The work of the Holy Spirit
Vol 8 Issue 21 ~ Editor: Rev. Fr. Courtney Edward Krier
May 23, 2015 ~ Vigil of Pentecost
1. Baptism: Means of Salvation (17)
2. Pentecost Sunday
3. SS. Donatian and Rogatian
4, Marriage and Parenthood (21)
5,Articles and notices
Dear Reader:
How Catholic is Catholic? Just think of Ireland, once Isle of the Saints but now closer to hades than probably most pagan centers of decadence like San Francisco and Las Vegas. What is Catholic now about Ireland? Absolutely nothing but the past when it once was Catholic. It is a warning to all faithful Catholics: I chastise my body, and bring it into subjection: lest perhaps, when I have preached to others, I myself should become a castaway. (Cor. 9:27) The devil, with his lies, convinces the weak that their lives belong to know one but themselves and God has no say. This concept is tantamount to a child saying to his parents: I can do what I want because it is my own life and you had nothing to do with it! It was the parents who brought them into this world; it is the parents who are completely responsible for the child; it is the parents who are giving everything to the child; it is the parents who are oblige to educate. Therefore, such a statement by a child makes no sense, but the child does make the statement and rebels against the reality that it must submit to its parents upon whom it is dependent. The world, pagan “Catholics” included, holds this ideology (you cannot say philosophy because there is no wisdom, let alone love, in a worldly life) and cannot see that such a life is no more than living as animals without reason and purpose. As pagan Ireland chooses to rebel from God and become a nation of people living like irrational animals, may faithful Catholics pray and sacrifice and chastise their body when it wants to rebel against God (Good) and desires to choose evil. When Ireland was Catholic it was the Isle of Saints; now that it is again pagan, does anyone hear of any saints?
Pentecost saw the birth of the Church; as there will never be another coming except the second coming of Our Lord Jesus Christ, may the faithful pray for that coming to be soon: And unless those days had been shortened, no flesh should be saved: but for the sake of the elect those days shall be shortened. (Matt. 24:22) May the graces received in Confirmation assist the faithful to persevere in living their Catholic faith without fear, without human respect, and without accepting the errors of this world.—The Editor
Baptism
Means of Salvation
Restoration of Grace
Waiting for the Redeemer (c)
That circumcision meant more of pertaining to a people or tribe may be seen in the account of the sons of Jacob who used the rite of circumcision to take revenge on the Sichemites. Sichem raped and then forced Dina, the sister of the sons of Jacob, to live with him. The sons of Jacob, her brothers were furious at the violation and captivity of their sister. When the father of Sichem attempted a reconciliation by arranging his son to marry the sister, the brothers responded to his request: We cannot do what you demand, nor give our sister to one that is uncircumcised, which with us is unlawful and abominable. But in this we may be allied with you, if you will be like us, and all the male sex among you be circumcised. . .. (Gen. 34:14-15). The father of Sichem, Hevor, agreed; and he went back to his people believing the sincerity of Jacob’s sons whom he perceived as no threat and whom he thought by such an arrangement would enable him to absorb them and their possessions into his dominion. In this manner he told the Sichemites:
One thing there is for which so great a good is deferred: We must circumcise every male among us, following the manner of the nation. And their substance, and cattle, and all that they possess, shall be ours: only in this let us condescend, and by dwelling together, we shall make one people. And they all agreed, and circumcised all the males. (ibid. 22-24)
The Sichemites were too confident and quickly fulfilled the command without precaution, but the sons of Jacob knew the consequences of such a surgical act:And behold the third day, when the pain of the wound was greatest, two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, the brothers of Dina, taking their swords, entered boldly into the city, and slew all the men (ibid. 25). But verse 24 makes it clear that it was thought it would be to make them a common tribe and no religious significance is attributed. Circumcision was not that uncommon, being more widespread as a cure for viral infections among other peoples and never intended as a religious ritual. It became part of the Israelite heritage that was not strictly enforced until settlement in the Promised Land after the sojourn in the desert for forty years. An indication of this is written when Moses, because he had not circumcised his son:
And when he [Moses] was in his journey, in the inn, the Lord met him, and would have killed him. Immediately Sephora [his wife] took a very sharp stone, and circumcised the fore skin of her son, and touched his feet and said: A bloody spouse art thou to me. And he let him go after she had said A bloody spouse art thou to me, because of the circumcision. (Exod. 4:24-27)
The following is a commentary on these verses from E. Power, S.J.:
