2. THE SECOND COMMANDMENT
OF THE CHURCH
By the second commandment of the Church the precept of fasting and of abstinence is laid upon us.138
Fasting and abstaining are very ancient. Even in paradise it was enjoined upon man to abstain from the fruit of one tree: moreover, certain meats were forbidden to the Jews; pork, for instance (Lev. 11). On the day of Propitiation the Jews were not permitted to taste food for twenty-four hours, Our Lord fasted forty days; so did Moses and Elijah before Him; and St. John the Baptist, the Precursor, fasted most rigorously. The Church has good reasons for laying similar obligations upon the faithful.
The laws of the Church in regard to fasting and abstinence are in reality very strict; they have, however, been largely relaxed by the bishops to suit the exigencies of time and place.
These laws were originally so stringent that on the fast days not only was abstinence from flesh-meat enjoined, but milk, eggs, and butter were also prohibited; and no food was to be taken before sundown. But owing to the increase of constitutional weakness, and still more because of the spread of religious indifference in the course of centuries, the rule has been more and more relaxed. Bishops are empowered to prescribe, each for his own diocese, on what days meat is permitted. Hence the rule varies in different dioceses, and it is well to attend carefully to the regulations of one’s own diocese published at the beginning of each Lent.
There are three divisions of the present law: (1) Abstinence alone; (2) Fast and abstinence combined; (3) Fast alone.
1. We are forbidden to eat meat on Friday, because on that day Our Lord died for us.139
Not only is meat prohibited, but all dishes in the preparation of which it enters. Fish, turtle, and shell-fish may be eaten, also eggs, milk, and butter, in almost all countries. The Church has forbidden the use of meat because Christ sacrificed His flesh for us; also because meat is an article of food easily dispensed with, and yet what men generally like best. Another reason is to remind us that the lusts of the flesh are to be resisted (Gal. 5:19), and these are fostered by eating meat. Some people quote Our Lord’s words: “Not those things which go into the mouth defile the man” (Matt. 15:11), as opposed to this prohibition; but He also said: “The things that come from the heart, those things defile the man” (Matt. 15:18). Disobedience to the Church comes from the heart, and this it is which defiles, not the actual meat. If a holyday of obligation falls on a Friday, meat is allowed, because Our Lord would not have us abstain at a time of rejoicing (Matt. 9:15).
In early ages the use of meat was also forbidden on Saturdays.
The original object of this prohibition was to suppress the observance of the Sabbath day, which still lingered among Christian converts. It is now done away with; yet Christians often impose some restriction upon their amusements on Saturday, in view of better sanctifying the morrow.
2. During the forty days of Lent only one full meal is to be taken, as a partial imitation of Our Lord’s fast of forty days, and as a suitable preparation for celebrating the festival of Easter.140
The forty days of Lent begin on Ash Wednesday, and last until Holy Saturday noon; the Sundays alone are not fasting days.
The Lenten fast was instituted by the apostles in commemoration of Our Lord’s fast in the wilderness (Matt. 4). It is a time of penance and of sorrow for sin; hence violet vestments are worn at the altar. It is natural to fast when we are in grief (Matt. 9:15). We ought also during Lent to meditate upon Our Lord’s Passion, which is commemorated in Holy Week, and which usually forms the theme of the Lenten sermons. By fasting and meditation upon Our Lord’s Passion we most readily awake within ourselves the grace of contrition and consciousness of sin. The forty days of Lent are also a preparation for the Easter festival. In early times the fast was much more rigorous; the primitive Christians ate no meat all the time, and did not break their fast until the evening. Even in the Middle Ages meat was prohibited; those who ate it were not admitted to the paschal communion (Council of Toledo, 653). Those who broke this law were punished by the secular authority on the ground of contempt for religion. The rule of fasting is made very easy nowadays. All that the Church requires of us is to take only one full meal in the course of the day; a slight refection is permitted in the morning, besides the evening collation. The principal meal may be taken in the evening and the collation at noon, or vice versa. Eating between meals is forbidden, but drinking is allowed provided it is not nourishing. No one is required to keep the fast of Lent who has not attained the age of twenty-one years or who has begun the sixtieth year.
3. We must likewise fast and abstain on the Ember days, in order to implore almighty God to send us good priests, and to thank Him for the benefits received during the past quarter.141
The Ember days are three in number, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday, at the commencement of each quarter (quatuor tempora); these are the usual seasons for ordination to the priesthood.
The Ember days of the winter season fall in the third week of Advent, of the spring quarter in the second week of Lent; in summer in Whitsunweek and in autumn in the third week in September. The Jews were accustomed to fast four times a year (Zech. 8:19). Christ enjoined upon us the duty of praying for good priests, in the words: “The harvest indeed is great, but the laborers are few. Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest that He send forth laborers into His harvest” (Matt. 9:37–38).
4. We are also bound to fast and abstain on the vigils of certain feasts, in order the better to prepare ourselves for celebrating those feasts.142
The better our preparation, the more abundant are the graces we obtain on the feast itself. The early Christians were accustomed to assemble together on the eves of great festivals, to pass the night in watching and prayer, and in assisting at the holy sacrifice of the Mass. This they did because had they held the services in the day-time, they would have been liable to disturbance on the part of the pagans. Our Lord Himself used often to pass whole nights in prayer (Luke 6:12). When at a later period the attendance at the nightly services fell off, and inconveniences arose, the Popes judged it advisable to transfer the celebration of the vigil to the daytime. The vigil of Christmas is the only one in which the nightly celebration has been retained up to the present time; of all the others nothing survives but the past.
These vigils are the days preceding the four great festivals of Christmas, Pentecost, the Assumption and All Saints’ Day.
a. Consequently the following persons are permitted to eat meat on Friday or other days of abstinence:
1. The sick, the weak, those who are recovering from illness for whom a conscientious doctor orders meat diet; 2. Those whose health requires meat diet, or who cannot perform their duties without it; 3. The poor who live on the food given them; 4. Servants, boarders, travelers, soldiers and sailors, who can get no other than meat diet. Servants and boarders must, however, try to find another place, where they can keep the laws of the Church. It is allowed to take fish at the same meal when meat is permitted.
If you are in doubt as to your obligation of fasting or abstaining, ask your pastor or confessor. He can dispense for good reason, and will tell you what to do.
In the United States the following customs prevail: On every day of Lent except Wednesdays, Fridays, Ember Saturday and Holy Saturday forenoon, meat is allowed once a day to those bound to fast; persons not bound to fast may eat meat on those days as often as they wish. Most of the bishops grant a dispensation to laboring classes and their families on all days of fast or abstinence of the year except Fridays, Ash Wednesday, Wednesday in Holy Week, Holy Saturday forenoon and the vigil of Christmas. When any member of such a family lawfully uses that privilege, all the other members of the household may avail themselves of it also, but those who are bound to fast may not eat meat more than once a day.
b. The following are dispensed from fasting (i. e., from taking only one full meal a day):
1. The sick, the weak, and those who are recovering from illness; 2. Those who do hard work and cannot, if they fast, fulfill the duties of their state of life; 3. Those who are too poor to buy strengthening food for their chief meal; 4. Those who are under twenty-one or who have passed their fifty-ninth year.143
Young people who have not done growing require more than one full meal a day; of invalids we have already spoken. In the class who are engaged in active and laborious work, we include those who exert themselves for the temporal or spiritual welfare of their fellow-men, such as confessors, preachers, catechists, schoolmasters, nurses, physicians, magistrates, etc., who frequently require to take something to sustain their strength. When the influenza was so prevalent, a general dispensation from fasting was granted. The command to keep ourselves in health is given by God, and is a law of our nature; whereas the precept of fasting is laid on us by the Church; and the law of God is paramount above the law of the Church. Those who cannot fast should substitute for it some other good work. Confessors have ordinarily power to dispense from fasting, and impose some other good work, prayers or alms, in its place.
c. No one ought to carry fasting to an excess, for what God requires from us is our reasonable service (Rom. 12:1).
He who overdoes fasting is like a coachman who whips his horses into a gallop, and runs the risk of upsetting the carriage; or like an overladen vessel, that is easily capsized. Even some of the saints went to an excess in fasting, and afterwards much regretted it. No one ought to venture to do more than the rule prescribes, without the advice of his confessor. Obedience is far better than self-willed piety. As a rule it is preferable to be temperate every day of the week than to fast rigorously on one or two days. Fasting is intended to destroy the evil lusts of the body, not the body itself. We must deal with our bodies as a parent deals with his child; he does not chastise him when he is docile, but when he is disobedient. Fasting, like medicine, must be used in moderation or it becomes injurious.
6. Fasting is beneficial both for the soul and the body.144
The intellectual powers are sharpened by moderation in our food. At Nebuchadnezzar’s court Daniel ate pulse and drank water, and he surpassed in understanding, knowledge, and wisdom all the wise men of the kingdom (Dan. 1). By fasting the soul is fortified and enabled both to bring the body into subjection (1 Cor. 9:27), and to overcome the temptations of the devil. The fortress surrenders when the garrison is starved out; so the body, under stress of hunger, yields to the will and the understanding. Our bodies have to be tamed like wild animals. The devil regards the flesh as his best ally; he knows that the enemy at a man’s fireside can do him the worst and the greatest harm. By fasting we put our foe in irons, so that he cannot wage war against us. The bird of prey loves a fat prize, he does not make the half-starved one his victim. The athlete who “refraineth himself in all things” (1 Cor. 9:25), in preparation for the contest, is most likely to conquer. A high degree of virtue is also acquired by means of fasting. It inclines man to prayer; it helps him to overcome himself, to be gentle, patient, and chaste; it makes him resemble the angels, who neither eat nor drink. In the same proportion that the animal part of our nature is lessened, our spiritual nature is invigorated; like the scales of a balance, as one goes down the other rises. Our health is improved and our life prolonged by abstemiousness. It is the parent of good health. The hermits in the Theban desert fasted rigorously and they lived to be a hundred years old. Hippocrates, the father of medicine, reached the age of one hundred and forty years; this he attributed to the fact that he never fully satisfied his appetite. The Wise Man says: “He that is temperate shall prolong his life” (Sir. 37:34); “a moderate man also enjoys wholesome and sound sleep” (Sir. 31:24). By fasting we obtain from God the pardon of our sins; witness the Ninivites when they fasted; by it we also work off some of our purgatory. God hears and answers the prayers of those who fast. When Holofernes laid siege to Bethulia, the inhabitants betook themselves to prayer and fasting, and they were delivered in a marvelous manner by Judith. St. Augustine calls fasting and almsgiving the two pinions of prayer. Fasting is a means of earning extraordinary graces, for God has ever been wont to recompense it with singular favors. After Moses had fasted, he was admitted to the honor of conversing with God upon Sinai. After Elijah’s long fast, God appeared to him upon Mount Horeb (1 Kings 19). He who fasts, grows more and more spiritual; he is in a measure divinized, hence God vouchsafes to hold intercourse with him (Rodriguez). Fasting is rewarded after death. Moses and Elijah were present at Our Lord’s transfiguration, because they alone of all the patriarchs had fasted forty days as He did. Hence we see that glory is reserved in a future life for those who fast in this world. In the Preface for Lent the Church sings: “Who by a bodily fast restrainest vices, upliftest our minds, and grantest strength and rewards.”
7. Abstinence from food is only pleasing to God if, at the same time, we refrain from sin and perform good works.145
Fasting is not in itself an excellent thing (1 Cor. 8:8), but only as a means whereby the suppression of our vices and the practice of virtue is facilitated. How does it profit a man if he abstains from meat, and by his calumnies destroys his neighbor’s reputation? Such a one may be compared to a whited sepulcher, outwardly beautiful, but foul within (Matt. 23:27). The devil does not eat, yet he is unceasingly employed in doing evil. Fasting without prayer is like a lamp without oil, because we only fast to pray better. Fasting without almsgiving is a field without seed; it fosters the weeds of avarice. He fasts for himself, not for God, who does not give to the poor what he denies to himself.
3. THE THIRD AND FOURTH
COMMANDMENTS OF THE CHURCH
1. In the third and fourth commandments the Church enjoins upon us the duty of approaching the Sacrament of Penance and receiving holy communion at Easter.146
Holy communion ought to be received often, because it is the food of the soul. That soul will he starved which for a long time does not receive this nourishment. Our Lord says: “Except you eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink His blood, you shall not have life in you” (John 6:54). The early Christians used originally to receive holy communion every day; later on only on the three great feasts, Christmas, Easter, and Pentecost. And when in the Middle Ages the fervor of many grew cold, the Council of the Lateran (1215), ordained that all Christians who were capable of distinguishing good from evil were obliged to confess their sins at least once a year, and at Easter, at the least, devoutly to receive the Sacrament of the Altar. The Council of Trent expresses the wish that the confession also should be made at Easter, for it says: “Throughout the whole Church the salutary custom prevails of making confession of sin during the holy and most suitable season of Lent; a custom which the Church approves and accepts as pious and most certainly to be retained” (14 C. 5). Holy communion should be preceded by confession, lest any man should approach holy communion in a state of mortal sin; the Easter communion is no exception to this rule. The obligation of the Easter precept is not fulfilled by a sacrilegious communion, nor by an invalid confession. Although the Church only requires every Christian to confess his sins once a year, yet it need hardly he said that if any man has the misfortune to fall into mortal sin, he should go to confession without delay.
