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THIS WE BELIEVE SERIES

of Discussion Club Texts

My Spirit
and

Mis Work

by REV. LEO J. THESE

CONFRATERNITY OF CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE

series

N. c.w.c.



A
V

O'-

i



THIS WE BELIEVE SERIES

of

Discussion Club Texts

Series 2

THE HOLY SPIRIT

AND HIS WORK

By REV. LEO
J.
TRESE

Confraternity of Christian Doctrine

N. C. W. C.

Order additional copies from

Confraternity Publications

508 Marshall St.

Paterson 3, N. J.



THE DISCUSSION CLUB

1. A religious discussion club is a group of six to twelve per-
sons who meet weekly to discuss the teachings and prac-

tices of the Church, to clarify and correlate religious infor-

mation in order to put religious truths into practice in daily

living.

2. Religious discussion clubs are promoted under the guidance

of the parish director, a priest who provides for the prepara-

tion of lay leaders and to whom questions that arise are sub-

mitted for decision.

3. The leader names a secretary whose duty it is to record ques-

tions on content or procedure that cannot be answered within

the group. Before the next meeting these questions are re-

ferred by the secretary to the priest director.

4. The leader asks members of the group to read in turn pas-

sages of the text. One member reads aloud while the rest

follow silently.

5. Discussion questions are answered in the text. They test

accuracy of knowledge and clarity of statement. Members

should be encouraged to ask additional questions. After each

section is read, the leader asks the group as a whole, or

members in turn, the questions listed under Discussion. If

one member is unable to answer, another may volunteer infor-

mation. Finally, the group considers the truths under discus-

sion in their application to local or personal circumstances.

6. Questions raised should be submitted to the group before the

leader attempts an answer. Unless all members agree that

they have been answered satisfactorily, questions are to be

submitted to the priest director.

7. Do not permit the group to spend too much time on a small

portion of the text or to go off on a tangent into unrelated

conversation. Avoid becoming absorbed in a controversy over

a question of minor importance. Discussion is not debate

or controversy. It is analysis expressed in one’s own words.

8. Note that the suggestions under My Apostolate at the end

of the chapter emphasize putting into immediate practice the

truths presented in the text.

IV



CONTENTS

UNIT I

CHAPTER Page

I The Unknown Person 1

II What Is Grace? 8

III The Grace That Comes and Goes . . . . . 14

IV Wellsprings of Life 20

V What Is Merit? 27

VI What Is Virtue? 33

VII Hope and Love 40

VIII Wonders within Us ... 47

UNIT II

IX The Moral Virtues 55

X The Holy Ghost and the Church 62

XI We Are the Church 69

XII Where Do We Find It? 76

XIII Holy and Catholic 82

XIV Reason and Faith— and Myself 89

XV The End of the Road 96

XVI The End of the World 103

V



THIS WE BELIEVE
BY THIS WE LIVE

The Revised Edition of the Baltimore Catechism

No. 3 (1954) adds to the standard revised text a

wealth of detailed explanation and numerous ex-

actly chosen Scriptural citations. Designed for

adult study and guidance, it is an invaluable

reference work for discussion club members using

the THIS WE BELIEVE SERIES.



UNIT I

Chapter I

THE UNKNOWN PERSON

In THE Bible, in the Acts of the Apostles (19:2), we read
that St. Paul came to the city of Ephesus, in Asia., There he

found a small group of people who already believed in the

teachings of Jesus. Paul asked them, "Did you receive the

Holy Spirit when you became believers?” Their answer was,

”We have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”

Certainly none of us today is ignorant of the Holy Spirit—
or if we prefer the Old English, the Holy "Ghost.” We know
well that He is one of the three divine Persons who, with the

Father and the Son, constitute the Blessed Trinity. We also
know that He is called the Paraclete (the Greek word for "Com-

forter”), the Advocate (pleading God’s cause with mankind),

the Spirit of Truth, the Spirit of God, and the Spirit of Love.

We also know that He "comes to us” when we are baptized,
and that He continues to dwell within us as long as we do not

shut Him out by mortal sin.

That, for many Catholics, is just about the sum of their

knowledge of the Holy Spirit. And yet we can have but little

understanding of the work of sanctification that goes on within

our souls unless we know the place of the Holy Spirit in the

divine scheme of things.

The existence of the Holy Spirit— indeed the doctrine of
the Blessed Trinity— was all but unknown until Christ un-
veiled the truth to us. In Old Testament times the Jews were

surrounded by idolatrous nations. More than once the Jews

turned from the worship of the one God who had made them

His chosen people, to the worship of many gods as practiced

by their neighbors. As a consequence, God, through His proph-

ets, hammered away at the idea of the oneness of God, the

unity of God. He did not complicate things by revealing to

1



2 THE HOLY SPIRIT AND HIS WORK

pre-Christian man that there are three Persons in God. It re-

mained for Jesus Christ to give us this marvelous insight into

the inner nature of the Deity,

It might be well to recall here, briefly, the essence of the

divine nature so far as we can understand it. God’s knowledge

of Himself, we know, is an infinitely perfect knowledge. That

is, the "picture” that God has of Himself in His own divine

mind is an absolutely perfect representation of Himself. But

it would not be a perfect representation unless it were a living

representation. To live, to exist, belongs to the very nature of

God. A mental image of God that was not a living image would

not be a perfect representation.

This living image of Himself which God has in His mind,

this idea of Himself which God has been generating (or "giving

birth to”) in His divine mind from all eternity, we call God

the Son. God the Father we might say is God in the eternal act

of "thinking about” Himself. God the Son is the living (and

eternal) "thought” which results from that thinking. Both the

Thinker and the Thought are of course within one and the

same divine nature; there is only one God, but these are two

Persons.

Discussion: 1. In what way was the religious knowledge of

the first Ephesian converts lacking? 2. What basic knowledge

of the Holy Ghost do most Catholics have? 3. Why is a

fuller knowledge of the Holy Ghost important for us?

4. Why did God not reveal the doctrine of the Blessed Trinity

in Old Testament times? 5. Why must God’s image of

Himself be a "living” image? 6. What is God the Son?

And it does not stop there. God the Father and God the

Son behold, each of them, the infinite lovableness of the other.

And so there flows between these two divine Persons a divine

Love. It is a love so perfect, of such infinite ardor, as to be a

living love, and we call this Love the Holy Spirit, the third

Person of the Blessed Trinity. Like two volcanoes exchanging

a single stream of fire, Father and Son eternally reciprocate this



THE UNKNOWN PERSON 3

Living Flame of Love. That is why we say, in the Nicene Creed,

that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son.

This, then, is the internal life of the Most Blessed Trinity—
God knowing, God known, and God loving-and-loved. Three

divine Persons, each distinct from the other two in his relation-

ship to each of the others and yet possessing one and the same

divine nature, possessing that nature, too, in absolute unity.

Since they possess the divine nature equally, there is no subor-

dination of one to the other. God the Father is not wiser than

God the Son. God the Son is not more powerful than God

the Holy Spirit.

We must guard too against thinking of the Blessed Trinity
in terms of time. God the Father did not ''come first,” and

then God the Son a little later, with God the Holy Ghost

"coming” last of all. This process of knowing-loving that con-

stitutes the inner life of the Blessed Trinity has been going on

from all eternity; it had no beginning.

There is one other point of interest before we go on to

discuss the Holy Spirit in particular. That is the fact that the

three divine Persons are not only united in one divine nature;

they also are united in each other. Each one of them is in each

of the others in an inseparable unity— somewhat as the three
primary colors of the spectrum are (by nature) inseparably

united in the one colorless radiation which we call light. It is

of course possible to break up a ray of light by artificial means,

such as a prism, to make a rainbow. But if the ray of light is

left to itself, the red is in the blue and the blue is in the yellow

and the red is in them both; just one ray of light.

No example, of course, is perfect when applied to God.

But by analogy we might say that just as the three colors of

the spectrum are inseparably present, each in the other, so also

in the Blessed Trinity the Father is in the Son, and the Son in

the Father, and the Holy Spirit in both. Where one is, all are.

This inseparable unity of the three divine Persons— in case
you are interested in theological terms—is call "circumincession.”

Discussion; 1. What do we mean when we say that the

Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son.^ 2. Why



4 THE HOLY SPIRIT AND HIS WORK

is there no subordination of one divine Person to the other?

3. Why must we guard against thinking of the Blessed Trinity
in terms of time? 4. In what way is light an image of the

Blessed Trinity? 5. What does the word ”circumincession”

mean?

Most of us, when we were in school, studied physiology or

biology. As a consequence we have a pretty good idea of what

goes on inside our bodies. But not so many of us have a clear

idea as to what goes on inside our souls. We talk rather easily
of grace— actual grace and sanctifying grace— and of super-
natural life and of growth in holiness. The question is, what

do these words mean?

To answer that question adequately, we need first to under-

stand the part which the Holy Spirit plays in the sanctification

of the human soul. We know that the Holy Spirit is the in-
finite Love flowing eternally between God the Father and God

the Son. He is Love in person, a living love. Since it is God’s

love for us that has led Him to make us sharers in His own

divine life, it is quite natural for us to ascribe to the Spirit of

Love— the Holy Ghost— the operations of grace in our souls.
However, we have to keep in mind that the three divine

Persons are inseparable. In terms that are human (but not

theologically exact) we might say that none of the three divine

Persons does anything separately or alone, outside the divine

nature. Within that divine nature, within the Godhead, each

Person has His own particular activity. His own particular rela-

tionship, one to the other. God the Father is God knowing

Himself, God "seeing” Himself; God the Son is God’s living

image of Himself; and God the Holy Ghost is God’s love for

Himself.

But "outside Himself” (if we may speak so loosely), God

acts only in His perfect unity; no divine Person does anything

by Himself. What one divine Person does, all three do. Out-

side the divine nature, it is the Blessed Trinity always who acts.

To use a very homely and inadequate example, I might say that

the only place my brain and heart and lungs do anything by

themselves is inside me; each of them doing its own proper



THE UNKNOWN PERSON 5

job for the good of the other. But outside me, brain and heart

and lungs work inseparably together. Wherever I may go, what-

ever I may be doing, brain and heart and lungs are in on it as

a unit. None of the three goes off on a separate activity of its

own.

But we often speak as though they did. We say that a man
is

'long-winded,” as if it were only his lungs which did all

the talking. We say that a man is "stout-hearted,” as though
courage were entirely a matter of the heart. We say that a man
is "brainy,” as though a brain could think without blood and

oxygen. We ascribe to one particular organ a job that all of
them are working on together.

Discussion: 1. To answer adequately the question, "What is

grace .^” what do we first need to understand? 2. Why is it

natural to ascribe the operations of grace to the Holy Spirit?

3. Within the Godhead, what is each divine Person’s special

activity? 4. What do we mean when we say that "outside

Himself” God acts only in His perfect unity? 5. What human

example can we give to illustrate that the three divine Persons

always act as one outside the Godhead?

Now let us make the tremendous jump from our own lowly

physical organs to the three living Persons who constitute the

Blessed Trinity. Then perhaps we can understand a little better

why it is that the work of sanctifying souls is assigned to the

Holy Spirit.

Since God the Father is the source or principle of the divine

activity which goes on within the Blessed Trinity (the knowing-

and-loving activity), He is considered to be the beginning of

everything. That is why we assign to the Father the work of

creation. Actually, of course, it is the Blessed Trinity who

creates— whether it be the universe or an individual soul. What
one divine Person does, all Three do. But we appropriate to the

Father the act of creation. Because of His relationship to the

other two Persons, the role of Creator fits the Father best.

Then, since it was through the second Person, God the Son,

that God united a human nature to Himself in the Person of



6 THE HOLY SPIRIT AND HIS WORK

Jesus Christ, we attribute the work of redemption to God the

Son, the living Wisdom of God the Father. Infinite Power (the

Father) decrees redemption; Infinite Wisdom (the Son) puts

the decree into execution. However, when we refer to God the

Son as the Redeemer, we remain conscious of the fact that God

the Father and God the Holy Spirit were also inseparably present

in Jesus Christ. Absolutely speaking it was the Blessed Trinity

who redeemed us. But we appropriate to the Son the act of

redemption.

Finally, since the work of sanctifying souls is pre-eminently

a work of divine love (as distinguished from a work of power

or a work of wisdom) we refer this work of sanctification to

the Holy Spirit. He is, after all, divine Love personified.

Basically it is the Blessed Trinity who sanctifies us. It is God

the Blessed Trinity who dwells within the sin-free soul. But

we appropriate the action of grace to the Holy Spirit.

In the preceding paragraphs I have italicized the word

"appropriate.” I have done so because it is the exact word used

in the science of theology. It is the word used to describe this

way of "dividing up” the work of the Blessed Trinity among

the three divine Persons. What one Person does, all do. And

yet certain activities seem more appropriate to one Person than

to another. As a consequence theologians say that God the

Father is the Creator, by appropriation; God the Son is the

Redeemer, by appropriation; and God the Holy Ghost is the

Sanctifier, by appropriation.

All this may seem unnecessarily technical to the average

reader. And yet it may help us to understand what is meant

when the catechism, for example, says, "The Holy Ghost dwells

in the Church as the source of its life and sanctifies souls

through the gift of grace.” God’s Love is at work, but His

wisdom and power also are there.

Discussion: 1. Why do we assign the work of creation to

God the Father? 2. Why do we assign the work of redemp-

tion to the Son? 3. Why do we assign the work of sancti-

fication to the Holy Spirit? 4. What is the word used in

theology to describe this way of "dividing up” the work of



THE UNKNOWN PERSON 7

the Blessed Trinity? 5, What does the catechism say about

the work of the Holy Spirit?

MY APOSTOLATE:

1. In the hope that increased understanding may bring in-

creased love and growth in goodness, I shall embark

seriously upon this study of the Holy Spirit and His work.

2. As I make the Sign of the Cross or recite the "Glory be

to the Father . . . I shall offer it as a prayer for better

understanding of the truths of my religion.

3. As I recite the Apostles’ Creed in my daily prayers, or

the Nicene Creed at Mass, I shall make it an act of thanks-

giving to the three divine Persons for their wonderful

activity in my behalf.



Chapter II

WHAT IS GRACE?

The word "grace” has many meanings. It may mean "attrac-
tiveness,” as when we say, "She moved with grace across the

room.” It may mean "benevolence,” as when we say, "I sought

his good graces in the matter.” It may mean "thanksgiving,”

as when we speak of saying "grace after meals.” Any one of

us probably can think of half a dozen other ways in which the

word "grace” is commonly used.

In the science of theology, however, grace has a very definite

and restricted meaning. It means, first of all, a gift from God.

Not just any kind of gift; on the contrary, a very special sort

of gift. Life itself is a gift of God. God was under no com-

pulsion to make the human race to begin with, much less to

make you or me as individuals. All that accompanies human life

is likewise a gift of God. The power of sight and of speech;

physical health; such abilities as we may possess— to sing or
draw or bake a cake; all of these are gifts of God. But such

gifts as these we call natural gifts. They are a part of our nature

as human beings. There are certain things that necessarily go

with being a human creature, as God has designed human nature.

These gifts of God we cannot accurately call graces.

The word "grace” is reserved in theology to describe those

gifts to which man is not even remotely entitled, not even by

virtue of his nature as a human being. The word "grace” is

used to identify those gifts which are above human nature.

And so we take the Latin word "super,” which means "above,”

and we say that grace is a supernatural gift of God.

The definition, however, still is incomplete. There are gifts

of God which are supernatural but which cannot, strictly speak-

ing, be called graces. For example, a person with an incurable

cancer might be miraculously cured at Lourdes. In such a case

that person’s health would be a supernatural gift, restored by

a means which is above and beyond nature. If we want to be

8



WHAT IS GRACE? 9

precise, we do not call this cure a grace. There are other gifts,

too, which are supernatural in their origin but which do not

qualify to be called graces. The Bible, for example, is a super-

natural gift of God; so is the Church, so are the sacraments.

Discussion: 1. What are some common meanings of the word

"grace” 2. In the science of theology, what restricted mean-

ing does the word "grace” have? 3. What do we mean by

"natural” gifts? 4. Why is grace called a "supernatural” gift?

5. Name some supernatural gifts that are not graces.

Such gifts as these, supernatural though they be, operate

outside us. It would not be incorrect to call them "external

graces.” The word "grace,” however, when it is used simply

and by itself, refers to those invisible gifts which reside in the

soul, or operate in the soul. So we build up our definition

of grace a little more, by saying that it is an interior super-

natural gift of God.

That immediately brings up another question. Sometimes

God gives to chosen souls the power to foretell the future. This

is an interior supernatural gift. Would we call it a grace, this

power of prophecy? Or again, a priest has the power to change

bread and wine into Christ’s body and blood, and to forgive

sins. These certainly are interior supernatural gifts. Are they

graces? To both questions the answer is no. 'Powers such as

these, although they are interior and supernatural gifts, are given

for the benefit of other people, not for the benefit of the one

who has the power. A priest’s power to offer Mass is not for

his own sake, but for the sake of Christ’s Mystical Body. A

priest might conceivably be in the state of mortal sin himself,

and yet his Mass would be a true Mass and would gain grace

for others. He might have sin on his own soul, and yet his

words of absolution would forgive the sins of others. This

brings us then to another point which must be added to our

definition of grace: grace is an interior supernatural gift of God

bestowed on us for our own salvation.

Finally we raise this question: If grace is a gift of God to

which we have absolutely no shadow of right or claim, how



10 THE HOLY SPIRIT AND HIS WORK

is it that we have been given grace? The first creatures (that

we know of) to whom grace was given were the angels and

Adam and Eve. It perhaps is not so surprising, in view of God’s

infinite goodness, that the angels and our first parents were

given grace. They didn’t deserve it, true enough; but, although

they had no right to grace, at the same time they were not posi-

tively unworthy of the gift.

However, once Adam and Eve had sinned, they (and we

their descendants) were not only undeserving of grace; they

(and we) became actually unworthy of anything beyond the

ordinary natural gifts pertaining to human nature. How could

God’s infinite justice, outraged by original sin, be satisfied so

that His infinite goodness might operate once again to man-

kind’s benefit?

The answer to that question rounds out for us the definition

of grace. It was Jesus Christ, we know, whose life and death

made satisfaction to the divine Justice for mankind’s sin. It

was Jesus Christ who merited for us, earned for us, the grace

which Adam had so lightly tossed away. And so we complete

our definition by saying: Grace is an interior supernatural gift

of God bestowed on us through the merits of Jesus Christ for

our salvation. Who would have thought that so few words

could contain so much meaning!

Discussion: 1. When the word “grace” is used by itself, to

what kind of supernatural gifts does it refer? 2. Why are

the power to offer Mass and to forgive sin not called graces?

3. What is the difference between the angels and ourselves

insofar as receiving grace is concerned? 4. How did Jesus

Christ merit grace for us? 5. What, now, is the complete

definition for “grace” ?

When we were born our soul was, spiritually speaking, dark

and empty— spiritually dead. There was no bond of union
between our soul and God. There was no intercourse, no com-

munication, between our soul and God. If, without Baptism,

we had reached the use of reason and had died without com-

mitting a single personal sin (a purely imaginary hypothesis.



WHAT IS GRACE? 11

actually impossible), we still would not have gone to heaven.

We would have entered into a state of natural happiness which,
for want of a better name, we call limbo. But we never would

have seen God, face to face, and as He really is.

This is a point that bears repeating— the fact that by our
nature as human beings we have no right to that direct vision

of God which constitutes the essential happiness of heaven.

Not even Adam and Eve, before their fall, had any right to

heaven. In fact, the human soul, in what we might call its

purely natural state, simply has not got the power to see God;

it has not got the capacity for intimate, personal union with God.

But God did not leave man in this purely natural state. When

He created Adam, God gave Adam all that he was entitled to

as a human being. But God went further; He gave to the soul

of Adam a certain quality or power which would make it pos-

sible for Adam to live in close (although invisible) union with

Him in this life. Because this special quality of soul— this
power of union and intercommunication with God— was com-
pletely above the natural powers of the soul, we call it a super-

natural quality of the soul, a supernatural gift.

The way that God imparted this special quality or power

to the soul of Adam was by the indwelling of Himself in Adam’s

soul. In a wonderful manner that must remain a mystery to us

until Judgment Day, God "took up residence” in Adam’s soul.

And much as the sun in the sky imparts light and warmth to

the surrounding atmosphere, so also did God in Adam’s soul

impart this supernatural quality which is nothing less than a

sharing, to a degree, in God’s own life. Sunlight is not the

sun; but it flows from the sun, it is the result of the sun’s

presence. So also this supernatural quality of soul that we speak

of is distinct from God, yet flows from Him and is the result

of His presence in the soul.

Discussion; 1. What was the state of <3ur soul when we were

born.^ 2. Why could we not go to heaven without Baptism,

even if we lived a sinless life.^ 3. What power did God give

to Adam, to which Adam as a human being was not entitled?

4. How did God impart this special power to Adam’s soul?



12 THE HOLY SPIRIT AND HIS WORK

5. In what way is the sun an example of this "sharing of

God’s own life” with Adam?

This supernatural quality of the soul has another effect. It

not only enables us to live in close union and communication

with God in this life; it also prepares the soul for another gift

which God will add after death. That gift will be the gift of

supernatural vision, the power to see God face to face, as He

really is.

The reader will have recognized already that this "super-

natural quality of soul” of which I have been talking, is that

gift of God to which theologians have given the name "sancti-

fying grace.” I have described it first, instead of naming it, in

the hope that the name might mean more when we got to it.

And the added gift of supernatural vision after death, is what

theologians call (in Latin) the "Lumen Gloriae.” In English,

it is the "Light of Glory.” Sanctifying grace is a necessary prepa-

ration, a prerequisite to the Light of Glory. Much as an electric

lamp is useless without a socket into which to fit, so also the

Light of Glory could find no place in a soul that was not pos-

sessed of sanctifying grace.

I have talked of sanctifying grace in terms of Adam. In

the very act of creating Adam, God raised him above a merely

natural level, raised him to a supernatural destiny by conferring

sanctifying grace upon him. By original sin, Adam lost that

grace for himself and us. Jesus Christ healed the breach between

man and God by His death on the cross. Man’s supernatural

destiny is restored. To each man individually sanctifying grace

is imparted in the sacrament of Baptism.

When we are baptized we receive sanctifying grace for the

first time. God (the Holy Ghost by "appropriation”) takes up

His abode within us. By His presence He imparts to our soul

that supernatural quality which makes it possible for God, in a

grand and mysterious manner, to see Himself in us and there-

fore to love us. And, because this supernatural quality of soul,

this sanctifying grace, was purchased for us by Jesus Christ, we

are bound by it to Christ, we share it with Christ— and God



WHAT IS GRACE? 13

consequently sees us as He sees His Son— and we become, each
of us, a child of God.

