BjSggiSraH 

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What It Means 

To Be a Catholic 

i by 
MOST REV. APOLLINARIS BAOMGARTNER 

O.F .M. C A P . , D.D. 





What It Means 
To Be a Catholic 

by 

MOST REV. APOLLINARIS BAUMGARTNER 
O.F .M. CAP. . D.D. 

Today the Christian Faith is in danger of being 
undermined or weakened by the spirit that is 
abroad i n ' t h e world — t h e spirit of materialism 
and indifference to things divine. We point to the 

ji „ danger and call upon all our people to "stand fast 
l l j in the Faith (I Corinthians, 16, 13) ; "stand fast, 

and be not held-again under the yoke of bondage." 
(Galatians, S, 5.1). Iu the words of the Apostle Paul, 
we cry out to you, Beloved Americans: "Put you 
on the armor of God, that you may be able to stand 
against the deceits of the devil. For our wrestling is 
not against flesh and blood; but against princi-
palities and powers, against the rulers of the world 
of this darkness, against the spirits of wickedness 
in the high places. Therefore, take unto you the 
armor of God, that you may be able to resist in 

• the evil day and to stand in all things perfect. 
Stand, therefore, having your loins girt about with 
the truth and having on the breastplate of justice; 
and your feet shod with the preparation of the 
gospel of peace. In all things, taking the shield of 

3 

V 



Faith, wherewith you may be able to extinguish 
all the fiery darts of the most wicked one. And 
take unto you the helmet of salvation and the 
sword of the Spirit (which is the word of God.)" 
(Ephesians 6, 11-17). We call upon you to offer 
not the negative resistance of a war of words but 
the positive resistance of an intensified Christian 
life through the observance of the Holy Gospels, 
and of those age-old Catholic customs and tradi-
tions which are so well in accord with the Ameri-
can way of life and so capable of being assimi-
lated into the American picture, without being 
absorbed and destroyed. We call upon you to 
stand fast; and let your rallying cry be, "One 
Lord, One Faith, One Baptism!" (Ephesians 
4, 5 ) . 

To accomplish this end we should LEARN our 
Faith; LOVE our Faith and LIVE our Faith and 
thereby find ourselves good Americans as well as 
good Catholics. 

I 

To be a Catholic means that we believe in a 
God — the one true God in wjiom there are three 
Persons — The Father, the Son and the Holy 
Ghost. As says Tobias, "We are the children of 
Saints, and look for that life which God will 
give to those who never change their faith from 
Him." (Tobias 2, 18). 

To be a Catholic means that we believe that 
the Son of God became man for our salvation 
and established one true Church—the one, holy, 
chtholic, apostolic Church. 

T o be a Catholic means that we believe that 
Christ constituted St. Peter and his successors 
as His Vicars on earth when He said, "Thou art 

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Peter and . upon this rock I will build my 
Church. And the gates of hell shall not prevail. 
And to thee I will give the keys of the Kingdom 
of heaven. And 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." (Matthew, 16, 18 & 19). 
We accept Peter's, successor, the Pope of Rome, 
the visible head of the Church, as the Vicar of 
the invisible Head, our Lord Jesus Christ. And 
we acknowledge his right to lead us in matters 
of religion. For, though he is but a human be-
ing, his office has been exalted by the Son of 
God, from Whom we have the promise, "Be-
hold I am with you always, even to the end of 
the world." »(Matthew, 28, 20). 

| To be a Catholic means that we are believers 
in the Gospel of Jesus Christ ftr that its Glad 
Tidings form the basis of our way of life and 
the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5, 2-12) is 
to us Christ's"^ platform and its Beatitudes are 
the planks thereof — the principles upon which 
we stand and for which we .are ready to fight 
and \to die, if necessary. 

To be a Catholic means that we take liter-
ally the words of Jesus in giving us the Sacra-
ments, especially His own Body and Blood in 
the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar. 

To be a Catholic means that we accept Jesus' 
as our Redeemer and, as He laid down His life 
for us we are ready to lay down ours for Him; 
as He loved us, we love Him; as He made sacri-
fices for us, we are ready to make sacrifices for 
Him. 