2. The time for fulfilling the Easter precept is only two weeks, from Palm Sunday to Low Sunday; however, bishops may extend it from the fourth Sunday of Lent to Trinity Sunday.147
3. It is fitting that we should receive holy communion at Easter, because it was just before Easter Day, on Holy Thursday, that Our Lord instituted the Adorable Sacrament of the Altar.
At Easter Christ also rose from the dead. If we make a really good confession, we, in a spiritual sense, rise from the dead. For the soul which is in mortal sin is spiritually dead; through the Sacrament of Penance it receives the Holy Spirit again, and spiritual life is again restored to it. At the grave of the risen Redeemer the angel said to the women: “Why seek you the living with the dead? He is not here, He is risen.” Would that our guardian angel could say the same of us, when the devil, after Easter, thinks to find us still sleeping in the sepulcher of sin. “You seek the living with the dead, the converted with the sinners; he is not here.” “As Christ is risen from the dead, so we may also walk in newness of life” (Rom. 6:4).
The Church is aware that some find it easier to disclose the wounds of their soul to a stranger, and she permits this in order to prevent such persons from approaching the sacraments unworthily. Formerly every one was bound to go to his parish priest as a mark of respect.
5. Christian burial can be denied to a Catholic who has not been in the habit of receiving the sacraments at Easter, and who dies unrepentant.148
This is done in the case of one whose neglect of his duty is publicly known, and who has been admonished in vain by his pastor. Before refusing Christian burial, the priest is bound to refer the matter to the bishop; and if time does not allow of this, he takes the most lenient course.
4. THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT
OF THE CHURCH
By the fifth commandment of the Church we are bound to contribute to the support of our pastors.149
5. THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT OF THE CHURCH.
Marriage and the penitential seasons.
In the sixth commandment marriage with non-Catholics is forbidden,150 also the marriage of those who are related by blood (consanguinity) to the third degree inclusive, or by marriage (affinity) to the second degree inclusive. Marriages are not to be solemnized during fixed seasons. These penitential times are from the beginning of Advent until Christmas Day, and from Ash Wednesday until Easter Sunday.
This rule was made by the Council of Trent (Council of Trent, 24, 10). Formerly the prohibition also included the period between the Monday of Rogation week until the first Sunday after Pentecost; in some countries at the present time it applies to the Rogation days and all fasts throughout the year. Advent and Lent are seasons of penance and sorrow for sin, and festivities ill accord with sorrow. Moreover in Advent the Church proposes the mystery of the Incarnation, and in Lent the mystery of the redemption for our meditation, and it would be unseemly to divert our minds from these solemn subjects by worldly amusements. The bishop can give permission for marriages to be contracted privately during these times; for their public solemnization the authorization of the Holy See is necessary. Concerts are not forbidden, but dances are. Those who transgress this command expose themselves to the judgment God threatens by the prophet: “I will turn your feasts into mourning” (Amos 8:10).
In the Fourth Commandment God enjoins upon us to honor His representatives upon earth, that is to say, our parents, and both the ecclesiastical and secular authorities.151
1. OUR DUTY TOWARDS OUR PARENTS
1. Our parents are to be honored, because they are God’s representatives and our greatest benefactors.152
We are all children of Our Father in heaven, and He causes us to be fed and brought up by our earthly parents. Thus parents take the place of God in regard to the education of their children; they are His representatives, and as such, the honor due to Him must be paid to them, for the viceroy can claim the same respect as the monarch who has delegated his authority to him. Those who despise their parents, despise God Himself. St. Augustine, after his conversion, bitterly regretted the disrespect he had shown the mother God had given to him, knowing that thereby he had shown disrespect to God. Our parents are moreover our greatest benefactors. “How much,” exclaims St. Ambrose, “has not thy mother suffered on thy account! How many sleepless nights, how many privations, how much anxiety has she not borne for thee! How hard thy father has worked, to provide thee with food and raiment! And canst thou be ungrateful to those who have done and suffered so much for thee?” The Son of God Himself honored His Mother and His foster-father; it is said of Him that He was subject to them. Learn of Him to obey your parents; He honored them, though they were His servants; He loved and respected His Mother, whose Creator He was; He never forgot that as an infant He had lain on Mary’s bosom, and had been carried in Joseph’s arms.153
2. We ought to honor our parents by respectful behavior, love, and obedience.154
When God bids us honor our parents, He commands us to love and obey them, for this is included in the reverence we owe them. Love is due to them as our greatest benefactors. It is the first duty of a Christian to compensate his parents for the trouble and the sacrifices his education has entailed on them. The obligation to obey them ceases when there is no longer occasion for it; the duty of loving and respecting them only ends with their life.
Respect towards our parents consists in esteeming them from our heart as God’s representatives, and manifesting this esteem outwardly by word and deed.
Esteem for our parents must be heartfelt, otherwise outward manifestations of esteem would be mere dissembling. Christ showed great respect for His Mother at the marriage feast of Cana; for although He told her His hour for working miracles was not yet come, He complied with her request. We must honor our parents even if they are poor and in a humble class of life. Joseph, when Governor of Egypt showed great respect for his aged father. Although he was only a shepherd, he brought him to the king and presented him before him (Gen. 47:7). King Solomon rose from his throne to meet his mother, although she was not of royal lineage; he bowed to her, and made her sit on his right hand (1 Kings 2:19). Pope Benedict XI received his mother, who was a poor washer-woman, in the kindest manner when she went to him in the mean apparel of her class. Even if parents do not lead a virtuous life, they still have a claim upon the respect of their children, because of the position they hold in regard to them as God’s representatives. The Wise Man says: “Honor thy father in word and work and in all patience” (Sir. 3:9).
Love of our parents consists in kind feelings and kind actions towards them.
We are bound to love our parents, as we are bound to love all men, because they are our neighbor, made in God’s image. But this is not enough: They have a right to a special affection on our part, because we are their children, because they love us so tenderly, and confer so many benefits upon us. Are not his parents a child’s best friends? Love consists in kind sentiments and kind actions. Joseph showed his affection for his old father; he fell on his neck and embracing him, wept (Gen. 46:29). But kind feelings are not enough. Let us not love in word nor in tongue, but in deed and in truth (1 John 3:18). Therefore we ought to help our parents in destitution or sickness, and pray for them. The Prussian General Ziethen when a page, was once on guard at night in the king’s antechamber. The king, Frederick I, finding he did not answer his summons, went out and found him asleep over a letter which he was writing to his mother, to send her his first earnings (thirty shillings) in the royal service. The king read the letter and was so touched that he put a roll of money in each of the young man’s pockets, and the next morning appointed him to the army. When Blessed Thomas More had been put to death for the faith by order of Henry VIII, no one ventured to bury his remains; his daughter Margaret alone braved the tyrant’s wrath, and he, respecting her filial devotion, allowed no one to interfere with her. Even among the lower animals we find examples of affection towards parents. The young lions share their prey with the old, and the storks warm those who have lost their plumage through age; they bring them food and assist them to fly. The Wise Man says: “Son, support the old age of thy father” (Sir. 3:12). Remember how Our Lord on the cross provided for His Mother by commending her to the care of St. John (John 19:26).155
Obedience towards our parents consists in fulfilling all their lawful commands, as long as we are under their authority.156
“Children, obey your parents in all things” (Col. 3:20). Just as parents are bound to provide for the education of their children, so it is the duty of children to obey their parents. As in the State some rule and others obey, so it must be in the family; otherwise there can be no domestic order and concord. Virtue is expected of the old; submission of the young. Yet children are only bound to obey when the command is just; if their parents order them to do what is contrary to God’s law, and consequently unjust, they must act on the Apostle’s words: “We ought to obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29). St. Hermengild, son of Leovigild, King of the Goths, was imprisoned by his father in a tower in Sevilla, because he would not embrace the Arian heresy. The king promised to restore him to his favor if only he complied with his desire. But the saint replied that he would renounce the crown, his father’s affection, life itself, rather than deny his faith. He was accordingly martyred. Several other saints chose rather to disobey the command of their earthly than of their heavenly Father, and thus lost their lives. Parents who require their children to do what is forbidden by the law of God, undermine their own authority; they saw off the bough on which they are sitting. A man ordered his son to work in the fields on Sunday; the lad refused, saying it was forbidden by the law of God. The father rejoined angrily: “You are not a child now, and the commandments are only for children.” “In that case,” the son replied, “I need not keep the Fourth Commandment which bids me obey you.” Children are only bound to obey their parents as long as they are under their control, and they are only bound to obey in matters which come within the sphere of the parental authority, such as their manners and behavior at home and abroad, their companions, etc. Parents have no right to dictate to their children in regard to the calling they shall embrace, for a vocation comes from God. Parents cannot dispose of their children’s future, when they are no longer subject to them. St. Francis of Assisi would not let his father make a merchant of him; St. Rose of Lima refused to marry. Yet the advice of parents should always be asked; age gives them greater discernment and experience of life, and they are the best and wisest counsellors a man can have. Holy Scripture exhorts us thus: “My son, hear the instruction of thy father” (Prov. 1:8).
3. Our duty is the same in regard to those who are in authority over us, as it is to our parents; our teachers and governors, masters and employers, and our elders in general.157
The old are to be respected by the young. “Honor the person of the aged man, and rise up before the hoary head” (Lev. 19:32). It becomes the elder to speak first (Sir. 32:4). The Spartans entertained great respect for the aged; when an old man could not find a place at the Olympian games, they all rose up to give him a seat. Alexander the Great was one day sitting by a warm fire, when he saw an aged soldier shivering in the cold; he called him in and gave him a place on his own regal couch. Young people ought to heed the counsels of the old, “for of them they shall learn wisdom and instruction” (Sir. 8:9). The old act less on impulse, and consequently more prudently. God appointed a council of seventy ancients for the guidance of the Jews (Exod. 4:29), and the Roman Senate was composed of old men. Above all, the aged should never be despised, for we too shall become old in our turn (Sir. 8:9). Their infirmities must be borne with: “An ancient man rebuke not, but entreat him as a father” (1 Tim. 5:1).
Transgressions of the Fourth Commandment
1. He transgresses the Fourth Commandment of God who is disrespectful towards his parents; who behaves rudely to them, is ashamed of them, etc.158
Ham mocked at his father, when he lay naked and drunk in his tent (Gen. 9). For this his father cursed him
a. He who is unkind to his parents, who, for instance, hates them, refuses to help them, steals from them, etc.
The sons of Jacob, after they had sold their brother Joseph, deceived and grieved their father (Gen. 37). Absalom spoke against his father at the palace gates, lied to him, and rebelled against him (2 Sam. 15.).
b. He who disobeys his parents, and will not be corrected by them, transgresses this commandment.
The two sons of the high priest Heli disobeyed their father’s commands and admonitions (1 Sam. 2).
How Does God Reward the Observance of the Fourth Commandment?
1. God promises long life, happiness, and blessings upon earth to children who honor their parents.159
At the giving of the law on Sinai God promised long life as the reward for keeping the Fourth Commandment (Exod. 20:12). St. Paul holds out the same inducement to the fulfilment of filial duty (Eph. 6:3). Joseph was obedient to his father; the old man loved him for it but his brethren hated him. Joseph was made Governor of Egypt, and attained the age of a hundred and ten years (Gen. 50). Those who honor their parents honor old age; and as in the providence of God there is generally some connection between the work and the reward, dutiful children usually reach an advanced age. A long life is a great boon to a man; the longer he lives, the more merits he can amass for eternity. Under the Old Dispensation a long life shortened the sojourn of the soul in limbo, consequently it was a greater privilege than under the New Dispensation, when a good death is an immediate transition to eternal life. Certainly many good children die young, but even in this case God fulfils His promise, for instead of life on earth He gives them life eternal, which is far more to be desired. Besides an innocent life is in itself a long life; “a spotless life is old age” (Wisd. 4:9). God takes many a one out of this world that he may escape contamination: “lest wickedness should alter his understanding” (Wisd. 4:11). Moreover the blessings which parents invoke upon their children are very powerful. Witness the blessing which the aged Tobias gave to his son when he set out on his journey; the blessings which Noah pronounced upon Sem and Japheth. Honor your parents that their blessing may rest upon you. “The father’s blessing establisheth the houses of the children” (Sir. 3:9). “He that honoreth his mother is as one that layeth up a treasure” (Sir. 3:4); “The relieving of thy father shall never be forgotten” (Sir. 3:14). Hence it comes that dutiful children are generally prosperous, or at least have real contentment. The enjoyment of happiness and peace is more to be desired than wealth. Those who behave well to their parents are blessed in their turn with dutiful children, who are a comfort to them. “He that honoreth his father shall have joy in his own children” (Sir. 3:5). Happiness in this world and in the next is the reward God bestows upon children who honor their parents.