Sanctifying grace is sometimes called habitual grace, because

it is intended to be a habitual or permanent condition of the

soul. Once we are united with God in Baptism, it is intended

that we remain united with Him forever— invisibly here, visibly
hereafter.

Discussion: 1. What other effect does this "sharing in God’s

own life” have upon the soul? 2. What is the name for this

supernatural quality of the soul, of which we have been talk-

ing? 3. What is the Light of Glory? 4. How was sanctifying

grace, lost by Adam, restored to us? 5. How does sanctifying

grace make it possible for God to love us? 6. What is an-

other name for sanctifying grace?

MY APOSTOLATE;

1. At least once a day I shall offer to God a prayer of thanks-

giving for all the gifts, natural and supernatural, which

He has bestowed upon me.

2. I shall have a great horror of losing sanctifying grace my-

self; or of causing anyone else to lose sanctifying grace by

my bad example.

3. If a parent, I shall teach my children from their earliest

years that God is dwelling within their souls. I shall try

to make them understand what it means to have a beautiful

soul and to keep it beautiful.



Chapter III

THE GRACE THAT COMES AND GOES

God made us for the beatific vision— for the person-to-
person union with Himself which is the happiness of heaven.

In order that we may be capable of this direct vision of God,

He will give us a supernatural power which we call the Light

of Glory. The Light of Glory, however, can be bestowed only on

a soul which already is united with God by means of that

earlier gift which we call sanctifying grace. If we go into eternity

deprived of sanctifying grace, then we have lost God forever.

Once we have received sanctifying grace in Baptism, it then

becomes a matter of life-and-death importance that we preserve

this supernatural gift to the very end. Or, if self-sought catas-

trophe does strike in the form of mortal sin, then it is of dread-

ful urgency that we recover the precious gift which our sin has

lost, the spiritual life of sanctifying grace which we have ex-

tinguished in our soul.

It is important, too, that we increase sanctifying grace within

our soul. And it h capable of increase. The more the soul is

purified of self, the more responsive does it become to the action

of God. As self diminishes, sanctifying grace increases. And it

is the degree of sanctifying grace that will determine the degree

of our happiness in heaven. Two men looking at the ceiling of

the Sistine Chapel will both find complete enjoyment in the

sight of Michelangelo’s masterpiece, but the man with the culti-

vated eye will find more enjoyment in it than the other man,

whose artistic tastes are of a low order. The man with little

artistic appreciation will be quite satisfied; he will not be aware

that he is missing anything, but he will be missing a lot. Similarly,

we all shall be perfectly happy in heaven. But the degree of our

happiness will depend upon the spiritual sharpness of our vision.

That in turn will depend upon the degree to which sanctifying

grace has permeated our soul.

These, then, are our three needs with regard to sanctifying

grace; first, that we preserve it permanently and until the end;

14



THE GRACE THAT COMES AND GOES 15

secondly, that we recover it immediately if we have lost it by

mortal sin; thirdly, that we seek to grow in sanctifying grace

with an eagerness that sees the sky as the limit.

Now none of these three things is easy to do. In fact, by our

human wisdom and strength alone, none of these three things is

even possible. Like a bombed victim wandering dazed and

weakened from the ruins, so has human nature staggered down

through the centuries from the explosive rebellion of original

sin— judgment permanently warped, will permanently weakened.
It is so hard to recognize danger in time; so hard to look honestly

at the greater good that needs doing; so hard to turn our gaze

from the hypnotic beckoning of sin.

Discussion: 1. Why is it of life-and-death importance that

we preserve sanctifying grace in our soul.^ 2. Why is it im-

portant that we increase sanctifying grace in our soul.^ 3. How

do we explain that all will be completely happy in heaven,

yet some will be happier than others? 4. What are our three

needs with regard to sanctifying grace? 5. Why are none of

these three things easy to do?

That is why sanctifying grace, like a king surrounded by a

retinue of servants, is preceded by and accompanied by a whole

train of special helps from God. These special helps we call

actual graces. An actual grace is a momentary, transient impulse,

a spurt of spiritual energy with which God touches the soul—
somewhat as the hand of a mechanic might touch a spinning

wheel in order to keep the wheel in motion.

Actual grace may work upon the mind or upon the will;

usually upon both. Actual grace is given by God always for

one of the three purposes mentioned above: either to prepare

the way for the first infusion of sanctifying grace (or to restore

it when lost); to preserve sanctifying grace in the soul; and to

increase it. The operation of actual grace may be clearer if we

trace its work in an imaginary person who has lost sanctifying

grace through mortal sin.

First God illumines the mind of the sinner so that he may

see the evil of what he has done. If the sinner accepts this



16 THE HOLY SPIRIT AND HIS WORK

grace, he admits to himself, "I have offended God in a serious

matter; I have committed a mortal sin.” The sinner can, of

course, reject this first grace; he can say, "What I did wasn’t

so awfully bad; lots of people do worse things than that.” If

he does reject the first grace, there probably will be no second.

In the normal course of God’s providence, one grace begets

another. This is the meaning of Christ’s words when He says,

"To everyone who has shall be given, and he shall have abun-

dance; but from him who does not have, even that which he

seems to have shall be taken away” (Matt. 25:29).

But supposing the sinner to have accepted the first grace,

then the second grace follows. This time it is a strengthening of

the will, which enables the sinner to make an act of contrition:

"Dear God,” he groans inwardly, "if I die like this. I’ll lose

heaven and go to hell, and it’s a shabby way I’ve treated You,

in return for all Your love. Dear God, I’ll not do that again!”

If the sinner’s sorrow is perfect (stemming mainly from his love

for God), then sanctifying grace is at once restored to his soul;

God at once reunites the soul to Himself. If the sorrow is

imperfect, based mainly on fear of God’s justice, then there will

be a further impulse of grace. His mind enlightened, the sinner

will say, "I must go to confession.” His will strengthened, he

will resolve, "I shall go to confession.” And, in the sacrament of

Penance, sanctifying grace is restored to his soul. That is a

concrete instance of how actual grace works.

Discussion: 1. What do we call those special helps which

precede and follow sanctifying grace 2. How would you

describe actual grace 3. For what three purposes is actual

grace given? 4. What is the meaning of Christ’s words, "To

everyone who has shall be given”? 5. Can you give an ex-

ample of how actual grace works?

Without God’s help we cannot succeed in getting to heaven.

The story of grace is as simple as that. Without sanctifying

grace we are not capable of the beatific vision. Without actual

grace we are not capable of receiving sanctifying grace in the

first place (once we have reached the use of reason). Without



THE GRACE THAT COMES AND GOES 17

actual grace we are not capable of remaining for any long period

in the state of sanctifying grace. Without actual grace we cannot

recover sanctifying grace if we should lose it.

In view of the absolute necessity of grace, it is comforting

to recall another truth which also is a matter of faith— some-
thing we must believe. That is the fact that God gives to every

soul He creates sufficient grace to get to heaven. No one ever

will lose heaven except through his own fault, through his own

failure to use God’s grace.

For it is possible, of course, to reject grace. God’s grace

works in and through our human will. God’s grace does not

destroy our freedom of choice. It is true that grace does most

of the work, but God requires of us our co-operation. At the

very least, our part is to place no obstacle to the operation of

grace in our soul.

We are speaking mainly of actual graces, those divine im-
pulses which move us to judge what is right and to do what is

good. Perhaps an example will help to illustrate the operation

of grace with respect to free will.

Let us suppose that I have been bedridden with a long illness.

Now I am recuperating, but I have to learn to walk again. If I
try to walk alone, I shall fall on my face. So a good friend under-

takes to help me. He puts his arm around my waist, and I lean

heavily on his shoulder. Gently he propels me across the floor; I

am walking again! Actually, as I walk my friend is doing most

of the work, but there is one thing my friend cannot do for

me; he cannot pick up my feet. If I will not even try to put one

foot in front of the other; if I just let myself hang, a dead

weight, clinging to my friend, then my friend’s help is wasted.

In spite of him, I will not walk.

In much the same way we can let God’s grace go unused.

By our own indifference or sloth— and even worse, by our
positive resistance— we can frustrate the operation of God’s
grace in our soul. Of course, God can, if He chooses, give us so

much grace that our human will is carried along with almost no

effort on our part. This is what theologians call efficacious grace,

as distinguished from merely sufficient grace. Efficacious grace

actually accomplishes its purpose. It not only is sufficient to our



18 THE HOLY SPIRIT AND HIS WORK

spiritual needs, but in addition is strong enough to overcome the

weakness or obduracy which might cause us to neglect or resist

the grace.

Discussion: 1. Why can we not get to heaven without God’s

help.^ 2. Why will no one ever lose heaven except through

his own fault 3. With regard to grace, what does God re-

quire of us? 4. What is the difference between efficacious

grace and sufficient grace?

All of us, I am sure, at one time or another have had ex-

periences like this: We are faced with a strong temptation;
perhaps we even know by past experience that this is a tempta-

tion which usually defeats us. We breathe a half-hearted prayer
for help, not even sure in our own mind that we want to be

helped. And lo and behold ! the temptation disappears. Thinking

about it afterwards, we can’t honestly say that we conquered the

temptation; rather, it just seemed to evaporate.

We have had the experience, too, of doing an action that
is, for us, unexpectedly generous or self-sacrificing or compas-

sionate. We feel a shock of pleased surprise. "Really,” we admit
secretly to ourselves, "that wasn’t like me at all.”

In both of these examples we have had graces that were not

merely sufficient, but graces that were efficacious. These examples

are of the more striking kind. But actually, any time that we do

good or abstain from evil, our grace has been efficacious; it has

accomplished its purpose. This is true even when we are conscious

of some effort on our part, even when we feel that we have

been through a struggle.

Indeed, I think that one of our biggest surprises on Judgment

Day will be to discover how little we have had to do with our

own salvation. We shall be amazed to learn how continually

and completely God’s grace has surrounded us and accompanied

us all through life. During this life we do occasionally recognize

God’s hand. Once in a while we can say, "God’s grace surely

was with me,” but on Judgment Day we shall see that for every

grace which we have recognized, there have been a hundred



THE GRACE THAT COMES AND GOES 19

or ten thousand other, more hidden, graces of which we have

been totally unconscious.

Our surprise too will be mixed with shame. We go through
life, most of us, patting ourselves on the back for our little

victories. We said no to that drink which would have been one

too many; we changed our mind about going out with that

person who might have meant sin for us. We held our tongue
when we wanted to make a biting and angry reply. We rolled
out of bed for weekday Mass when our body was crying in

protest.

And then on Judgment Day we shall get our first square look

at ourselves. We shall see the full picture of the workings of
grace in our life. We shall see how little we ourselves had to do
with our heroic decisions and our supposedly noble deeds.

Almost, we can imagine God smiling at us in loving amusement

as He sees pur chagrin; as He hears us exclaim in confusion,

'Why God! It was You all the time!”

Discussion: 1. Give an example, from your own experience,

of a grace that has very plainly been an "efficacious” grace

2. What big surprise shall we have on Judgment Day.^ 3. Are

we aware of all the graces we receive? 4. Why will our

surprise on Judgment Day be mixed with shame?

MY APOSTOLATE:

1. After every temptation conquered or good deed done I

shall remember to thank God for the grace that helped me.

2. I shall try to perform more good deeds, especially acts of

kindness to those around me— even if it is no more than
a pleasant smile.

3. I shall offer a special prayer daily for a non-Catholic friend

or neighbor, to obtain for him (her) the actual grace

which he needs in order to prepare the way for the gift

of faith.



Chapter IV

WELLSPRINGS OF LIFE

There are, as we well know, two sources of divine grace:
prayer and the sacraments. Once we have received sanctifying

grace through Baptism, then it is by means of prayer and the

other six sacraments that sanctifying grace is increased in the

soul. If we lose sanctifying grace through mortal sin, then it

is by means of prayer (disposing us for forgiveness) and the

sacrament of Penance that sanctifying grace is restored to the

soul.

Prayer is defined as "the lifting of the mind and heart to

God.” We may lift our mind and heart to God through the
use of words. We may say, "O my God, I am sorry for my
sins,” or "O my God, I love You,” speaking to God quite

naturally in our own words. Or we can raise our mind and heart

to God by means of words which someone else has written,

trying to mean the words which we speak.

These "set” prayers may be the privately composed (but

officially approved) prayers which we find in many prayer books

and devotional leaflets; or they may be liturgical prayers, the

official prayers of the Church, of the Mystical Body of Christ.

These are the prayers of the Mass, of the Breviary, and of various

sacred functions. Most of these prayers, such as the Psalms

and the Canticles, have been taken from the Holy Bible, and

so are words inspired by God Himself.

We may pray, then, in our own words or in the words of
another. We may use privately composed prayers or liturgical
prayers. Whatever the sources of our words may be, so long as

the use of words figures prominently in our prayer, then our

prayer is classified as vocal prayer. This would be true even

though the words are not spoken aloud, even though we say the

words silently to ourselves. It is not the tone of voice, but the

use of words that determines vocal prayer. This is a type of

prayer that is universally used, by saint and not-so-saintly, alike.

20



WELLSPRINGS OF LIFE 21

But there is a higher type of prayer which is called mental

prayer. In this kind of prayer, the mind and heart do all the

work, without benefit of words. Almost everyone makes use of

mental prayer at one time or another, oftentimes without realiz-

ing it. If you have ever looked at a crucifix and have thought

to yourself of how much Jesus suffered for you, of how petty

your own troubles are, and have resolved to be more patient

hereafter— then you have practiced mental prayer. If you have
ever (perhaps after Communion.^) thought about how good

God has been to you, of how little you have done for Him,

and have resolved to be more generous with God in the future,

then you have practiced mental prayer.

Discussion: 1. What are the two sources of divine grace

2. What is prayer.^ 3. When do we call a prayer vocal

4. What is the difference between vocal prayer and mental

prayer.^ 5. When do many people make use of mental prayer?

This kind of mental prayer, in which the mind thinks about

some divine truth— perhaps about some word or action of
Christ— with the result that the heart (really the will) is
moved to greater love and fidelity to God— this kind of prayer
is commonly called meditation. While it is true that almost any

practical Catholic will, at least intermittently, practice a certain

amount of meditation, yet it needs pointing out that normally

there will be no notable spiritual growth unless a person gives

some of his prayer time regularly to mental prayer. That is why

the Canon Law of the Church requires that every priest devote

some time daily to mental prayer. Most religious orders pre-

scribe a full hour of mental prayer daily for their members.

For the average person, a very simple and fruitful form of

meditation would be to read a chapter of the Gospels each day.

It should be at a time and in a place that is as free as possible

from noise and distractions. It should be read thoughtfully and

slowly. Then a few minutes should be given to turning over

in one’s mind what has been read; giving it a chance to sink in,

applying it to one’s own life; letting it lead, as it normally will,

to a resolution of some kind.



22 THE HOLY SPIRIT AND HIS WORK

Besides meditation, of which we have been speaking, there

is another form of mental prayer— a still higher form of
prayer— which we call contemplation. We are accustomed to
thinking of the saints as "contemplatives.” We are likely to
think that contemplation is something reserved to convents and

monasteries. Actually, the prayer of contemplation is a form of

prayer at which every sincere Christian ought to aim. It is a

form of prayer to which, usually, our prayer of meditation will

lead if we meditate regularly.

It is hard to describe the prayer of contemplation because

there is so little to describe. We might say that it is that type
of prayer in which the mind and heart are raised to God—
period. The mind and heart are raised to God and rest there.

The mind, at least, is inactive. What movement there is is of

the heart (or will) only, towards God. Whatever "work” is

done is done by God Himself. He can operate now quite freely

in this heart which has fastened itself so firmly to Him.

Before anyone says, "Oh, I never could contemplate!” let me

ask this: "Have you never knelt (or sat) in a quiet church,

perhaps after Mass or on your way home from work; have you

never remained there for a few minutes, without conscious

thought, perhaps just looking at the tabernacle, not thinking,

just sort of yearning; and left church finally, with a strange

feeling of renewed strength and courage and peace Then you

have practiced the prayer of contemplation, whether you knew

it or not. So let us not say that contemplation is beyond our

reach. It is the kind of prayer that God wants all of us to reach

for; it is the kind of prayer that all other prayer— vocal prayer
(whether private or liturgical) and meditation— is designed to
lead us to. It is the kind of prayer that will most richly con-

tribute to growth in grace.

Discussion: 1. Why does the Church require daily mental

prayer for priests and religious.^ 2. What is a very simple way

in which the average person could practice mental prayer every

day.^ 3. Besides meditation, what other kind of mental prayer

is there? 4. How would you describe the prayer of con-



WELLSPRINGS OF LIFE 23

templation? 5. Why is contemplation a form of prayer for

everybody? Discuss your statement.

This wonderful inner life which is ours— this sharing in
God’s own life which we call sanctifying grace— is increased
through prayer. It is increased also by means of the sacraments,

the sacraments which follow after Baptism. The life of an

infant increases with every breath he draws, with every ounce of

food he takes, with every movement of his unformed muscles.

So too do the other six sacraments build upon the life-beginning,

the first accession of sanctifying grace which Baptism gives.

That is true even of the sacrament of Penance. We usually
think of Penance as the sacrament of forgiveness. We think of
it as the sacrament which restores life when sanctifying grace

has been lost through mortal sin. That is, indeed, the primary

purpose of the sacrament of Penance. But the sacrament is a

life-building medicine as well as a life-restoring medicine. It

would be a most unfortunate ignorance to suppose that the

sacrament of Penance is to be reserved only for the forgiveness

of mortal sin. It has a secondary purpose. For the soul which

already is in the state of sanctifying grace. Penance is just as

truly an increaser of life as is the Holy Eucharist. That is why

those who aim at more than mediocrity in their spiritual lives

love to receive the sacrament of Penance frequently.

It is the Holy Eucharist, however, which is pre-eminently

the sacrament of life. It is the Holy Eucharist which above all

other sacraments, enriches and intensifies the life of grace within

us. The very form of the sacrament would tell us that. In the

Holy Eucharist God comes to us, not through the cleansing

washing with water, not through the strengthening anointing

with oil, not through the power-giving imposition of hands,

but as the very food and drink of our souls, under the appear-

ances of bread and wine.

The dynamic upward-thirsting life which we call sanctifying

grace is the result of the soul’s union with God, the result of

God’s personal indwelling in the soul. There is no other sacra-

ment which unites us so directly and so intimately with God as

does the Holy Eucharist. This is true whether we think of the



24 THE HOLY SPIRIT AND HIS WORK

Holy Eucharist in terms of the Mass or in terms of Holy Com-

munion. In the Mass our soul reaches up, like an infant seeking

the breast of his mother, to the very bosom of the Most Blessed

Trinity. As we unite ourselves with Christ in the Mass, Christ

integrates our love with His own infinite love for God. We
become a part of the gift of Himself which He is offering,

in this endless Calvary, to the Triune God. He carries us, we

might say, along with Himself and introduces us into that

mysterious depth which is the eternal life of the Godhead.

In such immediate contact with God it is no wonder that the

Mass is for us such an abounding source of life, such a multiplier

of sanctifying grace.

But the flow of life does not end as, at the Consecration of

the Mass, we touch divinity. Now the process reverses itself. As

we, with and through Christ, have reached up to God, so God in

turn, in and through Christ reaches down to us. In a mystery of

union which must leave even the angels gasping, God comes to

us. This time God does not use water or oil or gesture or spoken

word as the carrier of His grace. This time it is Jesus Christ

Himself, God’s own Son, really and personally present under

the appearances of bread, who skyrockets the level of sanctifying

grace within us.
*

Discussion: 1. Besides prayer, by what other means may we

increase sanctifying grace? 2. What mistake do many people

make in thinking about the sacrament of Penance? 3. What

reason is there for receiving the sacrament of Penance even

when there is no sin on the soul? 4. Which of the sacraments

is the richest source of spiritual life? 5. Can you describe

what happens between the soul and God at Mass?

The Mass itself, even without Holy Communion, is a limit-

less source of grace for every member of Christ’s Mystical Body

who is already spiritually alive. For each of us individually the

graces of the Mass increase to the degree in which we con-

sciously and actively unite ourselves with Christ in His offering

of Himself. When circumstances make quite impossible the

actual reception of Holy Communion, a sincere and fervent



WELLSPRINGS OF LIFE 25

Spiritual communion will still more increase the grace we receive

from Mass. Christ is quite capable of bridging a gap that is

not of our own making.

But it should be quite evident that any Catholic genuinely

interested in his own spiritual growth will want to complete the

cycle of grace with actual Holy Communion. "Every Mass a

Communion Mass” should be the aim of all of us. There is a

sad waste of grace in any Mass for one who fails through

lethargy or indifference to open his heart to the gift of Himself

which God offers. And it is a misunderstanding that is close to

stupidity to look upon Holy Communion as a periodic "duty”

to be fulfilled once a month or once a year.

There is a point that bears noting here with regard to the

life-giving power of prayer and the sacraments alike. It has been

emphasized that grace, in all its forms, is a free gift of God.

Whether it be the beginning of holiness in Baptism or growth in

holiness through prayer and the other sacraments— every bit
of it is the work of God. No matter what heroic acts I might

perform, without God’s grace I never could save myself.

However, this must not lead me to think that prayer and the

sacraments are magic formulas which will save me and sanctify

me in spite of myself. If I think that, then I shall be guilty of

that religious "formalism” of which Catholics often are accused.

Religious formalism results when a person thinks that he becomes

"good” simply by going through certain motions, speaking certain*

prayers and taking part in certain ceremonies. Against Catholics

in general the accusation is most unjust, but the charge would

rightly be leveled against an individual Catholic whose spiritual

life was limited to the automatic and unthinking recitation of

certain fixed prayers— with no lifting of the mind and heart
to God; and to the force-of-habit or sense-of-duty reception of

the sacraments, with no conscious striving for closer union with

God. In short, God can penetrate the soul only insofar as self

will let Him.

Discussion: 1. What determines the degree of grace we re-

ceive from the Mass.^ 2. If we cannot receive Holy Communion

at the Mass we attend, what should we do as a substitute?



26 THE HOLY SPIRIT AND HIS WORK

3. Why should "every Mass a Communion Mass” be the aim

of all of us? 4. What do we mean by "religious formalism”?

5. What kind of Catholic would be guilty of religious

formalism ?

MY APOSTOLATE:

1. If my prayer-life has been a skimpy one, I shall resolve to

do more and better praying— especially when I get up in
the morning and before I go to bed.

2. Using the New Testament or a good spiritual book, I shall

try to spend fifteen minutes each day in the type of mental

prayer called meditation.

3. I shall try to take a more conscious and active part in

each Mass at which I assist, and will guard against being

merely a passive onlooker.



Chapter V

WHAT IS MERIT?

In THE news dispatches I once read of a man who built a new
house for his family. He did most of the work himself and put

all his savings into the materials. When the house was com-

pleted after many months of labor, the man found to his

horror that he had built it on the wrong lot, another man’s lot.