The general sense of the event narrated is clear. The words of Sephora, however, are obscure as recorded in MT [Masoretic Text] and Vg [Vulgate]but intelligible in LXX [Septuagint]: ‘Here is the blood of the circumcision of my son’ (25b) and ‘Here is the blood of the circumcision’ (26b). Youths were circumcised among the Arabs when they attained manhood and, originally at least, at the time of marriage, since the similar Arabic and Hebrew words for father-in-law and bridegroom mean literally circumciser and circumcised. Hebrew males on the other hand, according to the covenant made with Abraham, were circumcised on the eighth day after birth. Moses violated this law by conforming to the Arab custom at the instigation of his wife and father-in-law. For this he is threatened with death by Yahweh who appears to them in visible form at the night-halt. Moses can do nothing, but Sephora, aware of the cause of her husband’s plight, quickly circumcises her son with a flint and prostrates herself at the feet of Yahweh saying: ‘Here is the blood of the circumcision’. Yahweh on hearing her words desists from his attack on Moses. The whole event is a very emphatic warning to Moses at the beginning of his mission that he must not neglect any of the commands of Yahweh. (Orchard, 210)
This last observation brings one to the purpose of Circumcision and to the Law:
Why then was the law? It was set because of transgressions, until the seed should come, to whom he made the promise, being ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator. Now a mediator is not of one: but God is one. Was the law then against the promises of God? God forbid. For if there had been a law given which could give life, verily justice should have been by the law. But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise, by the faith of Jesus Christ, might be given to them that believe. But before the faith came, we were kept under the law shut up, unto that faith which was to be revealed. Wherefore the law was our pedagogue in Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after the faith is come, we are no longer under a pedagogue. (Gal. 3:19-25)
Saint Paul, whether writing to the Galatians, the Romans or the Hebrews, was defending what was revealed to Peter (cf. Acts 10) and which was still contentious before and finalized by the universal, or Catholic, acceptance at the Council of Jerusalem as stated above (4b). Paul mentions this in writing to the Galatians:
But when Cephas was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed. For before that some came from James, he did eat with the Gentiles: but when they were come, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing them who were of the circumcision. . . . But when I saw that they walked not uprightly unto the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas before them all: If thou, being a Jew, livest after the manner of the Gentiles, and not as the Jews do, how dost thou compel the Gentiles to live as do the Jews? We by nature are Jews, and not of the Gentiles sinners. But knowing that man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ; we also believe in Christ Jesus, that we may be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: because by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified. (Gal. 2:14-16)
Because of the faith of Abraham, God chose his descendants through Isaac and Jacob—not Ismael or Esau—to bear witness to the fulfillment of the Promise. Beginning with Abraham, his household was circumcised as accepting the Promise, including Ismael:
But my covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sara shall bring forth to thee at this time in the next year. . . . And Abraham took Ismael his son, and all that were born in his house: and all whom he had bought, every male among the men of his house: and he circumcised the flesh of their foreskin forthwith the very same day, as God had commanded him. . . . And Ismael his son was full thirteen years old at the time of his circumcision.(Gen. 21, 23, 25)
Yet, though circumcised, Ismael is cast off because he persecutes the Promised One: Cast out this bondwoman, and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with my son Isaac. (ibid. 21:10; cf. Gal. 4:30). It is only the Israelites (descendents of Jacob) and the adherents in the faith of Israel, which is to await the Promised One, and in whom God directs His attention, ordering all things so that the Promised One is born as a descendant of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob—and which Scripture provides a detailed account. The Old Testament, a history of Salvation, is God showing those who believe in the fulfillment of the Promise, the coming of the Son of God into this world, how He accomplished this work of Redemption despite the fallen nature of man and man’s choices, choices which were even opposed to Him. It was through circumcision and the Law of Moses which forced a close-knit people into a path that preserved them from annihilation by laws and traditions that separated them from the other nations, gave them a national identity and way of life that brought them to fulfill the fulfillment. All other nations rose and disappeared in the passing of time, but Israel, though under the rule of the Romans when the Promise was fulfilled, still remained a people tenaciously adhering to its customs.