2. God threatens to send upon those who do not honor their parents shame upon earth, a miserable end, everlasting damnation.160
It is unquestionably a great sin to treat one’s greatest earthly benefactor with ingratitude, and because of the magnitude of the sin the punishment is proportionately heavy. Those who forget their father and mother God will forget, and allow them to suffer reproach (Sir. 3:14–16). As a tree on which there were no blossoms can produce no fruit, so the man who was disobedient in his youth will not be honored in his old age. Bad children frequently come to a miserable end; witness the death of the two sons of Heli, who perished in battle (1 Sam. 4:11), also the fate that overtook the treacherous Absalom, who, having rebelled against his father David, and defeated him, was caught by his long hair in the branches of an oak, and hung there, pierced by three lances (2 Sam. 18). Bad children are in great danger of losing their souls. If God deals so severely in the Day of Judgment with those who have failed to perform works of mercy towards their neighbor, how much the more rigorously will He judge those who have been unkind to their own parents. The Apostle says that those who are disobedient to parents are worthy of death (Rom. 1:30). The Jewish law pronounced a curse upon him who honoreth not his father and mother (Deut. 27:16). Again, “He that striketh his father or mother shall be put to death” (Exod. 21:15). “The eye that mocketh at his mother, let the ravens pick it out and the young eagles eat it” (Prov. 30:17). God laid this strict command upon the Jews: “A stubborn and unruly son, who will not hear the commandments of his father and mother, and slighteth obedience; the people of the city shall stone him and he shall die, that all Israel hearing it may be afraid” (Deut. 21:18, 21). Those who have not honored their parents, by divine retribution often have unruly children of their own, as experience frequently shows. “By what things a man sinneth, by the same he is tormented” (Wisd. 11:17). Ham despised his father, and his descendants were the degraded nations whom God caused to be cast out of Canaan.
2. OUR DUTY TOWARDS
THOSE IN AUTHORITY
1. God has appointed two powers, the spiritual and the secular, for the direction of human society. To the spiritual power He has committed the guidance of souls, to the secular the maintenance of peace and order.161
Throughout the whole of creation we observe the existence of a certain mutual dependence; the moon is a satellite of the earth, the earth and the other planets of our solar system revolve round the sun; the mineral kingdom supplies nourishment to the vegetable kingdom, the vegetable to the animal, while each and all are for the service of man. Among animals we find the same subordination of some to others; the bees are governed by a queen; the birds, the wild beasts of the forest, the fish in the seas have their leaders, and obey a kind of military rule. In our own bodies we see how one member commands, the others obey. In the spiritual world the same law of dependence exists as in the natural order; there are angels of higher and lowlier rank. In like manner it is the will of God that some men should rule and others be subject. In consequence of original sin, without rulers human society would soon resemble an army without commanders, a disorderly rabble. Governors are to the State what beams are to a wall; without beams the building would collapse; so society would without rulers. When, after the Fall, men began to rage against each other like wild beasts, and the son of the first man slew his brother, God set rulers over men, to restrain them. Our rulers ought in some measure to reflect as in a mirror the divine power and providence watching over mankind. Just as there are two lights in the firmament of heaven, the sun to shine by day, and the moon by night, so two powers are instituted to govern mankind. The spiritual, like the sun, is the superior because it guides man to his eternal goal; whereas the secular authority is primarily concerned with the temporal welfare of its subjects. The earthly interests of the people are entrusted to the ruler, their spiritual interests to the priest. Although the two powers have separate aims, they mutually complete each other. They are like the two golden cherubim, shadowing the Ark of the Covenant with their wings.
2. The highest spiritual authority was given by God to the Pope, the highest secular authority to the monarch of the land; in most countries the people have a share in the secular government.162
Both Pope and king receive their power from God. Our Lord said to St. Peter: “Feed My lambs, feed My sheep” (John 21:17). Thus the Apostle Peter was constituted Prince of the Apostles, and visible Head of the Church Militant by Christ Himself. The chief rank and spiritual supremacy conferred on St. Peter, is vested, by Christ’s appointment, in the person of the Bishop of Rome for the time being. That the head or governor of the State also derives his power from God we learn from the words Our Lord addressed to Pilate: “Thou shouldest not have any power against Me, unless it were given thee from above” (John 19:11). “By God kings reign and lawgivers decree just things” (Prov. 8:15). “Hear, ye kings, for power is given you by the Lord” (Wisd. 6:4). “There is no power but from God” (Rom. 13:1). Monarchs usually add the words “By the grace of God” to their title. In all European countries except Russia and Turkey the sovereign consults the will of the Parliament, or representatives of the people.
3. Our duties towards Pope and king are similar to our duties towards God, for they are both His representatives.163
The vicegerents of God, both spiritual and temporal, are often called ministers of God (Wisd. 6:5), or the Lord’s anointed (1 Sam. 24:7); they are even spoken of as “gods” (Exod. 22:28), just as one who fills the place of the king is called the viceroy. The Pope terms himself the servant of the servants of God. We owe to almighty God: Worship and fidelity (First Commandment); reverence (Second Commandment); and service (Third Commandment). We owe to His vicegerents obedience and loyalty, respect and service.
Our duties towards the Supreme Pontiff are these: We are bound to obey him in spiritual matters, to be loyal to him, to respect his authority, and by prayers and offerings assist him in the arduous duties of his office.
We are under the obligation to obey the Pope in all spiritual matters. All the pastors of the Church and the faithful of every rank and rite are subject to the Pope, and bound to yield him perfect obedience. What the head is to the other members of the human body, that the Pope is to the body of Christ; i.e., the Church (1 Cor. 12:27). As he is the representative of Christ (2 Cor. 5:20), he declares to us the will of God; he can say: “We are ambassadors for Christ, God, as it were, exhorting by us.” The words Christ addressed to the apostles: “He that heareth you, heareth Me” (Luke 10:16), unquestionably apply above all else to St. Peter and his successors. He, therefore, who disobeys the Pope, or turns a deaf ear to his admonitions, cannot please God. Leo XIII has repeatedly urged upon the faithful the frequent recitation of the Rosary; what is our duty in this respect? We ought, furthermore, to be true and faithful to the Holy Father, for he is not only the Head of the visible Church, but the rock whereon it rests. Those who cast off their allegiance to the See of Rome, as the Greeks did (1053), fall away from God. To them (whom we call schismatics) the words God spoke to Samuel are applicable: “They have not rejected thee, but Me, that I should not reign over them” (1 Sam. 8:7).164 We must also reverence the Pope We know that it is Christ’s will that we should revere His ministers as Himself; now as the Holy Father is the chief of Christ’s ministers, the greatest respect is due to him. On this account the title: “His Holiness” is given to him. It is moreover our duty to assist the Pope by our prayers and oblations; the early Christians prayed for St. Peter when he was in prison (Acts 12:5), and in the present day his successors are not free from persecution. Let us therefore follow the example of the early Christians. The Pope has, besides, to provide for the many needs of the Church, for the propagation of the Gospel in heathen lands, for the maintenance of ecclesiastical institutions, etc. Thus he requires our pecuniary assistance, and requires it all the more since his temporary possessions have been wrested from him. The alms collected for the Holy Father are called Peter’s pence. Catholics are too apt to underrate or overlook the importance of contributing to this object. The enemies of the Church are wont to apply the epithet ultra montane to Catholics who are firm adherents of the Holy See, to imply that they are wanting in patriotism, because they recognize as their spiritual sovereign one who is “beyond the mountains” (ultra montes); but as a matter of fact good Catholics are good patriots. Origen says: “The more a Christian fears God, the more loyal he is to the emperor.” Our duties towards our pastors are the same as towards the Holy Father; we are bound to contribute towards their support. “The Lord ordained that they who preach the Gospel should live by the Gospel” (1 Cor. 9:14); “The laborer is worthy of his reward” (1 Tim. 5:18).
Our duty towards the ruler of our country requires us to obey all just laws which are issued in his name, to be loyal to him, to hold him in respect, and to support him by our prayers, by the payment of taxes, and by military service if required of us.165
We are not only bound to obey the laws of the State because of the penalty incurred by disobedience, but also for conscience’ sake, because the commands of the secular authority are the commands of God (Rom. 13:2, 5). Remember how willingly Joseph and Mary conformed to the decree of Augustus, and journeyed to Bethlehem to be enrolled (Luke 2). But if the temporal power commands something which God forbids, we must recall to mind the apostles’ words: “We ought to obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29). The three Hebrew youths in the fiery furnace and the seven Maccabees obeyed this precept, likewise St. Maurice and the Theban legion. We are however seldom called upon to do this in the present day. It is our bounden duty to be loyal to our ruler, especially in time of war. Soldiers are required to take the military oath. It is never allowable to rebel against the sovereign authority in the land, for whoso resists the higher powers, resists the ordinance of God (Rom. 13:1). We are to be “subject not only to the good and gentle, but also to the froward” (1 Pet. 2:18). Bad rulers are generally sent by God as a chastisement for the sins of the nation. If the monarch should be tyrannical, we must implore the help of God, and His help will be granted when the people forsake their evil doings. We are also to honor the ruler of our country. “Fear God. Honor the king” (1 Pet. 2:17). A king is spoken of as “His Majesty,” and a royal reception is prepared for him wherever he goes. We ought, moreover, to pray for our rulers. It is acceptable to God that prayers and supplications be made for all that are in a high station (1 Tim. 2). Besides prayer for our rulers brings a blessing on ourselves, for by it we obtain the passing of decrees beneficial to their people. At High Mass the priest prays for the sovereign ruler. Christ sanctioned the payment of taxes, when He said: “Render to Cæsar the things that are Cæsar’s” (Matt. 22:21). He paid for Himself and St. Peter the tax levied on every head for the service of the Temple; and in order to do so, He bade St. Peter go to the sea and cast a hook, and in the mouth of the first fish he caught he would find the piece of silver required for the tax (Matt. 17:26). It is only just that those who enjoy the peace and welfare which it is the object of the Government to secure, should contribute towards defraying the expenses thus incurred. Besides, the money obtained by taxation is laid out for the good of the nation on public works, the erection of schools and hospitals, the maintenance of the army, of government officials, etc. Thus the members of the body supply food to the digestive organs, whence nourishment is afforded to the whole. It is not right to defraud the State in the matter of taxation. Military service, as required in some lands, is for the maintenance of domestic peace and for the protection of the country from foreign foes. Those who in time of war offer their lives for their fellow-countrymen, receive a great reward from God. Our duty towards the representatives of the sovereign are similar to those towards himself. “Be subject to the king as excelling, or to governors as sent by him; for so is the will of God” (1 Pet. 2:14).
In addition to all this, the citizens ought to assist their ruler in the government of the country, by choosing as their representatives men of experience and Christian principles.166
Not only the representatives of the people, but the electors of those representatives, have a weighty responsibility in God’s sight. The former are responsible for the laws they make, the latter for the men they choose to make the laws. In the exercise of his civil rights, it is incumbent on the citizen to obey the will of his Lord and God, for he will one day have to answer for the manner in which he exercised that right. In all human affairs the truths of Christianity must be our guiding light. Let no one therefore assert that religion has nothing to do with politics. Statesmen, public functionaries, senators, members of Congress, Cabinet officers, will all have to give an account of every word they have spoken, every vote they have given. And electors will be responsible for the men they have returned to Congress or the Senate; consequently they should elect men of experience, acquainted with the law, and above all, possessed of Christian principle; for those who are destitute of all religious beliefs cannot be expected to act conscientiously, or adhere to their promises. And since matters closely connected with the essentials of religion are often the subject of debate, it is the duty of Catholics to vote for such candidates as will act justly in dealing with ecclesiastical questions, and have the interests of the Church at heart.
If a Catholic, by giving his vote to a candidate who is hostile to the Church, or by abstaining from voting, makes himself in part responsible for the success of that candidate, he has much to answer for.
Catholic electors ought not to return as their representative one who is only a nominal, not a practical Catholic, who regards with indifference or contempt the teaching and ministers of the Church. Before going to the ballot they should ascertain the views of the candidate upon education, marriage, the observance of Sunday, etc.; better not to vote at all than vote for one who is hostile to religion. It is, however, a duty to vote if thereby one can avert evil and promote what is good. Let no man say: My vote is of no consequence; it might turn the scale, and if not, at any rate it lessens the defeat of the non-successful candidate. Those who are not entitled to vote ought to pray that the result of the election may be favorable to the cause of religion and of the country in general.
Korah and his companions, who rose up against the Jewish priesthood, were swallowed up by the earth, as an example to the people (Numb. 16). Remember the deplorable fate of Absalom, who rebelled against the king his father (2 Sam. 18). Also that of Semei, who not only insulted King David, but disobeyed the mandate forbidding him to cross the brook Cedron (1 Kings 2:46). High treason is now punished with a long term of imprisonment “They that resist the power resist the ordinance of God and purchase to themselves damnation” (Rom. 13:2).
3. THE DUTIES OF THOSE WHO
ARE IN AUTHORITY
In this respect every one may well take example by Moses. He did not aspire to the post of leader of the Hebrew people, but only assumed it when called by God to do so. In fact, at first he would not accept it, deeming himself too weak for its duties. And later on, weary of the office, he desired to be relieved of it. Pope Gregory the Great fled to the forests when he heard that he would probably be elected Pope. Many eminent saints, such as St. Ambrose and St. Augustine, accepted the episcopal dignity most reluctantly. Yet all these men were unquestionably well qualified to fill their respective offices. How great is the presumption of those who strive to obtain some high post for which they lack the necessary strength and talents, and to which they are not called by God! Those who aspire to dignities, to the duties of which they are unequal, are like men who take the helm without knowing anything of navigation; or like those who load their shoulders with burdens heavier than they can carry. Our Lord compares such persons to thieves, who force their way into a sheepfold (John 10). But it is not wrong for one who feels himself competent to fulfil the duties of a post, and knows that he may effect much good if he hold it, to endeavor to obtain it. A Catholic may aspire to the priesthood if he has a vocation, or to a place among the governing powers of the land if he possesses the necessary qualifications.