The owner of the lot calmly took possession of the house, while

the builder could only weep for his wasted time and money.

Pitiable as was that poor man’s loss, it is as nothing compared

to the pitiableness of the man— or woman— who lives without
sanctifying grace. No matter what grand or noble deeds such a

person may perform, not one of his actions has any value in the

eyes of God. Whether it be through lack of Baptism or because

of subsequent mortal sin, the soul which is cut off from God

lives his days in vain. His sorrows and his pains, his sacrifices

and his goodnesses— all are without eternal value, all are wasted
so far as God is concerned. There is no merit in anything he

does. What, then, is merit?

Merit has been defined as that property of a good work which

entitles the doer to a reward. All of us, I am sure, will agree

that generally speaking it requires an effort to do what is right,

what is good. Whether it is feeding the poor, or giving aid to

the sick, or doing a kind turn for a neighbor, it is easy to see that

there is some sacrifice of self involved. It is easy to see that such

actions have a value, that they can lay claim, at least potentially,

to a reward. But they can lay no claim to a reward from God

if God has had no part in the doing of the deeds. They can

lay no claim to a reward from God if there is no communication

between God and the doer. No matter how hard a workman

might labor, he cannot claim compensation for his work if he

has neglected to put his name on the payroll.

That is why it is only the soul that is in the state of sanctify-

ing grace which can gain merit for its actions. Indeed, it is being

in the state of sanctifying grace that gives eternal value to an

27



28 THE HOLY SPIRIT AND HIS WORK

action. Human deeds, so long as they are purely human, have

no supernatural significance at all. It is only when these deeds

become the work of God Himself that they have a divine worth.

And our deeds are in a sense the work of God Himself present

in the soul when the soul is living the supernatural life which

we call sanctifying grace.

This is so true that even the least of our actions has a super-

natural value when it is performed in union with God. What-

ever God does, even when He does it through us as His free

and willing instruments, has a divine worth. That is why even

the least of our actions, provided it be a morally good action,

is meritorious so long as we have the intention, at least habitual,

of doing all for God.

Discussion: 1. Why is the person who lives without sancti-

fying grace an especially pitiable person.^ 2. What is merit?

3. When is it that a good action can claim no reward from

God? 4. When is it that our actions have an eternal value?

5. For an action to be meritorious, what intention must we

have ?

It is no surprise to anyone that helping the needy, practicing

penances, or giving to the missions, are meritorious actions when

performed in the state of sanctifying grace. But many persons are

surprised to learn that beating a rug, getting a haircut, or

weeding a garden are meritorious actions too when performed

by one who is living his life on a supernatural level— in the
state of sanctifying grace. Any free and conscious action which

is not sinful is a morally good action, no matter how simple

and unpretentious it may be. Therefore, everything which we

freely do which is not sinful, and which we do in the state of

sanctifying grace, is a source of merit, with the further proviso

that there must be at least a virtual intention of doing all for

love of God.

Since merit is "that property of a good work which entitles

the doer to a reward,” we next ask, logically, what our reward

is to be? Our supernaturally good actions will merit, but what

will they merit? They will merit a triple reward; an increase



WHAT IS MERIT? 29

in sanctifying grace, eternal life, and an increase of glory in

heaven. With regard to the second phase of this reward—
eternal life— it might be of interest to note this point : for the
baptized infant, heaven is a heritage by virtue of the infant’s

being an adopted child of God incorporated in Christ, but for

the adult Christian, heaven is a recompense as well as a heritage,

a reward we can earn, because God has promised it to those who

serve Him.

With regard to the third item of reward— increase of
heavenly glory— we can see that it flows from the first. Our
degree of glory in heaven will be proportionate to the degree

of our union with God, the extent to which sanctifying grace

has permeated our soul. As grace increases, so does our pro-

spective glory in heaven also increase.

However, to achieve the eternal life and the increased glory

that we have merited, we must, of course, die in the state of

sanctifying grace. Mortal sin wipes out all merit, just as a

bank crash can wipe out one’s life savings. And there is no

merit to be gained beyond the grave. There is no merit that we

can gain in hell or in purgatory— not even in heaven. This
life and this life only is the time of testing, the time of merit.

It is consoling, however, to know that merits which have

been lost by mortal sin are restored as soon as the soul turns back

to God by an act of perfect contrition or the sacrament of

Penance. Merits revive the moment that sanctifying grace re-

turns to the soul. The repentant sinner, in other words, does

not have to begin all over again; his former treasure of merits

is not wholly lost.

Discussion: 1. To be a source of merit, why need an action

not be something big or something "pious”? 2. What is the

triple reward that is merited by good actions? 3. Why do we

say that for the adult heaven is a recompense? 4. How may

our merits be lost? 5. Can we regain merit that has been lost?

For you and for me, and in practical everyday terms, what

does it mean to live in the state of sanctifying grace? To

answer that question, let us take two men who work side by



30 THE HOLY SPIRIT AND HIS WORK

side in the same office (or it could be a factory, a store, a farm).

To the casual observer, the two men are very much alike. Both

do the same kind of work, both are married, both have families;

both of them lead what might be called "respectable” lives.

One of the men, however, is what we would term a "secularist.”

He practices no religion, he gives little, if any, thought to God.

His philosophy is that it is up to him to make his own happiness,

to get all that he can out of life. "If you don’t get it yourself,”

he will say, "no one else is going to get it for you.”

He is not a had man. On the contrary, he is admirable in

many ways. He is a bear for work, both because he wants to get

ahead in the world and because he wants to give his family the

best of everything. He is genuinely devoted to his family, proud

of his pretty wife, who is such a capable helpmate, and wrapped

up in his children, whom he sees as an extension of himself.

"They are the only immortality I ask for,” he tells his friends.

He is a friendly fellow, well liked by those who know him,

reasonably generous, and active in civic affairs. His industry,

truthfulness, honesty, thoughtfulness are not based on any re-

ligious principles. "It’s the decent thing to do,” he will explain.

"I owe it to myself as a civilized human being.”

There, very much condensed, is a picture of the "naturally”

good man. All of us have met him, at one time or another.

Outwardly at least, he puts many a professing Christian to

shame. And yet we know that he is failing in the biggest thing

of all. He is not doing the decent thing, he is not being a credit

to himself as a human being so long as he ignores the one big

thing for which he was made: to love God, and to prove that

love by doing God’s will, doing God’s will for God’s sake.

Precisely because he is so good in all the lesser things, our pity

is the greater, our prayers for him the more agonized.

Now we turn our attention to the other man, who works at

the next desk or machine or counter. The second man seems

almost the identical twin of the first : in family status, home, work,

personality. But there is an incalculable difference which the

casual eye will not easily spot. The difference lies first of all

in intention. The second man’s life is not based on a philosophy

of "common decency” or "o’^e it to myself.” At least not



WHAT IS MERIT? 31

mainly. The natural loves and human urges which he shares in

common with all mankind have been transformed in him by a

higher love and a higher urge: the love of God, and the desire

to do God’s will.

His wife is not merely his companion of the fireside. She

also is his companion of the altar. He and she are partners

with God, helping one another on to holiness, co-operating with

God in the creation of new human beings destined for eternal

life. His love for his children is not a mere extension of himself;

he sees his children as a solemn trust from God; he sees himself

as a steward who one day will have to answer for their souls.

His love for them, as for his wife, is part of his love for God.

His job is not merely a chance for advancement and for

material gain. It is a part of his priestly fatherhood, the means

of providing for the material needs of his family, a part of the

pattern of God’s plan for him. He gives his job the best he has

got because he understands that he is an instrument in God’s

hands for the completion of God’s creative work in the world.

For God, only the best will do. And so it goes through his

day. His natural friendliness is imbued with a spirit of charity.

His generosity is perfected by detachment. His thoughtfulness

partakes of the compassion of Christ. Not perhaps that he thinks

of such things often; certainly not that he goes through his day

in self-conscious righteousness. But he has begun his day by

pointing it where it should be pointed— towards God and away
from self. "O my God,” he has said, "I offer up to Thee all

my thoughts, words, actions and sufferings of this day. ...” He

has perhaps made the best beginning of all by starting his day

with Mass.

But there is one other thing necessary to make this man a

truly supernatural man. His right intention is necessary, but alone

it is not enough. His day must not only be directed to God, it

also must be lived in union with God if it is to have any

everlasting value. In other words, he must be in the state of

sanctifying grace.

In Christ, even His most insignificant action was of infinite

value, because His human nature was united with His divine

nature. Whatever Jesus did, God was doing. It is somewhat



32 THE HOLY SPIRIT AND HIS WORK

(only somewhat) the same with us. When we are in the state

of sanctifying grace we do not possess the divine nature, but we

do participate in God’s own nature, we do share in a special way

in God’s own life. As a consequence, whatever we do— sin ex-
cepted— God is doing in and through us. God-in-us gives an
eternal value to all that we do. Even our homeliest actions, such

as wiping the baby’s nose or scouring the sink, merit an increase

in sanctifying grace and a higher degree of glory in heaven,

if our life is centered on God. This is what it means to live

in the state of sanctifying grace. This is what it means to be a

supernatural man.

Discussion: 1. Why is the "naturally good’’ man not really

good.^ 2. What is the difference in intention between the

naturally good man and the supernaturally good man

3. Besides the right intention, what else is necessary for the

truly supernatural man .2 4. Why was even the most insignifi-

cant of Christ’s actions of infinite value? 5. Why is it that

our actions performed in the state of sanctifying grace have

an eternal value?

MY APOSTOLATE:

1. Each morning I shall make an offering of my day to God

and shall try determinedly to keep myself in the state of

sanctifying grace so that none of my actions may be

wasted.

2. Conscious that all my actions are directed ultimately to

God, I shall try to do my very best in whatever I am doing.

3. If I have a friend or neighbor who is a "good’’ person

but seemingly without religion, I shall watch for an oppor-

tunity to talk to that person in a friendly way about our

need to direct our lives to God.



Chapter VI

WHAT IS VIRTUE?

Are you a virtuous person ? Modesty probably would move you
to answer, "No, not particularly so,” to that question. Yet, if

you are baptized and are in the state of sanctifying grace, you do

possess the three greatest virtues of all— the divine virtues of
faith and hope and charity. If you were to commit a mortal sin

you would lose the virtue of charity (or love for God), but

you still would retain the virtues of faith and hope.

Before going any further, perhaps we should recall what the

word "virtue” means. In religion virtue is defined as a "habit

or permanent disposition which inclines a person to do good and

to avoid evil.” For example, if you have the habit of always

telling the truth, then you have the virtue of veracity or truth-

fulness. If you have the habit of being strictly honest with

regard to the rights of others, then you have the virtue of

justice.

If we acquire a virtue by our own efforts, by consciously

developing a certain good habit, then we call that virtue a

natural virtue. Suppose that we decide to develop the virtue of

veracity. We become watchful of our speech, careful not to say
anything which we know is at variance with the truth. In the

beginning perhaps we find it difficult, especially when telling

the truth causes us embarrassment or inconvenience. A habit,
however (good or bad), is strengthened by repeated acts. Little

by little we find it easier to tell the truth, even when the results

are painful. It becomes almost second nature for us to tell the

truth; it "goes against the grain” for us to tell a lie. At that

point, we definitely have acquired the virtue of veracity. Be-

cause we have accomplished it by our own efforts, we term it a

natural virtue.

God may, however, directly infuse a virtue into our soul

without any effort on our part. By His almighty power God may

confer upon the soul the power and the inclination to perform

33



34 THE HOLY SPIRIT AND HIS WORK

certain actions that are supernaturally good. A virtue of this
kind, a habit bestowed upon the soul directly by God, is called a

supernatural virtue. Chief among the supernatural virtues are

those three which we call the theological virtues: faith, hope,

and charity. They are called theological (or divine) virtues be-

cause they pertain directly to God : it is in God that we believe, in

God that we hope; it is God that we love.

Discussion: 1. Why may anyone who is in the state of sancti-

fying grace call himself a virtuous person.^ 2. In religion,

what does the word 'Virtue” mean? 3. What is meant by a

natural virtue ? , 4. How do we acquire a supernatural virtue ?

5. Why are faith, hope, and charity called "theological”

virtues ?

These three virtues are infused into our soul along with

sanctifying grace, in the sacrament of Baptism. Even the

baptized infant possesses these three virtues, although he will

not be able to exercise them until he reaches the age of reason.

Once we receive these three virtues they are not easily lost.

The virtue of charity, the ability to love God with a supernatural

love, will be lost only if, by mortal sin, we deliberately separate

ourselves from God. When sanctifying grace goes, charity goes

also.

But even with charity gone, faith and hope may still remain.

We lose the virtue of hope only by a sin against hope— by
the sin of despair, in which we no longer trust in God’s goodness

and mercy. Hope also would be lost, of course, if faith were

lost. We certainly will not trust in a God in whom we do not
believe. And faith itself will be lost only by a grievous sin

directly against faith, by a refusal to believe what God has

revealed.

Besides the three great virtues which we call the theological

or divine virtues, there are four other supernatural virtues which

are infused into the soul at Baptism along with sanctifying

grace. Because these virtues do not pertain directly to God but

rather concern our attitude towards persons and things in rela-

tion to God, they are called moral virtues. Aside from faith.



WHAT IS VIRTUE? 35

hope and charity, all other virtues are moral virtues. The four

of which we speak, the four supernatural moral virtues which

are infused into the soul with sanctifying grace, are prudence,

justice, fortitude and temperance.

These four virtues have a special name of their own; they are

called the four cardinal virtues. The word "cardinal” comes

from the Latin word "cardo,” which means "a hinge.” Prudence,

justice, fortitude and temperance are called cardinal virtues be-

cause they are the "hinge” virtues, the key virtues upon which

all the other moral virtues depend. If a man is truly prudent,

just, spiritually strong and temperate, then he will possess all

the other moral virtues too. We might say that these four con-

tain within themselves the seeds of all the other virtues. For

example the virtue of religion, which disposes us to offer to

God the worship which is His due, stems from the cardinal

virtue of justice. Religion, incidentally, is the highest of all

the moral virtues.

It may be of interest to point out two notable differences

between natural and supernatural virtues. A natural virtue,

because it has been acquired by repeated practice and by repeated

self-discipline, makes it easy for us to perform an act of that

particular virtue. We reach the point, for an illustration, where
it is more pleasurable to be truthful than to be untruthful. On

the other hand, a supernatural virtue, since it is directly infused

and not acquired by repeated acts, does not necessarily make it

easy for us to practice the virtue. I can imagine a person who

might possess the virtue of faith to a very high degree and yet

be tempted by doubts against faith his whole life long.

Another difference between natural and supernatural virtue

is the manner in which each increases. A natural virtue, such
as an acquired patience, is increased by repeated and persevering

practice. A supernatural virtue, however, receives its increase

only from God— an increase which God gives in proportion
to the moral goodness of our actions. In other words, whatever

increases sanctifying grace, also will increase the infused virtues.

We grow in virtue as we grow in grace.



36 THE HOLY SPIRIT AND HIS WORK

Discussion: 1. When do we acquire the three theological

virtues? 2. How may we lose the virtue of charity? of hope?

of faith? 3. What is the name given to virtues which do not

pertain directly to God? 4. What four moral virtues are

infused into the soul with sanctifying grace? 5. Why are
these four virtues called "cardinal” virtues? 6. If we possess

a supernatural virtue, is it not always easy for us to practice

that virtue? Discuss. 7. Why can we not increase our super-

natural virtues by our own efforts?

What do we mean, exactly, when we say, "I believe in God,”

'T hope in God,” "I love God”? In our everyday conversation

we are likely to use words rather loosely; it is good occasionally

to recall the strict and original meaning of the words we use,

"Faith” is a good word to start with. Of the three divine

virtues which are infused into our soul at the time of our

Baptism, faith is the most basic. It is obvious that we cannot

hope in nor love a God in whom we do not believe.

Divine faith is defined as "the virtue by which we firmly

believe all the truths God has revealed, on the word of God

revealing them, who can neither deceive nor be deceived.”

There are two key phrases there: "firmly believe,” and "word

of God.” They will merit examination.

To believe means to accept as true. We believe something
when we give it our definite and unquestioning assent. We can
see how loosely we are using the word when we say, "I believe

it will rain tomorrow,” or "I believe this is the nicest summer

we ever had.” In both these cases we merely are expressing an

opinion; we surmise that it may rain tomorrow; we have an im-

pression that this is the nicest summer we’ve had. This is one

point to bear in mind— an opinion is not really a belief. Faith
means certainty.

But not all certainty is faith. I do not say that I believe

something if it is something I can plainly see and understand.

I do not say that I believe that two plus two equals four. I

know that two plus two equals four. It is something which I can

understand and prove to my own satisfaction. Knowledge of this



WHAT IS VIRTUE? 37

kind, concerning facts which I can perceive and grasp, is called

understanding rather than belief.

Belief then— or faith— is the acceptance of something as
true on the authority of someone else. Personally I have never

been in China, but many persons who have been there assure me

that there is such a country as China. Because I have confidence

in those people, I believe that China exists. Similarly, I know

little about the science of physics and absolutely nothing about

nuclear fission. Yet, despite the fact that I never saw an atom,

I believe that the atom can be split, because I trust the competency

of the men who say it can be and has been done.

Discussion; 1. Why is faith the most basic virtue? 2. What

is the definition of "divine faith” ? 3. What is the difference

between faith and opinion? 4. What kind of knowledge is

not faith? 5. What kind of knowledge is called faith?

This kind of knowledge is the knowledge of faith: facts

accepted on the authority of others in whom we have confidence.

Since there is so much that we do not understand in life, and so

little time for investigating things for ourselves, we can see that

most of our knowledge is based upon faith. If we did not have

confidence in our fellow human beings, life would stand still.

If the man who says, "I only believe what I can see,” or "I

don’t believe it unless I can understand it,” really lives up to his

words, he will accomplish very little.

This kind of faith of which we have been talking— the
acceptance of a truth on the say-so of another human being— is
termed human faith. The adjective "human” distinguishes it

from the faith which accepts a truth on the authority of God.

When our mind gives adherence to a truth simply because God

has said that it is so, our faith is called divine faith. It is plain

that divine faith is a much more certain knowledge than merely

human faith. It is not likely, but it is possible, for all human

witnesses to be mistaken about some fact— as, for instance,
all scholars once taught that the world was flat. It is not likely

but it is possible for all available human witnesses to be de-

ceivers— as, for instance, the Communist dictators have deceived



38 THE HOLY SPIRIT AND HIS WORK

the Russian people. But God cannot be mistaken, He cannot

deceive; He is infinite Wisdom and infinite Truth. Concerning

the truths that God has made known to us, there never can be

the faintest shadow of a doubt. That is why true faith is always

a firm faith. To entertain doubts about a truth of faith willingly

is to question either God’s infinite knowledge or His infinite

truthfulness. To speculate, *T wonder whether there really are

three Persons in God,” or 'T wonder whether Jesus really is

present in the Holy Eucharist,” is to question the credibility of

God and to deny His authority. It is, in effect, to reject divine

faith.

For the same reason, true faith must be complete. It would

be folly to suppose that we can pick and choose among the

truths God has revealed, according to our taste. To say, 'T

believe in heaven, but not in hell”; or ”I believe in Baptism but

not in confession,” is to say, in effect, "God can be wrong.”

The logical conclusion then is, why believe God at all.^

The faith of which we have been speaking is supernatural

faith, the act of faith which springs from the infused virtue of

divine faith. It would be possible to have a purely natural faith

in God and in many of His truths. Such a faith might result

from the evidence of nature, which witnesses to a Supreme Being

of infinite power and wisdom. Such a faith might result from

acceptance of the testimony of countless wise and great men, or

from evidence of divine Providence in one’s own life. A natural

faith of this kind is a preparation for the genuinely supernatural

faith which will be infused, with sanctifying grace, at the bap-

tismal font. But it is only this supernatural faith, this virtue

of divine faith which is infused at Baptism, that makes it pos-

sible for us to believe firmly and completely all the truths, even

the most ineffable and mysterious truths, which God has revealed.

Without such a faith we who have reached the use of reason

cannot be saved. The virtue of faith alone will save the baptized

infant, but with the age of reason there must be the act of faith

as well.

Discussion: 1. Why is it that we could accomplish very little

in life without faith 2. What is the difference between human



WHAT IS VIRTUE? 39

faith and divine faith? 3. Why is divine faith a much more

certain knowledge than human faith? 4. Why must a true

faith always be a jirm faith? 5. When is it possible for true

faith to be incomplete? 6. When might a person have a

merely natural faith?

MY APOSTOLATE:

1. I shall try to deepen and intensify my virtue of faith by

meriting an increase through frequent acts of faith—
particularly in my morning and night prayers.

2. Realizing that faith is my basic virtue, I shall guard it

carefully, avoiding any kind of reading or associations

which might weaken my faith.

3. Knowing that without faith there is no salvation, I shall

decide upon some friend, relative or neighbor who is in

need of faith, and make that person the special object

of my prayers.



Chapter VII

HOPE AND LOVE

It IS a doctrine of our Christian faith that God gives to every

soul He creates sufficient grace to get to heaven. It is upon

this teaching of Christ’s Church that the divine virtue of hope,

infused into our soul at Baptism, feeds and grows with the

passing years.

Hope is defined as "the virtue by which we firmly trust that

God, who is all-powerful and faithful to His promises, will in

His mercy give us eternal happiness and the means to obtain it.”

In other words, no one loses heaven except by his own fault. So

far as God’s part is concerned, our salvation is certain. It is only

our part— our co-operation or non-co-operation with God’s
grace— that is uncertain.

It is this confidence that we have in God’s goodness and power

and fidelity that sweetens and makes bearable the hardships of

life. If the practice of virtue at times demands of us self-

discipline and self-renunciation, perhaps even the self-immola-

tion of martyrdom, we find the needed strength and courage in

the assurance of our final victory.

The virtue of hope is implanted in the soul at Baptism, along

with sanctifying grace. Even the infant, once baptized, has the

virtue of hope. But the virtue must not be allowed to lie

dormant. With the advent of reason, the virtue must find ex-

pression in the act of hope. This is the inner conviction and the

conscious expression of trust in God and reliance upon His

promises. The act of hope should figure prominently in our

daily prayers. It is a form of prayer particularly pleasing to God

since it expresses simultaneously our admission of complete

dependence upon God and our absolute confidence in His love

for us.

It is evident that the act of hope is absolutely necessary for

salvation. To entertain doubts as to God’s fidelity in keeping

His promises, or as to the effectiveness of His grace in over-

coming our human weakness, would be to offer blasphemous

40



HOPE AND LOVE 41

insult to God. Nor would it be possible to weather the rigors

of temptation, to practice self-forgetful charity towards others, in

short to lead a truly Christian life, if we had no confidence in

the eventual outcome. How few of us would have the fortitude

to persevere in good if we thought we had only one chance in

a million of getting to heaven!