When Moses gives the Law, he knows it is imposed because of the hardness of heart of the Israelites (cf. Ps. 94:8—This Psalm is recited by the clergy everyday; Saint Paul repeats this verse in his Epistle to the Hebrews three times: Heb. 3:8, 3:25 and 4:7; cf. 2 Para. 30:8). As stubborn children, they would murmur and complain and rebel, but would not leave the house of Israel. In light of this one can return to Paul’s words to the Galatians (3:19-25), and see that it was God’s intervention as a Father towards His rebellious child to insure he would grow into the maturity of an adult where he would then be free to choose what is right without rules but which would not have been necessary had the child in the beginning chose to follow the will of the Father because the child loved the Father. Therefore, the Law is not what brought the Promise, but the Promise necessitated the Law to bring the Law to fulfillment. Now that the child is an adult the rules are no longer needed; now that the Promise has been fulfilled, the Mosaic Law is no longer needed. Moses prophesied to the Israelites:
The Lord thy God will circumcise thy heart, and the heart of thy seed: that then mayst love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul, that thou mayst live. And he will turn all these curses upon thy enemies, and upon them that hate and persecute thee. But thou shalt return, and hear the voice of the Lord thy God, and shalt do all the commandments which I command thee this day: And the Lord thy God will make thee abound in all the works of thy hands, in the fruit of thy womb, and in the fruit of thy cattle, in the fruitfulness of thy land, and in the plenty of all things. For the Lord will return to rejoice over thee in all good things, as he rejoiced in thy fathers. (Deut. 30:6-9)
Then he tells the Israelites that are present:
Yet so if thou hear the voice of the Lord thy God, and keep his precepts and ceremonies, which are written in this law: and return to the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul. This commandment, that I command thee this day is not above thee, nor far off from thee: Nor is it in heaven, that thou shouldst say: Which of us can go up to heaven to bring it unto us, and we may hear and fulfill it in work? Nor is it beyond the sea: that thou mayst excuse thyself, and say: Which of us can cross the sea, and bring it unto us: that we may hear, and do that which is commanded? But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth and in thy heart, that thou mayst do it. Consider that I have set before thee this day life and good, and on the other hand death and evil: That thou mayst love the Lord thy God, and walk in his ways, and keep his commandments and ceremonies and judgments, and thou mayst live, and he may multiply thee, and bless thee in the land, which thou shalt go in to possess. But if thy heart be turned away, so that thou wilt not hear, and being deceived with error thou adore strange gods, and serve them: [18] I foretell thee this day that thou shalt perish, and shalt remain but a short time in the land, to which thou shalt pass over the Jordan, and shalt go in to possess it. I call heaven and earth to witness this day, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing. Choose therefore life, that both thou and thy seed may live: And that thou mayst love the Lord thy God, and obey his voice, and adhere to him (for he is thy life, and the length of thy days,) that thou mayst dwell in the land, for which the Lord swore to thy fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob that he would give it them. (ibid. 10-20)
The children of the Israelites had not been circumcised since the departure for Egypt to prefigure that those who had been liberated from sin, passed through the water (cf. Exod. 14:22; Num. 33:8; 2 Esdr. 9:11—stressing the event which Paul brings forward in 1 Cor. 10:1 and Heb. 11:29), i.e., been baptized, would not need carnal circumcision, but only that of the heart (cf. also Rom. 8:10ff). As the Israelites who had rebelled had all died as a consequence of their sins (cf. Num. 14:22ff), the Promised Land was to be given to another generation. Having passed through the water of Jordan (Jos. 3:17) uncircumcised, as symbolic of entering the Promised Land, there is a return to the idea of waiting for the Promise as they prepare to enter Jericho. The Israelites will once more return to circumcision and would now be circumcised at the command of Josue as a sign of receiving the Promise through Josue (or Jesus, God saves or Savior):
At that time the Lord said to Josue: Make thee knives of stone, and circumcise the second time the children of Israel. He did what the Lord had commanded, and he circumcised the children of Israel . . . .
Now this is the cause of the second circumcision: All the people that came out of Egypt that were males, all the men fit for war, died in the desert, during the time of the long going about in the way. Now these were all circumcised. But the people that were born in the desert during the forty years of the journey in the wide wilderness, were uncircumcised: till all they were consumed that had not heard the voice of the Lord, and to whom he had sworn before, that he would not shew them the land flowing with milk and honey. The children of these succeeded in the place of their fathers, and were circumcised by Josue: for they were uncircumcised even as they were born, and no one had circumcised them in the way. Now after they were all circumcised, they remained in the same place of the camp, until they were healed. And the Lord said to Josue: This day have I taken away from you the reproach of Egypt.(Jos. 5:2-9)
In this way Paul showed the Jews and the early Christians, Jews and Gentiles, circumcision and the law (works) did not bring them salvation, but faith in the Promise fulfilled, Our Lord Jesus Christ:
Now faith is the substance of things to be hoped for, the evidence of things that appear not. For by this the ancients obtained a testimony. By faith we understand that the world was framed by the word of God; that from invisible things visible things might be made. By faith Abel offered to God a sacrifice exceeding that of Cain, by which he obtained a testimony that he was just, God giving testimony to his gifts; and by it he being dead yet speaketh. By faith Henoch was translated, that he should not see death; and he was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had testimony that he pleased God. But without faith it is impossible to please God. For he that cometh to God, must believe that he is, and is a rewarder to them that seek him. By faith Noe, having received an answer concerning those things which as yet were not seen, moved with fear, framed the ark for the saving of his house, by the which he condemned the world; and was instituted heir of the justice which is by faith. By faith he that is called Abraham, obeyed to go out into a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing whither he went. By faith he abode in the land, dwelling in cottages, with Isaac and Jacob, the co-heirs of the same promise. For he looked for a city [the Church, the New Jerusalem] that hath foundations; whose builder and maker is God. (Heb. 11:1-10)
Believe in the Lord Jesus, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. (Acts 16:31)
(To be continued)
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Week of Pentecost
Benedict Baur, O.S.B.