2. He who is called by God to fill some post of authority, must not on that account think much of himself, but rather consider the responsibility laid on him.167
A man may be certain that he is called by God, if an appointment is given him without any effort on his own part to obtain it. When St. Gregory the Great was sought for, and his hiding-place in the forest discovered by the populace, he no longer hesitated to accept the tiara, for he saw it to be God’s will that he should do so. St. Alphonsus did not refuse the See of St. Agatha, when Pope Clement XIII strongly urged him to accept it. Dignities are apparently conferred by the hand of man, but in reality it is God Who bestows them (Matt. 25:15). As a gardener guides the water of the spring whithersoever he will, so God influences kings and princes to bestow their favors on those whom He has chosen to be their recipients. “The heart of the king is in the hand of the Lord; as the divisions of waters, whithersoever He will He shall turn it” (Prov. 21:1). He is foolish who thinks more of himself on account of the dignity conferred on him, for it makes him no better in God’s sight; virtue alone gives a man true worth and distinction. “Earthly greatness,” says St. Thomas Aquinas “is fleeting and short-lived; like smoke, it quickly comes and quickly vanishes; it passes away like a dream.” Virtue, on the contrary, brings everlasting glory. Many that are first here shall be last hereafter, and the last shall be first (Matt. 19:30). Herod was a king, Mary and Joseph were ordinary people; but he was a bad man, whereas they were just and beloved of God. Mary and Joseph now fill glorious thrones in heaven; and where is Herod? Many who now in the gloom of this life appear estimable and great, will in the light of eternity, when the secrets of all hearts are disclosed, be seen to be evil and corrupt. “A most severe judgment will be for those who bear rule” (Wisd. 6:6). The higher the post, the greater the responsibility. This truth should make the great ones of the earth humble, conscientious, thoughtful. God requires those who are in high places to hold their office as if they had it not; that is, they should regard it as only committed to their keeping for a brief period, and should be ready at any moment to give it up.
3. Those who rule others ought to promote as far as possible the welfare of their subjects, and treat them with impartiality and justice.168
As those who are set in authority over others reflect in their person the power of God, they should take Him as their model; besides, they are His vicegerents. The plenipotentiary of the emperor is bound in word and deed to conform to the instructions given him by his imperial master; if he acts on his own judgment, he is reprimanded. Governors ought above all to study the welfare of their subjects; since this is the purpose of their appointment. The princes of the earth are God’s ministers for the good of mankind (Rom. 13:4). The common weal, not the benefit of a single individual, or of a few, ought to be their object, and they should be ready generously to sacrifice their own interests for the good of their subjects. Christ, the Good Shepherd, laid down His life for His sheep (John 10:11). If a shepherd exposes himself to hardships and dangers for the sake of animals destined for slaughter, what ought not to be done for immortal souls, whom Christ redeemed with His blood, and for whom account must be given? Rulers ought moreover to be impartial, and treat all without distinction, whether rich or poor, with equal kindness, remembering “there is no respect of persons with God” (Rom. 2:11; 2 Chron. 9:7). “God made the little and the great, and hath equal care of all” (Wisd. 6:8). He frequently declares Himself to be the helper of the needy and oppressed (Ps. 45[46]:2). “The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a contrite heart” (Ps. 33[34]:19). The more destitute we are of human succor, the more God regards us with His mercy. Consequently rulers ought to befriend the poor and lowly (Is. 1:17). Unfortunately superiors are apt to think themselves justified in going to all lengths, so long as they do not overstep their powers. Some proud men imagine it to be below their dignity to treat their fellow-men as brethren; they think they would thereby forget what was due to them. This is by no means the case. Those who are in authority must beware of acting unjustly, or of allowing themselves to be corrupted by bribes (Exod. 23:8). They must not favor the rich and powerful, and be induced to give unjust judgment, as was the unhappy Pilate. Fearful lest the Jewish leaders should accuse him to the emperor, he sentenced Our Lord to death, though he knew Him to be innocent. What he dreaded happened; he was accused and condemned and banished to France. The curse of God rests upon unjust judges (Deut. 27:19). Blessed Thomas More used to say that if his father, whom he dearly loved, came to him with a grievance, and on the other side was the devil whom he hated more than words could say, provided the latter was in the right, he should have justice at his hands. No man should ever be condemned unheard. If anyone went to Alexander the Great with a charge against another, he used to close one ear, saying: “I give one ear to the accuser, the other to the accused.” Even God, Who is omniscient, did not condemn Adam until He had heard his defense and proved to him his guilt.
4. Those who are in high places ought to set a good example.169
The reason why superiors are bound to set a good example is two-fold. On the one hand they occupy a conspicuous position, all eyes are on them; like a city seated on a mountain, they cannot be hid (Matt. v. 14). Others imitate them; as is the judge, so also are his ministers (Sir. 10:2). Woe betide them if they lead an evil life! On the other hand, superiors can effect much more by example than by precept. Deeds are more eloquent than words. Rulers ought to pray for their subjects; like the husbandman in the Gospel, they should entreat the Lord of the vineyard to spare the barren fig-tree and leave it a year, in the hope that with careful cultivation it may bear fruit. Pastors are specially bound to pray for their flock, and to offer the holy sacrifice on Sundays and holydays for the living and the dead.
In the Fifth Commandment almighty God forbids us to destroy our own life, or that of our neighbor, or to treat the lower animals with cruelty.170
1. OUR DUTY IN RESPECT TO OUR OWN LIFE
Many of the ceremonies in the administration of the sacraments, ceremonies full of meaning, are performed upon the body. By these the Church intends to inspire us with great respect for our bodies, and to teach us their high worth and dignity.
1. Our body was created by God as an abode for our immortal soul.171
The condition of the soul is often dependent upon the condition of that abode.
When God made the human body out of lifeless earth, it was an uninhabited tenement; but it was destined to be inhabited, therefore God created the soul to be its occupant. St. Peter speaks of his body as a tabernacle which he would shortly have to quit (2 Pet. 1:14). It fares with the soul in the body as with the inmate of a house. If the house be unhealthy, the dweller in it falls sick. Our body is like the shell of an egg; if the shell be injured, the young bird within is hurt; so if our mortal frame sustains injury, the spirit, the noble inmate of that dwelling, sutlers with it. The Romans had a proverb: A healthy mind in a healthy body. Our body is not our own, it belongs to God (1 Cor. 6:13). It belongs to God, not only because He created it, but because Christ purchased it with a great price (1 Cor. 6:20). We are bound to take care of what is the property of another. The tenant of a hired house has no right to damage or destroy that house, so we are not at liberty to injure or destroy our body, the abode of the soul, created by God and belonging to Him. We must not do with our body what we will, but what God wills.
Our body is an implement of the soul, entrusted by God to our keeping, to be made instrumental in amassing merits for eternity.
Like all other instruments, our bodies can be misused. Hence St. Paul warns Christian people not to yield their members as instruments of iniquity unto sin (Rom. 6:13). As God will require us to give account of the manner in which we have employed the talents given us (Matt. 25:19), so we shall have to answer for the employment of the body, which the soul informs and makes instrumental in the performance of the duties of our calling. Our Lord told St. Gertrude that after the resurrection, on the members of the body employed in His service surpassing dignity and excellence would be conferred.
2. Since the life and health of the body are of great importance for the life of the soul and for our eternal salvation, we are bound to take precautions for the preservation of our health and of our life.172
By means of cleanliness, temperance, regularity, industry, and the use of remedies in case of sickness.
Health is worth more to us than vast riches (Sir. 30:16). For the longer we keep our health and our life, the more treasures we can lay up for eternity, where neither the rust nor moth doth consume, where thieves do not break through, nor steal (Matt. 6:20). If we thoughtlessly do anything to shorten our life, we defraud ourselves of a part of our seed-time. The eagle takes the utmost care of its egg, not for the sake of the shell, but of the young eagle enclosed in the egg; so we should take care of our body because of the soul that dwells within it. Cleanliness is to be observed in our person, our apparel, the rooms we inhabit; temperance in eating and drinking. Abstemiousness promotes health and prolongs life. (See what has been said on the advantages of fasting.) Many men of weak physique naturally, have so increased their strength by abstemiousness that they have been capable of immense activity. St. Paul in his epistles often mentions his bodily weakness. Regularity is to be observed in regard to meals, the time of going to rest and rising in the morning; in one’s work and in the arrangement of one’s time. Above all, let us never be unemployed. By work we may not only earn our daily bread, but do much towards keeping ourselves in health. Work circulates the blood, and gives an appetite for food. Stagnant water becomes foul, and the blood of the idler is apt to get into a bad state. Yet we must not overtax our strength with work; moderate labor invigorates, excessive toil ruins the powers of our body. Finally, it is our duty to have recourse to remedies in case of sickness. It is sinful, if any one is dangerously ill, not to call in medical aid, and employ remedies. “Honor the physician for the need thou hast of him, for the Most High hath created him” (Sir. 38:1). “The Most High hath created medicines out of the earth, and a wise man will not abhor them” (Sir. 38:4). However, if the cure is too costly, or if it involves acute suffering, it may be forborne.
Our solicitude concerning the preservation of our health and of our life must not, however, be so great as to make us forgetful of our eternal salvation.173
The good things of time, such as life and bodily well-being, are not intrinsically valuable and to be desired, but only in so far as they are conducive to our eternal welfare. “The Spirit of God does not remain in a man forever, because he is flesh” (Gen. 6:3), i.e., fleshly-minded. “The wisdom of the flesh is death; it is an enemy to God” (Rom. 8:6). The more the body is studied and pampered, the more the soul is neglected and ruined (St. Augustine). Hence Our Lord admonishes us: “Be not solicitous for meat and raiment. For your heavenly Father knoweth that you have need of all these things; He feeds the birds of the air, and clothes the lilies of the field, though they labor not: are not you of more value than they?” (Matt. 6:25, 32).
a. Those persons generally risk their life without a thought who perform hazardous feats, or who neglect due precautions.
Acrobats, equestrian performers, lion-tamers, and the like commit sin unless they take all necessary precautions to avoid fatal accidents; the professions they follow are objectionable on moral grounds, and even unlawful. Performers of this character are too often dissolute in their manners, and their hazardous feats frequently cost them their life. The same may be said of those who are foolhardy, and willfully risk their lives in athletic sports, or public games, such as the bull-fights which are the national amusement in Spain. Want of ordinary prudence is also highly reprehensible, as for instance, to cross the line when a train is approaching, by which many have lost their lives, or to stand under a tree, or otherwise expose one’s self during a thunderstorm. Again, in the case of infectious disease great precaution is necessary; only the priest, the doctor, and the nurse, should be allowed access to the sick-room. There are other ways whereby one may place one’s life in jeopardy: by drinking cold water or taking a cold bath when violently heated; playing with loaded fire-arms; jumping into or out of a train while it is in motion; touching the electric wires with the bare hand, or hanging on behind a carriage as children are wont to do, with the chance of getting their limbs crushed by the wheels. Therefore be prudent and never risk your life rashly.
b. Some persons are in the habit of injuring their health by indulging to an excess in amusements, by vanity in dress, and partaking too freely of unwholesome food.174
By excess in amusement is meant frequent playing and dancing all night, smoking and drinking immoderately, etc. “By surfeiting many have perished” (Sir. 37:34). By vanity in dress is meant tight lacing, which by undue pressure upon the vital organs, deranges their action, and has even caused sudden death. The fashion of squeezing the feet into pointed shoes is also injurious. Spirits, if taken in large quantities, or even strong decoctions of tea or coffee, are decidedly prejudicial to the digestion and the nerves.
c. Suicides are generally men who are devoid of religious beliefs, who have got into trouble or committed some great sin, and who despair of God’s mercy and assistance; they are sometimes not accountable for their actions, and consequently not to be blamed for them.175
King Saul lost all hope when he was grievously wounded and surrounded by his enemies; he then cast himself on his sword (1 Sam. 31). The keeper of the prison at Philippi, greatly alarmed at seeing the doors of the prison open, wherein St. Paul was confined, was about to kill himself (Acts 16:27). Judas, in despair at the enormity of his crime, went and hanged himself (Matt. 27:5). How often we read of people destroying themselves because they have lost their all at the gambling-table, or because they have ruined their character by embezzling money, or because they cannot obtain the object of their illicit passion. But often madness, or overtaxed nerves, cause men to take their own lives without knowing what they do. Let us beware, therefore, how we hastily judge and condemn them. The prevalence of suicide is however principally and generally to be ascribed to the lack of religion, of a firm belief in a future life, of confidence in God’s willingness to aid the unfortunate and to pardon the repentant sinner. Experience teaches that as religion decreases in a land, the number of suicides increases. The ancients considered self-destruction to be dishonorable and blameworthy; they cut off the right hand of the self-murderer, and buried it apart from the body. The Church denies Christian burial to one who has died by his own hand, unless insanity had rendered him irresponsible. The refusal of the burial rites is not intended as a condemnation of the individual, but to express horror of the crime, and to act as a deterrent to others. A man’s life is not his own, it belongs to God, Who takes it away at His will (Deut. 32:39). Thus self-destruction is a presumptuous encroachment upon the divine rights, and shows contempt for God, by flinging back at Him His greatest gift to man, which is life. The suicide also defrauds society, whereof he is a member; he wrongs his family, by bringing sorrow and shame upon it; he cruelly injures himself and gives scandal to others. It is even worse to take one’s own life than that of another, because in the former case one escapes the punishment of the law. Far from being an heroic deed, it is a most cowardly act; real heroism is shown by bearing bravely the miseries of life. Besides, instead of obtaining relief from suffering, the suicide only falls into what is far worse. The godless press of the day will excuse the self-murderer, saying: He expiated his crime with his life. Instead of expiating a crime, he adds another to it.