T o be a Catholic means that we accept the 
commission of Jesus, "Behold thy mother, (John 

5 



19, 27). which were His last words to man before 
His death npon the Cross the remaining words be-
ing addressed to His Father. And together with 
St. John who stood there, we accept Mary as our 
own. In honoring her, we honor the creature to 
whom God gave some of the greatest privileges.and 
graces, the one whom God's angel saluted as "Full 
of grace" (Luke 1, 28), the one who after Jesus, 
our Mediator, is our mediatrix with God. 

T o be a Catholic means that we profess the 
same Faith which was taught by the Apostles Peter 
and Paul ; the same Faith for which the Apostles 
and martyrs shed their blood; the same Faith which 
the Saints professed throughout the centuries down 
to our own day; the' same Faith which is shared by 
330,000,000 other Catholics throughout the world, 
more than 24,000,000 of whom are our fellow-
Americans.' ' 

To be a Catholic means that we are ready to 
keep the vows we made at. Baptism Jfi that is to re-
nounce Satan and his works and to believe in Jesus 
Christ and His Church. . 

To be a Catholic means that We offer civil au-
thorities the respect which is their due, for as says 
the Apostle Paul "Let everyone be subject to higher 
powers. For there is no power but from God." 
(Romans 13, 1) . We should observe the laws of the 
land; take our rightful place in the sun of govern-
ment when this is given to us ; exercise the right of 
suifrage according to the. libefty which we have in 
such matters, and in so doing consider not our 
religious or fraternal or social affiliations but con-
sult our conscience, which will lead us to cast our 
vote for him whom we believe will most justly ful-
fill the duties of office for the common good with-
out prejudice and without discrimination. 

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To be a Catholic means that we are ready to per-
form the spiritual and corporal works of mercy for 
the love of God and our fellowman regardless of 
race or creed. It means that we shall take part in 
all activities seeking the amelioration of poverty, 
distress, sickness and tribulation in so "far as these 
are civic activities and do not involve us in reli-
gious association with others. 

To be a Catholic means that we shall always 
keep clearly in mind that the end and the means to 
an end are not the same thing; we shall keep our 
sense of values from being distorted and we shall 
be careful not to mistake the shadow for the 
substance. 

T o be a Catholic means that we shall ever be 
unswei-ving in our loyalty to God and country, 
abstaining from membership in associations which 
are inimical to either, and refraining from mem-
bership in organizations forbidden by the Church, 
such as secret societies for joining which a Catho-
lic automatically incurs excommunication (Canon 
2335) which deprives him of the right to share 
in the prayers of the Faithful, of, the right to re-
ceive the Sacraments in life and to Christian 
burial after death. And Catholics are forbidden 
to marry those who join such societies. 

To be a Catholic means, above all, to have 
Faith in God and to remember the Apostle's -
words, "Though we, or an angel from heaven, 
preach a Gospel to you besides that which" we 
have preached to <you, let him be an anathema." 
(Galatians 1, 8) . Hence we should seek to learn 
more and more about our ancient-Faith and grow 
to love it. 

II 

If we love ou r F a i t h ' w e accept cheerfully not 

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only its privileges but its prohibitions, not only 
its prerogatives but its sacrifices, not only its 
favors but its commands. 

If we love our Fa i th we shall strive in word 
and in work to make its principles the guiding 
principles of our life. 

I f« we love o u r Fa i th we shall attend to the 
fulfillment of its practices with willingness and 
desire and we shall , never stoop to ridicule it in 
order to appear "broad-minded" or "liberal" in 
the eyes of others. 

If we love our Fa i th we shall be careful never 
to expose it to ridicule or misunderstanding on 
the part of those who, are ignorant of its teach-
ings and imagine that we believe many things 
which we do not. 

If we love ou r Fai th we shall be ready to ex-
plain it to all who are interested or desire to 
have a knowledge thereof — remembering always 
that failure to know everything about the Faith 
is not in itself a sign of lack of Faith. And even 
a complete knowledge of the teachings of the 
Church is not in itself F a i t h « - f o r Faith is a gift 
of God and does not flow from mere knowledge, 
for "Faith is the substance of things to be hoped 
for, the evidence of things that appear not." 
(Hebrews 11, 1). 