Discussion: 1. Upon which teaching of Christ’s Church is the

virtue of divine hope based 2. What is the definition of

hope? 3. How does the virtue of hope make bearable the

burdens of life ? 4. When must the virtue of hope become

the act of hope? 5. Why is hope absolutely necessary for

salvation ?

It follows, too, that our hope must be a firm hope. Hope

that is weak belittles God, either His almighty power or His

infinite goodness. This does not mean that we should not have

a wholesome fear of losing our soul. But the fear should stem

from lack of confidence in ourselves, not from lack of confidence

in God. If even a Lucifer could reject grace, then we also have

within us the capacity for failure— but the failure will not be
God’s. It is only a stupid person who will say, in repenting of

sin, "O God, I am so ashamed of being so weak!” The hopeful

person would say, ”0 my God, I am so ashamed of forgetting

how weak I am!” A saint might be described as one who has

the utmost distrust of his own strength, and the utmost con-

fidence in God.

It is well to bear in mind also that the basis of Christian

hope applies to others as well as to ourselves. God wills the

salvation, not just of me, but of all men. That is why we never

should weary in our prayers for sinners and unbelievers, espe-

cially for those who may be close to us by blood or friendship.

It is the teaching of Catholic theologians that God never entirely

withdraws His grace even from the most obdurate sinners. When

the Bible speaks of God hardening His heart against a sinner

(for example, Pharao who resisted Moses), it is really only a

poetic way of describing the sinner’s own reaction. It is the

sinner who hardens his own heart by resisting God’s grace,



42 THE HOLY SPIRIT AND HIS WORK

And if someone dear to us has died, apparently unrepentant

to the end, we still should not lose heart and "grieve as those

who have no hope.” What thunderbolts of grace God may have

unleashed upon that stubborn soul in the last split-second of

consciousness— graces gained by our own hopeful prayers— we
shall not know until we meet in heaven.

Although trust in God’s providence is not exactly the same

thing as the divine virtue of hope, yet it is enough allied to hope

to merit attention here. Trust in God’s providence simply means

that we do believe that God loves each of us with an infinite

love— a love that could not be more direct and personal even
if we were the only soul on the face of the earth. To that faith

is added our belief that God wills only what is best for us—
that in His infinite wisdom He knows best what is best for

us— and that in His infinite power He can bring about what is
best for us.

On that solid foundation of God’s love and care and wisdom

and power, we stand secure. We do not fall into a black mood

of despondency when "things go wrong.” When our plans are

upset, our expectations thwarted and failure seems to dog our

every step, we know that in some way God is working this all

out to our ultimate good. Even the terror of the hydrogen

bomb and the shadow of Communist threats will leave us un-

shaken, because we know that the very evils which men fashion

God will somehow work into His plan.

It is this same trust in God’s providence that comes to our

aid when we are tempted (as who is not, sometimes.^) to think

that we are smarter than God; that we know better than He,

under these circumstances, what is best for us. "Maybe it is a

sin, but we just can’t afford another baby”; "Maybe it isn’t quite

honest, but I’ve got to stay in business”; "Tknow it seems a bit

crooked, but politics is like that.” It is when alibis like these

start to rise to our lips that we beat them down with our trust in

God’s providence. "It looks as if doing the right thing’ is going

to be rough on me,” we say, "but God knows all the circum-

stances. He’s smarter than I am. And He cares. I’ll string

along with Him.”



HOPE AND LOVE 43

Discussion: 1. Even though our hope is firm, why should we

still have fear of losing heaven? 2. How might we describe

a saint? 3. Why should we never weary in our prayers for

sinners and unbelievers? 4. What does it mean to have trust

in God’s providence? 5. How does trust in God’s providence

often come to our aid when we are tempted to sin?

The only one of the three divine virtues which will remain

with us forever is the virtue of charity. In heaven faith will

give way to knowle'dge; there is no longer any need to "believe

in’’ the God whom we actually see. Hope also will disappear,

as we actually possess the happiness for which we hoped. But

charity will not disappear. On the contrary, only in that breath-

less ecstatic moment when we see God face to face will the

virtue of charity which was infused into our soul at Baptism

reach the fullness of its capabilities. It is then that our love for

God, so muted and so weak in this life, will blaze up like an

exploding rocket. Finding ourselves united with the infinitely

lovable God who alone can fulfill the human heart’s capacity

for love, our charity will express itself forever in an act of love.

Divine charity, the virtue which is implanted in our soul at

Baptism, along with faith and hope, is defined as "the virtue by

which we love God above all things for His own sake, and our

neighbor as ourselves for the love of God.’’ It is called the

Queen of virtues. Other virtues, both divine and moral, carry us

towards God, but it is charity which fastens us to God. Where

there is charity, the other virtues must be. "Love God and do as

you please!’’ one of the saints has said. It is evident that if we

truly love God, it will please us only to do what will please Him.

It is, of course, the virtue of charity which is infused into

our soul in the sacrament of Baptism. It still remains for us,

when we have reached the use of reason, to exercise that virtue,

to make acts of love. It is the power to make such acts of love,

easily and in a supernatural manner, that is given us in Baptism.

A person could have a natural love for God. Contemplating
God’s goodness and mercy and His endless benefits to us, we

could be moved to love Him as we love any other lovable person.

Indeed, a person who had no opportunity to be baptized (or a



44 THE HOLY SPIRIT AND HIS WORK

person in mortal sin with no chance for confession) could not

save his soul unless he did make an act of perfect love for God.

That means a selfless love, loving God just because He is so

infinitely lovable, loving God for Himself alone. Even for such

an act of love as this, we would need God’s help, in the form

of actual grace, but it still would be a natural love.

Discussion: 1. Why is charity the only one of the divine

virtues which will remain with us forever? 2. Why will our

charity reach its fullness only in heaven? 3- How is divine

charity defined ? 4. Why is charity called the Queen of virtues ?

5. When does a soul first receive the virtue of charity? 6. When

is a natural love for God absolutely necessary for a person in

order to save his soul?

It is only through the indwelling of God in the soul, with

the accompanying supernatural life called sanctifying grace, that

we become capable of an act of supernatural love for God. The

reason that our love then is a supernatural love is because it

really is God Himself loving Himself through us. To clarify

that, we might use the example of a son who buys a birthday

present for his father, using (with the father’s permission) the

father’s own charge account to buy the present. Or, like a

child writing a letter to his mother, with the mother herself

guiding the child’s inexperienced hand. Similarly, it is by the

divine life within us that we are able to love God adequately,

proportionately, with a love that is worthy of God. With a

love also that is pleasing to God, in spite of the fact that it is

God, in a sense, who is doing the loving.

It is this same virtue of charity (which always accompanies

sanctifying grace) which makes it possible to love our neighbor

with a supernatural love. We love our neighbor then not with a
merely natural love because he is a likable person, because he is

congenial to us, because we get along well with him, because

he in some way appeals to us. Such natural love is not bad, but

there is no supernatural merit in it. By means of the divine

virtue of charity, we make ourselves a vehicle, an instrument, by

means of which God, through us, can love our neighbor. Our



HOPE AND LOVE 45

part is simply to lend ourselves to God, to put no obstacle to the

flow of God’s love. Our part is to have a good will towards

our neighbor because of our own love for God, because we

know that is what God wants. "Our neighbor," incidentally,

includes everyone whom God has made : the angels and saints

in heaven (easy), the souls in purgatory (easy), and all living

human beings, even our enemies (ouch!).

It is right here that we touch the very heart of Christianity.

It is right here that we come up against the cross. It is right

here that we prove or disprove the reality of our love for God.

It is easy to love our family and friends. It is not hard to love

"everybody" in a vague and general sort of way, but to wish

well to (and to pray for, and to be ready to help) that fellow

at the next desk who stole your girl, or that woman across the

street who told lies about you, or that double-crossing relative

who got all of Aunt Minnie’s money, or that criminal in the

newspaper who raped and killed the six-year-old child— well,
it’s hard enough to forgive them, let alone love them. In fact,

we just couldn’t do it naturally speaking. But with the divine

virtue of charity we can do it; in fact we must do it, or our love

for God is a fake and a sham.

Let us remember, though, that supernatural love, whether

for God or for neighbor, need not be an emotional love. Super-

natural love resides primarily in the will, not in the emotions.

We might have a very deep love for God, as proved by our
fidelity to Him, without particularly feeling that love. To love

God simply means that we are willing to give up anything rather

than offend God by mortal sin. Similarly we may have a

genuine supernatural love for our neighbor, even though on the

natural level we feel a strong distaste for him. Do I forgive him,

for God’s sake, the wrong he has done.^ Do I pray for him,

and hope that he will get the grace he needs and save his soul.^

Do I stand ready to help him if he should be in need, in spite

of my own natural repugnance? Then I do have a supernatural

love for my neighbor. The divine virtue of charity is functioning

within me. I can pray an act of love (as I ought frequently to

do) without hypocrisy or sham.



46 THE HOLY SPIRIT AND HIS WORK

Discussion: 1. Why is it that we become capable of a super-
natural love for God only through the indwelling of God in

the soul? 2. What is the difference between a natural love for

our neighbor and a supernatural love for him? 3. Who is
our neighbor? 4. Why do we say that love of neighbor is

the very heart of Christianity? 5. Why is it not necessary to

feel our supernatural love for God or neighbor?

MY APOSTOLATE:

1. In moments of temptation, I shall make an act of hope,

remembering that at that moment God is pouring out

His graces upon me in order to help me.

2. I shall try to stop feeling sorry for myself and complaining

when the going gets hard, remembering that God is

watching over me with love, and that He knows what is

best for me.

3. Knowing that there is little merit in loving those who are

easy to love, I shall go out of my way to be kind and

pleasant to those whom I find hard to get along with.



Chapter VIII

WONDERS WITHIN US

A. YOUNG man whom I had just baptized said to me after-
wards, "You know, Father, all those wonderful things you told

me would happen when I got baptized? I don’t seem to feel

any of them. I do feel relieved to know that my sins are for-

given, and happy at the thought that I am a child of God and

a member of the Mystical Body of Christ, but as for the in-

dwelling of God in my soul and sanctifying grace and the virtues

of faith and hope and charity, and the gifts of the Holy

Ghost— well, I just don’t feel any of that.’’
And, of course, we don’t feel any of that, at least not usually.

The awesome transformation that takes place in us in Baptism

does not take place in our body— in our brain or nervous sys-
tem or emotions. It takes place in the inner core of our being,

in our soul. It is beyond the reach of intellectual analysis or

emotional reaction. But what if by some miracle we could be

fitted with a pair of glasses that would enable us to see our soul

as it really is in the state of sanctifying grace, adorned with all

its supernatural gifts ? Then I am sure that we would walk about

in a daze of perpetual wonderment at the lavishness with which

God has equipped us to deal with life here and to prepare for

life hereafter.

Included in the rich dowry which accompanies sanctifying

grace, are the seven gifts of the Holy Ghost. These gifts— wis-
dom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and

fear of the Lord— are qualities imparted to the soul which
make the soul responsive to the movements of grace and give

facility in the practice of virtue. They make the soul alert to

the silent voice of God within, docile to His gently guiding

hand. We might say that the gifts of the Holy Ghost are the

"lubricant" of the soul, as grace is the power of the soul.

Taking them one by one, there is first the gift of wisdom.

Wisdom gives us a right sense of proportion so that we esteem

47



48 THE HOLY SPIRIT AND HIS WORK

the things of God; we value goodness and virtue at their true

worth and see the goods of the world as steppingstones to sanc-

tity, not as ends in themselves. The man, for example, who

misses his weekly bowling night in order to attend the parish

mission is being guided by the gift of wisdom, whether he

realizes it or not.

Next is the gift of understanding. This gift gives us a

spiritual perception which enables us to understand the truths

of faith in accordance with our needs. All things else being

equal, a priest would much prefer to explain a point of doctrine

to a person who is in the state of sanctifying grace rather than

to one who is not. The former, having the gift of understand-

ing, will be much quicker in grasping the point at issue.

Discussion: 1. Why is it that we usually do not feel the

operations of grace within us.^ 2. Which are the seven gifts

of the Holy Ghost which accompany sanctifying grace ?

3. What is the purpose of these seven gifts 4. What does

the gift of wisdom do for us.^ 5. How does the gift of

understanding help us.^

The third gift, that of counsel, sharpens our judgment. By

its aid we perceive— and choose— the course of action that will
be most conducive to God’s honor and our own spiritual good.

It is a dangerous step he takes who makes a major decision in

the state of mortal sin, whether it be a decision as to vocation,

job, family problem, or any of the other choices that constantly

face us. Without the gift of counsel, human judgment is all

too fallible.

The gift of fortitude almost explains itself. Every good life

must be to some degree a heroic life. There always is the hidden

heroism required for the conquest of self. Sometimes a still

higher heroism is called for, when the doing of God’s will

means the risk of losing friends or money or health. And there

is the highest heroism of the martyrs, when life itself is sacri-

ficed for love of God. It is not without purpose that God

strengthens our human weakness with His gift of fortitude.



WONDERS WITHIN US 49

The gift of knowledge gives us spiritual "know-how.” It

disposes us to recognize, under the impulse of God’s grace, what-

ever will be helpful or hurtful to us spiritually. It is closely

allied with the gift of counsel. Counsel moves us to choose

what is helpful and to reject what is harmful. But before we

can choose we must know. As an example, by the gift of

knowledge I might perceive that too much secular reading is

dulling my taste for things spiritual. Then the gift of counsel

might guide me to stop buying so many slick periodicals, and

inspire me to begin doing some regular spiritual reading.

The gift of piety is one that may easily be misunderstood

by anyone who thinks of piety in terms of folded hands and

downcast eyes and lengthy prayers. The word "piety” in its

original meaning describes the attitude of a child towards his

parents: a mixture of love, confidence, and reverence. When we

habitually manifest this attitude towards our Father, God, we are

practicing the virtue of piety. It is the gijt of piety which im-

pels us to practice the virtue— to maintain this attitude of
childlike intimacy with God.

Finally there is the gift of fear of the Lord. This balances

the gift of piety. It is right that we look to God with eyes in

which there is love and trust and tender reverence. But it equally

is right that we should never forget that God is our all-just Judge

to whom we shall one day have to answer for the graces that He

has given us. Remembering that, we shall have a wholesome

fear of offending Him by sin.

Wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety,

and fear of the Lord. These are the "lubricants,” the auxiliaries

to graces. These are the predispositions to holiness which, with

sanctifying grace, are infused into the soul in Baptism.

Discussion: 1. What do we mean when we say that the gift

of counsel sharpens our judgment.^ 2. Why do we have need

for the gift of fortitude? 3. How is the gift of knowledge

related to the gift of counsel? 4. Why may the gift of piety

be misunderstood? 5. How does the gift of fear of the Lord

balance the gift of piety?



50 THE HOLY SPIRIT AND HIS WORK

Every catechism that I have ever seen lists the "twelve fruits

of the Holy Ghost"— charity, joy, peace, patience, benignity,
goodness, long-suffering, mildness, faith, modesty, continency

and chastity. But, so far as I have been able to observe, it is

seldom that the twelve fruits get more than a passing mention

in religious instruction classes. Even more rarely are they ex-

plained in sermons.

It seems unfortunate that it should be so. If a teacher of

science undertook to explain an apple tree to his class, he would,

of course, describe the roots and the trunk, and would tell how

the sun and moisture made the tree grow. But he would not

dream of ending his explanation with a brusque statement that,

"on this tree apples grow.” A description of the fruit of the

tree would be considered a very important part of the learning

experience. Similarly it would be illogical to talk about sancti-

fying grace and the virtues and gifts which accompany sancti-

fying grace without more than a casual mention of the results.

The fruits of the Holy Ghost are just that: the outward fruits

of the inner life, the external product of the indwelling Spirit.

Or, turning to another figure of speech, we might say that

the twelve fruits are the broad brush-strokes which outline for

us the portrait of a truly Christian man— or woman. Perhaps
the simplest procedure would be to see what that portrait looks

like. What kind of person is it who lives habitually in the state

of sanctifying grace, and who tries perseveringly to subordinate

self to the working of grace

First of all he is an unselfish person. He sees Christ in his

neighbor and is considerate of others and helpful to others,

even at the cost of inconvenience and hardship to himself. This

is charity.

Then he is a cheerful and pleasant sort of person. He

seems to radiate an inner glow which makes itself felt in any

group of which he is a part. When he is around, the sun

seems to shine a little brighter. People smile more easily, speak

more gently. This is joy.

He is a quiet and relaxed person. Psychologists would call

him "well-adjusted.” His brow may be puckered with thought.



WONDERS WITHIN US 51

but seldom with worry. He is a steady sort of person, a wonder-

ful man to have around in an emergency. This is peace.

He is not easily angered, he is not resentful of slights. He

is not upset or frustrated when things go wrong or people are

stupid. He can fail six times and still start over the seventh

time without grinding his teeth and cursing his luck. This is

patience.

Discussion: 1. Which are the twelve fruits of the Holy

Ghost? 2. Why is it unfortunate that they are not more often

explained? 3. How does the fruit of charity show itself in

a person’s conduct? 4. How will the fruit of joy manifest

itself in our life? 5. What kind of person is he in whom

is the fruit of peace? 6. How can we detect the fruit of

patience in anyone?

He is a kind person. People come to him with their troubles,

and find in him a sympathetic listener; they go away feeling

better just for having talked with him. He is interested in the

enthusiasms and the problems of others; he is especially consider-

ate of children and the aged, of the unhappy and the unfor-

tunate. This is benignity.

He stands solidly for what is right, even when it means

standing alone. He is not self-righteous; he does not judge

others; he is slow to criticize and still slower to condemn; he

is forbearing with the ignorance and the weakness of others.

But he will not compromise principle, he will not temporize

with evil. In his own religious life he is invariably generous

with God, never seeking the easiest way out. This is goodness.

He is uncomplaining under pain and disappointment, in

sickness and in sorrow. Self-pity is unknown to him. He will

raise his tear-stained eyes to heaven in prayer but never in re-

bellion. This is long-suffering.

He is a gentle person, a restful sort of person to have

around. He gives of his best to whatever task comes to hand,

but without any of the aggressiveness of the "go-getter.” He

does not seek to dominate others. He will reason persuasively,

but he never is argumentative. This is mildness.



52 THE HOLY SPIRIT AND HIS WORK

He is proud of his membership in Christ’s Mystical Body.

He does not try to ram his religion down anyone’s throat, but

neither is he apologetic for what he believes. He does not try

to conceal his religion in public; he is quick to defend the truth

when it is attacked in his presence; his religion is the most

important thing in life to him. This is faith.

His love for Jesus Christ makes him recoil from the thought

of being an ally of the devil, from the thought of occasioning

sin to another. In dress and deportment and speech, there is a

decency about him— or her— which fortifies rather than
weakens others in their virtue. This is modesty.

He is a temperate person, with his passions firmly ruled

by reason and by grace. He is not up in the clouds today and

down in the depths tomorrow. Whether in eating or drinking,

whether at work or at play, he manifests an admirable self-

control in all that he does. This is continency.

He has a great reverence for the procreative power that God

has given him, a holy awe that God should have so shared

His creative power with humankind. He sees sex as something

precious and sacred, a bond of union to be used only within

the limits of wedlock and for the purpose established by God;

never as a plaything, as a source of self-gratification. This is

chastity.

And there we have the profile of the Christian man— or
woman: charity, joy, peace, patience, benignity, goodness, long-

suffering, mildness, faith, modesty, continency and chastity. We

might try the profile on for size and see where the bulges are.

Discussion: 1. Why does the fruit of benignity make a person

so lovable to others? 2. How does the fruit of goodness differ

from self-righteousness? 3. When is the fruit of long-suffering

in evidence? 4. How does the fruit of faith make itself ap-

parent in a person’s life? 5. Why do you think there is par-

ticular need today for the fruit of modesty? 6. What is the

effect of the fruit of continency in promoting temperance?

7. Why is chastity not a virtue to be practiced only by un-

married people?



WONDERS WITHIN US 53

MY APOSTOLATE:

1. I shall never make a serious decision without a quick

prayer to the Holy Ghost, that His gifts of knowledge

and counsel may help me in my choice.

2. I shall make a careful inventory of myself, to see which

of the fruits of the Holy Ghost are least evident in my

life, and I shall work on that.

3. Remembering that Christ must depend upon me to be a

witness to the effectiveness of His grace— that His cause
rises or falls with me, so far as my associates are con-

cerned— I shall make a persevering effort to reflect the
spirit of Christ, to be a truly Christian man or woman.



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UNIT II

Chapter IX

THE MORAL VIRTUES

VtRACE builds upon nature.” That is an axiom of the

spiritual life. It means simply that when God gives us His

grace He does not first exterminate our human nature and then

put grace in its place. God adds His grace to what we already

are. The effect that grace will have upon us, and the use we

make of it, will be conditioned to a great extent by our indi-

vidual make-up— physical, mental, and emotional. Grace will
not make a genius out of a moron any more than grace will

straighten a bent back; nor will grace, normally, make a well-

adjusted person out of a neurotic.

It becomes our responsibility, then, to do our best in re-

moving obstacles to the operation of grace; to do our best to

facilitate the effects of grace. We are not talking now of such
moral obstacles as sin and self-love; their hindrance to grace

is quite apparent. We are talking rather of what we might call
natural obstacles; such obstacles as ignorance or faulty tempera-

ment or ill-formed habits. It is an obstacle to grace, certainly,

if our intellectual fare is confined to the daily newspapers and

popular magazines. It is an obstacle to grace if our over-

aggressiveness provokes us to easy anger. It is an obstacle to

grace if habits of untidiness or unpunctuality offend charity by

inconveniencing others.

These considerations are particularly pertinent when we

turn to an examination of the moral virtues. The moral virtues,

as distinguished from the theological virtues, are those virtues

which dispose us to lead moral or good lives by aiding us to

treat persons and things in the right way— that is, according
to the will of God. We possess these virtues, in their super-

natural form, when we are in the state of sanctifying grace.

That is, sanctifying grace gives us a certain predisposition, a

certain readiness for the practice of these virtues— together

55



56 THE HOLY SPIRIT AND HIS WORK

with a supernatural merit when we do practice them. This

readiness is something like the readiness of a child, at a certain

age, to learn to read and write. The child still has to acquire,

by practice, the technique of reading and writing, but mean-

while the organism is ready, the power is there.

This may be plainer if we make an individual examination

of some of the moral virtues. The four chief moral virtues, we

know, are those which we call the cardinal virtues: prudence,

justice, fortitude and temperance. Prudence is the power to

make right judgments. A person who is temperamentally im-

pulsive, given to rash and unthinking action and snap judgments,

will have a job to do in removing those obstacles before the

virtue of prudence can operate in him effectively. It is obvious,

too, that in any particular circumstance one’s knowledge and

experience will facilitate the exercise of prudence. A child has

the virtue of prudence in root form, but in matters that pertain

to the adult world a child could not be expected to make prudent

judgments with knowledge and experience lacking.