4. On the other hand it is not merely right, but even meritorious, to sacrifice one’s bodily health or life in order to gain everlasting life, or to rescue one’s fellow-man from physical or spiritual death.176
All the holy martyrs preferred to sacrifice their life rather than commit sin. By so doing they merited life eternal, for Our Lord says: “He that shall lose his life for My sake shall find it” (Matt. 10:39). Witness Eleazar, the Maccabees, St. Lawrence. Missionaries in heathen lands are in constant danger of death, and many of them ruin their health by the hardship and exertions they undergo. St. Francis Xavier, the apostle of the Indies, was, at the close of the day, so exhausted with preaching and administering Baptism, that he could scarcely speak or move his arm. Yet this is not wrong, but most praiseworthy. The same may be said of priests, doctors, and nurses who attend those who have an infectious disease. St. Aloysius and St. Charles Borromeo died of the plague, caught while nursing the sick in the hospital. It is also permissible to risk one’s life to rescue anyone who has, for instance, fallen into the fire or the water, or to expose one’s self in battle for the defense of one’s country. And a human soul is of such great value, that all earthly goods, nay life itself, should be sacrificed to save it. Christ gave us an example by dying upon the cross for the salvation of mankind. Of course in performing an heroic act of this nature, we ought not to seek death—that would be sinful—but only to think of the deed itself, of which death may be an accidental accompaniment.
2. OUR DUTY IN REGARD TO THE
LIFE OF OUR NEIGHBOR
1. Accordingly it is sinful to wish ill to one’s neighbor, to injure his health, to challenge him or accept a duel, or to put him to death unjustly and willingly.177
a. He who hates his neighbor, wishes him dead; hence hatred often leads to murder.178
Hatred suggests revenge. Witness Esau, who sought to kill his brother Jacob (Gen. 27:41); King Saul, who repeatedly endeavored to slay David (1 Sam. 24); Joseph’s brethren, who would actually have put Joseph to death, had not Ruben interfered (Gen. 37). There is little distinction to be made between hatred and murder; in God’s sight the will is the same as the deed. Hence St. John says: “Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer” (1 John 3:15). Our Lord declares that he who is angry with his brother is in danger of the judgment (Matt. 5:22). Real hatred is a mortal sin, whether the evil one wishes to one’s neighbor be great or small. However it is no proof of hatred to detest the evil qualities one sees in one’s neighbor, or to abhor his conduct, for this is not incompatible with affection for him personally.
b. Men often injure their neighbor’s health by quarrels and blows, by the adulteration of articles of food, by dangerous practical jokes, and culpable negligence.179
By quarrelling one excites one’s neighbor, and deprives him of interior peace and content, thus destroying his well-being. Contention and quarrels cause shedding of blood (Sir. 28:13). Blows often cause severe pain or bodily injury. For assault one may be arrested and imprisoned. The practice of adulterating articles of food is only too common nowadays; flour, milk, butter, wine, beer, etc., are mingled with foreign substances, often of a deleterious nature, or a manufactured imitation is sold for the genuine article. As these adulterated goods contain little nourishment, and much that is prejudicial to health, tradesmen who thus defraud the public deserve condign punishment. In the Middle Ages they were burned, together with their falsified wares. Practical jokes, such as tripping anyone up, may cause fatal injuries. Culpable carelessness often occasions serious accidents; e.g., furious driving, heedlessness in the handling of fire-arms, neglecting to warn passers-by if anything is likely to fall, etc.
c. Duelling is nothing short of murder. The Church punishes it by excommunicating the combatants, and denying Christian burial to those who are killed (Council of Trent, 25, 19).
By the mere fact of challenging to single combat, or accepting a challenge, a man becomes excommunicated; the same holds good of those who take the part of seconds, or who sanction the duel by their presence. Let no one say, he has given his opponent permission to kill him; he cannot give another a right which he does not himself possess. A Catholic is bound to refuse to fight a duel, even if he thereby incurs the imputation of cowardice, or if he thereby lose the chance of promotion. The duellist is guilty of twofold murder; he intends to kill his antagonist, and at the same time he risks his own life. While he imagines he is repairing an insult to his honor, he loses the respect of all sensible persons, for he shows himself to be enslaved by pride, resentment, and cruelty. Skill in the use of weapons will not avenge an insult; the duellist should seek satisfaction in the law-courts. But let him who would acquire great merit in God’s sight, follow the teaching and example of Our Redeemer, and not seek to avenge himself, but bear injustice patiently, for this is the greatest heroism that can be imagined. It is noteworthy that many of the ablest generals and monarchs were strongly opposed to duelling, and prohibited it under severe penalties. It is related of Gustavus Adolphus, that he once yielded to the request of two officers of high rank, and permitted a duel; but at the appointed hour he appeared on the scene with a military escort, and said: “Now fight if you will, but woe betide you if one falls, for the other shall instantly be beheaded.” A reconciliation took place at once between the two officers. Frederick II of Prussia used to expel duellists from the army, saying: “I want brave soldiers, not executioners.”
d. Whoso kills his neighbor unjustly and intentionally, commits a heinous sin. Such a one is called a murderer.180
Cain was a murderer; he slew his brother Abel. God Himself said that the voice of Abel’s blood cried to Him from the earth for vengeance (Gen. 4:10). The murderer robs his victim of the highest earthly good, his life; he deprives him of the opportunity of gaining merits for eternity, and of preparing himself for death. But a man who kills unintentionally is not a murderer (Deut. 19:4), yet he is seldom free from sin, as a fatal blow is generally the result of culpable inadvertence. The executioner appointed to carry out the sentence of the judge is not a murderer, since he does not act unjustly.
2. He commits a still greater sin who destroys the spiritual life of his neighbor, either by tempting him to evil or by giving scandal.181
“If thou persuade thy neighbor to sin,” St. Augustine says, “thou art his murderer.” And he who gives scandal is guilty of murder. Nay, even of a greater sin than murder, because the life of the soul is of far more value than the life of the body. If a thousand men were put to death, less harm would be done than if one soul were condemned to everlasting perdition. If the blood of Abel cried to heaven for vengeance on his brother, how much more will the blood of the lost soul cry for vengeance on its murderer. How cursed are they who are the cause of so great a calamity to another! Temptation and scandal are all the more fatal because the evil is handed on from one to another. He who has been led into sin, leads another into it in his turn, as the bird that the fowler has entrapped serves as a decoy to bring others into the snare. Like an avalanche, small in the beginning, but increasing in its course, carrying vast masses of snow with it into the abyss, the tempter drags countless souls with him to perdition. Others corrupt their fellow-men by the scandal they give, as leaven pervades the whole of the flour in which it is placed.
Temptation is the endeavor, by subtle means, to incite a man to sin.
The tempter is like the devil, who by his wiles, led our first parents in paradise to disobey God. He goes to work craftily, like the fisherman who catches fish with a baited hook, or the fowler, who lays traps and spreads bird-lime to ensnare birds. In the case of almost all the holy martyrs before their execution, attempts were made to induce them, either by blandishments and promises, or by threats and torture, to abjure their faith and transgress the commandment of God. What trouble the Proconsul took with the aged Bishop Polycarp; what efforts the King of Bohemia made to force St. John Nepomucene to violate the seal of confession! He offered him a bishopric, he put him to torture, and finally cast him into the Moldau. Those who dissuade others from what is good also deserve the name of tempter. Temptation is the devil’s own work. He does not appear in person to seduce mankind, for then everyone would recoil from him; he leaves men to do his business for him, and thus attains his end more certainly.
Scandal is given when by some sinful word, deed, or omission, we shock our neighbor, and perhaps cause him to sin.
For instance, a man gives scandal if he is seen in public in a state of inebriation, if he talks indecent talk, makes use of oaths in the presence of children, eats meat openly on Friday, does servile work on Sunday, behaves indecorously in church, publishes ungodly books, decries religion and the ministers of religion in the papers and periodicals, etc. What he does instigates another to do the same; this is true most of all in regard to children, who are sure to imitate anything wrong which they see done by their parents or elders. He who gives scandal is like a man who digs a pit, into which another is likely to fall and break his neck. Scandal is an offence against the love of one’s neighbor. That it is a mortal sin we gather from Our Lord’s words concerning him who scandalizes others: “It were better for him that a mill-stone should be hanged about his neck and that he should be drowned in the depth of the sea” (Matt. 18:6). Again, Our Lord says that at the end of the world His angels shall gather out of His kingdom all who have given scandal, and cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matt. 13:41). But if the scandal given is slight, or unintentional, it is not a great sin, or is no sin at all.
We ought, in as far as possible, to avoid giving scandal, and for this end we must observe the following rules:
1. We ought to abstain from actions which are not only lawful, but good in themselves, which are of counsel but not of precept, if they may possibly give scandal.
If anyone is dispensed from the Friday abstinence on account of bad health, he should refrain from eating meat before others, if he knows that they will take scandal at it. And if this is impossible, he should explain to those who are at table with him why he eats it; if they take scandal then, he is not to blame. St. Paul declares: “If meat scandalize my brother, I will never eat flesh” (1 Cor. 8:13). And the aged Eleazar preferred death to even appearing to eat swine’s flesh, lest young persons might he scandalized, and be deceived into thinking he was gone over to the life of the heathen (2 Macc. 6:24).
2. We must, however, in no case omit any act which is commanded by God, even if others will take scandal at it; yet we should in as far as possible prevent the scandal by some words of explanation or instruction.
By doing what the law of God enjoins on us, we do not give scandal, but on the contrary, a good example. The fault lies with the one who takes scandal at a good action; no one in fact will do so unless he be corrupted with vice. The obligations imposed by the laws of the Church, such as hearing Mass on Sundays, approaching the sacraments at Easter, may be set aside occasionally, if others will take offence by their observance; yet one should endeavor to obviate this, by explaining the duty to be fulfilled. Purely human laws do not bind as a rule, if great harm may be done by keeping them; for Christ says: “My yoke is sweet and My burden is light” (Matt. 11:30). Yet it is best to explain matters, and then act boldly; this often prevents difficulties being raised. It is, however, impossible always to avoid scandal, for evil-minded persons take offence at what is well meant. Our Lord bade His apostles not to heed such people: “Let them alone; they are blind and leaders of the blind” (Matt. 15:14).
3. It is, however, lawful to wound or even to kill our fellow-man, if he threatens to take our life by violence, or anything that is absolutely indispensable to our life, and we have no other means of defense. This is called the right of self-defense.182
Self-defense is not wrong, because our object is not to take another man’s life, but simply to preserve our own; and the moral worth of an action is determined by that which is, not by that which is not its object. We are permitted to defend, but by no means to avenge ourselves; hence if we can save ourselves by flight, we ought to do so. If it is enough to wound our adversary we must stop short there. Above all, a woman is justified in defending herself against anyone who attempts to violate her chastity. We are also permitted to kill anyone in order to save the life of a third party; this Moses did when he slew the Egyptian who was striking one of the Hebrews (Exod. 2:12). It is only lawful to put to death one who unjustly seizes our property, if he lays hands on what is absolutely necessary to our existence, for then it is our life that we are defending. It is not right to shoot a robber who carries off something of no great value; nor can we plead the right of self-defense if it is only our honor that is wrongfully attacked.
The officers of justice are warranted in punishing evil-doers with death; and soldiers act lawfully in wounding and killing the enemy in time of warfare.183
The officers of justice, in as far as they stand in the place of God, have the right to sentence evil-doers to capital punishment. St. Paul says the higher powers bear not the sword in vain, but as avengers to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil (Rom. 13:4). The authority of the magistrate is God’s authority; when he condemns a criminal, it is not he who condemns him, but God, just as the sword is not answerable for the blow it strikes, but the hand is that wields the sword. Yet the judge must not act arbitrarily; he must only sentence the criminal to death when the welfare of society demands it. Human society is a body of which each individual is a member; and as a diseased limb has to be amputated in order to save the body, so criminals must be executed to save society. As a matter of course the culprit’s guilt must be proved; better let the guilty go free than condemn the innocent. It is an error to suppose that the Church advocates capital punishment on the principle of retaliation; an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. This is a principle of Judaism, not of Christianity. The Church does not like to see blood shed, she desires that every sinner should have time to amend. She permits, but does not approve capital punishment. The military profession is not unlawful; we are not told in the Gospels that soldiers were exhorted to leave the army, but only that they were admonished to be content with their pay, and to do violence to no man. God, by the lips of Melchizedek, blessed Abraham after he had made war upon the kings who had robbed and kidnapped Lot (Gen. 14). The soldier must not, however, allow himself to treat cruelly those who are disabled in battle. The Church forbids her ministers to use deadly weapons, as this is incompatible with their sacred calling.
