WHAT THE, CATHOLIC CHURCH CAN DO FOR YOU Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2016 https://archive.org/details/whatcatholicchurOOhurl Hlhat the [otholii Churih Con Do For Vou! By - REV. WILFRED G. HURLEY. C.S.P. THE PAULIST PRESS 401 West 59th Street New York 19, N. Y. Nihil Obstat: ASTBUt J. SCAKLAK, S.T.D., Censor Librorum. Imprimatur: Fkancis J. Spellman, D.D., Archbishop of New York. New York, December 20, 1945. Copyright, 1945, by The Missionary Society of St. Paul the Apostle in the State of New York PEINTEO AND PUBLISHED ZM THE V. 1. A. BY THE PAVLIST PRESS, MEW YORK 19. V. Y. ^on, *^ouf What can the Catholic Church do for you? This is a practical world, you say. That is very true! Hence you ask; What can the Catholic Church do for you! I know you well, my friends; you who ask this question. Many a time I have stood at the street corner and watched your faces as you passed. In your faces I have seen happiness and grief. I have seen fear and courage. I have seen hope and despair. I have seen love and hate. I have seen your eyes. Eyes that are always dark, brooding, and restless. In your faces I have seen deep lines of worry. Lines which show joyless and impatient lives. In your faces, oftentimes I have seen the unmistakable marks of sin. In some faces, it is true, only the marks of the lesser sins; such as envy, jealousy, selfishness. But in others 3 4 What the Catholic Church Can Do For Youl unfortunately, I have seen the stamp of the greater sins; sins such as greed, adultery, and drunkenness. In others, while there were no marks of sin, yet there could be plainly seen, cynicism, carelessness and indifference. Your faces tell the story of your lives only too well. Lives restless and impatient, with heart and mind in constant turmoil! Lives empty, wasted, purposeless and drab. Lives which are just a gray succession of gray days. Why? Because you are searching. Searching for something that you have never known. Or something which once you had, which now is lost. What do you seek? I know what it is, as well as you do. You seek happiness. True happiness! Joy! Con- tentment! Now then, you ask: What can the Catholic Church do for you? The answer is that in the Catholic Church and in the Catholic Church alone can you find that which you seek. What the Catholic Church Can Do For You! 5 Because in the Catholic Church and the Catholic Church alone, can you find the one thing above all else that you have wanted. This true, deep, sincere, real happiness. Why is this so? Because you are a human being. The crown- ing achievement of all creation on earth. Cre- ated only a little lower than the angels. The living child of the Living God! Now these are not merely high-sounding phrases. They make the true, basic beginning of any worthwhile life. They are of the most vital importance to you, if you would live a joyous, happy and radiant life. A life in ac- cord with your great dignity and worth. A life fitting your priceless heritage and eternal destiny. A life, as Christ commanded: *Tn the world but not of it.” For probably one of the most crushing and ^ cramping beliefs of the world today, is the theory of evolution, as it is understood by the mass of the people. That man is just the first or second or third, or at least some sort of a cousin to the ape or gorilla. 6 What the Catholic Church Can Do For You! But you say you never really believed that! Perhaps, you never did. But it is a psycho- logical fact, pretty generally recognized, that whether you like it or not, you are constantly being influenced by the environment in which you live. And living among people who are impreg- nated with this backwash of rejected scientific theories; who take a great deal of their scien- tific ‘‘erudition” from the supplement of the Sunday newspapers; you may be imbued far more than you realize with this totally wrong misconception of what evolution really means. Hence, the first thing the Catholic Church will do for you is to destroy this half-belief of yours, and give you the true status and dignity of a human being. For the Catholic Church gives you the truths of life. And the first fundamental ^ truth is: that you have been created by an Almighty, Eternal, Supreme Being, 'Whom we call “God.” That He has created you with body and soul. But here is the point of it all. Whaf the Catholic Church Can Do For You! 7 Your soul is the real **You!” Hence the real "you” is a pure, ageless and immortal spiritual being. For your soul is made to the image and hkeness of God. God Himself has re- vealed this. Thus you were not created for this world alone. For the world, and the things of the world, pass away. You know this only too well. Time and time again you have seen how all things around you come into existence, last for a certain time, become old and decrepit, and finally cease to