL c. 3, can. 4. * Matt xviii. 18.
 
 376 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 sinner to God, but his justification is not to be ascribed to perfect 
 contrition alone, independently of the desire which it includes 
 of receiving the Sacrament of Penance. 
 
 WHY THE FORM OF ABSOLUTION IS ACCOMPANIED WITH 
 
 PRAYERS 
 
 Many prayers accompany the form, not because they are 
 deemed necessary, but in order to remove every obstacle which 
 the unworthiness of the penitent may oppose to the efficacy of 
 the Sacrament. Let then the sinner pour out his heart in fervent 
 thanks to God, who has invested the ministers of his Church with 
 such ample powers! Unljke the authority given to the priests 
 of the Old Law to declare the leper cleansed from his leprosy, 1 
 the power with which the priests of the New Law are invested 
 is not simply to declare that sins are forgiven, but, as the minis- 
 ters of God, really to absolve from sin ; a power which God Him- 
 self, the author and source of grace and justification, exercises 
 through their ministry. 
 
 THE RITES TO BE OBSERVED IN RECEIVING THIS SACRAMENT 
 
 The rites used in the administration of this Sacrament also 
 demand the serious attention of the faithful. They will enable 
 them to form a more just estimate of the blessings which it be- 
 stows, recollecting that as servants they are reconciled to the best 
 of masters, or rather as children to the tenderest of fathers. 
 They will also serve to place in a clearer point of view the duty 
 of those who desire (and desire every one should) to prove 
 their grateful recollection of so inestimable a favor. Humbled 
 in spirit, the sincere penitent casts himself down at the feet of 
 the priest, to testify, by this his humble demeanor, that he ac- 
 knowledges the necessity of eradicating pride, the root of all 
 those enormities which he now deplores. In the minister of God, 
 who sits in the tribunal of Penance as his legitimate judge, he 
 venerates the power and person of our Lord Jesus Christ; for 
 in the administration of this, as in that of the other Sacraments, 
 the priest represents the character and discharges the functions 
 of Jesus Christ. Acknowledging himself deserving of the sever- 
 1 Levit. xiii. 9; xiv. 2.
 
 THE SACRAMENT OF PENANCE 377 
 
 est chastisements, and imploring the pardon of his guilt, the peni- 
 tent next proceeds to the confession of his sins. To the antiquity 
 of all these rites St. Denis bears the most authentic testimony. 1 
 
 ADVANTAGES OF THE SACRAMENT OF PENANCE 
 
 To the faithful, however, nothing will be found more advan- 
 tageous, nothing better calculated to animate them to frequent 
 the Sacrament of Penance with alacrity, than the frequent expo- 
 sition of the inestimable advantages which it confers. They will 
 then see that of penance it may be truly said, that " its root is 
 bitter, but its fruit sweet." The great efficacy of penance is, 
 therefore, that it restores us to the fa,vor of God, and unites us 
 to Him in the closest bonds of friendship. 2 
 
 From this reconciliation with God the devout soul, who ap- 
 proaches the Sacrament with deep sentiments of piety and reli- 
 gion, sometimes experiences the greatest tranquillity and peace 
 of conscience, a tranquillity and peace accompanied with the 
 sweetest spiritual joy. 
 
 There is no sin, however grievous, no crime, however enor- 
 mous or however frequently repeated, which Penance does not 
 remit. " If," says the Almighty by the mouth of his prophet, 
 " the wicked do penance for all his sins which he hath committed, 
 and keep all my commandments, and do judgment, and justice, 
 living he shall live, and shall not die. I will not remember all 
 his iniquities which he hath done." 8 " If," says St. John, " we 
 confess our sins, he is faithful and just, to forgive us our sins " ; * 
 and a little after he adds : " If any man sin, we have an advocate 
 with the Father, Jesus Christ the just: and he is the propitiation 
 for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for those of the 
 whole world." 5 
 
 If, therefore, we read in the pages of inspiration of some who 
 earnestly implored the mercy of God but implored it in vain, it 
 is because they did not repent sincerely and from their hearts. 6 
 When we also meet in the Sacred Scriptures and in the writings 
 of the Fathers passages which seem to say that some sins are 
 
 1 In epist. ad Demoph. See also Tertul. lib. de poenit. c. 9. 
 
 * C. of Trent, sess. 14, can. 3, & c. i, de poenitent 
 
 * Ezek. xviii. 21, 22. * l John i. 9. 
 
 * i John ii. i, 2. 2 Mach. ix. 13.
 
 378 
 
 irremissible, we are to understand such passages to mean that it 
 is very difficult to obtain the pardon of them. A disease may 
 be said to be incurable when the patient loathes the medicine that 
 would accomplish his cure ; and in the same sense some sins may 
 be said to be irremissible when the sinner rejects the grace of 
 God, the proper medicine of salvation. To this effect St. Augus- 
 tine says : " When, after having arrived at a knowledge of God 
 through the grace of Jesus Christ, any one opposes the fellow- 
 ship of the faith and maliciously resists the grace of Jesus Christ, 
 so great is the enormity of his crime that, although his guilty 
 conscience obliges him to acknowledge and declare his guilt, he 
 cannot submit to the humiliation of imploring pardon." x 
 
 PENANCE NECESSARY TO OBTAIN THE PARDON OF SIN 
 
 To return to Penance. To it belongs in so special a manner 
 the efficacy of remitting actual guilt that without its intervention 
 we cannot obtain or even hope for pardon. It is written : " Un- 
 less you shall do penance, you shall all ... perish." 2 These 
 words of our Lord are to be understood of grievous and deadly 
 sins, although, as St. Augustine observes, venial sins also require 
 some penance. " If," says he, " without penance venial sin could 
 be remitted, the daily penance performed for them by the Church 
 would be nugatory." 3 
 
 THE THREE INTEGRAL PARTS OF PENANCE 
 
 But as on matters which in any degree affect moral actions 
 it is not enough to convey instruction in general terms, the pas- 
 tor will be careful to expound severally all those particulars which 
 may give the faithful a knowledge of that penance which is 
 unto salvation. To this Sacrament, then, it is peculiar that, be- 
 sides matter and form, which are common to all the Sacraments, 
 it has also, as we said before, what are called integral parts, 
 and these integral parts are contrition, confession, and satisfac- 
 tion. " Penance," says St. Chrysostom, " induces the sinner 
 cheerfully to undergo every rigor ; his heart is pierced with con- 
 
 1 Lib. I, de sermon. Domini in monte, cc. 42, 44, et retract, lib. c. 8, 19; 
 Aug. serm. I, de verbis Domini, et epist. 50, ad Bonif. 
 1 Luke xiii. 3, 5. 
 Aug. lib. 50, horn. 50, epist 168, et Ench. cap. 71.
 
 THE SACRAMENT OF PENANCE 379 
 
 trition ; his lips utter the confession of his guilt ; and his actions 
 breathe humility, and are accepted by God as a satisfaction." * 
 
 THEIR NATURE 
 
 These component parts of penance are such as we say are 
 necessary to constitute a whole. The human form, for instance, 
 is composed of many members, of hands, feet, eyes, etc., 
 of which, if any are wanting, man is justly deemed imperfect, 
 and, if none are wanting, perfect. Similarly, Penance consists 
 of the three parts which we have already enumerated ; and al- 
 though, as far as regards the nature of Penance, contrition and 
 confession are sufficient for justification, yet if unaccompanied 
 with satisfaction something is still wanting to its integrity. 
 
 THEIR CONNECTION 
 
 So connected then are these parts one with the other, that con- 
 trition and a disposition to satisfaction precede confession, and 
 contrition and confession precede satisfaction. 
 
 WHY PENANCE CONSISTS OF THESE INTEGRAL PARTS 
 
 Why these are integral parts of penance may be thus explained : 
 We sin against God by thought, word, and deed: when recurring 
 to the power of the keys, we should therefore endeavor to ap- 
 pease His wrath, and obtain the pardon of our sins by the very 
 same means by which we offended His supreme majesty. 
 
 In further explanation we may also add, that penance is, as it 
 were, a compensation for offences, which proceed from the free 
 will of the person offending, and is appointed by the will of God, 
 to whom the offence has been offered. On the part of the peni- 
 tent, therefore, a willingness to make this compensation is re- 
 quired, and in this willingness chiefly consists contrition. The 
 penitent must also submit himself to the judgment of the priest, 
 who is the vicegerent of God, to enable him to award a punish- 
 ment proportioned to the guilt; and hence are clearly under- 
 stood the nature and necessity of confession and satisfaction. 
 
 1 Horn. ii. See C of Trent, 14, de poenit cap. 3, can. 4. Likewise, 
 C. of Florence, in doctrin. de Sacram.
 
 380 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 Sermons 
 
 THE SACRAMENT OF PENANCE 
 BY THE REV. J. A. M. GILLIS, M.A. 
 
 He in whom was found no shadow of imperfection could well 
 challenge the scrutiny of His accusers ; He of whom it is written, 
 " It was fitting that we should have ... an high priest, holy, 
 innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners, and made higher than 
 the heavens," could stand in the holy temple and in the august 
 splendor of His majesty say to His hearers, " Which of you shall 
 convince me of sin ? " The words fell from no mere human lips ; 
 they were the words of Him who was conceived before the 
 daystar, in the bosom of the Father. They were the words of 
 an incarnate God. 
 
 With us, born in the shadow of sin the heritage transmitted 
 to us from our first parents and prone to evil on account of 
 our fallen nature, the case is different. We feel the weight of 
 our imperfection, and we must acknowledge our innate weakness, 
 even if the testimony of the Holy Ghost did not assure us of our 
 spiritual lapses. " If," says the Scripture, " we say that we have 
 no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us " ( I John 
 i. 8). Hence, we must in all humility acknowledge our guilt be- 
 fore Him whose gaze reveals our imperfections as the effulgent 
 rays of the noonday sun lays bare the impurities at the bottom 
 of the stream. 
 
 This confession of guilt comes to us through the ages. It is 
 the natural outcome of sorrow for that guilt incurred. It was 
 the key-note of Adam's repentance on the sad day of the fall. 
 No sooner had he tasted of that bitter fruit which brought sin 
 to the world and all our woe, than he hid himself in shame the 
 first impulse of repentance. And when the voice of God calling 
 him to account sounded through the groves of paradise, he poured 
 forth the story of his misfortune with the candid humility of a 
 heart loaded with grief which must be assuaged by a full confes- 
 sion. " I heard thy voice in paradise ; and I was afraid, because 
 I was naked, and I hid myself." And again, "The woman, 
 whom thou gavest me to be my companion, gave me of the tree,
 
 THE SACRAMENT OF PENANCE 381 
 
 and I did eat" (Gen. iii. 10, 12). It was the full confession of 
 guilt made with humble sincerity. 
 
 It was a similar acknowledgment of guilt, in the true spirit of 
 repentance, which saved the Ninivites from the doom pronounced 
 against them by the prophet. Their sins were great before 
 Heaven, and the prophet sounded the warning of Divine wrath 
 through the streets of the city. Their measure of sin was full, 
 but the acknowledgment of the guilt, in sorrow and repentance, 
 averted their impending destruction. From the king on the 
 throne to the toiler in the field they clothe themselves in the 
 garb of penance an open confession of their sin. It was such 
 humble and sincere confession of guilt on the part of the Nini- 
 vites which appeased the just anger of God and averted the de- 
 struction of the city pronounced by the lips of the prophet. 
 
 All through the long centuries preceding the advent of Christ, 
 penance the humble acknowledgment of guilt was the only 
 means of reconciling the sinner to God. And so necessary is this 
 great virtue as the sinner's stepping-stone to salvation that, as 
 Holy Scripture declares, all other efforts are in vain without it. 
 " If we do not penance, we shall fall into the hands of the Lord " 
 (Eccl. ii. 22). It was the invariable warning of God, through 
 the mouths of His holy prophets, when He would rouse His 
 people from the lethargy of sin; it was the heralded proclama- 
 tion of the Angel of the desert when he went as the precursor 
 to announce the advent of the Messiah : " Do penance : for the 
 kingdom of heaven is at hand." The Holy Spirit with awful 
 significance refers all to this virtue, as spoken by the Evangelist : 
 " Unless you shall do penance, you shall all likewise perish " 
 (Luke xiii. 3). Our blessed Lord lays down as the great mis- 
 sion of His coming to the world the calling of sinners to repent- 
 ance (Luke v. 32). Hence His Apostles, armed with His Divine 
 authority and with credentials as His ambassadors, made this 
 moving of sinners to repentance the foundation of their preach- 
 ing (Acts ii. 38; xi. 18). 
 
 This virtue of Penance, so necessary to the sinner at all times 
 for appeasing the Divine anger, was raised by the Saviour to the 
 dignity of a Sacrament of the New Law. As such it confers 
 sanctifying grace directly by its own inherent virtue from the in-
 
 382 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 stitution of Christ, and the agency of the Holy Spirit, whereas in 
 the Old Law, like the sacramentals, its virtue depended on the 
 disposition of the sinner. But, like all the sacraments, Penance, 
 in order to have its effect of conferring grace, must be received 
 with the proper dispositions. The valid matter of the Sacrament 
 is the telling of the sins with sincere sorrow and with a firm 
 resolution to sin no more ; and for the entirety and full efficiency 
 of the Sacrament the matter also includes the satisfaction by way 
 of Penance enjoined on the penitent. The sacramental form is 
 the absolution pronounced by the priest. 
 
 That Christ instituted this Sacrament is evident from the words 
 of to-day's Gospel : " Receive ye the Holy Ghost. Whose sins 
 you shall forgive, they are forgiven them; and whose sins you 
 shall retain, they are retained" (John xx. 22, 23). "And what- 
 soever thou shalt bind on earth, it shall be bound also in heaven : 
 and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth, it shall be loosed also 
 in heaven" (Matt. xvi. 19). Here by the words of absolution 
 the remission of sin is effected on the authority of Christ. Hence, 
 sanctifying grace is infused into the soul, which before was the 
 abode of sin. There are also present the elements of matter 
 and form, which constitute a sacrament. The sins which are 
 remitted are there as the remote matter. And since the act of 
 the priest is a judicial act, as is evident from the words, " Whose 
 sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them; and whose sins 
 you shall retain, they are retained," the confession of guilt 
 necessary for the judicial pronouncement constitutes the proxi- 
 mate matter, while the absolution itself pronounced by the priest 
 is the form of the Sacrament, giving efficacy to the matter. 
 
 Even if we regard the sins alone as the matter of the Sacra- 
 ment, the power of the keys left, in all its plenitude, to the 
 Apostles, and in their person to their successors, would invest 
 the absolution of the priest with the essentials of sacramental 
 form. Therefore by the same line of argument this institution 
 of Christ, giving the power of the keys, clearly points out a 
 Sacrament. The words " I absolve thee " of the priest, through 
 the power by which he is invested by Christ, signify the accom- 
 plishment of the remission of sin ; and since the form of a Sacra- 
 ment is that which signifies what the Sacrament produces or
 
 THE SACRAMENT OF PENANCE 383 
 
 accomplishes, these words of absolution are, of their nature, the 
 sacramental form, while the sins which are loosed, like so many 
 chains cut asunder, are the matter. 
 
 True, that the Sacrament may produce its effect the absolution 
 presupposes sorrow with a resolution of amendment on the part 
 of the sinner, but such disposition on the part of the sinner is 
 necessary as well when the confession of the sins is regarded as 
 the proximate matter. 
 
 As to the necessity of receiving this Sacrament the holy Council 
 of Trent says : " For those who fall into sin after Baptism, the 
 Sacrament of Penance is as necessary to salvation as Baptism is 
 to those who have not been baptized." On this subject the learned 
 St. Jerome calls this Sacrament of Penance the second plank 
 after the shipwreck of sin. Baptism, which washes us from the 
 sticky mire of original sin, and from being " children of wrath " 
 makes us children of God, is the first plank of salvation. The 
 one who has once been rescued from shipwreck must exercise 
 as much caution to avoid falling into the danger again as if he 
 never experienced such a misfortune ; and should he become a 
 prey again to sea and tempest after his first bitter experience, he 
 is as much in need of a helping hand as if he were never be- 
 fore the victim of such misfortune. In a similar manner those 
 who have been once regenerated and made heirs of Heaven, but 
 who have forfeited their right by the commission of mortal sin, 
 must have access to the power of the keys to be again loosed from 
 the fetters that bind them. 
 
 Hence the Sacrament of Penance is a necessity of means to all 
 who labor under the awful load of mortal sin. It is also a neces- 
 sity of precept by reason of the institution of Christ, giving the 
 power of binding and loosing to the priests of trie Church. 
 
 When Christ said, "Whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth, it 
 shall be bound also in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose 
 on earth, it shall be loosed also in heaven/' He conferred a power 
 which it was His blessed will should be exercised. 
 
 In a similar manner, when He said, " Whose sins you shall for- 
 give, they are forgiven them ; and whose sins you shall retain, 
 they are retained," He invested His Apostles and their succes- 
 sors the priests of the Church with a judicial power which
 
 384 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 would be meaningless if such power were not exercised accord- 
 ing to the manner in which it was conferred. 
 
 The priest by this investiture possesses not only the power to 
 remit sins, but also the power to retain them. Hence his function 
 is a real judicial one. Therefore his judicial pronouncement in 
 the sentence of absolution would have no significance whatever 
 except the penitent be proven worthy or unworthy by the witness 
 which he bears against himself in the tribunal of Confession. 
 
 When God called Moses to the summit of Mount Sinai amid 
 the awful sublimity fitting the presence of the Omnipotence, He 
 gave him in all its elaborate details the plan of the Ark of the 
 Testament; and when afterwards the sacred vessel was to be 
 built He told Moses to make it according to the model given 
 him in the mount. Thus God decrees concerning His holy or- 
 dinances. They are to be observed as He dictates. When Christ 
 then invests His priesthood with the fulness of power to remit 
 and to retain sins, this power is to be exercised in the exact 
 manner indicated by His words, namely, as a judicial power pro- 
 nounced over a confessed sinner. 
 
 The precept of the Church to receive this Sacrament at least 
 once a year must be understood to oblige those who have com- 
 mitted grievous sin. The Church is the mouthpiece of God, 
 through which He teaches mankind. As such it follows that her 
 precepts must not exceed the limits of the Divine ordinances of 
 which she is the interpreter. But as nothing but mortal sin ex- 
 cludes from Heaven, or destroys, in its entirety, sanctifying grace 
 in the soul, the Divine precept of Penance obliges only those who 
 are spiritually dead through the guilt of mortal sin. Hence, the 
 ecclesiastical precept of annual confession is not obligatory on 
 those who are free from mortal sin. 
 
 Matter and form constitute the essential elements of every 
 Sacrament. In Penance this matter, at least the remote matter, 
 is sin ; and the form is the absolution pronounced by the priest : 
 " I absolve thee from thy sins." Besides these essentials of 
 matter and form Penance has its integral parts parts necessary 
 to its completeness and in the case of at least one of them, 
 necessary for its valid reception. These integral parts are Con- 
 trition, Confession, and Satisfaction. St. Chrysostom enumer-
 
 THE SACRAMENT OF PENANCE 385 
 
 ates these parts when he says : " Penance induces the sinner 
 cheerfully to undergo every rigor ; his heart is pierced with Con- 
 trition ; his lips utter the Confession of his guilt ; and his actions 
 breathe humility and are accepted by God as satisfaction." As 
 man has sinned against God by thought, word, and deed, it is 
 very befitting that his act of reconciliation with God should em- 
 brace the means by which he incurred the Divine anger. Hence, 
 inwardly, he should be filled with sorrow for, and detestation of, 
 his guilt ; his lips should utter an acknowledgment of his repent- 
 ance; and penitential works should be performed as restitution 
 to the offended Deity. These parts are not to be considered as 
 distinct parts independent of each other. At least Confession 
 and Contrition are so mutually connected that Confession must 
 be accompanied by Contrition, and Contrition presupposes the 
 intention to confess. 
 
 True, Contrition, without Confession, will of itself appease the 
 Divine anger. But Confession being a precept, no one can make 
 an act of sincere Contrition without at the same time having the 
 intention to comply with the ordinances of God and His Church. 
 Besides, Contrition, in order of itself to produce its effect of 
 breaking the bonds of sin, must be of that high and perfect order 
 that its presence in the soul is a rare disposition. Hence the 
 infinite goodness of God has supplied the power of the keys, 
 rendering it easy for the sinner to approach the doors of recon- 
 ciliation. Having this in view, the holy Fathers declared that 
 by the keys the gates of Heaven are thrown open. 
 
 The sacraments produce what they signify, and this significa- 
 tion is mirrored in the sacred rites of the administration of them. 
 In Penance, a heart smitten with sorrow is the inward state of 
 the penitent. In the ceremonial rite attending the reception of 
 the Sacrament, the outward demeanor of the penitent should be 
 in harmony with this inward sorrow. He should reverently kneel 
 at the feet of the priest, regarding him as the representative of 
 Christ bearing the Divine seal which gives the Divine approval 
 to all his pronouncements. 
 
 The advantages of the worthy reception of the Sacrament of 
 Penance are incalculable. Even as humility is the root of all 
 virtue, and the whole beautiful fabric of Christian perfection
 
 386 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 rises high and majestic on this foundation of humility, so the 
 penitent who becomes habituated to the self-accusation of the 
 confessional learns to appreciate his own weakness and to place 
 all his trust and confidence in Him in whom we live, move, and 
 have our being. 
 
 It is a work of Divine favor which places the sinner in the 
 friendship of God. " If," says the Almighty by the mouth of His 
 prophet, "the wicked do penance for all his sins which he hath 
 committed, and keep all my commandments, and do judgment, 
 and justice, living he shall live, and ... I will not remember 
 all his iniquities that he hath done" (Ezek. 18, 21). And again, 
 in the words of the Apostle : " If we confess our sins, he is faith- 
 ful and just, to forgive us our sins " (i John i. 9). 
 
 How PEACE THAT HAS BEEN LOST MAY BE REGAINED 
 
 BY THE REV. M. BOSSAERT 
 
 Our Divine Saviour was announced by the prophet Isaias as 
 the Prince of Peace, and at His birth the angels proclaimed peace 
 to men. Now, when He has accomplished the great work of our 
 redemption, our risen Lord greets His followers with the words, 
 " Peace be with you." In order to supply men with the means 
 of regaining peace of heart after losing it by sin, He breathed 
 On His Apostles and addressed to them the memorable words: 
 " Receive ye the Holy Ghost. Whose sins you shall forgive, 
 they are forgiven them ; and whose sins you shall retain, they 
 are retained." It was on this occasion, as you know, that our 
 divine Saviour instituted the Holy Sacrament of Penance. Let 
 us take this Sacrament as the subject of our meditation to-day. 
 
 I. It was by no mere accident that our Lord instituted this 
 Sacrament on the evening after His glorious Resurrection. By 
 His Passion and death He had reconciled the whole human race 
 with God, and obtained grace for all men. Now He wished to 
 provide a means whereby the grace of forgiveness, that He had 
 won for all, should be conferred upon each individual, a means 
 whereby the full tide of God's grace might be conveyed by in- 
 numerable channels to every needy soul. Therefore when, after 
 completing the work of our redemption, He again appeared in
 
 THE SACRAMENT OF PENANCE 387 
 
 the midst of His disciples, His first care was to institute a per- 
 manent means of enabling every human being who truly and 
 earnestly desires it to participate in the forgiveness of sins. 
 This is the Holy Sacrament of Penance, which He instituted 
 when He gave to His Apostles and their successors power and 
 authority to remit in His Name the sins of all who are of a 
 contrite heart. 
 
 II. By instituting the Sacrament of Penance, that is so neces- 
 sary and so beneficial to us all, our Divine Saviour gave us fresh 
 proof of His infinite love and mercy, and we must always be 
 grateful to Him for it. In this way He made the Apostles and 
 their successors, and all priests possessing faculties from their 
 bishop, the friends, confessors, and counsellors of His people. 
 A Catholic readily confides in them and opens his heart to them, 
 disclosing all his inclinations, his passions, and the motives of 
 his actions. A confessor can point out the dangers in his con- 
 dition, and the proximate and remote consequences of his ac- 
 tions; he can admonish him as a father, and warn him against 
 possible disasters; he can spur him on to adopt a way of life 
 that will make him pleasing to God and man, and happy both in 
 this life and the next; he can show him how to resist sin in the 
 future, and how eventually to overcome it ; he can suggest means 
 of improvement and of attaining perfection; in short, he can be 
 his instructor and the physician of his soul. 
 
 III. Many would have made shipwreck of their lives had they 
 not been warned in time by their confessor; many would have 
 plunged deeper and deeper into sin, had not his voice induced 
 them to return to the safe path ; many would have rendered 
 themselves miserable for time and for eternity, had the Holy 
 Sacrament of Penance not existed, had they never confessed their 
 sins, and had they not thus been extricated from the abyss into 
 which they had fallen. How useful and beneficial is this 
 Sacrament ! 
 
 Let us therefore thank our Lord most heartily for His good- 
 ness in instituting this sacrament, which makes it so easy for 
 us to cleanse ourselves from the guilt of our sins; and let us 
 show our gratitude by frequently availing ourselves of this holy 
 Sacrament, and always preparing carefully and conscientiously
 
 3 88 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 for its reception. If we do this, it will be of the greatest benefit 
 to us, and bring us a rich blessing, so that we shall enjoy true 
 peace both in this world and for all eternity. Amen. 
 
 References 
 
 MacDonald, in The Sacraments; Graham, "The Ritual of Penance," 
 in Pulpit Comm., Vol. IV, p. 323 ; Gibbons, in The Faith of our Fathers, 
 ch. xxvi ; Parks, in The Sunday Gospels Explained, etc., p. 133 ; Corsi, 
 in Little Sermons on the Catechism; Carson, in A Year's Sermons, Series 
 II ; Rickaby, in Horn. Monthly, March, 1920 ; Bossuet, in Great French 
 Sermons, Series I. 
 
 Cath. Encyc., Vol. XI, pp. 618 ff. ; Summa Theol., Ill, qq. 84-90; Suppl., 
 qq. 17-28; Tanquerey, Theol. Dog., De Penitentia, Nos. 3 ff. ; Hurter, 
 Theol. Dog., Vol. Ill, Nos. 635 ff.; Pohle-Preuss, The Sacraments, 
 Vol. Ill, p. 72; Vaughan, The Divine Armory, etc., pp. 790 ff. ; Callan, 
 Illustrations for Sermons, etc., pp. 210 ff. ; Berington and Kirk, The Faith 
 of Catholics, Vol. Ill, pp. i ff. ; Bellord, Meditations, etc., Vol. II, 
 PP- 300, 310. 
 
 SECOND SUNDAY AFTER EASTER 
 
 SUBJECT 
 
 ECCLESIASTICAL ORDERS AND THE HIERARCHY 
 OF THE CHURCH 
 
 TEXT 
 
 You are now converted to the shepherd and bishop of your souls. 
 I PETER ii. 25. 
 
 / am the good shepherd; and I know mine, and mine know me. 
 JOHN x. 14. 
 
 Analysis 
 
 INTRODUCTION. In to-day's Gospel our Saviour likens the re- 
 lations between Himself and the faithful to those which exist 
 between a shepherd and his flock. As the shepherd guides, pro- 
 tects, and feeds his sheep, so our Lord provides for the souls 
 of men. Before ascending to His Father after the Resurrec- 
 tion, the Saviour confided to St. Peter and his successors in the 
 Church the office of chief visible shepherd on earth when he 
 said: "Feed my lambs," "feed my sheep" (John xxi. 15, 16, 
 17). Under the Pope, the successor of St. Peter, there are many
 
 ECCLESIASTICAL ORDERS 389 
 
 subordinate and assistant shepherds constituting the clergy of the 
 Church. In order that the dignity and veneration proper to the 
 priesthood may be more manifest, there are various lesser offices 
 which serve it and are preparatory to it. A man passes from the 
 state of a layman to that of a cleric by reception of ecclesiastical 
 tonsure. After Tonsure he receives in turn the four Minor 
 Orders; and then in course of time the Major Orders of Sub- 
 diaconate, Diaconate, and Priesthood are conferred upon him. 
 
 I. Explanation of the meaning and functions of tonsure 
 and the four minor orders. I. Tonsure is not an order, but 
 it admits the recipient to the state and privileges of clerics. 2. 
 Porter : The duty of porters is to take care of the keys and doors 
 of the Church, ring the bell for services, etc. 3. Reader: It is 
 the duty of readers to instruct converts in the rudiments of faith, 
 to take charge of the sacred books, to act as secretaries to Bishops 
 and priests, etc. 4. Exorcist: The duty of exorcists was to 
 expel evil spirits from the bodies of the possessed. Diabolical 
 possession was very common in the early days of the Church. 
 Exorcism since the fifth century may not be used without per- 
 mission of the Bishop. 5. Acolyte serves the deacon and sub- 
 deacon at Mass officially. Lay persons may assist the priest, but 
 not officially. 
 
 II. Major Orders, i. Subdiaconate : The subdeacon as- 
 sists the deacon at Mass, handles the sacred vessels that do not 
 contain the Blessed Sacrament, and prepares the altar linen. 
 Two obligations accompany the subdiaconate, namely, perpetual 
 chastity and the daily recitation of the divine office. It is be- 
 fitting that the clergy should be unmarried because they are rep- 
 resentatives of Christ and ministers of the Holy Eucharist, and 
 because the celibate state is more perfect and a celibate clergy 
 more beneficial to the people. This, however, is a matter of 
 Church discipline only. The Church permits marriage to some 
 of the Oriental clergy. 2. Diaconate: The deacon serves the 
 Bishops and priests at the altar, as the Levites served the priests 
 in the Old Law. 3. The Priesthood: The distinctive office of
 
 390 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 the priest is to offer the Sacrifice of Mass, administer the Sacra- 
 ments, to preach, bless, and rule. 
 
 III. The various degrees of the Priesthood, i. The first 
 degree is that of priests, who preside over the faithful com- 
 mitted to them. 2. The second degree is that of Bishops, who 
 rule over dioceses allotted to them. 3. The third degree is that of 
 Archbishops, who preside over the Bishops of a province. 4. A 
 Primate is the chief Archbishop of a country. 5. Patriarchs are 
 Bishops with special jurisdiction. 6. Cardinals are princes of 
 the Church who elect and advise the Pope. 7. The Pope is the 
 supreme visible head of the universal Church. 
 
 CONCLUSION. I. The Priesthood is the height of Orders in 
 the Church, as the Papacy is the supreme degree of jurisdiction. 
 2. Reverence and loyalty to the ministers of the Church means 
 reverence and loyalty to Christ. 
 
 Catechism of the Council of Trent, Part II 
 
 NUMBER OF ORDERS 
 
 With regard to the number of orders, the words of the Coun- 
 cil of Trent are : " Since the ministry of so exalted a priesthood 
 is a divine thing, it was meet, in order to surround it with the 
 greater dignity and veneration, that in the admirable economy of 
 the Church there should be several distinct orders of ministers, 
 intended by their office to serve the priesthood, and so disposed, 
 that, beginning with the clerical tonsure, they may ascend grad- 
 ually through the lesser to the greater orders." Their number, 
 according to the uniform and universal doctrine of the Catholic 
 Church, is seven: porter, reader, exorcist, acolyte, subdeacon, 
 deacon, and priest. 1 That these compose the number of min- 
 isters in the Church may be proved from the functions neces- 
 sary to the solemn celebration of Mass, and to the consecration 
 and administration of the Holy Eucharist, for which they were 
 principally instituted. Of these some are greater, which are also 
 
 1 These orders are mentioned by Dionys. lib. Eccl. Hier. cap. 3 ; Pope 
 Cornel, epist. ad Fab. episcop. Antioch. in Euseb. Hist. Eccles. lib. 6, 
 ca P- 35; C. of Carth. 4, can. 4, seq. ; Ignat. epist. ad Antioch.
 
 ECCLESIASTICAL ORDERS 391 
 
 called " Holy," some lesser, which are called " Minor Orders." 
 The greater or Holy Orders are Subdeaconship, Deaconship, and 
 Priesthood; the lesser or Minor Orders are Porter, Reader, 
 Exorcist, and Acolyte. To facilitate the duty of the pastor, par- 
 ticularly when conveying instruction to those who are about to 
 receive any of the orders, it is necessary to say a few words on 
 each. 
 
 TONSURE, ITS FORM, ORIGIN, AND IMPORT 
 
 We shall begin with the Tonsure, which is a sort of preparation 
 for receiving orders. As persons are prepared for Baptism by 
 exorcisms, and for marriage by espousals, so those who are con- 
 secrated to God by Tonsure are prepared for admission to the 
 Sacrament of Orders. Tonsure declares what manner of person 
 he should be who desires to receive orders. The name " cleric," 
 which he receives then for the first time, implies l that thencefor- 
 ward he has taken the Lord for his inheritance, like those who in 
 the Old Law were consecrated to the service of God, and to 
 whom the Lord forbade that any portion of the ground should be 
 distributed in the land of promise, saying, " I am thy portion and 
 inheritance." 2 This, although true of all Christians, applies in a 
 special manner to those who have been consecrated to the min- 
 istry. 8 In Tonsure the hair of the head is cut in the form of a 
 crown, and should be worn in that form, enlarging the crown ac- 
 cording as the ecclesiastic advances in orders. This form of the 
 tonsure the Church teaches to be of Apostolic origin : it is men- 
 tioned by the most ancient and venerable Fathers, by St. Denis the 
 Areopagite, 4 by St. Augustine, 5 and by St. Jerome. 
 
