Vol 8 Issue 29 ~ Editor: Rev. Fr. Courtney Edward Krier
July 18, 2015 ~ St Camillis de Lellis

1, Baptism: Means of Salvation (25)
2. Eighth Sunday after Pentecost
3. St. Vincent de Paul
4. Marriage and Parenthood (29)
5. Articles and notices

Dear Reader:

The attention placed on the Iranians has allowed the Rainbow House and Kangaroo Courts to continue to deprive American Citizens and mainstream religious institutions of their Constitutional rights. The latest is that of forcing the Little Sisters of the Poor to pay for contraceptives and abortions if they want to keep their homes for the elderly open. The right thing for them to do is to fire all employees and, if these Sisters cannot maintain the facilities with volunteers, to realize they will have to cease this act of charity if it is paying for the employees to murder their unborn children. If this happens to them, one can expect it will be the same for all. As Fordham (Jesuit University in New York) celebrates a sin that cries to heaven—the theology department head committing public sodomy—the University has chosen to completely apostatize from the faith—and, with no outcry, indicates the trend that “Catholic” young men and women have also completely apostatized. Realizing that the radical university student leaders of the 60’s and 70’s now head the present regime, the present students of will also head church departments. The presidential election of 1972 halted the radical elements since Americans refused to vote for the party that represented progressivism and radicalism. The moral majority were defeated with the impeachment that followed and the progressives gained momentum. Now these progressives and radicals are the majority as they supported with their wealth programs to radicalize the youth and will have these youth voting for their ideology. May faithful Catholics pray their daily Rosary, know their faith by reading the Baltimore and Roman Catechisms, and be faithful to assisting at Mass on Sundays and frequenting the Sacraments if available—if not, reading the Mass Prayers that express Catholic belief in the Sacrifice of Calvary and also making a Spiritual Communion.

As always, enjoy the readings and commentaries provided for your benefit.—The Editor

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Baptism

Means of Salvation

Preparation for Grace

Introduction (c)

Church Documents Concerning Faith (3)

As the Reign of Terror and Napoleon’s Conquest ended, the Church attempted to recover from the ravages of rationalism and atheism that was to claim to free man from serving God but actually enslaved him to the state. A complete rejection of Kantianism (Emmanuel Kant attempted to reduce all knowledge to the process of reason, even religious knowledge—the beginning of Protestant Liberalism—where philosophers attempted to rationalize the Incarnation, Redemption, and Salvation) was undertaken by the Fideist. The swing of the pendulum brought Faith to be defended against those who would make it more than it was, that is, all knowledge is God’s revelation. A priest of Strasbourg, Louis Eugene Bautain, was ordered by his bishop on September 8, 1840, to subscribe to the following theses concerning reason and faith:

1. Reason can prove with certitude the existence of God and the infinity of His perfections. Faith, a heavenly gift, is posterior to revelation; hence it cannot be brought forward against an atheist to prove the existence of God. (D 1622; cf. D.1650)
2. The divinity of the Mosaic revelation is proved with certitude by the oral and written tradition of the synagogue and of Christianity. (D 1623)
3. Proof drawn from the miracles of Jesus Christ, sensible and striking for eyewitnesses, has in no way lost its force and splendor as regards subsequent generations. We find this proof with all certitude in the authenticity of the New Testament, in the oral and written tradition of all Christians. By this double tradition we should demonstrate it (namely, revelation) to those who either reject it or, who, not having admitted it, are searching for it. (D 1624)
4. We do not have the right to expect from an unbeliever that he admit the resurrection of our divine Savior before we shall have proposed definite proofs to him; and these proofs are deduced by reason from the same tradition. (D 1625)
5. In regard to these various questions, reason precedes faith and should lead us to it [(D 1626; cf. n.1651].
6. Although reason was rendered weak and obscure by original sin, yet there remained in it sufficient clarity and power to lead us with certitude to a knowledge of the existence of God, to the revelation made to the Jews by Moses, and to Christians by our adorable Man-God. (D 1627)

And, though Fideism may have been an outlier, the condemnation clarifies Divine Faith as that which is known only through Divine Revelation, not knowledge about God that can be obtained by through reasoning, example: God must be one.

