'j 'V ) ,

THE CATHOLIC FAITH

BY

Rev, FERREOL GIRARDEY, C, Ss. R.

ST. LOUIS, MO„ 1915

Published by B. Herder

17 South Broadway

FREIBURG (Baden)

GERMANY
68, Great Russell Str.

LONDON, W. C.



St. LouiSy Mo.

Feast of Si. Alphonsusy

August 2y ig/j.

IMPRIMATUR

Thos. P. Brown, C. SS. R.

NIHIL OBSTAT

Sti. Ludoviciy die ^9, Sept. 1915

F. G. Holweck,

Censor Librorunt

IMPRIMATUR

Sti. Ludoviciy die /, Oct. igrs

fJoannes J. Glennon.

Archiepiscopus
Sti. Ludovici.

Copyrighty /p/j,

by

Joseph Gummersbachy

All Rights Reserved

Printed in U. S. A.



CONTENTS

PAGE

The Catholic Church i

Faith 5

Supernatural Faith . . 12

The Church Founded by Our Lord Jesus Christ . . 17

Papal Infallibility— No Salvation Out of the
Church 27

Glories of the Catholic Faith 36

Qualities of Faith 44

The Practice of Faith 53

Some Causes of the Loss of the Faith 61

Other Causes Leading to the Loss or Neglect of the

Faith . 68

How TO Preserve and Increase Our Faith .... 80

A Few Suggestions to Non-Catholics Who Are Sin-

cerely Seeking to Find the True Church ... 88



PREFACE

This pamphlet contains the author’s articles on

“ Faith ” which appeared in The Liguorian, a

monthly periodical published by the Fathers of the

Redemptorist Seminary at Oconomowoc, Wisconsin.

They are now given to the public in deference to the

wishes of competent persons who believe that their

publication in pamphlet form will contribute to en-

lighten not only Catholics, but also many a sincere

searcher for the True Church, founded by Jesus

Christ, our divine Saviour.

To these articles are appended Suggestions to such

non-Catholics as are sincerely endeavoring to find

the true Church of our Lord Jesus Christ.

D0go!d!!!2d



THE CATHOLIC FAITH

THE CATHOLIC CHURCH

“The mountain of the house of the Lord shall be prepared

on the top of mountains, and it shall be exalted above the

hills, and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people

shall go and say : Come, let us go up to the mountain of the

Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob, and He will

teach us His ways, and we shall walk in His paths.” (Is. 2,

2-3-)

There exists an Institution spread over the whole

world, found in every region, in every clime. It has

numerous members among every nation, however

civilized or barbarous. These members are so closely

united together, as to be of one mind and form but

one family. This Institution, far from interfering

with man’s liberty, material progress or prosperity,

is their truest friend. It is despised and reviled by

many, hated, dreaded and persecuted by others

;

whilst by the most intelligent and virtuous portion of

mankind it is cherished and revered as the most sub-

lime of institutions.

I



2 THE CATHOLIC FAITH

This Institution is not of yesterday
;
it has witnessed

the rise and fall of many an empire, and repeatedly

beheld the most solidly established human institutions

decay and crumble to dust. In every age of its ex-

istence it has been persecuted with the utmost violence

and obstinacy. Every means that both human and

Satanic ingenuity could devise, has again and again

been tried in vain to overthrow and destroy it. Nay,

at times, efforts so powerful and so well organized

have been made to overpower it, that it seemed abso-

lutely unable to escape destruction
;
but at the very

moment when its further existence is deemed perfectly

hopeless, it rises triumphantly without apparent effort

and with renewed vigor, and so utterly crushes its

foes as to obliterate almost every vestige of them. >

Time, so hostile to and destructive of all human

works, whilst spreading decay amongst everything

great and solid around this Institution, seems to leave

no impress upon it, for it is now, in spite of its age,

as young, as fresh, as vigorous as ever.

From its very inception it has reckoned among its

members the world’s brightest intellects and noblest

hearts. Millions of its followers of every rank, age

and sex have constantly practised the most heroic vir-

tues and exercised the most enduring fortitude ever

witnessed.

Its foundation, propagation and preservation have

been effected by means naturally ill-adapted to the



THE CATHOLIC CHURCH 3

end, and in a manner opposed to all human prudence

and foresight.

It has abolished the most absurd doctrines, sub-

stituting therefor the most sublime truths. It has

extirpated from society the most shameful and licen-

tious customs, planting in their stead virtues most

noble and superhuman. It has put an end to the most

degrading slavery, teaching mankind the principles

of true liberty.

It has created and reared the most wonderful and

beneficent institutions for the relief of every human

ill and sorrow. A large number of its members, for-
getful of self and of all worldly advantages and com-

forts, and animated by a hitherto unheard-of spirit

of self-sacrifice, have devoted and still devote their

whole life to the alleviation of every misery to which

flesh is heir. This Institution has thereby deservedly

acquired the title of mankind's greatest benefactor.

This Institution, although in this world, is not of this

world; for it rises far above and far beyond it. It in-

spires its members with detachment from this earth’s

vain and transitory goods and enjoyments, inducing

them to aspire only to godlike things. It elevates the

mind of man by discovering to it truths of a higher or-

der, and ennobles his heart by creating therein a long-

ing desire for the purest joys of endless bliss.

This Institution, like a mountain placed on the top

of mountains," is visible to all who wish to see. Noth-



4 THE CATHOLIC FAITH

ing is more prominent in this world ; it can be seen and,

in some manner, touched everywhere and by every-

body. There is no danger of its being mistaken for

something else, or of something else being taken for it.

Therefore, no one can allege a lawful excuse for not

knowing or seeing it.

Its members, composed of so many nationalities, and

moved by such varied objects and aspirations, are but

one in mind and heart, for they all believe alike, con-

sider themselves as forming but one body and tend to

the same final destiny.

Though so vast in its expanse and membership, its

government is most perfect. There is only one head

to rule and direct this immense body. A helpless old

man stands at the helm, safely guiding the great ship

through even the most fearful and protracted storms,

to the violence of which every other craft would become

an easy prey.

This old man, in some manner, never dies. Al-

though bereft of all worldly power, yet no mortal is

more formidable than he. Although he employs no

material force, yet no one on earth is more dreaded

than he by the greatest conquerors, and no one is so

sure of victory. However mighty his foes, however

violent and prolonged the struggle, that old man al-

ways, without any apparent human agency, succeeds

in humbling and overcoming his adversaries. His most

inveterate enemies, though hating him with intense



FAITH
5

hate, cannot, in their candid moments, withhold from

him the tribute of their respect and admiration.

This grand and noble Institution is the Catholic

Church, founded by our Lord and Saviour Jesus

Christ to impart the fruits and blessings of His Re-

demption to all mankind, by teaching them the truths

of salvation, making known to them their obligations,

and providing them with the means of fulfilling

them and thereby attaining heavenly bliss.

The old man at the head of the Church, or Christ’s
ship, is the Pope, the successor of St. Peter, the Vicar

of Jesus Christ on earth, who, endowed with supernat-

ural light and superhuman strength and fortitude, has

hitherto overcome every obstacle, triumphed over every

foe, and safely guided the ship of the Church through

every storm without wavering, without faltering. He
now rules gloriously over the minds and hearts of the
most enlightened portion of mankind.

FAITH

“ He that believeth and is baptized, shall be saved
;
he that

believeth not, shall be condemned” (Mark i6, i6). “He that
believeth not, is already judged, because he believeth not in

the name of the only begotten Son of God ” (John 3, 18).

To our age of boasted tolerance these two sayings of
our divine Saviour appear harsh, intolerant, incredible.



6 THE CATHOLIC FAITH

and unjust. And yet nothing can be more true or

more just, for they are the utterances of Him, who is

the Supreme Lawgiver and Judge of the universe. The

sovereign Lord of creation has laid down the law of

faith
;
He has sanctioned it by appropriate rewards and

punishments, making it obligatory on all men under

pain of eternal reprobation. He cannot be charged

with excessive rigor or injustice, for He is the infinitely

good God, that is, goodness itself, and the infinitely

just God, that is, justice itself. There can, then, be no

other alternative; either we must believe and believe

as Christians, or, if we refuse to believe, we shall be

justly doomed to endless punishment.

True Christian faith is absolutely necessary for sal-

vation. It is only by faith that we can approach and

please God. “Without faith,” says St. Paul, “it is

impossible to please God. For he that cometh to

God, must believe that He is, and is a rewarder to

them that seek him” (Hebr. n.6). He who know-

ingly rejects the faith, is guilty of a very grievous
sin,

because he rejects as untrue the word and testimony

of God Himself, and thus implicitly holds God as

either ignorant or deceitful. Moreover, by refus-

ing to acquiesce in the divine testimony or
revelation,

he actually rebels against the supreme authority
of

God and, therefore, deserves the condign punishment

of a rebel. Leniency towards such a one
would



FAITH

practically nullify the authority of God and make it
the sport of the proud and wicked.

Christian faith is, therefore, indispensable for salva-

tion. It is the door of, or the entrance into, the Church
of Christ. In beginning the ceremonies of baptism

the priest addresses this question to the candidate for

baptism : “ What dost thou ask of the Church of
God?” The candidate answers: “Faith.” The
priest then asks : “ What doth faith bring thee to?

”

The candidate replies : “ Life everlasting,” that is,
heaven. When praying, in the words of the Church'
for a departing soul, the priest puts forward the faith
of the dying Christian as a sure title to the divine
mercy, saying that, however grievously the dying man
may have sinned, he, nevertheless, did not deny the
faith, but believed faithfully. The great apostle of
the Gentiles gloried in having kept the faith amid
numerous obstacles and combats, and he set forth this
fact as an infallible title to the eternal crown of
glory.

The dishonesty and immorality which are making
a sad havoc^ among some Catholics have their source
in religious indifference, in the want of a lively faith.
Experience teaches that wherever the spirit of faith
prevails, there also morality and virtue reign supreme.
What is faith? Faith, in general, is an assent to

truths and facts which we of ourselves do not know.



8 THE CATHOLIC
FAITH

but believe on the testimony
of credible witnesses.

The more learned and trustworthy
the witnesses ap-

pear to us, the stronger is
our faith in their testimony.

When the witnesses are numerous
and consistent wit

one another, and all the
circumstances indicate that

not only they could not
have been deceived or mis-

taken, but that also they
could have had no interest or

intention to deceive, their
testimony must, conformably

to right reason, be admitted
as perfectly true, reliable,

and credible. To reject such a
testimony argues either

insincerity or a lack of common sense.

Natural Faith. Faith is a
natural necessity for

every man. It is indispensable
in our daily life.

How greatly to be pitied is he who
boasts that he be-

lieves only what he himself
sees or understands.

Such a one pretends to be
wiser than the rest of man-

kind; and, nevertheless, if
he intends to live in the so-

ciety of his fellowmen and
acquire knowledge, he must

credit their testimony; he
cannot otherwise learn the

names of things, the existence
and location of other

countries, history, any one of
the sciences or acquire

any trade or profession.
Moreover, however great his

learning, he cannot fully
comprehend the simple facts

that daily fall under his
observation. Although he

knows that plants grow, yet
he cannot comprehend

how they grow; the how is
always, and will ever re-

main, a mystery to him.
Although he may know how

to produce light and sound,
their intrinsic nature and



FAITH
9

mode of action are an inexplicable mystery to him. Is

not thought, its whole process, full of mysteries ? And

the phenomenon of sleep also ? All our boasted science

never penetrates beyond the surface of. nature. We
daily believe numberless things which we cannot com-

prehend, and we believe them most firmly. We hold
as true numberless things which we have personally

neither seen nor heard, because we naturally trust the

testimony of credible witnesses. The more reliable

they are, the stronger is our faith in their testimony.

But, as it is human to err, we, in our natural faith, run

the risk of being deceived by untruthful or insuf-

ficiently informed witnesses. From this we infer that

mere human testimony, being liable to error, cannot of

itself produce infallible certainty.

Supernatural Faith. In matters pertaining to re-

ligion our faith must, necessarily, be supernatural, or

divine, as to its foundation. Supernatural faith is an

assent to truths revealed by God, whether these truths

are within the domain of reason or transcend reason.

The testimony on which religious faith rests, is and

must be divine, for God. alone can teach us what He re-
quires us to believe and to do in order to fulfil our des-

tiny. “If we receive the testimony of men,” says the
beloved disciple, “the testimony of God is greater”
(i John, 5.9), must be accepted as soon as it is known.

Religious faith, to be genuine, cannot be a human prod-
uct, but necessarily originates from God giving His



lo THE CATHOLIC FAITH

testimony or revealing His will to
man.^ It may be

thus defined :
“ A virtue infused by God into our soul,

by which we firmly believe and hold as
true whatever

He has revealed and the Church proposes
to our belief,

whether or no it be contained in
the Bible.”

Religious faith is supernatural
in its source, for it is

a gift of God ; it is supernatural
in its object, which re-

gards God Himself ; it is supernatural
in its motive,

which is the infallible testimony, or
revelation, of God

;

it is supernatural in its evidence,
which is the authority

of the infallible Church commissioned
by Jesus Christ

to preach and define the truths He Himself
revealed.

Supernatural faith necessarily imparts
infallible cer-

tainty. The reason of this is, that
there can be no de-

ception In God either as to His knowledge
or as to the

manner or means of His communicating
His revelation

to mankind. Because God is truth
itself, the object of

faith, that is, what He reveals is necessarily
true, and

is one and unchangeable, like
truth itself. Supernat-

ural faith, therefore, must be
one and unchangeable,

and exclusive of error, which
thrives only in change-

able doctrines.
r • u •

The certainty imparted by supernatural
faith is so

much superior to every natural
certainty, as God’s

knowledge and veracity are infinitely
superior to the

knowledge and veracity of creatures.
God knows all

things
;
He is, therefore, not liable to err or to

be mis-

taken
;
He knows infinitely more than all

angels and



FAITH II

men combined. God is the eternal Truth
;
He, there-

fore, cannot possibly deceive. God, moreover, is al-

mighty; He, therefore, cannot fail in the choice of a

suitable and fully competent medium to impart His

revelation to mankind. This medium is His Church,
the Catholic Church, and no other. From all this it
follows that supernatural faith, to be really such, neces-

sarily excludes all manner of doubt and hesitation, and
all mere opinions.

Opinion is assent to some proposition, without any
real certainty as to its truth. Whenever the testimony

of the witnesses is contradictory, or when the matter in
question is not sufficiently clear, we either doubt alto-
gether, or we form an opinion based on what we con-
sider the more reliable testimony, or the more weighty

reasons. If, however, we afterwards discover a more
weighty reason for the other side, we change our opin-
ion

;
and as long as we have not acquired positive cer-

tainty, we are liable to change our opinion.
But supernatural faith, in its defined object, excludes

all doubt and hesitation, every kind of uncertainty and,

consequently, all mere opinions, because, as we have
seen, supernatural faith produces absolute certainty.