The work of the Holy Spirit
- Gathered at the feet of Mary (the stational church for the day is that of St. Mary Major), we contemplate the fruitfulness of the Holy Ghost in the Church of Christ. “O God, when Thou didst go forth in the sight of Thy people, making a passage for them, . . . the earth was moved, and the heavens dropped [manna], alleluia. Let God arise, and let His enemies be scattered; and let them that hate Him flee from before His face” (Introit). This Introit gives us a picture of the power and the efficacy of the operations of the Holy Ghost among the Israelites of the Old Testament as they wandered through the desert to the Promised Land.
- The visible works of the Holy Ghost in the Church. On the feast of Pentecost the prophecy made by the prophet Joel was fulfilled: “And it shall come to pass after this that I will pour out My Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy; your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. . . . And I will show wonders in heaven; and in earth, blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood before the great and dreadful day of the Lord doth come. And it shall come to pass that everyone that shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Joel 2:28 ff.).
At Pentecost God poured forth His Spirit upon the Church, and He continues to send forth the Spirit at all times and in all ages, as has been visibly manifested by the miracles which have been worked in the Church from the beginning even until now. This visible manifestation of the power of the Holy Ghost is described in the Epistle. “And by the hands of the apostles were many signs and wonders wrought among the people. And they were all with one accord in Solomon’s porch. But of the rest no man durst join himself unto them; but the people magnified them. And the multitude of men and women who believed in the Lord was more increased; insomuch that they brought forth the sick into the streets and laid them on beds and couches, that when Peter came, his shadow at the least might overshadow any of them, and they might be delivered from their infirmities. And there came also together to Jerusalem a multitude out of the neighboring cities bringing sick persons and such as were troubled with unclean spirits, who were all healed” (Acts 5:12-16).
The Church has never lacked miracles. They are a continual witness of the presence and of the fruitfulness of the Holy Ghost in the Church. There is much human weakness in the Church, many faults and many scandals; but in spite of this human element with its imperfections and sins, we find everywhere the effects of the work of the Holy Ghost. We can place our full trust and confidence in the Church in which the Holy Ghost lives and works, in spite of all the faults and the mistakes of its human members.
The invisible work of the Holy Ghost in the Church has been described by the Lord: “No man can come to Me except the Father, who hath sent Me, draw him” (John 6:44). The essential element in the work of the Church is the grace of the Holy Ghost. It is the Holy Ghost who unites the Father and the Son; He also joins us to the Son and, through the Son, to the Father. Everything depends on His operation in us. The more fully we allow ourselves to be drawn and guided by the Holy Ghost, the closer we shall come to Jesus and His mysteries and His graces. The Holy Ghost must draw us to every good thought and word and deed. Every act of faith, of hope, and of love for God requires the inspiration and the help of the Holy Ghost. If our virtues and our deeds are to be truly per feet and worthy of God, they need the special and continual touch of the Holy Ghost. Even though we are endowed with all the supernatural virtues, we still remain mere apprentices in the spiritual life. We know what we must do; and yet lack the virtue and the faculty to perform these things with ease. The Holy Ghost must guide us. He must seize our intellect and our wills and guide us in prayer, in work, in the decisions we have to make, and in the difficulties we encounter every day. He must share with us His manner of seeing of loving, of thinking, and of working.
Our works and our conduct will be perfect only when the Holy Ghost has taken complete possession of us. Therefore, in addition to the supernatural virtues of faith, hope, charity, justice, fortitude, temperance and wisdom, He gives us also His seven gifts. Thus He equips the tiny boat of our soul with sails upon which He Himself, the Spirit of God, blows. Our progress across the sea of life is then no longer slow and painful. We are propelled and guided by the Spirit. If the Spirit of God breathes upon the sails of our boat, then our journey will be a happy one. Then through the work and the help of the Holy Ghost, who lives in our soul, we shall come to the Father. But woe to us if we prefer to work alone, if we withdraw from the help and guidance of the Holy Ghost, and place our trust in our own efforts and abilities. We shall then certainly fall behind and be lost.
- “Everyone that hath heard of the Father and hath learned, cometh to Me” (Gospel). We come to Christ through faith. But we are called to come to Him in a much more perfect manner than our all too human and imperfect way of doing other things. But we can come to Him in this perfect manner only through the strength of the Holy Spirit, and through the perfect development of the graces received in confirmation. How far we have fallen short of realizing the perfect Christian life! Even many priests and religious fall far short of the ideal to which they are called. They remain halfhearted, imperfect and mediocre; they are not fervent in prayer, nor fruitful in
good works, nor joyful in suffering. Is this failure due to the Holy Spirit? Certainly not. It is because we ourselves are not sufficiently attentive to the urging of the Holy Spirit. We are absorbed by external things and not the things of the spirit. With such an attitude the Holy Spirit cannot operate fully and accomplish His work in our souls. Ah, if we only had the vision to see and understand this!