If we love our Fa i th we shall desire to see it 
loved and respected by others, even by those who 
through ignorance or error choose to walk an-
other way of life. We expect them not to ridicule 
us; we shall not ridicule them. If they are follow-
ing their conscience, however misinformed, we 
shall not undertake arguments with them, unless 
we are first attacked — but, being attacked, we 
shall not hesitate to defend our faith by seeking 

8 



to enlighlen those who attack us. And, if they re-
main unconvinced, we shall be satisfied to defend 
our belief and to expose their errors without be-
coming vituperative or personal. 

If we love ou r Fa i th we shall be mindful of 
thé love, which the Son of God had for us ; mind-
ful that - He sacrificed Himself to bring it to us. 

If we love ou r Fa i th nothing and nobody can 
take it from us. 

If we love ou r Fa i th we shall ever be ready to 
live according to it and ever be ready to make any 
sacrificè rather than deny i t ; ready to give up any 
material gain, even life itself, rather than to lose 
it, mindful of the words of the eldest Machabees, 
"We are ready to die rather than to transgress the 
laws of God received from our fathers;" (2 
Machabees 7, 2) and of the words of Our Lord, 
"He that shall lose his life for my sake shall find 
it." (Matthew 16, 25). 

If we love ou r Fai th we shall live it. 

I l l 

To live as a Catholic we must keep the Ten 
Commandments of God whose Divine Son says, 
"If thou wilt enter into life, keep the command-
ments.'' (Matthew 19, 17). 

T o live as a Catholic we must keep the Law 
of Love. "A new commandment I give unto you: 
that you love one another as I have loved you." 
(John 13, 34). And, "These things I command you, 
that you love one another." (John 15, 17). To love 
means to desire and strive to attain the good of 
another — it means to refrain from all that hurts 
and harms us needlessly — it means to keep from 
any deliberate action, thought or word that would 

9 



be a breach of charity, it means "bear ye one an-
other's burdens." 

To live as a Catholic we must keep the Com-
mandments of the Church whose Founder "says, 
"Who heareth you heareth me, and who despiseth 
you despiseth me." (Luke 10, 16). 

To live as a Catholic we must frequently raise 
our hearts to God in prayer — i n the morning, at 
night, before medls, in times of temptation, sickness 
and trial. Our thoughts should frequently be on 
Divine things and our words should frequently 
ascend to God for the things we need and in order 
to adore Him, to thank Him and to make repara-
tion to Him for our sins and the sins of the world. 

To live as a Catholic means that we shall ever 
be mindful that we are the "children of God" 
through Baptism, and the "soldiers of Jesus Christ" 
through Confirmation. And, should we be parents, 
we shall see to it that our children in turn are 
baptized as soon as possible after birth, having 
made arrangements with the Priest as to time and 
place beforehand. And, should a child of ours be 
in danger of death and no Priest be available, we 
shall most certainly see to it that someone;— any-
one who knows how to do so —wil l baptize that 
child: We shall frequently recall our baptismal 
vows and ask God to make us faithful to them. 

T o live as a Catholic, means that as 'soon as our 
children reach the age of discretion (about seven 
years of age) we shall send them to the parish 
church for instruction so that they may be pre-
pared to receive the Body and Blood of Jesus 
Christ in the Holy Sacrament of the Altar, mindful 
that He has asked us frequently to eat thereof, 
"For my flesh is meat indeed and my blood is 
drink indeed." (John 6, 56). And "Unless you eat 

10 



the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood 
you shall not have life in you." (John 6, 54). And 
again "He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my 
blood hath everlasting l i fe: and I will raise him up 
in the last day." (John 6, 55). Nothing differenti-
ates us more from others, who are called Christians, 
than our absolute belief in the truth — t h e literal 
truth;.— of the words ' of the Son of God in re-
spect to this Sacrament. 

To live as a Catholic means that we shall con-
sider it a privilege to be present at the Holy Sacri-
fice of, the Mass, at which Jesus Christ, on His own 
testimony, becomes present for us upon the altar 
through the ministration of a mere man to whom 
He has given so tremendous a power, and wherein 
is fulfilled literally His command, "Do this for a 
commemoration of me." (Luke 22, 19). 