be. But your soul; whether happy or unhappy, with God, or banished from Him forever, loved by God, or an object of His wrath, your soul must live on and on forever. For your soul is immortal. Your soul was created not for time but for eternity. God has revealed this also. And that is the secret of your restlessness and your impatience. Why pleasures grow boresome. Why nothing satisfies that inner craving. Because you were created for eternal joy and happiness. And because you are, what 8 What the Catholic Church Can Do For Youl you are, only God and the things of God can suffice. This is nothing new. Wise men of all ages have realized this truth. Readily admitted it. For instance St. Augustine fifteen hundred years ago cried out: "Our hearts were made for Thee, O God, And restless must they be. Until, O God, this grace accord Until they rest in Thee.” And the Catholic Church brings you to God —and brings God and the things of God to you. Surely once you know the truth about your- self, and realize your true worth and dignity, you will never be the same person again. Surely you never can be the same person again, once you heed the Eternal Father’s reve- lation of the dignity and destiny that are yours. Just think what it means. You are above all creation as far as Heaven is above the earth. You alone have the ability to reason, to think, to will. To know what is good and what is evil. To weigh and to choose which you would rather have for yourself. What the Catholic Church Can Do For You! 9 Thus you have been created but a little lower than the angels. You are a living child of the Living God. You are an heir to the Kingdom of Heaven. I say all this? No! Not I! These are the eternal words of the Infinite God of Truth. Furthermore He has promised if you but live up to your birthright; live decently, right- eously and honestly; then when life is done, there awaits you an eternity of endless joy, su- preme happiness, incomparable contentment. A Heaven in which, as God inspired St. Paul to write: **Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, nor hath it even entered into the heart of man what things God has prepared for them that love Him” ( 1 Cor. ii. 9 ) . Looking at it in the light of truth and in- telligence, my friends, have you not been like the Prodigal Son of old? Have you not been wallowing in the filth and the mire and the muck of the world? Eating the husks of swine. Throwing away your priceless herit- 10 What the Catholic Church Can Do For Youl age. Betraying your eternal birthright. But above all, endangering your eternal destiny. To speak plainly, have you not been play- ing the part of the fool! The first thing the Catholic Church can do for you is to come with the voice of your God- given intelligence, reason, and common sense and tell you frankly, fearlessly: “Rise up and return to your Father.” Live up to your God-given birthright! Be worthy of your eternal destiny! Make Your Life Worthwhile The second thing the Catholic Church can do for you is to make your life worthwhile. How can it do this? By making you realize your purpose in life. Now perhaps all along you have had the wrong ideas. Perhaps you have been taking the wrong advice. Advice from men who have made complete failures of their own years. Disgruntled, pitiable imknowns. Yet who have the diabolical temerity to counsel you to follow in their footsteps. What the Catholic Church Can Do For You! I ! Broken-down idlers, wasters, would-be edu- cators, egotistical nobodies. Their empty lives belying every word they utter. You want the truth! Then let the Catholic Church gently, dis- passionately, yet authoritatively give it to you. The whole philosophy of a worthwhile life is completely, thoroughly, and truthfully summed up in the words of Christ, Himself: '‘Whoever seeketh his own life shall lose it.” This is the epitaph of every life given to selfishness and indulgence. In other words; if you forget God and live only for your own smug self- satisfaction and self-gratification, you cease to live. You only exist. The present wide- spread sense of the futility of life did not merely happen. It was the direct effect of a cause. And the cause? Selfishness, and sen- suality. You find life drab, gray, inane, and deaden- ing. You feel yourself stale and useless. Then what has been the story of your life? For what have you really lived your life? How have you spent your time? 12 What the Catholic Church Can Do For Youl Perhaps it was in pursuit of pleasure. Pleasures which became less satisfying and more boring as they increased in number. It was inevitable. When pleasure is made the main object in life, it soon becomes boring and tiresome. Or was it money? Riches are means for an end. But when they are made the main purpose of life, as the days go by and we re- view the past, we see we have thrown