Discussion: 1. What do we mean when we say that "grace

builds upon nature’’.^ 2. What are some of the obstacles we

need to remove if grace is to do its best work within us?

3. How do the moral virtues dispose us to lead good lives?

4. Which are the four cardinal virtues? 5. Why are not all

persons equally prudent who are in the state of sanctifying

grace ?

The second cardinal virtue is justice, which perfects our

will (as prudence perfects our intelligence) and safeguards the

rights of our fellow man: his right to life and freedom, to the

sanctity of the home, to his good name and honor, and to his

material possessions. An obstacle to justice that readily comes

to mind is prejudice. Prejudice denies a man his human rights,

or hampers him in the achievement of those rights because of

his color or race or nationality or religion. Another obstacle

might be a natural stinginess, close-fistedness— a temperamental
defect that might be the result of childhood deprivation. It

would be our duty to labor at the removal of such barriers as



THE MORAL VIRTUES 57

these, if the supernatural virtue of justice were to have full play

within us.

Fortitude, the third cardinal virtue, disposes us to do what

is good in spite of every difficulty. The perfection of fortitude

is exemplified in the martyrs, who have accepted death rather

than sin. Few of us are likely to be called upon for such an

extreme degree of fortitude. But the virtue will never be able

to operate, even in the small demands made upon our courage,

unless we chop away at the barriers. Such barriers as an ex-

aggerated desire to conform, to belong, to be "one of the crowd.”

Such barriers as an unreasonable fear of public opinion (we call

it human respect)
;
the fear of being criticized or belittled; or,

worst of all, ridiculed.

The fourth of the cardinal virtues is temperance, which dis-

poses us to control our desires and especially to use rightly the

things which appeal to our senses. Temperance is especially

necessary in moderating the use of food and drink, and in regu-

lating the enjoyment of sex in the married state. The virtue of

temperance will not remove an allergy to alcohol. With some,

the only true temperance will be abstinence, just as the only true

temperance in matters of sex for the unmarried lies in ab-

stinence. Temperance does not eliminate, it regulates desire. In

this case, the removal of obstacles consists mainly in the avoid-

ance of circumstances which would excite desires which may

not, in conscience, be gratified.

There are other moral virtues besides the four cardinal ones.

Here we shall mention but a few, and each of us, if he be honest

with himself, can discover his own obstacles. There is filial

piety (and its extension, patriotism), which disposes us to honor,

love and respect our parents and our country. There is obedi-

ence, which disposes us to do the will of our superiors as a

manifestation of God’s will. There are veracity and liberality

and patience and humility and chastity and others besides. But

on the whole, if we are prudent and just and courageous and

temperate, the other virtues will pretty well follow, like children

behind Mother and Dad.



58 THE HOLY SPIRIT AND HIS WORK

Discussion: 1. What is the virtue of justice? 2. What are

some obstacles to the operation of the virtue of justice?

3. Do all of us need the virtue of fortitude at times? Why?

4. When is the virtue of temperance especially necessary ?

5. Why do we say that if we are prudent and just and coura-
geous and temperate the other moral virtues will follow?

What, then, does it mean to have a "Christian spirit” ? It is

not an easy term to define. It means, of course, having the

spirit of Christ. That in turn means viewing the world as

Christ views it; reaching to the circumstances of life as Christ

would react. The truly Christian spirit is nowhere summarized

for us better than in the eight beatitudes with which Jesus

began His surpassingly beautiful Sermon on the Mount.

The Sermon on the Mount, incidentally, is a passage of the

Bible which everyone ought to read occasionally in its entirety.

It is contained in chapters five, six and seven of St. Matthew’s

Gospel, and is the very distillation of our Saviour’s teaching.

But to return to the beatitudes: they get their name from

the Latin word "beatus,” which means "blessed,” the word

with which each of the beatitudes begins. "Blessed are the poor

in spirit,” Christ tells us, "for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

This is the first of the eight beatitudes, and it reminds us that

heaven is for the humble. The poor in spirit are those who

never forget that all that they are and all that they have is from

God. Whether it be talents or health or possessions, whether it

be even a child of their own flesh, they have nothing, in the

absolute sense, which they can rightly call their own. Because of

this poverty of spirit, this willingness to surrender back to God

whatever of His gifts He may choose to take, their very ad-

versity, when it comes, is a claim upon God for grace and merit.

It is a pledge that the God whom they value above all things

else, will indeed be their everlasting reward. With Job they say,

"The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the

name of the Lord!” (1:21).

Jesus emphasizes this point by repeating the same thought

in the second and third beatitudes. "Blessed are the meek,”



THE MORAL VIRTUES 59

He says, “for they shall possess the earth.” “The earth” to

which Jesus refers is, of course, simply poetic imagery for

heaven. This is true of all the beatitudes; heaven is the reward

which is promised, under figurative language, in each of them.

“The meek” of whom Jesus speaks in the second beatitude are

not the spineless milk-and-water characters whom the world

would describe as meek. The truly meek are anything but

weaklings. It takes great inner strength to accept disappoint-

ment, misfortune and even disaster, and to keep one’s face

turned all the while in undimmed hope to God.

“Blessed are they who mourn,” Jesus continues in the third

beatitude, “for they shall be comforted.” Here again, as in the

first and second beatitudes, we are impressed with the infinite

compassion of Christ towards the poor, the unfortunate, the

sorrowful and the suffering. These, who see their pain as the

rightful lot of sinful humanity, and accept it without repining

and without complaint, in union with the cross of Christ Him-

self; it is these who hold first place in the mind and the heart

of Jesus. They are the ones who say with St. Paul, “I reckon

that the sufferings of the present time are not worthy to be

compared with the glory to come that will be revealed in us”

(Romans 8:18).

Discussion: 1. Where do we find the “Christian spirit” well

defined for us? 2. From what famous discourse of Christ are

the beatitudes taken? 3- Describe what it means to be poor

in spirit. 4. What does “to possess the earth” mean? 5. Why

do we say that the meek of whom Jesus speaks are not weak

characters? 6. How does St. Paul express the sentiments of

those “who mourn”?

But, right as it is that we should bear our own burdens in

courage and in hope, it is not right that we should acquiesce

complacently in the injustices done to others. However willing

we may be to surrender our own material happiness, we are

nevertheless bound, by a divine paradox, to labor for the hap-

piness of others. Injustice not only destroys the temporal hap-

piness of the one who suffers it; it imperils his eternal happiness



60 THE HOLY SPIRIT AND HIS WORK

too. This is true whether it be an economic injustice which op-

presses the poor (the hapless migrant, agricultural laborer, the

city slum-dweller are cases in point)
;
or whether it be the racial

injustice which degrades our brother (and how do you feel about

the Negro and segregation ? ) ; or whether it be a moral injustice

which stymies the workings of grace (are you disturbed by some

of the literature on your neighborhood newsstand.^). We must
have a zeal for justice, whether it be the justice of a square

deal for our fellow man or the higher justice towards God which

is sinlessness, in others as well as in ourselves. These are some

of the implications of the fourth beatitude: "Blessed are they

who hunger and thirst for justice, for they shall be satisfied.”

Satisfied in heaven, but never satisfied here.

"Blessed are the merciful,” Christ continues, "for they shall

obtain mercy.” It is so hard to forgive those who have hurt

us; so hard to be patient with the weak and the ignorant and

the disagreeable. But the very essence of the Christian spirit

is here. There can be no forgiveness for him who will not

forgive.

"Blessed are the clean of heart, for they shall see God.”

The sixth beatitude does not primarily refer, as many think,

to chastity. It refers to selflessness; everything viewed first of

all from God’s viewpoint, rather than my own. It means single-

ness of purpose; God first, without self-deceit or compromise.

"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the

children of God.” As I listen to Christ saying that, I must ask

myself whether I am a center of peace and harmony in my own

home, an island of good will in my neighborhood, a mender of

discord in the place where I work. It is a sure path to heaven.

"Blessed are they who suffer persecution for justice’ sake,

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” And with the eighth

beatitude we hang our head in shame as we recall the small

inconveniences our own religion costs us— and think of (and
pray for) the tortured souls of our brethren behind the Iron

and the Bamboo Curtains.

Discussion: 1. Why is it not right for us to excuse ourselves

from helping others by saying that "suffering is good for

them” ?



THE MORAL VIRTUES 61

2. How does the fifth beatitude express the essence of the

Christian spirit? 3. When can a person be said to be "clean

of heart”? 4. With regard to which beatitude do quarrel-

some and argumentative people fail? 5. Why should the

eighth beatitude make most of us a bit ashamed? 6. Try to

give the eight beatitudes from memory.

MY APOSTOLATE:

1. Tonight on my knees before retiring, I shall try to de-

termine what in me is the greatest obstacle to the opera-

tion of God’s grace. I shall plan for myself a campaign

to remove that obstacle, working at it day after day.

2. Mindful that my Christian spirit must prove itself by my

attitude towards my neighbor, I shall be on the watch

every day for ways in which I can make life a little

pleasanter for those around me.

3. I shall try to think less about myself and more about others.



Chapter X

THE HOLY GHOST AND THE CHURCH

When he is instructing a prospective convert, the priest
usually explains, very early in the course of the instruction, the

meaning of perfect love for God. He explains what it means

to make a perfect act of contrition. Just because the convert

must wait for several months before he receives the sacrament

of Baptism, there is no reason why he should live those weeks

or months in the state of sin. An act of perfect love for God,

which includes a desire for Baptism, will cleanse the soul from

sin even before Baptism is received.

The prospective convert is happy to know this, of course,

and I am sure that I have poured the water of Baptism on the

heads of many adults whose souls already were in the state of

sanctifying grace. They had already made acts of perfect love

for God; they had already received baptism of desire. And

yet in every such case, the convert has expressed his relief and

joy at receiving, actually, the sacrament of Baptism. Because,

up to that moment he could not be sure that his sins were gone.

No matter how hard he might try to make an act of perfect

love, he never could be sure that he had succeeded. But when

the saving water had flowed upon his head, he knew then with

certainty that God had come to him.

St. Paul tells us, of course, that not even the best of us can

ever be absolutely sure that we are in the state of sanctifying

grace. But moral certitude is all we ask for; the kind of certi-

tude we have when we have been baptized or (in the sacrament

of Penance) absolved. The peace of mind, the happy confidence

which such assurance brings indicate to us one of the reasons

why Jesus Christ established a visible Church. The graces which

He purchased for us on Calvary Jesus could have dispensed to

each individual soul directly and invisibly, without need of out-

ward sign or ceremony. However, being mindful of our human

need for visible assurance, Jesus chose to channel His graces

through visible symbols. He instituted the sacraments so that

62



THE HOLY GHOST AND THE CHURCH 63

we might know when and how and what kind of grace we were

receiving. Visible sacraments necessitated a visible agency in the

world to be the custodian and the dispenser of the sacraments —
and that visible agency is the Church which Jesus established.

The need for a Church was not, obviously, limited to a need

for a keeper of the sacraments. No one could be expected to want

the sacraments unless he first knew about them. No one could

be expected to believe in Christ, even, unless he knew about

Christ. Unless Christ’s whole life— and death— were to be in
vain, there had to be a living voice in the world which would

proclaim Christ’s teachings down through the centuries. It

would have to be an audible voice, it would have to be a visible

speaker whom all men of good will could recognize as one

having authority. Consequently Jesus founded His Church not

merely to sanctify mankind by means of the sacraments but first

of all to teach mankind the truths which Jesus taught, the truths

necessary for salvation. A moment’s reflection will bring home

to us the fact that if Jesus had not founded a Church even the

name of Jesus Christ would be unknown to us today.

Discussion: 1. Why is it not necessary for a convert to wait

for Baptism in order to be in the state of sanctifying grace

2. Even though he may have made an act of perfect love long

before, why is a convert still joyful at receiving Baptism?

3. How sure can we be that we are in the state of sanctifying

grace? Explain. 4. How does the peace of mind which the

sacraments give indicate one of the reasons why Jesus founded

a Church? 5. Is there any other need for a Church, aside

from its being the keeper of the sacraments? Discuss.

But it is not enough for us to have grace available to us

in the visible sacraments of the visible Church. It is not enough

to have the truth proclaimed to us by the living voice of the

teaching Church. We also want to know what we must do for

God; we want a dependable guide to point out to us the path

we must follow in accordance with the truth we know and the

graces we receive. Just as it would be useless for us here in

the United States to have a Constitution unless we had a govern-



64 THE HOLY SPIRIT AND HIS WORK

ment to interpret and enforce the Constitution by appropriate

laws, so also must the body of Christian revelation be imple-

mented by pertinent laws. How one becomes a member of the

Church and how one remains a member of the Church, who

may receive this sacrament or that, and when and how; it is

such questions as these that the Church answers when it pro-

mulgates its laws; when it fulfills, under Christ, its third duty:

to govern as well as to teach and sanctify.

The Church, we know, is defined as 'The congregation of

all baptized persons united in the same true faith, the same

sacrifice, the same sacraments, under the authority of the Sov-

ereign Pontiff and the bishops in communion with him.” A

person becomes a member of the Church by receiving the sacra-

ment of Baptism. A person remains a member of the Church

as long as he does not cut himself off from membership by

schism (denying or defying the authority of the Pope), or by

heresy (denying one or more of the truths of faith as proclaimed

by the Church), or by excommunication (being ejected from

membership because of certain grave and unrepented sins). But

even such persons as these, having been validly baptized, are

still basically subjects of the Church and are obliged by her laws

unless specifically exempted.

Having said all this, we yet realize that we have been looking

at the Church only from the outside. Just as a man is more than

his visible, physical body, so also is the Church infinitely more

than a mere outward visible organization. It is the soul of a man

that makes him a human being. And it is the soul of the Church

which makes the Church a living organism as well as an organi-

zation. Just as the indwelling of the three divine Persons gives

to the soul that supernatural life which we call sanctifying grace;

so also does the indwelling of the Blessed Trinity give to the

Church her unquenchable life, her everlasting vitality.- Since

the work of salvation (which is the work of divine Love) is

ascribed to the Holy Ghost by appropriation, it is therefore the

Holy Ghost whom we acknowledge as the soul of the Church—
of the Church of which Christ is the Head,



THE HOLY GHOST AND THE CHURCH 65

Discussion: 1. Besides administering the sacraments and

teaching us God’s truths, what other need is there for a

Church? 2. What is the definition of the Church? 3. How

does one become a member of the Church? 4. How may a

person lose membership in Christ’s Church? 5. What do we

mean when we say that the Holy Ghost is the soul of the

Church ?

From the dust of the earth did God fashion the body of

Adam, and then— in the beautiful imagery of the Bible— God
breathed a soul into the body, and Adam became a living man.

In much the same way did God create His living Church.

In the Person of Jesus Christ, God first designed the Body

of His Church. This was a task spread over three years, from

Jesus’ first public miracle at Cana until His ascent into heaven.

It was during this time that Jesus chose His twelve Apostles,

destined to be the first bishops of His Church. For three years

He instructed them and trained them for their duties, their task

of establishing the kingdom of God. During this same time

Jesus designed the seven sacraments— the seven channels
through which would flow into men’s souls the graces Jesus

would gain for men upon the cross.

Concurrently, Jesus imparted to the Apostles their three-

fold mission, the threefold mission of His Church. The mis-

sion to teach: "Go, therefore, and make disciples of all na-

tions, . . . teaching them to observe all that I have commanded

you” (Matt. 28:19-20). The mission to sanctify: ''Baptizing

them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the

Holy Spirit” (Matt. 28:19). "This is My body. . . . Do this in

remembrance of Me” (Luke 22:19). "Whose sins you shall

forgive, they are forgiven them; and whose sins you shall re-

tain, they are retained” (John 20:23). The mission to govern

in His name: "If he refuse to hear even the Church, let him

be to thee as the heathen and the publican. . . . Whatever you

bind on earth shall be bound also in heaven; and whatever you

shall loose upon earth shall be loosed also in heaven” (Matt.

18:17-18). "He who hears you, hears Me; and he who rejects

you, rejects Me” (Luke 10:16).



66 THE HOLY SPIRIT AND HIS WORK

Another task of Jesus, as He formed the Body of His

Church, was to provide leadership for His Kingdom upon

earth. It was to the Apostle Simon, son-of-John, that Jesus as-

signed this post of leadership— and in doing so Jesus changed
Simon’s name to Peter, which means rock. Here is the promise:

"Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jona. ... I say to thee, thou art

Peter, and upon this rock I will build My Church, and the
gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give thee

the keys of the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 16:17, 18-19). This

was the promise. After His resurrection, Jesus fulfilled the

promise, as we read in the twenty-first chapter of St. John’s

Gospel. After first extracting from Peter a thrice-repeated avowal

of love ("Simon, son of John, dost thou love Me?”), Jesus

made Peter the supreme shepherd of His flock. "Feed My

lambs,” Jesus says, "Feed My sheep.” The entire flock of

Christ— the sheep and the lambs; the bishops, priests and
people— were to be under the jurisdiction of Peter. Of Peter
and his successors, because, of course, Jesus did not come upon

earth just to save the souls who were contemporaries of the

Apostles. Jesus came to save all souls, so long as there would

be souls to be saved.

Discussion: 1. How long did Jesus spend in forming the

body of His Church? 2. During this time, what steps did

Jesus take towards establishing His Church? 3. What was the

threefold mission which Jesus imparted to His Apostles?

4. How did Jesus provide leadership for His kingdom upon

earth? 5. Why was it necessary for Peter to have successors?

The triple duty (and power) of the Apostles— to teach,
sanctify and govern— was to be passed on by them, through
the sacrament of Holy Orders, to the men whom they would

ordain and consecrate to carry on their work. The bishops of

today are the successors of the Apostles. Each bishop of today

has received his episcopal power in an unbroken continuity from

Christ through the Apostles. And the supreme power of Peter,

whom Christ made the head of all, resides today in the Bishop

of Rome, whom we lovingly call our Holy Father. That came



THE HOLY GHOST AND THE CHURCH 67

about, in the designs of Providence, by reason of the fact that

Peter traveled to Rome and died there as the first bishop of that

city. Consequently, whoever is Bishop of Rome is automatically

the successor of Peter and therefore possesses Peter’s special

power as teacher and ruler of the entire Church.

This, then, is the Body of His Church as Jesus Christ

created it: not merely an invisible brotherhood of men united

only by bonds of grace; but a visible society of men with

authoritative leadership and governance. It is what we call a

hierarchical society, with the admirable and solid proportions

of a pyramid. At the top is the Pope, the spiritual monarch with

supreme spiritual authority. Immediately below him are the other

bishops, whose jurisdiction, each in his own diocese, flows from

union with Peter’s successor. Below them are the priests, to

whom the sacrament of Holy Orders has given the power to

sanctify (as in the Mass and the sacraments), but not the power

of jurisdiction (the power to teach and govern). A priest

possesses the power of jurisdiction only to the extent that it is

delegated to him by the bishop whom he was ordained to assist.

Finally, there is the broad base of God’s people— the baptized
souls for whose sake all the rest of it exists.

Again, this is the Body of the Church as Jesus constituted

it during His three years of public life. Like the body of Adam,

it awaited only its soul. That soul Christ promised when He

told His Apostles before His Ascension: “But you shall receive

power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you shall

be witnesses for Me in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria

and even to the very ends of the earth’’ (Acts 1:8). We know

well the story of Pentecost Sunday— the tenth day after our
Lord’s Ascension, the fiftieth day after Easter (Pentecost means

"fiftieth’’). "And there appeared to them [the Apostles} parted

tongues as of fire, which settled upon each of them. And they

were all filled with the Holy Spirit’’ (Acts 2:3-4). And now

the body so marvelously fashioned by Jesus through three patient

years suddenly comes to life. The Living Body rises and begins

to walk abroad. It is the birthday of Christ’s Church.



68 THE HOLY SPIRIT AND HIS WORK

Discussion: 1. How are the bishops of today the successors

of the Apostles? 2. Why is the Bishop of Rome the successor

of St. Peter? 3. Describe the hierarchical organization of the

Church, top to foundation. 4. How does a priest differ from

a bishop in his powers? 5. When and how did the body of the

Church receive its soul?

MY APOSTOLATE:

1. Realizing that it was for me and my salvation that Jesus

established a Church, I shall pray daily for the welfare

of the Church. I shall pray especially that it may be

governed by worthy bishops and served by good and holy

priests.

2. Being gratefully proud of my membership in the Church,

I shall be conscious of my obligation to reflect credit upon

the Church by my manner of living.

3. I shall try to be an active member of Christ’s Church,

lending my help in any way I can to the various under-

takings of my parish.



Chapter XI

WE ARE THE CHURCH

What is a human being? We might answer that question by
saying that a human being is an animal that walks on its hind

legs and can reason and talk. Our definition would be correct,

but it would not tell the whole story. It would tell what a man

is like, looking at him from the outside. But it would leave

out of the reckoning the most wonderful thing about a man:

the fact that he has a spiritual, immortal soul.

What is the Church? We can answer that question also by
looking at the Church from the outside. We can define the
Church (and frequently do so) by saying that it is the society

of all baptized persons united in the one true faith under the

authority of the Pope, the successor of St. Peter.

But when we describe the Church in these terms, and when

we describe her hierarchical organization of Pope, bishops, priests

and laity, we must remember that we are describing what is

called the juridical Church. That is, we are looking at the Church

as an organization, as a public society whose members and leaders

are bound together by visible and legal bonds of unity. It is

somewhat similar to the manner in which the citizens of a

nation are bound together by visible legal bonds of citizenship.

The United States of America, for example, is a juridical society.

Jesus Christ did indeed establish His Church as a juridical

society. It had to be a visible organization if it was to fulfill

its purpose of teaching, sanctifying, and ruling mankind. Pope

Pius XII, in his encyclical letter On the Mystical Body of Christ,

points out this fact. The Holy Father also emphasizes that as a

visible organization the Church is the most perfect juridical

society that exists. It is the most perfect of all societies because

it has the noblest of all purposes: the sanctifying of its members

for the glory of God.

Then the Holy Father goes on, in his encyclical, to make

plain that the Church is far more than just a juridical organiza-

tion. It is the very Body of Christ, a body so special that it must

69



70 THE HOLY SPIRIT AND HIS WORK

have a special name— the Mystical Body of Christ. Christ is
the Head of the Body; each baptized soul is a living part, a

memher of the Body; and the Soul of that Body of the Mystical

Body of Christ, is the Holy Ghost.

Discussion: 1. What do we mean when we say that the

Church is a juridical society.^ 2. Why is the Church the most

perfect of all juridical societies? 3. Why do we say that the

Church is more than just a juridical society? 4. Who is the

Head of the Mystical Body? 5. Who is the soul of the

Mystical Body?