To live as a Catholic means that we shall pre-
pare our souls for Holy Communion by the worthy 
reception of the Sacrament of Penance wherein we 
confess our sins to the representative of Jesus 
Christ and receive absolution from Him through 
His priest — for such was His wish when he con-
ferred the power upon His Apostles on the night 
of His Resurrection day, "Whose sins you shall 
forgive they are forgiven them, and whose sins you 
shall retain they are retained." (John 20, 23). It is 
not necessary to receive this Sacrament every time 
we communicate. Those who receive daily need 
confess only once or twice a month, provided they 
keep from serious sin. Those who receive Holy 
Communion each Sunday need not confess each 
time, if they remain free from serious sin. But all 
spiritual writers recommend that all confess their 
sins about once a month, even if their sins be not 
great or numerous. This is the Sacrament in which 
God has prepared for us the machinery of mercy 

11 



which gives much better assurance of our having 
been forgiven than when we rely merely upon our 
own direct confession to Him. He willed it this 
way — a n d He surely knows how He wants us to 
seek forgiveness. 

To live as a Catholic means that as soon as pos-
sible after children have reached the proper age to 
understand what it is they receive in the Sacra-
ment, they should be confirmed in order that they 
may receive the Holy Ghost to make them strong 
Christians and soldiers of Jesus Christ — equipped 
with the graces to face an inimical, materialistic 
world. 

To live as a Catholic means that when sickness 
strikes us down we shall send for the Priest as says 
St. James "Is any man sick among you? Let him 
bring in the priests of the church and let them pray 
over him, annointing him with oil in the name of 
the Lord. (James 5, 14-15). If anyone who is near 
and dear to us fall sick and cannot himself ask for 
the Priest, we ought in charity call for a priest. 
Extreme Unction should be received, if possible, 
while a person is conscious — it is the Sacrament 
of the sick — we should not wait until one is un-
conscious and in the throes of death — although-
even then, if it has not been attended to before-
hand, we should not hesitate night or day to call 
for the Priest. 

T o live as a Catholic means that we shall rever-
ence the priesthood, remembering that those who 
share the Priesthood of Jesus Christ through the 
reception of the Sacrament of Holy Orders are 
human beings in need of our prayers so that tlrey 
may work worthily for the good of our souls. We 
should encourage vocations to the priesthood among 
our sons and friends. 

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T o live as a Catholic means that we shall re-
ceive the Sacrament of Matrimony in the manner 
and according to the laws of Holy Mother Church, 
that is, in the presence of the priest and two wit-
nesses, all other prescriptions being fulfilled. But, 
since Matrimony is not only a Sacrament but like-
wise a civil contract, all priests must require that 
those who wish to receive this Sacrament will pre-
sent a license from the Government permitting 
them to enter the civil contract. Be it noted, that 
the license of the government is not a license to 
receive the Sacrament of Matrimony, for the State 
claims no authority over the Sacraments of the 
Church and the Church claims no authority over 
the civil contracts of the State — but they work in 
harmony for the protection of those who enter this 
state of life. The Church legislates for the Sacra-
ment— she forbids the marriage of Catholics to 
non-Catholics, she forbids the marriage of close 
relatives or of persons who have been divorced and 
persons who, for one reason or another, are not 
considered free to receive the Sacrament, even 
though the State may declare them free to enter 
the civil contract. She does not recognize divorce, 
no matter by whom it is granted, as being the 
proper dissolution of the sacramental marriage 
bond which continues "until death do us part," 
although she dops not deny the civil effects of a 
marriage dissolved in civil law by competent 
authority. She relies on the word of Her Founder, 
"What therefore God hath joined, let no man.put 
asunder." (Mark 10, 9) . Even when divorce has 
been granted by the civil courts the Church be-
lieves that the marriage, in as far as t he sacra-
mental bond is concerned, still remains intact, 
and no one can remain a Catholic who would act 
as though the sacramental bond had been dis-
solved. Hence St. Paul says of the divorcee, 

13 



"Whilst her husband liveth she shall be called an 
adultress if she be with another man." (Romans 
7, 3) . The prime purpose of marriage is the pro-
creation and education of offspring with mutual 
companionship as an accompanying purpose. St. 
Francis de Sales puts it this way, "The purpose of 
parenthood is to people this world with adorers of 
God and to fill heaven with gaints." Those are to 
be condemned as guilty of serious offense, who 
fail to prepare for marriage by a virtuous l ife; and 
act before or outside of marriage as though they 
were already husband and wife. And any human ef-
fort before or in marriage to interfere with the 
prime purpose of marriage is illicit and grievously 
sinful. 