away our priceless heritage for a mess of pottage. Or perhaps there was a life of idleness. But what is more monotonous and disgusting than to do nothing? Anyone who has been thrown into a situation where he had nothing to do but **kill time” looks back on the experience with deepest repulsion. Was it a life of sin? Nature will take care of you in the end. You cannot cheat nature. For nature is the hand of God. And some day that hand will strike. Swiftly, relentlessly, disastrously. Na- ture always pays its debts. Your sin will al- ways find you out. Your sin will always be- What the Catholic Church Can Do For You! 13 tray you. It has never happened any differ- ently. It never will. Look at your life, calmly and honestly, in the light of your own observations and experi- ences. A life of selfishness, a life of indul- gence, and a life which is lived for one’s self alone, is about as lost, meaningless and futile an existence that can be imagined. It can be summed up in one word—a word with a world of bitterness, regret and remorse—unhappi- ness. Miserable unhappiness. Christ also gives the answer: **He who loses his life for My sake shall find it.” The truth of this is only too obvious! There is one man you never hear moaning about his unhappy life. There is one group of people who have happiness written in every fiber of their being. Of whom do I speak? Those who are living as God wants them to live. In the love of God. In the love of their neighbor. They are living up to their priceless heritage. They are living as the liv- ing children of the Living God should live. 14 What the Catholic Church Can Do For Youl They are living lives which have eternal significance in every moment of the day. Lives of usefulness. Lives that count. Lives which are complete. Lives filled to overflowing with contentment and happiness. They have the same sorrows, sufferings, dif- ficulties and obstacles to overcome as you. They have the same human qualities and de- fects as you. What then makes their lives shine as the sun? What makes them supremely happy? What makes their lives seem so glorious, while your life is drab, futile, and unhappy? The answer is their Catholic religion. This is not one man’s opinion. Even the cynical, envious world admits the truth. Just take one single example! One with which you are all familiar. You all know of Damien of Molokai. A man afflicted with leprosy. A disease that rendered him hideous and repulsive from a human stand- point. A life of loneliness on a forsaken isle. Yet even the most hardened libertine bows his head in respect at the mention of his name. What the Catholic Church Can Do For You! 15 Yet Damien was only a man. But, remember this, a man who loved his God and his fellow men. A man who made his life worthwhile. One moment of his life meant more to the world than all your wasted years. The infamous of the world, the scheming capitahsts, the strutting, shouting dictators, the notorious spenders and playboys, all pass from this world with the contempt and jeers and scorn which they deserve. But the valiant of God, men and women whose aim in Ufe is not how much, but how good a Ufe they can live, have written their names in gold on the scroll of eternity. The everlasting reward is theirs, besides the inevitable happiness, con- tentment, joy and peace which is theirs in this life. You are no exception. That is the only way to make Hfe worthwhile. And it is this way the CathoUc Church will teach you. And along this way it will guide you, aid you, and strengthen you. That is what the Catholic Church can do for you if you will only give it a chance. 16 What the Catholic Church Can Do For Youl Joy and Happiness The third thing the Catholic Church can do for you is to bring you joy and happiness. If you have any doubt about this, all you have to do is to take a look at those joyful, happy people who comprise the vast majority of church-going Catholics. To these Cath- olics their religion is the most priceless pos- session. Their greatest joy in life. Watch these faithful Catholics some Sun- day morning. It may be in the early morn- ing hours as they hasten to give God their hour of worship before they begin their day of recreation. Someone has said: **There is but one music that certainly pierces the high- est heavens to the very heart of God. It is the happy sound of the eager footsteps of His faithful children as they march along in the early hours to worship Him at Holy Mass.” Or it may be the middle of the forenoon as they accompany their children to the mid- morning Masses. Or perhajxd it is at the hour of high noon. They have worked or played late on Saturday What the Catholic Church Can Do For You! 17 evening. Sunday may be their only morning to sleep in. Holy Mother the Church, solicit- ous for their welfare, advances the hour of Mass even to this