 It is said that the tonsure was first introduced by the prince 
 of the Apostles in honor of the crown of thorns which was 
 pressed upon the head of the Redeemer, so that what was de- 
 vised by the impiety of the Jews for the ignominy and torture 
 of Christ may be recalled by his Apostles as their ornament and 
 
 sors, a lot * Num. xviii. 20. 
 
 See Jerome, epist 2, ad Nepot. Cited 12, q. I, c. clericus. 
 Dionys. de Eccles. Hier. c. 6, part 2. 
 Aug. serm. 17, ad Fratres in Eremo. 
 
 Jerome, in cap. 44, Ezech. See Rhaban. Maur. lib. de institut. cleric. ; 
 Bed. lib. hist 5, Angl. c. 22.
 
 392 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 glory. It was also intended to signify that the ministers of re- 
 ligion are in all things so to comport themselves as to carry about 
 them the figure and the likeness of Christ. 
 
 Some, however, assert that tonsure is an emblem of the royal 
 dignity, which belongs peculiarly to those who are specially called 
 to the inheritance of God ; for to the ministers of the Church be- 
 longs in a peculiar manner what the Apostle Peter says of all 
 Christians: "You are a chosen generation, a kingly priesthood, 
 a holy nation." * 
 
 Others are of opinion that tonsure, which is cut in the form of 
 a circle, the most perfect of all figures, is emblematic of the supe- 
 rior perfection of the ecclesiastical state ; or that, as it consists of 
 cutting 1 off hair, which is a sort of superfluity, it implies a con- 
 tempt of worldly things and a detachment from all earthly cares 
 and concerns. 
 
 The order of Porter follows Tonsure. Its duty consists in 
 taking care of the keys and door of the Church, and in suffering 
 none to enter to whom entrance is prohibited. The porter also 
 assisted at the Holy Sacrifice, and took care that no one should 
 approach too near the altar or interrupt the celebrant. To the 
 order of Porter also belonged other functions, as is clear from 
 the forms used at his consecration. Taking the keys from the 
 altar and handing them to him, the Bishop says : " CONDUCT YOUR- 
 SELF AS HAVING TO RENDER AN ACCOUNT TO GOD FOR THOSE 
 THINGS WHICH ARE KEPT UNDER THESE KEYS." That in the an- 
 
 cient Church this office was one of considerable dignity may be 
 inferred from still existing ecclesiastical observances; for to the 
 porter belonged the office of treasurer of the Church, to which 
 was also attached that of guardian of the sacristy, stations, the 
 duties of which are still numbered among the most honorable 
 functions of the ecclesiastic. 2 
 
 1 i Pet. ii. 9. 
 
 i* On Porter, see C. of Trent, sess. 23, de reform, c. 17; C. of Toledo, 
 c. 6, cited dist. 23, Ostiar. ; Isid. lib. de Eccl. c. 14; dist. 25, c. perfectis, 
 and Baron. Annal. Eccl. an. 34, num. 287, et an. 44, num. 78, 80.
 
 ECCLESIASTICAL ORDERS 393 
 
 READER 
 
 The second among the Minor Orders is that of Reader. To 
 him it belongs to read to the people, in a clear and distinct voice, 
 the Sacred Scriptures, particularly those which are read at Mat- 
 ins. On him also devolved the task of instructing the faithful in 
 the rudiments of the faith. Hence the Bishop, in presence of the 
 people, handing him a book which contains what belongs to the 
 exercise of this function, says: "RECEIVE [THIS BOOK,] AND 
 
 BE YOU A REHEARSER OF THE WORD OF GOD, DESTINED, IF YOU 
 APPROVE YOURSELF FAITHFUL AND USEFUL IN THE DISCHARGE 
 OF YOUR OFFICE J TO HAVE A PART WITH THOSE WHO FROM THE 
 BEGINNING HAVE ACQUITTED THEMSELVES WELL IN THE MINISTRY 
 OF THE DIVINE WORD." x 
 
 EXORCIST 
 
 The third order is that of Exorcist. To him is given power 
 to invoke the name of the Lord over persons possessed by un- 
 clean spirits. Hence the Bishop, when ordaining the exorcist, 
 hands him a book containing the exorcisms, and says : " TAKE 
 
 THIS AND COMMIT "IT TO MEMORY, AND HAVE POWER TO IMPOSE 
 HANDS ON PERSONS POSSESSED, BE THEY BAPTIZED OR CATECHU- 
 MENS." 2 
 
 ACOLYTE 
 
 The fourth and last among the Minor Orders is that of Aco- 
 lyte. The duty of the acolyte is to attend and serve those in holy 
 orders, deacons and subdeacons, in the ministry of the altar. 
 The acolyte also attends to the lights used at the celebration of the 
 Holy Sacrifice, particularly while the Gospel is read. At his ordi- 
 nation, therefore, the Bishop, having carefully admonished him 
 of the nature of the office which he is about to assume, places in 
 his hand a light, with these words : " RECEIVE THIS CANDLESTICK 
 
 AND CANDLE, AND KNOW THAT HENCEFORWARD YOU ARE APPOINTED 
 
 1 See Cypr. epist 33, and Tertull. de prescript, c. 6r, and Baron. Annal. 
 Eccl. anno. 34, num. 287, et an. 54, num. 78, 79, an. 153, num. 93, an. 456, 
 num. 20. 
 
 1 Concerning Exorcist, see authors cited above, and Baronius, Annal. 
 Eccl. an. 34, num. 287, an. 44, num. 78, 80, an. 237, num. 89; an. 56, num. 
 5; 8, 9, 10, ii, 12.
 
 394 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 TO LIGHT THE CHURCH, IN THE NAME OF THE LORD." He then 
 
 hands him empty cruets, intended to supply wine and water for 
 the sacrifice, saying : " RECEIVE THESE CRUETS, WHICH ARE TO 
 SUPPLY WINE AND WATER FOR THE EUCHARIST OF THE BLOOD OF 
 CHRIST, IN THE NAME OF THE LORD." * 
 
 SUBDEACON 
 
 Minor Orders, which do not come under the denomination of 
 Holy, and which have hitherto formed the subject-matter of our 
 exposition, are, as it were, the vestibule through which we ascend 
 to Holy Orders. Among the latter the first is that of subdeacon : 
 his office, as the name implies, is to serve the deacon in the min- 
 istry of the altar : to him it belongs to prepare the altar-linen, the 
 sacred vessels, the bread and wine necessary for the Holy Sacri- 
 fice, to minister water to the priest or Bishop at the washing of 
 the hands at Mass, to read the Epistle, a function which was for- 
 merly discharged by the deacon, to assist at Mass in the capacity 
 of a witness, and see that the priest be not disturbed by any one 
 during its celebration. 
 
 These functions, which appertain to the ministry of the Sub- 
 deacon, may be learned from the solemn ceremonies used at his 
 consecration. In the first place, the Bishop admonishes him 
 that by his ordination he assumes the solemn obligation of perpet- 
 ual continence, and proclaims aloud that he alone is eligible to this 
 office who is prepared freely to embrace this law. In the next 
 place, when the solemn prayer of the Litanies has been recited, 
 the Bishop enumerates and explains the duties and functions of 
 the subdeacon. This done, each of the candidates for ordination 
 receives from the Bishop a chalice and consecrated paten, and 
 from the archdeacon, cruets filled with wine and water, and a 
 basin and towel for washing and drying the hands, to remind him 
 that he is to serve the deacon. These ceremonies the Bishop ac- 
 companies with this solemn admonition : " SEE WHAT SORT OF 
 
 MINISTRY IS CONFIDED TO YOU: I ADMONISH YOU THEREFORE SO 
 TO CONDUCT YOURSELVES AS TO BE PLEASING IN THE SIGHT OF 
 
 GOD." Additional prayers are then recited, and when finally the 
 
 1 See also Cypr. epist. 55, and Baronius, Annal. Eccl. an. 44, num. 39, 
 num. 80.
 
 ECCLESIASTICAL ORDERS 395 
 
 Bishop has clothed the subdeacon with the sacred vestments, when 
 putting on each of which he makes use of appropriate words and 
 ceremonies, he then hands him the book of the Epistles, saying: 
 " RECEIVE THE BOOK OF THE EPISTLES, AND HAVE POWER TO READ 
 THEM IN THE CHURCH OF GOD, BOTH FOR THE LIVING AND THE 
 
 DEAD." l 
 
 DEACON 
 
 The second among the Holy Orders is that of deacon. His 
 ministry is more comprehensive, and has been always deemed 
 more holy. To him it belongs constantly to accompany the 
 Bishop, to attend him when preaching, to assist him and the 
 priest also during the celebration of the Holy Mysteries and at 
 the administration of the Sacraments, and to read the Gospel at 
 the Sacrifice of the Mass. 
 
 In the primitive ages of the Church he not unfrequently ex- 
 horted the faithful to attend to the divine worship, and adminis- 
 tered the chalice in those churches in which the faithful received 
 the Holy Eucharist under both kinds. In order to administer to 
 the wants of the needy, to him was also committed the distribu- 
 tion of the goods of the Church. 
 
 To the deacon also, as the eye of the Bishop, it belongs to in- 
 quire and ascertain who within his diocese lead lives of piety and 
 edification, and who do not ; who attend the Holy Sacrifice of the 
 Mass and the instructions of their pastors, and who do not ; that 
 thus the Bishop, made acquainted by him with these matters, 
 may be enabled to admonish each offender privately, or, should 
 he deem it more conducive to their reformation, to rebuke and 
 correct them publicly. He also calls over the names of catechu- 
 mens, and presents to the Bishop those who are to be promoted 
 to orders. In the absence of the Bishop and priest, he is also 
 authorized to expound the Gospel to the people, not however 
 from an elevated place, to make it understood that this is not one 
 of his ordinary functions. 
 
 That the greatest care should be taken that no unworthy per- 
 
 1 Concerning Subdeacons, see also Cyprian, epist. 24, 42; dist. 17, c. pres- 
 byteris ; Can. Apost. can. 25 ; C. of Carthage, 4, can. 5 ; C. of Aries, 2, 
 can. 2 ; C. of Orleans, 3, cap. 2 ; C. of Elvira, can. 33 ; Leo I, Epist. 82 ; 
 Annal. Eccl. an. 14, num. 79, 80; an. 253, num. 72, 97; an. 239, num. 21; 
 an. 324, num. 128; an. 588, num< 48; an. 589, num. 6; an. 1057, num. 32.
 
 396 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 son be advanced to the office of Deacon is evinced by the empha- 
 sis with which the Apostle, writing to Timothy, dwells on the 
 morals, the virtue, the integrity which should mark the lives of 
 those who are invested with this sacred character. 1 The rites 
 and ceremonies used at his ordination also sufficiently convey the 
 same lesson of instruction. The prayers used at the ordination 
 of a deacon are more numerous and solemn than at that of a 
 subdeacon; his person is invested with the sacred stole; of his 
 ordination, as of that of the first deacons who were ordained by 
 the Apostles, 2 the imposition of hands also forms a part; and, 
 finally, the book of the Gospels is handed to him by the Bishop 
 with these words : " RECEIVE POWER TO READ THE GOSPEL; IN THE 
 CHURCH OF GOD, AS WELL FOR THE LIVING AS FOR THE DEAD, IN 
 THE NAME OF THE LORD." 3 
 
 PRIEST 
 
 The third and highest degree of all Holy Orders is the Priest- 
 hood. Persons raised to the Priesthood the Holy Fathers dis- 
 tinguish by two names: they are called "presbyters," which in 
 Greek signifies elders, and which was given them not only to 
 express the mature years required by the Priesthood, but still 
 more the gravity of their manners, their knowledge and prudence. 
 " Venerable old age is not that of long time, nor counted by the 
 number of years : but the understanding of a man is gray hairs." * 
 They are also called "priests" (sacerdotes), because they are 
 consecrated to God, and to them it belongs to administer the sac- 
 raments and to handle sacred things. 
 
 THE PRIESTHOOD TWOFOLD 
 
 But as the Priesthood is described in the Sacred Scriptures as 
 twofold, internal and external, a line of distinction must be drawn 
 
 i i Tim. iii. 8. Acts vi. 6. 
 
 Concerning Deacons, see also Clement of Rome, Constit. Apostol. 
 lib. 2, c. 6; Cypr. de lapsis.; Amb. lib. i, offic. c. 41; Leo I, serm. de 
 S. Laurent.; Clem. Rom. epist. I, ad Jacob. Fratrem Domini; Jerome, 
 epist 48; Baron. Annal. Eccl. an. 33, num. 41 ; an. 34, num. 283; an. 285, 
 287; an. 34, num. 316; an. 44, num. 78, 80; an. 57, num. 31, 195; an. 58, 
 num. 102; an. 112, num. 7, 8, 9; an. 316, num. 48; an. 324, num. 325 ; an. 325, 
 num. 152; an. 401, num. 44, 47; an. 508, num. 15; an. 741, num. 12. 
 
 Wisd. 4, 8.
 
 ECCLESIASTICAL ORDERS 397 
 
 between them, that the pastor may have it in his power to explain 
 to the faithful the Priesthood which is here meant. 
 
 The internal Priesthood extends to all the faithful who have 
 been baptized, particularly to the just, who are anointed by the 
 Spirit of God, and by divine grace are made living members of 
 the High Priest Christ Jesus. Through faith inflamed by charity, 
 they offer spiritual sacrifices to God on the altar of their hearts, 
 and in the number of these sacrifices are to be reckoned good and 
 virtuous actions, referred to the glory of God. Hence we read 
 in the Apocalypse that Christ hath " washed us from our sins 
 in his own blood, and made us a kingdom, and priests to God 
 and his Father." 1 The doctrine of St. Peter to the same effect 
 we find recorded in these words : " Be you also as living stones 
 built up, a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual 
 sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ." 2 The Apostle also 
 exhorts us to present our bodies " a living sacrifice, holy, pleasing 
 unto God," our reasonable service; 3 and David had said long 
 before : " A sacrifice to God is an afflicted spirit : a contrite and 
 humble heart, O God, thou wilt not despise." 4 That all these 
 passages refer to the internal Priesthood, it requires little dis- 
 cernment to discover. 
 
 The external Priesthood, on the contrary, does not extend in- 
 discriminately to the great body of the faithful ; 5 it pertains only 
 to a certain class of persons who, being invested with this august 
 character, and consecrated to God by the lawful imposition of 
 hands and the solemn ceremonies of the Church, are devoted to 
 some particular office in the sacred ministry. 
 
 THIS DISTINCTION OBSERVABLE IN THE OLD LAW 
 
 This distinction of Priesthood is observable even in the Old 
 Law. We have already seen that David spoke of the internal 
 Priesthood ; and with regard to the external, the numerous com- 
 mands delivered by God to Moses and Aaron in reference to it 
 are too well known to require special mention. Moreover, the 
 Almighty appointed the tribe of Levi to the ministry of the tem- 
 
 Apoc. i. 5, 6. * I Pet. ii. 5. * Rom. xii. i. Ps. 1. 19. 
 
 Amb. lib. 4, de sacram. cap. i ; Aug. lib. 10, de civ. Dei. cc. 6, 10; 
 Leo. serm. 3, de Annivers Pontific.
 
 398 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 pie, and forbade by an express law that any member of a different 
 tribe should assume that function. Osias, stricken by God with 
 leprosy for having usurped the sacerdotal office, was visited with 
 the heaviest chastisement for his arrogant and sacrilegious in- 
 trusion. 1 Since, then, we find this same distinction of internal 
 and external Priesthood in the New Law, the faithful are to be 
 informed that we here speak of the external only, for that alone 
 belongs to the Sacrament of Holy Orders. 
 
 The office of the priest is, then, as the rites used at his ordina- 
 tion declare, to offer sacrifice to God, and to administer the Sac- 
 raments of the Church. 
 
 The Bishop, and after him the priests who may be present, 
 impose hands on the candidate for Priesthood; then placing a 
 stole on his shoulders, he adjusts it in the form of a cross, to sig- 
 nify that the priest receives strength from above, to enable him 
 to carry the cross of Jesus Christ, to bear the sweet yoke of His 
 divine law, and to enforce this law, not by word only, but also by 
 the eloquent example of a holy life. 
 
 The Bishop next anoints the candidate's hands with sacred oil, 
 gives him a chalice containing wine and a paten with bread, say- 
 ing : " RECEIVE POWER TO OFFER SACRIFICE TO GOD, AND TO CELE- 
 BRATE MASS AS WELL FOR THE LIVING AS FOR THE DEAD." By 
 
 these words and ceremonies he is constituted an interpreter and 
 mediator between God and man, the principal function of the 
 Priesthood. 
 
 Finally, placing his hands on the head of the person to be or- 
 dained, the Bishop says: "RECEIVE YE THE HOLY GHOST. 
 WHOSE SINS YOU SHALL FORGIVE, THEY ARE FORGIVEN THEM: 
 AND WHOSE SINS YOU SHALL RETAIN, THEY ARE RETAINED." 2 He 
 is thus invested with that divine power of forgiving and retain- 
 ing sins which was conferred by our Lord on his disciples. These 
 are the principal and peculiar functions of the Priesthood. 
 
 1 I Par. xxvi. 18, 19. John iii. xx. 22, 23.
 
 ECCLESIASTICAL ORDERS 399 
 
 THE PRIESTHOOD, ALTHOUGH ONE, HAS DIFFERENT DEGREES 
 OF DIGNITY AND POWER 
 
 The order of Priesthood, although essentially one, has differ- 
 ent degrees of dignity and power. The first is confined to those 
 who are simply called priests, and whose functions we have now 
 explained. 
 
 The second is that of Bishops, who are placed over their re- 
 spective Sees, to govern not only the other ministers of the 
 Church but also the faithful, and with sleepless vigilance and un- 
 wearied care to watch over and promote their salvation. Hence 
 the Sacred Scriptures frequently refer to them as the pastors of 
 the sheep; and their office, and the duties which it imposes, are 
 developed by Paul in his sermon to the Thessalonians, recorded 
 in the Acts of the Apostles. 1 Peter also has left for the guidance 
 of Bishops a divine rule; and if their lives harmonize with its 
 spirit, they will no doubt be esteemed, and will really be good 
 pastors. 2 Bishops are also called " Pontiffs," a name borrowed 
 from the ancient Romans, and used to designate their Chief- 
 priests. 
 
 The third degree is that of Archbishop : he presides over several 
 Bishops, and is also called " Metropolitan," because he is placed 
 over the Metropolis of the Province. Archbishops, therefore (al- 
 though their ordination is the same), enjoy more ample power 
 and a more exalted station than Bishops. 
 
 Patriarchs hold the fourth place, and are, as the name implies, 
 the first and supreme Fathers in the Episcopal order. Formerly, 
 besides the Sovereign Pontiff there were but four Patriarchs in 
 the Church. Their dignity was not the same. The Patriarch of 
 Constantinople, although last in the order of time, was first in 
 rank an honor conceded to him as Bishop of Constantinople, 
 the capital of the imperial world. Next to the Patriarchate of 
 Constantinople is that of Alexandria, a see founded by the Evan- 
 gelist St. Mark' by command of the prince of the Apostles. The 
 third is the Patriarchate of Antioch, founded by St. Peter, and 
 the first seat of the Apostolic See ; the fourth and last, the Patri- 
 archate of Jerusalem, founded by St. James, the brother of our 
 Lord. 
 
 1 Acts xx. 28. 8 I Pet v. 2.
 
 400 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 Superior to all these is the Sovereign Pontiff, whom Cyril, 
 Archbishop of Alexandria, denominated in the Council of Ephe- 
 sus " the Father and Patriarch of the whole world." He sits in 
 that chair in which Peter, the prince of the Apostles, sat to the 
 close of life; and the Catholic Church recognizes in his person 
 the most exalted degree of dignity, and a full amplitude of juris- 
 diction not based on synodal or other human constitutions, but 
 emanating from no less an authority than God Himself. As the 
 successor of St. Peter, and the true and legitimate vicar of Jesus 
 Christ, he therefore presides over the Universal Church, the 
 Father and Governor of all the faithful, of Bishops also, and of 
 all other prelates, be their station, rank, or power what it may. 1 
 
 INSTRUCTION TO THE FAITHFUL ON THIS SACRAMENT 
 
 In accordance with what has been said, the pastor will inform 
 the faithful what are the principal offices and functions of Eccle- 
 siastical Orders, and 1 their degrees, and also who is the minister 
 of this Sacrament. 
 
 Sermon 
 
 HOLY ORDERS 
 
 BY THE REV. WILLIAM GRAHAM 
 
 INTRODUCTION. Holy Orders and Matrimony come last in the 
 list of sacramental rites, yet it is they that carry on the Kingdom 
 of God. The fecundity of holy wedlock gives to the Church her 
 faithful people ; that of Holy Orders her devoted clergy. There 
 is a striking analogy between them, as, under God, they are both 
 springs of life, one in the natural, the other in the spiritual, order. 
 Both are fenced in, guarded, and sanctified by holy continency. 
 Strict conjugal fidelity and rigid marital purity are to the spouse 
 what holy and spotless chastity are in the priest. Both states 
 imply and connote sacrifice. Of Holy Orders we speak to-day. 
 (No more appropriate occasion can offer to speak on this subject 
 than the present, when a young Levite, fresh from its sacred 
 
 1 On the Primacy of the Pope, see Anacl. epist. 3, c. 3, cited dist. 22, 
 c. Sacrosancta; Greg. lib. 7, epist. 64, 65; Pope Nicholas, epist. ad Medio- 
 lanens, cited dist. 22, c. omnes. See in same dist. c. Constantin. ; C. of 
 Chalcedon, in ep. ad Leonem.
 
 ECCLESIASTICAL ORDERS 401 
 
 rites, offers up with consecrated hands for the first time in holy 
 Mass the spotless Victim of Calvary.) The terms "priest" and 
 " sacrifice " are inseparable. For though " the law maketh men 
 priests, who have infirmity," yet "every high priest taken from 
 among men, is ordained . . . that he may offer up gifts and sac- 
 rifices " ( Heb. vii. 28 ; v. i ) . Priest and sacrifice are thus cor- 
 relative terms, like king and kingdom, husband and wife. The 
 Sacrament of Holy Orders, in all its steps, implies sacrifice, or 
 the discharge of some function bearing on sacrifice. To form 
 sacrificing priests, therefore, was Christ's purpose in the insti- 
 tution of this Sacrament. The episcopate is but an extension of 
 the priesthood, conveying the power of propagating, or carrying 
 down, the priestly office; the lower orders are but grades of the 
 priestly office, or, rather, steps leading to it. 
 
 I. To understand thoroughly the Sacrament of Holy Orders, 
 given for the perpetuation of the priesthood, we must grasp well 
 the idea of sacrifice, the main function of the priest. His office is 
 to stand between the people and God, offering " gifts and sacri- 
 fice." There is a sense, no doubt, in which all Christians, just as 
 formerly all Jews, were said to be priests, offering up the great 
 inward sacrifice of prayer, and praise, and self-surrender to al- 
 mighty God ; but this does not touch the question of the outward, 
 public, visible worship, that men, as a body, felt ever bound to 
 offer to God. Now, the main, central, and highest form of this 
 public cult has always been some kind of sacrifice. All religions, 
 true or false, offered sacrifice, and gradually there grew up 
 among them a body of men set apart to offer it. It is the abuse, 
 not the use, of sacrifice we condemn, both in Jew and Gentile. 
 Of course, the inward worship of the heart is ever binding; but 
 this only accentuates the need of outward, joint worship on the 
 part of society at large, ever expressing itself in offering, i.e., 
 sacrificing, some outward thing, fruits, flowers, or animals. 
 These offerings were consumed or destroyed, or equivalently so, 
 in order to bear witness to God's supreme dominion over all 
 things. Live victims were slain, to show that God was master 
 of life and death. The offering was ever made to God, or some 
 one reputed as such. Hence, sacrifice is the highest form of re- 
 ligious rite, and differs essentially from other and secondary acts
 
 402 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 of Divine worship. It cannot, without idolatry, be offered to a 
 creature. To make this offering duly and worthily, a priesthood 
 has been established. With us this is done by the sacramental rite 
 of Holy Orders. A priest is not one merely chosen to read public 
 prayers, or preach, or take a leading part in local good works. 
 No sacramental symbol is required to enable a man to discharge 
 these offices. The main function of the priest is to sacrifice; 
 and, in the New Law, to absolve from sin. Divine service is not 
 necessarily Divine sacrifice. The rite of sacrifice, as essential, 
 indeed the main central act of worship, can never perish from 
 the earth, nor a priesthood to offer it. Forms, rites, and cere- 
 monies may change not the priestly offering. The abrogation 
 of the sacrifices of the Old Law was only the introduction of the 
 one majestic sacrifice of the New, still carried on in the Mass, 
 and offered daily by the new priesthood from the rising to the 
 setting sun. There is, and was, only one sacrifice worthy of God, 
 and adequate to atone for sin that of Christ on Calvary. That 
 one sacrifice is still offered in an unbloody manner in the Mass 
 by the visible priesthood, representing and sharing in the power 
 of our one invisible High Priest, Christ. Mystic powers are con- 
 veyed in Holy Orders, the chief of which is the perpetuation of 
 the sacrifice of the Cross : " Do this for a commemoration of me." 
 This command to sacrifice, i.e., offer Christ's precious Body and 
 Blood, the Church faithfully carries out through her priests. The 
 Victim is the same, the priest the same, Jesus Christ speaking 
 through His priests; the manner only differs. The Mass is the 
 Sun of Divine worship. It sums up in solemn splendor and spir- 
 itual beauty all other outward forms of sacrifice. We may say, 
 in a reverent sense, that the Old and the New Law survive in the 
 Mass. Nature, in the form of grape and wheat, all that men 
 can bring in the way of art, and wealth, and taste, flowers, and 
 music, and, on occasions, majestic rites, are embodied in the great 
 Eucharistic Sacrifice of the Mass. All men's gifts to God circle 
 round the altar, or are collected in the church, where holy Mass 
 is offered by the priest, " first for his own sins, and then for the 
 people's" (Heb. vii. 27). The Mass is the one changeless Sacri- 
 fice of the Cross, offered up all the world over, for the quick and 
 the dead.
 
 ECCLESIASTICAL ORDERS 403 
 
 For carrying on such a sacrifice a worthy priesthood must 
 be provided, and this is effected by the Sacrament of Holy Or- 
 ders. The priesthood of the Old Law came down by natural 
 family descent from Aaron, the high priest ; but the priesthood of 
 the New Law comes down from Christ in the powers transmitted 
 through Holy Orders. Apostolicity, i.e., the carrying on the 
 mission entrusted to the apostles by Christ, is a note of the true 
 Church, resting on the unbroken succession of her orders. Or- 
 dination, i.e., Holy Orders, transmits the main features and 
 powers of Christ. Now, He was " a priest for ever, according to 
 the order of Melchisedech," who offered, as you may remember, 
 bread and wine, the matter of the Sacrifice of the Mass. "As 
 my Father hath sent me, so I send you." This transmission of 
 Divine authority exists in the priest. He is sent by the apostles, 
 still living in the bishops, who still " ordain priests in every 
 church," and thus continue to give " some apostles, . . . some 
 pastors . . . for the work of the ministry" (Eph. iv. n, 12), 
 and see that none " assume this honor save those who are ' called 
 by God, as Aaron was'" (Heb. v. 4). 
 
 God works in us ministerially, in grace as in nature. He sends 
 His gifts, temporal and spiritual, through others. Priests are, 
 in St. Paul's words, "the dispensers of the mysteries of God." 
 They thus guard and administer the channels of grace. We may 
 say, therefore, with truth, that Holy Orders is the fountain of 
 spiritual life in the Church. Without Holy Orders the world, 
 spiritually, would be a barren wilderness. It would lie under 
 perpetual interdict. 
 
 The city of God, alive to-day with the hum of prayer and 
 praise and sacrifice, would be, without Holy Orders, like a city of 
 the dead, as silent and lifeless as the grave. So pressing* is the 
 need of a priesthood that where the churches are closed or dese- 
 crated, and the true priests slain or driven away, they get soon 
 reopened ; and if the altar and true sacrifice are not restored, they 
 are replaced by a table or reading-desk, and a sham clergy put in 
 to take the place of real sacrificing priests. If men cease to wor- 
 ship the true God by the one true sacrifice, through the one true 
 priesthood, they take to themselves false ones. Divine worship 
 of some sort is a social need.
 
 404 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 Hence, the devil's best weapon in his war with Christ is the 
 removal or corruption of the clergy, the drying up, in fact, or 
 poisoning, the wells of Holy Orders. All the great persecutors, 
 from Nero downwards, have mainly aimed their death-blows at 
 the heads of the clergy. " Scatter the shepherds, and the flocks 
 will be dispersed," is their motto. 
 
 It was to His priests our Lord said, " You are the salt of the 
 earth," adding, significantly, " What, if the salt be corrupted," 
 meaning, that no greater curse or blight can fall on the Church 
 than a corrupt or faithless priesthood. Hence the anxiety, ever 
 shown by her for the training, selection, and reforming of her 
 clergy. Thank God, in spite of local and individual scandals, the 
 Catholic priesthood has ever, as a whole, lived up to its ideal, and 
 under all circumstances called mankind, both by preaching and 
 example, to a lofty standard of truth and righteousness. Let 
 slanderers say what they will, the proportion of bad or imperfect 
 priests never exceeded, if it ever even came up to, that of those 
 who were present with Christ Himself at the first Eucharistic 
 banquet. Indeed, the Catholic priesthood has ever shown marked 
 powers of self- recovery and readjustment to changed social and 
 political conditions. It flourishes under and survives every 
 regime. While forms of government perish, never to rise again, 
 one bad harvest, so to say, among the clergy is followed, as in 
 nature, by better ones. There is ever " a second spring " in prog- 
 ress somewhere among them. Digitus Dei est hie, " The finger 
 of God is here ; and it is wonderful to our eyes." 
 
 The secret, in reality, lies in the mystic rite of Holy Orders, the 
 Sacrament, "by which," to use the words of the Catechism, 
 " priests and other ministers of the Church are ordained, and re- 
 ceive power and grace to perform their sacred duties." 
 
 The preparation required for this Sacrament and the ritual ac- 
 companying its bestowal are most searching and impressive. The 
 young Levite who officiates before you to-day has had to undergo 
 many long years of trial and training ere being deemed worthy 
 to enter the priesthood. Before admission even as a candidate 
 for Holy Orders, searching inquiries were made as to his fitness 
 for the priesthood, physically, morally, and intellectually. Though 
 democratic in manning her clergy from every rank and class of
 
 ECCLESIASTICAL ORDERS 405 
 
 the community, yet does the Church require fulness and integrity 
 of life. The pure, spotless sacrifice demands this in those who 
 represent " Christ our High Priest." Hence, to be blind, lame, 
 deaf, or notably deformed physically, is a bar to holy orders. 
 And the same may be said of those morally and intellectually 
 defective. 
 
 II. As a prelude to Holy Orders he received the tonsure, i.e., 
 his hair was cut in the form of a crown, to denote his abandoning 
 worldly dignities and pursuits and entering the clerical state. 
 Not that he is thereby cut off from the people, but merely re- 
 minded of his duty to be in a special manner a man of God. 
 Pleasures, amusements, and pursuits permissible to the laity are 
 forbidden to one who thus dedicates himself exclusively to the 
 service of God and His people. 
 
 After years of study and training he reached the summit of 
 Holy Orders, the priesthood, by a ladder of seven steps, begin- 
 ning with the four minor orders of doorkeeper, lector, exorcist, 
 acolyte, and terminating with the three major orders of sub- 
 diaconate, diaconate, and priesthood. All these grades enable the 
 recipients to discharge certain functions having a near or remote 
 bearing on the great Eucharistic Sacrifice of the Mass. They are 
 not separate sacraments, but branches or parts of the one Sacra- 
 ment of Orders. Indeed, it is questionable whether any but the 
 priesthood and diaconate are fully sacramental at all. Each and 
 all of these seven orders open up and suggest many interesting, 
 historical, and liturgical questions, but I limit my observations 
 to the priesthood, the sun and centre around which all revolve. 
 All converge in preparing those who receive them to be " sacri- 
 ficing priests." 
 
 Two great powers with corresponding grace to use them are 
 conveyed in ordination : the first, over the real and natural body 
 of Christ in Consecration; the second, over the mystical body of 
 Christ, the Church, in Absolution, or the forgiveness of sin. The 
 granting of these powers, inherent in the Sacrament, is accom- 
 panied by all the pomp, impressiveness, and splendor to be found 
 only in Catholic ritual. Each ceremony is a lesson and a prayer. 
 The instruments of sacrifice and the Book of the Gospels, sol- 
 emnly handed over with accompanying prayers, convey a solemn
 
 406 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 message to ear, and mind, and heart. The most impressive mo- 
 ment of all is the laying on of hands, with prayer, by the bishop, 
 forming an essential element of the sacramental rite. The same 
 tremendous power bestowed by Christ on the apostles of chang- 
 ing, in His name and person, bread and wine into His Body and 
 Blood, is conferred on him. Christ has said to him, as to the 
 apostles at the last supper, when He wished to perpetuate the gift 
 of the Eucharist, "Do this for a commemoration of me," viz., 
 what He had done, when, " taking bread, he gave thanks, and 
 brake ; and gave to them, saying : ' This is my body, which is 
 given for you.' ... In like manner the chalice also, . . . saying : 
 ' This is the chalice, the new testament in my blood, which shall 
 be shed for you'" (Luke xxii. 19, 20). 
 