Since there is no possibility of error or deception in

supernatural faith, there cannot be any chang.eableness
in it, neither faith nor the truths of faith are change-

able. Therefore those who vary in their religious
tenets, that is, who believe one day doctrines which



12 THE CATHOLIC FAITH

are at variance with those they
previously believed,

and later on again change their
religious tenets, or

who constantly vary their religious
doctrines, or al-

ways seek to adapt them to the
times, such persons

do not possess supernatural
or divine faith, but only

changeable human opinions.

SUPERNATURAL FAITH

Faith is not the understanding of
a thing, but a firm

assent to its truth. Supernatural
faith imparts super-

natural knowledge and certainty to
our tnind. It is

not founded on reason, but is far
above it, for it is

based on the revelation of God who is
omniscient and

infallible. Since we find inexplicable
mysteries even

in the nature that surrounds us,
we need not wonder

that the supernatural regions
of faith abound in mys-

teries still more obscure and impenetrable.
Though

these mysteries, such as the
mystery of the Blessed

Trinity, may appear to be contrary to reason,
they are

not and cannot be really so, but they
are inaccessible

to our reason’s very limited
capacity. They are neces-

sarily true, because they are revealed
by God, who is

the Infallible Truth and the
Author of our reason.

And since God cannot contradict Himself,
the truths

of revelation do not and cannot
contradict the truths of

reason, although they are infinitely
above it. There-



SUPERNATURAL FAITH 13

fore, as soon as satisfactory evidence is produced that

God has made a revelation to mankind, every one who

is aware of this evidence is bound in conscience to

accept and believe the revelation, and no one may

reasonably or lawfully doubt its truth.

Protestants, as such, neither do nor can possess real

supernatural faith concerning any doctrine whatever,

for it is not in their power to produce satisfactory evi-

dence that God has revealed it. Let us bear in mind

that supernatural faith does not consist in the bold and

persistent assertion that a certain doctrine is contained

in the Bible, and that the Bible is God’s holy and in-

fallible word. Before we can be infallibly certain, as

faith requires us to be, that the Bible is the word of

God, we must first have infallible evidence or authority

that we possess the genuine Bible, that the Bible con-

tains the whole of God’s word or revelation, and that

we understand the Bible in the very same sense in which

God Himself understands it. If we attach any other

meaning to God’s v/ord, it is no longer God’s infallible

word, but only the fallible and changeable word of a

fallible man, and is, therefore, no longer truth, but

falsehood and error.

In matters of faith, that is, in matters concerning

divine revelation, human authority, human views, hu-

man theories, human opinions and mere human reason,

or private judgment, are utterly worthless, and cannot

produce the certainty or truth of faith, but only ever-



14 THE CATHOLIC FAITH

changing opinions, doubt, and error. The sectarian

mind is, accordingly, never at rest, but, as St. Paul says,

it is constantly tossed to and fro, and carried about

with every wind of doctrine, ever learning and never

attaining to the knowledge of truth” (Eph. 4, ii and

2 Tim. 3,7). The sectarian, therefore, being destitute

of infallible certainty in his religious convictions, can-

not lay claim to real supernatural faith, but only to

mere human and changeable opinions.

But the Catholic can make a genuine supernatural act

of faith, because his faith rests on the infallible teach-

ing and authority of the infallible Church of Jesus

Christ, for to her alone our divine Saviour imparted

the infallible authority to preach to mankind His divine

revelation.

Jesus Christ promised to build His Church on Peter,

when He said to him : Thou art Peter (that is, a

rock), and on this rock I will build My Church, and the
gates of hell shall not prevail against her. And I will

give to thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven. What-

soever thou shalt bind upon earth, shall be bound in

heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt loose upon earth,

shall be loosed in heaven” (Mat. 16, 18-19). When

the proper time had come, Jesus Christ kept this grand

and magnificent promise, for shortly before ascending

into Heaven, He actually installed St. Peter as His suc-
cessor in the government of His Church, for He, the

Good Shepherd, entrusted His whole flock to Peter’s



SUPERNATURAL FAITH 15

pastoral care with these memorable words : “ Feed My
lambs; feed My lambs; feed My sheep ” (John 21, 15-

17). From that moment St. Peter became the actual

pastor of Christ’s whole flock, and, as we read in the

Acts of the Apostles, actually exercised all the power

of this supereminent ofiice.

Our divine Saviour intended that all the powers He

conferred on His Church for the salvation of man-

kind, should be used only under St. Peter’s direction

and authority, because, as Jesus Himself had prayed,

St. Peter was never to stray away from the faith, but

was destined constantly to confirm his brethren therein.
“ I have prayed for thee,” Christ said to him, “ that thy

faith fail not; and thou, being converted, confirm thy

brethren ” (Luke 22, 32) . The history of the Catholic

Church has clearly proved the efficacy of Christ’s prayer

for St. Peter and his successors, for none of them has

ever strayed from the faith, and all have confirmed their

brethren in the faith.

Jesus, when He came upon earth, had received all
power from His heavenly Father for the salvation of

mankind. Before returning to heaven. He imparted
the same divine power to His apostles, when He com-
missioned them to preach to all nations the very same

doctrines He had taught them, and promised to His
Church infallibility and indestructibility, and, at the

same time, imposed on all men, under pain of eternal

condemnation, the obligation to become her faithful



i6 THE CATHOLIC FAITH

and docile members. Here are His very words, col-

lected from the four Evangelists :
“ All power is

given Me in heaven and on earth. As My Father hath

sent Me, I also send you. Going, therefore, teach ye

all nations, baptizing them ; teaching them to observe _

whatever I have commanded you. He that believeth

and is baptized, shall be saved; but he that believeth

not, shall be condemned. Whatsoever you shall bind

upon earth, shall be bound in heaven ; and whatsoever

you shall loose upon earth, shall be loosed in heaven.

Behold I am with you all days, even to the consum-

mation of the world. I will send you the Holy Ghost

;

He will teach you all things, and will abide with you

forever. He that heareth you, heareth Me; he that

despiseth you, despiseth Me ; and he that despiseth Me,

despiseth Him that sent Me. He that will not hear the

Church, let him be to thee as the heathen and publi-

can.”

Such was the mission, such were the powers of the

apostles. To prove their divine mission and the truth

of their preaching, they wrought miracles so evident,

that even their most bitter enemies could neither doubt

nor deny them. Therefore the Church holds on earth

the place of Jesus Christ, and continues His work, the

redemption of mankind; she is duly commissioned to

teach in all ages the doctrines of Christ, and to frame

and execute laws requisite for the fulfilment of her

divine mission; moreover, being guided by the Holy



THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST 17

Ghost and protected by Christ Himself,
she cannot err

or be destroyed, and all men are bound,
under pain of

eternal damnation, to accept her
teaching and to submit

to her laws.

Supernatural faith, therefore, is to be found
only in

the Church of Christ, governed by St.
Peter, because

she alone is divinely commissioned to
impart to all men,

until the end of the world, the whole of
divine revela-

tion, and because she alone is infallible and
indestruc-

tible. Submission to her infallible teaching
produces

the infallible certainty required by supernatural
faith.

In believing her doctrines we cannot possibly
err, for

the infallible God obliges us, under pain of
eternal

reprobation, to accept them.

THE CHURCH FOUNDED BY OUR LORD

JESUS CHRIST

Our divine Saviour Jesus Christ entrusted the

Church He founded with the mission of transmitting

His revelation to all men, and of providing them
with

the means of saving their souls.

The revelation or teaching of our Saviour must be

transmitted in its entirety and without change or altera-

tion, to mankind in all ages and nations, for Jesus ex-

pressly commanded His apostles to do so :
“ Going,

therefore, teach ye all nations, . . . teaching them to



i8 THE CATHOLIC FAITH

observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you

;

he that believeth and is baptized, shall be saved ; but he

that believeth not, shall be condemned. He that will

not hear the Church, let him be to thee as the heathen

and publican.’’ (Matt. 28; Mark 16; Matt. 18.)

The Church of Christ, which is the medium of this

transmission, must, therefore, be endowed with the au-

thority to teach His revelation to men, to explain and

define it without the least danger of error or falsehood

;

in other words, the medium of the divine revelation

must be endowed by God with infallibility. A fallible

medium would be no true medium of the divine revela-

tion, for it would be liable to transmit error and lead

men astray from God, and God could not require men

to believe its teaching under pain of eternal damnation,

saying:
‘‘ He that believeth not, shall be condemned.”

The Church, moreover, must necessarily be a visible

teaching body, for Christ founded her to teach men on

earth the truths He revealed. A church empowered to

teach men must be a body, otherwise it could not teach

men; it must be visible, for an invisible church could

teach only through private and individual inspiration,

a method unadapted to mankind and to the method of

God Himself, who sent His divine Son, clothed in our

human nature, to teach men
;
and unadapted also to the

very method of Jesus Christ Himself who commis-

sioned His apostles, a visible body of men, to preach

the Gospel to all nations. Consequently, the Church



THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST 19

of Jesus Christ must necessarily be a visible teaching

body, endowed with infallible authority to enable her to

be a proper and fit medium to transmit His divine

revelation to mankind.

But such a body necessarily requires a head to rule

and govern it, and to decide doubts and disputes, from

whose decisions there should be no appeal, for the in-

fallible authority of the body must needs reside in the

head. The denial of any of these points includes the

denial of the possibility of transmitting the divine

revelation pure and unadulterated throughout all ages

to all nations.

God is a God of order, for He is infinite wisdom.

But there can be no order, but only trouble, disorder,

and confusion in a society that lacks a head. Every

human society, however small, requires a head. Where

there is no head, or where the head is not obeyed,

there can be no order, and anarchy reigns. Where

anarchy reigns, disorganization necessarily ensues. A
society without a head is, like a corpse, lifeless. If

even the smallest human society needs a head to keep it

in order and secure its existence, how much more neces-

sary is a competent head in God’s grandest and noblest

institution on earth, that is, His Church, which He has

destined to include all mankind, and which He has en-

dowed with such wonderful powers and entrusted with

the transmission of His revelation and the means of

salvation for all mankind ! Even every Protestant sect.



20 THE CATHOLIC FAITH

however insignificant in numbers and territory, has a

head of some kind, and owes its continuance to the

subordination of its members to that head; and that

head practically wields a power of government, from

which there is no appeal, and thus it practically claims

infallibility. The waiving of this claim would be prac-

tically a suicidal policy for that sect. Whenever this

practical claim of a sect is resisted, a split occurs, and a

new sect makes its appearance in the world, and this

new sect will also have some kind of head practically

proclaiming its own infallibility.

The Church of Christ has been endowed by Him with

a competent head in order to ensure her existence and

the proper fulfilment of her divine mission; and her

head has been endowed by Him with infallibility, for

her infallibility can reside nowhere but in the head that

governs her. This stands to reason, and is fully con-

firmed by facts. Before leaving this earth to ascend to

Heaven, Jesus Christ, as St. John relates in the twenty-

first chapter of his Gospel, appointed St. Peter as the

head of His Church. We have but to read the History

of the Church from the very beginning, and we shall

find on almost every page that St. Peter and his lawful

successors have in all ages exercised over the whole

Church the powers of Head of the Church, of Vicar of

Jesus Christ, her invisible Head.

For the sake of brevity, it will suffice to prove this by

the following quotation from the works of the great St.



THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST 21

Cyprian, bishop of Carthage, who suffered martyrdom

in the middle of the third century.

The devil,’" he says in his great work on The Unity

of the Church, ‘‘ has discovered a new means of seduc-

tion in the very bosom of Christianity. By means of

heresy and schism he corrupts the truth of Jesus Christ,

breaks the bonds of unity, wrests from the Church her

conquests and pours out his darkness into the midst of

the radiant splendor of the Redemption, so that men

who believe and call themselves Christians, are merely

the minions of Anti-Christ. This lamentable error

arises from their neglect to trace the origin of truth and

connect themselves with the head of the ecclesiastical

power, and thus they abandon the heavenly doctrine.

He who reflects carefully needs no long investigations

to find out the true faith, for our faith rests on an easy

and simple demonstration. The Lord said to Cephas

(Peter) : ‘ Thou are Peter; and upon this rock I will

build My Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail
against it. And I will give to thee the keys of the king-

dom of heaven. And whatsoever thou shalt bind upon

earth, shall be bound also in heaven
;
and whatsoever

thou shalt loose upon earth, shall be loosed also in

heaven." (Matt. 16, 18-19.) Another time, it was

after His resurrection, the Lord said to Peter : ' Feed

My sheep." (John 21, 17.) The Lord, therefore,
wished to build His Church on Peter, who is that rock.

Hence to Peter alone He entrusted the care of feeding



22 THE CATHOLIC FAITH

all His sheep. It is true that, after His resurrection.

He said to all the apostles assembled together :
‘ As

My Father hath sent Me, so do I 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 Qohn 20, 21-23). But He, neverthe-

less, based the unity of the Church only on one See,

viz.: that of Peter, for, by his divine authority. He

placed the origin and source of unity on the head of

one individual only. The other apostles were, with-

out doubt, what Peter was ; they shared his honor and

power
;
and yet the foundation of unity was established

in the primacy of Peter. Thus the Church of Christ

is one, for it presents only one See, one center of unity.

Although every bishop is a pastor, there is, however,

but one flock in the Church under the unanimous direc-

tion of the successors of the apostles. There is but

one episcopate, of which each bishop presides over a

part. There is likewise but one Church, although,

through her glorious fecundity, she extends to an im-

mense multitude of members. The sun emits many

rays, yet there is but one light ; a tree is divided into

many branches, but there is only one common trunk,

one common root; a spring distributes its waters far

off, but however abundant they may be, their origin

remains unchanged. If you separate the bright ray

from its focus, it is extinguished; if you detach a

branch from its tree, it dies; if you isolate a rivulet



THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST 23

from its source, it dries up. The same finds its appli-

cation in the Lord’s Church. The rays of her bright-

ness enlighten the universe, and though this light is so

diffuse, it is one. As a mysterious tree, the Church

spreads her branches over the whole world
;
as an im-

mense stream, she waters all the countries of the earth

with her vivifying waters. But the tree has only one

trunk, and the stream only one source; everywhere is

found the same principle, the same origin, the same

mother rich in the treasures of her fruitfulness. Her

womb has borne us, her milk has fed us, her spirit

animates us. Separation from the Church is union

with an adulteress, depriving us of all share in the

promises made to the Church
;
for he who forsakes the

Church Christ has founded, shall never obtain the re-

wards He has promised. Such a one is a stranger,

a profane man, an enemy. He ceases to have God as
his Father, who ceases to have the Church as his

Mother.”