The Holy Father warns us: "There is question here of a

hidden mystery, which during this earthly exile can only be

dimly seen.” But let us try to see it, at least in its dimness.

We know that our own human body is made up of millions of
individual cells, all working together for the good of the whole

body, under the direction of the head. The various parts of the

body do not occupy themselves with private business of their

own. Each is working all the time for the good of the whole.

The eyes and ears and other senses gather knowledge for the

use of the entire body. The feet carry the entire body wherever

it may wish to go. The hands carry food to the mouth, the

stomach absorbs nourishment for the whole man. The heart

and lungs send blood and oxygen to every part of the anatomy.

All live and labor for all.

And it is the soul, of course, that gives life and unity to all

these separate parts, to all these individual cells. When the

digestive tract changes food into our bodily substance, the new

cells are not added onto the body in casual fashion like a plaster

stuck onto the skin. The new cells become a living part of the

living body, because the soul has become present in the new cells

just as it is in the rest of the body.

We can apply this now, by analogy, to the Mystical Body of
Christ. When we are baptized, the Holy Spirit takes possession

of us, very much as our soul takes possession of newly formed

cells of our body. This same Holy Spirit is at one and the same

time the Spirit of Christ who, to quote Pope Pius XII, "delights



WE ARE THE CHURCH 71

to dwell in the beloved soul of our Redeemer as in His most

cherished shrine; this Spirit Christ merited for us on the cross

by shedding His own blood. . . . But after Christ’s glorification

on the cross, His Spirit is communicated to the Church in an

abundant outpouring, *so that she, and her individual members,

may become daily more and more like to our Saviour.” The

Spirit of Christ becomes, in Baptism, our Spirit too. The "Soul

of the Soul” of Christ becomes the Soul of our soul too. "Christ

is in us through His Spirit,” continues the Holy Father, "whom

He gives to us and through whom He acts within us in such a

way that all divine activity of the Holy Spirit within our souls

must also be attributed to Christ.”

That, then, is the Church as seen from "inside.” A juridical

society, yes, with a visible organization provided by Christ

Himself. But more than this, it is a living orgamsm, a living

Body, with Christ as the Head, us (baptized) as the members,

and the Holy Spirit as the Soul. It is a living Body from which

we could be cut off by heresy or schism or excommunication as

a finger might be cut off by a surgeon’s knife. It is a Body in

which mortal sin, like twine twisted around a finger, may tem-

porarily cut off the flow of life to a member until the tourniquet

is removed by repentance. It is a Body in which every member

profits by every Mass that is offered, every prayer that is said

and every good deed done by every member throughout the

world. It is the Mystical Body of Christ.

Discussion: 1. In describing our human body, we say that

all parts live and labor for all. Show how this is so. 2. How

does the example of our own body apply to the Mystical

Body of Christ, the Church.^ 3. Why is it, as Pope Pius XII

says, that "all divine activity of the Holy Spirit within our

souls must also be attributed to Christ”.^ 4. Why do we say

that the Church is a living organism? 5. How may a person

cut himself off from the Mystical Body.?

The Church is the Mystical Body of Christ. I am a member

of that Body. What does this mean for me.? I know that in the



72 THE HOLY SPIRIT AND HIS WORK

human body every part has a duty to perform: the eye to see,

the ear to hear, the hand to grasp, the heart to pump blood. In

the Mystical Body of Christ is there a duty for me to perform.?

We all know that the answer to that question is "yes.” We

know, too, there are three sacraments by means of which Jesus

Christ assigns our duties to us.

First there is the sacrament of Baptism, by which we are made

members of Christ’s Mystical Body. We say that by Baptism we

are "incorporated” in Christ. The word "incorporated” comes

from the Latin word "corpus,” which means "body.” In Latin

the complete word is "in-corporatus,” which means "made a

part of the body.” Food is incorporated in us when it is changed

to living cells and becomes a living part of our body. That, by

analogy, is what happens to us when we are baptized; we are

incorporated in Christ.

Having united us to Himself in this so-intimate union, Jesus

makes us sharers, according to our human limitations, in all that

He is and all that He has. He makes us sharers especially in His

eternal priesthood. We share with Christ in His awesome task
of offering adequate worship to the Most Blessed Trinity. The

baptized Christian, consciously exercising the common priesthood

which he shares with Christ, participates in the Mass in a way

that an unbaptized person never could.

But we adore God in other ways besides the Mass. We adore

God by prayer and by sacrifice, and by the practice of the virtues

of faith, hope and charity, especially by the virtue of charity.

Charity means love, love for God, and love for the souls whom

God has made and for whom Jesus has died. As members of

Christ’s Mystical Body, as sharers in His eternal priesthood, we

are driven by a zeal to labor actively with Christ in His work of

redemption. To be true to our vocation as baptized Christians,

we must have this zeal for souls. We must be apostles, all of

us, and if we belong to the laity we are called "lay apostles.”

Both of those words come from the Greek language. In

Greek, the word "apostle” means "someone who is sent.” The

twelve men whom Jesus sent into the world to establish His

Church are called the Twelve Apostles, written with capital



WE ARE THE CHURCH 73

letters. But they were not to be the only apostles. At the bap-

tismal font Jesus sends every one of us forth to continue what the

Twelve Apostles began. We too are apostles, with a small "a.”
The word "lay” also originates in the Greek language. Quite

simply, it means "people.” We know that in the Church there
are three broad classifications of members. There are the clergy.

This term includes the bishops, priests and all seminarians who

have received the tonsure, their first step on the way to the

priesthood. Then there are the religious— men and women who
live in community life and make the vows of poverty, chastity

and obedience. Thirdly, there are the laity, the people. This

term embraces everyone baptized who is neither a cleric nor a

religious.

Discussion: 1. When we say that by Baptism we are incor-

porated in Christ, what do we mean.^ 2. By Baptism we share

with Christ all that is His. What does this mean for us in

practice? 3. What is the meaning of the word "apostle”?

4. How did the word "lay” originate? 5. What does it mean

to belong to the laity?

All three classes of members in the Church together make up

the Mystical Body of Christ. Not the clergy alone; not the

clergy and religious; but clergy, religious and laity— all three
united in one Body constitute the Church of Christ. In that

Body each of the three classes has its own function. But all

have this iri common: no matter to which class we belong, each

of us has, through Baptism, the call to be an apostle, each

according to his state.

His eternal priesthood which Jesus shared with us in Baptism,

He still more fully shares with us in Confirmation. Having

shared with us in Baptism His office of worshiper of the Trinity,

Christ in Confirmation shares with us His "prophetic” office. His

office of teacher. As we were marked at Baptism with the

indelible seal of membership in His Body and sharer in His

priesthood, we are marked again in Confirmation with the

indelible seal of channel of divine truth. We now have the right
to whatever graces we may need to be strong in our own faith.



74 THE HOLY SPIRIT AND HIS WORK

and whatever enlightenment we may need to make that faith

intelligible to others, always supposing, of course, that we do our

part to learn the truths of our faith, and are guided by the

teaching authority of the Church, which resides in the bishops.

Once confirmed, we have a double responsibility to be lay

apostles— and a double source of grace and strength to fulfill
that charge.

There is, finally, the third of the "priesthood-sharing”

sacraments: Holy Orders. This time Christ fully shares His

priesthood— fully with the bishops and only a little less with
the priests. In Holy Orders there is not only a calling, there is

not only grace, but there is power as well. To the priest is given

the power to consecrate and forgive, to sanctify and bless. To

the bishop is given, in addition, the power to ordain other priests

and bishops, and the jurisdiction to rule souls and to define the

truths of faith.

But we are all called to be apostles. We are all expected to
help the Mystical Body of Christ grow and be healthy. Christ

expects each of us to labor for the salvation of the world— the
little part of the world in which we live: our own home, our

neighborhood, our parish, our diocese. He expects us in our

own lives to make Him visible to those with whom we live and

work and recreate. He expects us to feel a sense of responsibility

for the souls of others, to be saddened by their sins, to be

worried at their unbelief. Christ expects us to give support and

active assistance to our bishops and priests in their gigantic task.

All this is only a little bit of what it means to be a lay

apostle. And when our apostolate is carried on by us not as

private individuals or as members of a private group but officially,

under the direction of our bishop, and with a mandate from

him, then our apostolate reaches its fullness, and we are engaged

in what is called Catholic Action.

Discussion: 1. What do all three classes in the Church—
clergy, religious, and laity— have in common.^ 2. Beyond
Baptism, how does Jesus further share with us His eternal

priesthood.^ 3. In what sacrament does Jesus fully share His



WE ARE THE CHURCH 75

priesthood? 4. In what part of the world does Jesus expect

us to carry on our apostolate? 5. When does the lay apostolate

become Catholic Action ?

MY APOSTOLATE:

1. Realizing that there is no one with whom I come into

contact, even for a short while, who is not a little better or

a little worse for having known me, I shall be more

conscious of my responsibility to Christ for the souls of

others. I shall try to be a good influence wherever I go.

2. I shall try to learn all that I can about my religion, so

that I may not be afraid to explain or discuss my religion

with others. I shall watch for opportunities to exercise my

vocation as a sharer in Christ’s teaching office.

3. Knowing that my primary apostolate is to those who are

closest to me and depend most upon me, I shall be doubly

conscientious about exhibiting a truly Christian spirit in my

own home. If a parent, I shall teach my children to love

their faith by my example even more than by my words.



Chapter XII

WHERE DO WE FIND IT?

^^None genuine without this trademark!” That is a slogan
which manufacturers often feature in their advertising. We
may not swallow all the hokum about "quality product” and

"discriminating buyers,” but most of us, when we go shopping,

do insist on getting the particular brand of article for which we

ask, and very few of us ever pick up a piece of silverware

without turning it over to see if it is stamped "Sterling”; very

few of us ever examine a ring without looking inside for the

carat mark.

Since His wisdom is the wisdom of God, we would expect

that Jesus Christ in establishing His Church would be no less

intelligent than modern merchandisers. We would expect Jesus
to mark His Church in such a way that all men of good will

could easily recognize it. Especially would we expect this in

view of the fact that Jesus founded His Church at the cost of

His own life. Jesus did not die upon the cross "just for the fun

of it.” He did not make it a matter of free choice for men to

belong to His Church or not to belong, as they might prefer.

His Church is the Gate of Heaven through which everyone (at

least by implicit desire) must enter.

Having made His Church a prerequisite of our everlasting

happiness, our Lord has not failed to stamp it plainly with His

"trademark,” with the mark of its divine origin. He has marked

it so plainly that we can recognize it even on the modern

"notions counter” of a thousand differing churches and sects and

religions. We might say that the trademark of Christ’s Church

is a square. He Himself has told us what to look for on each

side of that square.

First there is unity. "And other sheep I have that are not

of this fold. Them also I must bring,” Jesus says, "and they shall

hear My voice, and there shall be one fold and one Shepherd”

(John 10:16). Or again: "Holy Father, keep in Thy name

76



WHERE DO WE FIND IT? 77

those whom Thou hast given Me, that they may be one even as

We are” (John 17:11).
Then there is holiness. "Sanctify them in the truth. . . . And

for them I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified in

truth” (John 17:17, 19). That was our Lord’s own prayer for

His Church, and St. Paul reminds us that Jesus Christ "gave Him-

self for us that He might redeem us from all iniquity and

cleanse for Himself an acceptable people, pursuing good works”

(Titus 2:14).

Discussion: 1. When you go shopping, why do you insist on

certain brands of products? 2. Why would we expect Christ

to mark His Church in such a way that it could be recognized ?

3. Why does Jesus care whether or not a person belongs to His

Church? 4. From what words of Christ do we expect to find

unity in His Church? 5. In what words did our Lord pray for

holiness in His Church?

On the third side of the square there is catholicity— with a
small "c” — or universality. The word "catholic” comes from
the Greek; "universal” comes from the Latin. Both mean the

same thing, all. All of Christ’s teachings, to all men at all times

in all places. Hear our Lord speak: "And this Gospel of the

kingdom shall be preached in the whole world, for a witness to

all nations” (Matt. 24: 14). "Go into the whole world and

preach the Gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15). "You

shall be witnesses for Me in Jerusalem and in all Judea and

Samaria and even to the very ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8).

The square is then completed with the note of apostolicity.

The word itself is a bit of a jawbreaker; but it means simply

that any Church claiming to be Christ’s own must be able to

trace its lineage in unbroken continuity back to the Apostles. It

must be able to show its legitimate descent from Christ through

His Apostles. Again, Jesus Himself speaks: "And I say to thee,

thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build My Church,
and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matt. 16:18).

Speaking to all the Apostles: "All power in heaven and on earth

has been given to Me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all



78 THE HOLY SPIRIT AND HIS WORK

nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the

Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I

have commanded you; and behold, I am with you all days, even

unto the consummation of the world” (Matt. 28:18-20). St.

Paul drives home this point of apostolicity when he says to the

Ephesians, "Therefore, you are now no longer strangers and

foreigners, but you are citizens with the saints and members of

God’s household: you are built upon the foundation of the

Apostles and prophets with Christ Jesus Himself as the chief

cornerstone” (Eph. 2:19-20).

There we have Christ’s own trademark. One, holy, catholic

and apostolic. It is a square which He has stamped ineradicably

upon His Church, sharp and clear as a goldsmith’s die. These

are the four marks which must be exhibited by any church which

claims to be Christ’s own. There are many churches in the world

today which claim to be Christian. Let us shorten the labor of our

examination by "picking up” our own church, the Catholic

Church, for scrutiny. If we find the trademark of Christ there,

we shall have no need to look further.

Discussion: 1. What does the word "catholic” mean? 2. How

does Christ intend the word "all” to apply to His Church?

3. What must a church be able to show if it claims to be

apostolic? 4. What does St. Paul say about the necessity of

apostolicity? 5. In order to discover the true Church of Jesus

Christ, is it necessary for us to examine all the various churches ?

No matter how mistaken you may be about something, it

will get your "dander” up if someone tells you flatly that you

are wrong. And as they carefully explain to you why you are

wrong, you get more stubborn by the minute. Maybe not always.

Maybe not at all if you are a saint. But in general, human nature

is like that. That is why it seldom does any good to argue about

religion. We should be ready to discuss religion at the drop of
a hat, but never to argue. The minute we say to someone, "Your

religion is wrong and I’ll tell you why,” we have slammed the

door of the person’s mind. Nothing that we say afterwards will

get in. On the other hand, if we know our own religion well.



WHERE DO WE FIND IT? 79

and explain it in intelligent and kindly fashion to our neighbor

who is not a Catholic, there is a good chance that he may listen

to us. If we can show that the Catholic Church is the true

Church established by Jesus Christ, we don’t have to tell him

that his church is not the true Church. He may be stubborn,

but he is not stupid. He can be trusted to make his own deduc-

tions. Keeping that in mind, then, we proceed to examine the

Catholic Church to see whether it bears the trademark of Christ—
whether Jesus has unmistakably stamped it as His own.

We look first of all for the unity which our Lord said must
characterize His flock. We look for this unity in three dimen-
sions: unity of belief, unity of leadership, and unity of worship.

We know that the members of Christ’s Church must exhibit
unity of belief. The truths which they hold are the truths made

known to us by Jesus Christ Himself; they are truths which have

come to us directly from God. There are no "truer” truths which

the human mind can know and accept than truths revealed by

God. God is truth. He knows all things and cannot be mistaken.

He is infinitely truthful and cannot lie. It is easier to believe that

there is no sun in the sky at midday, for example, than to believe

that Jesus could be mistaken when He says that there are three

Persons in one God.

That is why we think the principle of "private judgment” to

be so very illogical. There are many people who maintain the

right to private judgment in religious matters. They admit that

God has made certain truths known to us, but they say that each

man should interpret those truths to suit himself. Let every man

read his own Bible; and whatever he thinks the Bible means,

that is what it does mean for him. Our answer is that whatever

God has said is so,- and is so for always and for everybody. It

is not for us to pick and choose and to adjust God’s revelation

to our own preferences and our own convenience.

Discussion: 1. Why does it seldom do any good to argue

about religion? 2. In discussing religion, along what line

should we proceed? 3. In what three dimensions or directions

should we look for unity in Christ’s Church? 4. Why must

the members of Christ’s Church exhibit unity of belief?



80 THE HOLY SPIRIT AND HIS WORK

5. Why does the principle of ''private judgment” not make

sense ?

This theory of "private judgment” has led quite naturally

one step further: to the denial of all absolute truth. There are

many men today who claim that truth and goodness are relative

terms. Something is "true” as long as the generality of men find

it helpful, as long as it seems to work. If it helps you to believe

in God, then believe in God but be ready to cast the belief aside

if it begins to get in the way of progress. The same thing holds

for what we call "good.” A thing is good, or an action is good
if it contributes to the welfare and happiness of humanity. But

if chastity, for example, seems to slow up man’s onward march

in an ever-changing world, then chastity ceases to be good. In

short, that may be called good or true which is here and now

useful to the community, to man as a constructive member of

society, and it is good or true only so long as it continues to be

useful. This philosophy is called pragmatism. It is very hard to

discuss truth with a pragmatist, because he has cut the ground

from under your feet by denying that there is any real, absolute

truth. About all that the believing Christian can do is to pray

for him— and try to show him by a truly Christian life that
Christianity does work.

The foregoing has been a bit of a sidetrack to our main

theme, which is that no church can claim to be Christ’s own

unless all its members believe the same truths, since they are

God’s truths, eternally unchangeable and the same for all people.

We know that in the Catholic Church all do believe the same
truths. Bishops, priests and first-grade children; Americans and

Frenchmen and Japanese; white or colored; every Catholic, every-

where, means exactly the same things when he recites the

Apostles’ Creed.

We are united not only in the things we believe but also are
united under the same spiritual leadership. It was Jesus Christ

who made St. Peter the chief shepherd of His flock and pro-

vided that Peter’s successors until the end of time would be the

head of His Church and the guardian of His truths. Loyalty to

the Bishop of Rome, whom we lovingly call our Holy Father,



WHERE DO WE FIND IT? 81

will ever be the binding center of our unity— and the test of
our membership in Christ’s Church. "Where Peter is, there is

the Church!"

In worship too we are united, as is no other Church. We

have but one altar, upon which Jesus Christ daily renews the

offering of Himself upon the cross. The Catholic is the only

person who can take a trip around the world and know that

wherever he goes— Africa or India, Germany or South America
— he will feel religiously at home. Everywhere the same Mass,
everywhere the same seven sacraments.

One in faith, one in head, one in worship. Here is that

unity for which Christ prayed, the unity which He pointed to

as one of the marks which would identify His Church forever.

It is a unity which we find only in the Catholic Church.

Discussion: 1. Try to give in your own words a summary of

the philosophy of pragmatism. 2. Why is it so hard to discuss

truth with a pragmatist.^ 3. How did Jesus provide for unity

of leadership in His Church.^ 4. Why is it that a Catholic

feels at home, religiously, wherever he goes in the world

5. Can you, now, name the four sides of the square which is

the "trademark” of the Church of Christ?

MY APOSTOLATE:

1. Being mindful of my oneness with Catholics everywhere, I

shall include in my daily prayer-intentions my fellow

Catholics who are being persecuted for the faith in other

lands.

2. I shall be careful not to create antagonisms against the

Church by attacking the religion of another in a tactless

way, but I shall be ready at the drop of a hat to explain

why I am convinced that the Catholic Church is Christ’s

own Church.

3. If I have any influence with a young person preparing to

go to college, I shall try to persuade him or her to choose

a Catholic college, where truth will be respected as an

absolute value.



Chapter XIII

HOLY AND CATHOLIC

The strongest arguments against the Catholic Church are the
lives of bad Catholics and lax Catholics. If you were to ask a

lukewarm Catholic, "Is one church as good as another?" he

probably would answer indignantly, "Of course not; there is

only one true Church, the Catholic Church.” And then he will

do his best to prove himself a liar by swapping the same dirty

stories with his non-Catholic friends, by getting drunk with them

at the same parties, tomcatting with them at the same conventions,

exchanging with them the same malicious gossip, buying the

same contraceptives— perhaps even exceeding them a bit by the
sharpness of his business practices or the dirtiness of his politics.

We know that such men and women are in the minority,
but even one would be too many. We know too that we must
expect that there will be unworthy members in Christ’s Church.

Jesus Himself compared His Church to a fish net in which bad

fish are caught along with the good (Matt. 13 :47 -50 ); to a field

of grain in which weeds grow up with the wheat (Matt. 13 : 24-

30) ; and to a wedding feast at which one of the guests does not

have on a wedding garment (Matt. 22 : 11 - 14 ).

The sinners then are with us to stay. To the end of the road

they will be the cross that Christ in His Mystical Body must

carry on His shoulder. Yet, Jesus pointed to holiness as one of

the distinguishing marks of His Church. "By their fruits you

will know them,” He said. "Do men gather grapes from thorns,

or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit,

but the bad tree bears bad fruit.” (Cf. Matt. 7:16-17.)

In answering the question, "Why is the Catholic Church

holy?” the catechism says, "The Catholic Church is holy because

it was founded by Jesus Christ, who is all-holy, and because it

teaches, according to the will of Christ, holy doctrines, and

provides the means of leading a holy life, thereby giving holy

members to every age.”

82



HOLY AND CATHOLIC 83

Now that is true, every word of it, but it is not an easy

point to get across to a non-Catholic acquaintance, especially if

he has spent last night "doing the town” in the company of Joe

Doakes, who is a member of the Holy Name Society at St. Pia’s

parish. We know that Jesus Christ founded the Church, and

that all other churches were founded by mere men. But the

Lutheran probably would pooh-pooh the idea that Martin Luther

founded a new church; he would say that Luther merely "puri-

fied” the ancient church of its errors and abuses. The Episco-

palian doubtless would have a similar answer: Henry VIII and

Cranmer did not start a new church; they merely cut loose from

the "Roman branch” and established the "English branch” of

the original Christian church. The Presbyterian would say the

same of John Knox, and the Methodist of John Wesley, and so

on through the long list of Protestant sects. All of them doubt-

less would claim Christ as their founder.

Discussion: 1. How does a lukewarm Catholic’s life contra-

dict his belief.^ 2. Why must we expect that there will be

unworthy members in Christ’s Church? 3. In what words did

Christ point to holiness as one of the distinguishing marks of

His Church? 4. What does the catechism have to say about

the mark of holiness? 5. Why is holiness not an easy point to

get across to a non-Catholic?

Much the same thing would happen when we pointed to the

fact that the Catholic Church teaches a holy doctrine, as proof of

the Church’s divine origin. "My church teaches a holy doctrine,

too,” our non-Catholic acquaintance very likely would answer.

"In fact,” he might even claim, "my church teaches a holier

doctrine than yours. We don’t believe in card-playing or drink-
ing or gambling as you Catholics do.” If we were so rude as

to bring up such matters as contraceptives and divorce, he per-

haps would brush us off with the charge of being unrealistic,

not keeping up with the demands of social progress.