 Moreover, he has received from the same source power of juris- 
 diction over the mystical body of Christ in being qualified to take 
 his seat in the tribunal of the Confessional and act therein towards 
 the faithful as judge, doctor, and father. " Whose sins you shall 
 forgive, they are forgiven," is Christ's commission to all priests 
 for all time. He really and truly is now, in the words of St. Paul, 
 a minister of Christ and dispenser of the mysteries of God ( i Cor. 
 iv. i). 
 
 Besides these two great powers of consecration and absolution 
 the priestly functions involve the administration of the sacra- 
 ments, except Holy Orders and Confirmation, the instruction of 
 the people in faith and conduct, as well as consoling, visiting, 
 and otherwise helping the sick and dying. It is his to bless, 
 preach, and rule in the name and power of his divine Master. 
 But, as everything must be done in order among us, the exercis- 
 ing of these powers and duties is subject to the bishop, " to whom 
 it is given to rule the house of God." 
 
 The episcopate, it may be observed, is not a distinct order in 
 itself, but the extension and plenitude of the priesthood. As 
 successors of the apostles and rulers of the Church it is one of 
 their main functions to administer the Sacrament of Holy Orders, 
 thus perpetuating the priesthood and carrying on the kingdom 
 of God. " They [the apostles, or first bishops] ordained . . . 
 priests in every church" (Acts xiv. 22). "I left thee," says 
 St. Paul to Titus, whom he had consecrated bishop, "that thou
 
 ECCLESIASTICAL ORDERS 407 
 
 shouldest . . . ordain priests in every city" (Tit. i. 5). Their 
 power to teach the faithful and the clergy, to guard morals and 
 disciplines, and generally to legislate for and administer their 
 dioceses, does not spring from Holy Orders, but is a sharing in 
 the supreme jurisdiction granted to Peter, to whom is given 
 main care of Christ's flock. 
 
 Neither bishop nor priest, be it observed, is a mere delegate or 
 chosen representative of the community. Whatsoever the mode 
 of election in times present and past, the powers of the priest- 
 hood spring from their Orders. Ordination is not a civil, but 
 sacramental, rite. It is of Divine, not human, institution. The 
 grace comes from above, not from below. " Man imposes the 
 hand," says St. Ambrose, " God gives the grace." The powers 
 and essential privileges of the priesthood are the continuation 
 and application of those of Christ. 
 
 Our Lord promised to be with His Church till the end of the 
 World. He is present everywhere as God, and as man holds 
 secret and silent court in the Blessed Sacrament. But He is 
 therein immovable and invisible, revealing Himself only to the 
 eye of faith. Further, however, He is visibly and tangibly, 
 though ministerially, present in His priesthood. They reflect 
 Him in their lives; they, like Him, "go about doing good." 
 Their mission is to mirror Christ to the people. He was, and 
 is, king, priest, and prophet ; and their respective functions are 
 discharged by Him not visibly, nor in person, but through the 
 clergy, ministering to our spiritual needs in the pulpit, the con- 
 fessional, and, above all, at the altar. 
 
 The royalty of Christ is shown in Church authority, from the 
 Pope down to our own immediate pastors. His office as prophet 
 comes home to us in the teaching office of holy Church, while 
 His priesthood is daily exercised in our behalf in holy Mass. 
 
 It is significant that Holy Orders is one of the three Sacra- 
 ments that impress an indelible seal or mark on the soul, called 
 character. It implies a special consecration to Almighty God, 
 and is a reminder that the person thus sealed or marked should 
 walk worthy of the character he bears, either as a child, a soldier, 
 and, above all, a priest, of the true God. This hall-mark of the 
 soul impressed in ordination is never lost. Once a priest, a priest
 
 408 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 forever, whether he tread in the footsteps of John and Augustine, 
 or of Judas and Arius. 
 
 In the familiar sense of the term, character is the sum of quali- 
 ties, good or bad, that combine to distinguish one person or thing 
 from another. Life is the building up of character, the fixing of 
 one's habits. Though free, yet we know that men will ever act 
 up to their character or fixed ways. Among Christians, notwith- 
 standing the endless diversity of character, there is one point in 
 which all must meet the imitation of Christ. For the Church, 
 our Mother, is ever in labor, " till Christ be formed in us." The 
 true priest, like the true Christian, is he who 'in life and character 
 truly lives and reproduces his divine Master. The training, the 
 schooling, the ideals of the priesthood, have all one end in view 
 the building up of Christ in the soul. Swerving from "Jesus 
 Christ, and him crucified," in action or demeanor, seems a flaw 
 in the sacerdotal character. It is a dimming and darkening of 
 the hall-mark of ordination. Hence the outcry and gross ex- 
 aggerations ever attending a scandal among the clergy. The 
 very obloquy, criticism, and slander to which they are so unfairly 
 exposed, spring from the perfection and height of their pro- 
 fessed aims and ideals in " living Christ." The highest patterns 
 of priestly life must, in the nature of things, fall infinitely short 
 of this. Christ, the ideal man, like ideal beauty in art, is ever 
 out of reach, ever receding to the skies, as we climb higher and 
 higher the mountain of perfection ; yet He is the model, the one 
 standard for all, but particularly for the priest. And indeed 
 every true priest as he stands at the altar, sits in the confessional, 
 or goes in search of the lost sheep in the wild wastes of life, 
 must feel it specially incumbent in him to follow the Master, even 
 though painfully conscious of his manifold unworthiness. 
 
 Withal, the hostile world may be challenged to deny that any 
 body of men ever imitated Christ better than the clergy, secular 
 and regular, of the Catholic Church. History justifies their claim 
 to be ever, in Christ's words, "the salt of the earth." 
 
 Pray, then, for the young Levite who says his first Mass to-day, 
 that the grace of Holy Orders planted in his soul may bear fruit 
 abundantly, and ever aid him in his high and arduous office. 
 Pray the Lord of the vineyard, that He may send laborers into
 
 LIFE EVERLASTING 409 
 
 His vineyard, men " powerful in work and word " ; men with 
 wills of steel and hearts of gold, men of light and leading, trained 
 like St. Paul in the best of all schools, that of " Christ and him 
 crucified." Pray for him and all, remembering that they carry 
 the great grace and responsibilities of Holy Orders, " in vessels 
 of clay." And while availing yourselves of their ministrations 
 in the great work of saving your souls, do not fail to thank God, 
 " Who hath given such power to men." 
 
 References 
 
 Hehel, in Short Sermons on Catholic Doctrine; Monsabre, in Lenten 
 Confer, of 1886. 
 
 Cath. Encyc., Vol. XI, pp. 279 ff. ; Summa Theol., Suppl., q. 37; Tan- 
 querey, Theol. Dog., De Ordine, Art. II; Hurter, Theol. Dog., Vol. Ill, 
 Nos. 684 ff.; Pohle-Preuss, The Sacraments, Vol. IV, pp. 78 ff.; Bering- 
 ton and Kirk, The Faith of Catholics, Vol. Ill, pp. 210 ff. ; Bellord, Medi- 
 tations, etc., Vol. II, pp. 324 ff. ; Gibbons, The Faith of our Fathers, 
 chs. xxix, xxx. 
 
 THIRD SUNDAY AFTER EASTER 
 
 SUBJECT 
 LIFE EVERLASTING 
 
 TEXT 
 
 I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man 
 shall take from you. JOHN xvi. 22. 
 
 Analysis 
 
 INTRODUCTION. Our Lord spoke the words of our text just 
 before He entered upon His passion. He knew that on account 
 of His imminent sufferings, His death, and all the subsequent 
 persecutions that would follow, His disciples would be filled with 
 sorrow and sadness; and in order to hearten them, and to 
 strengthen them for their coming trials and grief, He consoled 
 them by the promise that He would meet them again, that after 
 the " little while " of the present life, when their sorrows would 
 be over, He would greet them, and their joy no man should take 
 from them.
 
 410 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 I. The meaning of this Article of the Creed, i. The words 
 "life everlasting" signify that the happiness of the blessed does 
 not consist in corporal or transitory things, but in things spiritual 
 and eternal. 2. The happiness of " life everlasting " is beyond 
 the power of our earthly words to express. It implies two things, 
 namely, exemption from all evils, such as sickness, death, etc. 
 (Apoc. xxi. 4), and the possession of all good. 3. The positive 
 happiness of heaven is twofold, essential and accessory. 
 
 II. The essential happiness of heaven consists in the vision 
 of God, in seeing God face to face as He is. i. This beati- 
 tude conveys the idea of knowledge of the Supreme Truth 
 from whom all other truths are derived, and possession of the 
 Supreme Good who is the source of all we love. 2. In knowing 
 God we shall know all else that we desire to know. 3. From the 
 beatific vision will result an estatic love that will completely fill 
 our heart's capacity. 
 
 III. The accessory happiness of heaven consists: i. In the 
 glory which the blessed will have from God and from their fel- 
 low saints. 2. In the perfections of their minds and bodies, and 
 in their celestial dwelling. 3. In the certainty which the blessed 
 have that their happiness is unending. 4. In the fact that they 
 never experience satiety or weariness. 
 
 CONCLUSION, i. Life everlasting should 6e the ruling influ- 
 ence of our thoughts and actions. All else in life should be sub- 
 ordinated to our future lasting happiness and we should make 
 use of every means in our power to attain it. 2. The thought of 
 future glory is a consolation in sorrow. 
 
 Catechism of the Council of Trent, Part I 
 ARTICLE XII OF THE CREED 
 
 Life everlasting 
 WHY THIS IS THE LAST ARTICLE OF THE CREED 
 
 The wisdom of the Apostles, our guides in religion, suggested 
 to them the propriety of giving this Article the last place in the
 
 LIFE EVERLASTING 411 
 
 Creed, which is the summary of our faith : first, because after 
 the resurrection of the body the only object of the Christian's 
 hope is the reward of everlasting life; and secondly, in order 
 that perfect happiness, embracing' as it does the fulness of all 
 good, may be ever present to our minds and absorb all our 
 thoughts and affections. In his instructions to the faithful the 
 pastor, therefore, will unceasingly endeavor to light up in their 
 souls an ardent desire of the promised rewards of eternal life, 
 that thus they may look upon as light, or even agreeable, what- 
 ever difficulties they may experience in the practice of religion, 
 and may yield a more willing and an entire obedience to God. 
 
 MEANING OF THIS ARTICLE 
 
 But as many mysteries lie concealed under the words which 
 are here used to declare the happiness reserved for us, they are 
 to be explained in such a manner as to make them intelligible 
 to all, as far as their respective capacities will allow. The faith- 
 ful, therefore, are to be informed that the words " life everlast- 
 ing" signify not only that continuity of existence to which the 
 devils and the wicked are consigned, but also that perpetuity of 
 happiness which is to satisfy the desires of the blessed. In this 
 sense they were understood by the ruler mentioned in the Gospel 
 when he asked the Redeemer : " Good master, what shall I do 
 to possess everlasting life?" 1 as if he had said, What shall I do 
 in order to arrive at the enjoyment of everlasting happiness? 
 In this sense they are understood in the sacred volumes, as is 
 clear from a reference to many passages of Scripture. 2 The 
 supreme happiness of the blessed is thus designated, principally 
 to exclude the notion that it consists in corporeal and transitory 
 things, which cannot be everlasting. 8 
 
 WHY CALLED LIFE EVERLASTING 
 
 The word " blessedness " is insufficient to express the idea, 
 particularly as there have not been wanting men who, inflated 
 with the vain opinions of a false philosophy, would place the 
 supreme good in sensible things. But these grow old and perish, 
 
 1 Luke xviii. 18. * Matt. xix. 29; xxv. 46; Rom. vi. 22. 
 
 1 Aug. de Civ. Dei, lib. 19, c. n.
 
 412 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 while supreme happiness is defined by no limits of time. Nay 
 more, so far is the enjoyment of the goods of this life from 
 conferring real happiness that, on the contrary, he who is cap- 
 tivated by a love of the world is farthest removed from true 
 happiness ; for it is written : " Love not the world, nor the things 
 which are in the world. If any man love the world, the charity 
 of the Father is not in him." x A little farther on we read, 
 " The world passeth away, and the concupiscence thereof." 2 The 
 pastor, therefore, will be careful to impress these truths on the 
 minds of the faithful, that they may learn to despise earthly 
 things, and to know that in this world, in which we are not 
 citizens but sojourners, 3 happiness is not to be found. Yet even 
 here below we may be said with truth to be happy in hope, if 
 " denying ungodliness and worldly desires, we ... live soberly, 
 and justly, and godly in this world, looking for the blessed hope 
 and coming of the glory of the great God and our Saviour 
 Jesus Christ." 4 Many who seemed to themselves wise, 5 not 
 understanding these things, and imagining that happiness was 
 to be sought in this life, became fools and the victims of the most 
 deplorable calamities. 
 
 TRUE HAPPINESS MUST BE EVERLASTING 
 
 These words, " life everlasting," also teach us that, contrary 
 to the false notions of some, happiness once attained can never 
 be lost. Happiness is an accumulation of good without admixture 
 of evil, which, as it fills up the measure of man's desires, must 
 be eternal. He who is blessed with its enjoyment must earnestly 
 desire its continuance, and, were it transient and uncertain, would 
 necessarily experience the torture of continual apprehension. 6 
 
 THE HAPPINESS OF THE JUST IS INTENSE AND 
 INCOMPREHENSIBLE 
 
 The intensity of the happiness which the just enjoy in their 
 celestial country, and its utter incomprehensibility to all but to 
 
 I John ii. 15. * I John ii. 17. I Pet ii. n. 
 
 * Tit. ii. 12, 1.3. Rom. i. 22. 
 
 See Aug. de Civ. Dei, lib. 12, cap. 20; lib. 22, cc. 29, 30; de libero arbit. 
 cap. 25 ; de verb. Domini, serm. 64, & serm. 37, de Sanctis.
 
 LIFE EVERLASTING 413 
 
 themselves alone, are sufficiently conveyed by the very words 
 which are here used to express that happiness. When to ex- 
 press any idea we make use of a word common to many things, 
 we do so because we have no proper term by which to express 
 it clearly and fully. When, therefore, to express happiness, 
 words are adopted which are not more applicable to the blessed 
 than to all who are to live for ever, we are led to infer that the 
 idea presents to the mind something too great, too exalted, to be 
 expressed fully by a proper term. True, the happiness of heaven 
 is expressed in Scripture by a variety of other words, such as, 
 the "kingdom of God," 1 "of Christ," 2 "of heaven," 3 "para- 
 dise," 4 " the holy city," " the new Jerusalem," 5 " my Father's 
 house " ; e yet it is clear that none of these appellations is suffi- 
 cient to convey an adequate idea of its greatness. 
 
 LIFE EVERLASTING IS A POWERFUL INCENTIVE TO VIRTUE 
 
 The pastor, therefore, will not neglect the opportunity which 
 this Article affords of inviting the faithful to the practice of 
 piety, of justice, and of all the other virtues, by holding out to 
 them such ample rewards as are announced in the words " life 
 everlasting." Among the blessings which we instinctively desire 
 life is confessedly esteemed one of the greatest: by it princi- 
 pally, when we say " life everlasting," do we express the happi- 
 ness of the just. If, then, during this short and chequered 
 period of our existence, which is subject to so many and such 
 various vicissitudes that it may be called death rather than life, 
 there is nothing to which we so fondly cling, nothing which we 
 love so dearly as life ; with what ardor of soul, with what earnest- 
 ness of purpose, should we not seek that eternal happiness which, 
 without alloy of any sort, presents to us the pure and unmixed 
 enjoyment of every good? The happiness of eternal life is, as 
 defined by the Fathers, " an exemption from all evil, and an en- 
 . joyment of all good." 1 That it is an exemption from all evil 
 the Scriptures declare in the most explicit terms. " They shall 
 
 1 Acts xiv. 22. * 2 Pet. i. n. 
 
 1 Matt, v. 3, 20. * Luke xxiii. 43. 
 
 Apoc. xxi. 10; iii. 12. John xiv. 2. 
 
 7 Chrysost in 30, cap. ad Theod. lapsum; Aug. de Civ. Dei, lib. 22, 
 cap. 30 ; Anselm, epist. 2, & de similit. c, 47, seq.
 
 414 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 no more hunger nor thirst," says St. John, " neither shall the sun 
 fall on them, nor any heat " ; x and again, " God shall wipe away 
 all tears from their eyes : and death shall be no more, nor mourn- 
 ing, nor crying, nor sorrow shall be any more, for the former 
 things are passed away." 2 But the glory of the blessed shall 
 be without measure, and their solid joys and pleasures without 
 number. The mind is incapable of comprehending or conceiv- 
 ing the greatness of this glory: it can be known only by its 
 fruition, that is, by entering intd the joy of the Lord, and thus 
 satisfying fully the desires of the human heart. Although, as St. 
 Augustine observes, it would seem easier to enumerate the evils 
 from which we shall be exempt than the goods and the pleasures 
 which we shall enjoy; 8 yet we must endeavor to explain, briefly 
 and clearly, these things which are calculated to inflame the faith- 
 ful with a desire of arriving at the enjoyment of this supreme 
 felicity. 
 
 HAPPINESS TWOFOLD, ESSENTIAL AND ACCESSORY 
 
 Before we proceed to this explanation we shall make use of a 
 distinction which has been sanctioned by the most eminent 
 writers on religion; it is, that there are two sorts of goods, one 
 an ingredient, another an accompaniment of happiness. The 
 former, therefore, for the sake of perspicuity, they have called 
 essential; the latter, accessory. Solid happiness, which we may 
 designate by the common appellation, " essential," consists in the 
 vision of God, and the enjoyment of His eternal beauty who is 
 the source and principle of all goodness and perfection. " This," 
 says our Lord, "is eternal life: That they may know thee, the 
 only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent." 4 These 
 sentiments St. John seems to interpret when he says: "Dearly 
 beloved, we are now the sons of God; and it hath not yet ap- 
 peared what we shall be. We know that when he shall appear, 
 we shall be like to him : because we shall see him as he is." 5 
 These words inform us that the happiness of heaven consists 
 of two things : to see God such as He is in His own nature and 
 substance, and to be made like unto Him. 
 
 1 Apoc. vii. 1 6. * Apoc. xxi. 4. 
 
 1 Serm. vi. 4, de verb. Domini & de Symb. ad Catechu lib. 3. 
 
 4 John xvii. 3. I John iii. 2.
 
 LIFE EVERLASTING 415 
 
 EFFECT OF THE BEATIFIC VISION ON THE BLESSED 
 
 Those who enjoy the beatific vision, while they retain their 
 own nature, assume a certain admirable and almost divine form, 
 so as to seem gods rather than men. Why they assume this form 
 becomes at once intelligible if we only reflect that a thing is 
 known either from its essence, or from its image and appear- 
 ance; but as nothing resembles God so as to afford by that re- 
 semblance a perfect knowledge of Him, no creature can behold 
 His divine nature and essence unless admitted by the Deity to 
 a sort of union with Himself, according to these words of St. 
 Paul : " We now see through a glass in a dark manner ; but then 
 face to face." x The words " in a dark manner " St. Augustine 
 understands to mean that we see Him in a resemblance calculated 
 to convey to us some faint notion of the Deity. 2 This, St. Denis 
 clearly shows when he says 3 that the things above cannot be 
 known by comparison with the things below ; for the essence and 
 substance of anything incorporeal cannot be known through the 
 image of that which is corporeal, particularly as a resemblance 
 must be less gross and more spiritual than that which it repre- 
 sents, as we know from universal experience. Since, therefore, 
 we can find nothing created equally pure and spiritual with God, 
 no resemblance can enable us perfectly to comprehend the divine 
 essence. 
 
 Moreover, all created things are circumscribed within certain 
 limits of perfection; but God is circumscribed by no limits, and 
 therefore nothing created can reflect His immensity. The only 
 means, therefore, of arriving at a knowledge of the divine es- 
 sence is that God unite Himself in some sort to us, and after 
 an incomprehensible manner elevate our minds to a higher de- 
 gree of perfection, and thus render us capable of contemplating 
 the beauty of His nature. This the light of His glory will ac- 
 complish ; illumined by its splendor we shall see God, the true 
 light, in His own light.* 
 
 The blessed always see God present, and by this greatest and 
 most exalted of gifts, being made " partakers of the divine na- 
 
 1 i Cor. xiii. 12. * Aug. lit). 15, de Civ. Dei, c. 9. 
 
 1 De divin. nom. c. I. * Ps. xxxv. 10.
 
 416 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 ture," 1 they enjoy true and solid happiness. Our belief of this 
 truth should therefore be animated by an assured hope of one 
 day arriving, through the divine goodness, at the same happy 
 goal, according to these words of the Nicene Creed : " I expect 
 the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come." 
 These are divine truths which defy the powers of human lan- 
 guage and mock the limits of human comprehension. 
 
 We may, however, trace some resemblance of this happy change 
 in sensible objects, for as iron when acted on by fire becomes 
 ignited, and while it is substantially the same seems changed into 
 fire, which is a different substance, so the blessed, who are ad- 
 mitted into the glory of heaven and who burn with a love of 
 God, although they cease not to be the same, are yet affected in 
 such a manner as that they may be said with truth to differ more 
 from the inhabitants of this earth than iron when ignited differs 
 from itself when cold. 
 
 IN WHAT ESSENTIAL HAPPINESS CONSISTS 
 
 To say all in a few words: Supreme and absolute happiness, 
 which we call essential, consists in the possession of God; for 
 what can he lack to consummate his happiness who possesses 
 God, the fountain of all good, the fulness of all perfection? 
 
 THE ACCESSORIES OF HAPPINESS 
 
 To this happiness, however, are appended certain gifts which 
 are common to all the blessed, and which, because more within 
 the reach of human comprehension, are generally found more 
 effectual in exciting the mind and inflaming the heart. 2 These 
 the Apostle seems to have in view when, in his epistle to the 
 Romans, he says : " Glory, and honor, and peace to every one that 
 worketh good." 3 The blessed shall enjoy glory; not only that 
 glory which we have already shown to constitute essential hap- 
 piness, or to be its inseparable accompaniment, but also that glory 
 which consists in the clear and comprehensive knowledge which 
 each of the blessed shall have of the singular and exalted dignity 
 of his companions in glory. 
 
 1 2 Pet. i. 4. * Aug. de Civ. Dei, lib. xxii. c. 30. 
 
 Rom. ii. 10.
 
 LIFE EVERLASTING 417 
 
 But how distinguished must not that honor be which is con- 
 ferred by God Himself, who no longer calls them servants, but 
 friends, 1 brethren, 2 and sons of God ! 3 Hence the Redeemer will 
 address His elect in these words, which at once breathe infinite 
 love and bespeak the highest honor: "Come, ye blessed of my 
 Father, possess you the kingdom prepared for you."* Justly, 
 then, may we exclaim with the psalmist : " Thy friends, O God, 
 are made exceedingly honorable." 5 They shall also receive the 
 highest praise from Christ the Lord, in presence of His Heavenly 
 Father, and before the assembled hosts of heaven. 
 
 And if nature has interwoven in the human heart the desire of 
 honor, particularly when conferred by men eminent for wisdom, 
 who are the most authoritative vouchers of merit, what an ac- 
 cession of glory to the blessed, to evince towards each other the 
 highest veneration! 
 
 To enumerate all the delights with which the souls of the 
 blessed shall be inebriated would be an endless task. We can- 
 not even conceive them in idea. With this truth, however, the 
 minds of the faithful should be deeply impressed : that the hap- 
 piness of the saints is full to overflowing of all those pleasures 
 which can be enjoyed or even desired in this life, whether they 
 regard the powers of the mind or the perfection of the body, 
 a consummation more exalted in the manner of its accomplish- 
 ment than, to use the Apostle's words, eye hath seen, ear heard, 
 or the heart of man conceived. 8 
 
 The body, which was before gross and material, having put off 
 mortality and now become refined and spiritualized, shall no 
 longer stand in need of corporal nutriment : while the soul shall 
 be satiated with that eternal food of glory which the master of 
 that great feast will minister in person, to all. 7 
 
 Who will desire rich apparel or royal robes, where these ap- 
 pendages of human grandeur shall be superseded ; and all shall 
 be clothed with immortality and splendor, and adorned with a 
 crown of imperishable glory ? 
 
 And if the possession of a spacious and magnificent mansion 
 forms an ingredient in human happiness, what more spacious, 
 
 1 John xv. 14. * Matt. xii. 49. * Rom. viii. 15, 16. * Matt xxv. 34. 
 Ps. cxxxviii. 17. i Cor. ii. 9. 7 Luke xii. 37.
 
 4i8 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 what more magnificent, can imagination picture than the mansion 
 of heaven, illumined as it is throughout with the blaze of glory 
 which encircles the Godhead ! Hence the prophet, contemplating 
 the beauty of this dwelling-place, and burning with the desire of 
 reaching those mansions of bliss, exclaims : " How lovely are thy 
 tabernacles, O Lord of hosts ! my soul longeth and fainteth for the 
 courts of the Lord. My heart and my flesh have rejoiced in the 
 living God." x That the faithful may be all filled with the same 
 sentiments and utter the same language should be the object of 
 the pastor's most earnest desires, as it should be of his zealous 
 labors. " In my Father's house," says our Lord, " there are 
 many mansions," 2 in which shall be distributed rewards of 
 greater and of less value according to each one's deserts ; for " he 
 who soweth sparingly, shall also reap sparingly: and he who 
 soweth in blessings, shall also reap blessings." 3 
 
 HOW TO ARRIVE AT THE ENJOYMENT OF THIS HAPPINESS 
 
 The pastor, therefore, will not only move the faithful to a de- 
 sire of arriving at this happiness, but will frequently remind them 
 that infallibly to attain it they must possess the virtues of faith 
 and charity; they must persevere in the exercise of prayer and 
 the salutary use of the sacraments, and in a faithful discharge of 
 all the good offices which spring from fraternal charity. Thus, 
 through the mercy of God, who has prepared that blessed glory 
 for those who serve Him, shall be one day fulfilled the words of 
 the prophet : " My people shall sit in the beauty of peace, and in 
 the tabernacle of confidence, and in wealthy rest." 4 
 
 Sermons 
 
 HEAVEN 
 
 BY THE REV. BERTRAND L. CONWAY, C.S.P. 
 
 The Word of God, in both the Old Testament and the New, 
 speaks unceasingly of the perfect and lasting happiness which 
 God has prepared for His faithful servants. The joys of the 
 kingdom of heaven are insisted upon by prophet, apostle, and the 
 
 1 Ps. Ixxxiii. I, 2. t John xiv. 2. 
 
 * 2 Cor. ix. 6. * Is. xxxii. 18.
 
 LIFE EVERLASTING 419 
 
 Saviour Himself, to comfort us in our struggles and sorrows, to 
 remind us of the brief duration of our earthly pilgrimage, to 
 incite us to persevere faithfully until the end, that we might 
 win our reward exceedingly great. " I reckon that the sufferings 
 of this time are not worthy to be compared with the glory to 
 come" (Rom. viii. 18). "We have not here a lasting city, but 
 we seek one that is to come " (Heb. xiii. 14). " Be thou faithful 
 until death : and I will give thee the crown of life " ( Apoc. ii. 10). 
 "Your reward is very great in heaven" (Matt. v. 12). "They 
 shall be inebriated with the plenty of thy house; and thou shalt 
 make them drink of the torrent of thy pleasure" (Ps. xxxv. 10). 
 
 It is impossible for any mortal to describe adequately the hap- 
 piness of heaven. The apostles on Thabor who saw the Saviour 
 transfigured with the glory of His Father's kingdom " fell upon 
 their face, and were very much afraid" (Matt. xvii. 6). St. 
 Paul, the greatest genius the religious world ever knew, although 
 vouchsafed a vision of paradise, could only marvel at its beauty 
 and be silent (2 Cor. xii. 4). He knew that its happiness far sur- 
 passed the dreams of the brightest intelligence, or the hopes of 
 the most loving heart. " Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither 
 hath it entered into the heart of man, what things God hath pre- 
 pared for them that love him " ( I Cor. ii. 9) . St. John the Be- 
 loved pictures heaven with its gates of pearl, its streets of pure 
 gold, its foundations of all precious stones, its light of the glory 
 of God (Apoc. xxi. 19-23), and yet his imagery in no way pre- 
 tends to give a real account of the beauty of God's house. 
 
 When the greatest of God's saints tell us clearly that God has 
 not chosen to reveal to us the details of our future life and work 
 in eternity, it is idle for us to pry into the secrets of God. We 
 cannot know any more than God is pleased to unfold. 
 
 We should be perfectly content when the apostle tells us, " It 
 hath not yet appeared what we shall be." How we shall know 
 God and love Him for all eternity, how we will carry on converse 
 with the angels and the saints, how we will feel towards our 
 friends or relatives who have not won their crown, how we shall 
 be perfectly and eternally happy these are questions for the 
 future. We are like men regarding the reverse side of a beauti- 
 ful tapestry and seeing nothing but an unmeaning medley of
 
 420 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 numberless stitches and knots. But we know that if we are 
 faithful to the end, we will one day behold the beautiful design, 
 of God's own framing, on the other side of the fabric. 
 
 But as in every other mystery of Christianity, the hereafter, 
 with its obscurity and darkness, is also a revelation of truth and 
 light. As St. John tells us: In heaven we shall see God face to 
 face, and be like to him. 
 
 The essential joy of the blessed in heaven consists in seeing 
 God face to face and loving Him perfectly through all eternity 
 in enjoying with the purest and most perfect happiness the Bea- 
 tific Vision. " Blessed are the clean of heart, for they shall see 
 God" (Matth. v. 8). "We see now through a glass in a dark 
 manner; but then face to face" (i Cor.'xiii. 12). 
 
 Human reason of itself can prove the sanction of reward and 
 punishment in the after life. It can demonstrate that the soul 
 does not end with the body, but lives an immortal life of bless- 
 ing or of curse, according as it has kept or broken the law of God. 
 But the revealed joy of the Beatific Vision is far above the hap- 
 piness due our human nature. It is a purely supernatural gift 
 of God. Eternal life, says the apostle, is a grace of God (Rom. 
 vi. 23). It makes us "fellow citizens with the saints, . . . do- 
 mestics of God," " joint heirs with Christ," sharers in the glory 
 of his throne, his eternal friends (Eph. ii. 19; Rom. viii. 17; 
 Apoc. iii. 21 ; John xiv. 2). No truth is plainer in the Scriptures 
 than the invisibility of the Uncreated Deity. We have no right 
 by our mere human nature to see God face to face. " No man 
 hath seen God at any time" (John i. 18). God "inhabiteth light 
 inaccessible, whom no man hath seen, nor can see " ( i Tim. vi. 
 16). When Moses of old desired to see the glory of God, Je- 
 hovah told him that to see God face to face was not given to 
 man in this life. " Thou canst not see my face : for no man shall 
 see me and live" (Ex. xxxiii. 20. Compare Deut. iv. 12; I John 
 iv. 12). 
 
 St. John tells us that to see God there must needs be some mar- 
 vellous supernatural change in us. If we are to look not merely 
 upon Our Lord's glorified humanity but to view the Divine Es- 
 sence itself, we must become " partakers of the divine nature " 
 (2 Pet. i. 4), we must " be like to him " ( i John iii. 2).
 
 LIFE EVERLASTING 421 
 
 This supernatural quality or special divine operation whereby 
 our minds are enlarged, purified, and strengthened to enjoy the 
 glory of the divine nature instead of being overwhelmed by its 
 majesty, is called by the Church the light of glory. It is the cul- 
 minating grace of the thousands that God showers upon His chil- 
 dren from the time He first gave them the divine help to believe 
 and to hope. It is the eternal grace of the love of God which will 
 endure for ever, when the faith that acknowledged it and the 
 hope that longed for it shall be no more. 
 
 Even in this life we can see everywhere around us the traces 
 of the beauty, the goodness, and the truth of the most high God. 
 How many have realized his beauty when they saw the sun rise 
 glorious at dawn from the top of the snow-capped mountains, or 
 descend in ruddy glow tipping the surrounding clouds with all 
 the colors of the rainbow? How many have felt His goodness 
 when in their hour of contentment they have thanked Him for 
 the blessing of a true wife, a grateful child, a faithful friend, a 
 sorrowful Confession, a loving Communion? How many have 
 received a glimpse of His eternal truth when they entered the 
 haven of the Church Catholic after the storms of error and un- 
 belief, and learned to love the wisdom of God in a St. Paul, a St. 
 John, a Francis de Sales, or a Philip Neri? 
 
 And yet these were only "glimpses through a glass," as the 
 apostle calls them. They were merely the glimmering rays of 
 beauty, goodness, and truth which shone from on high through 
 the thick mists of this world's error and sin. 
 
 In the kingdom of heaven we shall no longer see Him by 
 means of His word and works, as revealed in the universe, the 
 Bible, the Church and the saints, but we shall gaze into the Divine 
 Essence itself, and see, as in a spotless mirror, created things, and 
 the eternal truths. We will begin to fathom and all eternity 
 will not suffice for the task the impenetrable depths of the 
 mysteries of God the trinity, the incarnation, the redemption, 
 the love, the mercy, the justice, the power, the eternity of God. 
 We shall then learn the reason of suffering and labor, we shall 
 realize the mercy of eternal punishment, we shall see the wisdom 
 of the marvellous distribution of God's graces in a word, we 
 shall be happy in viewing all things from the viewpoint of God.
 