The Catholic Church to-day is the identical Church

founded by Jesus Christ and His apostles. She is now

the very same body she was then, and therefore is now,

as truly as then, the competent and infallible witness of

the revelation made by our Lord Jesus Christ. “ The

Catholic Church,” says Dr. Brownson in his Review

for April, 1848, “ is not an aggregation of individuals

who at any given time compose it, a body bom and
dying with them, but the contemporary of our Lord



24 THE CATHOLIC
FAITH

and His apostles, in immediate
communion with them,

and thus annihilating all
distance of time and place be-

tween them and us. She is
a corporate body,^ a col-

lective individual possessing
the attributes of immor-

tality. She knows no
interruption, no succession of

moments, no lapse of years.
Like the eternal God,

who is ever with her, and whose
organ she is, she has

duration, but no succession.
She can never grow old.

can never fall into the past.
The individuals who com-

pose the body may change, but she
changes not ; one by

one they may pass off, and
one by one be renewed,

while she continues ever
the same ; as in our

bodies, old

particles constantly escape
and new ones are assimi-

lated, so that the whole
matter of which they are com-

posed is changed every six
or seven years, and yet

they remain identically
the same bodies. T ese

changes as to individuals
change nothing as to the body.

The Church to-day is identically
that very body which

saw our Lord when He tabernacled
in the flesh. She

who is our dear Mother, and
on whose words we hang

with so much delight, beheld
with her own eyes the

stupendous miracles which
were performed in Judea

eighteen [nineteen] hundred
years ago; she assisted at

the preaching of the
apostles on the day of Pentecost,

when the Holy Ghost descended
upon them m cloven

tongues of fire; she heard
St. Peter, the Prince

of the

apostles, relate how the Spirit
descended «pon Cor-

nelius and his household,
and declare how God had



THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST 25

chosen that by his mouth the Gentiles should hear the

word of God and believe; she listened with charmed

ear and ravished heart to the last admonition of the dis-

ciple whom Jesus loved: ‘ My dear children, love one

another ’
;
she saw the old Temple razed to the ground,

the legal rites of the Old Covenant abolished, and the

once chosen people driven out from the Holy Land,

and scattered over all the earth ; she beheld pagan Rome

in the pride of pomp and power ; she bled under Rome’s

persecuting emperors, and finally planted the cross in

triumph on her ruins. She has been the contemporary

of eighteen [nineteen] hundred years, which she has

arrested in their flight and made present to all genera-

tions as they rise. With one hand she receives the

depositum of faith from the Lord and His commis-

sioned apostles, with the other she imparts it to us.”

In transmitting God’s revelation to us and deciding

questions and doubts concerning it, “ she has merely,”

continues Dr. Brownson, “to declare a simple fact

which she has received on competent authority, that is,

merely to declare what our Lord or His apostles have

told her. What needs she in order to do it with infalli-

ble certainty? Simply protection against forgetting,

misunderstanding, and mis-stating ; and this protection

she has, because she has our Lord always abiding with

her (Matt. 28, 20), and the Paraclete who leads her

into all truth and ‘ brings to her remembrance ’ (John

14, 26) all the words spoken to her by our Lord Him-



26 THE CATHOLIC FAITH

self personally, or by His inspired apostles, keeping her

memory always fresh, rendering her infallible assistance

rightly to understand and accurately to express what

she remembers to have been taught/’

In doctrinal and moral decisions it is not so much

the Pope or the Councils of the Church that speak, as

the infallible Holy Ghost speaking through them as

His mouth-piece. Therefore, all mankind is obliged

to accept and submit to the teaching and decisions of

the Church in all that pertains to divine revelation;

and those who resist the Church of Christ in these mat-

ters, resist God Himself, as our divine Saviour de-

clares, and can have no share in His heavenly king-

dom. Nothing can be more logical or clear; hence St.

Cyprian says expressly : Out of the Church there is

no salvation.” The learned Origen tells us :
‘‘ Let

us not suffer ourselves to be deceived, for no one can

be saved outside of this house, that is, outside of the

Church of Christ. Whoever leaves it, becomes guilty

of his own reprobation.” ‘‘ He who wishes to live by

the Spirit of Christ,” says St. Augustine, must be a

member of His body, that is, of His Church.” In no

other church can salvation be found, since Christ has

founded and could found but one Church, for, says St.

Thomas, divine truth is only one ;
” as between two

points only one straight line can be drawn, but num-

berless crooked ones, so also truth is one, whilst error,

being a deviation from the truth, is manifold. More-



PAPAL INFALLIBILITY 27

over, no one but Christ has the right to found a church,

or the road to heaven, and Christ has founded only

one, as St. Paul declares : “ For another foundation

no man can lay, but that which is laid, which is Christ

Jesus.” (i Cor. 3, ii.) Therefore, he who rejects

the Church and her teaching, rejects God’s revelation,

and is thus in open rebellion against His Sovereign

Lord and Master, and is necessarily excluded from

His kingdom.

PAPAL INFALLIBILITY—NO SALVATION
OUT OF THE CHURCH

The dogma of the Papal Infallibility is a stumbling-

block to non-Catholics. This is owing principally to a

misconception of its meaning. Papal infallibility

neither means nor includes impeccability, for all men,

including the Pope, are sinners (i John i, 8). The

Pope goes regularly and frequently to confession, and

his confessor is a special official of his household.

Neither does Papal infallibility mean individual in-

fallibility, for the Pope, as a mere individual, is liable

to make mistakes. But infallibility is the Pope’s of-

ficial prerogative, and pertains to him whenever he

acts in his official capacity as head of the Church.

Let us illustrate this by two comparisons. Mr. N. is

president of a thrifty bank, or corporation. His signa-



28 THE CATHOLIC FAITH

ture as president thereof imparts an immense value to

a note, check or document; but were he to affix his

signature thereto as a mere private individual, the same

might be worthless. Also a member of the bar may,

in private, emit erroneous views which have no bind-

ing power; but, if he be an able and conscientious

judge, he will be very careful, in his judicial capacity,

to give correct decisions possessing genuine legal force.

In like manner, the Pope, when acting in his private

or individual capacity, is not endowed with infallibility

;

he is infallible only when he acts in his official capacity

as Vicar of Christ and successor of St. Peter.

But in what matters is the Pope infallible ? The in-

fallibility of the Church resides in the Pope, who is

her Head, her mouth-piece. But Jesus Christ con-

ferred infallibility on His Church for the spiritual bene-

fit of mankind, that she might securely lead all men

on the right road to heaven. Therefore, the infalli-

bility of the Church and of her head is not universal,

but extends only to matters intimately connected with

the salvation of men. It means that the Church, the

Pope, cannot err in defining the doctrine of Christ, in

teaching men what they must believe and do to be

saved. Although this infallibility is directly confined

to matters of faith and morals, it often indirectly em-

braces other matters pertaining to philosophy, natural

sciences, politics, etc., whenever these reach into the

domain of faith and morals
;
for instance, when such



PAPAL INFALLIBILITY 29

matters are opposed to divine revelation or to the di-

vine commandments, and either deny revealed truths,

such as the existence of God, the immortality of the

soul, or teach or prescribe things forbidden by the law

of God. When this occurs, the Church alone, being

the representative of God, the Supreme Ruler of the

universe, is competent to decide the matter.

Many object to Papal infallibility that
‘‘ God alone is

infallible.” To this we reply that God alone is in-

fallible in all things. This, however, does not prevent

man from possessing a limited kind of infallibility.

We are, for instance, infallibly certain of some truths,

such as, that there is a God, that two and two are four,

that a circle is round, that every effect must have a

cause. Moreover, we can retort the argument against

those who deny the Papal infallibility. Are you, we

ask them, really certain, unmistakably certain, infallibly

certain that the Pope is not and cannot be infallible?

If you are not infallibly certain of the Pope’s falli-

bility, you may be mistaken in your opinion and you

cannot, therefore, conclude for certain that he is not

infallible. If, however, you maintain that you are in-

fallibly certain that the Pope is not infallible, you

attribute infallibility to yourself, although you main-

tain that God alone is infallible! Your pretension is

absurd.

The Church has always accepted and obeyed the

Papal decisions as infallible and unappealable, approv-



30 THE CATHOLIC FAITH

ing whatever the Pope approved, rejecting and con-

demning whatever he rejected and condemned, and

looking upon as heretics or schismatics all who refused

submission to his authority and decisions in matters of

faith and morals. As an unanswerable argument

against the heretics of their time, the early Fathers of

the Church were wont to adduce the fact that said

heretics were not in communion with the Pope, or that

they had been condemned by him.

We know it is human to err. Every man has erred

at times, has more or less frequently changed his views,

rejecting and condemning later what he had at first ac-

cepted and held as true. It is human to err. Every

body or assembly of men represents a diversity of con-

victions and contradictory opinions. Even the most

learned scientists materially disagree in scientific mat-

ters. This need not astonish us, for it is human to err,

to disagree. But as genuine history testifies, among

the Popes there has never existed any disagreement or

contradiction in matters pertaining either to faith or

morals. Over two hundred and sixty Popes have suc-

ceeded one another in the Chair of St. Peter. On

numberless occasions they have been consulted concern-

ing intricate doctrinal and moral questions. These they

have elucidated and decided, making numberless de-

crees, and yet they have never disagreed or contradicted

one another! And, nevertheless, it is human to err!

And yet these many Popes have actually never erred;



PAPAL INFALLIBILITY 31

they have been wonderfully unanimous and consistent

with one another in all their official decisions ! How do

you explain this grand fact, which has no parallel in

history ?

The only natural and logical explanation of this truly

singular and stupendous fact is, that this Papal una-

nimity and consistency is the unanimity and consist-

ency of truth itself, which, like God, its Author, is one

and uncltangeable. The Popes have been unanimous

and consistent only because they always had truth on

their side. But, since it is human to err, the Popes

could not always have sided with truth, had they not

been constantly enlightened, guided and directed by the

“ Spirit of truth,” whom Jesus Christ promised to His

Church; “The Holy Ghost, whom the Father will

send you in My name, will teach you all things, and

will abide with you forever” (John 14-26, 16). We

need not wonder, then, that, guided by the Spirit of

truth, the Popes have never deviated from truth and

have always been actually and practically infallible.

In submitting to the decisions of the Pope, we sub-

mit to the Church, nay, to Jesus Christ Himself, and,

therefore, we cannot go astray. The very fact that a

doctrine is taught or has been defined by the Pope, by

the Church, suffices to impart to us an infallible cer-

tainty of its truth. Were there in this any error or

danger of error, we could, with the great St. Augustine,

justly lay the blame on God Himself, and say: “ If



32 THE CATHOLIC FAITH

we are deceived, it is Thou, O Lord, who hast deceived
us.”

The Protestant sects in making or changing their

creeds, in approving or condemning doctrines, have re-

course to balloting or voting, and the majority, some-

times amounting to only one, decides, for instance, that

infant baptism is not necessary, that hell is not eternal,

or that there is no hell at all, or that Rev. Mr. N. is a

heretic. This greatly amuses free-thinkers and other

infidels, who clearly perceive that all these matters are

only private opinions, and that, in spite of the doctrine

of private judgment, the fallible opinion of even the

smallest majority becomes a real tyranny over the

minority. The very men who deny infallibility to the

Church founded by Jesus Christ, assume it for them-

selves, and impose their views on their fellowmen.

How inconsistent

!

But how different it is in the Catholic Church. She

is infallible, and her infallibility is vested in her head,

the Pope, without whom there can be no binding de-
cree in matters of faith or morals. If he approves a

Council, its decrees are legitimate
;
if he disapproves it,

its decrees are powerless. To render a decree the Holy

Scriptures, the previous decrees of Popes and Councils,

the writings of the Fathers and theologians, the whole

of tradition, in a word, are consulted and thoroughly

examined, and most fervent prayers are addressed to

the Holy Ghost to obtain light and counsel. And, as



NO SALVATION OUT OF THE CHURCH 33

history testifies, the light and assistance of
the Spirit

of truth has never failed the Church and
her head, for

her doctrines have ever been the same,
unchanging,

consistent and identical at all times, in all places,
under

all circumstances. They are true, because they
have

always possessed the properties of truth, being
one, con-

sistent, unchanging and excluding all error.
There-

fore, he who rejects the doctrines of the infallible Cath-

olic Church and her Lord, rejects divine revelation
and

rebels against his Sovereign Lord and Master and
shall

be excluded from His Kingdom!

To this conclusion non-Catholics object as being an

uncharitable doctrine. But this doctrine of exclusive

salvation is not uncharitable, for it is the doctrine
of

the God of charity, who became man and died a most

painful and ignominious death to save all men. It is

the Infallible Truth, the Son of God, who expressly

said : “ Go, teach all nations. ... He that believeth

shall be saved; he that believeth not, shall be con-

demned.” How dare one, calling himself a Christian,

charge with uncharitableness Him who gave His blood

and His life to save him

!

We should make a distinction between a person in

error and erroneous doctrines. The Church, being

commissioned to teach the truths revealed by Jesus

Christ, must condemn error directly and necessarily.

She also condemns by excommunication those of her

children who, having fallen into an error previously



34 THE CATHOLIC FAITH

condemned, openly and obstinately persist therein.

And do not all the Protestant sects exclude from mem-

bership those who teach doctrines at variance with

their essential tenets?

But let us bear well in mind that the Catholic Church

does not condemn individuals to hell. She, indeed,

canonizes saints, that is, she declares certain persons to

be in heaven and worthy of being honored as the friends

of God, because it has been most clearly proved, after a

long and thorough examination that they had, during

their lives, practised the Christian virtues in a heroic

degree and thus been perfect imitators of the Saviour.

But the Catholic Church does not and cannot claim to

locate individuals in the region of disorder and ever-

lasting horror’’ (Job lo, 22). Her mission is to lay

down and teach the principles of salvation revealed by

the Saviour, to point out the road to heaven, to help

men on their way thither, to condemn errors leading

to eternal perdition, and when necessary, to expel from

her bosom obstinate apostates. What is to be done in

the next world with individuals who have died in error,

lies not within the scope of her mission to decide, be-

cause God, who alone can read their hearts, has re-

served to Himself the right to judge men after death

and to render to every man according to his works
”

(Mat. 16, 27).

If a man, through his ozm fault, dies in error, God



NO SALVATION OUT OF THE CHURCH 35

will most justly condemn him as a rebel who wilfully

rejected His revelation. Such a one deserves that ter-

rible fate, for he can have no claim to share in heaven

the glory of Him, against whose authority he persist-

ently rebelled.