With the universality of secularism and rationalism that had seized the world, that is, the rejection of Christianity by society, the Church, under Pius IX, was moved to call the first Vatican Council which convened from December 8, 1869 until October 20, 1870. Most of the Council Fathers disbanded for the summer after the promulgation of Papal Infallibility on July 18, 1870. The Franco-Prussian War began the next day on July 19, 1870. With France fighting Germany, there was no major army to protect the Papal States from the advances of the Piedmontese forces that entered the Papal States on September 8, and took Rome by September 20. The Pope was held hostage in the Vatican, and was obliged to end the Council on October 20 as none of the Bishops would be able to have assurance of safely returning to Rome. Previous to the Franco-Prussian War and the seizure of the Papal States by the anti-Catholic forces of Garibaldi, the fathers of the Council were able to draw up during the III Session the document on Catholic Faith, Dei Filius, and ratify it on April 24, 1870. In this Dogmatic Constitution there is contained the following (divided into chapter, Denziger notation and topic introduction):

Chapter 2. Revelation

1785 [The fact of positive supernatural revelation]. The same Holy Mother Church holds and teaches that God, the beginning and end of all things, can be known with certitude by the natural light of human reason from created things; “for the invisible things of him, from the creation of the world, are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made” [Rom 1:20]; nevertheless, it has pleased His wisdom and goodness to reveal Himself and the eternal decrees of His will to the human race in another and supernatural way, as the Apostle says: “God, who at sundry times and in divers manners, spoke in times past to the fathers by the prophets, last of all, in these days hath spoken to us by His Son” [Heb.1:1 f; can. 1].

1786 [The necessity of revelation]. Indeed, it must be attributed to this divine revelation that those things, which in divine things are not impenetrable to human reason by itself, can, even in this present condition of the human race, be known readily by all with firm certitude and with no admixture of error. Nevertheless, it is not for this reason that revelation is said to be absolutely necessary, but because God in His infinite goodness has ordained man for a supernatural end, to participation, namely, in the divine goods which altogether surpass the understanding of the human mind, since “eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man, what things God hath prepared for them that love Him” [1 Cor. 2:9; can. 2 and 3]. 

Chapter 3. Faith

1789 [The definition of faith]. Since man is wholly dependent on God as his Creator and Lord, and since created reason is completely subject to uncreated truth, we are bound by faith to give full obedience of intellect and will to God who reveals [can. 1]. But the Catholic Church professes that this faith, which “is the beginning of human salvation” [cf. n. 801], is a supernatural virtue by which we, with the aid and inspiration of the grace of God, believe that the things revealed by Him are true, not because the intrinsic truth of the revealed things has been perceived by the natural light of reason, but because of the authority of God Himself who reveals them, who can neither deceive nor be deceived [can. 2]. For, “faith is,” as the Apostle testifies, “the substance of things to be hoped for, the evidence of things that appear not” [Heb. 11:1].
1790   [That faith is consonant with reason ].However, in order that the “obedience” of our faith should be “consonant with reason” [cf. Rom. 12:1], God has willed that to the internal aids of the Holy Spirit there should be joined external proofs of His revelation, namely: divine facts, especially miracles and prophecies which, because they clearly show forth the omnipotence and infinite knowledge of God, are most certain signs of a divine revelation, and are suited to the intelligence of all [can. 3 and 4]. Wherefore, not only Moses and the prophets, but especially Christ the Lord Himself, produced many genuine miracles and prophecies; and we read concerning the apostles: “But they going forth preached everywhere: the Lord working withal and confirming the word with signs that followed” [Mark 16:20]. And again it is written: “And we have the more firm prophetical word: whereunto you do well to attend, as to a light that shineth in a dark place” [2 Pet. 1:19].

1791 [That faith in itself is a gift of God]. Moreover, although the assent of faith is by no means a blind movement of the intellect, nevertheless, no one can “assent to the preaching of the Gospel,” as he must to attain salvation, “without the illumination and inspiration of the Holy Spirit, who gives to all a sweetness in consenting to and believing in truth” (Council of Orange, see n.178 ff.). Wherefore, “faith” itself in itself, even if it “worketh not by charity” [cf. Gal. 5:6], is a gift of God, and its act is a work pertaining to salvation, by which man offers a free obedience to God Himself by agreeing to, and cooperating with His grace, which he could resist [cf. n.797 f: can. 5].