 Some non-Catholic writers have ridiculed what they call the 
 scholastic concept of heaven. Just as Mohammed, they say, 
 pictured a sensual paradise, or the pagans framed gods after 
 their own image and likeness, so the medieval schoolmen, ad- 
 dicted wholly to contemplation, made the happiness of heaven 
 consist solely in the joy of intellectual contemplation. 
 
 But such an objection at once proves that these men have 
 never taken the trouble to read any of the authors they despise 
 on mere traditional prejudice. For Catholic theologians of the 
 Middle Ages and to-day point out carefully that the Beatific 
 Vision implies not merely the perfect satisfaction of the intel- 
 lect, but also the perfect satisfaction of the will; not merely the 
 perfection of the soul, which becomes like to God, but also of 
 the body, which becomes like the body of the risen Christ ( I Cor. 
 xv.) ; not merely a dry thinking about God, but the perfect pos- 
 session of God for all eternity by every faculty of man. 
 
 What do we mean by seeing a friend ? We go to see him be- 
 cause we love him and enjoy the pleasure of his company. Should 
 that love turn to hatred, his very presence becomes distasteful 
 and a positive pain to us. So the devout soul sees God because 
 it loves God perfectly, and finds its perfect contentment in His 
 eternally blessed presence. For the same reason the unrepentant 
 sinner, dying in the voluntary hatred of God, finds God's pres- 
 ence a positive pain, and shuns it forever in the despair of hell. 
 
 The soul possessed of the Beatific Vision is necessarily blessed 
 with a perfect and eternal happiness. 
 
 There is an innate longing in every soul for happiness, because 
 God has created it for Himself. Too often man seeks it where it 
 cannot be found. In seeking to build his palace of happiness, he 
 generally lays the foundation in the riches of the world, which 
 seem at first sight able to procure every desire of the human heart. 
 On this foundation he erects every kind of sensual and intel- 
 lectual pleasure; love, friendship, health, the pride of place, the 
 glory of this world, the honor and respect of his fellows. Has 
 he attained true happiness? By no means, for in one day the 
 whirlwind of misfortune overturns his palace of pleasure and 
 buries him in its ruins. 
 
 Has he acquired a fortune of millions? He is robbed of it in
 
 LIFE EVERLASTING 423 
 
 one day's wild speculation, or his health is so shattered that his 
 life is nothing but a living death. Has he a happy and peaceful 
 family? In one day the devil enters that household, and lo! a 
 loving wife becomes untrue, a daughter marries a worthless 
 scoundrel, or a son becomes a drunkard. Has he many friends ? 
 IH time of need they desert him and sell his friendship, like Judas, 
 for thirty pieces of silver. Is he honored by the world with its 
 highest places of trust ? One false step, and those that yesterday 
 shouted their hosannas will be the first to clamor for his undoing. 
 
 Indeed every new desire of the heart that is satisfied is merely 
 the beginning of another that craves satisfaction. We are like 
 the traveller that for the first time attempts to climb the summit 
 of a very high mountain. After great stress of labor he has 
 reached a rugged height only to find himself encased in a prison 
 of great walls. On and on he goes to what he deems the top- 
 most peak, but on reaching it he finds that there are others higher 
 still. Down again he climbs to ascend once more, only to be again 
 deceived. What a true picture of the lives of men ! 
 
 In heaven every true desire shall find its perfect satisfaction, 
 and every evil shall cease to exist forevermore. There will be 
 perfect rest and peace for body and soul. The poor " shall no 
 more hunger nor thirst, neither shall the sun fall on them, nor 
 any heat" (Apoc. vii. 16). The sick and sorrowing shall be 
 strong and happy, for " God shall wipe away all tears from their 
 eyes ; and death shall be no more, nor mourning, nor crying, nor 
 sorrow shall be any more" (Apoc. xxi. 4). The curse of sin 
 and the dark night of struggle and temptation shall disappear, 
 for " there shall be no curse any more, and night shall be no 
 more" (Apoc. xxii. 3-5). The devil's power will be utterly 
 broken, the flesh will no longer rebel against the spirit, the world 
 of wicked men and women will be utterly forgotten. 
 
 How often did the eyes of the martyrs dying for Christ in the 
 midst of most cruel torments pierce behind the veil, to take com- 
 fort in the peace of the City of God ! How often have the noblest 
 of the saints been wrapped in ecstasy as they beheld " the glory 
 of the Lord with open face" (2 Cor. iii. 18) ! How often a 
 weary pilgrim in this valley of tears has struggled on despite the 
 bitterest temptations towards the rest of his father's house!
 
 424 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 " One drop of this happiness," a great saint tells us, " if it fell 
 into hell, would at once convert the misery of the damned into 
 joy and delight." " Blessed are they that dwell in thy house, O 
 Lord: they shall praise thee for ever and ever" (Ps. Ixxxiii. 5). 
 " They shall be inebriated with the plenty of thy house ; and thou 
 shalt make them drink of the torrent of thy pleasure. For with 
 thee is the fountain of life; and in thy light we shall see light" 
 (Ps. xxxv. 9, 10). 
 
 It is, however, the teaching of the Council of Florence that 
 although all the blessed shall be perfectly happy, still every one 
 shall be rewarded according to their degree of merit. Nothing is 
 more clearly taught in the Sacred Scriptures. Our Saviour tells 
 us that He will " render to every man according to his works " 
 (Matt. xvi. 27). It seems natural to suppose that the saint who 
 practises the heroic self-denial of a St. Paul, or the heroic poverty 
 of St. Francis Assisi, will obtain more glory before the throne 
 of God than that simple good housewife who saves her soul 
 after yielding many and many a time to worldliness. " He who 
 soweth sparingly, shall also reap sparingly: and he who soweth 
 in blessings, shall also reap blessings" (2 Cor. ix. 6). 
 
 Protestants as a rule deny this, on account of their false teach- 
 ing on merit and the efficacy of good works. They also appeal 
 to the parable of the householder (Matt. xx. 1-16). But Our 
 Saviour merely wished to bring out the fact " that the reward of 
 eternal life corresponds not to the length of time a man has 
 labored, but to the work he has accomplished" (Maldonatus). 
 Our Saviour had in mind the Jews, who, proud of their position 
 as God's chosen people, were murmuring now that He was put- 
 ting the alien Gentiles on the same footing as themselves. The 
 question of the quality or inequality of reward in an after life 
 is not even hinted at. 
 
 Another common difficulty of to-day is the doubt that seems to 
 arise even in the minds of some Christians : Will not the joys of 
 heaven be fruitful of languor and ennui ? They picture the blessed 
 as immersed in mere dreamy contemplation, or chanting in dull 
 monotonous round the praises of God. 
 
 But is it not altogether unreasonable to suppose that the Infinite 
 Intelligence, Beauty and Love, could fail to satisfy the aspira-
 
 LIFE EVERLASTING 425 
 
 tions and longings of our minds and hearts? As well say that 
 we could exhaust the ocean by drinking its waters as dream of 
 exhausting the treasures of eternal happiness that God has pre- 
 pared for us. 
 
 It is perfectly true that pleasure produces satiety in this life, 
 but that can readily be accounted for. Sinful pleasure eventually 
 causes disgust and ennui, for our hearts were made for something 
 higher and nobler; intellectual pleasure is often so exacting in 
 its demands that it wearies us exceedingly, just as the body be- 
 comes fatigued from too much physical exercise. 
 
 But in heaven no unhappiness is possible, because sin, the 
 origin of it, is absolutely banished. " There shall not enter into it 
 anything defiled" (Apoc. xxi. 27). No weariness or ennui is 
 possible, because God gives us the sustaining help of His own 
 infinite power and love. All the desires of mind and will and 
 heart will be eternally gratified. Why then question, simply be- 
 cause we cannot form an adequate concept of the manner in 
 which God will satisfy them? 
 
 Sursum Corda be your motto, then, beloved brethren. Lift up 
 your hearts to the glory and happiness that await you in the palace 
 of the King. The true lover thinks constantly of the beloved. It 
 was the thought of the plenty in his father's house that first 
 roused the prodigal to a sense of his degradation. It was the 
 vision of paradise that changed Saul, the persecutor of the Chris- 
 tians, into Paul, the great lover of Jesus Christ. 
 
 The true lover longs ardently for the presence of the beloved : 
 " As the hart panteth after the fountains of water ; so my soul 
 panteth after thee, O God" (Ps. xli. I, 2). The desire "to be 
 dissolved" and to be with God (Phil. i. 23) has ever burned in 
 the hearts of patriarchs, prophets, and apostles. They knew that 
 nothing but God could give true rest and peace to their souls; 
 that their longing for truth, goodness, beauty, and love was too 
 intense to be satisfied by aught created ; that this life was but an 
 imperfect, humdrum existence, unless its motive was divinized by 
 the glory of the life to come. Death to God's true servants is 
 merely a door into their Father's house, a gate into the King's 
 city. Sickness, sorrow, and labor are merely the passports for 
 entrance.
 
 426 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 The true lover is willing to do all things for the beloved. The 
 faithful follower of Christ finds every burden easy, because love 
 spurs him on. He knows that " the kingdom of heaven suffereth 
 violence, and the violent bear it away" (Matt. xi. 12). He 
 knows that the one who hateth his life in the world keepeth it 
 unto life eternal (John xii. 25). He knows that "through 
 many tribulations we must enter into the kingdom of God " (Acts 
 xiv. 21 ) . No sacrifice is too great, no sorrow too bitter, no labor 
 too trying, no poverty too burdensome, no temptation too vehe- 
 ment all are gladly accepted as crosses, needed to win the 
 crown incorruptible (i Cor. ix. 25). 
 
 With love as the motive, and the kingdom of God as the end 
 of your striving, let the world's standards alone. Men may pity 
 you for your ill health, look down upon you for your poverty, and 
 avoid you for your over great sorrow, esteeming your life mad- 
 ness, and your death without honor, but God has numbered you 
 among his children, and your lot will be eternal happiness among 
 his saints (Wisdom v. 4, 5). 
 
 HEAVEN 
 BY CARDINAL CORSI 
 
 If even a feeble glimpse of the eternal glory of God, as it mani- 
 fested itself at the Transfiguration of Christ on Mount Thabor, 
 appeared so enchanting to Peter that he at once would give up 
 the world and live forever upon that hallowed mountain, what 
 bliss must it be to behold the full splendor of heaven, to realize 
 its full meaning, to taste its delights, to possess its bliss without 
 fear of ever losing it again! St. Paul assures us that eye hath 
 not seen, neither hath the ear heard, nor hath it entered into 
 the heart of man, what God has prepared for those who love Him. 
 It is not my intention to describe to you heaven in all its splendor, 
 for it would be impossible for me to do so. In attempting to 
 picture to you the blissful abode of the elect, my words will be 
 quite insufficient to do justice to my subject. I can depict but a 
 feeble image of it, and you must draw your own conclusions as 
 to the immensity and nature of heaven. Suffice it to say, that 
 it is the truest good, the supreme and greatest of all good, be-
 
 LIFE EVERLASTING 427 
 
 cause the glory of heaven consists chiefly in beholding God, 
 in loving and praising Him. 
 
 The perfect happiness of the soul, so says St. Augustine, con- 
 sists in possessing the fulness of its proper desire. This posses- 
 sion engenders peace and satisfaction. In this world we can 
 never be really happy, because either we do not have what we 
 desire, or because we do not desire that which we should desire. 
 As long as we remain in this place of exile, visible creation can- 
 not conduce to our permanent happiness, or to the supreme ac- 
 complishment of our perfection ; but the moment we pass across 
 the threshold of the heavenly paradise, what blessed purity of the 
 will, what peace to the senses, what jubilant rapture shall we 
 experience! When our intelligence has been enabled to under- 
 stand the divine mysteries, it will realize how the three Persons 
 constitute the Most Holy Trinity : how the Father generated the 
 Son without being greater than the Son; how the Holy Ghost 
 proceeds from the Father and the Son without being inferior to 
 them in any sense. It will see the marvellous union of the 
 Divine and human natures in the one Divine Person of Jesus 
 Christ. 
 
 The blessed soul will behold in God infinite goodness and 
 beauty, which will fill the soul with infinite delight, admiration, 
 rapture, and love. 
 
 Oh, sweet rapture of a blessed, God-loving soul! This soul 
 loves in supreme happiness, with the most ardent love that will 
 ever continue; for by losing all thought of itself it knows of 
 nothing further to desire, nothing to wish, can think of no other 
 good except the One it loves. It loves, but with a perfectly 
 blissful love, because it finds every gratification in the one su- 
 preme Good whom it loves. This love, says St. Augustine, is 
 the only air which those inexpressibly blessed souls breathe, the 
 sole substance of their existence. And who could describe it ! 
 
 When the soul enters paradise it will exclaim : My faith taught 
 that the joys of heaven would be full and complete. But oh, rap- 
 ture, my expectation could picture only a feeble image, a shadow, 
 of that which I here in reality see and possess ! Blessed be those 
 sufferings endured upon earth in resignation to the Divine will! 
 Hallowed be that labor, those penitential works ! Blessed in par-
 
 428 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 ticular be my most gracious God who purchased this glory for 
 me at the price of His passion, who assisted me with His power- 
 ful grace, guided my actions, and granted to my good works their 
 merit ! 
 
 And this infinite and never-ending bliss is offered to all of us. 
 Yes, dear Christians, you and I can, and should, gain heaven. 
 All that is required is the fulfilling of the conditions under which 
 God has promised it to us. It suffices on our part that we seek 
 it earnestly, that we desire it. It is the reward of the work, the 
 price and the crown of the righteousness, the recompense of the 
 combat. 
 
 And now let us consider what we are really doing to merit 
 such a magnificent reward. Alas, the lives of many Christians 
 are little in accord with the law of God. Small are their efforts 
 to attain the crown of the righteous, the salvation for which they 
 were created. Does it not seem that some Christians seem more 
 anxious to damn than to save their souls ? Yes, indeed, it is only 
 too true that many Christians live only for the world; they 
 hanker after everything worldly, and think little, if at all, about 
 heaven and eternal glory. 
 
 Dear brethren, think seriously upon this : Heaven is the great- 
 est of all good; but man cannot attain it without working for it. 
 Contemplate the awful words of Jesus Christ : " Many are called, 
 but few chosen." Go to work at once, and earnestly, so that you 
 may be counted among the fortunate number of the chosen ones, 
 and merit the glory of heaven by living a righteous and God- 
 fearing life. Amen. 
 
 References 
 
 Hehel, " The Twelfth Article of the Creed," in Sermons on Christian 
 Doctrine; Hughes, in Horn. Monthly, March, 1919; Monsabre, in Lenten 
 Confer, of 1889. 
 
 Cath. Encyc., Vol. VII, pp. 170 ff . ; Summa Theol., Suppl., qq. 92-96; 
 I, q. 12; Ha, Ilae, qq. 1-5; Tanquerey, De Deo Remuneratore, Art. Ill; 
 Hurter, Theol. Dog., Vol. Ill, Nos. 828 ff. ; Pohle-Preuss, Eschatology, 
 pp. 28 ff. ; Vaughan, The Divine Armory, etc., pp. 895 ff. ; Callan, Illustra- 
 tions for Sermons, etc., pp. 90 ff. ; Out of Shadows into Light; Bellord, 
 Meditations, etc., Vol. II, pp. 352 ff. ; Schneider-Thurston, Th'e Other 
 Life, pp. 148 ff. ; Bolo, In Heaven we Know our Own.
 
 THE APOSTOLICITY OF THE CHURCH 429 
 
 FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER EASTER 
 
 SUBJECT 
 THE APOSTOLICITY OF THE CHURCH 
 
 TEXT 
 
 With whom there is no change, nor shadow of alteration. JAMES i. 17. 
 [At that time Jesus said to his disciples:] When he, the Spirit of truth, 
 is come, he will teach you all truth. JOHN xvi. 13. 
 
 Analysis 
 
 INTRODUCTION. St. James in to-day's Epistle tells us that 
 God is ever the same, always unchangeable. It is only natural, 
 therefore, that the true Church of God should likewise remain 
 unchanged, in spite of all the vicissitudes of time and place and 
 of every other institution in this world. The secret of this dis- 
 tinctive characteristic of the Church of Christ is the abiding 
 presence in her of that same Spirit of truth and immutability 
 whom our Lord promised to the Apostles in to-day's Gospel. 
 
 I. Apostolicity is a mark of the true Church of Christ. 
 I. Apostolicity means that the Church in every age must be 
 identical with the Church of the Apostles. This identity is mani- 
 fest in a public, lawful, and unbroken succession of pastors, com- 
 ing down from the Apostles, maintaining the same doctrines, 
 worship, and government which the Apostles delivered to the 
 Church. 2. The Scriptures tell us that the true Church must be 
 identical with the Church of the Apostles, for Paul says, " though 
 we, or an angel from heaven, preach a gospel to you besides that 
 which we have preached to you, let him be anathema" (Gal. i. 8) ; 
 "and it is built upon the foundations of the apostles" (Eph. ii. 
 20). This identity in teaching and government in the true 
 Church must be handed down uninterruptedly by a line of legiti- 
 mate pastors who descend from the Apostles themselves; for 
 "how shall they preach unless they be sent" (Rom. x. 15)?
 
 430 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 Thus the priests of Crete received their authority from Titus, 
 and Titus in turn received his from Paul (Titus i. 5). In their 
 disputes with heretics the most ancient Fathers of the Church 
 always appealed to the unbroken succession of pastors in the 
 Church to decide the truth of any doctrine. 
 
 II. The Church of Rome alone is Apostolic, i. Her suc- 
 cession of supreme pastors has never failed. Benedict XV 
 traces back an unbroken pedigree through 260 predecessors to 
 St. Peter himself. Their names and lives are handed down in 
 history and can be proved by public documents. The Protestants 
 had their beginning with Luther, sixteen centuries after the 
 Apostles; the Greek schismatics go back to Photius, eight cen- 
 turies after the Apostles. 2. The Catholic Church has preserved 
 the Sacred Scriptures, and she alone to-day reveres them as the 
 word of God. Of God's oral word or tradition she has been the 
 sole guardian and defender. 3. Thus the Catholic Church only 
 is identical with the Church of the Apostles. This even the adver- 
 saries of the Church admit when they accuse her of being always 
 the same and out of date. It was the identity between the Cath- 
 olic Church of to-day and the Church of the Apostles that 
 brought the great mind of Newman into the true fold. 
 
 CONCLUSION, i. Gratitude to God for the inestimable privilege 
 and dignity of belonging to the Church of the Apostles. 2. Re- 
 spect and reverence for the Bishops and priests of the Church, 
 the successors of the Apostles and disciples. 
 
 Catechism of the Council of Trent, Part I 
 ARTICLE IX OF THE CREED 
 
 APOSTOLICITY OF THE CHURCH 
 
 The true Church is also to be known, from her origin, which 
 she derives under the law of grace, from the Apostles; for her 
 doctrines are neither novel nof of recent origin, but were deliv- 
 ered of old by the Apostles, and disseminated throughout the 
 world. Hence, no one can for a moment doubt that the impious
 
 THE APOSTOLICITY OF THE CHURCH 431 
 
 opinions which heresy invents, opposed as they are to the doc- 
 trines taught by the Church from the days of the Apostles to 
 the present time, are very different from the faith of the true 
 Church. That all, therefore, may know the true Catholic Church, 
 the Fathers, guided by the Spirit of God, added to the Creed the 
 word " APOSTOLIC " ; 1 for the Holy Ghost, who presides over the 
 Church, governs her by no other than Apostolic men; and this 
 Spirit, first imparted to the Apostles, has by the infinite goodness 
 of God always continued in the Church. But as this one Church, 
 because governed by the Holy Ghost, cannot err in faith or 
 morals, it necessarily follows that all other societies arrogating to 
 themselves the name of Church, because guided by the spirit of 
 darkness, are sunk in the most pernicious errors, both doctrinal 
 and moral. 
 
 Sermons 
 
 CATHOLICITY AND APOSTOLIC ORIGIN OF THE CHURCH 
 BY CARDINAL CORSI 
 
 In our preceding instruction we learned that the true Church 
 founded by Jesus Christ must be furnished with four conspicu- 
 ous characteristics, rendering her easily recognizable, so that all 
 may follow the teaching of Christ and be able to obtain salvation. 
 These distinguishing marks of the true Church are, as we 
 learned, Oneness, Sanctity, Catholicity, and Apostolicity. As to 
 the first two qualities, I have showed how the marks of oneness 
 and sanctity are, without any doubt, possessed by our Church. 
 
 The true Church must also be catholic, namely universal. As 
 she is to be for all mankind the sole necessary means for the 
 attainment of salvation, it is necessary that this means should 
 exist at all times in the world and everywhere. Finally, she must 
 be apostolic. For, as Jesus Christ founded His Church upon the 
 apostles, and commissioned them to spread the same in the world, 
 thus Jesus Christ can only acknowledge as His Church that 
 religious community which was established by His apostles at 
 His command. We shall see that also these attributes are found 
 in the Church to which we belong. 
 
 1 On the notes of the true Church, see Augustine, Contra Epist. funda- 
 menti and Tertullian, De Praescript
 
 432 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 The third characteristic of the true Church is that she is 
 catholic, or universal. Holy Scripture speaks of the Church 
 under the image of a kingdom destined to spread itself through- 
 out all parts of the world, and in which all men may find salva- 
 tion, to attain the end for which they were created. In this 
 regard we know that the Catholic Church is not restricted to 
 one place, to one province, to one nation, but that she extends 
 north, south, east, and west, over the whole wide world. She 
 distinguishes not between nations of believers and unbelievers. 
 We find Catholics in Protestant nations, in heathen and Mo- 
 hammedan countries, among the savages of the remotest parts 
 of Africa, Asia, and Oceanica, all united together by the bonds 
 of the same faith and by participation in the same sacraments. 
 Therefore the title Catholic belongs by right to our Church, 
 because she is spread throughout all parts and embraces all 
 periods. Our faith is the same as that of Abraham and the 
 ancient patriarchs. They believed in the Redeemer that was to 
 come, and we in the same Redeemer who has come. Christ is 
 the corner-stone that joins together the faithful who were be- 
 fore Him with those who came after Him, the Old Testament 
 with the New, the prophets with the apostles. What more strik- 
 ing proof of the catholicity of our Church could one ask? 
 
 The true Church must, finally, be apostolic; she must have 
 been founded by the apostles, and must descend from the apostles 
 and have their doctrine. Now all this is absolutely true of our 
 Roman Catholic Church. The succession of her priests began 
 with the apostles, and will continue so for all times. From our 
 present Pope we can trace his predecessors in office to St. Peter, 
 appointed by Jesus Christ Himself to be the head of His Church. 
 And so can we trace the ordination and appointment of all 
 Catholic bishops. The source of their authority is in each case 
 a bishop ordained by one of the apostles, so that their office and 
 authority were derived from the apostles. 
 
 Through this uninterrupted succession in the priesthood the 
 doctrine of the Church has been preserved unchanged from the 
 apostles down to us. It suffices to compare what is taught to-day 
 with what was taught in the early Church, and we shall find that 
 all articles of faith which we believe were also believed in the
 
 THE APOSTOLICITY OF THE CHURCH 433 
 
 time of the apostles. The doctrine given by Jesus Christ to the 
 apostles, and by the apostles proclaimed to all nations, is still 
 professed by all Catholics. This most evident proof suffices in 
 order to demonstrate that our holy Church is manifestly the 
 Church that Jesus Christ founded, because she has preserved 
 all the marks of her origin. If members of the early Church 
 were to rise from the dead in these days, they would immedi- 
 ately recognize in our holy Church the Church in which they 
 lived and believed. 
 
 Behold, then, how the four marks, Oneness, Sanctity, Catho- 
 licity, and Apostolicity are found in our holy Church, and in 
 her alone. The other so-called churches, standing in opposition 
 to ours, cannot boast of the possession of these characteristics, 
 and hence they are false religions. 
 
 There is still another sure mark by which we may recognize 
 the true Church, that mark to which the divine Saviour referred 
 when He foretold that His apostles would become objects of 
 constant persecution on the part of the world. Which is the 
 religious community, that Giurch against which all others seem 
 to have sworn an irreconcilable hatred, which the world perse- 
 cutes with its jibes and calumnies because she teaches the truth 
 and condemns error and vice? Where is the Church that wears 
 a crown of thorns, a diadem of suffering? It is our Catholic 
 Church. The sword of persecution is continually drawn against 
 the Church of Rome. She must continually struggle in the heat 
 of strife. She is the true Church of Christ, and all other reli- 
 gious communities are false, because truth is only one, and there 
 can be only one true Church. 
 
 All these things which we have considered are well calculated 
 to make comprehensible to us the priceless privilege of belonging 
 to the Catholic Church, a blessing which we can never suffi- 
 ciently appreciate, a grace which has been imparted to us by the 
 mercy of God without any merit whatever on our part. He who 
 has the misfortune of being born and taught in a false religion 
 may turn to the true one, and many have done so. Yet it is ex- 
 tremely difficult to overcome the prejudices of training and educa- 
 tion. Hence let us be most grateful to God for the precious gift 
 of faith, and let us make use of it in the way He desires. With-
 
 434 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 out this the blessing will be not only useless, but will merit for 
 us greater punishment. What would it avail us, indeed, to be 
 children of a holy Church if we were to lead lives in contradic- 
 tion to her teachings ? 
 
 In order to be saved it is therefore not sufficient to be born in 
 and to belong to the true Church. We must also profess her 
 doctrines and arrange our manner of living according to her 
 tenets. We must by the righteousness of our moral lives take 
 part in the sanctity of the Church. 
 
 Along with the wheat in the fields grow the tares. But the 
 mere fact of growing in a wheat field does not save the useless 
 tares from destruction. This is the comparison which Jesus 
 Christ employed to explain to us the necessity of having merits. 
 Both good and bad members are now found in the field of the 
 Church, but a separation will be made by Christ on the day of 
 judgment. Great will then be the despair of bad Catholics to 
 see themselves cast with the unbelievers and godless, condemned 
 to the flames of hell, which will be all the more severe for them 
 as they had been favored by God with admission to the true 
 Church. 
 
 May this thought, dear brethren, dwell in your memory as a 
 strong incentive to correspond faithfully with the graces received, 
 and to live in His Church as God would have you, namely, as 
 her loyal, obedient, and sanctified members. Amen. 
 
 THE TRUE CHURCH OF CHRIST 
 BY CARDINAL CORSI 
 
 In the world there are many sects, religions, and creeds, and 
 the Jew, the Mohammedan, the Baptist, the Presbyterian, and 
 the rest, each one claims his religion to be the true one. Each 
 condemns as false the other creeds; the belief and religious 
 practices of each are in opposition one to another. Yet truth 
 can be but one, as God only is one ; it is consequently impossible 
 that all, or even two opposed creeds, can be true. There can 
 be only one true religion, only one true Church of Christ. 
 
 How are we then to find the true Church in this bewildering 
 throng of religious bodies? One thing is certain, and that is:
 
 THE APOSTOLICITY OF THE CHURCH 435 
 
 God could not leave us in ignorance in a matter of such great 
 moment, a matter involving nothing less than our eternal wel- 
 fare. The way that leads to salvation must be open to all; it 
 must be one that each man may see and know. And so it is. 
 The Lord has willed that His Church, like a city built upon the 
 pinnacle of a mountain, should be visible and be manifest to the 
 whole world, and He provided it with such evident marks that 
 men of every condition are enabled to see it, and to distinguish 
 it from false churches. The marks of the true Church are that 
 she must be one, holy, catholic, and apostolic, and as these marks 
 are alone found in the Roman Catholic Church, she alone is the 
 true Church of Jesus Christ. Let me further explain this. 
 
 The true Church of Christ must be one ; one in her faith, one 
 in her communion, one in her constitution, one in her head. And 
 this is the fact with our Church. She is one in faith. Although 
 spread over the whole world, all her communities hold in every 
 particular the same faith. Though her gospel is preached in 
 many different languages, the truths proclaimed are the same. 
 And so has it been ever since her foundation, and will ever be. 
 Ask a Catholic in any part of the wide world, call from the 
 grave a Catholic from any of the centuries that have passed since 
 the founding of the Church, and this Catholic from the distant 
 islands of the Pacific or from Iceland, this Catholic who lived 
 before or after the Reformation, each will profess the same 
 apostolic creed that you and I profess. The Roman Catholic 
 Church is one in her belief, and while she has occasionally more 
 clearly defined some particular dogma which was assailed by 
 her enemies, she has never changed in the truths she has taught. 
 
 The Roman Catholic Church is one also in her communion 
 and constitution. All her children are subject to the Supreme 
 Head, partake of the same sacraments, join in the same sacrifice, 
 the same prayers, the same divine worship. In order to preserve 
 this supernatural community, Jesus Christ gave to the Church 
 a constitution which makes her an active and perfectly governed 
 body. In every diocese there is a bishop who has for his as- 
 sistants the priests, and over all the bishops is placed the Pope, 
 as the representative of Christ on earth. The laity are joined 
 in communities under leadership of their pastors, the communi-
 
 436 
 
 ties are joined into dioceses under their bishops, and all the 
 dioceses together form the Church, under the leadership of the 
 Pope. 
 
 The Pope is the representative of Jesus Christ, so that through 
 the Pope the Church and all her faithful are directly linked with 
 God. Thus there is one single flock, under one single shepherd 
 (John x. 16). And this is the perfect unity of the Catholic 
 Church. 
 
 How different from our holy Church is the situation in which 
 the sects separated from our Church find themselves. I am not 
 speaking here of infidels. Since they do not profess Jesus Christ, 
 they cannot of course be one with Him. I speak of the sects 
 that, though they call themselves Christians, are in opposition 
 to our Church, and are commonly called Protestants. There is 
 among them no unity because they do not hold the same belief. 
 They cannot have unity in belief, for they acknowledge no 
 supreme head, no supreme authority, no infallible teaching office. 
 Each sect, in fact almost each individual Protestant, follows his 
 own opinion and forms his belief according to his lights. Hence 
 in each of the many sects there are almost as many opinions 
 on matters of faith as there are individuals. 
 
 The true religion of Jesus Christ, furthermore, must be holy. 
 Jesus Christ died, says St. Paul, in order to found a Church with- 
 out spot and without wrinkle. Our Roman Catholic Church is 
 holy in her invisible head, Jesus Christ, holy in her teaching 
 and in her precepts, holy in her sacraments and religious exer- 
 cises, holy in her commandments and in her aims, holy in her 
 saints, and holy, finally, in her faithful and obedient children. 
 Our Church, therefore, is holy, and she alone can be holy. 
 
 The sects separated from our Church cannot be holy; they 
 have not Jesus Christ for their founder, nor have they the suc- 
 cessors of the holy apostles for their heads. Their founders 
 have been far from holy, and therefore could not endow them 
 with holiness. 
 
 The true Church of Christ must also be catholic, which means 
 universal. Truth is but one; it is the same at all times, in all 
 places. That which is true here is true everywhere, and what 
 is true to-day will be true to-morrow and for all time. The
 
 THE APOSTOLICITY OF THE CHURCH 437 
 
 Church, as the truth revealed to the world, must therefore be 
 universal, existing at all times, since her foundation by Christ, 
 and in all places, since she is the Church of God. Our Church 
 teaches the truths which were revealed to our first parents, 
 handed down by the patriarchs, defined by the law of Moses, 
 proclaimed by the gospel of Jesus Christ, and spread abroad by 
 the apostles and their successors throughout the world. These 
 same truths will be proclaimed, unaltered, until the end of the 
 world, because the Church will exist as long as the world, and 
 tier faith will be the true faith of the human race for all times. 
 She is catholic, or universal, also as regards place. She invites 
 every man, she enters the entire world and embraces all nations. 
 Everywhere, and at all times, the same creed, the same holy 
 sacrifice, are found within her fold. 
 
 Not so with the sects separated from our Church. They are 
 not catholic, or universal. They are not universal in regard to 
 place or to time. There was a time since the death of our Lord 
 when they were not in existence, and in regard to place, many 
 of them are the official religions of some particular State, and 
 not much known beyond its borders. 
 
 Finally, the true Church of Christ must be apostolic. The 
 divine Saviour confided the revealed truths to His apostles for 
 the salvation of the world. To them he gave the commission 
 to preach the same throughout the world. From the apostles, 
 therefore, whom the Holy Spirit designates as the pillars and 
 foundation of the Church (Apoc. xxi. 14), the true Church 
 must descend. And this is the case with our Roman Catholic 
 Church. She is apostolic, because the apostles commissioned by 
 Christ established her and were her first shepherds. We can 
 prove the succession of our bishops from the times of the 
 apostles. We have in the Holy See of Rome the lawful succes- 
 sor of St. Peter. His doctrine is that received from the apostles. 
 Hence the Roman Catholic Church is the apostolic Church, the 
 Church of Jesus Christ, the only true Church. 
 