4. He who has wrongfully injured his neighbor, either physically or spiritually, is bound to repair the harm done to the utmost of his power.184
If anyone has been the means of inflicting bodily harm upon his neighbor, he must pay the doctor and all the expenses of his illness, make good the loss of his earnings, etc. If he has killed him he must provide for his family. If he has given scandal to his neighbor, or led him into sin, he must strive to counteract the evil consequences by a good example, prayer, instruction, etc. Unless he does this he will not obtain pardon from God, and the priest’s absolution will be invalid.
What Are the Reasons Which Ought to Deter Us from
Taking Our Own Life or That of Our Neighbor?
We constantly read of fatalities and sad accidents resulting from foolhardiness in risking one’s life. The indulgence of the passions also often brings on some painful malady. On the other hand some saints permanently injured themselves by excessive and unwise austerities and regretted it afterwards.
Cain was a fugitive on the earth after the murder of his brother Abel (Gen. 4:16). Murderers like him find no rest. As a rule, they die a violent death; either they are sentenced to death by the law, or they destroy themselves, or they fall by the hand of another. Whosoever shall shed man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed (Gen. 9:6). All that take the sword shall perish by the sword (Matt. 26:52). Divine justice frequently punishes the sinner in the way that he has sinned. The Hebrews in Egypt were commanded to throw their infants into the Nile; the king and all his army were swallowed up in the Red Sea. Retribution speedily overtook those who had condemned Our Lord to death: Judas and Pilate put an end to themselves, and in the year 70, Jerusalem was decimated when it revolted against Rome. The persecutors of the Christians in many cases died a violent death: Nero by his own hand, Julian the Apostate on the battlefield. Murderers shall not obtain the kingdom of God (Gal. 5:21); they shall have their portion in the pool burning with fire and brimstone (Rev. 21:8). A similar fate has frequently been known to overtake heresiarchs, and those who by word or writings have undermined the faith of others, and thus incurred the guilt of spiritual murder.
3. He who hates his neighbor loses his peace of mind, and becomes displeasing to God; his prayers are not heard, and his lot is eternal perdition.185
One who cherishes feelings of animosity and meditates vengeance is a stranger to peace; he is continually in a ferment; the thoughts of his heart are a perpetual scourge to him. That man can have no concord with Christ, who lives in discord with Christians. If peacemakers are called the children of God, those who stir up strife and dissension are children of Satan. As long as the thorn rankles in the wound, no remedies will heal it, nor will prayer avail the Christian while deadly hatred holds a place in his heart. Our Lord says: “If thou offer thy gift at the altar, and there thou remember that thy brother hath anything against thee, leave there thy offering before the altar and go first to be reconciled to thy brother, and then coming thou shalt offer thy gift” (Matt. 5:23–24). Feelings of hatred ought to be suppressed at once. Let not the sun go down upon your anger (Eph. 4:26). A dislocated limb can easily be got back into its place, if this be done promptly, but if some time be allowed to elapse, it becomes a difficult matter to set it right. So it is with hatred; if a reconciliation takes place immediately,’ the former friendly feelings are restored without trouble; but if it is delayed, anger gets the mastery of us, and we think it beneath us to seek a reconciliation. “If,” says St. Augustine, “thy dwelling were infested with snakes, thou wouldst hasten to rid thyself of them; now hatred and enmity are venomous serpents; wilt thou not banish them from thy heart, which is the temple of the Holy Spirit?”
3. OUR CONDUCT IN REGARD
TO THE LOWER ANIMALS
The lower animals are created by God for the service of man.
The benefits we derive from the animals are these: They supply us with what is essential to life, e.g., food, clothing, etc.; they help us in our work, they cheer us by their amusing ways, their song, their beauty, etc. Some instruct us by their example; bees, for instance, incite us to industry, storks to filial affection, sheep to the practice of patience, etc. Moreover they all proclaim the omnipotence, the wisdom, the bounty of their Creator.
In our relations to animals it is our duty to care for their well-being, to refrain from tormenting them, not to kill any useful animal without a special reason, and finally not to treat them with exaggerated tenderness.186
We ought to take care for the well-being of animals. “The just regardeth the lives of his beasts, but the bowels of the wicked are cruel” (Prov. 12:10). Those who keep animals are bound to provide them with necessary food, to keep them clean, and in good condition. Our Lord says: “Not a sparrow shall fall on to the ground without your Father” (Matt. 10:29). This should teach us to care for the welfare of animals. Some treat brute beasts as if they had no feeling, overtaxing their powers, beating them unmercifully, not giving them enough to eat, or depriving them of the one day of rest out of the week which the law of God ordains for them (Exod. 20:8–11). Those who have to kill animals for the table, and medical men who make experiments with them, ought to be careful to cause them no needless suffering. It is not right, either in the interests of science or for the sake of amusement, to give pain that can be avoided. Wanton cruelty is to be condemned; so is the destruction of harmless or useful animals. Noxious insects and dangerous animals must of course be killed, but others that are not hurtful, but rather useful, should be spared. Finally, animals are not to be pampered and petted over much. There are people who make an idol of some pet animal, preferring it to their fellow-man, and devoting every thought to it. Such persons resemble the ancient Egyptians, who worshipped cats, calves, bulls, etc.
Men who are either cruel to animals or ridiculously fond of them, often are very hard-hearted towards their fellow-men.
Children who take pleasure in teasing animals torment men when they are grown up. All who were tyrants in after years, were cruel to animals in their youth. Criminals have sometimes confessed upon the scaffold that their course of crime began with torturing animals as children. On the other hand we often find people who pamper and show great affection for animals, utterly hard-hearted in regard to their neighbors.
Both extremes, cruelty to animals and foolish fondness for them, are at variance with the order that God has established in the universe.
To torture animals wantonly is an abuse of the sovereignty given to man by the Creator over the brute creation. Man thus becomes a tyrant, and sometimes it pleases God to make him suffer in the same way wherein he made beasts suffer. For instance, a peasant who used to strike his horses on a tender part of the foot, causing them intense pain, was later on crippled by gout in the feet, being confined to his bed for years. He then acknowledged and deplored his fault. The Areopagus of Athens once condemned a child to death who was guilty of wanton cruelty to animals, for they judged that no good could be expected of one who, at a tender age, displayed such evil qualities. Exaggerated fondness and solicitude for animals is also a violation of the appointed order of nature.
1. In the Sixth Commandment almighty God prohibits everything that might stain our own purity or that of our neighbor.187
One cannot enlarge upon sins against the Sixth Commandment, for the mere mention of what is impure takes the bloom off our innocence. Hence St. Paul exhorts the Ephesians: “All uncleanness, let it not so much as be named among you, as becometh saints” (Eph. 5:3). Nevertheless Holy Scripture warns the faithful repeatedly and emphatically against these sins, so the Church cannot pass them by in silence. For this vice perhaps causes the destruction of more souls than any other; in fact among the lost souls in hell, few will be found entirely free from it.
God more especially forbids:
a. Impure thoughts and desires.188
Evil thoughts are to be resisted both on account of their sinfulness in themselves, and because they lead to immodest actions. They are like a spark which occasions a great conflagration, unless it be immediately extinguished. St. Jerome compares unchastity to a snake, whose head must be instantly crushed, before it can eject its deadly poison. Evil thoughts must accordingly be banished at once; this is done most readily by diverting the mind, or having recourse to prayer. (See what was said about temptation.) As long as evil thoughts are displeasing to us, they are not sinful; we are only to blame if we take pleasure in them. “Evil thoughts are an abomination to the Lord” (Prov. 15:26). One ought to flee from unchaste thoughts as one would flee from an assassin, for they cause the death of the soul. Impure thoughts, if entertained, give rise to impure desires, i.e., the wish or longing for the sin suggested. As the tree springs from the root, so evil actions spring from lust. Lust is the consent of the will, and this is as really sinful, as Our Lord says, as is the deed itself (Matt. 5:28).
b. Impure words.
A man whose conversation is unclean has a thoroughly polluted conscience. Unchaste words are a sure sign of unchaste manners. And those who take pleasure in listening to improper conversation, are in great danger of falling into sins of unchastity. St. Louis, on his death-bed, exhorted his son so to regulate his conversation, that if all the world heard what he said, he would not have cause to blush for it. “The tongue is indeed a little member, and boasteth great things” (Jas. 3:5). “Many have fallen by the edge of the sword, but not so many as have perished by their own tongue” (Sir. 28:22).
c. Impure actions.189
These acts are differently designated, according as they are committed by the unmarried (Deut. 22:21), the married (Lev. 20:10), persons related to one another (1 Cor. 5:1), or as they are sins against nature (Rom. 1:26).
d. Immodest looks.190
Bold looks are forbidden, because they lead to sin, just as a parent forbids his child to play with edged tools. The sin on which the eye looks with pleasure soon takes possession of the heart. “Many have perished by the beauty of a woman, and hereby lust is enkindled as a fire” (Sir. 9:9). He who observes no custody of the eyes, is like a driver who pays no heed to his horses; he will be carried away and dragged to destruction. Or like a fortress of which the gates are not guarded; the enemy soon effects an entrance through them. David would not have had so much to bewail, if he had kept watch over his eyes. “Look not round about thee in the ways of a city” (Sir. 9:7).
e. Looking at immodest pictures, going to improper plays, and reading books of an immoral tendency.191
Immodest pictures and plays corrupt more surely than impure conversation, because what one sees makes a deeper impression than what one hears. The in-discriminate reading of novels is to be avoided; there are many (and these are the most dangerous of all), which under a false semblance of propriety, kindle the passions, and thus do more harm than works of an openly immoral character.
f. Immodesty in dress and excessive finery.192
Those who dress immodestly are the devil’s instruments for the ruin of souls. Vanity and love of dress are powerful factors in Satan’s service; for women who deck their person to attract men dare not presume to say that they are chaste and pure of heart; their very appearance gives them the lie. The longing for admiration does not come from a simple heart; it is a snare to entrap others into vice. It is a bad sign for a woman to be overdressed. “Let women adorn themselves with modesty and sobriety, not with plaited hair, or gold or pearls or costly attire” (1 Tim. 2:9).
2. Sins against the Sixth Commandment of God are for the most part very grievous in God’s sight and accordingly are severely punished by Him.193
Remember the Deluge and the fate of Sodom and Gomorrha. The chastisements God inflicts for the sin of unchastity have already been spoken of under the subject of the deadly sins. From the place given to the Sixth Commandment in the Decalogue it may be inferred that transgressions of this precept are on a par with murder and theft. Unhappily many of the plays performed in the theatre in the present day represent sins against the Sixth Commandment in an attractive light.
THE SEVENTH COMMANDMENT OF GOD
1. In the Seventh Commandment almighty God forbids us to wrong our neighbor in his goods and property.194
By property is meant all that a man needs for his subsistence and all that he possesses as his own: e.g., his money, clothes, provisions, house, land, etc.
1. Earthly goods are necessary to man’s subsistence, such as food, clothes, a dwelling-place, money, etc.195
a. Consequently every man is justified in striving to gain earthly goods after a just manner, and in possessing them as his personal property.
Since it is the natural right of every man to preserve his own life, he is justified in gaining for himself and keeping as his own, those external goods which are indispensable to his existence. If every moment were occupied in providing for his own maintenance, he would be in the direst destitution, if sickness or misfortune befell him. The natural law prompts him to provide for such contingencies. Besides, were every moment engrossed with the business of self-maintenance, there would be no time to attend to his eternal interests. Furthermore, a man is bound to provide for those who are dependent upon him, and this he could not do if he himself lived from hand to mouth. God commanded our first parents in paradise to “fill the earth and subdue it” (Gen. 1:28). Cain and Abel had separate possessions; each brought of his own to offer sacrifice. All trustworthy information respecting the earliest ages of humanity bears evidence to the possession of personal property. It was necessary that each should have his own, otherwise mankind could not have been at peace. There would have been continual strife and contention. Without the right of possession, the incentive to labor would be wanting. The holding of property is therefore an ordinance of God, just as much as marriage and legal authority. But it cannot be said that the distribution of wealth, as it is under existing circumstances, is in accordance with the will of God. It could not be His will that a small minority should enjoy a superfluity, while an overwhelming majority of His children should live in poverty and destitution. This great inequality is the result of sin.