To live as a Catholic means that we must see to 
the religious education of our children. Where 
there is a Catholic school, children must attend it. 
Where there is no Catholic school, children are to 
get supplementary religious education in Sunday 
School—and parents are bound in conscience" to 
see to it that their children attend such instruc-
tions. Moreover, parents are under obligation to-
see to the religious education cjf their children even 
at home, setting them the example of prayer , and 
w t u e ; and instructing them as far as they can. 
Children coming to the instructions ought to have 
learned at their mother's knee atMeast: The Sign 
of the Cross, the Our Father .and the Hail Mary. 
The Church lays the heavy penalty of excommuni-
cation upon parents who send their children t o 
professedly non-Catholic schools, so that whenever 
there arises the question of sending a child to any 
school it is the duty of parents to inquire whether 
such school is Catholic or at least non-sectarian in 
the sense that Catholic children are free to prac-
tice their Catholic Faith. If the school is profes-
sedly sectarian Catholic children may not-attend it. 

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T o live as a Catholic mfeana to carry a cross — 
but that was the intention of Him who bore His 
own Cross to Calvary and said "Whosoever doth 
not carry his cross and come after me cannot be 
my disciple." (Luke 14, 27). And "if any man will 
come after me, let him deny himself and take up 

~his cross and follow me." Matthew 16, 24). 

T o live as a Catholic means to live as Jesus 
Christ intended us to live; to live as He desired 
us to live; to prepare for heaven and its glory ac-
cording to norms He laid down. 

FOREWARNED IS FOREARMED 

"Dearly beloved, I was under necessity to write 
to you; to beseech you to contend earnestly for the 
Faith once delivered to the saints. For certain men 
are secretly entered in, ungodly men, turning the 
grace of Our Lord God into riotousness and deny-
ing the only sovereign Ruler and - Our Lord Jesus 
Christ. . . . But you, my dearly beloved, be mind-
ful of the -words which have been spoken before 
by the apostles of Our Lord Jesus Christ: Who 
told you that in the last time there should come 
mockers, walking according to their own desires 
in ungodliness. These are they who separate 
themselves, sensnal men, having not the Spirit. 
But you, my beloved, building yourself upon 
your most holy Faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, 
keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for tlie 
mercy of Our Lord Jesus Christ, unto life ever-
lasting." (Jude 3 & 4, 17-21) . 

• "You brethren knowing these things before, take 
heed, lest being led aside by the error of the un-
wise, you fall f rom your own steadfastness." (2 
Peter 3, 17). 

15 



Œ>on't 
T U R N THIS D O W N 

Have you a soul? Is there a God? Was Jesus the 
Messiah? Are the Gospels dependable? . What did 
Jesus claim? Did Jesus establish a church? What 
are Sacraments?. Is confession necessary? . . . 

.You will find the ansjver to these and many other 
questions of vital importance to your personal happi-
ness in the following pamphlets by Father Ginder: 

1. Standard Equipment 
2. Ou r Better Ha l f 
3. W h o M a d e It? 
4. What ' s G o d Like? 
5. Direct ion for Use 
6. It's the Gospe l Truth 
7. H e W a s G o d 
8. Advance Information 
9. God ' s Signature 

10. W i th in the Sacred 
C i r c l e 

11. Thou A r t the Roclc 
12. Carr ier of the Keys 

13. In Search of Truth 
14. Br idging the Chasm 
15. The Facts Behind the 

Resurrection 
16. Makes Sense, Doesn't 

It? 
17. You Need Thisl 
18. He l l on Earth 
19. Paradise Regained 
20. W h y G o Hungry? 
21. The Go l den Cha in 
22. Mary, the Mother 

of Jesus 

To know the reasons for your Catholic neighbors' 
beliefs and practices, send for these interesting 
pamphlets today. Five cents each or one dollar 
postpaid for the entire series. Address: 

CATHOLIC INFORMATION SOCIETY 
214 WEST 31st STREET • N E W Y O R K I. N . Y .