 That the Protestant sects cannot claim apostolic origin is 
 evident. Yes, dear brethren, the true Church founded by the 
 Redeemer of the world, propagated by His apostles, and con- 
 firmed by the blood of martyrs, is our Roman Catholic Church,
 
 438 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 the only Church that is truly one, holy, catholic, and apostolic. 
 In her alone has the Lord deposited the treasure of truth re- 
 vealed to the world; deposited the treasures of grace which 
 sanctifies souls, effects their salvation, and leads them to heaven. 
 She is the Church which the Supreme Pastor, the Son of God, 
 alone acknowledges as His, the Church in which the graces of 
 the redemption merited by Christ are applied to mankind at all 
 times without restriction. We must seek our salvation in her 
 alone, for only in the field in which the treasure is buried 
 (Matth. xiii. 44) can it be found; in another I seek in vain. He 
 who preaches another gospel than that announced by the apostles, 
 even if he were an angel from heaven, is anathema, says St. Paul, 
 and to him who is an adherent of this other gospel, that ends 
 in the flesh after beginning in the spirit, Christ will avail 
 nothing; rather he will lose Christ (Gal. v. 2-4). 
 
 Let us therefore praise the Lord, and thank Him fervently 
 for having preferred and elected us to be born in the bosom 
 of His holy Church. Let us ever love this holy Church, this 
 faithful Spouse of Jesus Christ; let us obey her voice; it is the 
 voice of God. She will then lead us after the brief conflict of 
 this earthly life to the eternal triumphs of heaven. Amen. 
 
 References 
 
 Hehel, " The Ninth Article of the Creed," in Sermons on Christian Doc- 
 trine; Richter, in Sunday-School Sermonettes; Freeland, in Pulpit Comm., 
 Vol. I; Urban, in Teachers' Handbook to the Catechism, Vol. I, p. 287: 
 Newman, " Faith and Private Judgment," in Discourses to Mixed Con- 
 gregations; " The Second Spring," in Sermons Preached on Various 
 Occasions; " The Christian Church a Continuation of the Jewish," in 
 Sermons on the Subjects of the Day; Monsabre, in Lenten Confer, of 
 1881. 
 
 Cath. Encyc., Vol. I, pp. 648 ff. ; De Groot, Summa Apol. De Eccl. Cath., 
 q. 5, art. 5; q. 7, art. i, 2, 5; Tanquerey, De Eccl. Christi, Nos. 770 ff. ; 
 Hurter, Theol. Dog., Vol. I, Nos. 429 ff.; Leo XIII, Bull Apostolicae 
 Curae, Sept 13, 1896; Smith, The Bull on Anglican Orders; Kinsman, 
 Salve Mater; Vaughan, The Divine Armory, etc., pp. 571 ff. ; Callan, 
 Illustrations for Sermons, etc., p. 113; Berington and Kirk, The Faith of 
 Catholics, Vol. I, p. 245.
 
 GOD OUR HEAVENLY FATHER 439 
 
 FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER EASTER 
 
 SUBJECT 
 GOD OUR HEAVENLY FATHER 
 
 TEXT 
 
 // you ask the Father anything in my name, he will give it you. . . . 
 For the Father himself loveth you. JOHN xvi. 23, 27. 
 
 Analysis 
 
 INTRODUCTION. In the text of to-day's Gospel our Lord refers 
 to God as His Father, because He is the natural Son of the 
 Father. But God is also our Father, inasmuch as we are His 
 adopted children through grace (see outline for Trinity Sun- 
 day, No. I). Hence in the Lord's Prayer we address God as 
 "our Father who art in heaven." 
 
 I. God is called Father, i. He is our Creator, who made us 
 out of nothing to His own image and likeness. 2. God is our 
 Ruler and Governor, who with paternal care watches over our 
 lives and provides for our needs. 3. God has made us in the 
 Sacrament of Baptism His own sons by adoption : " You have 
 received the spirit of adoption of sons, whereby we cry: Abba 
 (Father) " (Rom. viii. 15). 
 
 II. God is called our Father, i. This shows that God is not 
 the Father of some particular individuals only, but of all men ; 
 and that consequently we are all brethren one of another and of 
 Christ. 2. The word our teaches us that we should ask favors 
 from God for our neighbor as well as ourselves. Hence St. Am- 
 brose calls the Lord's Prayer the fraternal prayer. 
 
 III. God is called our Father who is in heaven, i. God is 
 everywhere present. 2. God is said to be especially in heaven, 
 because there the greatness of His glory is manifested, and be- 
 cause the words " in heaven " are calculated to raise our minds
 
 440 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 and hearts from earthly to spiritual things. 3. As the term 
 Father is calculated to fill us with confidence, so the words in 
 heaven are intended to inspire in us awe and reverence for God. 
 CONCLUSION, i. We should always pray with filial confidence, 
 knowing that God loves us as a Father. 2. We should love our 
 neighbor and pray for him, because God is the Father of all. 
 3. We should pray with devotion and ask for heavenly things 
 since our Father is in heaven, and is the source of every good. 
 
 Catechism of the Council of Trent, Part IV 
 
 THE LORD'S PRAYER 
 
 Our Father who art in heaven 
 
 PREFATORY WORDS TO THE LORD'S PRAYER 
 
 As this form of Christian prayer, delivered by Jesus Christ, 
 is of such importance as to have required the above prefa- 
 tory words, which inspire those who approach God piously to 
 approach Him also more confidently, it becomes the duty of 
 the pastor to premise a distinct and perspicuous exposition of 
 them. The pious Christian will thus have recourse to prayer 
 with increased alacrity, knowing that in prayer he communes 
 with God as with a father. 1 To consider the words alone which 
 compose this preface, they are indeed very few in number; but 
 looking to the matter, they are of the highest importance, and 
 are replete with mysteries. 
 
 GOD, WHY CALLED "FATHER" 
 
 Father. The first word which by the command and institution 
 of our Lord we utter in (the Greek and Latin forms of) this 
 prayer is " Father." The Redeemer, it is true, might have com- 
 
 1 The Lord's prayer is explained by the following : Tcrtullian, De Orat. ; 
 St. Cyprian, De Orat. Dominica ; St. Cyril of Jerusalem, Catech. 5. Mystag. ; 
 St. Chrysostom, Horn, de Orat. Dom. ; St. Jerome, Theoph., Euthym. on 
 Mark vi. ; St. Ambrose, 1. 4, de Sacrament, c. 4; St. Augustine, epist. 121 
 ad Probam. ; de Sermone Domini in Monte, 1. 2, cc. 5-9; horn. 42; De Bono 
 Perseverantiae, cc. 2 seq. ; Sertn. 126, 135, 182 de Tempore ; Cassian, Coll. 
 7, cc. 18-21 ; St. Thomas Aquinas, Opusc. de Orat. Dom.; Suinma Thcol., 
 2a, 2ac, q. 83, a. 9.
 
 GOD OUR HEAVENLY FATHER 441 
 
 menced this prayer with a word more expressive of majesty, 
 such as " Creator " or " Lord " ; yet these He omitted, as they 
 might be associated with ideas of terror, and chose rather an 
 expression which inspires love and confidence. What name more 
 tender than that of Father? a name at once expressive of in- 
 dulgence and love. 1 
 
 FIRST PROOF OF THE PROPRIETY OF THE APPELLATION 
 
 The propriety of the word " Father," as applied to God, the 
 faithful may be taught from the works of Creation, Government, 
 and Redemption. God created man to His own image and 
 likeness, an image and likeness which He impressed not on 
 other creatures; and on account of this peculiar privilege with 
 which He adorned man, He is appropriately designated in Scrip- 
 ture the Father of all men, the Father not alone of the faithful 
 but of all mankind. 
 
 SECOND PROOF 
 
 His government of mankind supplies another argument for 
 the propriety of the appellation. By the exercise of a special 
 superintending providential care over us and our interests, He 
 manifests the love of a Father towards us. But to comprehend 
 more clearly the force of this argument, which is drawn from 
 His paternal care over us, it may be necessary to say a few 
 words on the guardianship of those celestial spirits whom He 
 has appointed to watch over and protect us. 
 
 GUARDIAN ANGELS, THEIR MINISTRY 
 
 Angels are commissioned by Divine Providence to guard the 
 human race and be present with every man to protect him from 
 injury. As parents, when their children have occasion to travel 
 a dangerous way, infested by robbers, appoint persons to guard 
 and assist them in case of attack, so has our Heavenly Father 
 placed angels over each of us, in our journey towards our 
 heavenly country, that guarded by their vigilant care and assist- 
 ance we may escape the ambushes and repel the fierce attacks of 
 our enemies, proceed directly on our journey, secured by this 
 
 1 See St. Leo, serm. 6, de nat. Dom. ; St Thorn, i, p. quaest. 33, art I,
 
 guiding protection against the devious paths into which our 
 treacherous enemy would mislead us, and pursue steadily the 
 path that leads to heaven. 
 
 The important advantages which flow to the human race 
 from this special superintending Providence, the functions and 
 the administration of which are intrusted to angels, who hold a 
 middle place between man and the Divinity, appear from numer- 
 ous examples recorded in Scripture. These passages prove that 
 angels, as the ministers of the divine goodness, have frequently 
 wrought wonderful things in the sight of men, and they give us 
 to understand that innumerable other important services are ren- 
 dered to us by the invisible ministry of angels, the guardians of 
 our safety and salvation. 
 
 The angel Raphael, who was appointed by God the companion 
 and guide of Tobias, 1 conducted him and brought him back safe 
 again. 2 He helped to save him from being devoured by a large 
 fish, and pointed out to him the singular virtue of its gall and 
 heart ; 3 he expelled the evil demon, and by fettering and binding 
 up his power prevented him from injuring Tobias; he taught 
 the young man the true and legitimate rights of marriage, and 
 restored to the elder Tobias the use of his sight. 4 
 
 The angel who delivered the prince of the Apostles also af- 
 fords abundant matter of instruction on the admirable advan- 
 tages which flow from the care and guardianship of angels. To 
 this event, therefore, the pastor will also call the attention of the 
 faithful. He will point to the angel illuminating the darkness 
 of the prison, awakening Peter by touching his side, loosing his 
 chains, bursting his bonds, admonishing, him to rise, to take up 
 his sandals and other apparel, and to follow him. 5 The pastor 
 will also direct their attention to the same angel restoring Peter 
 to liberty, conducting him out of prison through the midst of the 
 guards, throwing open the door of his prison, and ultimately 
 placing him in safety without its precincts. The sacred Scrip- 
 tures, as we have already observed, abound in examples which 
 give us an idea of the magnitude of the benefits conferred on us 
 by the ministry of angels, whose tutelary protection is not con- 
 
 1 Tob. v. 6. * Tob. xii. 3. Tob. vi. 5. 
 
 * Tob. xii. 3. Acts xii. 7.
 
 GOD OUR HEAVENLY FATHER 443 
 
 fined to particular occasions or persons, but extends to each 
 individual of the human race, from the hour of his birth. In 
 the exposition of this point of doctrine the diligence of the pastor 
 will be rewarded with one important advantage: the minds of 
 the faithful will be interested, and excited to acknowledge and 
 revere the paternal care and providence of God. 1 
 
 UTILITY OF THIS EXPOSITION ; IT SHOWS THE GOODNESS 
 
 OF GOD 
 
 The pastor will here exalt and proclaim the riches of the 
 goodness of God to man. Ever since the transgression of our 
 first parents, who entailed upon us the evil consequences of sin, 
 we have never ceased to offend Him by innumerable crimes and 
 enormities, even to the present hour, yet God retains His love 
 for us, and still continues His special care over us. To imagine 
 that He is unmindful of His creatures were insanity, and noth- 
 ing less than to hurl against the Deity the most blasphemous 
 insult. God was angry with the people of Israel because they 
 supposed themselves deserted by His care: tempting the Lord, 
 they said, " Is the Lord amongst us or not ? " 2 And again, " The 
 Lord seeth us not, the Lord hath forsaken the earth." 3 The 
 faithful are therefore to be deterred by these passages from the 
 impiety of imagining that God can at any time be forgetful of 
 man. The Israelites, as we read in Isaias, make the complaint 
 against God; and its unreasonableness God exposes by a simili- 
 tude which breathes nought but kindness : " Sion said : the Lord 
 hath forsaken me, and the Lord hath forgotten me"; to which 
 God answers, " Can a woman forget her infant, so as not to have 
 pity on the son of her womb ? and if she should forget, yet will 
 not I forget thee. Behold, I have graven thee in my hands." * 
 
 Indisputably as these passages establish this truth, yet to 
 bring home to the minds of the faithful an absolute conviction 
 that at no time does God forget? man, or withdraw from him the 
 offices of paternal love, the pastor will add to the evidence of 
 this truth by introducing the example of our first parents, by 
 
 1 Concerning the creation and dignity of the angels see Part I under 
 the first Article of the Creed. 
 
 Exod. xvii. 7. Ezek. viii. 12. * Tsa. xlix. 14-16.
 
 444 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 which it is so strikingly illustrated. When you hear them 
 sharply reproved for having violated the command of God; 
 when you hear their condemnation pronounced in this awful sen- 
 tence, " Cursed is the earth in thy work ; with labor and toil 
 shalt thou eat thereof all the days of thy life. Thorns and 
 thistles shall it bring' forth to thee ; and thou shalt eat the herbs 
 of the earth " ; x when you see them driven out of Paradise ; 
 when, to extinguish all hope of return, you read that a fiery 
 cherub was stationed at the entrance, brandishing " a flaming 
 sword, turning every way"; 2 when you know that to avenge 
 the injury done Him, God consigned them to every affliction of 
 mind and body ; when you see and know all this, would you not 
 be led to pronounce that man was lost irrecoverably? that he 
 was not only deprived of all assistance from God, but also aban- 
 doned to every species of misery? But although the storm of 
 the divine wrath burst over his guilty head, yet the love of God 
 shot a gleam of consolation across the darkness that enveloped 
 him. The Sacred Scriptures inform us that " the Lord God made 
 for Adam and his wife, garments of skins, and clothed them," 3 
 a convincing proof that at no time does God abandon His crea- 
 ture man. 
 
 That no injuries offered to God by man can exhaust the divine 
 love is a truth contained in these words of David : " Will he 
 [God] in his anger shut up his mercies?" 4 And Habacuc, ad- 
 dressing himself to God, distinctly says, " When thou art angry, 
 thou wilt remember mercy." B " Who is a God like to thee," 
 says Micheas, " who takest away iniquity, and passest by the sin 
 of the remnant of thy inheritance? he will send his fury in no 
 more, because he delighteth in mercy." 6 When, therefore, we 
 imagine that God has abandoned us, that we are deprived of 
 His protection, then in an especial manner does He, of his in- 
 finite goodness, seek after and protect us ; for in His anger He 
 stays the sword of His justice, and ceases not to pour out the 
 inexhaustible treasures of His mercy. 
 
 1 Gen. iii. 17, 18. * Gen. iii. 23, 24. Gen. iii. 21. 
 
 * Ps. Ixxvi. IO. B Hab. iii. 2. Mich. vii. 18.
 
 GOD OUR HEAVENLY FATHER 445 
 
 THIRD PROOF 
 
 The creation and government of the world, therefore, display 
 in an admirable manner the singular love and protecting care 
 of God; but among these the great work of redemption stands 
 out so prominently that this God of boundless beneficence, our 
 Father, has by this third benefit crowned and shed a lustre on 
 the other invaluable blessings bestowed on us by His bounty. 
 The pastor, therefore, will announce to his spiritual children, 
 and will sound continually in their ears, this overwhelming mani- 
 festation of the love of God towards us, in order that they may 
 know that by redemption they are become, in an admirable man- 
 ner, the children of God. " He gave them power," says St. John, 
 "to be made the sons of God," who are born of God. 1 There- 
 fore it is that baptism, which we receive as the first pledge and 
 memorial of redemption, is called "the sacrament of regenera- 
 tion " ; for thereby we are born children of God. " That which 
 is born of the Spirit," says our Lord, " is spirit." We must be 
 born again ; 2 and the Apostle Peter says, " Being born again, 
 not of corruptible seed, but incorruptible," by the word of the 
 living God. 3 By virtue of our redemption we have received the 
 Holy Spirit, and are dignified with the grace of God, by which 
 we are adopted sons of God. " You have not received the spirit 
 of bondage again in fear," says St. Paul, " but you have received 
 the spirit of adoption of sons, whereby we cry : Abba, (Father.) "* 
 Of this adoption, the force and efficacy are explained by St. John 
 in these words : " Behold what manner of charity the Father 
 hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called, and should be 
 the sons of God." 6 
 
 RECIPROCAL AFFECTION DUE TO GOD 
 
 These truths explained, the pastor will remind the faithful of 
 the reciprocal affection which they owe to God, our most loving 
 Father; because by this means they will comprehend what love 
 and piety, what obedience and veneration, they should render to 
 their Creator, Governor, and Redeemer, and with what hope and 
 confidence they should invoke his name. 
 
 1 John i. 12, 13. * John iii. 6, 7. ' I Pet i. 23. 
 
 * Rom. viii. 15. ' I John iii. I.
 
 446 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 GOD LOVES WHILE HE CHASTISES 
 
 But to instruct the ignorance and correct the perversity of 
 such as may imagine that prosperity is the only proof of the 
 love of God, and that adversity, with which he may please to 
 visit us, indicates his hostility and the utter alienation of his 
 love, the pastor will show that when the hand of the Lord 
 touches us, 1 it is not with hostile purpose, but to heal by strik- 
 ing. If he chastises the sinner, it is to reclaim him by salutary 
 severity, and to rescue him from everlasting perdition by the 
 infliction of present punishment. He visits our iniquities with 
 a rod, and our sins with stripes ; but his mercy he taketh not 
 away from us. 2 The faithful, therefore, are to be admonished 
 to recognize in such chastisements a proof of his paternal love, 
 to keep in their memory and on their lips these words of the 
 patient Job : " He woundeth, and cureth : he striketh, and his 
 hands shall heal"; 3 and to adopt these sentiments, and repeat 
 these words of the prophet Jeremiah, spoken in the name of the 
 people of Israel : " Thou hast chastised me, and I was instructed, 
 as a young bullock unaccustomed to the yoke. Convert me, and 
 I shall be converted, for thou art the Lord my God." * Let 
 them also keep before their eyes the example of Tobias, who, 
 when he felt the hand of God upon him, visiting him with blind- 
 ness, exclaimed, " I bless thee, O Lord God of Israel, because 
 thou hast chastised me." B 
 
 WE ARE NOT TO MURMUR AGAINST HIS WILL 
 
 Here the faithful should guard with the utmost caution 
 against the error of believing that any afflictions or calamities 
 befall them without the knowledge of God. He Himself assures 
 us that a hair of our head shall not perish ; they should rather 
 be cheered by these words, which we read in the Apocalypse: 
 " Such as love, I rebuke and chastise " ; 7 and all their appre- 
 hensions should be calmed by these words of exhortation ad- 
 dressed by St. Paul to the Hebrews : " My son, neglect not the 
 discipline of the Lord; neither be thou wearied whilst thou art 
 
 i Job xix. 21. * Ps. Ixxxviii. 34. Job v. 18. 
 
 Jer. xxxi. 18. Tob. xi. 17. Luke xxi. 18. 
 
 1 Apoc. iii. 19.
 
 GOD OUR HEAVENLY FATHER 447 
 
 rebuked by him. For whom the Lord loveth, he chastiseth ; and 
 he scourgeth every son whom he receiveth." * 
 
 WE ARE ALL BRETHREN OF CHRIST 
 
 Our. When, under the name of Father, we all invoke God, 
 calling him emphatically "our Father," we are taught that as 
 a necessary consequence of the gift and right of divine adop- 
 tion we are brethren, and should love one another as brethren : 
 " All you are brethren," says the Redeemer, " for one is your 
 father, who is in heaven " ; 2 and hence, in their Epistles the 
 Apostles call all the faithful brethren. 
 
 Another necessary consequence is, that by the same divine 
 adoption not only are all the faithful united in one common 
 brotherhood, but also called, and really are, brethren of the only 
 begotten Son of God, who assumed our nature. Hence the 
 Apostle, in his Epistle to the Hebrews, speaking of the Son of 
 God, says, " He is not ashamed to call them brethren, saying, I 
 will declare thy name to my brethren." 3 This David had so 
 many centuries before prophesied of the Redeemer; and our 
 Lord Himself says to the woman mentioned in the Gospel, " Go, 
 tell my brethren that they go into Galilee, there they shall see 
 me." 4 This He said after His resurrection, when He had put 
 on immortality, lest it should be supposed that this fraternal 
 relation was dissolved by His resurrection, and ascension into 
 heaven. So far is the resurrection of Christ from dissolving 
 this bond of union and love that, from the very throne on which 
 He will sit on the last day, resplendent with majesty and glory 
 to judge a congregated world, even the least of the faithful 
 shall be called by the name of brethren. 5 
 
 But how, possibly, can we be other than brethren of Christ, 
 called as we are, co-heirs with him? He is the first begotten, 
 appointed heir of all; 6 but we, begotten in the next place, are 
 co-heirs with Him, according to the measure of heavenly gifts, 
 and according to the degree of love with which we prove our- 
 selves servants and co-operators of the Holy Ghost. By the 
 
 Heb. xii. 5. * Matt, xxiii. 8, 9. Heb. ii. II, 12; Ps. xxi. 23. 
 
 * Matt, xxviii. 10. * Matt xxv. 40. Rom. viii. 17; Heb. i. 2.
 
 448 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 inspiration of the Holy Ghost we are animated to virtue, and to 
 meritorious actions; supported by His grace, we are inflamed 
 to engage with fortitude in the combat for salvation, the success- 
 ful termination of which, and of our earthly career, will be re- 
 warded by our Heavenly Father with that imperishable crown 
 of justice which is reserved for all who shall have run the same 
 course ; " for God," says the Apostle, " is not unjust, that he 
 should forget " our work and our love. 1 
 
 THE WORD "OUR" TO BE UTTERED WITH HEARTFELT PIETY 
 
 But with what sentiments of heartfelt piety we should utter 
 the word " our," these words of St. Chrysostom declare : " God," 
 says he, " willingly hears the prayer of a Christian, not only 
 when offered for himself, but for another. Necessity obliges 
 us to pray for ourselves ; charity exhorts us to pray for others. 
 The prayer of fraternal charity," he adds, " is more acceptable 
 to God than that of necessity." 2 
 
 OUR DEMEANOR TOWARDS OTHERS SHOULD BESPEAK FRATERNAL 
 REGARD: OUR COMMON BROTHERHOOD 
 
 On the subject of prayer, a subject so important, so salutary, 
 it becomes the duty of the pastor to admonish and exhort all his 
 hearers, of every age, sex, and rank, to be mindful of this com- 
 mon brotherhood, and instead of arrogating to themselves an 
 insolent superiority over others, to exhibit in their conduct the 
 bearing and the tone of fraternal regard. True, there are many 
 gradations of office in the Church of God, yet that diversity of 
 rank is far from severing the bond of this fraternal relationship ; 
 in the same manner as variety of use and diversity of office do 
 not cause this or that member of the same body to forfeit the 
 name or functions of a member. The monarch, seated on his 
 throne and bearing the sceptre of royal authority as one of the 
 faithful, is the brother of all who are within the communion of 
 the Christian faith. There is not one God the Creator of the 
 rich, another of the poor; one of kings, another of subjects; 
 but there is one God who is common Lord and Father of all. 
 Considering their spiritual origin, we see that the nobility of all 
 
 1 Heb. vi. 10. ' Chrys. horn. 14, operis imperfecti in Matt
 
 GOD OUR HEAVENLY FATHER 449 
 
 is the same. For we are all born of the same spirit, through the 
 same sacrament of faith, children of God, and co-heirs to the 
 same immortal inheritance. The wealthy and the great have 
 not one Christ for their God, the poor and the lowly another; 
 they are not initiated by different sacraments; they do not ex- 
 pect a different inheritance. No, we are all brethren ; in the 
 language of the Apostle, " We are members of his [Christ's] 
 body, of his flesh, and of his bones." * " You are all the children 
 of God by faith, in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have 
 been baptized in Christ, have put on Christ. There is neither Jew 
 nor Greek : there is neither bond nor free : there is neither male 
 nor female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus." 2 
 
 THIS DOCTRINE TO BE FORCIBLY INCULCATED BY THE PASTOR 
 
 This is a subject which the pastor should handle with all pos- 
 sible care. On its consideration he cannot expend too much 
 knowledge and ability, because it is not less calculated to fortify 
 and sustain the indigent and the lowly than to restrain and re- 
 press the arrogance of the rich and the pride of the powerful. 
 It was to remedy this evil that the Apostle so forcibly pressed 
 on the attention of the faithful this principle of fraternal charity. 
 
 IN WHAT SPIRIT WE SHOULD UTTER THE WORDS " OUR FATHER*' 
 
 When, therefore, O Christian, you are about to address this 
 prayer to God, remember that you, as a son, approach God your 
 Father; and when you begin the prayer and utter the words 
 " our Father," reflect for a moment how exalted is the dignity to 
 which the infinite love of God has raised you. He commands 
 you to approach Him, not with the reluctance and timidity of 
 a servant approaching his Lord, but with the eagerness and the 
 security of a child flying to the bosom of his father. Consider 
 also with what recollection and attention, with what care and 
 devotion, you should approach Him in prayer. You must ap- 
 proach Him as becomes a child of God. Your prayers and 
 actions must be such as not to be unworthy of that divine origin 
 with which it has pleased your most gracious God to ennoble 
 you, a duty to which the Apostle exhorts when he says, " Be 
 
 1 Eph. v. 30. * Gal. iii. 26, 27, 28.
 
 450 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 ye therefore followers of God, as most dear children"; 1 that 
 of us may be truly said, what the Apostle wrote to the Thessa- 
 lonians, " All you are the children of light, and the children of 
 the day." 2 
 
 IN WHAT SENSE GOD IS EVERYWHERE 
 
 Who art in Heaven. All who have a correct idea of the 
 Divinity agree that God is everywhere present. This, however, 
 is not to be understood as if he consisted of parts, filling and 
 governing one place with one part, another place with another; 
 for God is a spirit, and is therefore indivisible. Who would 
 presume to circumscribe within the limits of any place, or con- 
 fine to any particular spot, Him who says of Himself, " Do not 
 I fill heaven and earth"? 3 Yes, by His power and virtue He 
 fills heaven and earth, and all things contained therein. He is 
 present with all things, creating them, or preserving them when 
 already created; while He Himself is confined to no place, is 
 circumscribed by no limits, is defined by nothing to prevent His 
 being present everywhere by His immensity and omnipotence. 
 " If," says the Psalmist, " I ascend into heaven, thou art there." * 
 
 WHY SAID TO BE SPECIALLY IN HEAVEN 
 
 God, although present in all places and in all things, and, as 
 we have already observed, circumscribed by no limits, is, how- 
 ever, frequently said in Scripture to have His dwelling in the 
 heavens, because the heavens which we see are the noblest part 
 of the visible world, undecaying in splendor, excelling all other 
 objects in power, magnitude, and beauty, and moving with uni- 
 form and harmonious revolution. To elevate the soul of man 
 to the contemplation of His infinite power and majesty, which 
 shine forth with such splendor in the expanse of heaven, God 
 therefore declares that His dwelling is in the heavens. He also 
 frequently declares that there is no part of creation that is not 
 filled by His divinity and power, which are everywhere present. 
 In the consideration of this subject the faithful will, however, 
 propose to themselves not only the image of the universal Father 
 of mankind, but also that of God reigning in heaven, in order 
 
 1 Eph. v. i. * i Thess. v. 5. ' Jer. xxiii. 24. 
 
 * Ps. cxxxviii. 8; Aug., lib. i, Conf. c. 3; St. Thomas, I, p. q. 8, art. 2.
 
 GOD OUR HEAVENLY FATHER 451 
 
 that when approaching Him in prayer they may recollect that 
 heart and soul are to be raised to heaven. The transcendent 
 nature and divine majesty of our Father who is in heaven should 
 inspire us with as much Christian humility and piety as the name 
 of father should fill us with love and confidence. 
 
 These words also inform us what are to be the objects of our 
 prayers. All our supplications offered for the useful and neces- 
 sary things of this life, unless united to the bliss of heaven 
 and referred to that end, are to no purpose, and are unworthy 
 of a Christian. Of this manner of praying the pastor, there- 
 fore, will admonish his pious hearers, and will strengthen the 
 admonition with the authority of the Apostle : " If you be risen 
 with Christ, seek the things that are above ; where Christ is sit- 
 ting at the right hand of God: mind the things that are above, 
 not the things that are upon the earth." 1 
 
 Sermons 
 
 OUR FATHER WHO ART IN HEAVEN 
 BY THE REV. L. RULAND, D.D. 
 
 Happy and highly favored were those privileged persons who 
 saw our Lord in His human form and heard the words of ever- 
 lasting life from His lips. Many centuries have elapsed since 
 He walked on earth, but God's Word is always with us, and 
 in spirit at least we can still transport ourselves to that glorious 
 time, and, children of the twentieth century as we are, we can 
 now listen to the same saving doctrine. I have no new message 
 to give you ; I only wish to call to your minds words familiar 
 to you all ; words that each of you learned at his mother's knee, 
 the words of the Our Father. 
 
 Picture to yourselves the mountain of the Beatitudes, where our 
 Saviour preached His great Sermon on the Mount. The scenery 
 all around is very beautiful, and well adapted to raise men's 
 hearts and dispose them to receive the words of eternal life. 
 The mountain has two peaks, separated by a stretch of meadow- 
 land; it stands at a little distance from the Lake of Genesareth, 
 and from its summit is seen a wide expanse of fertile country, 
 
 1 Col. iii. i, 2.
 
 452 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 with the snowclad peaks of Hermon and Lebanon in the back- 
 ground. It was amid these fair surroundings that our Divine 
 Lord said to the listening multitude : " Thus . . . shall you pray : 
 Our Father who art in heaven." He taught them the prayer 
 that for two thousand years has been uttered by millions of 
 human beings. Like everything truly great, this prayer is very 
 plain and simple, but profound depths of Divine wisdom underlie 
 these simple words, wisdom such as our human intelligence 
 cannot fathom, even though a lifetime were devoted to the task. 
 
 Let us make an attempt to penetrate a little way below the 
 surface, and to gather up at least a few golden grains of Divine 
 instruction and consolation adapted to the age in which we live, 
 an age rich in outward splendor and poor in real inward 
 worth, and consequently greatly in need of help. To-day I can 
 deal only with the opening words : Our Father who art in heaven. 
 
 If I were asked to mention the chief characteristic of our 
 public and religious life, I should say that it is the disappearance 
 of all outward manifestation of religion from the daily thoughts 
 and actions of men. Have you ever looked at any ancient docu- 
 ments? Any of you who are familiar with such things will 
 bear out my assertion that even when they refer to purely secu- 
 lar matters they begin with the name of God, and the feasts 
 of the Church were the centre points of public life. For in- 
 stance, a contract is signed on the Monday after Judica; interest 
 is payable on St. George's day; a man signs his will on the 
 Wednesday after Misericordia Domini, and servants are engaged 
 on Candlemas Day. We prosaic people substitute a number, the 
 day of the month, for all these things. This is perhaps an un- 
 important trifle, but nevertheless it marks the trend of thought. 
 We refrain more and more from any allusion to God in our daily 
 business ; many people make no profession at all of religion, and 
 many others, who still claim to be Christians, look upon religion 
 more or less as they do upon their best clothes, which are put 
 on now and then for an hour or two. Religion, as affecting and 
 influencing the whole of human existence, religion as the key- 
 note of life, threatens to become very rare nowadays. Men are 
 rather too proud of their knowledge. Nature no longer con- 
 fronts them as something unknown and mysterious, for scien-
 
 GOD OUR HEAVENLY FATHER 453 
 
 tific research has revealed to them treasures hidden from their 
 forefathers, and the result has been that they are dazzled, and 
 have grown too short-sighted to see anything except what is 
 close to them, and they employ their learning in building up a 
 reputation for themselves, instead of humbly laboring at the 
 temple of eternal Wisdom. 
 
 Natural science has recently made many discoveries, and be- 
 cause we now know the laws governing a small department of 
 nature, some people imagine that the solution of all problems 
 has been found out. Consequently those engaged in scientific 
 research have in many cases ceased to think of God. There can 
 be no greater mistake than this, for such pride robs us of what 
 we have, giving nothing in return; it inflicts, but does not heal, 
 wounds; it is destructive, not constructive. 
 