- We pay too little heed to the approach and the knocking of the Holy Ghost. We do not live in the spirit, and therefore the Holy Ghost cannot operate perfectly within us. If we only had eyes to see!
If the Holy Ghost is to work successfully in us, He must find in us a great purity of heart, a simplicity and humility of soul, an active love of recollection and prayer, and finally, a burning love of God and of one’s neighbor. But actually He finds us careless about venial sin, about certain infidelities and imperfections. We neglect inward and outward mortification, and refuse to be completely detached from our worldly works and actions. Our heads are filled with curiosity and are occupied with other people. We are too solicitous about our honor, our temporal progress, our relatives, our health, our spiritual progress, our former life. We are not yet completely detached from ourselves. How, then, can the Holy Ghost work unhampered in our soul and draw us to the Father? “Come, Holy Ghost, fill the hearts of Thy faithful, and kindle in them the fire of Thy love.”
“O blessed Light of Life Thou art
Fill with Thy Light the inmost hearts
Of those that hope in Thee.
“Lord, wash our sinful stains away.
Water from heaven our barren clay,
Our wounds and bruises heal.”
PRAYER
May the Holy Comforter, who proceedeth from Thee, enlighten our minds, we beseech Thee, o Lord, and lead us into all truth, even as Thy Son hath promised, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee for all eternity. Amen.
Grant, we beseech Thee, almighty and merciful God, that the Holy Ghost may come to us and make us the temple of His glory. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
The Spirit of Christ
- Philip the Deacon (Epistle) and the apostles (Gospel) wrought great signs and wonders by the power of the Holy Ghost, whom they had received. We also have received the Holy Ghost, and we still receive Him daily. We must therefore be spiritual men, men who work, not in their own way, but in the spirit of Christ and the Holy Ghost.
- The spirit of independence, the human spirit, judges all things and thinks in a purely natural and earthly way. It considers those blessed who possess and enjoy great riches. It calls those great who possess worldly wisdom and enjoy the respect and esteem of their fellow men, who occupy positions of rank, and who wield great power and influence. It seeks always its own interests; it knows well the art of making profit at all times and under all circumstances; it is a master at carrying out its own designs and serving its own interests. It usurps a large part of the life even of pious and spiritual persons. Under the pretense of serving God, it is continually seeking itself and its own natural desires, its own comfort, its own honor. In all matters of the spirit it follows the prudence of the flesh and preaches moderation and mediocrity. It is one of the chief causes of negligence, and is a fruitful source of quarrels, disputes, coolness towards others, envy, and of an unwarranted solicitude for its own good reputation. It destroys tranquility, peace of soul. It gives men an exaggerated sense of their own importance. With good reason the masters of the spiritual life have called it “the greatest evil” on earth. What a host of men there are who are ruled by this tyrannical spirit of independence!
The Holy Ghost is the Spirit of Christ, and He has communicated Himself to the soul of man with all His gifts and graces. “The spirit of the Lord is upon Me. Wherefore He hath anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He hath sent Me to heal the contrite of heart” (Luke 4: 18). By the “spirit of Christ” we understand especially the principle that moved and motivated His will and His judgment. All of His actions were controlled by His burning desire to accept the will of His Father and perform it at all times. He was driven by the urge to overcome all things and accomplish all that was necessary for fulfilling the will of the Father and for redeeming mankind. In Christ the head and in us the members, the “spirit of Christ” is the spirit of love for the Father, the spirit of humility, of obedience, of recollection, of prayer, of suffering, and of sacrifice. This spirit causes the Christian to live and act according to the eight beatitudes, to rejoice in God, to desire to be as nothing in the eyes of the world, to be spurned and rejected by the world. This spirit inspires us to desire a life of renunciation and detachment, and complete union with God. It makes us seek only God’s will and honor. This is the Spirit “whom the world cannot receive because it seeth Him not nor knoweth Him” (John 14: 17).
- “The Spirit of the Lord hath filled the whole world, alleluia” (Introit). The Holy Ghost, the Spirit of Christ, will take possession of us, guide us, inspire us, and direct us. He will give us the treasures of His light. He will give our wills a Christian nobility, an unconquerable strength, and the stability which we will need in order to live a life of virtue. He will overcome the resistance of our self-will, and subdue our rebellious nature. He will make us the willing instruments of the will of God and the salvation of souls. How foolish of us to refuse to lay aside the treacherous spirit of worldliness! “Come, Holy Ghost, fill the hearts of Thy faithful.”