1792 [The object of faith]. Further, by divine and Catholic faith, all those things must be believed which are contained in the written word of God and in tradition, and those which are proposed by the Church, either in a solemn pronouncement or in her ordinary and universal teaching power, to be believed as divinely revealed.

1793 [The necessity of embracing faith and retaining it]. But, since “without faith it is impossible to please God” [Heb. 11:6] and to attain to the fellowship of His sons, hence, no one is justified without it; nor will anyone attain eternal life except “he shall persevere unto the end on it” [ Matt. 10:22; 24:13]. Moreover, in order that we may satisfactorily perform the duty of embracing the true faith and of continuously persevering in it, God, through His only-begotten Son, has instituted the Church, and provided it with clear signs of His institution, so that it can be recognized by all as the guardian and teacher of the revealed word.

1794 [The divine external aid for the fulfillment of the duty of Faith]. For, to the Catholic Church alone belong all those many and marvelous things which have been divinely arranged for the evident credibility of the Christian faith. But, even the Church itself by itself, because of its marvelous propagation, its exceptional holiness, and inexhaustible fruitfulness in all good works; because of its catholic unity and invincible stability, is a very great and perpetual motive of credibility, and an incontestable witness of its own divine mission.

[The divine internal aid to the same]. By this it happens that the Church as “a standard set up unto the nations” [Isa. 11:12], both invites to itself those who have not yet believed, and makes its sons more certain that the faith, which they profess, rests on a very firm foundation. Indeed, an efficacious aid to this testimony has come from supernatural virtue. For, the most benign God both excites the erring by His grace and aids them so that they can “come to a knowledge of the truth” [1 Tim. 2:4], and also confirms in His grace those whom “He has called out of darkness into his marvelous light” [1 Pet. 2:9], so that they may persevere in this same light, not deserting if He be not deserted [see n. 804]. Wherefore, not at all equal is the condition of those, who, through the heavenly gift of faith, have adhered to the Catholic truth, and of those, who, led by human opinions, follow a false religion; for, those who have accepted the faith under the teaching power of the Church can never have a just cause of changing or doubting that faith [can. 6]. Since this is so, “giving thanks to God the Father, who hath made us worthy to be partakers of the lot of the saints in light” [Col. 1:12 ], let us not neglect such salvation, but “looking on Jesus, the author and finisher of faith” [ Heb. 12:2], “let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering” [ Heb. 10:23]. 

Chap. 4. Faith and reason

1795   [The twofold order of knowledge] .By enduring agreement the Catholic Church has held and holds that there is a twofold order of knowledge, distinct not only in principle but also in object: (1) in principle, indeed, because we know in one way by natural reason, in another by divine faith; (2) in object, however, because, in addition to things to which natural reason can attain, mysteries hidden in God are proposed to us for belief which, had they not been divinely revealed, could not become known [can. 1]. Wherefore, the Apostle, who testifies that God was known to the Gentiles “by the things that are made” [Rom. 1:20], nevertheless, when discoursing about grace and truth which “was made through Jesus Christ” [cf.John 1:17] proclaims: “We speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, a wisdom which is hidden, which God ordained before the world, unto our glory, which none of the princes of this world know. . . . But to us God hath revealed them by His Spirit For the Spirit searcheth all things, yea the deep things of God” [ 1 Cor. 2:7,8,10]. And the Only-begotten Himself “confesses to the Father, because He hath hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hath revealed them to little ones” [cf.Matt. 11:25 ]
1796  [The role of reason in teaching supernatur al truth ] .And, indeed, reason illustrated by faith, when it zealously, piously, and soberly seeks, attains with the help of God some understanding of the mysteries, and that a most profitable one, not only from the analogy of those things which it knows naturally, but also from the connection of the mysteries among themselves and with the last end of man; nevertheless, it is never capable of perceiving those mysteries in the way it does the truths which constitute its own proper object. For, divine mysteries by their nature exceed the created intellect so much that, even when handed down by revelation and accepted by faith, they nevertheless remain covered by the veil of faith itself, and wrapped in a certain mist, as it were, as long as in this mortal life, “we are absent from the Lord: for we walk by faith and not by sight” [ 2 Cor. 5:6 f.].