 Not long ago I read an anecdote that supplies us with an ex- 
 cellent illustration of what I mean. A child was asked which 
 was more important, the sun or the moon, and in his ignorance 
 he replied the moon, for it shines by night, whereas the sun 
 shines by day, when it is light in any case. Equally erroneous 
 is the opinion of those who fancy that their paltry scraps of 
 knowledge can take the place of the grand conception of God, 
 the idea of the eternal Wisdom. An honest and serious scientist 
 soon reaches the limit of human knowledge, and as soon as we 
 make a step forward the darkness closes in upon us, and we 
 realize only too well the justice of a complaint uttered by a real 
 scientist: "Ignoramus et ignorabimus, we do not and we shall 
 not know." I will not enumerate all the various interpretations 
 that have been suggested for the mystery of the universe, the 
 theories regarding matter, blind necessity, and so on. They 
 teach us one thing only, and that is the truth. It is not enough 
 for us to have the light of the moon, that illumines the darkness 
 of life beautifully indeed, but insufficiently; we need the sun- 
 light, and cannot dispense with our faith in God, and therefore 
 we owe a debt of gratitude to our Lord Jesus Christ for having 
 removed our doubts and taught us to say : " Our Father who art 
 in heaven." He was preceded by many philosophers who dis- 
 cussed with profound learning the problems of the universe and 
 of human existence. Christ, however, has nothing in common
 
 454 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 with them; He did not teach as the sages of this world taught; 
 He propounded no elaborate systems and made no complicated 
 deductions, but He stated the truth in all its simple grandeur 
 and with the authority of a personality before whom His ene- 
 mies trembled, confessing that He spoke as one possessing power. 
 Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ gave us the solution of all 
 the problems regarding human existence when He proclaimed 
 that the unseen and eternal God, our Father who is in heaven, 
 was the Creator of all things. We cannot see Him as He is, 
 in all His glory. A man- who tries to gaze at the sun must soon 
 avert his eyes from its dazzling splendor, although he may con- 
 template its beauty reflected in a dewdrop and see how each ray 
 of light is broken up into seven exquisite colors. In the same 
 way we cannot contemplate God face to face, but wherever we 
 look we see a reflection of His Divine power and wisdom. Our 
 mortal eyes are incapable of beholding Him in His infinite sim- 
 plicity and greatness, but in all that is true, good, and beautiful 
 we can discover His action, revealed in manifold tints. These 
 tints are visible everywhere throughout the universe, and above 
 all in the human soul. We have the faculty of self-examination 
 and can criticize our own thoughts and feelings. There is noth- 
 ing in this world greater or more wonderful than the soul of 
 man, which is not confined to the place where he lives, nor to the 
 body, for it can rise above all limitations of time and space. The 
 mind of man is ever active, seeking incessantly for truth. Where 
 the acquisition of knowledge and truth is at stake, we do not 
 hesitate to sacrifice our comfort and rest and to brave the perils 
 of the sea and the desert. This eager quest of knowledge in- 
 dicates the possibility of acquiring it, for we cannot believe that 
 all mankind has erred, when in search of truth it has invariably 
 throughout the ages lighted upon the conception of God. We 
 must assume that our own souls reflect one great, eternal Spirit, 
 whose abode is in heaven, and who with the arms of His omnipo- 
 tence embraces all that exists a Spirit that we need not regard 
 with fear and alarm, but whom our Divine Saviour bids us 
 address as " Our Father who art in heaven." 
 
 I remarked at the beginning of my sermon that there is at the 
 present day a tendency to eliminate all reference to God from
 
 GOD OUR HEAVENLY FATHER 455 
 
 public life. I have shown the truth of this statement with re- 
 gard to the intellectual life of the day, but it is equally applicable 
 to men's moral life. They refuse to allow any thought of God 
 to influence their daily existence, nor do they recognize Him 
 as the supreme Legislator and Judge of their actions. It is some- 
 times startling to see to what lengths people go in this respect. 
 They look upon conscientious scruples and Christian duties as 
 quite obsolete. They are reckless in the pursuit of their own 
 advantage, reckless too in seizing every opportunity of pro- 
 moting their temporal prosperity. They wish to get on, no 
 matter by what means. Their low standard of morality is to 
 some extent concealed by their success and regard for outward 
 respectability; but from time to time we have occasion to ob- 
 serve the downfall of undertakings and of persons whose hon- 
 esty it would have seemed impossible to doubt, and those who 
 yesterday enjoyed titles and honors, to-day are branded as crimi- 
 nals, or die by their own hand. When this happens, we see for 
 a moment the abyss on the brink of which we are standing. Let 
 us beware of self-deception on this point no morality can be 
 based upon the abstract rules of social obligations, nor upon 
 those of human ideals. As soon as men lose sight of the fact 
 that God, our heavenly Father, has laid down laws regulating 
 human action, they become a law to themselves ; there is no 
 longer any definite standard of right and wrong, but everything 
 is merely a matter of opinion, and the passions and cravings 
 of the individual will never be restrained by a moral code of 
 human origin. 
 
 The sole foundation for morality is God, to whom we appeal 
 as Our Father in heaven. Whenever men forsake and forget 
 Him, loyalty and faith perish. The fact that at the present day 
 the antagonism of the various classes, due to their conflicting 
 interests, has not yet caused irremediable harm, must be ascribed 
 to the Christian foundation of our civilization, which still ex- 
 ercises a beneficial influence even on those who deny it. Alas 
 for us and for our earthly prosperity if ever Christianity so far 
 loses its hold upon the masses as to cease to affect the majority 
 of the population! We read in books of natural history of the 
 lion's generosity, but I fancy none of us, if unarmed, would care
 
 456 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 to encounter a lion in the desert and to rely upon his generosity. 
 Those who desire to maintain the standard of morality without 
 basing it upon religion, urge us to do right for its own sake; 
 but we cannot trust them. There is but one solution to the 
 moral problem, and our Saviour has given it to us in the Our 
 Father. Since God in heaven is our Father, we are all His 
 children, and therefore brethren. In this way faith in our 
 heavenly Father is the foundation of human society and mutual 
 charity, and from this faith proceeds the hope of our inheritance 
 in heaven. Thus for nearly two thousand years Christian faith, 
 hope, and charity have influenced the minds of' men. Sometimes 
 people of all ranks have been imbued with the glorious idea that 
 God is the Father of all, and consequently all men are brothers ; 
 at other times they have lost sight of this thought, although it 
 has always reappeared as the one sure foundation of human so- 
 ciety. It is our duty to strive that mankind may attain their 
 highest aim, and that these glorious truths should always obtain 
 recognition in public life. 
 
 There is one mistake against which I wish to warn you: Do 
 not complain too much of the evil spirit of the age. What we 
 mean by the spirit of the age is the opinion of the majority, or 
 perhaps of the noisiest of our contemporaries. If this spirit 
 displeases us, we should remember that we are to some extent 
 answerable for it, since each of us has a voice which he can use 
 as he chooses. If we see that we are not in the majority, it 
 behooves us to proclaim all the more emphatically our faith in 
 our heavenly Father. In the Bible those who believe in God 
 are called a priestly people. This priestly office held by man- 
 kind in general is the service of God by means of charity 
 towards Him and our fellow men. Blessed will be the day when 
 public acknowledgment is once more made of our Father in 
 heaven. We must do our best to hasten its approach, and to 
 make known by our actions the universal fatherhood of God, 
 and the fact that all men, being His children, are brothers. Can 
 this be accomplished while the world is so far from perfect? 
 We shall fare like the traveller walking towards the rising sun 
 he sees it on the horizon, and fancies that he has but a mile to 
 go in order to grasp it. He hurries along the luminous path,
 
 GOD OUR HEAVENLY FATHER 457 
 
 but the sun is always far away and rises high over his head. 
 Thus is it with our ideals; but nevertheless it is worth while to 
 attempt their realization, for some day it will be attained. Our 
 great consolation is that our life on earth is not the only life 
 it is but a time of probation. When we say the words Our 
 Father, we give utterance to our hope of a heavenly inheritance 
 after our earthly conflict is over. But the sufferings and strug- 
 gles of this world are intended to purify our souls, so that we 
 may grow in grace and become true children of God, worthy 
 of the imperishable inheritance prepared for us by our Father 
 who is in heaven. Amen. 
 
 CONFIDENCE IN OUR HEAVENLY FATHER 
 BY THE REV. S. ANSELM PARKER, O.S.B., M.A. 
 
 I. The infant learns to lisp a name full of reality. In every 
 true Christian household a father combines with the strength of 
 manhood a tender care for his child. He wins the child's con- 
 fidence. And from human personality thus unconsciously under- 
 stood a child first learns that God is a Person, a Father, who is 
 worthy of trust and love. The child learns in his first prayer to 
 address God thus : " Our Father who art in heaven." And as 
 we grow, we more consciously inquire, Who is God? In the 
 days before the Incarnation it was difficult to realize God's char- 
 acter. It would seem that but few chosen souls came to look 
 upon Him as Father. Fully to reveal God to mankind was one 
 of the objects of the Incarnation. By the coming of Jesus 
 Christ the Old Law attitude of fear and state of bondage passed 
 away. " You have not received the spirit of bondage again in 
 fear," St. Paul reminded his converts, "but you have received 
 the spirit of adoption of sons, whereby we cry: Abba (Father) " 
 (Rom. viii. 15). And again he writes in another of his letters 
 (Eph. iii. n, 12), "In Christ Jesus our Lord ... we have bold- 
 ness and access with confidence" to God through our faith in 
 Him. The great grace given by the Incarnation was that easy 
 way of approach to God, that outspoken freedom of speech, that 
 feeling of confidence which marks the love and familiarity of chil- 
 dren in sharp contrast with servile fear. He came to lay open the
 
 458 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 heavens to man; He came to bring the heavens to earth. Jesus 
 Christ, true and real God, dwelt in the midst of His people, gath- 
 ering round Himself not only the pure of heart and the repent- 
 ant sinner, but all who would accept His invitation : " Come to 
 me, all you that labor, and are heavily burdened." All shall be 
 His children. All may approach Him with confidence. And 
 Jesus Christ, God the Son, the Second Person of the Blessed 
 Trinity, was true and real man as well ; and showing Himself as 
 the First Born, the Elder Brother, He gave us the example of 
 reverence, love, and confidence towards the Father. Indeed all 
 His words, from those first recorded words, " Did you not know, 
 that I must be about my Father's business ? " to the last words on 
 the cross, " Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit," show 
 forth the perfect attitude towards the Father which must be ours. 
 He came to reveal God ; to restore intimate relations between man 
 and God. It was precisely sin and its consequent blindness of 
 mind and heart that brought into the world estrangement between 
 man and God, and with it fear. God does not change : He is ever 
 a loving Father. But man had become sinful and ignorant and 
 fearful. At the opening of the Bible in the Book of Genesis 
 (iii. 10) we read how Adam sinned and when God called him at 
 length he answered, " I was afraid, and I hid myself." The 
 Incarnation brought true knowledge and redemption from sin 
 for those who would take it. It changed the heart and mind of 
 man, so that at length we read the words that significantly form 
 the last words of the Bible the last cry of the Church and every 
 redeemed soul is the yearning desire to be with God, " Come, 
 Lord Jesus" (Apoc. xxi. 20). 
 
 II. i. The words of to-day's Gospel are part of the Revela- 
 tion that has made this change within us. They help us to know 
 our Heavenly Father. They are an expansion of a clause in that 
 prayer which Jesus Himself taught us at the request of His dis- 
 ciples, " Our Father who art in heaven." " If you ask the Father 
 anything in my name," He says, " He will give it you." The 
 same lesson Our Lord had previously enjoined in the Sermon on 
 the Mount. Be not solicitous, He said, over the material things of 
 life. You know the Father's care for the birds of the air, for the 
 lilies of the field : how much more is His care for you, O ye of
 
 GOD OUR HEAVENLY FATHER 459 
 
 little faith. " Your Father knoweth that you have need of all 
 these things." And again elsewhere He would argue with us: 
 " Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and not one of them 
 shall fall on the ground without your Father. But the very 
 hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore : better 
 are you than many sparrows" (Matt. x. 29). And once again 
 He says : " What man is there among you, of whom if his son 
 shall ask bread, will he reach him a stone? ... If you then being 
 evil, know how to give good gifts to your children: how much 
 more will your Father who is in heaven, give good things to them 
 that ask him?" (Matt. vii. 9, n). If a child may have confi- 
 dence in an earthly father, then surely may we in our Heavenly 
 Father! Ask, ask with confidence, and it shall be given you; 
 seek, and ye shall find ; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. 
 
 In such strong and convincing ways, in figures that all can 
 understand, does our Lord strive to bring home to each of us 
 the care of the Heavenly Father for each of us, a solicitude so 
 tender, so universal, so minute ! And that knowledge is a power- 
 ful motive for confidence. Indeed what folly of men to mistrust 
 Him ! And in man's mistrust what a disappointment to One who 
 loves ! 
 
 2. Full and striking is the revelation contained in these few 
 words; and underlying a multitude of our Lord's teachings is 
 the same grand motive. No doubt the chief lesson of the parable 
 of the Pharisee and the Publican in the temple is that of humble 
 prayer; that of the friend who asks for loaves at midnight is 
 one of the rewards of perseverance; that of the woman who re- 
 joices to have found the lost coin is one of the value God sets 
 on a soul lost and found again. But what do we not see beyond 
 the primary lesson? That God is so good that He bends down 
 to listen to the repentant sinner ; that He wishes us to offer Him 
 the holy violence of persevering prayer; that He rejoices on the 
 finding of the lost. Thus on each occasion we are taught more 
 about the character of the good God, and drawn to have greater 
 confidence in Him. 
 
 Next, we may turn from His sayings that directly reveal the 
 Father and study any of the Gospel incidents. We remember 
 that He Himself, being Divine, is in the whole of His life and
 
 460 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 conduct towards us the Revelation of God. In these we find still 
 more abundant incentives to confidence. We have a wealth of 
 examples. For instance, recall that occasion on which a sudden, 
 tempest on the lake threatened to destroy the disciples, while 
 Jesus Himself was asleep and apparently unheeding. The 
 disciples were filled with terror and the strength of their 
 hearts failed them in the midst of the real danger. They 
 awoke Him, saying, " Lord, save us, we perish." And Jesus 
 stilled the violence of the storm with His word of command 
 such is His power. And because His interest and carefulness 
 never flag His rebuke was well deserved : " Why are you fearful, 
 O ye of little faith ? " For they had lost their confidence in Him. 
 Each detail of His life we may study from this one point of 
 view; and each will bring out in fuller light His true character. 
 We combine them all. We recognize His own portrait in the 
 Good Samaritan, in the father of the Prodigal Son, and He quite 
 expressly points to Himself as the Good Shepherd. We have 
 One whom we know we can trust. 
 
 3. Because God is a true Father, good, wise, all-powerful, 
 loving, ever attentive, what need for fear? He is at hand. And 
 as we find Him to have been to the disciples with whom He lived 
 on earth, so do we find Him in the lives of all the saints. When 
 St. Paul came to Corinth he was overwhelmed with discourage- 
 ment at the magnitude of the task before him and the opposition 
 against him. But at night he had a vision. The Lord stood be- 
 fore him and said, " Fear not ; I am with thee." Then all was 
 changed. 
 
 4. Though no doubt without visions, without miraculous in- 
 terventions, still is He ever present in the lives of each. If we 
 search through our own past experience we cannot doubt it. The 
 Church keeps ever before us this great truth when we are tossed 
 about on a sea of anxiety, or shrinking at the voice of the thunder 
 of fear, or chilled by the sun-obscuring clouds of mental dark- 
 ness. There is a depth of meaning in her oft-repeated Dominic 
 vobiscum. There should be the same real blessing as the Chris- 
 tian bids his friends Adieu, committing them to the Heavenly 
 Father's care, wishing them God-speed. For in His hands all 
 will be well.
 
 GOD OUR HEAVENLY FATHER 461 
 
 III. The truth which will steel us against diffidence and dis- 
 couragement is this : God values us because He is our Father and 
 we are His most dear children. We are indeed precious to Him. 
 And why? Not because of our possessions and worldly position. 
 Not because of our abilities and accomplishments even these 
 are gifts but lent to us. Not because of the worthiness of our 
 actions. But because we ourselves each one, whether rich or 
 poor, whether learned or ignorant, whether sinful or deserving 
 each one equally has a native, inherent worth, a very great in- 
 trinsic value. Consider, my brethren. Each one is made " unto 
 God's own image and likeness " ; He loves us because we are His 
 own the glorious work of His hands, a marvellous spiritual 
 creation. Again, each one of us is " bought with a great price " ; 
 He loves us because we have cost Him so much, even the price 
 of His Precious Blood. Once again, each one from the cradle 
 to the grave is the object of His tender devotedness, so constantly 
 is He averting dangers, so repeatedly raising us up, so often be- 
 stowing His graces, so richly adorning us, as much as each will 
 allow Him, with virtues, even to making us Temples of the Holy 
 Spirit ; He loves us because He has already devoted Himself so 
 generously to us. And yet once more, each one of us, immortal 
 in our nature, is destined to happiness with Him in our eternal 
 home. He loves us with an earnestness or, to speak human 
 words, with an anxiety of love, for we may yet lose the way 
 unless He loves us still. 
 
 These four considerations prove to us and convince our rea- 
 son that we are most precious in His regard ; these considera- 
 tions lay open before us the real deep motives for our confidence. 
 No wonder, then, our Lord should say: Consider God's provi- 
 dence for the birds of the air; are not you of much more value 
 than they ? No wonder He should urge us to reflect on the glory 
 with which God clothes the lilies of the field, and then ask us: 
 How much more you, O ye of little faith ? Let us obey the word 
 of St. Peter who spoke from intimate knowledge, and cast all 
 our care upon Him, for He careth for us (i Pet. v. 7). Then 
 ours will be the reward of the Psalmist : " I have been young, and 
 now am old; and I have not seen the just forsaken, nor his seed 
 seeking bread" (Ps. xxxvi. 25). Be not solicitous, says our
 
 462 
 
 Lord. For your Father knoweth that you have need of all these 
 things. 
 
 References 
 
 Graham, in Pulpit Commentary, Vol. Ill; Burke, O. P., in Sermons 
 and Lectures, Vol. Ill, pp. 306 ff. ; Bossuet, in Meditations sur I'Evangile. 
 
 Cath. Encyc., Vol. I, pp. 148 ff. ; Vol. XII, pp. 510 ff. ; Summa Theol., 
 Ila, Ilae, q. 83, a. 9; la, qq. 22, 33, aa. 2, 3; Opusc. D. Thomae in Ora- 
 tionem Dominican; Hurter, Theol. Dog., Vol. II, Nos. 107 ff. ; Vaughan, 
 The Divine Armory, etc., pp. 19 ff. ; Dodd, The Prayer that Teaches How 
 to Pray. 
 
 FEAST OF THE ASCENSION 
 
 SUBJECT 
 THE ASCENSION OF CHRIST 
 
 TEXT 
 
 And the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into 
 heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God. MARK xvi. 19. 
 
 Analysis 
 
 INTRODUCTION. During forty days after His Resurrection our 
 Lord appeared many times and in diverse places and circum- 
 stances to His disciples and others. He walked and talked with 
 them, He permitted them to see and put their hands into His 
 wounds, and He ate with them ; thus proving by the most incon- 
 testable arguments that He was really risen from the dead, and 
 was again living in His own body. It was also during those forty 
 days that our Saviour gave His Apostles final instructions con- 
 cerning His Church. 
 
 I. "He ascended into heaven." I. Give brief history of 
 the Ascension as detailed in to-day's Gospel and Epistle. 2. 
 Christ ascended into heaven as man ; as God He was always there. 
 3. Christ ascended into heaven by His own power. 
 
 II. He "sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Al- 
 mighty." i. These words express the glory which Christ as man 
 enjoys above all others in heaven. This glory the Saviour
 
 THE ASCENSION OF CHRIST 463 
 
 merited by His earthly poverty, sufferings, and death (Philip, ii. 
 9). 2. Christ is now constituted King over all the world: "of 
 his kingdom there shall be no end " (Luke i. 33 ; Eph. i. 22 ; Heb. 
 ii. 8). 
 
 III. Reasons of our Lord's Ascension, i. Heaven was the 
 suitable place for His glorified body. 2. In heaven He prepares 
 for us a place (John xiv. 2) ; He is our advocate with the Father 
 (Heb. ix. 24), and thence He sent the Holy Ghost to His Church 
 (John xvi. 7). 3. Christ's Ascension is for us the cause and 
 model of our spiritual ascension, which consists in the elevation 
 of our thoughts and affections to heavenly things. 
 
 LESSONS OF THE ASCENSION, i. The merit of our faith is 
 greatly increased by the Ascension of our Lord, "blessed are 
 they that have not seen, and have believed" (John xx. 29). In 
 to-day's Gospel Christ upbraids the incredulity of the disciples 
 and says that they who believe not shall be condemned. 2. The 
 Ascension increases our hope. 3. It elevates and ennobles our 
 love of Christ. 4. The Ascension is the end and completion of all 
 the mysteries of our Lord's life, and should be celebrated with 
 joy and gladness by all Christians. 
 
 Catechism of the Council of Trent, Part I 
 
 ARTICLE VI OF THE CREED 
 
 He ascended into heaven, sitteth at the right hand of God the Father 
 Almighty. 
 
 TRIUMPH OF THE ASCENSION, HOW TO BE CELEBRATED BY 
 CHRISTIANS 
 
 He ascended into Heaven. Filled with the Spirit of God, and 
 contemplating the blessed and glorious ascension of our Lord into 
 heaven, the prophet David exhorts all to celebrate that splendid 
 triumph with the greatest joy and gladness. " Clap your hands," 
 said he, "all ye nations: shout unto God with the voice of joy. 
 . . . God is ascended with jubilee, and the Lord with the sound 
 of trumpet." * The pastor will hence learn the obligation im- 
 
 1 Ps. xlvi. i, 6.
 
 464 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 posed on him of explaining this mystery with unremitting assidu- 
 ity, and of taking especial care that the faithful not only see it 
 with the light of faith, and of the understanding, but still more, 
 that, as far as it is in his power to accomplish, they make it their 
 study, with the divine assistance, to reflect its image in their 
 lives and actions. 
 
 FIRST PART OF THE ARTICLE; WHAT IT TEACHES US TO BELIEVE 
 
 With regard, then, to the exposition of this sixth Article, which 
 has reference principally to the divine mystery of the ascension, 
 we shall begin with its first part, and point out its force and 
 meaning. That Jesus Christ, having fully accomplished the work 
 of redemption, ascended as man, body and soul, into heaven, the 
 faithful are unhesitatingly to believe; for as God He never for- 
 sook heaven, filling as He does all places with His divinity. 
 
 The pastor is also to teach that He ascended by His own power, 
 not by the power of another, as did Elias, who was taken up into 
 heaven in a fiery chariot ; x or, as the prophet Habacuc ; 2 or 
 Philip, the deacon, who were borne through the air by the divine 
 power, and traversed the distant regions of the earth. 3 Neither 
 did He ascend into heaven solely by the exercise of His supreme 
 power as God, but also by virtue of the power which He pos- 
 sessed as man; although human power alone was insufficient to 
 raisei Him from the dead, yet the virtue with which the blessed 
 soul of Christ was endowed was capable of moving the body as 
 it pleased, and His body, now glorified, readily obeyed its impul- 
 sive dominion. Hence, we believe that Christ ascended into 
 heaven as God and man by His own power. We now come to 
 the second part of the Article. 
 
 SECOND PART OF THE ARTICLE A TROPE 
 
 Sitteth at the right hand of Gad the Father Almighty. In 
 these words we observe a trope, that is, the changing of a word 
 from its literal to a figurative meaning a thing not unfrequent 
 in Scripture, 4 when, accommodating its language to human ideas, 
 
 1 4 Kings ii. ii. Dan. xiv. 35. 
 
 Acts viii. 39. Dionys. Areop. Epist. ix.
 
 THE ASCENSION OF CHRIST 465 
 
 it attributes human affections and human members to Gdd, who, 
 spirit as He is, admits of nothing corporeal. But as among men 
 he who sits at the right hand is considered to occupy the most 
 honorable place, so, transferring the idea to celestial things, to 
 express the glory which Christ as man enjoys above all others, we 
 confess that He sits at the right hand of his Eternal Father. 
 
 WHAT THE WORD " SITTETH " .MEANS HERE 
 
 This, however, does not imply position and figure of body, but 
 declares the firm and permanent possession of royal and supreme 
 power and glory which He received from the Father; as the 
 Apostle says : " raising him up from the dead, and setting him 
 on his right hand in the heavenly places, above all principality, 
 and power, and virtue, and domination, and every name that 
 is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to 
 come; and he hath subjected all things under his feet." 1 These 
 words manifestly imply that this glory belongs to our Lord in 
 so special a manner that it cannot apply to the nature of any 
 other created being ; and hence in another place the Apostle asks : 
 " To which of the angels said he at any time : Sit on my right 
 hand, until I make thy enemies thy footstool ? " 2 
 
 HISTORY OF THE ASCENSION 
 
 But the pastor will explain the sense of the Article more at 
 large by detailing the history of the ascension, of which the Evan- 
 gelist St. Luke has left us an admirable description in the Acts of 
 the Apostles. 3 In his exposition he will observe, in the first 
 place, that all other mysteries refer to the ascension as to their 
 end and completion. As all the mysteries of religion commence 
 with the Incarnation of our Lord, so His sojourn on earth termi- 
 nates with His ascension into heaven. Moreover, the other Ar- 
 ticles of the Creed which regard Christ the Lord show His great 
 humility and lowliness. Nothing can be conceived more humble, 
 nothing more lowly, than that the Son of God assumed the frailty 
 of our flesh, suffered and died for us ; but nothing more magnifi- 
 
 1 Eph. i. 20-22; Athan. Serm. I contra Arian. ; Basil, lib. de Spin Sanct. 
 c. vi. 
 
 1 Heb. i. 13. Acts I
 
 466 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 cently, nothing more admirably, proclaims his sovereign glory 
 and divine majesty than what is contained in the present and pre- 
 ceding Articles, in which we declare that He rose from the dead, 
 ascended into heaven, and now sits at the right hand of his Eter- 
 nal Father. 
 
 REASONS OF THE ASCENSION 
 
 When the pastor has accurately explained these truths he will 
 next inform the faithful why our Lord ascended into heaven. 
 He ascended because the glorious kingdom of the highest heav- 
 ens, not the obscure abode of this earth, presented a suitable 
 dwelling place to Him whose glorified body, rising from the tomb, 
 was clothed with immortality. He ascended, not only to possess 
 the throne of glory and the kingdom which He purchased at the 
 price of His blood, but also to attend to whatever regards the sal- 
 vation of His people. He ascended to prove thereby that His 
 " kingdom is not of this world," x for the kingdoms of this world 
 are earthly and transient, and are based upon wealth and the 
 power of the flesh ; but the kingdom of Christ is not, as the Jews 
 expected, an earthly, but a spiritual and eternal kingdom. Its 
 riches, too, are spiritual, as He shows by placing His throne in 
 the heavens, where they who seek most earnestly the things that 
 are of God abound most in riches and in abundance of all good 
 things, according to these words of St. James : " Hath not God 
 chosen the poor in this world, rich in faith, and heirs of the 
 kingdom which God hath promised to them that love him ? " 2 
 
 He also ascended into heaven in order to teach us to follow 
 Him thither in mind and heart, for as by his death and resurrec- 
 tion He bequeathed to us an example of dying and rising again 
 in spirit, so by His ascension He teaches us, though dwelling on 
 earth, to raise ourselves in thought and desire to heaven, con- 
 fessing that we are " pilgrims and strangers on the earth," 8 seek- 
 ing a country, " fellow citizens with the saints, and the domestics 
 of God," 4 for, says the same Apostle, " our conversation is in 
 heaven." e 
 
 The extent and unspeakable greatness of the blessings which 
 
 1 John xviii. 36. ' James ii. 5. * Heb. xi. 13, 14. 
 
 * Eph. ii. 19. ' Philip, iii. 20.
 
 THE ASCENSION OF CHRIST 467 
 
 the bounty of God has bestowed on us with a lavish hand were 
 long before, as the Apostle interprets the Psalmist, sung by 
 David : " Ascending on high, he led captivity captive : he gave 
 gifts to men." x On the tenth day after His ascension He sent 
 down the Holy Ghost, with whose power and plenitude He 
 filled the multitude of the faithful then present, and fulfilled 
 His! splendid promise : " It is expedient to you that I go : for if 
 I go not, the Paraclete will not come to you ; but if I go, I will 
 send him to you." 2 
 
 He also ascended into heaven, according to the Apostle, " that 
 he may appear ... in the presence of God for us," 8 and dis- 
 charge for us the office of advocate with the Father. " My little 
 children," says St. John, " these things I write to you, that you 
 may not sin. But if any man sin, we have an advocate with the 
 Father, Jesus Christ the just : and he is the propitiation for our 
 sins." 4 There is nothing from which the faithful should derive 
 greater joy than from the reflection that Jesus Christ is consti- 
 tuted our advocate and intercessor with the Father, with whom 
 His influence and authority are supreme. 
 
 Finally, by His ascension He has prepared for us a place, as 
 He had promised, and has entered, as our head, in the name of 
 us all, into the possession of the glory of heaven. 5 Ascending 
 into heaven, He threw open its gates, which had been closed by 
 the sin of Adam; and, as He foretold His disciples at His last 
 supper, secured to us a way by which we may arrive at eternal 
 happiness. In order to demonstrate this by the event, He intro- 
 duced with Himself into the mansions of eternal bliss the souls 
 of the just whom He had liberated from prison. 
 
 ITS OTHER ADVANTAGES 
 
 A series of important advantages followed in the train of this 
 admirable profusion of celestial gifts. In the first place, the 
 merit of our faith was considerably augmented, because faith has 
 for its object those things which fall not under the senses, but are 
 far raised above the reach of human reason and intelligence. If, 
 
 1 Ps. Ixvii. 19; Eph. iv. 8. * John xvi. 7; Acts i. 4, 5. 
 
 Heb. ix. 24. I John ii. I, 2. 
 
 1 John xiv. 2.
 
 468 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 therefore, the Lord had not departed from us, the merit of our 
 faith would not be the same, for Jesus Christ has said, " Blessed 
 are they that have not seen, and have believed." 1 In the next 
 place, it contributes much to confirm our hope. Believing that 
 Christ, as man, ascended into heaven, and placed our nature at 
 the right hand of God the Father, we are animated with a strong 
 hope that we, as members, shall also ascend thither, to be there 
 united to our head, according to these words of our Lord Him- 
 self : " Father, I will that where I am, they also whom thou hast 
 given me may be with me." 2 
 
 Another most important advantage flowing from the ascension 
 is, that it elevates our affections to heaven and inflames them 
 with the Spirit of God ; for most truly has it been said that where 
 our treasure is, there also is our heart. 3 And indeed were Christ 
 the Lord still dwelling on earth, the contemplation of His person 
 and the enjoyment of His presence would absorb all our thoughts, 
 and we should view the author of such blessings only as man, and 
 cherish towards Him a sort of earthly affection ; but by His as- 
 cension into heaven He has spiritualized our affection for Him, 
 and has made us venerate and love as God Him who, now absent, 
 is the object of our thoughts, not of our senses. This we learn 
 in part from the example of the Apostles, who, while our Lord 
 was personally present with them, seemed to judge of Him in 
 some measure humanly, and in part from these words of our 
 Lord Himself : " It is expedient to you that I go." 4 The affec- 
 tion with which they loved Him when present was to be perfected 
 by divine love, and that by the coming of the Holy Ghost; and 
 therefore He immediately subjoins : " If I go not, the Paraclete 
 will not come to you." 
 
 Besides, He thus enlarged His dwelling-place on earth, that is 
 His Church, which was to be governed by the power and guid- 
 ance of the Holy Spirit, and left Peter, the prince of the Apostles, 
 as chief pastor, and supreme head upon earth of the universal 
 Church. "And he gave some apostles, and some prophets, and 
 other some evangelists, and other some pastors and doctors " ; B 
 and thus seated at the right hand of the Father He continually 
 
 John xx. 29. 2 John xvii. 24. * Matt. vi. 21. 
 
 John xvi. 7. 6 Eph. iv. n.
 
 THE ASCENSION OF CHRIST 469 
 
 bestows different gifts on different men. According to the words 
 of St. Paul, " To every one of us is given grace, according to the 
 measure of the giving of Christ." * 
 
 Finally, what was already said of His death and resurrection 
 the faithful will deem not less true of His ascension ; for although 
 we owe our redemption and salvation to the passion of Christ, 
 whose merits opened heaven to the just, yet His ascension is not 
 only proposed to us as a model, which teaches us to look on high 
 and ascend in spirit into heaven, but also imparts to us a divine 
 virtue which enables us to accomplish what it teaches. 
 
 Sermon 
 
 THE ASCENSION OF OUR LORD 
 BY THE REV. WM. GRAHAM 
 
 In the beautiful panorama of hill country that unrolls to the 
 eye of a pilgrim looking eastward from Jerusalem there is no 
 point of view so picturesque or at the same time so rich in sacred 
 memories, as Mount Olivet. Rough and narrow is the stony path 
 winding to its summit, but its many associations more than repay 
 the cost of ascent. On its lower slopes lies the Garden of Olives, 
 lovingly tended by the Franciscan Fathers, who point out the 
 spots in and around where Christ's agony and prayer began and 
 ended. The brook Cedron that He crossed with His disciples 
 on the sad night of His betrayal He must also have passed in His 
 risen body on His way to the hill, whence while they looked on 
 He was raised up. Alas! a Mohammedan mosque now crowns 
 the spot, and the followers of the prophet point out by favor 
 a stone bearing the imprint of a foot, which, piety suggests, was 
 left by the ascending Christ. Even they, however, reverence the 
 spot consecrated by the last steps on earth of the great prophet 
 Issa. 
 
 Since the day when St. Helena built a splendid church on the 
 Holy Hill, whence the " new ark of alliance " was carried to 
 the " royal city that is above," the Church has, every year, on the 
 feast we keep to-day, solemnly expressed her belief in this final 
 
 1 Eph. iv. 7.
 
 470 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 i 
 
 manifestation of Him who " showed himself alive after his pas- 
 sion, by many proofs, for forty days appearing to them, and 
 speaking of the kingdom of God" (Acts i. 3). "Forty hours," 
 says St. Thomas, " He lay a corpse in the tomb, and forty days 
 he walked and talked among His friends." 
 