But if a man, without any fault of his own, dies in

error, God will not consign him to hell on account of his

error, because it was not wilful on his part. If this

same man has never wilfully transgressed the divine

law in some important matter, or, if he has done so, but

has sincerely repented of it, God will not fail to judge

him worthy of eternal bliss. The reason is that such a

man, sincerely believing himself to be in the right, and

entertaining no doubt concerning the truth of his re~

ligious convictions, is really not a rebel to divine author-

ity, but a true Catholic at heart. Were such a one to

discover his error, he would, without doubt, at once re-

nounce it and embrace the true faith at any and every

earthly sacrifice
;
or, were he to conceive a serious doubt

concerning the truth of his religious convictions, he

would give himself no rest and leave no means untried

to satisfactorily solve his doubt.

Catholics neither claim the right, nor undertake to

judge of the sincerity or of the interior dispositions of

non-Catholics, but leave them to God, the omniscient

and most just Judge of the living and dead, who has es-

tablished His Church and commissioned her to teach



36 THE CATHOLIC FAITH

all nations, and imposes on all men, under pain of for-

feiting their salvation, the obligation to believe her

teaching and become her faithful members.

GLORIES OF THE CATHOLIC FAITH

Amid the numberless ever clashing, ever changing

opinions by which the human mind outside of the

Catholic Church is harassed, the mind of the Catholic

enjoys the sweet 6alm and repose of peace, because

his faith, by freeing him from all doubt and hesita-

tion, imparts to him absolute certainty concerning the

great problems of human origin and destiny. His

mind rests completely in the possession of truth.

With infallible certainty he believes all the doctrines

revealed by the infallible God through His infallible

Church. He walks securely on a smooth and even

road in the bright noon-day-light of faith, whilst non-

Catholics are blindly groping their way on the rugged

road of mere human opinions and theories, alongside

of the fearful precipices of error, in the utter dark-

ness of hesitation and doubt, seeking isolated and

broken fragments of truth.

The humblest Catholic, who knows his Catechism

well, possesses knowledge far superior to that of the

most profound philosophers of antiquity and of the

most erudite non-Catholic scientists of modern times.



GLORIES OF THE CATHOLIC FAITH 37

The Catholic faith, in its sublimity, surpasses the com-
prehension of the sharpest and deepest intellects and,

nevertheless, is so clear and simple as to be within

reach of even untutored minds. The Catholic child
that has learned the Catechism, is possessed of far

greater wisdom than the greatest non-Catholic scientist,

for he is acquainted with the grandest supernatural

truths and mysteries and with the means of salva-

tion. This sublime knowledge remains hidden from

the non-Catholic, whose learning, however vast its pro-

portions, scarcely skims over nature’s surface.

God is so great, so infinitely superior to His crea-
tures, that, as the Church admirably expresses it, “ to

serve God is to reign.” No earthly dignity is com-
parable to the dignity of “ servant of God.” God is
so great, that we should wonder, not that He com-
mands man to serve Him, but that He should suffer
man, who is so incomparably beneath Him, to serve
Him, and should graciously accept his homage and
service, of which He has no need. This thought it
was that induced St. Paul to exclaim : “ God is not
ashamed to be called our God” (Hebr. ii, 16). To
be permitted to honor and serve God in the humblest
condition should be reckoned a greater honor than to

command armies and rule nations ! Moreover, our
Catholic faith raises us to the sublime dignity, not of

servants, but of Children of God!
“
The Father hath

bestowed upon us that we should be called and should



THE CATHOLIC FAITH38

be the children of God ” ( i John 3, i ) . Our faith has,

therefore, made us God’s children, the cherished ob-

jects of His paternal love and affection. His heirs

destined to reign forever with Him in heaven and

share in His own happiness. What can be more hon-

orable, more noble, more glorious!

The true faith also confers on us a truly royal dig-

nity, for it enables us to rule over our passions, a
task

far more difficult than to govern a country. Faith,

according to St. Augustine, turns sinners
into just

men, causes the just to grow in holiness, and
im-

parts supernatural strength to the weak, that
they may

overcome every temptation and error, and
“ suffer for

justice’s sake” the most bitter persecutions and
tor-

ments, and even death itself.

Far from being hostile to learning and science,
the

Catholic Church has alone preserved them from
de-

struction. ^Vhen the hordes of barbarians laid
waste

the Roman empire with its civilization, destroying

every vestige of learning and art, the
Church alone,

amid the general desolation, remained standing
and

saved science and art from utter annihilation.

When pagan and barbarian monarchs trampled on

the rights of their subjects, the Church
taught those

despots that they were only human and amenable
to

God’s justice for their tyranny, and, when
necessary,

effectively used her thunderbolts to
protect the op-

pressed.



GLORIES OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH 39

The Catholic Church has fulfilled Christ’s prophecy

:

“ You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make
you free” (John 8, 32). The Catholic Church has
set the human mind free by dispelling from it the ap-
palling darkness of pagan error, ignorance and super-

stition, and enlightening it with the brilliant light of

divine revelation. The widespread and disgraceful

slavery prevalent among the ancient pagans became

gradually extinct under the benign influence of Chris-

tian charity and the wise regulations of Church dis-

cipline.

Before their conversion the barbarian nations were

ignorant and lawless, indulging in violence and rapine.

By making them Christians, the Catholic Church
changed them into the most civilized and enlightened

nations on earth. If we have now the good fortune
of not being half-clad, ignorant and terror-inspiring

barbarians, we owe it to the Catholic faith which the
Church taught our ancestors.

The Catholic Church, through the Christian virtues
of faith, hope and charity, has made mankind as of one
family, brethren of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and
as brothers among themselves, without distinction of
nationality

;
and she established among diverse nations

a certain bond of union and sympathy. During the
Middle Ages, that is, before the appearance of Prot-

estantism, the Christian nations formed but one family

under the paternal direction of the Pope, who was



40 THE CATHOLIC FAITH

usually accepted as the arbiter of disputes
between na-

tions, and between monarchs and their subjects.

Before the foundation of the Catholic Church,
char-

ity was utterly unknown on earth. Infanticide,
divorce

and abominable crimes prevailed everywhere.
Woman

was treated as a degraded being, fit only to be
the sport

of men’s passions. The slaves far outnumbered
the

freemen, and their lot was worse than that of
cattle.

Work was looked upon as mean and disgraceful
and

was performed only by slaves. Men cruelly
fought

and butchered each other, or combated
wild beasts for

the amusement of both rulers and people.
The wars

were wholesale butcheries, and furnished
the occasion

for the commission of every outrage
and crime. And

as there was no sympathy for the poor,
the suffering,

the unfortunate, hospitals, asylums
and other charitable

institutions were not even known by name.
But in

fulfilment of David’s prophecy (Ps. 103, 30),
the Cath-

olic faith brought into the world a new
spirit, the spirit

of Christian charity, which has
“ renewed the face of

the earth.” Under the loving and tender
care of the

Church, there sprang up, in the very
beginning of her

existence, hospitals, asylums and other
charitable insti-

tutions. The poor and the unfortunate
were tenderly

cared for and looked upon as her
treasures. The very

pagans, the very persecutors of the
Church became,

in times of the plague and other
public calamities, ob-



GLORIES OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH 41

jects of her loving sympathy and indiscriminating

charity.

The Catholic faith has inspired, and still inspires, the

noblest heroism ever witnessed on earth. Millions of

courageous Christians underwent unflinchingly most

excruciating torments and death for the faith. The

young, the weak, the timid not only bore heroically

every torture that human ingenuity and cruelty could

devise, but endured them all with admirable fortitude

and even with joy, accounting themselves honored and

happy in being found worthy of suffering and dying

for the love of Him who had mercifully deigned to lay

down His life to redeem them.

In all ages the Catholic missionaries have displayed

wonderful zeal and heroism in leaving family, friends,

country, the comforts of life, in order to go to preach

the Gospel to the heathen amid constant privations and

persecutions. Their heroism is inspired by the Cath-

olic faith. It is also under the inspiration of the same

faith that thousands, nay, hundreds of thousands of

young men, young women have, in all ages, renounced

the world, its goods and pleasures together with their

own free-will, in order to consecrate themselves to

God by a life of austerity, to devote their whole life,

without hope or desire of earthly reward, to instruct-

ing the ignorant, nursing the sick, even lepers, and re-

lieving every kind of misery. The Catholic Church



42 THE CATHOLIC FAITH

has a special religious order or congregation to relieve

almost every kind of human affliction. This fact,

apart from every other argument, is sufficient to prove

the divine origin of the Catholic Church.

The Catholic Church is the grandest institution in

the world. No other has so many members. In her

alone are found men of heroic supernatural virtue.

The most holy and virtuous persons that have lived

since the beginning of the Christian Era, have all been

her faithful children. Out of her there can be no

supernatural virtue or holiness. The greatest geniuses,

the brightest intellects that have adorned mankind,

have all been members of the Catholic Church. All

that is grand, soul-inspiring and sublime in architec-

ture, painting, sculpture, music and literature, has been

inspired by the Catholic faith, and serves to adorn her

worship.

The Catholic Church,” says Gladstone, “ has

marched for fifteen hundred years at the head of

human civilization, and has harnessed to its chariot,

as the horses of a triumphal car, the chief intellectual

and material forces of the world; its art, the art of

the world; its genius, the genius of the world; its

greatness, glory, grandeur and majesty have been al-

most, though not absolutely, all that in these respects

the world has had to boast of.”

The Catholic Church, more than any human work

or institution, more than any empire, has had to strug-



GLORIES OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH 43

gle with bitter, constant, violent, powerful and pro-

tracted opposition. Man has, without avail, used
every means in his power to encompass her ruin

;
and

the Church, though devoid of human assistance, has
signally triumphed over all her opponents and perse-

cutors, and on them rebounded the ruin they had

planned for her. Her persecutors have passed away

;

empires, kingdoms and numberless other human in-
stitutions, though only of yesterday, and upheld by all

available human power, have already crumbled to
pieces, or are tottering in their decay

;
whilst the Cath-

olic Church, more ancient than all of them, still sur-

vives in the freshness and vigor of youth, more power-
ful, more dreaded than ever by her foes, and, at the
same time, more honored, more flourishing than ever
before! How numerous are the non-Catholics, some
reluctantly, some sincerely, who now acknowledge the
Catholic Church to be the most potent factor for

good, and the only effective bulwark of society against

vice and anarchy!

What a glory it is to be a member of that Church
which, by imparting the true faith, procures the sal-

vation of the individual
;
which, by her sacraments and

wise laws, proves the safeguard of the family, the very

basis of society!

Let us thank God, from our inmost heart, for hav-
ing called us to the true faith. He could not have be-
stowed a greater blessing on us. What would life and



44
THE CATHOLIC FAITH

all His other gifts avail us without
the gift of the true

and only saving faith? Let us
prize our faith above

everything else. Let us with our
whole heart love

and cherish our divine faith. Let
us faithfully cling

to it as long as a breath of
life remains in us, were it

even at the cost of all our goods,
our health, our honor,

our liberty, our very life ; for
our faith is, indeed, and

should ever be our greatest treasure.
“ The Catholic

faith,” says St. Augustine,
“is preferabk to all

earthly riches, pleasures and
grandeurs

;
it is prefer-

able to the whole universe.”

QUALITIES OF FAITH

St. Paul says that we are
“ justified by faith ” (Rom.

5, i), and that
“ the just man liveth by faith

” (Roni.

i' 17). This is perfectly
true of a living and practi-

cal faith. Our faith should be something
more than

a lifeless and sterile adhesion
of our mind to the truths

of divine revelation defined
by the Church. Our

faith, to be acceptable to God,
should possess certain

indispensable qualities.

I. The first of these necessary
qualities is firmness.

Our faith should be endowed with
both interior and

exterior firmness. The doctrines of
faith, having been

revealed by the infallible God through
His infallible

Church, are most certainly true.
There is not the



QUALITIES OF FAITH 45

slightest possibility of mistake or deception in accept-

ing them. Their certainty immeasurably surpasses

every other kind of certainty. Therefore, there can-

not be any room for the least wavering or hesitation

in adhering to them. On the contrary, the deeper, the
more obscure, the more incomprehensible the truths

of faith are to us, the more certain we should be that
they are revealed by God who knows all things, and
the more firmly we should believe them. Were all the
truths of faith within the reach of our limited under-

standing, there would be no necessity of their being

divinely revealed. It is quite natural that God in
revealing some truths to mankind, should teach and

make known things far above the grasp of man’s nat-
ural faculties, which are, indeed, very limited. The
least wilful doubt or hesitation in believing the truths

we know to pertain to divine revelation, is a practical
denial of God’s truthfulness and a very sinful re-

bellion against His supreme authority.

Moreover, our words and our actions must all cor-

respond to a firm interior faith, so that we may openly
and unmistakably profess that we firmly believe all
the truths of faith. “ With the heart we believe unto
justice,” says St. Paul, “but with the mouth confes-

sion is made unto salvation” (Rom. lo, lo). Any
wilful word or act of ours that would lead others to
imagine that we have no faith, or that we are doubting
or wavering in our faith, would be scandalous, for it



46 THE CATHOLIC FAITH

would be, as it were, a public denial of our faith, an

insult to God’s truthfulness and a rebellion against His

authority. Whenever the glory of God, or the spiritual

welfare of ourselves or of our neighbor requires it, we

are bound to make open profession of a firm faith, and

to defend it without wavering or hesitation, as St. Peter

did with his wonted energy and sincerity :
“ Lord, to

whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal

life. And we have believed and have known, that

Thou art the Christ, the Son of God ” (John 6, 69, 70).

2. Our faith should also be universal; that is, we

must believe all that the Holy Catholic Church teaches,

without a single exception. The Catholic Church is

infallible and cannot teach error. If we disbelieve or

reject a single one of her decisions in matters of faith,

we commit a grievous sin, for we thereby impugn her

infallibility, and practically charge God Himself with

deception, and rebel against His authority. Let us bear

in mind that faith is not and cannot be a matter of

choice. God, being infinitely just, can no more give us

the liberty to believe what we choose, than He can

permit us to act as we choose. Those who believe only

what they choose, have no faith whatever, but only

fallible human opinions; they cannot thereby please

God, but, according to our divine Saviour’s saying, they

are already judged (John 3, 18), and will most assur-

edly be condemned, unless they hear the Church (Mat.

18, 17), and accept all that she teaches.



QUALITIES OF FAITH 47

3. Our faith should, like truth, be genuine and un-

adulterated. Truth is intolerant and exclusive of

error; the least adulteration of truth changes truth into

error. For instance, ten times ten are one hundred.