But at least we could point to the saints, couldn’t we, as

proof of the fact that the holiness of Christ is at work in the

Catholic Church? Yes, we could; and it is a pretty tough piece of



84 THE HOLY SPIRIT AND HIS WORK

evidence for anyone to evade. The many thousands of men and

women and children who have led lives of supereminent sanctity,

and whose names make up the calendar of the saints: these are

pretty hard to explain away, and there is nothing like them in

any other church. However, if our discussant is glib in the

terminology of modern psychology, he may double-talk his way

around the saints with such words as "hysteria,” "neurosis”

and "sublimation of basic drives.” In any case, the saints are

storybook people to him. You can’t show him a saint, right

here and now.

So what does that leave us.^ It just leaves us ourselves, you

and me. Our interested friend (we suppose that he is) may

claim Christ as his founder too, may claim a holy doctrine for

his church, too, may bypass the saints as an arguable point. But

he can’t escape us; he cannot be blind and deaf to the testimony

of our lives. If every Catholic whom our imaginary inquirer

meets is a person of outstanding Christian virtue: kind and

patient and unselfish and sympathetic; chaste and charitable

and reverent in speech; honest and truthful and a stranger to

all double-dealing; generous and pure and temperate in conduct

— what kind of impression would that make.^
Just in our own country alone, if our 31,000,000 Cathohcs

led that kind of life, what a thunder of witness that would be to

the holiness of Christ’s Church! We have need to remind our-
selves time and time again that we are our brother’s keeper.

We may not indulge our petty weaknesses and our self-love and
think that all is well when we have dusted ourselves off in

confession. It is not only for our sins, but for the souls who

may have missed heaven because of us that we shall have to

answer one day to Christ. Thirty-one million did I say.^ Let’s

forget about the other 30,999,999; let’s concentrate right now,

you on you and me on me. Then will the mark of holiness in

the Catholic Church be vindicated at least in the little area where

we live and move.

Discussion: 1. What might a non-Catholic’s answer be if we

claim "holiness of doctrine” for the Catholic Church.^ 2. Why

is the evidence of the saints hard for anyone to evade 3. How



HOLY AND CATHOLIC 85

might a person try to talk his way around the evidence of the

saints? 4, What is the one argument that our non-Catholic

inquirer cannot escape? 5. For what else besides our sins

shall we one day have to answer to Christ?

All the time, all the truths, all the places. That, in capsule

form, describes the third of the four marks of the Church. It

is the third side of the square which is the "trademark” of Christ,

the hallmark which proves the divine origin of the Church.

It is the stamp of genuineness which only the Catholic Church

bears.

The word "catholic” means "embracing all.” It is derived

from the Greek language, as we have mentioned before; and it

means the same thing as the word "universal,” which stems

from the Latin tongue.

When we say that the Catholic Church (with a capital "C”)

is catholic (with a small "c”) or universal, we mean first of

all that the Church has been in existence at all times, from

Pentecost Sunday right down to today. The pages of any history

book will bear this out— and it doesn’t have to be a Catholic
history book, either. The Catholic Church has had a continuous

existence of nineteen hundred and more years, and it is the only

church of which this is true.

Whatever other churches may say about being "purifications”

of the ancient Church, or "branches” of the one true Church,

the fact remains that for the first eight hundred years of Chris-

tian history there was no other church but the Catholic Church.

The oldest non-Catholic church is the Greek Orthodox Church.

That church had its beginning in the ninth century, when the

archbishop of Constantinople refused Holy Communion to the

Emperor Bardas, who was living in sin. In anger, the emperor

tore Greece away from union with Rome, and the Orthodox

Church was born.

The oldest Protestant church, which is the Lutheran Church,

came into being in the sixteenth century— almost fifteen hun-
dred years after Christ. It began with the revolt of Martin

Luther, a Catholic priest of magnetic personality, and owed its

quick success to the support of the German princes who resented



86 THE HOLY SPIRIT AND HIS WORK

the power of the Pope at Rome. Luther’s attempt to remedy

the abuses in the Church (and there were some real ones) ended

in the far greater evil of a divided Christendom. Luther made

the first break in the dike. After him came a flood of others.

We have mentioned Henry VIII and John Knox and John
Wesley. But the original Protestant churches splintered and

subdivided (mostly in the Germanic and English-speaking coun-

tries) into hundreds of differing sects; and the process still goes

on. Not one of them existed, however, before the year 1517,

when Luther nailed his famous ”95 Theses” to the door of the

church in Wittenberg, Germany.

Discussion: 1. How may we describe, in capsule form, the

third mark of the' Church.^ 2. During what period of time has

the Catholic Church been in existence? 3- For how many

years was the Catholic Church the only Christian church?

4. When, and in what way did the Orthodox Church begin?

5. Which is the oldest Protestant church, and how was it

started ?

Not only is the Catholic Church the only church whose

uninterrupted history goes all the way back to Christ; it also

is the only church which teaches all the truths taught by Jesus,

as He taught them. The sacraments of Penance and Extreme

Unction, the Mass and the Real Presence of Jesus in the

Eucharist, the spiritual supremacy of Peter and his successors the

Popes, the efficacy of grace and man’s ability to merit grace and

heaven— some or all of these are rejected by the various non-
Catholic churches. In fact there are churches today which claim

the name of "Christian” which even question whether Jesus

Christ is truly God. There is not a single truth revealed by

Jesus Christ, however (whether personally or through His

Apostles), which the Catholic Church does not still declare and

teach.

.Besides being universal in time {all the years since Pente-

cost) and universal in doctrine {all the truths taught by Christ),

the Catholic Church also is universal in extent. Mindful of her

Founder’s commission to make disciples of all nations, the



HOLY AND CATHOLIC 87

Catholic Church has carried Christ’s message of salvation to

every latitude and longitude on the face of the globe, wherever

there are souls to be reached. The Catholic Church is not a

"German” church (Lutheran), or an "English” church (Episco-

palian), or a "Scotch” church (Presbyterian), or a "Dutch”

church (Reformed), or an "American” church (hundreds of

different sects). The Catholic Church is in all these countries

and in every other country, besides, where missionaries have

been permitted to penetrate. But the Catholic Church belongs to

no nation and to no race. It is at home in every land, but is

the property of none. This is as Jesus Christ willed it. His Church

is for all men. It must be world-wide. The Catholic Church is

the only church of which this is true; it is the only church which

is everywhere, throughout the world.

Catholic or universal— in time and truths and territory; that
is the third mark of the true Church of Christ. And the fourth

mark, which completes the square, is "apostolicity.” This means

simply that the church which claims to be Christ’s own must

be able to prove its legitimate descent from the Apostles, upon

whom as a foundation Jesus established His Church.

That the Catholic Church does possess this mark of "apos-

tolicity” is easy enough to demonstrate. We have the list of the
Bishops of Rome, going back from the Holy Father of our own

day in a continuous line to St. Peter. And the other bishops of

the Catholic Church, true successors of the Apostles, are today’s

latest links in an unbroken chain which stretches back through

1900 years. Since the days when the Apostles laid hands upon

Timothy and Titus and Mark and Polycarp, the episcopal power

has been passed on, in the sacrament of Holy Orders, from

generation to generation; from bishop to bishop to bishop.

And so the square is closed. The trademark of Christ is

discerned clearly etched in the Catholic Church: one, holy,

catholic and apostolic. We are not so naive as to suppose that
converts will come running, wholesale, when we point out the

trademark to them. Human prejudices do not yield that easily to

reason. But at least let us be sure that we see the trademark

plainly ourselves.



88 THE HOLY SPIRIT AND HIS WORK

Discussion: 1. How do other churches differ from the Cath-

olic Church in the doctrines they teach? 2. Why do we say

that the Catholic Church is universal in extent? 3. In what

way do other churches lack this mark of universality ? 4. What

is the meaning of the mark of "apostolicity” ? 5. Why is the

mark of apostolicity easy to demonstrate?

MY APOSTOLATE:

1. I shall make a more determined effort to prove the holiness

of Christ’s Church by the blamelessness of my own life.

2. Being aware that Christ’s mission is to all men, I shall be

a generous supporter of the missions, especially of the

Society for the Propagation of the Faith.

3. Convinced of the importance of religious unity within the

family, I shall try, if I am a parent, to persuade my

adolescent children to date none but Catholic companions;

knowing that one who dates only with Catholics is certain

in the end to marry a Catholic.



Chapter XIV

REASON AND FAITH— AND MYSELF

LrOD has given to man the power of reason, and He expects

man to use this gift. There are two ways in which the power

of reason may be abused. One way is by not using it. A person

who has not learned to use his reason is the person who takes

as gospel truth everything he reads in newspapers and periodicals,

no matter how "slanted” the news may be. He is the person who

will accept without question the most extravagant claims of

salesmen and advertisers and is the gullible tool of smart propa-

gandists. He is awed by prestige; if a famous scientist or

industrialist says there is no God, then, of course, there is no

God. In other words, this non-thinker likes his opinions ready-

made. It is not always laziness which makes the non-thinker.

Unfortunately sometimes parents and teachers are the cause of

this mental apathy when they discourage the natural curiosity of

youth and squelch every normal "why” with a "because-I-said-so
!”

At the other extreme is the man who makes a veritable god

of reason. This is the person who will believe nothing that he

cannot see and understand. For him the only facts are those

which come out of scientific laboratories. Nothing is true unless

it "makes sense” for him, unless it has good practical results

right here and now. What works is true; what is useful is good.

This type of thinker is called a pragmatist. He rejects any truth

that is based upon authority. He will believe in the authority

of an Einstein and will accept the theory of relativity, even though

he may not understand it. He will believe in the authority of

the nuclear physicists and will accept the fact of nuclear fission,

even though he may not understand that. But "authority” is a

fighting word to him when it is a question of the authority of

the Church.

The pragmatist will respect the pronouncements of human

authorities, because he says he has confidence that they know

what they are talking about; he trusts in their ability. But the

89



90 THE HOLY SPIRIT AND HIS WORK

pragmatist will look with impatient pity upon the Catholic who,

for this very same reason, respects the pronouncements of the

Church, confident that the Church knows what it, in the person

of the Pope and bishops, is talking about.

It is true that not all Catholics have an intelligent under-

standing of their faith. With many, faith is a blind acceptance

of religious truths on the authority of the Church. This un-

reasoning acceptance may be due to lack of opportunity to study,

or to lack of education, or even (unfortunately) to mental

laziness. This is not to say that a blind faith is necessarily to be

condemned. For children and for the untutored, religious belief

has to be an unproved belief, just as their belief in the need for

certain foods and the poisonousness of certain substances also

must be an unproved belief. The pragmatist who may say, 'TTl

string along with Einstein; he ought to know what he’s talking

about,” hardly can find fault with the child who says, 'T believe

it because Daddy says it’s so”; and later, 'T believe it because the

priest (or Sister) says it’s so.” Nor can he find fault with the

unlettered adult who says, “What the Pope says is good enough

for me.”

Discussion: 1. What is the first way in which the power of

reason may be abused? 2. How do parents and teachers

sometimes contribute to mental apathy? 3. What type of

person is it who makes a god of reason? 4. Why is the

pragmatist inconsistent in rejecting the authority of the

Church? 5. Why is it that not all Catholics have an intelligent

understanding of their faith? 6. Show that the Catholic who

says, "What the Pope says is good enough for me,” is no

less reasonable than the pragmatist.

For the thinking Catholic, however, the acceptance of reli-

gious truths is a reasoned acceptance, an intelligent acceptance.

It is true that the virtue of faith itself— the ability to believe—
is a grace, a gift of God. But adult faith is based on reason;

it is not a frustration of reason. The instructed Catholic has

satisfied himself from the clear evidence of history that God

has spoken; that God has spoken through His Son Jesus Christ;



REASON AND FAITH — AND MYSELF 91

that Jesus Christ has established a Church as His mouthpiece,

as the visible manifestation of Himself to mankind; that the

Catholic Church h that Church established by Jesus Christ; that

it is to the bishops of that Church, as the successors of the

Apostles (and especially to Peter’s successor, the Pope), that

Jesus Christ gave the power to teach, to sanctify, and to govern

spiritually in His name. This competency of the Church to

speak in Christ’s name on matters of doctrinal belief or moral

action, to administer the sacraments and to exercise spiritual

governance, we call the authority of the Church. The man who

has satisfied himself, by the use of his reason, that the Catholic

Church does possess this attribute of authority, is not going

against reason— on the contrary he is following reason— when
he asserts, 'T believe all that the Catholic Church teaches.”

Equally is the Catholic following reason as well as faith

when he subscribes to the doctrine of infallibility. This attribute

of infallibility means simply that the Church (either in the person

of the Pope, or of all the bishops together under the Pope)

cannot make a mistake when she solemnly proclaims that a cer-

tain matter of belief or of conduct has been revealed by God

and must be held and followed by all. Jesus Christ’s promise,

"Behold, I am with you all days, even unto the consummation of

the world” (Matt. 28:20) would be meaningless if His Church

were not infallible. Certainly Jesus would not be with His

Church if He allowed His Church to fall into error concerning

the essentials of salvation. The Catholic knows that the Pope

can sin, like any other human being. The Catholic knows that

the Pope’s personal opinions enjoy only as much standing as the

Pope’s human wisdom may give them, but the Catholic also

knows that when the Pope, as the head of Christ’s Church,

publicly and solemnly proclaims that a certain truth has been

revealed by Christ, either personally or through His Apostles,

Peter’s successor cannot be in error. Jesus would not establish a

Church which could lead men astray.

Discussion: 1. If the virtue of faith is a gift of God, why

do we say that the thinking Catholic’s acceptance of religious

truths is a reasoned acceptance? 2. What do we mean by the



92 THE HOLY SPIRIT AND HIS WORK

authority of the Church? 3. What is the meaning of the

doctrine of infallibility? 4. How does this attribute of in-

fallibility follow from Christ’s own words? 5. With regard

to the Pope, what does infallibility not mean?

The right to speak in Christ’s name and to be heard— that
is the attribute (or quality) of the Catholic Church we call

"authority.” The assurance of freedom from error when solemnly

proclaiming the truths of God to the universal Church— that
is the attribute we call "infallibility.” There is a third quality

which characterizes the Catholic Church. Jesus not only said,

"He who hears you, hears Me; and he who rejects you, rejects

Me” (Luke 10:16) — authority. He not only said, "Behold, I
am with you all days, even unto the consummation of the world”

(Matt. 28:20) — infallibility. He also said, "Upon this rock I
will build My Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail

against it” (Matt. 16:18). It is in these words that our Lord

points to the third quality which is inherent in the Catholic

Church— indefectibility.
The attribute of indefectibility means simply that the Church,

as Jesus Himself founded it, will last until the end of time. It

means that the Church is here to stay, that it will continue to

exist as long as there are souls to be saved. "Permanence” would

be a good synonym for indefectibility, but theologians always

seem to love the longer words.

It would be a great mistake for us to let this attribute of

indefectibility lull us into a feeling of false security. Jesus said

that His Church would last until the end of time. But He did

not say that it would last in this country or in that country until

the end of time. With atheistic Communism threatening us in

the East and in the West, it would be tragic if we remained

smugly indifferent to the threat, telling ourselves that nothing

really bad can happen to us because Christ is with His Church.

If we neglect our high vocation as Christians— and therefore
apostles— Christ’s Church may again become (as it once was in
the Roman empire) an underground Church of martyrdom-

marked souls. It is not so much the bombs and the guns of



REASON AND FAITH— AND MYSELF 93

Communism that we have to fear; it is rather the fervor, the

dynamism, the missionary-mindedness of the Communists that is

the long-range danger. They have so little to offer, and yet are

so zealous in proclaiming it. We have so much to share, and

yet seem so lackadaisical, almost indifferent, in showing the

truth to others.

Discussion: 1. Besides the attributes of "authority” and "in-

fallibility,” what is the third quality that is inherent in the

Catholic Church.^ 2. What would be a good synonym for the

word "indefectibility” ? 3. Why should the indefectibility of

the Church not cause us to feel complacent about the Church’s

future? 4. How may history repeat itself with regard to the

Church? 5. What have we to fear most from Communism?

"How many converts have I made?” Or at least, how much

thought and effort have I given to the making of converts?

That is a question that each of us ought to ask himself, at least

once a year. The thought of standing before God in judg-

ment, empty-handed, is a thought to make us tremble. "Where

are your fruits, where are your souls?” He rightly will ask—
and He will ask it of the layman as well as of the priest or

religious. We cannot wholly discharge our obligation by giving
money to the missions. That is a necessary part of it, but it is

only the beginning. There also is the matter of prayer. Our daily

prayers would be woefully incomplete if they did not include

prayers for the missionaries, home and foreign, and for the

souls among whom they labor. But do we pray every day for

the gift of faith for our next-door neighbors, if they are not

Catholics? Do we pray for that girl who works at the next

desk, that fellow who works at the next machine? How often

during the year do we invite a non-Catholic friend to attend

Mass with us, providing him in advance with a booklet that will

explain what is going on? Do we have a few good books on

the Catholic faith, and a supply of interesting pamphlets at home,

that we offer to give or lend on the slightest provocation, to

anyone who seems the least bit interested? If we do all these

things, even offering (when a question seems too big for us)



94 THE HOLY SPIRIT AND HIS WORK

to take an inquirer to meet a priest, then we are doing what

we ought; we are fulfilling at least some of our responsibility to

Christ for the treasure that He has entrusted to us.

We do not believe, of course, that all non-Catholics go to
hell, any more than we believe that just calling oneself a Catholic

will get one to heaven. The dictum that "Outside the Church

there is no salvation,” means no salvation for those who are

outside the Church through their own fault. One who has been

a Catholic and who deliberately abandons the Church cannot

be saved unless he returns; the grace of faith is not lost except

through one’s own fault. A non-Catholic who knows the
Catholic Church to be the true Church but remains outside

through his own fault cannot be saved. A non-Catholic whose
ignorance of the Catholic faith is a self-willed ignorance, a

deliberate blindness, cannot be saved. Those, however, who are

outside the Church through no fault of their own, and who

do the best they can according to what they know, making

good use of the graces that God surely will give them in view

of their good will— these can be saved. God does not ask the
impossible of anyone. He will reward everyone in the light of

what he has done with what he has. This does not mean, how-

ever, that we can escape our responsibility by saying, "My

neighbor can get to heaven without being a Catholic; so why

should I worry?” Nor does it mean, "One church is as good as

another.”

God still wants all men to belong to the Church which He

has established. Jesus Christ still wants one fold and one

Shepherd. And we ought to want our relatives and friends and

neighbors to" have the greater certainty of salvation which we

ourselves have in Christ’s own Church: the greater fullness of

truth, the greater security in knowledge of what is right and

wrong, the unmatchable helps offered by the Mass and the

sacraments. We wear our own faith lightly indeed if we can

mix with people day after day without ever asking ourselves,

"What can I do to help this man (or woman) to recognize the

truth of the Catholic Church, and to become one with me in the

Mystical Body of Christ?” The Holy Spirit lives in the Church



REASON AND FAITH— AND MYSELF 95

forever, but so often He must wait upon me to find entrance

into the soul of that man beside me.

Discussion: 1. What question ought we to ask ourselves at

least once a year.^ 2. What will God ask of us, in judgment?

3. What more is needed besides giving money to the missions

and praying for the missions? 4. What does the saying, "Out-

side the Church there is no salvation,” mean? 5. Does the fact

that a non-Catholic whose ignorance of the truth is unblamable,

can get to heaven, excuse me from all responsibility for his

soul ?

MY APOSTOLATE:

1. If a parent, I shall respect my child’s intelligence and en-

courage him to use his reason and to ask questions, even

though I do find his questions tiresome. At the same time

I shall teach him that no human mind is big enough to

understand everything; that some things must be accepted

on authority.

2. I shall not let mental laziness be an excuse for my own

lack of understanding. When a question cdncerning a

point of religion comes into my mind, I shall either look

up the answer (for example, in the Catholic Encyclopedia

at the public library) or inquire from someone who knows.

3. Next Sunday I shall take a non-Catholic to Mass with me

and shall be primed to answer his questions.



Chapter XV

THE END OF THE ROAD

We LIVE and we labor, for a few years or for many— and
then we die. This life, as we well know, is a time of testing

and of trial; it is eternity’s proving ground. The happiness of

heaven consists essentially in the fulfillment of love. Unless

we enter eternity with love for God in our hearts, we would be

absolutely incapable of experiencing the happiness of heaven.

Our life upon this earth is the time that God has given us to

acquire and to prove our love for Him. We must prove that
our love for God is greater than any of His created gifts, such

as pleasure or wealth or fame or friends. We must prove that
our love can withstand the pressure of man-made evils, such

as poverty or pain or humiliation or injustice. Whether we are

on the heights or in the depths, at every moment we must be

able to say, "My God I love You!”— and prove what we say
by our actions. For some the road is short, for others long. For

some the road is comparatively smooth, for others rough. But

for all of us the road ends. We die.

Death is simply the separation of the soul from the body.

Through the ravages of time or of disease or of accident, the

body becomes damaged to the point where the soul no longer

can continue to operate through the body. At this point the

soul leaves the body, and we say that the person is dead. The

exact instant at which the soul leaves the body can seldom be

known. The heart may have stopped beating, breathing may

have ceased, but the soul may still be present. This is proved

by the fact that sometimes persons apparently dead are revived

by artificial respiration or other means. Unless the soul still

were present, they could not be revived. That is why the Church

permits a priest to give conditional absolution and conditional

Extreme Unction for as long as two hours after apparent death,

just in case the soul may still be present. Once the blood has

begun to congeal, however, and rigor mortis has set in, we know

definitely that the soul has left the body.

96



THE END OF THE ROAD 97

What happens then? At the very instant the soul leaves

the body, it is judged by almighty God. Even while those about

the bedside are crossing the hands upon the breast and gently

closing the sightless eyes, the soul already has been judged; the

soul already knows what its eternal fate is to be. This judgment

of the individual soul immediately after death is called the

Particular Judgment. It is a tremendous moment for all of us.

It is the moment for which all our years upon earth have been

spent, the moment towards which our whole life has been di-

rected. For all of us it will be pay day.

Discussion: 1. Why must we enter heaven with love for God

in our hearts? 2. For what purpose has God given us our life

upon this earth? 3. What is death? 4. Why does the Church

allow the sacraments to be given conditionally after apparent

death? 5. What happens to the soul the instant it leaves

the body?