 We all are " glad and rejoice" to-day in the glory of our cruci- 
 fied and risen Saviour, and our thoughts mount to the rising, 
 cloud-encircling form of the conquering and triumphant Christ 
 as, clothed in His human nature, He moves towards "light in- 
 accessible." In the joy we feel in His victory over sin and death, 
 we realize the force of His parting words : " If you loved me. 
 you would indeed be glad, because I go to the Father" (John 
 xiv. 28). Heaven, not earth, was His true goal and resting-place, 
 once He had risen from the grave. It was only out of condescen- 
 sion to the needs of the infant Church that He tarried forty days 
 on earth. 
 
 So when His task was over, the Creator and Builder of the 
 "new Israel of God" ascended from Olivet in all the glory and 
 splendor of His risen manhood. He rose to heaven, not like 
 Enoch or Elias or Habacuc, by virtue of a power not theirs, but 
 by His own. He rose to heaven, not paradise, which, in the per- 
 petual "vision of God," He had never left. In heaven above, 
 we are told, He "sitteth at the right hand of God the Father 
 Almighty," to indicate the eternal rest or peace of the blessed; 
 and His position as man, of superiority over all created beings 
 a human way at best of expressing superhuman thoughts. To us, 
 brethren, all this is hard, objective fact, not merely subjective and 
 evanescent fancy. Earnestly do we say with the psalmist: 
 "Therefore my heart hath been glad, and my tongue hath re- 
 joiced : moreover my flesh also shall rest in hope. Because thou 
 wilt not leave my soul in hell ; nor wilt thou give thy holy one to 
 see corruption" (Ps. xv. 9, 10). 
 
 As we follow in imagination the track of our glorified Saviour 
 mounting to the skies, two lines of thought occur to the mind, 
 one suggesting feelings of joy and gladness in the triumph of the 
 conquering Christ, the other of gratitude in that He made His 
 departure the condition of priceless benefits to ourselves. " But 
 I tell you the truth : it is expedient to you that I go " (John xvi.
 
 THE ASCENSION OF CHRIST 471 
 
 7). There is therefore (i) the impersonal note of joy in His 
 glory, and (2) the personal one of gladness, that He hath not 
 left us orphans, but in mind and spirit and sacramental form is 
 with us still, and that he hath gone to prepare a place for us ; and 
 as the Lamb slain before the throne of God liveth to make per- 
 petual intercession for us. 
 
 I. The thought that takes rank before all others in the truly 
 Christian heart is one of intense joy at the proclaimed glory, the 
 vindicated honor, the crowned sufferings of Jesus Christ. With 
 the holy enthusiasm of the Psalmist we seem to say : " Lift up 
 your gates, O ye princes, . . . and the King of Glory shall enter 
 in " (Ps. xxiii. 7). Three and forty days before, He was as a 
 sheep thrown over to the wolves. In the anguish of the passion 
 He was mocked, scourged, and buffeted. He had "trodden the 
 winepress alone," and of the nations aye, even of His own 
 friends " there was not a man " with him (Isa. Ixiii. 3). " Who 
 is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bosra, 
 this beautiful one in his robe " (Isa. Ixiii. i). Alas! He became 
 as " a leper," " a worm, and no man," " a man of sorrows." Why 
 then was his apparel red, and His " garments like theirs that tread 
 in the winepress ? " Who looked about, " and there was none to 
 help." Who sought, "and there was none to give aid" (Isa. 
 Ixiii. 2, 5). But we are glad, "for winter is now past, the 
 rain" [of sorrows] is over and gone. The flowers have ap- 
 peared in our land, " the voice of God's loved one is sweet, and 
 His face comely" (Cant. ii. 11-14). "Who shall ascend into 
 the mountain of the Lord : or who shall stand in his holy place ? " 
 Surely " the innocent in hands, and clean of heart. . . . He shall 
 receive a blessing from the Lord, and mercy from God his 
 saviour" (Ps. xxiii. 3-5). 
 
 We all glory to-day in that Christ's life of humiliation is over, 
 the bitter cup of woe has been drained to the dregs. The " man 
 of sorrows " has given place to the form " beautiful amongst the 
 sons of men " ; the new David, clad in the vesture of glorified 
 humanity, victorious over the Goliath of sin and death, mounts 
 through trackless space thronged by an escort of ministering 
 angels ; and we worship God in heartfelt gladness, who has thus 
 changed deepest sorrow into highest joy, and has so honored "the
 
 472 
 
 lowness of our common human nature." " He humbled himself, 
 becoming obedient unto death. . . . For which cause God also 
 hath exalted him" (Phil. ii. 8, 9). 
 
 There is no higher object of thought than God; no worthier 
 nor more interesting subject of reflection than the life of the In- 
 carnate God, and the phases of His divine unveiling, from the 
 earliest prophecy to His ascension into heaven. It is study and 
 prayer and the highest form of worship combined. It is a frame 
 of mind that, pondering on the glory of the ascending Christ, 
 finds expression in that great outburst of song and knowledge 
 and adoration the Gloria in excelsis, We praise Thee, we 
 bless Thee, we thank Thee, not for what Thou hast done for us, 
 but for what Thou art in Thyself, apart from and independent of 
 creatures, and what Thou wouldst have been, even if created in- 
 telligence had never learned to know or love. Then Propter 
 magnam gloriam Tuam. We give Thee thanks for Thy great 
 glory. It is in this spirit of reverent and impersonal worship that 
 we should consider the mystery honored in to-day's feast. We 
 rejoice not for what God does to us, but for what He is in Him- 
 self. In this way do we lose sight of our own individuality, and 
 mingle our praises with the great stream of melody that flows 
 fast by " the throne of God and of the Lamb." 
 
 II. Our first tribute of love and duty, therefore, to the as- 
 cending Christ is one of unselfish and impersonal triumph in His 
 glory ; our next, a personal outpouring of gratitude for the bless- 
 ings accruing to us from His departure. Time and experience 
 have verified His own authoritative words, " It is expedient to 
 you that I go" (John xvi. 7). And yet these words must have 
 sounded strange when first heard on the eve of His Passion, and 
 echoed much more strangely on Olivet as they raised their tear- 
 dimmed eyes towards the cloud enwrapping their Master as He 
 soared aloft. He had been all in all to them. He had instilled 
 into them unlimited and unquestioning confidence in His person, 
 so that He was the very centre and pivot of their lowly lives. 
 No eastern king was more absolute in his kingdom. He had ex- 
 acted unreasoning faith in His office and mission; all the more 
 so, as they were dimly conscious of what His mission and office 
 were. His demands on their credulity, as we should say nowa-
 
 THE ASCENSION OF CHRIST 473 
 
 days, were startling in their boldness. Light and leading, hope 
 and saving for body and soul, they were to seek trustfully in Him. 
 They built upon His presence and guardianship all the more as 
 He had detached them from relatives, business, and human 
 friendship ; and indeed, though not appearing to know fully who 
 He was, yet they felt in the words of their spokesman Peter, that 
 He had "the words of eternal life," and to whom else, then, 
 could they go ? Yet now, He tells them, it is expedient He should 
 leave them His weak, sorrowing, inconsolable followers. It 
 is like a captain or pilot telling an inexperienced crew just putting 
 out to sea that his departure is desirable; a father leaving a 
 young, helpless family on the threshold of life ; a trusted teacher 
 quitting his pupils just as their minds are opening to his lessons ; 
 a shepherd leaving his sheep in the midst of wolves, and saying 
 that the flock will fare better in his absence. But " my thoughts 
 are not your thoughts : nor your ways my ways, saith the Lord." 
 Our Lord's short life representing the Godhead visibly clos- 
 ing with the Ascension, was as a seed dropped into the earth, 
 and springing up and bearing fruit more than a hundredfold. In 
 our shortsightedness, perhaps, we are inclined to think that in 
 the visible presence and companionship of the Incarnate Word 
 on earth religion would irresistibly sweep through men's souls. 
 But, like the disciples, we know Him whom we have believed, 
 and are convinced that the gifts He left behind and sent on His 
 departure far transcend in value the hearing and seeing with 
 carnal eyes and ears, and handling with bodily contact the word 
 of life. Is He not clearer and surer to the eye of faith to-day 
 than to the fallible impression of sense were He still among us in 
 the flesh ? Has not the Church gained rather than lost by His de- 
 parture? Is not her membership increased by twice as many 
 millions as were the individuals composing the timid band that 
 awaited the coming of the Holy Ghost on the first Pentecost ? Is 
 there a jot or tittle lost of the recorded sayings and doings of 
 the Master? And do they not come home to us after nineteen 
 centuries with greater force and unction and insight than to those 
 who saw and heard them? Is He not better known and loved 
 and served in the new "Israel of God" than in the old? Are 
 not our Marthas and Marys as earnest and fervent in work and
 
 474 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 prayer as were the sisters of Lazarus, whom He called forth 
 from the grave? Are the dauntless missionaries of the cross, 
 who witness to Christ either at home, to a scoffing and scorning 
 generation of unbelievers who have heard, or abroad, to those 
 who have not heard, less zealous or laborious than those who 
 were told out of Christ's own lips to go and preach the gospel to 
 all nations? But we could see Him and hear Him and even 
 touch " the hem of his garment," you will say. " Blessed are 
 they that have not seen, and have believed." Faith is a safe 
 avenue to Christ. The mother of the Zebedees saw and heard 
 Jesus in the flesh, yet how low and earthly her views of His 
 kingdom put side by side with those of a Catherine of Sienna or 
 St. Theresa? 
 
 In these and many other ways impalpable and unseen we real- 
 ize the expediency of our Lord's departure. The loss of His 
 visible presence was the Church's gain. It was God's will He 
 should be known, felt, understood, and valued when gone. How 
 truly did He say of Himself, " What I do thou knowest not now ; 
 but thou shalt know hereafter" (John xiii. 7). To each age, as 
 the gaze of Christendom is riveted on His life and character, and 
 mind and heart strain forward to comprehend what Jesus said 
 and did, the words of St. John are verified, " These things his 
 disciples did not know at the first ; but when Jesus was glorified, 
 then they remembered that these things were written of him, 
 and that they had done these things to him " (John xii. 16). He 
 did not leave us orphans. He ascended on high to obtain gifts 
 for men, and foremost among them all, the gift of the Holy 
 Ghost. Pentecost is the completion and revelation of the hidden 
 meaning of the ascension. We need not dive into reasons why 
 the departure of Christ should be a fountain of blessing to men, 
 or why there should be any connection at all between the coming 
 down of the Holy Ghost and the going away of our Lord. One 
 thing we are sure of, and it is that this connection is a necessary 
 one, inasmuch as our Lord says, "If I go not away, the com- 
 forter will not come." The advent of the Holy Spirit was the 
 first fruits of our Lord's ascension. His special function or office 
 is to be the Church's soul or vital principle, manifesting Himself 
 in speech and action till the end of time. Not that our Lord
 
 THE ASCENSION OF CHRIST 475 
 
 ceased to be with His Church. His departure in His human 
 form intensified His real though unseen presence. He withdrew 
 in the flesh to return in the spirit. He is among us " all days, 
 even to the end of the world," not only as an influence by the 
 example of the holy life He led and the far-reaching grace and 
 unction of His moral teaching, but, personally, in the fulness of 
 His humanity, in this Blessed Sacrament; and as God, in the 
 Third Person of the adorable Trinity, in the plenitude of the 
 Holy Ghost poured out at Pentecost, and still brooding over and 
 quickening with life the Church as a body and her members 
 singly. The work of sanctification and enlightenment still goes 
 on. The Spirit that Christ sent to be the soul of His mystical body 
 is ever bringing back to consciousness the words and mind of 
 Jesus, and applying them to the needs and wants of passing time. 
 Teachers and doctors and Popes and councils make known to fresh 
 generations of men the thoughts and meaning of the Lord, ever 
 drawing from the treasure of Him who was the way, the truth, 
 and the light, things new and old, ever speaking as those " hav- 
 ing authority " : in the words of the first council at Jerusalem, as 
 " seemeth good to the Holy Ghost and to us." In the Ascension, 
 it is true, Jesus was removed from sight but revealed in faith; 
 and faith brings the invisible God nearer to us than bodily eye 
 or ear. If, then, we rejoice and are glad to-day in our Christian 
 inheritance, if we trust our spiritual guides as men " taught of 
 God," if we are sure with the highest form of certainty that 
 Christ's words " shall not pass away/' if we live on the new 
 " Mount Zion," the city of the living God, are dwellers in His 
 holy house, shaken by fire and wind, and filled by the inrush of 
 the descending Spirit, if the Lord is truly our shepherd and feeds 
 us in green pastures, we owe it to the solemn uprising and de- 
 parture of our beloved Lord from Olivet. 
 
 Furthermore, by His solemn entry into heaven Christ opened 
 the gates of heaven closed against the race by sin. We are im- 
 mortal spirits in perishable bodies, and our place since redemp- 
 tion, and by virtue of it, is heaven. The Head of the great body 
 we belong to is there, and to be members of this body, the Church 
 triumphant, we are destined. Man, it is true, is part of nature, 
 its head and chief ; but he is more. By the grace of God, he can
 
 476 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 transcend it. Nature, too, and man's nature particularly, is 
 beautiful, as all the handiwork of God is; but grace is distinct 
 from and superior to it. Man thereby is raised to a state or con- 
 dition above nature, its capacities and its possibilities. Now, the 
 natural term, or goal, so to say, of this new or higher state, " this 
 new creation," this "new creature," as St. Paul describes it, is 
 heaven. Lost and closed by sin, it has been regained and re- 
 opened in the Ascension of Christ " who led captivity captive " 
 (Eph. iv. 8). "I go," said He to His disciples, "to prepare a 
 place for you, . . . that where I am, you also may be" (John 
 xiv. 3). 
 
 Nor is His presence in heaven inactive in our regard. His 
 presence there is an intense, perpetual act of intercessory prayer 
 for us. He pleads unceasingly for us, and His intercession gives 
 worth and value to our own. The wounds in hand and foot and 
 side, the pierced heart, cry for pity to the throne of God : " For 
 Jesus is not entered into the holies made with hands, . . . but 
 into heaven itself, that he may appear now in the presence of 
 God for us" (Heb. ix. 24). "Having therefore a great high 
 priest that hath passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God: 
 ... let us go therefore with confidence to the throne of grace" 
 (Heb. iv. 14, 16). 
 
 CONCLUSION. We have been dealing to-day with facts and in- 
 ferences which, in view of the aims and pursuits that occupy the 
 world of our times, may seem strange and unmeaning, the echoes 
 almost of an unknown and unintelligible tongue. It is like going 
 up into cloudland. The words of the angel to the disciples are 
 often said to us in reproach : " Men of Galilee, why stand you 
 looking up to heaven?" This Jesus is taken away from you as 
 any other. Look down to earth. It is the only heaven we are 
 sure of. Seek not the things that are above as empty gazers 
 of the sky. Look only to the visible and the present. This is the 
 gospel we often hear preached to-day, and which finds, alas! 
 a ready echo in many a heart. Faith and hope and love based on 
 heavenly motion are the transcendent gifts of the Holy Ghost 
 seen spurned or neglected. The natural man understandeth not 
 the things that are of God. A holy life, a supernatural life, is 
 deemed visionary, idle, superstitious. If there is to be any virtue
 
 THE ASCENSION OF CHRIST 47Z 
 
 at all, it is to be only within the sphere of sense and nature to 
 round and perfect both, such as the manly virtues of prudence, 
 justice, temperance, and fortitude, provided they strike not deeper 
 nor rise higher than the life that " now is." 
 
 It is idle to speak of the expediency of the Ascension or, in- 
 deed, of the supernatural at all to such as these ; nor do I, except 
 by way of warning. We live in an age of no belief, or half 
 belief, or make belief. But the truth, " The word of the Lord en- 
 dureth forever," and our attitude towards it, can make no differ- 
 ence. God is still in the world, behind its forces, and guiding and 
 controlling them, even though men neither see nor believe in 
 Him. Men and women are still His creatures, the works of His 
 hands adorned with grace and destined for glory. We are on 
 earth, it is true, but our eyes and heads, aye, and hearts too, point 
 to the skies. No sophist, nor school of sophists, with all their 
 arts of style and argument, have ever yet persuaded mankind at 
 large that life ends at the grave, and that the happiness we crave 
 and strive for and can never reach on earth is an empty dream, 
 never to be realized. No! God made nothing in vain. We are 
 made and destined for a higher, larger, and nobler life than the 
 present, of which the Ascension forcibly reminds us. It reminds 
 us, too, of the life of grace, the life of true, pure holiness over 
 and above mere natural rectitude, a necessary precedent to the 
 life of glory ; and which our Lord, by withdrawing Himself vis- 
 ibly, enables us, if we will, to live. 
 
 Let us therefore lift up our hearts to heaven where Christ has 
 gone "to prepare a place for us." We have not seen Him as- 
 cend ; but we know by faith He is there. He is the head of the 
 mystic body of which we are members, and limbs should join 
 the head. " Ubi caput praecessit ibi spes vocatur et corporis." 
 Be faithful, then, to grace, lead a life not of pleasure, but of duty. 
 Peace is only found where God placed it in a dutiful, self- 
 denying life. " Therefore," in the words of St. Paul, " if you be 
 risen with Christ, seek the things that are above ; where Christ is 
 sitting at the right hand of God : Mind the things that are above, 
 not the things that are upon the earth. . . . When Christ shall 
 appear, who is your life, then you also shall appear with him in 
 glory" (Col. iii. I, 2, 4).
 
 478 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 References 
 
 Corsi, in Little Sermons on the Catechism; Hehel, " The Sixth Article 
 of the Creed," in Sermons on Christian Doctrine; Graham, in Pulpit Com- 
 mentary, Vol. I ; Sullivan, " Feast of the Ascension," in Pulpit Comm., 
 Vol. IV; McHugh, in Horn. Monthly, April, 1917; McKenna, in The 
 Treasures of the Rosary, p. 208; Hughes, in Horn. Monthly, April, 1920; 
 Newman, " Mysteries in Religion," in Parochial and Plain Sermons, 
 Vol. II ; Bonomelli-Bryne, in Christian Mysteries, Vol. II, pp. 203 ff . 
 
 Cath. Encyc., Vol. I, pp. 767 ff. ; Summa Theol., Ill, qq. 57, 58; Pohle- 
 Preuss, Soteriology, pp. 155 ff. ; Vaughan, The Divine Armory, etc., 
 pp. no ff. ; Bellord, Meditations, etc., Vol. I, p. 322. 
 
 SIXTH SUNDAY AFTER EASTER 
 
 SUBJECT 
 THE SACRAMENT OF CONFIRMATION 
 
 TEXT 
 
 When the Paraclete cometh, whom I will send you from the Father, the 
 spirit of truth, who proceedeth from the Father, he shall give testimony 
 of me. JOHN xv. 26. 
 
 Analysis 
 
 INTRODUCTION. The promise of our Lord in to-day's Gospel 
 to send the Holy Ghost was verified in the case of the Apostles 
 on Pentecost Sunday, when they received the grace of strength 
 to bear testimony to Christ and His teachings. A similar grace 
 is conferred on each of the faithful through the Sacrament of 
 Confirmation. 
 
 I. Confirmation is a Sacrament, i. The phrase to confirm 
 means to strengthen. 2. The unanimous testimony of the Fathers 
 and tradition affirm that Confirmation is a Sacrament. 3. Con- 
 firmation has all the requisites of a Sacrament: (a) it was insti- 
 tuted by Christ, as we know from tradition; (b) it is an outward 
 sign and confers grace, as we shall see below. 4. Confirmation 
 differs from Baptism: (a) it confers a different grace; (b) it has 
 a different sign; (c) it serves a different need of the soul.
 
 THE SACRAMENT OF CONFIRMATION 479 
 
 Through Baptism we are made the children of God, through 
 Confirmation we become the soldiers of God. 
 
 II. The outward sign of Confirmation, i. The matter of 
 Confirmation is chrism, a mixture of olive oil and balm blessed 
 by the Bishop. This matter most appropriately signifies the 
 effects of the Sacrament, the oil expresses the plenitude of 
 divine grace which is poured out, the balsam signifies the sweet 
 odor of virtue and preservation from the corruption of sin. 
 2. The form of this Sacrament is the words pronounced by the 
 Bishop, "I sign thee with the sign of the cross," etc. These 
 words indicate the cause of the Sacrament, namely, the divine 
 power, and the two effects of the Sacrament, which are spiritual 
 strength and an indelible character. 3. The matter and form of 
 this Sacrament are administered by the Bishop as the ordinary 
 minister in conformity with the teaching of Scripture and 
 tradition. 
 
 III. The inward grace of Confirmation, i. Confirmation 
 perfects the grace of Baptism. Baptism gives spiritual birth ; 
 Confirmation confers spiritual growth and maturity, and strength- 
 ens the soul against external assaults, as we see in the case of the 
 Apostles after the day of Pentecost. This strengthening of the 
 soul is symbolized by the slight blow on the cheek given by the 
 Bishop. 2. Confirmation imprints on the soul the indelible char- 
 acter of a soldier of Jesus Christ, and hence this Sacrament can- 
 not be repeated. 
 
 EXHORTATION, i. On account of the dignity and utility of the 
 Sacrament of Confirmation the faithful should be anxious to re- 
 ceive it, and to receive it with great piety and devotion. 2. Al- 
 though this Sacrament is not absolutely necessary for salvation, 
 no one may neglect it, if there be an opportunity of receiving it. 
 Pastors are obliged to see that those under their care are con- 
 firmed (Code, can. 787).
 
 480 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 Catechism of the Council of Trent, Part II 
 
 THE SACRAMENT OF CONFIRMATION 
 
 URGENT NECESSITY OF EXPLAINING THE SACRAMENT OF CONFIR- 
 MATION IN THESE DAYS 
 
 If ever there was a time that demanded the assiduity of the 
 pastor in explaining the Sacrament of Confirmation it is doubt- 
 less the present, when there are found in the Church of God many 
 by whom it is altogether omitted, while very few study to derive 
 from it the fruit of divine grace which its worthy reception im- 
 parts. That this divine blessing, therefore, may not seem through 
 their fault and to the serious injury of their immortal souls to 
 have been conferred in vain, the faithful are to be instructed on 
 Whitsunday, and on such other days as the pastor shall deem 
 convenient, regarding the nature, efficacy, and dignity of this 
 Sacrament, so as to make them sensible that not only is it not 
 to be neglected, but that it is to be approached with the greatest 
 reverence and devotion. 
 
 WHY CALLED CONFIRMATION 
 
 To begin, therefore, with its name, the pastor will inform the 
 faithful that this Sacrament is called Confirmation because if no 
 obstacle is opposed to its efficacy, the person who receives it 
 when anointed with the sacred chrism by the hand of the Bishop, 
 who accompanies the unction with these words : " I sign thee with 
 the sign of the cross, and confirm thee with the chrism of sal- 
 vation, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the 
 Holy Ghost " is confirmed in strength by receiving new virtue, 
 and becomes a perfect soldier of Christ. 1 
 
 CONFIRMATION A SACRAMENT 
 
 That Confirmation has all the conditions of a true Sacrament 
 has been at all times the doctrine of the Catholic Church, as Pope 
 Melchiades 2 and many other very holy and ancient pontiffs ex- 
 pressly declare. The truth of this doctrine St. Clement could not 
 
 1 Cone. Aur. c. 3, and Flor. 
 
 1 Epist. ad Episcop. Hispan. c. 2, ep. 4, near the end.
 
 THE SACRAMENT OF CONFIRMATION 481 
 
 have confirmed in stronger terms than when he said : " All should 
 hasten without delay to be born again to God, and then to be 
 sealed by the Bishop, that is, to receive the sevenfold gift of the 
 Holy Ghost. For, as we have learned from St. Peter and as the 
 other Apostles taught in obedience to the command of our Lord, 
 he who contumeliously and not from necessity, but voluntarily, 
 neglects to receive this Sacrament, cannot possibly become a per- 
 fect Christian." x This same doctrine has been confirmed, as may 
 be seen in their decrees, by Popes Urban, Fabian, and Eusebius, 
 pontiffs who, animated with the same spirit, shed their blood for 
 the name of Christ. It is also fortified by the unanimous testi- 
 mony of the Fathers, among whom Denis the Areopagite, Bishop 
 of Athens, teaching how to consecrate and make use of the holy 
 ointment, says : " The priest clothes the person baptized with a 
 garment emblematic of his purity, in order to conduct him to the 
 Bishop; and the Bishop signing him with the holy and divine 
 ointment, makes him partaker of the most holy communion." 2 
 Of such importance does Eusebius of Caesarea deem this Sacra- 
 ment that he hesitates not to say that the heretic Novatus could 
 not receive the Holy Ghost, because, having received Baptism, he 
 was not, when visited by severe illness, sealed with the sign of 
 chrism. 3 On this subject we might adduce testimonies the most 
 conclusive from St. Ambrose in his book on the Initiated, 4 and 
 from St. Augustine in his works against the epistles of the Do- 
 natist Petilian. So convinced were they that no doubt could exist 
 as to the reality of this Sacrament that they not only taught the 
 doctrine, but confirmed its truth by many passages of Scripture, 
 the one applying to it these words of the Apostle : " Grieve not 
 the Holy Spirit of God : whereby you are sealed unto the day of 
 redemption " ; 8 the other, these words of the Psalmist : " like the 
 precious ointment on the head, that ran down upon the beard . . . 
 of Aaron," 6 and also these words of the same Apostle : " The 
 charity of God is poured forth in our hearts by the Holy Ghost, 
 who is given to us." 7 
 
 1 The decrees of these Popes are found in de consecrat. dist. 5. 
 
 * S. Dionysius de Ecclcs. Hierar. c. 2. * Lib. 6, histor. cap. 43. 
 
 * Lib. de iis qui myst. initiantur. c. 7, lib. 2, c, 104. 
 
 * Eph. iv. 2. * Ps. cxxxii. 2. 
 
 1 Rom. v. 5. That Confirmation is a Sacrament is proved also from
 
 482 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 CONFIRMATION ENTIRELY DIFFERENT FROM BAPTISM' 
 
 Confirmation, although said by Melchiades to have a most in- 
 timate connection with Baptism, 1 is yet an entirely different 
 Sacrament. The diversity of the grace which each Sacrament 
 confers, and the diversity of the external sign employed to sig- 
 nify that grace, obviously constitute them different Sacraments. 
 As by the grace of Baptism we are begotten to newness of life, 
 and by that of Confirmation grow to full maturity, having " put 
 away the things of a child," 2 we can sufficiently comprehend 
 that the same difference which exists in the natural order be- 
 tween birth and growth exists also in the supernatural between 
 Baptism, which regenerates, and Confirmation, which imparts 
 full growth and perfect spiritual strength. 
 
 Again, if the new difficulties which the soul has to encounter 
 demand the aid of a new and distinct Sacrament, it is obvious 
 that as we have occasion for the grace of baptism to stamp upon 
 the soul the impress of the true faith, so it is of the utmost 
 advantage that a new grace fortify us with such intrepidity of 
 soul that no danger, no dread of pains, tortures, death, should 
 have power to deter us from the profession of the true faith. 
 Hence, Pope Melchiades marks the difference between them with 
 minute accuracy in these terms: "In Baptism," says he, "the 
 Christian is enlisted into the service, in Confirmation he is 
 equipped for battle; at the baptismal font the Holy Ghost im- 
 parts the plenitude of innocence, in confirmation the perfection 
 of grace; in Baptism we are regenerated to life, after Baptism 
 we are fortified for the combat; in Baptism we are cleansed, in 
 Confirmation we are strengthened ; regeneration saves by its own 
 efficacy those who receive Baptism in peace, Confirmation arms 
 and prepares for the conflict." 3 These are truths not only re- 
 corded by other Councils, but specially defined by the Council 
 of Trent, and we are therefore no longer at liberty not only 
 
 Ambros. de Sacr. lib. 3, c. 2 ; lib. de Spiritu Sancto, c. 6, 7 ; Aug. de Trinit 
 lib. 15, c. 26; in epist. Joan tract. 3, 6; in Psalmis 26; and especially from 
 Tertul. lib. de Resurr. car.; Cypr. epist. 7', Origen, horn. 9, in Levit; 
 Jerome, contr. Lucif. ; Cyril of Jerusalem, Catech. 3. 
 
 1 Epist. ad Episc. Hisp. towards the middle. 
 
 1 i Cor. xiii. n. 
 
 * Loco citato.
 
 THE SACRAMENT OF CONFIRMATION 483 
 
 to dissent from but even to entertain the least doubt regarding 
 them. 1 
 
 INSTITUTED BY CHRIST 
 
 But to impress the faithful with a deeper sense of the sanc- 
 tity of this Sacrament the pastor will make known to them by 
 whom it was instituted, the importance of which knowledge 
 with regard to all the Sacraments we have already pointed out. 
 He will accordingly inform them that not only was it instituted 
 by our Lord Jesus Christ, but as St. Fabian, Bishop of Rome, 
 testifies, the chrism and the words used in its administration 
 were also appointed by him, a fact of easy proof to those who 
 believe confirmation to be a Sacrament, for all the sacred mys- 
 teries are beyond the power of man and could have been insti- 
 tuted by God alone. 2 
 
 ITS MATTER IS CHRISM 
 
 We now come to treat of the component parts of this Sacra- 
 ment, and, first, of its matter. The matter of Confirmation is 
 chrism, a word borrowed from the Greek language, and which, 
 although used by profane writers to designate any sort of oint- 
 ment, is appropriated by ecclesiastical usage to signify ointment 
 composed of oil and balsam, and solemnly consecrated by epis- 
 copal benediction. A mixture of oil and balsam, therefore, con- 
 stitutes the matter of confirmation ; and this mixture of different 
 elements at once expresses the manifold graces of the Holy 
 Ghost and the excellence of this Sacrament. That such is its 
 matter the Church and her councils have uniformly taught ; and 
 the same doctrine has been handed down to us by St. Denis, 
 and by many other Fathers of authority too great to be ques- 
 tioned, particularly by Pope Fabian,* who testifies that the 
 Apostles received the composition of chrism from our Lord and 
 transmitted it to us. 4 
 
 Laod. can. 48, Meld. c. 6; Florence, Constance, Trent, sess. 7. 
 
 1 Epist 2, in the beginning. 
 
 * Epist. 3, ad Episc. Orient. 
 
 4 See Aug. in Ps. 44, vers. 9; lib. 13, de Trinit. cap. 26; Greg, in i, cap. 
 can. Cone. Laod. cap. 48 ; Carth. 2, 3, c. 39 ; Dionys. de Eccl. Hierar. cc. 2, 4. 
 On the oil see Ambr. in Ps. 118; lib. de Spiritu Sancto, cap. 3; Cyprian 
 Epist. 70.
 
 484 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 PROPRIETY OF CHRISM AS ITS MATTER 
 
 To declare the effects of Confirmation no sacramental matter 
 could have been more appropriate than chrism. Oil, by its 
 nature unctuous and fluid, expresses the plenitude of divine 
 grace which flows from Christ the head, through the Holy 
 Ghost, and is poured out, " like the precious ointment on the 
 head, that ran down upon the beard ... of Aaron, ... to 
 the skirt of his garment " ; l for God anointed Him with the oil 
 of gladness above His fellows, 2 and " of his fulness we all have 
 received." 3 Balsam, too, the odor of which is most grateful, 
 signifies that the faithful, made perfect by the grace of Con- 
 firmation, diffuse around them, by reason of their many virtues, 
 such a sweet odor that they may truly say with the Apostle, 
 " We are the good odor of Christ unto God." 4 Balsam has 
 also the quality of preserving incorrupt whatever it embalms 
 a quality well adapted to express the virtue of this Sacrament. 
 Prepared by the heavenly grace infused in Confirmation, the 
 souls of the faithful may be easily preserved from the corrup- 
 tion of sin. 
 
 CHRISM, WHY CONSECRATED, AND BY BISHOPS ONLY 
 
 The chrism is consecrated with solemn ceremonies by the 
 Bishop. That this its solemn consecration is in accordance with 
 the instructions of our Lord, when at His last supper He com- 
 mitted to His Apostles the manner of making chrism, we learn 
 from Pope Fabian, a man eminently distinguished by his sanc- 
 tity and by the glory of martyrdom. 5 Indeed, reason alone 
 demonstrates the propriety of this consecration ; for in most of 
 the other Sacraments Christ so instituted the matter as to im- 
 part to it holiness. It was not only His will that water should 
 constitute the matter of the Sacrament of Baptism when He 
 said, "Unless a man be born again of water and the Holy 
 Ghost, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God," 6 but He also, 
 at His own baptism, imparted to it the power of sanctifying. 
 " The water of Baptism," says St. Chrysostom, " had it not been 
 
 ' Ps. cxxxii. 2, 3. * Ps. xliv. 8. 
 
 John i. 16. 4 2 Cor. ii. 15. 
 
 * Pope St. Fabian, as above. John iii. 5.
 
 THE SACRAMENT OF CONFIRMATION 485 
 
 sanctified by contact with the body of our Lord, could not 
 cleanse the sins of believers." 1 As therefore our Lord did not 
 consecrate by using the matter of Confirmation, it becomes neces- 
 sary to consecrate it by holy and devout prayer, which is the 
 exclusive prerogative of Bishops, who are constituted the ordi- 
 nary ministers of this Sacrament. 
 