This truth admits of no adulteration
;
if you adulterate

it, however slightly, you fall into error. If you would

say, ten times ten are ninety-nine and seven-eighths, or

one hundred and one-eighth, that would be wrong,

would be an error. So long as you do not say always

and exactly, “ ten times ten are one hundred,” you are

wrong. A genuine faith is, therefore, both intolerant
and exclusive of error, of false principles, of false doc-

trines; it excludes all change whatever; the slightest

change or adulteration in it would make it erroneous

and untrue, and it would thus cease to be God’s genuine

revelation. Just as there cannot be two Gods, so also

there cannot be two contradictory revelations, two

contradictory divine faiths, for St. Paul says expressly

:

“One God, one faith” (Eph. 4, 5). The Catholic

Church has been proved by the most conclusive argu-

ments to be the true Church of Jesus Christ
;
hence, all

the other so-called churches are necessarily false.

Since the Catholic faith is the true faith, every other

belief or creed, whatever be its name, is necessarily false

and leads, not to eternal bliss, but to everlasting repro-

bation (Mark 16, 16). We cannot be true and genuine
Catholics without being intolerant and exclusive in mat-

ters of faith
;
we are bound to believe whatever the



48 THE CATHOLIC FAITH

Catholic Church believes and teaches, and to reject and

condemn whatever she rejects and condemns. Our

very salvation depends upon it.

4. Our faith must also be endowed with constancy

and fortitude. It behooves us always and everywhere,

under all circumstances, in prosperity and in adversity,

in abundance and in want, amid joy and amid persecu-

tion, in life and in death, to cling steadfastly to our

faith and to practise it courageously. We should, like

St. Paul, prefer our faith to ever)4hing in this world

:

“ I count all things to be but loss for the excellent

knowledge of Jesus Christ my Lord” (Phil. 3, 8).

The Catholic faith is constant and unchangeable ; why

should we be inconstant and changing? Rather than

ever waver in or renounce our faith, we should, after

the example of millions of martyrs and confessors, be

ready, for the sake of our faith, to sacrifice our goods,

our liberty, our honor, our very life. We deservedly

admire the noble constancy of the martyrs in enduring

confiscation, imprisonment, slavery, the rack, boiling

oil, the sword, the cross, wild beasts, the gridiron and

every conceivable torment. But in enduring all these

cruelties, in sacrificing all things to preserve their faith,

they merely performed their duty. If we are true

Catholics, we must be ready to imitate their constancy

and fortitude and to undergo similar sufferings rather

than renounce our faith, for our faith should be dearer



QUALITIES OF FAITH 49

to us than all the natural goods we possess, than our

Yery life.

5. Lastly, our faith must be practical. It is very

doubtful whether we shall ever be called upon to die

for our faith; but there is no doubt that we are all

obliged '^to live our faith.’’ Faith, to be profitable,

must be a living faith, that is, it must, by its actions,

give evident signs of life. A dead faith, a faith that
gives no sign of life, can be of no benefit for salvation,

for says St. James (2, 17-26) : Faith, if it hath not

works, is dead in itself. . . . For even as the body

without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works

is dead.” ^^The just man,” says St. Paul, 'Hiveth by

faith” (Rom. i, 17). The just man is such only by

the performance of good and holy works. But it is

through supernatural faith that a man’s works become

holy and endowed with justice. The just man, then,

lives by faith, that is, he is and remains a just man

through his faith, which is the principle and inspiring

agent of his good and holy works. Therefore, faith to

be profitable to salvation must be practical, accompanied

by good works. These works are no other than those

prescribed by the commandments of God and of His

Church. Faith teaches that God is our Creator and

sovereign Lord, whom we are bound to obey in all

things which He has commanded us. It teaches also

that the Catholic Church has been founded by Jesus



50 THE CATHOLIC FAITH

Christ and invested by Him with the powers and means

necessary to lead men to heaven, and that we are

obliged, under the pain of forfeiting our salvation, to

submit to her laws. “Let him that will not hear the

Church be to thee as the heathen and publican.”
“ He

that heareth you, heareth Me; and he that despiseth

'you, despiseth Me.” Therefore, he who despises the

authority of the Church, despises the authority of

Jesus Christ Himself.

Hence, that man has a lively practical faith who

faithfully keeps the commandments of God and of His

Church. To keep them, we must avoid what they

forbid and perform what they prescribe. Let us, first,

examine what is forbidden by a practical faith.

All wilful hesitation or doubt is inconsistent with

true faith. True faith, moreover, forbids us to do or

say anything tending to approve or countenance heresy

or unbelief. Some weak-minded Catholics, through

ignorance or human respect, not only tolerate, but even

advocate certain false maxims contrary to faith, such

as these : “ It matters not what a man believes ; pro-

vided he is honest and does no injury to his neighbor,

he cannot be lost. We all serve one and the same God

;

it matters not in which religion ; we shall all be saved in

the end.” These and all similar maxims are utterly

false and opposed to the true faith. The weak-kneed

Catholics who advocate them, do not, it is true, intend

thereby to renounce their faith, but wish only to avoid



QUALITIES OF FAITH 51

displeasing their non-Catholic friends. They wish to

avoid bitter disputes and giving pain to their friends,

and, consequently, coincide with their erroneous views.

But do these Catholics always act thus in business mat-

ters, in politics ? When their temporal interests are at

stake, are they so yielding, so condescending, or rather

do they not then stick obstinately to their own views

and courageously maintain their rights? But when

their faith is assailed, when the interests of God and of

their Mother, the Holy Catholic Church, are at stake,

they act the part of a craven, and, to avoid giving dis-

pleasure to their friends, they betray their faith, that

sacred and priceless treasure ! Why do you try so hard,
we may ask them, to please mortal men at the peril of

your own soul and at the risk of grievously displeasing

and offending the Almighty? What have these men

done for you? Have they ever shed their blood and

sacrificed their life for you? And, if you thus deserv-

edly fall a victim to the divine justice, what can those

men do to rescue you ? What a shame, what a disgrace

for you, who claim to be a Christian, a follower of

Jesus Christ, to prefer such men to Jesus Christ, your

Saviour, your greatest Benefactor! Remember this

saying of the Son of God : “ He that shall deny Me
before men, him will I deny before My Father who is
in heaven” (Mat. 10, 33).

A Catholic is also untrue to his faith whenever, with-
out a just motive sanctioned by the Church, he reads



52 THE CATHOLIC FAITH

infidel books or papers, or the Protestant Bible, which

is not the genuine Word of God on account of its sup-

pressions and alterations. He who would seek to

justify himself for doing so under the pretext that this

sort of reading is harmless to him, shows clearly that

his faith is already weak and wavering. He who has

really a strong and lively faith, does not tolerate such

matter in his house, nor defile with it his hands, his eyes

or his mind. Reading being food for the mind, hereti-

cal and infidel reading cannot fail to instil into the read-

er’s mind the deadly poison of false doctrines and erron-

eous principles. Those who read such productions evi-

dently prove, that in matters of faith, they are guided,

not by the teachings of Jesus Christ and His Church,

but by the accursed spirit of
“ so-called tolerance !

”

Whatever may be said to the contrary, the reading of

erroneous doctrines, especially if frequent or habitual,

always proves highly injurious even in superficial read-

ing, because some of the poison will always
“ stick.”

The Catholic faith forbids the approval, even if only

tacit, of any heretical worship or anti-religious associa-

tion. It is, therefore, sinful to assist at heretical

preaching or divine service, or to go to hear infidel lec-

tures. Catholics may not, without serious reasons, ap-

proved by their confessor or pastor, assist at baptisms,

marriages or funerals, at which heretical ministers

officiate. It is not only sinful, but even highly scanda-

lous to take an active part in any heretical, Jewish or



THE PRACTICE OF FAITH 53

other false worship, by playing the organ or singing at

the services. The same applies to contributions, enter-

tainments for the erection or support of heretical

churches, synagogues, or masonic temples, or non-Cath-

olic missions, and the like. Although Catholics, in be-

stowing alms, should not discriminate with regard ta

the religious belief of the necessitous, they should,

nevertheless, guard against upholding heresy and error

by their generosity. We should never lose sight of the
fact that faith, like truth, is necessarily intolerant and

exclusive of error, and that, therefore, a true Catholic

will never compromise in matters of faith, for such a

compromise is equivalent to a denial of the faith.

THE PRACTICE OF FAITH

It is not enough for us to be Catholics, to believe

what the Catholic Church teaches, to have the true

faith, in order to be saved
; we must also “ live by faith,”

as St. Paul tells us
;
that is, we must regulate our whole

conduct by the teaching of faith, and never let our con-

duct be in opposition to, or contradict our faith. “ The

just man liveth by faith ” (Gal. 3, ii), that is, conforms
his conduct to his faith. “ What shall it profit,” asked

,
St. James (chapter 2),

“ if a man say he hath faith, but
hath not (corresponding) works? Shall faith be able

to save him? The devils believe,” but that does not



1

54 the catholic FAITH

save them, for their conduct belies their faith.
“ As

the body without the spirit (soul) is dead, so faith

without works, is dead,” and therefore unable alone to

save us. To be a saving faith, our faith must be a

living faith, a faith that is accompanied with the works

which it prescribes.

Faith, in the first place, requires us to pay due honor

to God and to His Church ; and this we can do only by

faithfully keeping their commandments. It is our duty

to say our prayers every day, in order to pay to God our

homage, to thank Him for His numberless blessings, to

beg His forgiveness for our shortcomings and to peti-

tion Him for the favors we need daily, nay, even hourly.

Faith teaches that we belong wholly to God and are

wholly dependent on Him both as to what we have and

as to what we are. It is, then, our duty to acknowledge

our total dependence on Him by seeking to please Him

in all our words, thoughts and actions, and by having

recourse to Him for help and strength in all our wants,

and especially in times of danger, whether corporal or

spiritual.

Faith requires us to
“ hear the Church,” that is, to

submit not only our reason, but also our will, our con-

duct to her decrees, to her precepts, for she has
received

from God the power “ to bind and to loose.” It is,

therefore, our sacred obligation to keep her command-

ments by observing the prescribed days of fasting and

abstinence, by hearing Mass and resting from unneces-



THE PRACTICE OF FAITH
55

sary servile works on Sundays and Feasts of obligation^,

and receiving the Sacraments of Penance and the Holy

Eucharist within the appointed time.

Moreover, we do not comply with the obligations of
faith, if we neglect to hear the word of God, or to

acquire the necessary knowledge of the mysteries and

duties of our holy religion. In our age and country the

i Catholic cannot be guiltless who does not know his faith
' well enough to be able to speak correctly concerning the

I

principal mysteries of faith, because his ignorance is.

more or less wilful. There are so many occasions of

hearing the word of God, so many good and instructive

Catholic books and papers fit to enlighten him on this,

all-important matter, that only those Catholics can re-

main ignorant of their faith who are indifferent to it.

It is, therefore, the duty of every Catholic to hear the-

word of God regularly, and to read Catholic books and

papers, especially on Sundays.

It is also an indispensable obligation for every Cath-

olic, whether married or single, to manifest his zeal for

God’s honor and worship by contributing according to

his means to the support of his pastor, his parish

church, and the schools and other good works of the

parish and the diocese. This is not mere charity, but

strict justice, a lawful debt which every one is bound

to pay.

Those who intend to get married, should be careful

to observe the most wise laws of the. Church concerning



56 THE CATHOLIC FAITH

the Sacrament and the state of Matrimony. They

should beware of endangering their faith by marrying

non-Catholics or careless and indifferent Catholics.

Those who disobey the laws of the Church concerning

Marriage are no better than rebels against the authority

of the Church and her divine Founder. What profit is

it for you to call yourself a Catholic, if you live like a

heretic or an unbeliever? You cannot be a true Cath-

olic, a true child of God, unless you live up to the laws

of the Church.
''
If he will not hear the Church, let

him be to thee as the heathen and publican’’ (Mat.

18,17).

Your house should offer unmistakable signs of your

faith. Its ornaments should be in accordance with the

faith of a true, staunch Catholic and not have the ap-

pearance of the residence of an unbeliever. You

should, therefore, exclude therefrom whatever is unbe-

coming in a child of God, in a member of the holy

Catholic Church. Hence you should not suffer therein

either immodest pictures, statues, books and papers, or

infidel and heretical works. For all these are not only

wholly inconsistent with your faith, but they are a dis-

grace to the house of a Catholic. You should, there-

fore, keep all such objects away from your house, and

adorn it with holy pictures, not only in your bedroom,

but also in your parlor, as an open profession of your

holy faith. Why should you be ashamed of your faith

before your visitors, who, unless they are ill-bred, will



THE PRACTICE OF FAITH 57

not venture to insult your religion in your own house

!

Be sure to have a crucifix, some blessed candles and a

constant supply of holy water. It happens sometimes

that when the priest goes to administer the last sacra-

ments to a dying Catholic, he does not find in the house

any crucifix, candles or holy water, but must send for

them to some other Catholic family in the neighbor-

hood! In many Catholic families the members as-

semble for prayers in common at night before a little

altar decorated with a statue of the Sacred Heart, or of

the Blessed Virgin.

You should, moreover, have in your parlor, or sitting-

room, some good books, some Catholic papers or peri-

odicals, both for your own use and that of your visitors.

What a shame that in the houses of some Catholics

there should be found, instead of Catholic books and

papers, the obscene poets and the more or less immoral

fashionable novels! These, like Satan, are lying in

wait, seeking whom they may devour ! Such Catholics

are a disgrace to the Catholic Church and her divine

Founder, and are usually very ignorant of the doctrines

and obligations of their holy faith.

On the other hand, the best, the most intelligent, the

most generous, the most fervent and exemplary Cath-

olics are precisely those who read Catholic books and

papers. They know and appreciate their holy faith;

they can explain and defend its doctrines
;
they take a

lively interest in everything that concerns it, in its prog-



58 THE CATHOLIC FAITH

ress, persecutions and victories, and have their salva-

tion at heart, and are always willing to make sacrifices

to promote the welfare of the Church, their own salva-

tion and the salvation of their neighbor.

Faith imposes very weighty obligations on parents.

Your first and principal duty, as parents, consists in

bringing up your children in the knowledge and practice

of the Catholic faith. From the day they are first able

to lisp, you should teach them the holy names of Jesus

and Mary
;
then gradually to recite short prayers and

learn the chief mysteries of faith. You should en-

deavor to inspire them with a tender love for Jesus and

Mary and a lively horror of sin. When your children

attain the age of discretion, that is, about their seventh

year, more or less, it is your duty to see that they keep

the precepts of the Church, that is, hear Mass on all

Sundays and feasts of obligation, observe the laws of

abstinence, go to confession and, according to the decree

of Pope Pius X, dated August 8, 1910, make their first

holy Communion, after a preparation and instruction

suited to their capacity. The same Pope most earnestly

recommends frequent, and even daily, holy Communion,

not only to yourselves but even to your young children

after their first holy Communion. There is no more

powerful means than this to keep them pure and inno-

cent. Bear also in mind that in all that regards salva-

tion it is your sacred duty to give your children the

benefit of your own good example, and that good



THE PRACTICE OF FAITH 59

example is far more persuasive and effective than pre-

cept and instruction.