2. Personal property is justly obtained when it is either acquired by labor or by gift.
Nature does not give man the right to certain goods; the right to possess them must be acquired. It is acquired in the first place by labor. God has ordained that the earth should not yield what is requisite for the maintenance of human life without cultivation. It is a violation of all justice to deprive the cultivator of the soil of what he has won by the sweat of his brow (Lev. 13). If the earth is the Lord’s and all they that dwell therein, because He is the Maker of it, that which man has made must rightly belong to him. Property as a rule, is gained by work, but sometimes it is a free gift. God Himself bestows property. He promised the land of Canaan to Abraham and his posterity as a possession (Gen. 12:7). The patriarchs bequeathed their possessions to their eldest sons by a solemn benediction. In the present day lands and property of all kinds pass into the hands of others by inheritance or bequest. Every man should make a will, in order to prevent disputes should he be suddenly called out of this life. In primitive times property was acquired by taking possession of unowned land; and now valuables, if unclaimed, may be appropriated by their finder.
a. On the other hand, this commandment forbids the acquisition of property by unjust means, i.e., by taking away what belongs to our neighbor.196
Property is unjustly acquired by theft, robbery, cheating, etc.
b. The State has not the right to take from any man his personal property, but it is empowered to impose restrictions on the acquisition and disposal of personal property.197
The State has not a paramount command over all property. It has a certain right of supervision, but not of disposal. The people do not exist for the Government, but the Government exists for the people; consequently far from wronging any man, it ought to aim at the welfare of each and all of its subjects. Therefore if the State compels an individual to give up his property in the public interest, it is bound to give him compensation. Nor has the State the right to seize ecclesiastical property. To rob a man is theft, to rob God is sacrilege, and for this the penalty is excommunication. Restitution must be made before the Holy See can give absolution. Since it is the business of the secular authorities, under God, to provide for the well-being of their subjects, the Government is empowered by wise legislation, to introduce gradual changes in regard to the holding of property. It can impose such taxes as are necessary for the common wealth upon its subjects, in proportion to their means. Thus by heavy taxation of wealthy capitalists it can alleviate the poverty of the working classes. Moreover, St. Thomas Aquinas says this world’s riches are only intended for the preservation of human life. This end is not attained if they are already in the possession of individuals; therefore everyone is bound of his abundance to assist those who are in want. The superfluity of the rich is the property of the poor. Thus the Government, in exercising its right of guardianship, can do something towards the just distribution of superfluous wealth.
Sins against the Seventh Commandment
1. The Seventh Commandment expressly forbids: Theft, robbery, cheating, usury, injuring the property of another, detention of goods that have been found or lent, and the non-payment of debts.198
a. Theft is the secret purloining of another man’s goods contrary to the rational will of their owner.
Judas was a thief; he had the purse, and appropriated a part of the common money (John 12:6). Few sins are more common than theft, and this fact may be accounted for in the first place by the covetousness of the human heart, and also by the abundant opportunities afforded for stealing. Occasion makes the thief. But if a man steal when he is starving, or as the only means of saving his life in an extremity, it is not to be reckoned as a sin, provided he has the intention to restore what he has stolen when he is in better circumstances (Prov. 6:30). Our Lord did not rebuke the apostles when, in passing through a cornfield, they plucked the ears of corn and eat the grain because they were hungry (Matt. 12:1). To conceal or purchase goods that are known to be stolen is to render one’s self a partner in the sin.
b. Robbery is theft accompanied by personal violence.
If a robber kills, or mortally wounds his victim, the crime is said to be robbery with murder. Of this the robbers were guilty who attacked the manon the way from Jerusalem to Jericho (Luke 10:30). The forcible extortion of alms is also equivalent to robbery.
c. Cheating consists in injuring one’s neighbor in his possessions by crafty means.
For instance, by the use of false weights and measures, the issue of counterfeit coin, the adulteration of food, the falsification of documents, the removal of boundary-marks, smuggling, or arson in view of obtaining the insurance money. “Let no man overreach, or circumvent his brother in business” (1 Thess. 4:6).
d. Usury consists in making use of the needy circumstances of another to one’s own profit (Exod. 22:25).199
The usurer is called a money-lender, if he lends money at a high rate of interest to one who is in pecuniary difficulties, or a speculator, if he buys up corn and keeps it until a time of scarcity, in order to sell it at a high price. Under the appearance of helping a man in need, the usurer involves him in greater complications. He is like a doctor who instead of strengthening his patient, saps the little force he had; or like a spider that weaves a web more and more closely round the unhappy fly and sucks every drop of its blood. Usurers are murderers of the poor; they take from them their means of livelihood, and thus deprive them of life.
e. Willfully injuring another man’s property, keeping back what one has found or what has been lent to one, and refusing to pay one’s debts, is equivalent to stealing.200
We may injure our neighbor in his property by setting it on fire, by treading down his crops, damaging his goods, fishing or shooting on his grounds without permission, etc. To keep what one has found, and not to return what has been lent to the owner is theft. Joseph’s brethren did well in directly taking back the money they found in their sacks. The more valuable the object one finds, the greater the obligation to give it up to the owner; and if one does not know to whom it belongs, one ought to take steps to discover him. Many people are very careless in returning books, instruments or implements which they have borrowed, and they show displeasure if the owner asks for them. Be careful about lending and very careful about returning. The non-payment of debts also is a kind of stealing. It is a bad thing to get into debt; the debtor is like a man who, when his legs begin to fail him, hobbles onward with a crutch. But it is a sin to borrow and not pay again (Ps. 36[37]:21). Many people get into debt to satisfy their craving for amusement, to gratify their passions, or for the sake of dressing above their station, and they scarcely think this wrong. Tradespeople sin when they fraudulently declare themselves bankrupts. But most blameworthy of all are those who do not pay their servants and workpeople; this is a sin that cries to heaven. It is theft, and a sort of murder, too, to keep back the wages of a poor laborer, who lives on his daily earnings. “The wages of him that hath been hired by thee shall not abide with thee until the morning” (Lev. 19:13). “Pay him the price of his labor the same day” (Deut. 24:15). “Owe no man anything, but to love one another” (Rom. 13:8).
Our sin against our neighbor is greater or less in proportion to the wrong we do him. To steal a few pence from one who is utterly destitute, or a few shillings from a laboring man is a mortal sin; it is equivalent to stealing a considerable sum from a rich man. It is also a sin to take trifling sums repeatedly from the same person, for in time they make a large amount. One ought not to take the smallest thing that is not one’s own. Fidelity in small things is most important, for God punishes little sins, and unfaithfulness in small things leads to grave sins. By disregarding petty thefts many a criminal has come to the gallows.
2. RESTITUTION OR SATISFACTION
1. He who has purloined from his neighbor or wronged him in his property, is under a strict obligation to restore the stolen goods or make compensation for the damage done (Lev. 6:1–5).201
A thief is not required to go himself and restore the stolen property to its owner; he may send it by the priest, who is pledged to secrecy, and will give him an acknowledgment of its receipt. On one occasion when Clement Hofbauer, the apostle of Vienna, handed over something that had been stolen to its owner, the latter refused to take it; but Hofbauer rejoined: “It is not wise to allow the thief to retain what he has purloined, or he will think stealing no great offence.”
The following rules are to be observed:
a. If the rightful owner of the stolen property is dead, it must be given to his heirs; and if there should be no heirs, it must be given to the poor or devoted to good works.
b. If the thief cannot restore the whole, he must at any rate restore as much as he can.
c. If poverty or other hindrances render the thief unable to make restitution immediately, he must at least resolve to do so as soon as possible, and he must make every effort to fulfil that resolution.
d. If the thief cannot restore even a part of what he has stolen, he ought at least to pray for the individual he has wronged.
2. If anyone has unwittingly got stolen goods in his possession, he is bound to give them up to the rightful owner as soon as he becomes aware that they were stolen.202
Thus anyone who, whether by purchase or gift, has acquired possession of something that was stolen, ought to give it back to its owner. If he does not know that it was stolen, he is said to be a just possessor, but if he does, then he is an unjust possessor. If the former be the case, not only must the stolen property itself be restored, but also whatever may have been gained by it without any labor on his part; if the latter, any loss the rightful proprietor may have sustained through the loss of his property must also be made good. At any rate it is well to refer the matter to one’s confessor, and follow his counsel, for he stands towards us in the place of God.
3. He who refuses either to give up the stolen property or to compensate for the loss sustained, will not obtain pardon of his sins from God, nor absolution from the priest.203
“He that will not render what he hath robbed, shall die everlastingly” (Ezek. 33:15). It was not until Zacheus had declared his determination to make full restitution of all unjust gains, that Our Lord called him a son of Abraham (Luke 19:9). As long as one who has wronged his neighbor refuses to make reparation, though he entreats the divine pardon with tears, though he seeks to appease the divine justice by fasts and penances, his sin will not be remitted. “Such a one,” St. Augustine says, “does not do penance, but only counterfeits it.” Without restitution there is no forgiveness. St. Alphonsus relates the story of a rich man who had gangrene in the arm, and was near death. The priest urged him to restore the property he had acquired unjustly; he refused on the plea that by doing so he would leave his three sons penniless. The priest bethought him of a stratagem. He said he knew of a means of cure, but it was a costly one. The sick man declared no sum would be too great to procure it. The priest replied that some living person must allow his hand to be burned and while raw, laid on that of the sufferer. The three sons were called, but neither of them would do this for their father. Then the priest said: “See, none of your children would hold his hand in the fire a few moments for you, and you are willing to endure the tortures of hell-fire to all eternity for their sakes.” This opened the sick man’s eyes; he went to confession and made restitution.
What Are the Reasons Which Ought to Deter Us from
Transgressing the Seventh Commandment?
The heathens of old held theft in abhorrence, and punished it very severely. The Anglo-Saxons (in the sixth century) used to cut off the hands of thieves; in Hungary they were sold as slaves. The Jews inflicted condign retribution on a thief; the man who at the taking of Jericho in spite of the prohibition carried away some of the spoil, was stoned to death by God’s command (Joshua 7). In former days the laws of the Church in regard to the sin of stealing were extremely rigorous; even for a petty theft restitution had to be made, and besides it was expiated by fasting for a year on bread and water. God Himself inflicts heavy chastisements on those who take what belongs to another, no matter how trifling the thing stolen; for whether it be great or small, the will to defraud is the same, and it is to the will that He looks.
Confusion is upon a thief (Sir. 5:17). Stealing does not bring a man to honor, but to prison. Thieves are generally caught, sooner or later. Stealing is the way to poverty. Ill-gotten goods bring no blessing. He who steals another man’s goods will lose his own, for when that which he acquired unjustly is taken from him, that which was honestly acquired will go too. Stolen goods are like fire, which not only vanishes in smoke, but reduces everything near it to ashes. When the Jews returned from the Babylonian captivity, there was great scarcity in the land. Some of the people profited by it to become rich; but when Nehemiah came from Babylon to Jerusalem he was exceedingly angry, and rebuked the usurers. He shook his clothes before all the people, and called upon God to shake every man out of his house and out of his possessions, who did not restore what had been unjustly exacted, so that what he had got by usury might vanish as the dust (Neh. 5:1–13). “He that soweth iniquity shall reap evils” (Prov. 12:8). “The riches of the unjust shall be dried up like a river” (Sir. 40:13). “Woe to him that heapeth together that which is not his own” (Hab, 2:6). Injustice is even the cause of the fall of whole nations (Sir. 10:8). Where are the ancient and mighty kingdoms of Babylon, of the Medes and Persians, of the Greeks, and the great empire of Rome? They came to ruin because they sought to extend their limits unjustly. Look at the state of Italy in the present day; since the Holy Father was robbed of his temporal possessions the taxation has been excessive, and a large portion of the population are starving. Furthermore thieves often come to a miserable end. Remember Judas’ wretched fate; what misery of mind, what torture of soul he endured before he hanged himself in despair! (Matt. 27:5.) Those who have stolen or embezzled money are rarely brought to repentance, because they are unwilling to restore what they have taken. Even upon their death-bed they will not hear of making restitution. Beware, therefore, of allowing yourself to touch what belongs to another. Moreover, if at the Last Day he will find no mercy who has not given of his substance to the needy, how much the more pitilessly will he be judged who has actually taken from his neighbor what was his (St. Augustine). Thieves and the covetous shall not possess the kingdom of God (2 Cor. 6:10). The Mohammedans consider that he who so much as plucks an ear of corn from his neighbor’s cornfield, has done a disgraceful thing, and will go to hell. The dread of everlasting damnation deters many from committing acts of injustice. Of this the following story affords an example. A poor widow who had been defrauded of a plot of land belonging to her by a rich man, asked to be at least allowed to carry away a basket of earth. The man consented with a scornful smile; when the basket was filled, she further requested him to help her up with it on to her back. The rich man attempted to raise it, but it was too heavy for him to lift. “There,” said the widow, “if you find this basket of earth too great a weight, how will you bear the burden of the whole field for all eternity?” This remark made such an impression on the rich man that he gave the land back to the woman. Fools indeed are they who play away their chance of heaven for the sake of earth’s transitory riches! “What doth it profit a man if he gain the whole world, and suffer the loss of his own soul?” (Matt. 16:26.) By stealing you may obtain money, but you lose God. You think of the gain; forget not the loss.
The honest man will prosper upon earth (Ps. 36[37]:25).
Tobias affords a model of upright conduct. Although he was blind and reduced to poverty, when he heard the bleating of a kid that had been given to his wife, he immediately said: “Take heed, lest perhaps it be stolen; restore ye it to its owners, for it is not lawful for us either to eat or to touch anything that cometh by theft” (Tob. 2:21). God restored him to sight, and he lived forty-two years longer (Tob. 14:1). The Lord will not afflict the soul of the just with famine (Prov. 10:3). His ears are open unto his prayers (Ps. 33[34]:16). Justice exalteth a nation (Prov. 14:34). Honesty is the best policy.