1797  [The impossibility of opposition between faith and reason ] .But, although faith is above reason, nevertheless, between faith and reason no true dissension can ever exist, since the same God, who reveals mysteries and infuses faith, has bestowed on the human soul the light of reason; moreover, God cannot deny Himself, nor ever contradict truth with truth. But, a vain appearance of such a contradiction arises chiefly from this, that either the dogmas of faith have not been understood and interpreted according to the mind of the Church, or deceitful opinions are considered as the determinations of reason. Therefore, “every assertion contrary to the truth illuminated by faith, we define to be altogether false” [Lateran Council V, see n. 738 ].

1798 Further, the Church which, together with the apostolic duty of teaching, has received the command to guard the deposit of faith, has also, from divine Providence, the right and duty of proscribing “knowledge falsely so called” [1 Tim. 6:20 ], “lest anyone be cheated by philosophy and vain deceit” [cf.Col. 2:8; can. 2]. Wherefore, all faithful Christians not only are forbidden to defend opinions of this sort, which are known to be contrary to the teaching of faith, especially if they have been condemned by the Church, as the legitimate conclusions of science, but they shall be altogether bound to hold them rather as errors, which present a false appearance of truth.

1799 [The mutual assistance of faith and reason, and the just freedom of science].And, not only can faith and reason never be at variance with one another, but they also bring mutual help to each other, since right reasoning demonstrates the basis of faith and, illumined by its light, perfects the knowledge of divine things, while faith frees and protects reason from errors and provides it with manifold knowledge. Wherefore, the Church is so far from objecting to the culture of the human arts and sciences, that it aids and promotes this cultivation in many ways. For, it is not ignorant of, nor does it despise the advantages flowing therefrom into human life; nay, it confesses that, just as they have come forth from “God, the Lord of knowledge” [1 Samuel 2:3], so, if rightly handled, they lead to God by the aid of His grace. And it (the Church) does not forbid disciplines of this kind, each in its own sphere, to use its own principles and its own method; but, although recognizing this freedom, it continually warns them not to fall into errors by opposition to divine doctrine, nor, having transgressed their own proper limits, to be busy with and to disturb those matters which belong to faith.

1800 [The true progress of knowledge, both natural and revealed]. For, the doctrine of faith which God revealed has not been handed down as a philosophic invention to the human mind to be perfected, but has been entrusted as a divine deposit to the Spouse of Christ, to be faithfully guarded and infallibly interpreted. Hence, also, that understanding of its sacred dogmas must be perpetually retained, which Holy Mother Church has once declared; and there must never be recession from that meaning under the specious name of a deeper understanding [can. 3]. “Therefore . . . let the understanding, the knowledge, and wisdom of individuals as of all, of one man as of the whole Church, grow and progress strongly with the passage of the ages and the centuries; but let it be solely in its own genus, namely in the same dogma, with the same sense and the same understanding.”

(To be continued)

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Week of Eighth Sunday after Pentecost

Benedict Baur, O.S.B.

The Holy Spirit

1. “You have received the spirit of adoption of sons, whereby we cry: Abba, Father” (Epistle). The Holy Spirit is with us at the beginning of our life in Christ and effects our union with Christ, our head. Thus He makes us the children of God in union with Christ. He regulates our communion with Christ, with the Church, and with other members of the Church.
2. The Spirit of our union with the Son. We are united with Christ, the Son of God, in so far as we have “the communication of the Holy Ghost” (II Cor. 13: 13). For St. Paul “living in Christ” means the same as “living in the Spirit.” For him baptism is baptism in Christ and in the Holy Spirit. This is the fundamental law of Christian life: “If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His” (Rom. 8:9)· The Spirit of Christ is the Holy Ghost, who draws us into such an intimate communication with the Son that St. Paul can say: “Know you not that your bodies are the members of Christ?” and he adds: “Know you not that your members are the temple of the Holy Ghost, who is in you?” (I Cor. 6: 15, 19.) “He who is joined to the Lord, is one spirit” (1 Cor. 6: 17). It follows that we cannot be in Christ without being simultaneously in union with the Holy Spirit. We can be united with Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, and children of the Father only so far as we are filled with the Holy Spirit and live in Him. “In this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us: because He hath given us of His Spirit” (1 John 4: 13). For “the incarnate Son of God has not received the Holy Spirit for Himself, the only-begotten Son of God, but for us” (St. Cyril of Alexandria). “The faithful become Christ’s mystical body in so far only as they are determined to live by the Spirit of Christ. Only the body of Christ lives by the Spirit of Christ” (St. Augustine). Therefore we begin to possess and live Christ’s life the very moment when we possess the Holy Spirit and live by Him. We are growing in Christ, living His life, in the same degree as we become spiritual. The liturgy of the Sundays after Pentecost wishes to bring home to us that we are to become more spiritual, more enlightened by the Spirit of God, filled with Him and guided by Him.