It is, moreover, your duty to send your children to

none but good Catholic schools. This is not a matter of

choice on your part, but a most sacred duty. It were

better not to send them at all to school than to send

them to institutions where they may learn everything,

except what it behooves them most to know, the doc-

trines, obligations and practice of their holy faith. It

is, therefore, your duty to send your children only to

those schools in which they will be practically taught the

Catholic faith. The neglect of this duty endangers not

only the salvation of your children, but yours likewise.

Furthermore, you should constantly watch over the

morals and conduct of your children, especially when

their passions are beginning to wax strong, lest, through

secret vicious practices and evil associations, they lose

both their innocence and their faith. Sad experience

testifies that our youth do not lose their faith, or grow

careless in its practice, until their innocence has suffered

shipwreck. You are bound to keep your children from

reading books and papers capable of awakening their

passions and ruining their innocence. Permit them to

read only such books and periodicals as are calculated to

improve their minds and their morals, and promote the

salvation of their souls. Give them in all this the good

example, which is more necessary and more persuasive

than all the good advice in the world. Teach them



6o THE CATHOLIC FAITH

habits of industry and economy, and see that they shun

idleness and employ their time well. Do not let them

get fond of vanity and worldly pleasures. Never per-

mit them to keep dangerous company or frequent places

of dangerous amusement. Strive to make home agree-

able and pleasant to them, and join or accompany them

in their recreations. Do not allow them to keep com-

pany in private with persons of the opposite sex, espe-

cially if they are not yet marriageable or fit to assume

the grave responsibilities of matrimony. It is a griev-

ous sin for you to expose the virtue and innocence of !

your children to the temptations and dangers of solitary

company-keeping. Do not permit them to keep com-

pany with non-Catholics or with vicious persons, or to

be engaged to them, lest their faith be endangered by a

mixed or unbecoming marriage. All these points are of

the highest importance and their observance is necessary

to insure your own salvation and the fidelity of your

children to the Catholic faith.

Moreover, your holy faith imposes on you special

obligations as a member of society, as a citizen. You

should never be ashamed to appear in public as a practi-

cal Catholic, whenever the occasion requires it.
.

On

such occasions you should practise your faith, or defend

it, not by violence or abuse, but by explaining its teach-

ing and, if in your power, by refuting the false charges

against it. This shows you how necessary it is for you

to study your faith by regularly hearing the word of



CAUSES OF THE LOSS OF FAITH 6i

God and habitually reading Catholic books and periodi-

cals. But your zeal for your faith should go even

farther. You should endeavor to propagate your faith

in your private conversations, by your writings, your

lectures, by liberally contributing to Catholic works,

charities and institutions, by spreading Catholic litera-

ture, and especially by your own good example as a

practical Catholic. You may not be able to effect much

for the faith in other ways, but, at least, you can always

give your fellow-men the example of a truly virtuous

life. Let your light so shine before men,’’ says our

divine Saviour to us all, that they may see your good

works and glorify your Father who is in heaven ” (Mat.

5, i6). The habitual good example of a Catholic lay-

man is a most powerful and persuasive argument in

favor of the divine origin of the Catholic Church.

Were all Catholics to live up to their faith and give a

good example to their neighbor, the whole world would,

in the course of time, become Catholic.

Catholic citizens should vote according to their con-

science, and especially never vote a law or measure in

any way detrimental to our holy religion.

SOME CAUSES OF THE LOSS OF THE
FAITH

The gift of the true faith is the greatest blessing of

God in this life, for, says St. Paul, without faith it is



62 THE CATHOLIC FAITH

impossible to please God” (Hebr. ii, 6); in other

words, faith is necessary to salvation. The true faith

is a treasure so great that we should, in order to pre-

serve it, be ready to make every sacrifice, even that of

our very life, as the martyrs did. Nevertheless, there

have been in every age, and especially in ours, quite a

number of Catholics who have strayed away from their

faith and even lost it entirely. Let us examine some

of the causes that lead to the loss of the faith.

I. Pride is one of the causes of the loss of the faith.

There are several kinds of pride. One kind is the pride

of wealth, of a high-standing position in society, of

worldly fashion. Those who are possessed by this kind

of pride consider that the Catholic Church does not

harmonize with the demands of the circle they move in,

for her churches and schools are filled chiefly with the

poor and the rude, with hard-working men and women,

and not with the rich, the genteel, the fashionable.

They are eager and anxious to belong to
“ the upper-

class ” in all things, even in religion ; and, therefore,

they prefer to flock to some genteel and fashionable

heretical church, from which the poor, the laboring class

are practically excluded. Some of them join a se-

lect ” club, or even a forbidden secret society, and would

feel greatly humbled and disgraced were they seen

kneeling among the poor and the hard-working men and

women in a Catholic Church.

Others are victims of the pride of the intellect



CAUSES OF THE LOSS OF FAITH 63

These Catholics, whose knowledge of their holy religion

is very superficial, think wonders of themselves and of

their learning, although they possess but a smattering of

mathematics, physics, geology, astronomy, chemistry,

medicine, law, literature and politics, and are wholly

ignorant of logic, the science of right reasoning, and yet

they deem themselves equal to the discussion and solu-

tion of the deepest and most intricate questions in phi-

losophy and theology. How truly do these shallow and
arrogant sciolists verify the saying of St. Paul:

Science puffeth up ” (i Cor. 8, i). One of these, an
obscure physician, would no longer believe in the exist-

ence of the human soul, for, he said, “ I have dissected

many a corpse, but I never found a soul in any of
them ” 1 And that silly physician was not aware of his
stupidity in looking for the soul in a lifeless corpse, and

he, therefore, gave up his holy faith for infidelity, as so

many others had done before him! Such persons

throw overboard their reason, their common sense, be-
fore losing their faith. Their pride, their arrogance is

so great, that they would feel themselves degraded,

were they to submit their transcendent reason to any

authority, human or divine, or to believe what they can-

not understand, were it revealed even by the all-know-

ing God Himself ! They consider themselves self-

sufficient and not in need of either God or His

Church

!

Some Catholics lose tlieir faith on account of their



THE CATHOLIC FAITH64

covetousness. They are above all anxious to get rich

at any price. They have no use for a faith, for a

religion that does not confer or lead to wealth.
The

great argument which, in the sixteenth century, caused

so many among the petty sovereigns, the nobles and

others to join the ranks of Luther and other pretended

Reformers, was the wish to have a share in the spoils of

the Catholic Church and her religious orders. In our

own times not a few Catholics give up their faith to

obtain a lucrative office, to contract a rich marriage, to

further their temporal interests by joining a secret

society, a fashionable church or an anti-Catholic club

or association

!

Human respect causes many Catholics to give up the

practice of their faith; and the neglect of practising

their faith leads them gradually to become practically

unbelievers. Every man naturally likes to be well

thought of by his fellow-men, especially by his asso-

ciates, and, therefore, endeavors to please
them.

Wherefore he feels inclined to make himself agreeable

to them by speaking and acting like them. If his asso-

ciates are good and virtuous, he endeavors to be
like

them, or at least to appear good and virtuous.
But he

who associates with the wicked, with the irreligiousj

fears to displease them, and does not wish them to
con-

sider and ridicule him as singular and
“
priest-ridden.

He therefore soon begins to speak and act as they speak

and act, and will gradually give up the practice
of



CAUSES OF THE LOSS OF FAITH 65

virtue and of his faith. Thus whilst he intends to

escape their sneers, he is almost imperceptibly led to

violate his most sacred obligations, and in return for his

mean, cowardly and sinful subserviency, he becomes the

victim of human respect and the ignoble slave of the

worthless opinions and base caprice of evil-doers ! In

this manner a man gradually becomes a drunkard, a

gambler, a thief, an adulterer, a member of a secret

society, an unbeliever, a scoffer of religion. How fool-
ish, how degrading thus to become the cringing slave of

human respect, in order to secure or retain the good-

will of profligate associates! And does the victim of

human respect actually attain his object? Do his evil

companions really esteem, respect, and trust him ? No,

far from it; in their hearts they despise him as un-

principled, mean, and cowardly! How does a true
Catholic act, when he is compelled by unavoidable cir-

cumstances to work, to associate with such companions ?

He shows his manliness, his moral courage in standing
by his faith and its obligations in spite of their sneers,

of their constant persecutions ! And what is the result ?

He is true to his faith, to his duty, and even if his com-
panions scoff at him for this, nevertheless, in their con-

sciences, in their hearts, they cannot withhold their

respect, their esteem and even their very confidence

from one who is manly and courageous enough to dis-

regard their sneers and scoffing, and remain true to his

God, to his holy faith ! In fact, they cannot help ad-



66 THE CATHOLIC FAITH

miring the noble courage which they are unable, unwill-
^

ing to imitate

!

The ruling passion causes a number of Catholics to

lose their faith, as we shall now see. In some the ruling

passion is hatred. They have not only a dislike, but

even a real hatred of some one, on account of a real or

imaginary injury, and they will not forgive the of-

fender; they refuse to make any effort to overcome

their hatred. They, therefore, at first omit going to

confession, because they know they are unworthy of

absolution. Later on they fail going to hear Mass, to

hear the word of God; gradually they grow hardened

and give up all prayer, to get rid of their remorse, and

finally abandon or lose their faith.

Another Catholic has enriched himself by dishonest

means
;
he has perhaps ruined his rivals in business, or

increased his means by taking advantage of hard times

to pay insufficient wages to his poor workmen, or grown

rich by graft in a public office. He will not go to con-

fession, because he knows he cannot be absolved from

his sins of injustice, unless he makes restitution. His

downward course in the faith naturally leads him to the

same result as that of the vindictive.

Another Catholic has become a drunkard ; he has lost

all moral power through drink; and he will not dis-

charge his duties as a Catholic ; in fact, he has not the

strength to do so, for he will not make use of his only

chances of salvation, the giving up of the occasion of his



CAUSES OF THE LOSS OF FAITH 67

sin, going to confession as frequently as necessary to

enable him to reform. Hence he gradually neglects all

the duties required of him by his holy faith, and prac-

tically belongs to the class of men that have no re-
ligion.

One of the greatest, if not the very greatest cause
of the loss of faith, is the vice of impurity. The im-
pure man prefers the gratification of his animal passions
to the law of God. To indulge these passions he
tramples on the dictates of his reason, on virtue, on

duty, destroys his health and even forfeits his good

name and the respect of his fellow-men. His conduct
resembles more that of an irrational being than that of
one possessed of reason and free-will. As far as in him
lies, he destroys the image of God in his soul. His in-
tellect, his perception of things spiritual and heavenly,

are weakened in proportion to the indulgence of his
beastly cravings. The nearer he stoops to the brute, the
more lowly and debased his views and aspirations. The
impure Catholic at first experiences remorse for his

shameful sin and dreads the eternal punishment it de-
serves. If he, nevertheless, persists in gratifying his

impure passions, they daily wax stronger and more
exacting, whilst his will thereby becomes proportion-

ately weaker. To quiet the remorse following his sin,
he has recourse to the false maxim that “ God is too
good to punish eternally a momentary sin, a mere weak-

ness, a simply natural act ” ! Beginning thus to waver



=68 THE CATHOLIC FAITH

in his faith and constantly urged on by the low passion

which has enslaved him and blinded his noblest faculty,

he soon rejects not only the eternity of hell, but also its

-very existence and the authority of the Church teaching

this truth, and all this to palliate and justify and con-

tinue his career of lust, until he has lost all faith, and

"becomes too sensual, too beastly to appreciate anything

above the gratification of his low passion ; he at last be-

comes too carnal to appreciate what is above the indul-

gence of his impure passion, as St. Paul declares;

The sensual man perceiveth not the things that are of

the Spirit of God, for it is foolishness to him, and he

cannot understand ” (i Cor. 2, 14). Such a one at last

becomes an unbeliever and even a scoffer of religion

!

Strange it may seem, yet it is perfectly true and con-

firmed by experience; a pure Catholic young man, a

pure Catholic young woman, as a rule, never loses the

Catholic faith ! What a strong argument is not this in

favor of the truth of the Catholic faith

!

OTHER CAUSES LEADING TO THE LOSS

OR NEGLECT OF THE FAITH

A large percentage of the Catholics who neglect to

practise their faith, or fall away from their faith alto-

gether, have never been properly instructed or trained

in it. To implant the faith firmly in the minds and



OTHER CAUSES OF LOSS OF FAITH 69

hearts of children, it is necessary to impart to them a
thorough knowledge of its teachings and duties and to
rear them in its love and practice, so that the fulfilment
of its duties may become to them a second nature and a
labor of love. Let us now see what kind of religious
education or training certain parents give to their chil-
dren.

In the first place, some good, pious Catholic parents
fail in this their chief obligation towards their children,
not for the want of a good will, but for want of tact and
good judgment. Experience testifies that some of the
worst criminals and rankest unbelievers had good, pious
parents. How can we account for this ? A number of
such parents are too lax in rearing their children.
They let them do as they please, let them grow wild,
without due restraint, without due correction. They
seem not to be aware that their children, like all the
other children of Adam, are bom with the germ of all
the vices as well as with the germ of all the virtues,
and also with an inclination to evil. They seem to
ignore that their child is a vine that needs pruning, bend-
ing, tying down

;
or a rough diamond that needs much

cutting and polishing, and that it is their sacred duty,
not only to give him a good example, but also to repress
his evil inclinations, to correct his faults, to direct and
encourage him in combating his passions, and to cause
him to respect and submit to authority and practise
virtue. Just as a fruit-tree suffered to grow wild will



70 THE CATHOLIC
FAITH

produce no good fruit, so also
children allowed to grow

wild, to do as they please,
will hardly ever become good,

virtuous Catholics.

Certain other good, pious
Catholic parents follow the

very opposite line of conduct.
They are overstrict,

needlessly severe and harsh in
rearing their children,

require too much of them, and fail to
inspire them with

the love of their holy faith
and its practice. Being ever

threatened with the direst divine
punishments in the

next life for the slightest offense,
the children get dis-

gusted with the duties holy
faith requires of them,

acquire a hatred of our holy
religion and its practices,

and readily give up practising it
as soon as they are

beyond the control of their parents. ^ ^

Another class of Catholic parents do
not practise their

religion and give bad example to
their children.