late hour. It is part of the tempo of modern times. It is the envy and despair of those who do not understand. This joyful devotion and happy loyalty of Catholic people. Thus they will not miss Mass! And so on Sunday morning they go forth to church. A mighty army of peace, happiness and prayer. Marching valiantly and gloriously. Why? It is because they love God! Really love Him! Because they want to thank Him! Render Him His homage due. Seek from Him His love, protection, and guidance; in the week to come. Watch these happy souls. See how every day, every hour, every moment of their lives is filled with happiness and contentment. See 18 What the Catholic Church Can Do For Youl how their religion really does bring them peace and joy. See how it inspires and uplifts them. But you cannot understand it? Then perhaps you have listened too much and too long to those disgruntled and dissatis- fied souls. Souls filled with an egotism and pride be- yond belief. Whose only worship is the worship of their own dull, stale, stolid, unchanging selves. Whose only wish and desire is to continue on in their dreary rut of cynicism, irritable- ness, and contempt. This routine is their life. They want no other. They are perfectly com- placent in their brutish laziness and cowardice. Men and women who have completely failed God, life, and themselves. And so to silence their finer instincts they sometimes cry out that the Catholic Religion is based on fear. Or they frankly and cynical- ly whine that it is too severe, too much of a burden. What the Catholic Church Can Do For You! 19 Now in charity to them, perhaps they know not what they reject. Or perhaps they really do have a completely false idea of what the Cathohc Religion is, in its true reality. For it certainly is not based on fear. Nei- ther is it too severe, or too much of a burden. To the contrary, in the life of the Catholic, there is a Hghtening or discarding of all bur- dens, wherein God, Himself, steps in to take the load from our shoulders. To refresh us. To strengthen us. To bring joy and happiness and peace into our Hves. To be a light to us in the dark. To be a refuge and consolation in our days of strife and sorrow. Just a lot of pretty words? Not at all! No truer, more momentous words were ever uttered; no words filled with deeper significance were ever spoken; than those words of that Divine invitation from God, Himself: **Come to Me, ye who are heavy laden, and I will refresh you.” For God is no tyrant! God is not a cruel despot! Watching you with scourge in hand. 20 What the Catholic Church Can Do For Youl ready to strike mercilessly for the slightest step out of line. Such a conception of God is vicious and diabolical. For when they asked Christ how they should pray, did He not say: **When you pray, pray thusly: ‘Our Father, Who art in Heaven.* *’ For God is your loving Father. Loving you with a love that has the length and depth and breadth of eternity itself. Watching over you? Yes! But only to protect you from yourself. To save you from your own faults and foolishnesses. Eager and anxious to approve and reward your every good thought, word, or deed. Watching lest the slightest deed be forgotten or unrewarded. “Whoever shall Hft a straw in My name or give a cup of water, shall not lose his re- ward.” But does not Scripture imply that God is to be feared? Does not Scripture say, plainly, that “The fear of God is the beginning of wis- dom”? What the Catholic Church Can Do For You! 21 It certainly does! But what is meant by these words? The meaning is this—and only this—you must fear anything and everything that might cause you to lose God forever. You should dread even those faults that might cause a lessening of God’s love for you. What is wrong about that? Is it not, rather, an incentive to that happi- ness and peace and joy that can come only from virtuous living. And in the last and final analysis virtuous Hving is ^ simply wise living. For virtue is wisdom. '*Based on Fear?” Such an idea is not only vicious and untrue. It is silly, puerile, idiotic! The Catholic religion, God’s true reUgion, is based firmly, definitely, absolutely, on confi- dence and trust and faith in the infinitely good God. Hence it is, that in the Catholic ReHgion you find a happiness, joy and peace that is un- mistakable. 