The Spirit of our union with the body of Christ. “Now there are diversities of graces, but the same Spirit; and there are diversities of ministries and operations, but the same God, who worketh all in all To one indeed, by the Spirit, is given the word of wisdom; and to another, the word of knowledge, . . . to another, faith in the same Spirit. . . . But all these things one and the same Spirit worketh, dividing to everyone according as He will” (I Cor. 12:4 ff.). As the vitality of the various members and organs in a natural organism can work fruitfully only if these various organs cooperate in the unity of the organism, so likewise in the organism of the body of Christ, the Church, the variety of the members, offices, and graces has to be coordinated in the unity of the organism, the entire body. The Holy Ghost accomplishes this unity by directing the different operations and members towards the growth and perfection of the body of Christ. We belong to Christ not as individuals or single members, but only as members of the community, of the entire body. We are of necessity connected with the other members and related to them; for the member does not live its own separate existence, but only in connection with the life of the organism. So we, too, living not for ourselves, but for the organism, have to be united not only with the living head, but also with each single member in the communion of the Holy Spirit, who is the principle of unity in the variety of the different members, operations, and offices of the Church.

The Church is a community wrought by the Holy Ghost and living in Him. She is “one body and one spirit” (Eph. 4:4) in communion with the Holy Spirit, who links the individual member with Christ and, through Christ, with the Father. She is one in spirit and also one in body. The more we consider ourselves members of the organism and responsible for the welfare of the mystical body, the more charity grows within us. We attain a greater love for souls, for the poor, for those who have gone astray, for all our brethren who have been seduced or have fallen away. The Spirit of love will make us live and understand what St. Paul puts so emphatically before our eyes as the gift to be preferred before all other gifts: “If I speak with the tongues of men, and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal. And if I should have prophecy and should know all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I should have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing . . . . And now there remain faith, hope, and charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity” (I Cor. 13:1 f., 13).

3. “We have received Thy mercy, O God, in the midst of Thy temple” (Introit). We have received through God’s mercy union with the Son of God and with the body of Christ, gifts of infinite value. We gratefully proclaim: “Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.” The celebration of today’s Mass is to be aEucharistia, a sacrifice of thanksgiving, offered in the name of all those who live in union with the Son of God and His mystical body. It must be a sacrifice of petition for all who belong to this body in order that all of us may recognize the grace given to us in baptism (Easter) and confirmation (Pentecost), and that we may live as Christians, as bearers of the Spirit of Christ. We certainly are no longer debtors to the flesh. Having received the Holy Spirit we are of one spirit with our Lord Jesus Christ. We live by the Spirit of God and the Spirit of Christ. Our Lord gives us His special graces when, in Holy Communion, He pours out upon us His Holy Spirit. “Taste and see that the Lord is sweet; blessed is the man that hopeth in Him” (Communion).

PRAYER

May this heavenly mystery, O Lord, heal us both in soul and body; and may we ever feel within us the power of the sacraments we celebrate. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

The spirit of adoption

1. “You have not received the spirit of bondage again in fear, but … the spirit of adoption of sons, whereby we cry: Abba, Father” (Epistle). “Behold what manner of charity the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called and should be the sons of God” (I John 3: 1).
2. God comes to us in the person of a child. He does not come to us as an angel, nor as Lord and Judge, not even as a loving Father; but He prefers the humble simplicity and helplessness of a child. He brings nothing with him, neither nobility of birth nor the splendor of His majesty, nothing but His life; He chooses the helplessness and sweetness of a child, though He could have come in the splendor of a king. He is well aware of the fact that there is no greater moral power among men than the weakness of a child. It conquers the most hardened heart and has power over every good spirit. God, of course, could force men to do His will; He could tread upon them, but He wants to win their hearts to Himself, and therefore He comes as a child, not as an omnipotent God; His helplessness bespeaks His desire for us. The divine child wants us to forget our timidity and fear, and desires that we come to Him with a childlike simplicity. “We have received Thy mercy, O God, in the midst of Thy temple” (Introit).