^

And

their children, even if they have
been instructed in the

mysteries and duties of the Catholic
faith and have

made their first holy Communion
and been confirmed,

soon end in following the bad
example of their parents,

for they do what they see their
parents do. The latter

never go to hear Mass, to confession
or holy Commun-

ion, why should their children go?
In fact such chil-

dren have never been properly
taught the heinousness

of transgressing the
commandments of God and His

Church; they have never been
inspired with the loy(

and fear of God ; they hear their
parents cursing, break-

ing the commandments of God ; in
the course of tim(



OTHER CAUSES OF LOSS OF FAITH 71

they do as their parents do, and live more like heathens
than like Christians. It is no vsronder if such children
are soon lost to the faith.

There are other Catholic parents who are considered
respectable by their fellow-men

;
but they are Catholics

only in name, for they are deficient in even ordinary
piety

;
they are worldly-minded above all. They inspire

their children with the love of the world and its vain
goods, honors, pleasures and amusements; they allow
their children to frequent all kinds of worldly company
and amusements, provided these are respectable in a
worldly sense, however dangerous to salvation they may
otherwise be

;
they encourage them to adopt every new

fashion, to read every new novel, every book and peri-
odical, except those that might prove beneficial to their
soul. What is the result of such training? The chil-
dren become the votaries and slaves of the world and its
false maxims, neglectful of their religious duties, of the
salvation of their immortal souls, and have nothing
Catholic but the name.

Another class of Catholic parents, forgetful of their
sacred obligation of giving their children a thorough
and practical Catholic education in a good Catholic
school or institution, send their children to godless
schools and godless institutions. The natural inclina-
tion to evil, which is inherent in all the children of
Adam from their very infancy, demands for them the
restraining and corrective influence of a good religious



72 THE CATHOLIC FAITH

training, for without religion there is no sound moral-

ity. This clearly proves the obligation of
Catholic

parents to send their children to Catholic schools
and

institutions. Such is the injunction of the Third Plen-

ary Council of Baltimore : “We not only exhort Cath-

olic parents with a paternal love, but we command them

by the whole extent of our authority to procure
for

their beloved offspring, given them by God, born
again

to Christ in baptism, and destined for heaven, a
truly

Christian and Catholic education, and entirely to
pre-

serve and safeguard it during the whole period of
in-

fancy and youth from the dangers of a mere
secular

education, and therefore to send their dear children
to

the parochial schools or other truly Christian
schools,

unless in particular cases in which the Bishop
judges

that an exception may be permitted.” This decree

proves that parents are not free to decide that
they have

good reasons for sending their children to
non-Catholic

schools, but this whole matter is left to the
decision of

their respective Bishops, and that the Bishop’s
decision

must be held as sacred and binding by the
parents.

Moreover, parents should beware of sending
their sons,

at an age when their passions are developed and
wax

strong, to colleges or universities in which
they would

be removed from all due religious influence,
unless they

have their Bishop’s approval, who will withhold
it, if

there be in such institutions real danger
for the faith

or morals of the Catholic youth. Outside
of Catholic



A CATHOLIC ATMOSPHERE
73

schools, colleges, academies and universities, it can
never be known beforehand what kinds of doctrines
and principles, whether good or bad, true or false, will
be instilled into the youthful minds of the pupils.

But now arises the question whether Catholic parents
do their full duty towards securing the faith of their
children by having them educated in Catholic institu-
tions. We find an appropriate answer to this question
in The Ave Maria for July i8

, 1914) tinder the title of

“A Catholic Atmosphere,” which we here insert.
Much is said amongst us,” says The Ave Maria, “ of

the paramount necessity of preserving in our schools
what is aptly termed ‘ a Catholic atmosphere,’ and that
this Catholic atmosphere may not be lost, it is stoutly
claimed that they should be Catholic not only in name,
but in reality. But there is a place where a Catholic
atmosphere is even more necessary, more important, its
absence more hurtful, and its presence even more effec-
tive than in the schools. We mean the Catholic home.
A Catholic atmosphere in the schools most certainly
we must have

;
but its effect can be, and unfortunately

often is, nullified to a great extent by lack of a Catholic
atmosphere at home.

We want, above all, this truly Catholic atmosphere
m the home. We want it primarily for our children,
upon whose efficient Catholic training the future of
Catholicity depends. But we want it also for ourselves,
if we are to live good, healthy Catholic lives. We shall



THE CATHOLIC FAITH74

not find this Catholic atmosphere around
us, outside our

dwellings or outside our churches ; far
from it. The

atmosphere in which we live is of a nature to stifle
all

faith and all spirituality with the murk and
mist of

materialistic ideals and practices. We also, as well as

our children, need a Catholic atmosphere
in which to

live and breathe ; and we must make it for
ourselves in

our homes, in the place where we live, where
our most

intimate hours are passed.

“ Now, what do we mean by this Catholic
atmos-

phere? The metaphor is easy to understand.
The

atmosphere is the air surrounding the
earth; the air

which we breathe, and which is so necessary
for the

life of our bodies, that, if we are deprived of
it for a

few minutes only, we die. So it is with the
Catholic

atmosphere. Take it away, and before long
Catholic

life languishes, and eventually dies.

“ And if you ask in what does this Catholic
atmos-

phere consist, we may appeal again to the
physical

atmosphere from which this figure of
speech is taken.

The air, as we know, is composed of various
elementary

gases combined together. The spiritual
Catholic at-

mosphere which is so necessary to
vigorous Catholic

life is also composed of various
elements, which may

be summed up in these three: faith,
reverence, and

love. These are the three
elements, forming the

Catholic atmosphere, which Catholics
have nobly striven

to maintain in their schools;
and these three, faith.



A CATHOLIC ATMOSPHERE
75

reverence and love, should be the spiritual atmosphere,

sweet and healthy and spiritually invigorating, of every

Catholic home.

“ It would be impossible to exaggerate the extreme

importance of this Catholic atmosphere in the family

life. The want of it is enough to nullify and destroy
the work done in the school. How often have priests
this sad experience, that children, apparently good and
pious, as long as they are attending school, going regu-

larly to Holy Mass and the Sacraments, fall away
quickly and often ‘go to the bad’ altogether, when
school-days are over. It is because there is no Cath-
olic atmosphere in the home

;
because those three ele-

ments (above mentioned) are wanting in the daily life

of the family.
“
Even before a child leaves school, the sad difference

between school and home has a noticeably deteriorating
effect. A child cannot be expected to take so seriously
the good religious teaching received from teachers and

priests, when it sees that teaching and all Catholic prac-
tice neglected, and, by act, if not in word, flouted at

home! How many children, for instance, fail to be
in their places in church during vacation time I This

is a sad but not uncommon fact 1 There is no Catholic
atmosphere at home I

“ Our country is not a Catholic country
;

it has no
Catholic atmosphere like Ireland, or Tuscany, or parts

of Switzerland and Germany. No sweet image of



THE CATHOLIC FAITH76

Mary, Queen of heaven, or of her divine Son upon
His

cross, looks down upon the wayfarer on our country

road or our busy street. Hence the Catholic
atmos-

phere in the home needs amongst us most particular

and careful cultivation. Sometimes, in some
sickness,

oxygen has to be supplied to the patient. We are in a

similar position. Outside we cannot breathe. There

is no spiritual atmosphere that will supply our
needs

;

no faith, no reverence, no love; that is, none of
these

diffused abroad and common property, like God’s sweet

air. We must get these things and keep them in our

dwellings ; we must infuse them into our
family life.

“ How shall we do it? It is a simple mgitter, if we

have a good will. The very statement of what a Cath-

olic atmosphere consists in will suggest the
means of

producing it in our homes. Faith, reverence,
love.

We must first have them ourselves. Faith, a firm,

staunch faith in God and in all He teaches us by His

Church; faith which will express itself in action;
in

regularity at Holy Mass, at confession and Commun-

ion; in care about prayer; in observance
of Catholic

practices.

“ The Catholic home ought to be full of faith ; and of

faith made evident, so that one could tell that the house

was Catholic as soon as one entered it. In some
houses

we can tell this ; in others every sign that the
inmates

are of the Faith is out of sight. Pious
objects, to-

gether with pious practices, should abound in
every



A CATHOLIC ATMOSPHERE
77

Catholic house. Children should be taught what they
mean and how to use them.

But this means that there must be faith, strong,
living, perceptible faith, in the parents. Without this'
the Catholic atmosphere will not be diffused; it will be
like oxygen shut up in its cylinder. Then reverence,
inculcated by example and precept, by instant rebuke^
firm and unyielding, though at the same time gentle, of
any irreverence or real carelessness on the part of the
younger ones in regard to sacred things. And above
all love, love of God, led up to, secured and cultivated
by the visibly expressed love of all that belongs to Him

;

of Holy Church and of all that she makes use of in her
rites and ceremonies; a tender and affectionate love to
Jesus and Mary and patron saints. Let the love of all
these burn as a fire in the heart of the Catholic mother,
and her children will also take fire at it.

^

Indeed it is necessary in these unbelieving days in
which we live, when men are going away from Christ,
when sin is thought nothing of, when the spiritual life
IS stifled and the supernatural in no way grasped, that
we Catholics should make sure that our homes, like cool
oases in the arid desert, shall be filled with the pure air
of Catholic faith and Catholic reverence and Catholic
love, and watered with refreshing dews of grace that
prayer and piety will assuredly bring down from on
high.”

Finally, it is principally the lack of this Catholic



THE CATHOLIC FAITH78

atmosphere in mixed marriages that causes
them to be

so dangerous and even, in the majority
of cases, so fatal

to the faith of the Catholics who contract
them, and of

their offspring. It seldom happens
that a Catholic,

well-grounded in the faith and in its practice,
marries

a non-Catholic. Noble but rare
are some exceptions,

and such exceptions are to be found
chiefly in places

where the Catholics are few. Experience
shows that a

mixed marriage usually argues in the
Catholic the lack

of a fervent faith. How can a Catholic, who is
inti-

mately penetrated by the truth that they
who will not

hear the Church are no better than the
heathens and

publicans and can have no share in the
heavenly king-

dom, so unite himself or herself with
such a one, that,

according to the Saviour’s words, the two
are made one

and inseparable? Such Catholics show a
weak faith

and even religious indifference, as if
“

it mattered not

what a man believes, provided only he
be honest.

Such a disposition before marriage
already indicates

how great a risk the faith of such a
Catholic runs in a

mixed marriage. Accurate statistics
prove that the

majority of such Catholics, sooner
or later, lose their

faith, and the greater number of
children issued from

such marriages become either
heretics or unbelievers.

We need not wonder that the Catholic Church
‘ab-

hors” such marriages and only
regretfully and reluc-

tantly grants the permission to
contract them, and this

only for serious reasons, as
our divine Saviour says



LOSS OF THE CATHOLIC FAITH 79

concerning the Mosaic indulgence regarding divorce

among the Israelites, “ on account of the hardness of
their heart” (Mat. 19, 8).

If those Catholics who, through some worldly motive
or interest, give up or endanger their faith, could only

realize how low they fall even in the estimation of
respectable and fair-minded non-Catholics, whenever

they are ashamed of their holy religion and its obliga-
tions or give it up altogether, they would find therein an
incentive to greater fidelity.

What is it to lose the Catholic faith? “ It is,” says
an eloquent lecturer, “to fling back in the face of
Almighty God the greatest and most valuable gift He
can bestow on man. It is to spurn the Sacraments

which God gave us as means of salvation. It is to
deny Jesus Christ before men, and to have Him deny us
before His Father who is in heaven. It is to sell for a
filthy mess of the world’s pottage the precious inheri-
tance of our ancestors, which the apostles preached,
for which countless heroes have fought and bled, for
which millions of martyrs suffered and died, and with-
out which there would not be a Christian on earth or a
saint in heaven. The loss of the Catholic faith means
the loss of God as our Father; the loss of the Son of
God as our Brother; the loss of the Holy Ghost as our
Guide and Comforter; the loss of the Blessed Virgin
as our Mother; the loss of the saints in heaven as our
kinsfolk and protectors, and the loss of all right and.



8o THE CATHOLIC FAITH

cbim to the endless bliss of heaven. And what do we

barter our blessed faith for? In order to turn our

souls over to the service of Satan, to be his during
life,

and his in an eternity of woe ! What Catholic will not

pause and shudder ere he plunges into such a pitfall !
”

HOW TO PRESERVE AND INCREASE
OUR FAITH

The most necessary and effectual means of preserv-

ing and increasing our faith is to practise it faithfully,

to perform faithfully the works it prescribes,
for, says

St. James (i, 20), “faith without works is
dead.”

Faith, being a virtue, implies a habit. A habit is

formed and strengthened by repeated acts. The more

carefully and frequently these acts are performed
the

more deeply rooted the habit becomes and the
greater

the facility of performing them, until they at
last are

produced almost naturally and spontaneously, and
the

habit becomes a kind of necessity, a second
nature.

This holds good for all kinds of habit, for bad habits,
or

vices, as well as for good habits, or virtues.
Hence

our faith ought to be so deeply rooted in us as
to become

a second nature to us in its practice, and
should be as

easy and as natural to us as drawing breath.
To attain

this most desirable end, it behooves us to
perform as



HOW TO PRESERVE OUR FAITH 8i

carefully and frequently as possible the various prac-

tices of our faith.

The first among the practices of our faith is prayer.

Prayer is of a twofold necessity to us ; first, as a practi-

cal exercise of our faith; and secondly, as a means of

obtaining the indispensable divine assistance for its

preservation and increase. We cannot practise any of
the supernatural virtues without the help of divine

grace, nor can we without it perform anything deserv-

ing a supernatural or heavenly reward. Prayer is the

ordinary and efficacious means of obtaining divine

grace. “ Amen, amen I say unto you, if you ask the

Father anything in My name. He will give it to you.
. . . Ask, and you shall receive” (John i6, 23, 26).

Prayer is, moreover, an exercise of faith, for we need

faith in order to pray to God. Hence the oftener and

the more earnestly we pray, the stronger and firmer our

faith becomes, both on account of the repeated acts of

faith we make by praying, and on account of God’s as-

sistance to those who pray. Let us often, in our

prayers, thank God for having called us to the true

faith out of His pure bounty, without any merit of ours,

and beseech Him in the words of the apostles : “ Lord,

increase our faith” (Luke 17, 5). What contributes

very much to the preservation and increase of faith in a

family is the practice of saying night prayers together.

Hence every night at a stated hour let all the members



82 THE CATHOLIC FAITH

of the family assemble together before a little altar, or

before a crucifix or a picture of the Blessed Virgin,

under the direction of the father, for night prayers and

the examination of conscience. Moreover, let us, when

we assist at Holy Mass or receive Holy Communion,

earnestly beseech God to impart to us a lively faith, and

rather to let us die than permit that we should ever lose

or even endanger our faith.

Moreover, to preserve and increase our faith it be-

hooves us constantly to fulfil the obligations it imposes.