 FORM OF THE SACRAMENT OF CONFIRMATION 
 
 The other component part of this Sacrament, that is to say, 
 its form, comes next to be explained. The faithful are to be 
 admonished that when receiving Confirmation they are, on hear- 
 ing the words pronounced by the Bishop, earnestly to excite 
 themselves to sentiments of piety, faith, and devotion, that on 
 their part no obstacle may be opposed to the heavenly grace of 
 the Sacrament. The form of Confirmation consists of these 
 words : " I SIGN THEE WITH THE SIGN OF THE CROSS, AND I CON- 
 FIRM THEE WITH THE CHRISM OF SALVATION, IN THE NAME OF 
 
 THE FATHER, AND OF THE SON, AND OF THE HOLY GHOST." Were 
 we to acknowledge the incompetency of reason to establish the 
 truth and strict propriety of this form, the authority of the 
 Catholic Church, by which it has been at all times taught and 
 recognized, would alone be sufficient to dispel all doubt on the 
 subject; judging of it, however, by the standard of reason, we 
 arrive at the same conclusion. The form of the Sacrament 
 should embrace whatever is necessary to explain its nature and 
 substance. With regard to the nature and substance of Con- 
 firmation there are three things that demand particular atten- 
 tion: the divine power, which, as a primary cause, operates in 
 the Sacrament; the spiritual strength which it imparts to the 
 faithful unto salvation; and lastly, the sign impressed on him 
 who is to engage in the warfare of Christ. The words " in the 
 name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost," 
 with which the form closes, sufficiently declare the first; the 
 second is comprised in the words, " I confirm thee with the 
 chrism of salvation ; " and the words, " I sign thee with the sign 
 of the cross," with which the form opens, convey the third. 
 
 1 Horn. 4, oper. imperf . ; also de consec. dist. 4, c. Nunquld.
 
 486 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 THE BISHOP IS ITS ORDINARY MINISTER 
 
 . To whom principally is intrusted the administration of this 
 Sacrament is a matter to which the pastor will also call the at- 
 tention of the faithful. There are many, according to the 
 Prophet, who run and yet are not sent ; and hence the necessity of 
 informing the faithful who are its true and legitimate ministers, 
 in order that they may really receive the Sacrament and grace 
 of Confirmation. 1 That Bishops alone are the ordinary minis- 
 ters of this Sacrament is the doctrine of Scripture. We read 
 in the Acts of the Apostles that when Samaria had received the 
 Gospel, Peter and John were sent to them and prayed for them, 
 that they might receive the Holy Ghost ; " for he was not as yet 
 come upon any of them ; but they were only baptized in the name 
 of the Lord Jesus." 2 Here we find that he who administered 
 Baptism, having only attained the degree of deacon, had no 
 power to administer Confirmation; its administration was re- 
 served to a more elevated order of the ministry, that is, to the 
 Apostles alone. Whenever the sacred Scriptures speak of this 
 Sacrament they convey to us the same truth. We have also 
 the clearest testimony of the Fathers, and, as may be seen, in 
 the decrees of Popes Urban, Eusebius, Damasus, Innocent, and 
 Leo. In confirmation of the same doctrine, we may also add 
 that .St. Augustine loudly complains of the corrupt practice 
 which prevailed in the churches of Egypt and Alexandria in 
 his day, a practice according to which priests presumed to ad- 
 minister the Sacrament of Confirmation. 8 
 
 PROPRIETY OF RESTRICTING CONFIRMATION TO BISHOPS 
 
 To illustrate the propriety of restricting the exercise of this 
 function to the episcopal office the following comparison may 
 
 1 C. of Trent, sess. 23, c. 4, can. 7. 
 
 * Acts viii. 14, 16. 
 
 * That the Bishop is the ordinary minister of Confirmation is taught by 
 Pope Urban, Epist. ad omnes Christianos; Pope Eusebiuus, Epist 3, 
 ad Episcop. Tusciae et Campaniae; Pope Damasus, Epist. 4, ad Pros, et 
 caeteros Episc. Orthod.; Pope Innocent, Epist. I, ad Veren. c. 3; Pope Leo, 
 Epist. 88, ad Germanae et Galliae. Episc. ; Pope Melchiades, Epist. ad episc. 
 Hispaniae; Pope Clement, Epist. 4; C. Worm., c. 8; Florence, de Sacram. 
 The decrees of the above mentioned Popes are found in the volumes of 
 the Councils. See also August, in quaest. novi testam. quaest. 42.
 
 THE SACRAMENT OF CONFIRMATION 487 
 
 be found not inappropriate. As in the construction of an edifice, 
 the artisans, who are inferior agents, prepare and dispose mor- 
 tar, lime, timber, and the other materials, while the completion 
 of the work belongs to the architect, so in like manner should 
 Confirmation, which is as it were the completion of the spiritual 
 edifice, be administered by no other than episcopal hands. 
 
 A SPONSOR REQUIRED, AND WHY 
 
 In Confirmation, as in Baptism, a sponsor is required. If 
 the gladiator who presents himself as a combatant has need of 
 the skill and address of a master to direct him by what thrusts 
 and passes he may, without endangering his own safety, over- 
 come his antagonist, how much more necessary to the faithful 
 is a guide and instructor when, sheathed as it were in the panoply 
 of this Sacrament, they engage in the spiritual conflict, in which 
 eternal salvation is to reward the success of the victor! Spon- 
 sors therefore are, with great propriety, required in the admin- 
 istration of this Sacrament also; and the same affinity which, 
 as we have already shown, is contracted in Baptism, impeding 
 the lawful marriage of the parties, is also contracted in Con- 
 firmation. 1 
 
 EFFECTS OF CONFIRMATION 
 
 The pastor will teach that in common with the other sacra- 
 ments, Confirmation imparts new grace, unless some obstacle 
 be opposed by the receiver. We have already shown that it is 
 the property of these sacred and mystic signs at once to indicate 
 and produce grace; and as we cannot imagine grace and sin 
 to coexist in the soul, it follows, as a necessary consequence, 
 that it also remits sin. 
 
 Besides these properties, common alike to this and the other 
 sacraments, it is the peculiar characteristic of Confirmation to 
 perfect the grace of Baptism. Those who are initiated into the 
 Christian religion share, as it were, the tenderness and infirmity 
 of new-born infants; but they afterwards gather strength from 
 
 1 C. of Trent, sess. 24, c. 2, de reform, matrim. Under the law of the 
 new Code spiritual relationship arises from valid Confirmation between 
 the person confirmed and the sponsor (canon 797), but this relationship 
 is not an impediment to marriage (canon 1079). EDITORS.
 
 4 88 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 the Sacrament of chrism to combat the assaults of the world, 
 the flesh, and the devil, and are confirmed in faith to confess 
 and glorify the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. From this last 
 mentioned circumstance it arose, no doubt, that the Sacrament 
 was distinguished by the name of Confirmation. 
 
 AN ERROR REFUTED 
 
 This its name is not, as some with equal ignorance and im- 
 piety have imagined, derived from a former custom that bap- 
 tized persons, when grown to maturity, should present themselves 
 before the Bishop to confirm their adherence to the faith of 
 Christ which they had embraced in Baptism. According to 
 such an opinion Confirmation would not seem to differ from 
 catechetical instruction. Of such a practice no proof can be 
 adduced, no vestige traced; and this sacrament is called Con- 
 firmation because by virtue of it God confirms in us what was 
 commenced in Baptism, and conducts to the perfection of solid 
 Christian virtue. 1 
 
 Not only does this Sacrament confirm, it also increases, divine 
 grace in the soul. "The Holy Ghost," says Melchiades, "who 
 descends with salutary influence on the waters of Baptism, im- 
 parts the plenitude of grace to innocence; in Confirmation the 
 same Holy Ghost gives an increase of divine grace, and not 
 only an increase, but an increase after a wonderful manner.* 
 This extraordinary efficacy of Confirmation the Scriptures beau- 
 tifully express by a metaphor. " Stay you in the city," says our 
 Lord, speaking of this Sacrament, "till you be clothed with 
 power from on high." 8 
 
 ITS EFFICACY ILLUSTRATED 
 
 To show the divine efficacy of this Sacrament (and this, no 
 doubt, will have great influence on the minds of the faithful) 
 the pastor has need only to explain the effects which it pro- 
 duced on the Apostles themselves. Before, and even at the very 
 time of the passion, so weak and listless were they that no sooner 
 was our Lord apprehended than they all fled; 4 and Peter, who 
 
 1 C. of Trent, 7, can. i, de confir. 
 
 * De cons. dist. 5, c. Spiritus. Euseb. Emus. horn, in die Pent. 
 
 3 Luke xxiv. 49. * Matt. xxvi. 56.
 
 THE SACRAMENT OF CONFIRMATION 489 
 
 was destined to be the rock and foundation of the Church, and 
 who had displayed an unshaken constancy and an intrepid spirit 
 to be dismayed by the appearance of no danger, 1 was so terrified 
 at the voice of one weak woman as to deny once, and again, and 
 a third time, that he was a disciple of Jesus Christ. 2 Even after 
 the resurrection they remained, through fear of the Jews, shut 
 up in a house, the doors being closed. 3 But how extraordinary 
 the change! On the day of Pentecost, filled with the grace of 
 the Holy Ghost, they fearlessly, and in defiance of all danger, 
 proclaim the Gospel, not only through Judea, but throughout 
 the world; 4 they deem it the greatest happiness to be thought 
 worthy to suffer contumely, chains, tortures, and crucifixion 
 itself, for the name of Christ. 5 
 
 Confirmation has also the effect of impressing a character, and 
 hence, as we said before with regard to Baptism, and as will be 
 more fully explained in its proper place with regard to Orders, it 
 is on no account to be administered a second time. If these things 
 are frequently and accurately explained, it is almost impossible 
 that the faithful, knowing the utility and dignity of this Sacra- 
 ment, should not use every exertion to receive it with piety and 
 devotion. 6 
 
 ITS RITES AND CEREMONIES EXPLAINED 
 ANOINTING OF THE FOREHEAD 
 
 The rites and ceremonies used in the administration of this 
 Sacrament now remain to be glanced at. The advantages of this 
 explanation the pastor will at once see by reverting to what we 
 have already said on this subject in its proper place. The fore- 
 head of the person to be confirmed is anointed with sacred chrism ; 
 for in this Sacrament the Holy Spirit pours Himself into the souls 
 of the faithful, and imparts to them increased strength and cour- 
 age to enable them in the spiritual contest to fight manfully, and 
 to resist successfully their most implacable foes. They are there- 
 fore told that henceforward they are not to be deterred by fear 
 
 i Matt. xvi. 18-26, 51. * Matt xxvi. 70, 72, 74. 
 
 John xx. 19. 4 Acts ii. I. 
 
 Acts v. 41. 
 
 On the non-repetition of Confirmation, see de consecratione, dist 5, 
 c. dictum, est, et cap. de horn. St Thorn, p. 3, q. 72, art 5.
 
 490 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 or shame feelings of which the countenance is the principal 
 index from the open confession of the name of Christ. 1 Be- 
 sides, the mark by which the Christian is distinguished from all 
 others, as the soldier is distinguished by his peculiar military 
 badges, should be impressed on the forehead, the most dignified 
 and conspicuous part of the human form. 
 
 WHY ADMINISTERED AT PENTECOST 
 
 The festival of Pentecost was also chosen for its solemn admin- 
 istration because the Apostles were then strengthened and con- 
 firmed by the power of the Holy Ghost ; 2 and also to remind the 
 faithful, by the recollection of that supernatural event, of the 
 number and magnitude of the mysteries contained in that sacred 
 unction. 
 
 THE GENTLE SLAP ON THE CHEEK 
 
 The person, when confirmed, receives a gentle slap on the cheek 
 from the hand of the Bishop, to remind him that as a courageous 
 champion he should be prepared to brave with unconquered reso- 
 lution all adversities for the name of Christ. 
 
 THE KISS OF PEACE 
 
 Finally, he receives the kiss of peace, to give him to understand 
 that he has been blessed with the fulness of divine grace, and 
 with that peace " which surpasseth all understanding." 3 
 
 These things will be found to contain a summary of the expo- 
 sition to be given by the pastor on the Sacrament of Confirma- 
 tion ; but let them be delivered not so much in the cold language 
 of formal instruction as in the burning accents of fervent piety, 
 so as to penetrate into the minds and inflame the hearts of the 
 faithful. 
 
 1 Rhaban. lib. i, de instit. cleric, c. 30, et habetur de consec. dist. 5, 
 c. noviss. Aug. in Ps. 141, St. Thorn. 3, p. q. 71, art 9. 
 1 Acts ii. 2, 4. 
 Phil. Jr. 7.
 
 THE SACRAMENT OF CONFIRMATION 491 
 
 Sermon 
 
 CONFIRMATION 
 
 BY THE RIGHT REV. ALEXANDER MACDONALD, D.D. 
 
 By Baptism we are born into the kingdom of God. And as, in 
 the natural order, the child must grow to manhood before he is 
 fit to go out into the world and fight life's battle, so it is in the 
 spiritual order. The kingdom of God on earth is the Church 
 militant, whose members wage a spiritual warfare as soldiers 
 under Christ, their captain. The child of God, therefore, to be 
 an efficient member of the Church militant, must outgrow the 
 weakness of childhood and attain to adult age "the measure 
 of the age of the fulness of Christ" (Eph. iv. 13). Confirmation 
 is the Sacrament which enables the child of God, by the grace of 
 God's Holy Spirit, thus to grow into a strong and perfect Chris- 
 tian, a soldier of Jesus Christ. The name itself implies this, for 
 to confirm is to make strong. 
 
 Like the other sacraments of the New Law, Confirmation con- 
 sists of matter and form. The matter is the anointing with holy 
 chrism and the laying on of the hands of a bishop. The laying 
 on of hands alone is mentioned in the New Testament, but the 
 anointing is vouched for by the tradition of the Church. " Thus, 
 too, in our case," says Tertullian, speaking of this Sacrament, 
 " the unction runs [down our flesh] carnally, but profits spiritu- 
 ally, in the same way as the act of Baptism itself, too, is carnal, 
 in that we are plunged in water, the effect spiritual, in that we are 
 freed from our sins" (De Baptismo, ch. vii). The words of the 
 form are : " I sign thee with the sign of the cross and confirm thee 
 with the chrism of salvation, in the name of the Father, and of 
 the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." 
 
 The Bishop is the minister of Confirmation. A priest, how- 
 ever, may receive special power from the Pope to administer the 
 Sacrament, using oil blessed by a bishop. 
 
 The subject of Confirmation is any one who has been baptized 
 and not yet confirmed; not yet confirmed, for this Sacrament, 
 like Baptism, imprints on- the soul an indelible character, and 
 cannot therefore be given more than once. The candidate for 
 Confirmation, according to the present discipline of the Church
 
 492 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 in the West, must have come to the use of reason and have some 
 knowledge of Christian doctrine, more especially the principal 
 mysteries of religion, the four great truths commonly spoken of 
 as " the last things," and all that concerns this Sacrament, as well 
 as the Sacrament of Penance, which is to be received before Con- 
 firmation. In the East children are confirmed immediately after 
 Baptism. 
 
 The one who is to be confirmed should be in the state of grace, 
 for Confirmation is a Sacrament of the living, and it would be 
 sacrilege to receive it in the state of mortal sin. Still the Sacra- 
 ment would be valid, and would imprint a character on the soul, 
 but would confer no grace till pardon was first obtained for the 
 sin. 
 
 A Sacrament is a sensible sign of grace instituted by our 
 blessed Lord to sanctify and save souls. Three things there are 
 thus in every Sacrament: a sensible sign, divine institution, the 
 power of conferring grace. The sensible sign in the Sacrament 
 of Confirmation consists in the laying on of the Bishop's hands 
 with the anointing and the words of the form. But while a Sac- 
 rament is a sensible sign, not every sensible sign is a Sacrament. 
 It must be divinely instituted, for no sensible sign can give grace 
 unless it is divinely instituted for that purpose. Of this divine 
 institution, in the case of Confirmation, there is proof at least 
 implied in the Acts of the Apostles. There we read that the 
 people of Samaria were won to Christ by the preaching of Philip 
 and baptized. And when this became known to the apostles, 
 Peter and John were sent thither, and they laid their hands on 
 the newly baptized converts, who thereupon received the Holy 
 Ghost. Plainly this rite, which consisted in the laying on of 
 apostolic hands with prayer, was a Sacrament, for it conferred 
 grace nay, the very author of grace, the Holy Spirit. It was 
 not Holy Orders, which it outwardly resembled, in the laying on 
 of hands, for orders are given to men only who are elected to 
 the ministry, and the Christians of Samaria were not all of them 
 called to the ministry, and there were among them women and 
 children as well as men. It follows that here was a Sacrament 
 distinct from Baptism and from Holy Orders, the special effect 
 of which was to give the Holy Ghost. For so we read : " Then
 
 THE SACRAMENT OF CONFIRMATION 493 
 
 they laid their hands upon them, and they received the Holy 
 Ghost" (Acts viii. 17). 
 
 Confirmation produces a twofold effect : ( i ) It gives grace to 
 make us strong and perfect Christians and soldiers of Jesus 
 Christ; (2) it stamps upon the soul a character, which is like the 
 putting on of a spiritual armor, with the livery of Our Lord and 
 Master, to serve Him and do battle for Him and under His stand- 
 ard with the enemies that assail us on every side. Not that we 
 become strong and perfect Christians all at once; not that we 
 show from the first, or even after many years, such skill and 
 courage in fighting the good fight as never to falter or suffer 
 defeat. This Sacrament does not transform men all at once into 
 saints and heroes, but it gives them grace to grow, if they will 
 but correspond with the grace, until, as the apostle has it, they 
 attain their full stature in Christ. 
 
 All growth is from within. You cannot force it. It is a grad- 
 ual, a slow process. It is so in the natural order, it is so in the 
 spiritual order. But there is this difference between growth in 
 the natural order and growth in the spiritual order, that the 
 former is confined to the period between birth and adult age, 
 while the latter extends over the whole of one's lifetime. Nay, 
 as a rule spiritual growth is sturdiest and surest when the season 
 of lusty youth is over and the life of man " is fallen into the 
 sere, the yellow leaf." But whether it be in the morning of life 
 or towards life's sunset that this growth takes place, it has ever 
 its source in God's Holy Spirit, in the seven gifts which He 
 bestows on the soul, and which exist in the soul, at least in germ, 
 from the day of one's Confirmation. The fulness of these gifts 
 was in Christ our Saviour, and of this fulness we all receive. 
 " And there shall come forth a rod out of the root of Jesse," says 
 the prophet, " and a flower shall rise up out of his root. And the 
 spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him : the spirit of wisdom, and 
 of understanding, the spirit of counsel, and of fortitude, the spirit 
 of knowledge, and of godliness. And he shall be filled with the 
 spirit of the fear of the Lord" (Is. xi. 1-3). 
 
 In these words of Isaias are set forth the seven gifts of the 
 Holy Ghost, the seminal principles of which are sown in the soul 
 by the Sacrament of Confirmation. The prophet gives them in
 
 494 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 the order of their dignity, wisdom being first and fear last. We 
 shall take them in the ascending order, beginning with holy fear. 
 
 The fear of the Lord is, so to say, the first step in the ladder 
 by which the soul slowly mounts up the steep of Christian per- 
 fection. 
 
 A good many Christians seem quite unable to get beyond this 
 first step. They are content to keep themselves just within the 
 territory of grace, and aspire to nothing higher. They linger in 
 the valley below; they seek not to gain the distant heights. 
 Others, again, pass most of their lives with one foot on this low- 
 est rung of the ladder and the other on the earth. That is to say, 
 the holy fear of God keeps urging them forward and prompting 
 them to bring forth fruit worthy of penance, to seek the things 
 that are above ; but the force of evil habit, and the weight of their 
 old sins, and the lust of worldly pleasures, bear them down to 
 earth once more. These really have not the gift of holy fear at 
 all. They received the seed of it into their souls on the day of 
 their Confirmation, but they soon stifled and quenched it by sinful 
 works. 
 
 Would that the whole world were filled with the fear of the 
 Lord ! All are in need of this gift : the good, that it may prompt 
 them to walk steadily along in the way of God's holy command- 
 ments, the wicked, that they may turn from their evil ways. 
 
 The next gift is piety, or godliness. It perfects the former 
 gift. It takes away the sting that lurks in all fear, however 
 holy. It changes the feeling of awe with which we look on God 
 into one of love and confidence. Fear makes us regard God 
 as our master and judge; piety gathers us round Him as chil- 
 dren round a father, and bids us cry out to Him, " Our Father 
 who art in heaven." Of this sweet gift is born the spirit of 
 prayer, as well as reverence for all things that are holy, with 
 meek resignation under present trials, for such as bear these 
 patiently here. It is a priceless gift. But, alas! sin with its 
 malign breath often blasts it just as it is putting forth its first 
 blossoms in the virgin soil of the yet innocent heart. -vHence we 
 so often see children disappoint the promise of their early years, 
 and grow up wayward and bold, disrespectful to parents and 
 superiors, without reverence for God and holy things.
 
 THE SACRAMENT OF CONFIRMATION 495 
 
 The third gift is knowledge. It is not enough to have the fear 
 of displeasing God and the wish to please Him, if we know not 
 what is pleasing to Him and what displeasing. With this knowl- 
 edge the third gift supplies us. The fear of that endless misery 
 to which sin leads makes us turn away from sin; the hope of 
 reward and the sweetness of that peace which dwells in the 
 heavenly home, these draw us on. Yet powerful as these 
 impulses are they would avail nothing if we knew not how to 
 shun the devious ways of sin and keep our feet in the narrow 
 way which leads to life. 
 
 But even this gift of knowledge is not enough. Many have 
 known the way of life who have not walked therein. Like the 
 pagan of old, they have seen the better course and approved it, 
 but have followed the worse. The way that leads to life is 
 long and difficult. It is, for the most part, a thorny path that 
 lies through the wilderness of this world into the land of promise 
 beyond the river of death, and we, poor, frail, fallen creatures 
 that we are, are apt to falter and lose heart, to linger by the 
 wayside, and to long once more for the flesh-pots of Egypt 
 even though they be in the house of bondage. But our help 
 is in the name of the Lord. His Holy Spirit is ever at hand 
 to strengthen the feeble and help them over the hard places 
 of the road. He brings the gift of fortitude. It is the fourth 
 of His gifts. It turns weak and cowardly men into soldiers of 
 Christ, who go forth to conquer their inveterate foes, the world, 
 the flesh, and the devil. For they feel their youth and strength 
 renewed, as did St. Paul when he cried out, " I can do all things 
 in him who strengthened me." 
 
 And yet the battle is not to the strong. Prudence, too, is 
 needed, and Christian prudence is the gift of counsel. It goes 
 before the gift of fortitude. It points out what is to be done, 
 and how it is to be done, and how much is to be done at a time. 
 Emboldened by the gift of fortitude we might be tempted to 
 undertake things that are beyond our strength, or unsuited to 
 our state in life. Here the gift of counsel both curbs and guides 
 us. Thus in a fit of fervor a person might make a vow to avoid 
 all sins, even venial, only to learn by sad experience that this 
 is next to impossible ; or one might be so taken up with prayer
 
 496 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 and religious exercises as to neglect the duties of one's calling. 
 This were piety, but ill-directed, lacking counsel. 
 
 Fear, piety, and fortitude perfect the will; knowledge and 
 counsel, the intellect, in the practical order that is, they enable 
 us to know what is to be done and what is to be avoided; and 
 as regards what is to be done, when and how, and how much 
 at a time. There is another gift to teach us what to believe, to 
 give us an insight into the truths of religion, to shed such light 
 upon the deep things of God, the mysteries of our faith, as may 
 be vouchsafed to mortals in a world where these things are seen 
 as through a glass, darkly. It is the gift of understanding. It 
 is of a higher order than knowledge as counsel. 
 
 I do not ask to see 
 The distant scene, one step enough for me. 
 
 So the poet prayed, seeking, for the moment, but the " kindly 
 light " of knowledge and counsel to guide his steps " amid the 
 encircling gloom." Yet in the voyage of life there is need, ever 
 and anon, of stronger light, to catch at least some passing glimpse 
 of the distant scene. To hold his course on the trackless waste 
 of waters the mariner must from time to time pause to take his 
 bearings. He must lift his eyes to the heavenly bodies, the sun 
 by day, the moon and stars by night. So we in crossing the 
 ocean of life must raise eyes of faith to gaze upon the eternal 
 truths, and from them seek light and guidance, else we may not 
 hope to win the haven of eternal rest. 
 
 Lastly, there is a seventh gift that crowns the others, the blos- 
 som and perfection of all the rest, the talisman of victory to the 
 soldier of Christ, the last round of the ladder by which the 
 Christian mounts to heaven. It is the gift of wisdom. It is 
 the good and perfect gift that cometh down from the Father of 
 lights. It enables the one into whose soul it descends to see 
 everything as God sees it, and to set its true value on every- 
 thing. The wisdom of this world makes men prize the things 
 of this world. The wisdom that is from above makes men fix 
 their minds and hearts on the things that are above, where Christ 
 sitteth at the right hand of the Father. And the wisdom of 
 this world is foolishness with God. Men of the world deem 
 it highest wisdom to possess themselves of the good things of
 
 THE SACRAMENT OF CONFIRMATION 497 
 
 this world. St. Paul, who was full of the wisdom that is from 
 above, reckoned all these things as dross, nay, to use his own 
 strong word, even as dung, that he might win Christ. He had 
 been thoroughly drilled in the school of the Holy Ghost. He 
 had been taught to know the true beatitudes, " Blessed are the 
 poor in spirit," " Blessed are the merciful," " Blessed are the 
 clean of heart," " Blessed are they who endure persecution for 
 righteousness' sake." He had fathomed the meaning of the 
 Master's words : " What shall it profit a man, if he gain the 
 whole world, and suffer the loss of his soul?" It is a question 
 of profit and loss, where the loss of all things earthly, even of 
 life itself, for Christ's sweet sake, is supremest gain. 
 
 Confirmation is, in an altogether special sense, the Sacrament 
 of the Holy Ghost. Baptism confers grace to sanctify the soul, 
 but Confirmation confers the sanctifier of the soul, the Holy 
 Spirit. Ever since the day of Pentecost this Holy Spirit has 
 been in the world, performing His mission as Paraclete, ruling 
 the Church as a whole, guiding it in the way of truth, and sanc- 
 tifying its members. Creatures of the senses that we are, and 
 tied down to the things of sense, we find it hard to bring home 
 to ourselves this great truth of our faith, that we are living 
 under the dispensation and personal guidance of the Holy Ghost. 
 This Third Person of the blessed Trinity, who proceeds from 
 the Father and the Son, who together with the Father and the 
 Son is adored and glorified, who is the Lord and giver of life, 
 is present in the world to-day, in the world-wide Church, as 
 really and truly as the Second Person, Jesus Christ, Son of the 
 Virgin Mary, was present nineteen hundred years ago on the 
 earth, and is still present on our altars in the Adorable Sacra- 
 ment. Our Lord Himself promised that when the Paraclete 
 should come he should abide always with the Church. He is 
 not the less really present for our being unable to see Him with 
 our eyes and touch Him with our hands. 
 
 Our blessed Lord, when He was visibly present on earth, 
 dwelt with Mary and Joseph in that lowly cottage at Nazareth. 
 He still dwells, though unseen by eyes of flesh, in our churches, 
 on our altars. But the Holy Spirit dwells not in a temple made 
 with hands. " Know you not," says the apostle, " that your bodies
 
 498 PAROCHIAL COURSE OF INSTRUCTIONS 
 
 are the temple of the Holy Ghost?" Yes, this poor tenement 
 of clay, which death one day will dissolve, is the dwelling-place 
 of God's Holy Spirit. 
 
 And now here is a thing to think of and to take to heart : As 
 often as a Christian sins mortally he turns God's Holy Spirit out 
 of his temple. To turn even the meanest of men out of one's 
 own house without cause is shameful; to drive a man out of 
 the house of which he is owner is open robbery. Judge, then, 
 how heinous is mortal sin. He who is guilty of it drives God's 
 Holy Spirit out of His dwelling-place. Let us not grieve the 
 Holy Ghost; let us beware of quenching the Holy Ghost. Let 
 us show due reverence to the temple in which He deigns to 
 dwell, and treat in a befitting way this divine guest of our souls. 
 So it will come to pass that when this house of our earthly 
 dwelling is dissolved, He will receive us into His tabernacle 
 " a building of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the 
 heavens." 
 
 References 
 
 Hehel, in Short Sermons on Catholic Doctrine; Leiber, " The Cere- 
 monies of Confirmation," in Pulpit Comm., Vol. IV, p. 308; Bonomelli- 
 Byrne, in Christian Mysteries, Vol. Ill, pp. 253 ff. ; Monsabre, in Lenten 
 Confer, of 1883. 
 
 Cath. Encyc., Vol. IV, pp. 215 ff. ; Summa Theol., III, q. 72; Tanquerey, 
 Theol. Dog., De Confirmatione; Hurter, Theol. Dog., Vol. Ill, Nos. 369 ff . ; 
 Pohle-Preuss, The Sacraments, Vol. I, pp. 276 ff. ; Vaughan, The Divine 
 Armory, etc., pp. 671 ff. ; Callan, Illustrations for Sermons, etc., p. 191 ; 
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 INDEX 
 
 PACT 
 
 Advent i 
 
 Angels 232seqq. 
 
 Baptism 2i6seqq. 
 
 Catechism of the Council of Trent 
 
 Article I of the Creed 178 
 
 Article II 31, 49, 62 
 
 Article III 70,90 
 
 Article IV 245, 323, 337 
 
 Article V 354 
 
 Article VI 463 
 
 Artide VII 2 
 
 Article IX 137,198,208 
 
 Article XII 410, 430 
 
 The Our Father ...... 103, 440 
 
 Baptism 218 
 
 Confirmation 480 
 
 Holy Eucharist . . 258,273,286,301 
 
 Holy Communion 273 
 
 Holy Sacrifice of the Mass . . . 286 
 
 Penance 372 
 
 Holy Orders 118,300 
 
 Matrimony 147 
 
 (For the other parts of the Catechism of the Council of Trent 
 see Vols. II, III, and IV of this work.) 
 
 Christ, meaning of the name 
 
 the son of God 
 
 true God ~~t ~ " 
 
 our Lord 
 
 His incarnation and nativity 69 seqq 
 
 difference between Nature and Person 
 
 His circumcision 
 
 the second Adam 
 
 the Redeemer and Messiah 30 seqq., 
 
 His three offices 
 
 His sufferings 
 
 His Sacred Passion 
 
 His death 
 
 His burial 
 
 His resurrection 
 
 His ascension 
 
 our brother 
 
 His second coming 
 
 Church, its apostolicity 
 
 , its catholicity 
 
 , its hierarchy 
 
 , its holiness 
 
 35 seqq. 
 47 seqq. 
 49 seqq. 
 6 1 seqq. 
 ., 89 seqq. 
 . 78 
 
 . - 102 
 
 75 
 322 seqq. 
 . . 1,2 
 244 seqq. 
 322 seqq. 
 336 seqq. 
 336 seqq. 
 353 seqq. 
 462 seqq. 
 447 seqq. 
 I seqq. 
 429 seqq. 
 207 seqq. 
 388 seqq. 
 196 seqq.
 
 506 INDEX 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Circumcision 102 
 
 Communion, Holy 273 seqq., 301 seqq. 
 
 , of Saints, the 136 seqq. 
 
 Confirmation, the sacrament of 478 seqq. 
 
 Creation, the 181 
 
 Demons 232 seqq. 
 
 Devil, the 233 seqq. 
 
 Divorce 150, 157 
 
 Eucharist, matter, form, and rites 301 seqq. 
 
 , the holy 256 seqq., 273 seqq., 286 seqq. 
 
 , difference between sacrament and sacrifice 289 
 
 God, everywhere 450 
 
 , the Creator 176 seqq. 
 
 , our Father 439 seqq. 
 
 , His goodness and love 443 seqq. 
 
 , His power and majesty 178 seqq. 
 
 Guardian Angels 232 seqq., 441 seqq. 
 
 Heaven 409 seqq. 
 
 Hell 164 seqq. 
 
 , different abodes of departed souls meant by that name before 
 
 the Redemption 340 seqq. 
 
 Hierarchy of the Church 389 seqq. 
 
 Immortality 409 seqq. 
 
 Jesus, His holy name 102 seqq. 
 
 , meaning of the name 34 seqq. 
 
 Judgment, the general 1,2 seqq. 
 
 , the particular 2, 12 
 
 Life Everlasting 409 seqq. 
 
 Lord's Prayer 102 seqq., 439 seqq. 
 
 Marriage 148 seqq. 
 
 , separation 157 
 
 , nullity 157 
 
 Mass, the holy sacrifice of the 286 seqq. 
 
 , and the sacrifice of the Cross 291 
 
 Orders, holy 117 seqq., 388 seqq. 
 
 Ordination 117 seqq. 
 
 Penance, the sacrament of 370 seqq. 
 
 Polygamy 150 
 
 Priesthood 117 seqq., 388 seqq. 
 
 Prophecies relating to Christ's Passion 248 
 
 Trinity, the Blessed iSoseqq. 
 
 Virgin, the Blessed, her Immaculate Conception 17 seqq. 
 
 , truly mother of God and man 73 
 
 , inviolate 75 
 
 , the second Eve 75
 
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