Where will this Particular Judgment take place? Probably

right there on the spot where we die, humanly speaking. Be-

yond this life there is no "space” or "place” in the sense in

which we ordinarily understand these words. The soul doesn’t

have to "go” someplace to be judged. As to the form which

this Particular Judgment will take, we can only guess. All

that God has revealed to us concerning the Particular Judg-

ment is that it will happen; that is all we need to know. The

description of the Particular Judgment as a judicial proceeding,

with the soul standing before God seated upon His throne, with

the devil on one side as the prosecuting attorney and the guardian

angel on the other as the defense attorney— all this, of course,
is poetic imagery and nothing more. Theologians speculate that

what actually takes place probably is that God illumines the

soul so that the soul sees itself as God sees it— sees the state
it is in, of grace or of unforgiven sin, of God-loving or God-

rejecting— and sees what its fate is to be in accordance with
the infinite justice of God. It is a fate which cannot be changed,

a sentence which cannot be reversed. The time of preparation



98 THE HOLY SPIRIT AND HIS WORK

and trial is ended. God’s mercy has done all that it can. Only

God’s justice prevails now.

What comes next.^ Well, let us get the worst over with

first. Let us consider the lot of the soul which has chosen self

in preference to God, and which has died without turning back

to God; in other words, the soul which dies in the state of mortal

sin. Having deliberately cut itself off from God during life;

having died without that bond of union with God which we

call sanctifying grace, it has now no means by which it can es-

tablish contact with God. It has lost God forever. It is in hell.

For such a soul, death, judgment and hell are simultaneous.

What is hell like? No one knows exactly, because no one

has ever come back from hell to describe it to us. We know

that in hell there is everlasting fire, because Jesus Himself has

said so. We also know that it is not the kind of fire we see
in our stoves and furnaces. That fire could not afflict the soul,

which is a spirit. All we know is that there is in hell a "pain

of sense’’ (as the theologians term it) of such a nature that it

cannot be better described by any other word in our human

language than by the word "fire.”

But what matters most is not the "pain of sense.” What

matters most is the "pain of loss.” It is the pain of loss, the

eternal separation from God that constitutes the worst of hell’s

suffering. I suppose that within the framework of revealed

truths each person views hell in his own way. To me, the soul-

shuddering thing about the thought of hell is its awful lone-

liness. I think of myself as standing nakedly alone in a vast

emptiness that is filled only with hatred, hatred for God and

hatred for myself, wishing that I could die and knowing that

I cannot, knowing too that this is the destiny which I have

freely chosen for myself in exchange for some mess of pottage,

and all the while there is being dinned into my ears the voice

of my own jeering conscience: "This is forever ... no rest ... no

surcease . . . forever . . . forever. ...” But no picture of hell that

words or brush can paint will ever be as bad as the reality. God

spare us all!



THE END OF THE ROAD 99

Discussion: 1. What do we know for certain about the Par-

ticular Judgment? 2. What opinion do theologians offer as

to what takes place? 3. Why has the soul which dies in the

state of mortal sin lost God forever? 4. What do we know

about hell? 5. In hell, what matters most?

Probably few of us are so optimistic as to expect that our

Particular Judgment will find us free from every trace of sin.

That would mean being free not only from all mortal and

venial sin, but also free from all undischarged temporal punish-

ment— the debt of atonement we owe to God even after sin
itself has been forgiven. We do not expect to die with a soul
so spotlessly pure, perhaps, but there is no reason why we

should not hope for it. That is what the sacrament of Extreme

Unction is for; to cleanse the soul from the ''remains of sin.”

That is what plenary indulgences are for, especially the plenary

indulgence at the moment of death, which the Church grants

to the dying by means of the Last Blessing.

Supposing that we do so die: fortified by the last sacra-

ments and with a plenary indulgence fully gained at the very

moment of death. Supposing that we do die without the least

trace or spot of sin upon our soul. What then can we expect?

In that case our death, which the instinct of self-preservation

has made to seem so fearsome, will in fact be our moment of

brightest victory. As the body reluctantly relinquishes its hold

upon the spirit which has given the body its life and its value,

the instantaneous sight of God will itself be our judgment.

The "beatific vision” is the cold theological term for the

magnificent reality which beggars human imagining or descrip-

tion. That reality is not merely a "vision” in the sense of

"seeing” God. It is a union with God; God possessing the

soul and the soul possessing God in a unity so ravishingly com-

plete as to be infinitely beyond the ecstasy of the most perfect

human marriage. As the soul "enters” heaven, the impact upon

it of the Infinite Love that is God would be so shattering as to

annihilate the soul, if God Himself did not give to the soul the

strength it needs to endure the happiness that is God. If we

are able for a moment to tear our thoughts from God, how



100 THE HOLY SPIRIT AND HIS WORK

petty then shall we think the worst of our earthly sufferings

and trials to have been; what a ridiculously small price we

shall have paid for the searing, tearing, choking, spiraling hap-

piness that is ours. It is a happiness, too, that nothing can take

from us. It is a telescoped, concentrated instant of pure bliss

that will never end. This is happiness eternal; this is the es-

sential happiness of heaven.

There are other incidental joys also that will be ours. There

will be our joy in the company of our glorified Saviour Jesus

Christ, and of our Mother Mary, whose sweet love and beauty

we so long have admired from a distance. There will be our

joy in the companionship of the angels and the saints, including

our own family members and friends who precede or follow

us to heaven. But these joys will be only the tinkling of

little bells compared to the crashing symphony of God’s love

that beats upon us.

Discussion: 1. Can we hope to escape purgatory? 2. What

happens to us immediately if we die without the least trace

of sin upon our soul? 3. Does the beatific vision consist

merely in "looking at" God? Discuss. 4. How will our

earthly trials seem to us when we are with God in heaven?

5. What incidental joys shall we have in heaven?

But what if, when we die, the Particular Judgment finds us

neither severed from God by mortal sin, nor yet with that

perfect purity of soul required for union with the all-holy God?

This, indeed, is very likely to be the case, if we have been con-

tent to remain upon the level of spiritual mediocrity: parsimoni-

ous in prayer, dodging self-denial, making compromise with

the world. Our mortal sins, if any, may have been forgiven in

the sacrament of Penance (do we not say, in the Creed, "I be-

lieve in. . .the forgiveness of sins"?); but if ours has been a

"comfortable" rehgion, it is not likely that we shall be capable,

in our last moments, of that perfect and selfless love for God

which is required for a plenary indulgence. So here we are in

Judgment: neither deserving of hell nor fit for heaven. What

becomes of us?



THE END OF THE ROAD 101

It is here that the doctrine of purgatory manifests its eminent

reasonableness. Even had the doctrine of purgatory not come

down to us from Christ and His Apostles through the tradition

of the Church, reason alone would indicate that there must be

some final process of purification to cleanse away whatever lesser

imperfections might yet stand between the soul and God. This

is the function of that state of temporary suffering which we

call purgatory. There is in purgatory, as there is in hell, a

"pain of sense,” but just as the essential suffering of hell is

everlasting separation from God, so also the essential suffering

of purgatory lies in the excruciating agony which the soul must

suffer at being delayed, even for an instant, from union with

God. The soul, let us remember, was made for God. Because

in this life the body serves (we might say) as an insulator, we

do not feel the terrific attraction that God has for the soul.

Some of the saints feel that attraction faintly, but most of us

feel it hardly at all. However, the moment the soul leaves the

body, it is exposed to the full power of God’s "pull” upon the

soul. Crazed with hunger— with hunger for God— the soul
beats itself against the barrier of its own remaining imperfections

until finally it is purged by the very agony of its own re-

straint— and the barrier falls, and God is there!
It is consoling to note that the soul in purgatory suffers

joyfully, even though the suffering is of an intensity unknown

this side of Judgment. The great difference between the suf-

fering of hell and the suffering of purgatory is the hopelessness

of hell’s eternal separation against the certainty of purgatory’s

release. The soul in purgatory would not want to appear be-

fore God in its present state, and so there is joy in its agony—
joy in the knowledge of the ecstasy to come.

It is evident that no one can know ”how long” purgatory

lasts for any individual soul. I have put ”how long” in quotes

because, while there is duration beyond the grave, there is no

"time” as we know it; no nights and days, no hours and min-

utes. However, whether we measure purgatory by duration or

by intensity (and an instant of twisting torture can be worse

than a year of mild discomfort), the fact remains that the soul

in purgatory cannot lessen or shorten its own sufferings. But



102 THE HOLY SPIRIT AND HIS WORK

we the living can help that soul, by the mercy of God; and

the frequency of our remembrance, and the endurance of our

remembrance, whether of an individual soul or of all the faith-

ful departed, will be measured only by our love.

Discussion: 1. What type of soul is likely to find itself after

death, undeserving of hell but unfit for heaven.^ 2. Why is

the doctrine of purgatory so eminently reasonable.^ 3. In

what does the principal suffering of purgatory consist.^

What is the great difference between the suffering of pur-

gatory and the suffering of hell? 5. Why should we pray

for the souls in purgatory?

MY APOSTOLATE;

1. Realizing that a thousand years of suffering here would

be a small price to pay for heaven, I shall let the thought

of heaven help me overcome my impatience and annoy-

ance when "things go wrong” with me.

2. If a parent, I shall speak often of the wonders of heaven

and the goodness of God, in correcting the wilfullness of

my children— and not make them think of God as a
hard taskmaster by always threatening them with hell.



Chapter XVI

THE END OF THE WORLD

If there is one thing that is certain, it is the fact that we

do not know when the world will end. It may be tomorrow,

it may be a million years from now. Jesus Himself, as we read

in the twenty-fourth chapter of St. Matthew’s Gospel, has in-

dicated some of the portents that must precede the world’s dis-

solution. There will be wars and famine and pestilence; there

will be the reign of Antichrist; the sun and the moon will be

darkened and the stars will fall from the heavens; the cross will

appear in the sky. Only when all this has happened shall we

"see the Son of Man coming upon the clouds of heaven with

great power and majesty’’ (Matt. 24:30). That, however, tells

us very little; there already have been wars and famine and

pestilence. The Communist domination very easily could be the

rule of Antichrist. The spectacles in the sky could happen at

any time, and all the prophecies would be fulfilled. On the

other hand, the wars and famines and plagues that the world

has witnessed up to now may be as nothing compared to those

which actually precede the world’s end. We just do not know.

We can only be ready.

For centuries the twentieth chapter of St. John’s Apocalypse

(the Book of Revelation in the Protestant versions of the Bible)

has provided a source of fascinating material for Scriptural

students. There St. John, describing a prophetic vision, says

that the devil will be bound and imprisoned for a thousand

years, during which the dead will come to life and reign with

Christ; at the end of the thousand years the devil will be re-

leased and finally vanquished forever, and then will come the

second resurrection. Some, such as the Witnesses of Jehovah,

have chosen to interpret this passage literally— always a danger-
ous way to interpret the figures of speech in which prophecy

abounds. Those who do take this passage literally and believe

that Jesus will come to reign upon earth for a thousand years

103



104 THE HOLY SPIRIT AND HIS WORK

before the end of the world, are called millenarists— from the
Latin word "millenium,” which means "a thousand years.” This

view, however, does not agree with Christ’s own prophecies, and

millenarianism is rejected by the Catholic Church as a heresy.

Some Catholic scholars believe that the “thousand years”

is a figure of speech for a long period of time before the end

of the world, when the Church will enjoy great peace and

Christ will reign over the souls of men. The more common

interpretation of Catholic Biblical experts, however, is that the

“thousand years” represents the whole period of time from

Christ’s birth, when Satan, indeed, was chained. All the just

who live during this time have a first resurrection by Baptism

and reign with Christ so long as they are in the state of grace;

and they have a second resurrection at the end of the world.

Paralleling this is the first death by sin, and the second death

in hell.

Discussion: 1. What do we know fox certain about the end

of the world 2. What are some of the portents that must

precede the end of the world? 3. Why do these portents

not tell us much about the approach of the world’s dissolution?

4. Who are the “millenarists” — what is their belief? 5. In
what two ways do Catholic scholars interpret St. John’s

“thousand years” ?

We have entered into this brief discussion of the millenium
because it is a point that may arise in religious discussions with

non-Catholic friends. Of more practical import to us, how-

ever, are the things which we know for certain concerning the

end of the world. One such certainty is the fact that, when

man’s history ends, the bodies of all who ever have lived will be

raised from the dead and will be united again with their proper

souls. Since it is the whole man, body as well as soul, that has

loved God and served God, even at the cost of pain and sacri-

fice, it is then but just that the whole man, body as well as soul,

enjoy that eternal union with God which is the reward of love.

And since it is the whole man who has rejected God by un-

repented mortal sin, it is but just that the body share with the



THE END OF THE WORLD 105

soul in the eternal separation from God which the whole man

has chosen for himself. Our risen bodies will, of course, be

reconstituted in a way that will free them from the physical

limitations which characterize them in this world. They no

longer will need food or drink or rest, and will be in some

sense "spiritualized.” In addition, the bodies of those who are

in heaven will be "glorified”; they will possess a perfection and

a beauty that will be a participation in the perfection and beauty

of the soul which is united with God.

Because the body of a person in whom grace has dwelt has

been truly a temple of God, the Church always has insisted

upon great reverence being shown to the bodies of the faithful

departed. They are committed with loving prayers and cere-

mony to graves which have been especially blessed to receive

them. One human person who escaped the corruption of the

grave was the Mother of God. By the special privilege of her

Assumption, the body of the Blessed Virgin Mary, united to

her immaculate soul, was glorified and taken into heaven. Her

divine Son, who had taken His flesh from hers, took her unto

Himself in heaven— an event which we commemorate on
August 15, the Feast of the Assumption.

The world ends, the dead rise again— and then comes the
General Judgment. The General Judgment will find Jesus Christ

occupying the throne of divine Justice, which had replaced His

throne of infinite mercy— the cross. The Last Judgment will
hold no surprises for us, as far as our own eternal fate is con-

cerned. We already shall have undergone our own Particular

Judgment; our souls already will be in heaven or in hell. The

purpose of the Last Judgment is primarily to give glory to God

by manifesting to all mankind God’s justice, and wisdom, and

mercy. The whole of life, which so often has seemed to us like

a tangled skein of unrelated events, sometimes harsh and cruel,

and even unjust and stupid— all now will be unfolded before us.
We shall see how the jigsaw piece of life that we have known,

fits into the great magnificent whole of God’s plan for man. We
shall see how God’s wisdom and power. His love and mercy

and justice have been at work through it all. "Why does God

let this happen?” so often we have complained. "Why doesn’t



106 THE HOLY SPIRIT AND HIS WORK

God do thus and so?” so often we have asked. Now at last
we shall know all the answers. The sentence which was passed

upon us in our Particular Judgment now will be publicly con-

firmed. All our sins— and our virtues too— will be exposed
to public view. The shallow sentimentalist who said, 'T don’t

believe in hell; God is too good to let a soul suffer forever,”

now will find that God is not, after all, a doting grandmother.

God’s justice is just as infinite as His mercy. The souls of the

damned, in spite of themselves, now will glorify God’s justice

forever, as the souls of the just will everlastingly glorify His

mercy. For the rest, let us turn to the twenty-fifth chapter of

St. Matthew’s Gospel, and let Jesus Himself (verses 34-46) tell

us how to prepare for that last and awful day.

Discussion: 1. Why is it just that our bodies should rise

from the dead? 2. What will be the nature of our risen

bodies? 3. Why is such reverence shown for the bodies of

the dead? 4. What do we commemorate on the Feast of the

Assumption? 5. What is the purpose of the Last Judgment?

6. What will the Last Judgment accomplish?

Most of us probably would wince if someone were to call

us a saint. We are too conscious of our imperfections to accept
such a title. And yet, in the early Church, all faithful members

of the Mystical Body of Christ were classified as saints. It was

St. Paul’s favorite term for members of the Christian com-

munity. He speaks of "the saints who are at Ephesus” (Eph. 1:1)

and the "saints that are in the whole of Achaia” (2 Cor. 1:1).

The Acts of the Apostles, which is the history of the infant

Church, also classifies as saints all who are followers of Christ.

The word "saint” derives from the Latin word "sanctus,”

which means "holy.” Every Christian soul, incorporated with

Christ by Baptism, and harboring within himself the Holy Spirit

(so long as he remains in the state of sanctifying grace) is holy,

h a saint in the original meaning of the word. Nowadays, of

course, the word "saint” is limited generally to those who are

in heaven. But it is the original meaning of the word that we



THE END OF THE WORLD 107

are using when we say, in the Apostles’ Creed, "I believe ... in

the communion of saints.” The word "communion” here means

"union with” (again from the Latin), and we are saying that

we believe that there exists a union, a fellowship, an intercourse

among all souls in whom dwells the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of

Christ. This fellowship includes first of all ourselves, members

of the Church here upon earth. Our "branch” of the com-

munion of saints is called the Church militant— that is, the
Church still struggling, still fighting against sin and error. If

we should fall into mortal sin, we do not cease to be members

of the communion of saints; but we are cut off from all spiritual

interchange with our fellows as long as we continue to exclude

the Holy Spirit from our soul.

The souls in purgatory also are members of the communion

of saints. They are established in grace forever, even though

their minor sins and debts of penance have still to be purged

away. They cannot yet see God, but the Holy Spirit is in them

and with them, never again to be lost. We often refer to this

branch of the Church as the Church suffering.

There is, finally, the Church triumphant, made up of all the

souls of the blessed in heaven. This is the everlasting Church.

Into it will be absorbed, after the last Judgment, both the Church

militant and the Church suffering.

Discussion: 1. How did St. Paul use the word "saint”?

2. Why do we have a right to be called saints? 3. What do

we mean by "the Church militant”? 4. To what "branch”

of the communion of saints do the souls in purgatory belong?

5. Which is the everlasting Church?

And now, what does the communion of saints mean for us in

practice ? It means that all of us who are united in Christ— the
saints in heaven, the souls in purgatory, and we upon earth—
must be mindful of the needs of one another. The saints in

heaven are not so rapt in their own bliss as to forget the souls

they have left behind. They could not forget if they would.

Their perfect love for God must include a love for all the souls



108 THE HOLY SPIRIT AND HIS WORK

whom God has made and adorned with His graces, all the souls

in whom God Himself dwells, all the souls for whom Jesus

died. In short, the saints must love the souls whom God loves.

The love that the blessed in heaven have for the souls in

purgatory and the souls on earth is not a passive love. We
might call it an active, hungry love. The saints long to help

onward to heaven all souls, whose precious value they now

realize as never before. And if the prayer of a good man on

earth has power with God, there is no estimating the power

of the prayers which the saints offer for us. They are God’s

heroes, God’s intimate friends and familiars.

The saints in heaven pray for the souls in purgatory and for

us. We for our part must reverence and honor the saints. Not
just because they can and will pray for us; but also because our

love for God demands it. An artist is honored when his works

are praised. The saints are masterpieces of God’s grace; when

we honor them, we are honoring their Maker, their Sanctifier

and their Redeemer. Honor given to the saints is not honor

taken from God. On the contrary, it is honor given to God in

a manner which He Himself has indicated and desires. And it

is worth remembering that when we honor the saints, we are

undoubtedly honoring many of our own loved ones who now

are with God in heaven. Every soul in heaven is a saint, not

just the canonized ones. That is why, in addition to special

feast days for certain canonized saints, the Church dedicates

one day to the honor of the whole Church triumphant, the

Feast of All Saints on November 1.

As members of the communion of saints, we upon earth also

pray for the suffering souls in purgatory. They cannot help

themselves now; their time for meriting is past. But we can

help them by the favor of God. We can relieve their sufferings

and speed them on to heaven by our prayers for them, by the

Masses we offer and have offered for them, by the indulgences

we gain for them. (Almost all indulgences granted by the

Church can be applied to the souls in purgatory, if we make

that intention.) Whether or not the souls in purgatory can

pray for us we do not know, but we do know that once they



THE END OF THE WORLD 109

are numbered among the saints in heaven they surely will re-

member us who remembered them in their need and will be

our special intercessors with God.

It is obvious that we upon earth must also pray for and

help one another if we are to be faithful to our obligations as

members of the communion of saints. We must have a truly
supernatural love for one another, practicing the virtue of fra-

ternal charity in thought and word and deed, especially by per-

forming the spiritual and corporal works of mercy. If we are to

assure ourselves of permanent membership in the communion of

saints, we dare not take lightly our responsibilities here.

And here the story of man’s salvation ends, the story that

the third Person of the Blessed Trinity, the Holy Spirit, has

written. With the end of the world, and the resurrection of

the dead, and the final judgment, the Holy Spirit’s work is

ended. His work of sanctification began with the creation of

Adam’s soul. For the Church it began on Pentecost Sunday. For

you and me it began on the day of our Baptism. As time ends

and only eternity remains, the Holy Spirit’s work finds its

fruition in the communion of saints, now one single company

in everlasting glory.

Discussion: 1. What does the communion of saints mean for

us in practice? 2. Why is it certain that the saints in heaven

want to help us? 3. Why must we honor the saints in heaven?

4. Why should we have a personal interest in the saints in

heaven? 5. How can we help the souls in purgatory? 6. As

members of the communion of saints, what are our obligations

to one another?

MY APOSTOLATE:

1. Keeping in mind that, until the very end of time, the

world is going to be a better or a worse world as a re-

sult of my having lived in it, I shall try my very best

to be a willing instrument in the hand of God for the

doing of His will. "What would God probably want?’’



no THE HOLY SPIRIT AND HIS WORK

rather than "What do I want?” will be the basis of my

decisions.

2. I shall let no day go by without a prayer for the souls

in purgatory; I shall try to gain all the indulgences that

I can for them.

3. Every morning as I dress, this shall be my prayer: "O

Lord, grant that everyone I meet today may find his burden

a little lighter— and not heavier— for having met me.”



THIS WE BELIEVE SERIES
Based on THIS WE BELIEVE— BY THIS WE LIVE

The Revised Baltimore Catechism No. 3

Series 1, God, Man and God-Man

Series 2, The Holy Spirit and His Work

Series 3, 4, 3, 6— In preparation
c

THE NEW TESTAMENT SERIES
Based on the Gospels, Acts and Epistles

Pari I, The Life of Christ: Annunciation to last weeks of

public life. Map of Palestine.

Part II, The Life of Christ: Last weeks of public life to

Ascension. Map of Jerusalem.

Part III, The Acts of the Apostles (The Apostolic Church).

Maps of St. Paul’s Journeys and Voyages to Rome.

Part IV, The Teachings of the Epistles: Ten Epistles of St.

Paul, the Epistles of St. James, St. Peter, St. John and St. Jude.

Maps of Journeys of St. Paul.

Each part contains 16 chapters outlined in divisions

covering: Map Work; New Testament Readings; My
Apostolate (i. e., the application of Christ’s words

to one’s own life at home, at work, in civic and social

contacts).

Important practical directives will be found in the pamphlets:

TI?e Religious Discussion Club (No. 5)

Instructions for Religious Discussion Club Leaders

(No. 3A)

Suggested Preparatory Course for Discussion Club Leaders

(No. lC-5)

Order this and all other CCD texts from:

Confraternity Publications

508 Marshall Street

Paterson 3, N. J.