These are chiefly: to hear Mass on Sundays and Holy-

days of obligations, to abstain from flesh meats and to

fast on the days prescribed, to confess our sins, at the

very least once a year, to receive worthily Holy Com-

munion within the Easter time, and to contribute ac-

cording to our means to the support of the church and

of our pastor. This is the very least that is required of

us. Those Catholics who wish to acquire the lively

faith which can surely secure them against danger to

their salvation, will do a great deal more than this.

For instance, they will, like all fervent Catholics, en-

deavor daily to assist devoutly at holy Mass, to be pres-

ent at all the public services in their parish church, and

to receive holy Communion, if not daily as the Church

desires, at least weekly or monthly. Experience proves

that these pious practices are among the most powerful

means of preserving and increasing the faith. Further-

more, generosity in contributing to the support of the



HOW TO PRESERVE OUR FAITH 83

parish church, of its pastor and all its good works, is

a proof of one’s interest in and attachment to his holy

faith; but the want of such generosity, especially in

those who abound in earthly goods, is a proof of greater

attachment to earthly goods than to the faith.

Another very powerful means of preserving and in-

creasing one’s faith consists in assisting regularly at the

sermons and instructions, and in frequently reading

Catholic books, papers and periodicals. Even learned

theologians are liable to forget their theology unless

they review it from time to time. How much more is
a layman, who has probably never thoroughly learned

the doctrines of faith, apt to forget them, unless he

frequently refreshes his memory by hearing the Word

of God and by pious reading? If he neglects these

practices, he will not only gradually forget the truths of

faith, but also run the risk of imperceptibly losing his

faith altogether. Those who are passionately fond of

light reading, and read without discrimination all that

comes in their way, are usually averse to hearing the

Word of God and to pious reading, and thus greatly

endanger their faith. Let us, then, resolve to hear the

Word of God every Sunday and Holyday, and to read,

especially on those days. Catholic books and Catholic

papers, which contain a large amount of necessary in-

formation concerning the truths of faith and the events

in the Church throughout the world, in which every

true Catholic should take a deep interest.



84 THE CATHOLIC FAITH

We cannot long preserve the faith unless we shun
bad company, that is, unbelievers and scoffers at re-

ligion, and avoid unnecessary or too intimate inter-

course with non-Catholics, and with bad Catholics

whose conduct is not exemplary. Intimate companion-

ship with such will, sooner or later, lead us astray from

the faith and its practice, arid contaminate us with the

accursed spirit of religious indifference. If you feel

called to the state of matrimony, choose as your partner

in life only one who has and practises the true faith.

It is usually a great misfortune to wed a non-Catholic

or a bad Catholic. Beware of joining secret societies.

Do not join societies that may, sooner or later, prove

dangerous to your faith or lead you astray. Bear in

mind that the Church approves only Catholic societies,

that is, such societies as are subject to the laws and

regulations of the Church. Such societies and pious

Sodalities and Confraternities, as the League of the

Sacred Heart, the Holy Name, are very effectual means

of keeping Catholics true to their holy faith. Before

joining secular societies, it would be well previously to

consult your confessor or your pastor, so that you may

keep from joining such as may prove very dangerous to

your faith. In all these matters be guided by the

Church, for there can be no salvation for him who will

not hear the Church (Matt. i8, 17).

Finally, a sure means of preserving and increasing

your faith is a pure life. Observe chastity according



HOW TO PRESERVE OUR FAITH 85

to your state of life, and your faith will be secure, be-

cause experience teaches that, so long as you remain

pure, nothing will ever be able to induce you to give up

the practice of your faith. But from the moment you

begin to gratify your inordinate passions, you will, in

order to quiet remorse, begin to doubt, first, the eternity

of hell, which is the due punishment of the vice of lust,

and next the very existence of hell, and will continue

your doubts until you will end by losing your faith

altogether. Shun, therefore, carefully all that deserves

eternal punishment, and you shall never have any cause

to fear hell or doubt its existence. Be, therefore, pure

in body and soul, and your faith and your salvation are

secure, for, says our divine Saviour, “ blessed are the

pure of heart, for they shall see God ” (Matt. 5, 8).
We must at once resist all temptations against faith.

Some are tempted against faith through their own
fault, because they have either read or wilfully listened

to matters opposed to faith. Such reading, such listen-

ing is sinful and exceedingly dangerous, and must,

therefore, be avoided. Other temptations against faith

are not wilful in themselves and may occur to holy per-
sons, and even great saints have been troubled with

them. When such temptations come to us, we must
not reason with them to overcome them, but should

reject them at once as we should do with temptations
to impurity. It would be well, then, to make acts of
faith, saying, for instance, “ O, my God, I firmly believe



86 THE CATHOLIC FAITH

all that the holy Catholic Church believes, because Thou

hast revealed it, who canst neither deceive nor be de-

ceived.” “Whenever doubts and temptations against

faith present themselves,” says St. Alphonsus,
“ let us

not argue, but simply renew the act of faith, and have

recourse to prayer.”

We are obliged openly to profess our faith by word

and deed, whenever the honor of God or our neighbor's

edification requires it. We ought not to be afraid to

defend our holy religion whenever it is assailed in our

presence. But in doing so we should avoid entering

into a wordy or personal controversy. The immense

majority of those who attack the Church and her faith

and clergy, do so, not so much out of malice, but rather

out of ignorance and prejudice, for they know little or

nothing of the Catholic religion. To them we should

calmly and kindly expose or explain the doctrines of the

Catholic Church, if they are willing to hear us;
but we

should shun all religious disputes, for they
usually

arouse bitter feelings on both sides. In explaining

Catholic doctrines and condemning the opposite errors,

we should always be all charity and gentleness toward

those who are in error. Let us, moreover, never lose

sight of the fact that the most persuasive argument
in

favor of the truth of our holy religion is our
good

example, that is, a conscientious observance of the
com-

mandments of God and of the precepts of the Church.

Our faith is our greatest treasure on earth, and we



HOW TO PRESERVE OUR FAITH 87

cannot too greatly prize it. Let us daily thank God on
our knees for this inestimable gift, which He has
vouchsafed to confer on us without any merit on our
part, in preference to so many of our fellow-men who
are in religious error and darkness. We should be
ready, for its sake, to suffer and die for our faith, as
the martyrs did. But as we shall not likely be called
upon to undergo martyrdom for its sake, let us at least
live our faith, that is, practise it faithfully during our
whole life.

The lighted candle that was given us at baptism is the
emblem of our faith. Happy shall we be if we carry
it lighted as bur guide and protection throughout the
storms of life until the hour of our death, when it will
again be placed lighted in our hands as an emblem of
our hope in that terrible hour of obtaining, through the
merits of Jesus Christ, our divine Saviour, and the
intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the mercy of
God and the eternal crown due to the works of faith.
May we then be all able to say with St. Paul : “ I have
fought the good fight

;
I have finished my course

;
I have

kept the faith
;
as to the rest, there is laid up for me a

crown of justice, which the Lord, the just Judge, will
render to me ” (2 Tim. 4, 7, 8).

PRAYER OF A FAITHFUL CATHOLIC

O, my God, I thank Thee from my inmost heart for
the inestimable gift of faith bestowed on me without



88 THE CATHOLIC FAITH

any merit or claim on my part, in preference to so many

others far more deserving of it than myself. Grant

me, O, Lord, an increase of faith, and enable me to

keep faithfully all its obligations until death. O, Mary,

my dear Mother, obtain for me a lively faith and the

grace to practise it all the days of my life. Amen.

A FEW SUGGESTIONS TO NON-CATHOLICS
WHO ARE SINCERELY SEEKING TO
FIND THE TRUE CHURCH.

1. Salvation, according to the words our divine

Saviour addressed to His apostles when sending them

to preach the Gospel to all nations, is possible only to

those who believe what the apostles preached, and have

become members of the Church they founded :
“ Go-

ing, therefore, teach ye all nations, baptizing them in

the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the

Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all things what-

soever I have commanded you” (Mat. 28, 19, 20).

“ He that believeth and is baptized, shall be saved, but

he that believeth not shall be condemned ” (Mark

16, 16).

2. Non-Catholics who have doubts as to whether

they belong to the Church of Jesus Christ, are bound in

conscience to clear their doubts on this all-important

matter of their eternal salvation, for, says our divine



SUGGESTIONS TO NON-CATHOLICS 89

Saviour, “ What doth it profit a man, if he gain the
whole world, and suffer the loss of his soul? Or what
shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Mat.
16, 26). A man is, therefore, bound to make every,
sacrifice to secure the salvation of his immortal soul,

for this is the only end for which God has created him,
and if his soul is lost, all is lost, and its loss can never
be repaired.

3. In your search after the True Church, you should
not overlook the claims of the Catholic Church. First,

the Catholic Church alone can trace her origin and
existence to the time of Jesus Christ and His apostles,
as history clearly proves. There never was any other
church prior to her, nor contemporary with her during

the life-time of the apostles. This, in itself, is a most
sure proof that she was founded by Christ and His
apostles and now is, therefore, and always has been the
True Church, for Jesus Christ expressly declared : “ I
say to thee that thou art Peter (a rock), and on this
rock I will build My Church, and the gates (powers)
of hell shall not prevail against it ” (Mat. 16, 18) . The
Catholic Church, once the true Church, must always
remain the True Church, for Jesus, about to ascend to
heaven, said in the clearest terms : “ Behold I am with
you all days, even to the consummation of the world

”

(Mat. 28, 20). It were blasphemy to assert that Jesus

Christ ever forsook His Church.

In the next place, the Catholic Church is indisputably



go THE CATHOLIC FAITH

alone truly Catholic, for she has preached to all na-

tions, has continued to exist from the time of Christ

until now, is spread throughout the whole world and is

found in every country, in every clime. All other

churches have been founded since the time of the

apostles by men without divine mission, contrary to the

requirements laid down by St. Paul : How shall they

preach, unless they be sent?” (Rom. 10.15). The

other churches, moreover, are not catholic, but only

local churches and restricted to a few countries.

Thirdly, it was the Catholic Church that has pre-

served for us and given us the Holy Scriptures of the

Old Testament, and it was for her members alone and

their wants that the apostles, by divine inspiration,

wrote the books of the New Testament, for the only

Christians then living were the Catholics. The

Protestants appeared on earth only about fifteen hun-

dred years later. The Scriptures belong to the Catholic

Church, and she alone has the power and the competent

knowledge to interpret them in the sense the Almighty

Himself attaches to them, for she alone is inspired and

directed by the Holy Ghost, the Spirit of Truth, as our

Saviour promised (John 14, 17).

Moreover, the doctrines of Jesus, being divinely re-

vealed to us by Him, are true, and therefore, unchange-

able, for truth never changes. The Catholic Church

alone is unchangeable in her doctrines, in her faith.

She now teaches the identical doctrines she taught in



SUGGESTIONS TO NON-CATHOLICS 91

the apostolic age and has taught ever since. All the

other churches have, from their very beginning, been

continually changing their creeds and gradually drop-

ping therefrom the truly Christian doctrines which they

first retained, so that now the majority of them are

little better than mere deists, for they possess hardly

any distinct Christian doctrines.

In the next place, the Catholic Church alone leads

men to holiness of life by her faith, her precepts and

the means of salvation and perfection she affords. All

the saints that have lived since Christ have been her

faithful members. All who do her bidding, save and

sanctify themselves. All Catholics who go astray and

lead a bad life, do so because they act in opposition to

her teaching, to her commandments and neglect to use

the means of salvation she offers them. Outside her

pale, there are, indeed, good and virtuous persons, but

no really holy persons, for their virtues are only natural

virtues, like those of some of the ancient pagans, be-

cause those virtues are not supernatural, that is, are not

founded on the true faith.

Furthermore, prayer is absolutely necessary to ena-

ble you to clear your doubts, to discover which is the

True Church of Christ and to impart to you the

strength and courage to embrace the truth, however

great and painful the sacrifices this step may demand

of you. If we pray earnestly and sincerely, we are

sure of being heard, for Jesus has solemnly promised



92 THE CATHOLIC FAITH

it: “Amen, amen I say unto you, if you ask the

Father anything in My name. He will give it to you
”

(John 1 6, 23). “I say unto you, Ask and it shall be

given you, seek and you shall -find, knock and it shall

be opened to you
;
for every one that asketh, receiveth,

and he that seeketh, findeth, and to him that knocketh,

it shall be opened” (Luke ii, 9, 10). Pray, there-

fore, earnestly, with confidence and perseverance, and

God will grant you the light necessary to enable you

to find the truth. And since your object in seeking the

truth is not merely to know it, but also to profit by

it and secure your salvation by embracing the true

Church and living as her faithful members, your prayer

should include the request that God may also strengthen

you to make all the sacrifices necessary to give up

your previous errors and become true members of the

Church of Christ, and thus secure your salvation.

Finally, procure a Catholic Catechism and some other

Catholic books, such as the New Mission Book; read

and study their contents and have recourse to some

priest for explanations and instructions, and you will

be astonished how reasonable, good and holy the doc-

trines of the Catholic Church are, and how well

adapted to man’s wants and aspirations

!

Address daily your prayers, first, to the Holy Ghost:

O Holy Spirit, Spirit of Truth, deign to enlighten,

direct and guide me in seeking for the True Church,

and strengthen me that I may make every sacrifice



SUGGESTIONS TO NON-CATHOLICS 93

necessary to embrace her faith and live up to its re-

quirements, so that I may thereby secure my salvation.

Next, implore our divine Saviour as follows:

Lord Jesus Christ, true God and true man, who didst

condescend to shed all Thy blood and die on the cross

for my salvation, deign to give me the grace to find

the True Church which Thou hast founded, out of

which there is no salvation, so that I may become

united to Thee as her child and thus deserve to be ad-

mitted to praise and love Thee forever in heaven.

Lastly, have recourse to her whom the angel Gabriel,

sent by God, greeted as “ full of grace, as blessed

among women,” whom St. Elizabeth “ inspired by the

Holy Ghost ” called “ the Mother of my Lord ” (God),

who was foretold as “ the virgin ” destined “ to con-

ceive and bring forth God with us,” whose Son, the

angel Gabriel declared “shall be called the Son of

the Most High” (Luke i), and who herself prophe-

sied that thenceforth “ all generations shall call me

blessed,” and whom all generations have called and

known and prayed to as “ the Blessed Virgin Mary

you will do well daily to repeat to her this little prayer

:

“ O Blessed Virgin Mary, whom the Son of God
called by the tender name of ‘ Mother,’ and who

alone among creatures could address Him as ‘my
Son and God,’ and for whose sake our divine Saviour

anticipated the time of miracles and wrought His first

miracle, O Mary, pray for me, a poor sinner who am



94 THE CATHOLIC FAITH

in search of the True Church of thy divine Son, that

I may be enabled to find His True Church and become

one of her faithful members, and thus secure my eter-

nab salvation.”