“And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost,” with the Spirit of Christ (Acts 2:4). The spirit of Christ must live in us. We Christians, especially the priests and religious, must conform ourselves to the great concepts of Christ as laid down in the gospel.
PRAYER
May the outpouring of the Holy Ghost cleanse our hearts, O Lord, and may they be made fruitful by the intimate sprinkling of His dew. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
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24: SS. DONATIAN AND ROGATIAN, MARTYRS (A.D. 289 OR 304)
DURING the reign of the Emperor Maximian there was living at Nantes in Brittany a young man called Donatian who belonged to a prominent Romano-Gallic family and was a zealous Christian. After the outbreak of persecution his elder brother Rogatian was moved by his example and piety to desire baptism, but the sacrament was deferred because the bishop was in hiding. The emperor had issued an edict directing that all who refused to sacrifice to Jupiter and Apollo should be put to death. Upon the arrival of the prefect at Nantes, Donatian was brought before him on the charge of professing Christianity and of withdrawing others—notably his brother—from the worship of the gods. He made a bold confession and was cast into prison, where he was soon joined by Rogatian who, in the face of cajolery and threats, had remained constant to his newly-found faith. He only grieved that he had not been baptized, but he prayed that the kiss of peace which he had received from his brother might supply the necessary grace. He was destined to receive the baptism of blood. They spent the night together in fervent prayer and were brought up again the following day before the prefect, to whom they expressed their willingness to suffer for the name of Christ whatever torments might be in store for them. By his order they were tortured on the rack, their heads were pierced with lances, and they were finally decapitated. The two martyrs are greatly venerated at Nantes where they are popularly known as “Les Enfants Nantais”. A few of their reputed relics are preserved in a church dedicated in their honour.
(Butler’s Lives of the Saints)
MARRIAGE AND PARENTHOOD
The Catholic Ideal
By the Rev. Thomas J. Gerrard
(1911)
CHAPTER X
BETWEEN PARENTS AND CHILDREN
Nay, more. If once the real motive of filial love be grasped and the consequent heartfelt affection be excited, there will be no need of forced outward deference, which even in times of annoyance and dissatisfaction must be observed. All will flow naturally, or rather supernaturally; for with a person whose heart is right, all his actions, however natural, easy, and pleasant they are, are spiritualized and clothed with divine charity.
The superiority of parents involves reverence on the part of children. It is not the reverence due from an equal to an equal, nor yet is it that of a slave to a master. But it is that special kind of affectionate regard which is known as filial reverence. It is begotten only by a certain attitude of mind. It cannot exist merely as an external show. It cannot exist from any purely philosophical motive. Unless there is an inward acknowledgment to one’s self of the parent’s superiority under God, there cannot be true filial reverence. This duty, therefore, must have its foundation laid in the heart and mind. The habit of mind must be cultivated of regarding parents as representative in some way of the superiority of God. The reverential fear of God is the root motive of filial reverence of parents. “He that feareth the Lord honoreth his parents and will serve them as his masters, that brought him into the world.” From the inward habit of mind and affection there will flow forth the external reverence of words and deeds.
It may happen, it often does happen, that a parent does things which tend to disturb that inward reverence. Here, however, we are concerned with the duties of children, and particularly with the duty of reverence on occasions when the parent has failed in his or her duty. The child is never justified in offering to a parent irreverence. To attempt to justify such conduct on the grounds that the parent has forfeited the reverence due to him is to have missed the chief meaning of reverence to parents. We do not owe them this reverence simply because they are good and kind and affectionate. Doubtless those qualities do impose an extra claim on us. But the foundation reason of our reverence is the bare fact that they are our parents and that under God they are our superiors.
And no amount of subsequent neglect of duty on their part can undo this fact. Of course, ‘our inward feelings are not always under our control. Still, in such circumstances we can and ought to maintain at least an outward reverence of word and deed. Then this outward behavior will react on the inward soul and will tend to fasten the due inward reverence. The exercise of control over our outward actions will strengthen our inward patience, and the effect of this inward patience will make itself felt in the parent and thus be the means, perhaps, of making him reflect on his duty. “ Honor thy father in work and word and all patience, that a blessing may come upon thee from him, and his blessing may remain in the latter end.”
We come next to the question of obedience.
The obedience of children toward parents has its reason in the idea of family government. The family is the foundation of the community and of the State. If, therefore, men are bound to obey the laws of the country in which they live, and if they are bound to observe the by-laws of their community, much more are they bound to attend to the commands of parents in all matters pertaining to the well-being of the household. The very existence of a State is dependent on the due observance of its laws. So also is the very existence of family life dependent on the due respect for parental authority. Anarchy in the family tends to anarchy in the community, and anarchy in the State. Filial obedience, therefore, is an exigency of the law of nature.