“Suffer the little children and forbid them not to come to Me” (Matt. 19: 14). As God became the son of man, so men become the sons of God. “You have received the spirit of adoption of sons.” In becoming children before God, we find the road that leads to Him and to the possession of Christ’s life and heritage. All true Christianity consists in our being called and being the sons of God (I John 3:1). A child knows instinctively that it will be well taken care of by its father and mother. Having experienced no worries, no grief, and no fear of life, a child sees only sunny skies and is full of hope and expectation of wonderful things to come. A child is satisfied with what it sees and can lay its hands on; it has a faith that explains and brightens everything. It has a heaven and a father and a mother; it wants to believe and to pray, to reach beyond itself to God the Father and to Mary, its mother. A child has faults and weaknesses too, but these, too, do not cause it great worry. If the father punishes his child, it will be love only that wields the rod, for he means only well with his child.

“You have received the spirit of adoption of sons.” We are aware of our being children of God. We therefore stand at the mysterious gates of life without fear and without undue solicitude. Knowing that we are being taken care of by His love and providence, we leave our ways and our destiny entirely to the direction of this loving Father. We are resigned to His dispensations, for we know that they are the work of a loving, well-meaning Father; He does not permit anything to befall us without having first measured it so that we may be able to bear it. We are satisfied to be guided along the road He has destined for us, throwing ourselves into the arms of God, like a child whose only desire is to be carried by its mother that it may rest at her bosom and be caressed by her. Every desire of the Father, every sign coming from Him, is holy, is a command to us. Whatever we do, we do to show our love for the Father and our desire to please Him. We have our faults and behave badly sometimes, but realizing what we have done, we regret having offended Him. We ask His pardon, and He in His mercy gives us new graces and new proofs of His love.

3. “You have received the spirit of adoption of sons.” There is much piety which does not recognize God with a childlike disposition, which knows only the service of fear, of servitude, of oppressing and paralyzing anxiety. Who can serve God out of feelings of love if he does not know Him to be lovable? For this reason even many Christians are cold and tepid toward God, because they see in Him nothing but the fearful Lord, the Lawgiver and Judge. From this attitude spring many feelings that are foreign to the usual disposition of children; they are the source of all listlessness in religious life. The lack of childlike confidence and simplicity is the reason for so many temptations against faith and the many anxieties that impede a tender devotion toward God and the spirit of joyful sacrifice.

God wishes us to be as children before Him. He has implanted the gift of piety in our souls in baptism in order that we may offer Him a childlike disposition of mind. If we are truly children, we simply believe what He commands, submitting ourselves to His holy will and commandments. Then we are guided by His divine leadership in all things with that spirit of faith which lifts us beyond the merely human point of view in our thinking and judging. Forgetting ourselves, we rest on the heart of the Father, without worry or unrest, guided by a spirit of love and confidence. Renouncing our own will, we let Him, the Father, work within us whatever He wills. Placing no obstacles in His way, we become His children, dying to ourselves in order to be free for His spirit, His will, His working within us. “Out of the mouths of infants and of sucklings Thou hast perfected praise” (Ps. 8:3).

PRAYER

Grant to us, O Lord, we beseech Thee, the spirit to think and do always such things as are right; that we who cannot exist without Thee may be able to live according to thy will. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