22 What the Catholic Church Can Do For Youl Not a Pollyanna type of inanity and drivel. But a real, sincere peace and joy that makes life worth living. That brings to us, at the close of the day, a contentment and happiness beyond compare. We face, calmly and quietly, unafraid and confident, any situation that may arise. All difficulties we overcome. All obstacles we override. Because we remember St. John’s cry: **God is Love.” Because in our innermost being there is that sane conviction—the con- viction based on God’s own words! *T have loved you with an everlasting love.” How then, with this sane conviction, cauld a Catholic be anything else but joyful and happy in this glorious faith. Like Pippa in Browning’s tale we know: **God’s in His Heaven, All’s right with the world.” Evil exists. And well we know it. But we also know that somehow or other, out of this evil, God will bring good. What the Catholic Church Can Do For Youl 23 **All things will pass, God alone endureth.” Should suffering come, then with St. Paul we can say that we also know that the suffer- ings of this time are not worthy to be com- pared with the glory that is to come. True it is. Catholics are not different from other men and women who live in this world. We are only too well aware that all men must **be tried as it were by fire.” Sickness, suffering, pain, disease, man’s inhumanity to man, and all the other ills and evils of time do not pass us over in their visitation. But we stand fast and firm because we know well the truths of that little bookmark of St. Theresa. **Let nothing trouble thee. Let nothing frighten thee. All things pass away. God never changes. Patience obtains all things. Nothing is wanting to you who possess God God alone suffices.” 24 What the Catholic Church Can Do For Youl Furthermore, we know well the Holy Word of God in the Gospel of St. John. There St. John calmly and dispassionately sums up the world, its joys and its sorrows. St. John does not rave or rant about it. But only gently reminds us. **The world passes away.” And the world does pass away. Silently. Quickly. And we pass with it. And with our passing also go our trials, our pleasures and our sorrows. For we have the faith! We have the reh- gion of God! We know that we are the liv- ing children of the Living God. We know that ours is an eternal destiny. In the days of old, down through the years, our forebears met the dungeon, fire and sword. They met lions in the arena. Diabolical and fiendish cruelty was oftentime their lot in life. In consecrated lives they met loneliness, sorrow and grief in far-off lands. But never for a moment were they without that joy and happiness and contentment that is the inevitable part of those who are “of What the Catholic Church Can Do For You! 25 God.” Never once did they lose that peace, that peace of God which the world cannot give and which neither can the world take away. Men may destroy our bodies, but they cannot touch our souls. So it is today. So it must be until the end of time. For three hundred years the Roman Empire ran red with the blood of those faith- ful to Christ and His Church. For three hun- dred years Mass was celebrated only in under- ground caves and caverns. In the days to come we may have to do the same thing over again. It is easily possible. But we are the living children of the Living God and we fear nothing on earth nor all the legions of Hell. Whether in open persecution or in silent, subtle viciousness. Men may take away from us our possessions, our homes, our loved ones. But they will never take away from us our faith. Nor the price- less possessions which faith brings to us. For joy, happiness, contentment, and peace are essentially integral parts of the Catholic reli- 26 What the Catholic Church Can Do For Youl gion. A smile upon his lips and happiness in his heart are the characteristic marks of the Catholic, faithful to his religion. For to be a Catholic is to make your life a glorious adventure. Every day in its passing brings you closer to your eternal destiny. Every hour brings you the opportunity to lay up for yourself eternal glory in Heaven. The accumulation of those heavenly riches which cannot be lost or be destroyed. Every temp- tation is but another means to prove yourself worthy of your priceless heritage, as a living child of the Living God. The evils of life are but instruments to you to acquire more virtues to adorn your soul through the endless ages. It is a frightful thing to live without God. For such an existence withers the mind and rots the soul. If you would really live, you must Uve a life that means something. A life that has a purpose. And the first requisite for such a life is God. Despite the glorious trappings of the pres- ent day, the dash and the glitter, the hurry and tinsel— human existence was never so What the Catholic Church Can Do For You! 27 colorless, so empty of individual purpose and adventure as it is today. The average individual unless he is endowed with some special privilege or talent lives very much a drab, humdrum life. Hence, the dissatisfaction. The irritable- ness, the contemptuous and cynical faces on every side. For this is not living. For hfe does not begin at the cradle and end at*the grave. Life begins when, and only when, you are interested, excited about it. And life ceases when that interest ceases. And, mark