It is an exigency also of the divine law. “Children,” says St. Paul, “obey your parents in the Lord, for this is just.” Nay, the parents have a sanction given them to enforce obedience if need be. They must avoid arbitrary and harsh treatment, yet at the same time they must be firm in maintaining their rights and insisting on parental authority. “And you, fathers, provoke not your children to anger; but bring them up in the discipline and correction of the Lord.” Therefore it is that St. Paul says again: “Children, obey your parents in all things: for this is well pleasing to the Lord.”
Perhaps, however, the children may ask: “Is there no limit to this parental authority? Surely the time must come when I must think and act for myself ?” Yes, there are limits which it is well to know. But first let us be clear as to the extent before we speak about the limits. First, it is manifest that parents have supreme authority in the management of the household. The children have not the right to choose the kind of house, the quality of the food, the hours of the meals. Secondly, the parents have charge of the children’s manners and education, and therefore they have the right and duty of demanding obedience in behavior about the house. Thirdly, they have the right and the duty of looking after the spiritual welfare of the children. Consequently, they are entitled to say who are fitting companions, what are permissible amusements, whether it is good to go to this dance or to that theatre. Further, on account of this spiritual oversight they have a right to warn the children when the time draws near for the Sacraments, or when there is any other religious duty to be performed. Again, it is the right and duty of the parents to see to the proper education of their children in fitting them for the battle of life in temporal matters. Consequently, there is a corresponding duty on the part of the children of corresponding with the means provided, of careful attendance at the school chosen, of availing themselves of all the opportunities for the improvement of mind and body which a thoughtful parent has afforded.
Now we may consider the limits of parental authority. First let us recall the root principle of this authority: the parents, in the exercise of it, are only supposed to be carrying out the work of God. If, therefore, any of their commandments are manifestly contrary to the law of God, then the parents have gone beyond the limits of their jurisdiction. In such cases it is not only lawful but of obligation to lay aside the command of the parent. Such a course of action is not disobedience, but rather obedience to a higher law. But notice that this is only allowable when the thing commanded is manifestly against the law of God. If there is any doubt the presumption is always in favor of the parent; for a wayward child might easily persuade itself that it was following out God’s will, while it was in reality only following out its own perverse will. Conscience certainly is supreme, but there is need to guard against a false conscience, and the only practical rule is to obey the parent in case of doubt.
Among the several kinds of cases in which the rights of God, the rights of parents, and the rights of children seem to clash, there are two which are constantly arising, and concerning which the Church has made definite arrangements. The question concerns the choice of a state of life. Is the child bound to obey its parents in choosing whether to get married, or to become a priest or a religious?
(To be continued)
The following is a commentary addressing the question of marriage from a Protestant source. Evangelicals seem to take their beliefs more seriously than Catholics and, even according to the polls, Evangelicals are increasing statistically (i.e., greater than the population growth). That does not mean the Evangelicals are right, nor that one should abandon the Catholic faith; it means that Catholics should be examining themselves and if they are not living their faith zealously they need to do so or they will find they have lost their faith.—The Editor
You ‘Must be Made’ to Obey
Posted on May 18, 2015
Implicit in all Progressive belief, is the assurance that they and they alone are enlightened and capable of making any and all decisions for the unwashed masses of bitter, flyover folks. Obey is a dirty word if uttered in the context of a wedding vow or with parents and children. But quite another matter entirely when speaking about citizens obedience to the grandiose plans of elitist experts peddling Socialist dogma.
By Matt Barber
While actions speak louder than words, words often predict future actions. Secular progressives’ words and actions rarely align.
This is because the pseudo-utopian, wholly dystopian perch from which they view the world is so detached from reality that, from a cultural and public policy standpoint, they must disguise their intended actions in flowery and euphemistic language, or face near universal rejection.
When they don’t like the terms, liberals redefine the terms to mean something they do not, never have and never can mean. Consider, for instance, the once meaningful words “marriage” and “equality.”
Other “progressive” doublespeak includes words like “invest” (meaning socialist redistribution of wealth), “tolerance” (meaning embrace immorality or face total ruin), “diversity” (meaning Christians and conservatives need not apply), “hate” (meaning truth) or “The Affordable Care Act” (meaning unaffordable, unsustainable and utterly inferior socialized medicine).
Even so, it’s during those rare moments of candor that our cultural Marxist friends’ rhetoric actually aligns with their intended actions. In other words, every so often, and usually by accident, they tell the truth.
Take this recent declaration by President Obama at Georgetown University. He was discussing his contempt for conservative news media in general and Fox News in particular:
“[W]e’re going to have to change how our body politic thinks, which means we’re going to have to change how the media reports on these issues,” he said.
How Kim Jong-un of him.
In sum: Goal 1) Control thought by, Goal 2) Controlling the media.