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JULY 19

St. Vincent de Paul, Confessor

1. “Right thou shalt do and with love, and carry thyself humbly in the presence of thy God” (Mich. 6:8). In these words one has a thumbnail description of the life of Vincent de Paul. At a time when Europe was harassed by various heresies, God raised up this remarkable man in southern France—powerful in word and deed, a saint whom even kings consulted, a main-spring of every great movement in the France of his day. Vincent was born in 1576 to poor, simple, God-fearing parents. As a boy he watched his father’s sheep until he found an opportunity for studies, first with the Franciscans at Asar, and later in Toulouse. Ordained in the year 1600, he spent his time between 1605 and 1607 in cruel captivity in Tunis. Having escaped to Avignon and then to Paris, he experienced an interior conversion, in 1609, and promised God to spend the rest of his life in works of charity. The years 1615 to 1625 he passed as private chaplain and tutor in the home of Count Condy, General of the Galleys. In 1617 he founded the Congregation of the Lazarists for home mission work, and later the Sisters of Charity. He opened foundling homes in Paris in which, to this day, the sisters harbor and educate more than ten thousand orphan children. His society of Young Ladies of the Holy Cross provides education for girls who live in dangerous surroundings or are without homes. Vincent, the tireless worker driven by love of God and of immortal souls, died on September 27, 1660.
2. “The innocent man will flourish as the palm-tree flourishes: he will grow to greatness as the cedars grow on Lebanon: planted in the temple of the Lord, growing up in the very courts of our God’s house” (Introit). We marvel at the almost limitless range of St. Vincent’s activity and at the many institutions that he originated to support and promote the kingdom of God on earth. He recognized the evils of his time: the ignorance, the religious poverty, the moral degradation of the people, as well as the inactivity of the clergy. He therefore preached zealously and encouraged missions as an opportunity for works of mercy. He became poor in order to help the poor. On a trip to Marseilles, he learned about the sad lot of the galley slaves. In his desire to help them, he gladly accepted the post of Almoner General of the Galleys offered him by King Louis XIII. As such he was the chief pastor of these unfortunates. On one occasion he begged so persistently for the freedom of a slave that the overseer finally yielded; but Vincent had to accept the chains and oar himself. It was only after a considerable lapse of time that he was recognized and set free. He used every available means that his inexhaustible mercy could find or devise to alleviate physical and spiritual misery.

In collaboration with Louis Marillac, whose love of neighbor matched his own, St. Vincent founded the Sisters of Charity, of whom he wrote: “They had only the homes of the sick for cloister; a poorly furnished room served as a cell; their chapel was the parish church; their corridors were the streets of the city; their enclosure was obedience, their gate, the fear of God; and their veil, holy modesty.” The whole world loves these angels of mercy, whom Vincent advised: “Let us love God; but at the price of our hands and the sweat of our face.” He promoted retreats for lay people. Under Queen Mary Anne he defended the rights and welfare of the Church with frankness and with ultimate success, saving whole regions from death by starvation; he organized the war as the caring for refugees. Vincent was a powerful opponent of Jansenism, which was just beginning to spread. In addition to these interests inaugurated by himself, he was superior of the Visitation Order, founded by St. Francis de Sales, and acted as spiritual director of St. Francis de Chantal. His was a life of remarkable versatility. Truly, he flourished like a palm tree.

“The harvest . . . is plentiful enough, but the laborers are few” (Gospel). At the time of St. Vincent there were many bishops and priests in France, but workers like himself were few, and sorely needed. “I am sending you out to be like lambs among wolves. You are not to carry purse, or wallet, or shoes; you are to give no one greeting on the way.” Workers of apostolic simplicity, with minimum requirements and maximum trust in God, who would apply themselves with a total devotion that would allow nothing to drag them from their places, no one to draw them into other interests, unless these, too, served, their cause; who would live only to bring the kingdom of God into erring hearts, only to search out and tirelessly lead back souls to Christ: these were the workers needed.

St. Vincent was such a man. He saw Christ in sinners, in the poor, in the distressed and captive, and never forgot the truth, “When you did it to one of the least of my brethren here, you did it to me” (Matt. 25:40), or St. Paul’s, “With us, Christ’s love is a compelling motive, and this is the conviction we have reached; if one man died on behalf of all, then all thereby became dead men; Christ died for us all, so that being alive should no longer mean living with our own life, but with his life who died for us and has risen again” (II Cor. 5:14, 15). Vincent was on fire with love for Christ and for His needy brothers and sisters. “The harvest is plentiful enough . . . you must ask the Lord . . . to send laborers out for the harvesting,” workers filled with the faith and sacrificing courage of St. Vincent de Paul.

3. How rich in blessings and many-sided was the activity of this saint! Whence did he receive the strength and energy for such vast expenditure of himself in his vocation? Profound interior life was at the bottom of all. Filled with humility, he saw himself as a wretched instrument, and his ready retort to praise was, “God does it.” He was a man of much prayer, and he considered it an offence against God consumed him and made him love his fellow man so deeply that he would himself become a galley slave if only he could liberate souls from the captivity of Satan.