you well! Interest, life, and living, cease when you lose contact with the Eternal Life. When you mistake the means for the end. When you place your thoughts, your interest, your life in the passing things of this world. For then, as the world passes away, you are left without thought, without interest, with- out life. But with the Catholic Church this can never be. 28 What the Catholic Church Can Do For Youl For God never can, or will, fail you. It is you who must fail God. How? By your selfishness, laziness, cowardice and conceit. By your indifference and carelessness. For you live only if you keep yourself spir- itually alive. You live only when you have contact with the Eternal God. And the closer your contact, the more your joy, your happi- ness, your peace, and your contentment. Thus the Catholic Religion will make your life joyful and happy. Will make your every day beautiful. Will make your every hour precious. Life in the world which may be humdrum and monotonous for others perhaps, will be for you very different. For as Christ commanded, ^^you will live in the world but not of it.” You will be remembering always Christ’s injunction: ”Whosoever loses his life shall find it.” And losing your life in unselfish- ness, in charity, in virtue, in penance, in self- denial and mortification—you will really live. What the Catholic Church Can Do For You! 29 Live proudly, joyfully, gloriously, filled with soul-stirring happiness, as you go forward, day by day, towards your eternal destiny. What the Catholic Church Can Do FOR You! There is no more thrilHng truth in the world than the revelation of God that your soul is immortal. That you—the real **you” have been created in the image and hkeness of the Eternal Creator. That you are the Hving child of the Living God. That an eternal des- tiny awaits you. You want to make your Hfe worthwhile? You want really to live a life worthy of your immortal birthright and eternal destiny? You want that happiness, joy, peace and contentment that really make Life Worth Living? Only the Catholic Church can make your life hke this! Only the Catholic Church can make yeu realize, first of all, your sublime destiny as a 30 What the Catholic Church Can Do For Youl human being. That you are the child of the Almighty Eternal Father. That you are an heir of the Eungdom of Heaven, Only the Catholic Church can give you, with the authority of God Himself, the truths of life and death and eternity. Only the Catholic Church can make your life, a life worth living. A life of happiness. A life of contentment. A life of peace. A life in which you can do great things for the glory of God, for the salvation of your soul, and the souls of others. That is what the Catholic Church can do for you. Perhaps you are a Catholic. Through care- lessness, neglect, impatience, or some cause or another, you left the Church. Left your spir- itual home. Wandered far from your Heaven- ly Father. Realize how like you are to that unfortunate lad of whom Christ spoke in the parable of the Prodigal Son. Realize that you also are wasting yoxir life living on the husks of swine. That you also are degrading your What the Catholic Church Can Do For You! 31 glorious birthright. That you also are for- feiting your priceless heritage and eternal destiny. Resolve, even as the Prodigal Son of old: *T will arise, and will go to my Father, and say to Him; Father, I have sinned against Heaven, and before Thee.” And by the confession and forgiveness of your sins, take your rightful place again in the love and affection of your Eternal Father. The Almighty God Who loves you with a love that has the length, breadth and depth of eternity itself. In Holy Communion He will eagerly come to meet you. Hold you close to His heart. Impart to you His divine strength. Envelop you in His love. And again you will live, as you should live, an honored and beloved child of the eternal God, Whose own you are. Or it may be you are not a Catholic! But all this can be yours, too, if you desire. For it is God’s will. All that is necessary, is that you make it your will also. Simply speak to 32 What the Catholic Church Can Do For Youl any Catholic priest. Tell him what you wish. You will find him most kind, courteous and gracious. Most willing to assist and to aid. He will consider it a privilege to be of service to you. Why not try a little prayer to God for His guidance and help: ”0 God! Give me the light to see Thy truth And the strength to follow it.” You have made a beginning. Now onward in God’s name. And soon, all the happiness and joy, con- tentment and peace, which the Catholic Church brings to mankind, shall be yours. A life worthwhile! A life glorious! A life in which you really live! - And when this life is through, then an eternal destiny in Heaven. That is what the Catholic Church can do for you!