This is an idea older than – and as well preserved as – Vladimir Lenin himself. How Dear Leader intends to reconcile his scheme to “change how the media reports on these issues” with the First Amendment’s Free Press Clause, namely, “Congress shall make no law … abridging the freedom … of the press,” is abundantly clear.
He doesn’t.
Our emperor-in-chief will force feed his once-free subjects yet another unconstitutional executive decree – a Net Neutrality sandwich with a side of Fairness Doctrine.
Or take would-be President Hillary Clinton’s comments last month on the “rite” of abortion vs. the right of religious freedom.
Reports LifeNews:
“The comment has Hillary Clinton essentially saying that Christians must be forced to change their religious views to accommodate abortions.
“‘Far too many women are still denied critical access to reproductive health care and safe childbirth. All the laws we’ve passed don’t count for much if they’re not enforced,’ Clinton said, using the euphemism for abortion.
“‘Rights have to exist in practice – not just on paper,’ Clinton argued. ‘Laws have to be backed up with resources and political will. And deep-seated cultural codes, religious beliefs and structural biases have to be changed.’”
That’s a lot of “have tos.” See the pattern here? Whether it’s Obama saying government will “have to change how the media reports,” or Hillary saying “deep-seated religious beliefs have to be changed,” such despotic demands should spike the neck hair of every freedom-loving American.
And then there are those left-wing extremists whose designs on despotism require that Christians “must be made” to obey.
Homosexual practitioner and New York Times columnist Frank Bruni is one such extremist. In his April 3 column titled, “Bigotry: The Bible and the Lessons of Indiana,” Bruni quotes homosexual militant Mitchell Gold, a prominent anti-Christian activist:
“Gold told me that church leaders must be made ‘to take homosexuality off the sin list,’” he writes. “His commandment is worthy – and warranted,” he adds.
Of course, if homosexual behavior, something denounced as both “vile affections” and “an abomination” throughout both the Old and New Testaments, is no longer sexual sin, then there can be no sexual sin whatsoever.
To coerce, through the power of the police state, faithful Christians to abandon the millennia-old biblical sexual ethic and embrace the sin of Sodom would likewise require that Christians sign-off on fornication, adultery, incest and bestiality. Such is the unnatural nature of government-mandated moral relativism.
“But this isn’t free speech, it’s hate speech!” come the mournful cries of the ill-informed and the ill-prepared, desperately afraid to debate the issues on the merits. “Hate speech is excluded from protection,” opines CNN anchor Chris Cuomo in a recent tweet on the topic. “But there is no hate speech exception to the First Amendment,” replies UCLA law professor Eugene Volohk in a Washington Post op-ed. “Hateful ideas (whatever exactly that might mean) are just as protected under the First Amendment as other ideas.”
Of course this matters not to those to whom the First Amendment is meaningless.
Indeed, one man’s “hate speech” is another man’s truth, and as I’ve often said, truth is hate to those who hate truth.
And boy do they hate it.
And so they mean to muzzle it.
The time of which many of us have long warned is no longer on the horizon. The left’s full-on assault against freedom, most especially religious freedom, is at hand. Oddly, or maybe not so oddly, it’s at once the secular left and orthodox Muslims who lead the charge. These strange bedfellows share a common enemy. He is Truth in the person of Jesus Christ. In order to silence Him, they must silence His faithful followers.
Which brings us to this modern age of American lawlessness. We’re fast moving from a soft tyranny to hard tyranny, and “progressive” leaders like those mentioned above are, chillingly enough, emboldened to the degree that they will openly call for it.
Like our brothers and sisters around the world, American Christians must prepare for suffering.
But, like them, we mustn’t despair.
For there are different kinds of suffering.
Suffering through cancer, for instance, can, and often does, lead to death. Without Christ, who is mankind’s only hope, such suffering is hopeless indeed.
Yet when a young mother suffers through child birth, and while she may experience the same level of pain as the cancer sufferer, her crying out elicits an entirely different response, and her pain serves an entirely different purpose. While one type of suffering leads to death, the other leads to life. While one attends sorrow, the other attends joy.
Similarly, there is a kind of suffering — suffering in sin — which leads to spiritual death, and a kind suffering — suffering in grace — which leads to spiritual life.
Anti-Christian persecution, be it efforts to force Christians into disobedience to God, attempts to silence them outright or, worse, the torture, enslavement and even execution of Christ followers – now widespread in both Muslim and Marxist nations across the globe – signifies “the beginning of birth pains” (see Matthew 24:8).
And birth pains lead to new life.
Matt Barber is founder and editor-in chief of BarbWire.com. He is an author, columnist, cultural analyst and an attorney concentrating in constitutional law. Having retired as an undefeated heavyweight professional boxer, Matt has taken his fight from the ring to the culture war. Follow Matt on Twitter at @jmattbarber
Read more at http://savingourfuture.com/2015/05/you-must-be-made-to-obey/
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