In the religious houses of St. Vincent there is frequently found this inscription: “God sees thee.” Always and everywhere he lived with God, gazing on this intimate friend enthroned in his heart. “The kingdom of God is close upon you” (Gospel).

 

Collect: O God, who is order that the gospel might be preached to the poor and the dignity of the ecclesiastical state enhanced, didst endow blessed Vincent with the zeal and power of an apostle, grant, we pray Thee, that we may not only revere his godly merits but also conform to the pattern of his virtues. Amen.

MARRIAGE AND PARENTHOOD

The Catholic Ideal

By the Rev. Thomas J. Gerrard

(1911)

CHAPTER XIII

THE CATHOLIC FAMILY 

“And Jesus went down with them, and came to Nazareth and was subject unto them.” Order is said to be heaven’s first command. If, on the other hand, love be said to be the first and final law of heaven, the statement must be qualified by making the love a well-ordered love. Even sin is only love out of order, the love of something contrary to the Divine Will. So also in the family life love must be the ruling principle, but it must be a well-ordered love. Our Lord, therefore, in order to teach us this lesson went down with His parents to Nazareth, and was subject unto them. Nowhere outside the bosom of the Blessed Trinity was a triple love so perfect as that love between Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. Yet St. Joseph was the head and ruler of the family. It was St. Joseph who was told to fear not, but take Mary to be his spouse. It was St. Joseph who was told by the angel to arise and take the Child and His mother and flee into Egypt. It was St. Joseph who was divinely commanded to return and take Mary and Jesus to Nazareth. Although Mary was so much spiritually exalted over Joseph, yet Joseph was to be the ruler of the family. And although Jesus was so much spiritually exalted over Joseph and Mary, yet in the family He was to be subject to both.

Here, then, is the rule for the Catholic family. The father is to be supreme ruler, the mother is to rule in her sphere under him, the children are to be subject to both. Moreover, the subjection of the children is not to be a slavish subjection, but a filial subjection. It must be informed by love rather than by fear. There must, of course, be a certain fear present in the children, but a reverential fear, a fear by which one is afraid of offending love, rather than a fear by which one is afraid of punishment. Further, the obedience of children is not unlimited. If parents command anything contrary to divine law the duty of the children is to disobey. In cases of doubt, however, the presumption is in favor of the parents. But wherever there is a question of family interest or domestic arrangements the will of the parents must be obeyed. It is not for children to say which school they shall go to, to say where the family shall take up its abode, to say at what hour the family shall dine, to say what time they shall come in at night. These are points upon which children frequently mistake their place in the family, points in which they are obviously subject to their parents.

There comes a time, too, when children grow up. The relationships between them and their parents then become somewhat modified. Nevertheless, there still remain the duties of reverence and love. The children are free to choose their own states of life. In this they are not bound to follow the wishes of their parents, but they are bound to consult their parents and to weigh the considerations which they put forth. Then, later, when the parents are overtaken with old age, the children are bound in cases of necessity to support them.

The Holy Family at Nazareth was very poor. Consequently we cannot look to it directly for an example in the question of servants. But we can easily imagine how Our Lady would have acted did she have need to call in a little extra help now and then. We shall only fall short of the mark when we do our best with our imagination, to picture the kind and gentle consideration which Our Lady would have shown to anyone who did her a service. From that picture, however, we may get some hints as to the relationship between masters, or rather mistresses, and servants in the circumstances of modern society. The servants of to-day are not on a level with the children of the household; nor yet are they on a level with the slaves of an ancient Roman household. They are not the goods and chattels of those who employ them. Their service is that of free contract. And it is something more. Since the servants live in the house, the house is, in a sense, their home.

It is the duty, therefore, of the mistress of the house to arrange matters for the servants in such a way that they shall feel that they have a home. They must have opportunities for their religious duties, whether they be Catholic or Protestant. They must have a reasonable amount of opportunity for recreation. They must have their wages paid promptly. A mistress can insist upon her servants being kept up to the mark in their work, and yet insist kindly. And she will do well to examine her conscience frequently as to how often she has engaged in gossip about the servants’ faults. There are some women who can spend whole afternoons and evenings talking on that and no other topic. If a servant is so bad she has no longer any right to be in the place.

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