In the Eighth Commandment God forbids us to detract from our neighbor’s honor, or bear false witness of any kind204
1. THE PROHIBITION AGAINST INJURING
OUR NEIGHBOR IN HIS HONOR
1. A good reputation is a precious possession, for it enables us to gain riches for time and for eternity.205
An honorable reputation, or a good name, consists in being well thought of, and well-spoken of by our fellow-men. The opposite of honor is shame. “A good name is better than great riches; and good favor is above silver and gold” (Prov. 22:1). A good reputation is the best thing on earth; it is a talent entrusted to us by God, for he who has a good reputation can do a great deal of good, because he has influence over others. The esteem of others is essential to real happiness; who can enjoy his life if he knows that he is despised by his fellow-men? A man without a penny will often get an excellent post merely because he has a good character. And those who are highly thought of are more careful to lead an upright life than those who have no reputation to preserve. An honorable name is to a man what the peel is to an apple; while it is whole, the apple keeps sound for a long time, but if the skin is once cut, the fruit rots quickly.
It is God’s will that we should strive after honor, for He implanted within us feelings of honor and an abhorrence of disgrace. To suppress this instinct would be to act at variance with His appointment. Hence we ought to perform our good works openly. Our Lord expressly enjoins this upon us when He says: “So let your light shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father Who is in heaven” (Matt. 5:16). Our good works should be like a sweet odor, pleasing to men as a perfume is to the nostrils (2 Cor. 2:15). Good works are the best means of defending our good name, and silencing the tongue of detractors (1 Pet. 2:12). We ought to consider what may be good not only before God, but also before men (2 Cor. 8:21). “Let your modesty be known unto all men” (Phil. 4:5). “From all appearance of evil refrain yourselves” (1 Thess. 5:22). It need hardly be said that our good works must not be performed in view of pleasing men, and courting their praise, or we shall receive no reward from God (Matt. 6:2). It is our duty to defend ourselves when our name is aspersed. All manner of accusations were brought against the early Christians; some of their ablest men published “apologies” and sent them to the emperor. Our Lord did not disdain to justify Himself, when, for instance, it was said of Him that He cast out devils by the aid of the prince of the devils (Matt. 12:27); or again, when a servant of the high priest struck Him (John 18:23). St. Paul repeatedly spoke in his own defense, before the council and the governor (Acts 22:26). Yet it is not well to be over-sensitive about one’s honor, and go to law about trifles. An amicable adjustment of differences and reconciliation, is better than quarrelling and bringing accusations. To be very touchy in regard to one’s honor is likely to give an appearance of truth to the slander, for it looks as if we were not quite sure of ourselves; besides it provokes the calumniator to go to greater lengths. After all, a man whose life is without reproach need not fear the permanent loss of his good name; only the evildoer, if he fall into disgrace, cannot retrieve his character. It is just the same as with one’s hair; shave it off and it grows again quickly; but if it is pulled out by the roots, the bare place remains. David rightly compares the tongue of the slanderer to a sharp razor. In the matter of self-defense one must know how to keep the medium. Strong and generous characters are not affected by trifles; they bear them in silence, only giving expression to their just anger in matters of importance. St. Francis de Sales tells us that only when grave and disgraceful crimes are imputed to us, such as no man can allow himself to be charged with, should we take steps to clear ourselves. Finally, be it remarked, much more can be done by bearing an affront patiently than by displaying great anxiety about our good name. Many eminent servants of God, by the calmness with which they bore the revilings of godless men, were the means of converting their accusers.
Yet we ought not to strive too anxiously to obtain the esteem of men, or else we shall lose the friendship of God as well as the esteem of men; moreover in some cases it is impossible to enjoy at the same time the favor of God and the favor of men.
He who is over-solicitous to obtain honor among men, makes this, and not God, his chief aim. Such a one is arrogant and ambitious, and will consequently be humbled by God (Luke 14:11). How deeply the proud Absalom was humbled! Likewise the ambitious Emperor Napoleon. Honor is a capricious goddess: if we run after her, she flies from us; if we fly from her, she pursues us. She allows no force to be put upon her; but there is a price at which she may be purchased, and that is uprightness and humility. It is impossible to serve God and to please men (Gal. 1:10). All who lead a truly Christian life are despised and reviled by men (1 Cor. 4:13; 1 Pet. 4:14), and even counted as fools (1 Cor. 4:10). There are some silly people who mete out honor or disgrace not by the standard of virtue, but by things that are of no real value; riches, position, dress, etc. But whatever your exertions, you cannot please at all times, and all persons.
3. Furthermore, we ought to refrain from everything that may wound our neighbor’s honor. Thus suspicion, detraction, slander, and abuse are forbidden, also listening with pleasure when our neighbor is spoken against.206
Suspicion implies malice of heart; detraction, slander (both of which are directed against the absent) and abuse (which is directed against one who is present), are sins of the tongue; listening with gratification when another is evilly spoken of, is a sin, if it is in the evil speaking that we take pleasure.
a. Suspicion consists in supposing evil of one’s neighbor without reasonable grounds.207
The Pharisee in the Temple took for granted that the publican was a sinner and how greatly he was mistaken (Luke 18)! Job’s three friends thought he must needs be ungodly merely because he was afflicted by God. Simon the Pharisee thought the Magdalen, when he saw her at Our Lord’s feet, was still a sinner, but he deceived himself; she was then a penitent (Luke 7:39 seq.). When St. Paul, shipwrecked on the island of Malta, lighted a fire, a viper, coming out of the sticks, fastened on his hand; in consequence of this the inhabitants of the island instantly judged him to be a murderer, pursued by divine vengeance (Acts 28.). A goldsmith had an apprentice who bore a very good character. One day he found two precious stones concealed in a hole in the wall close to the boy’s head. He directly accused him of theft, chastised him soundly, and drove him out of the house. Soon after he again discovered two stones in exactly the same place. He watched, and found they were put there by a magpie which he had in the house, and deeply regretted his rash judgment, when it was too late to repair his fault. If he had detected the boy in dishonesty, he would not have done wrong in suspecting him. People judge of others by themselves; for the affections are apt to mislead the understanding. He who is not evil himself does not lightly think evil of others, whereas a bad man readily concludes his neighbor to be as bad as himself. Molten metal takes the shape of the mold into which it is poured; so every man’s judgment of what he sees and hears takes its shape from his own feelings. The most wholesome aliments disagree with the man whose digestion is out of order; thus a corrupted mind always takes an evil view of things, while a good man puts the best construction on everything. “I would far rather err,” says St. Anselm, “by thinking good of a bad man than by thinking evil of a good man.” “Charity thinketh no evil” (1 Cor. 13:5). The just man, in whom dwells the spirit of love, even when he sees an action which is unquestionably reprehensible, does not allow his thoughts to dwell on it; he leaves the judgment of it to God. This is what St. Joseph did, in regard to his spouse, the Blessed Virgin (Matt. 1:19). “Let none of you imagine evil in your heart against his friend” (Zech. 8:17). Trust others, if you would have others trust you. Trust engenders confidence, and mistrust the want of it.
b. Detraction consists in disclosing the fault committed by another without necessity.208
This sin, the lessening of our neighbor’s reputation, is an act of injustice towards him. For if he is really guilty of some secret sin, still he has not lost the good opinion of others, and of this we rob him if we publish his misdeeds. We are not justified in robbing a man of the esteem he enjoys, even though he has no right to it, any more than in taking from him money which he has gained unjustly. Nor must we speak evil of the dead. Let nothing but what is good be said of the departed. Some people, like hyenas, who tear from their graves and devour dead bodies, deface the memory of the dead by their malicious words and bring to light faults long since forgotten. Like insects which alight, not on the sound part of the apple, but on the decayed portion, detractors do not enlarge on the virtues of the deceased, but they pitilessly dwell upon their faults. They may be compared to dogs who prefer carrion to fresh meat, for they pass over the good which they cannot help seeing in their neighbor, and care to keep alive the remembrance of his failings. The sin of detraction is one most frequently met with. “Rarely,” says St. Jerome, “do we find anyone who is not ready to blame his neighbor’s conduct.” This comes from pride, for many people imagine they exalt themselves in proportion as they decry others. Detraction is a hateful sin. It is an ugly and shameless thing to do, if one goes to a stranger’s house and spies into every corner; but how much more so to scrutinize and criticize our neighbor’s course of life! Mud should be covered over, not stirred up, for no one can touch it without defiling himself. “O fool!” exclaims St. Alphonsus. “Thou dost declaim against the sin of another, and meanwhile, by evil speaking, dost commit a far greater sin than that thou blamest in thy neighbor.” Besides the detractor in disclosing the faults of another, discloses his own, for he shows that he has no charity. However, to speak of another man’s sin is not wrong, unless one has the intention of lowering him in the eyes of others; it is not detraction to tell someone else of it in order to prevent a repetition of the sin. One may also blame the fault of another, if this may be useful to a third person; but it must be done from a sense of duty, and the sin rather than the sinner is to be condemned. The crime of any malefactor who has been brought to justice may be freely spoken of, as it is already made public. Tale-telling is a form of detraction; it consists in repeating to another what a third person has said of him. Tale-telling ruins the peace of families, and is a fruitful source of feuds. It is worse than ordinary detraction because it not only destroys the reputation of one’s neighbor, but puts an end to friendly relations and brotherly love. Therefore God says: “The whisperer and double-tongued are accursed” (Sir. 28:15).
c. Slander consists in attributing to one’s neighbor faults of which he is not guilty. If the accusation is made publicly it is called a libel.209
Slander or calumny is taking away a man’s good name. Putiphar’s wife accused Joseph to her lord of having attempted to lead her astray (Gen. 39). The Jewish leaders accused Our Lord before Pilate of having perverted the nation and forbidden to give tribute to the emperor (Luke 23:2). Exaggeration of another’s fault also comes under the head of calumny. The motives that actuate the slanderer are generally revenge, hatred or ingratitude; his sin is twofold, for he lies, and at the same time destroys his neighbor’s reputation. “He that backbiteth secretly is like a serpent that biteth in silence.” Some slanderers accompany their calumnies with a jest, or accentuate them with a witty or amusing speech. This is the greatest cruelty of all, for the slander which might have passed in at one ear and out at the other, is then firmly lodged in the mind of all who hear it. Again, slanders that are prefaced by words of eulogy make more impression on the hearer, just as an arrow flies with more force and penetrates more deeply if the bow be drawn back first. Of such persons David says: “The poison of asps is under their lips” (Ps. 13[14]:3).
d. Abuse consists in making public the low opinion which one has of another.
In evil speaking one makes known a man’s fault behind his back, abuse utters it in his presence. Abuse therefore stands in the same relation to detraction as robbery to theft. While detraction and slander undermine the good opinion others have of a man, abuse aims at depriving him of the outward respect that is shown him. Semei reviled King David; he called him a man of Belial, and threw stones at him (2 Sam. 16:5). Some meneviled Our Lord; they called Him a Samaritan, and said He had a devil (John 8:48). If two men quarrel, the one who is in the wrong usually resorts to abuse. The one who is in the right does not need such weapons; truth conquers of itself. Sneers and sarcasms are a form of this sin. Their object is to make a man ridiculous before others and put him to confusion. By such unkind speeches one may deeply wound one’s neighbor, and fill him with bitter resentment. “The stroke of a whip maketh a blue mark, but the stroke of the tongue will break the bones” (Sir. 28:21).
e. He who takes pleasure in listening to detraction commits the same sin as the speaker to whom he listens.
He who asperses his neighbor’s good name kindles a fire, and he who listens to him throws fuel on it. Were it not for the latter, the former would soon be silent. St. Ignatius says we should not talk about our neighbor’s faults did we not find eager listeners. St. Bernard says he cannot decide which is more blameworthy, the man who slanders his neighbor, or he who lends his ear to the slanderer; the only difference is that one serves the devil with his tongue, the other with his ear. What do I care to know that such a one is a wicked man? The knowledge only does me harm. How much better to spend one’s pains on scrutinizing one’s own conduct. Our Lord exhorts us to do this: “Cast first the beam out of thine own eye, and then thou shalt see clearly to take out the mote from thy brother’s eye” (Luke 6:42). It is those who are blind to their own faults who are most keenly alive to the faults of others. Never listen to detraction. St. Augustine had these words inscribed upon his dining-table: “There is not place at this table for those who love to defame their neighbor.” “Hedge in thy ears with thorns, hear not a wicked tongue” (Sir. 28:28). Slander is a three-edged sword; at one blow it inflicts three wounds; it wounds the slanderer, for he commits a sin; it wounds the slandered, because he is robbed of his good name; it wounds the hearer, for he also falls into sin. And since the slanderer injures the soul of him who listens to his calumny, he imitates the serpent, whose poisoned words were the means of driving Eve out of paradise.
4. He who has injured his neighbor’s reputation is strictly bound to restore his good name; either by apologizing, if the offence was committed in private, or by publicly retracting his words, if they were spoken before others.210
Anyone who has unjustly diminished his neighbor’s reputation, is bound to make satisfaction, according to the nature of the offence. It is not enough to draw the arrow out of the wound, the hurt must be healed; nor is it enough to desist from evil-speaking; the injury done must be set right. That is bitter to human nature, for it requires no slight self-humiliation. Moreover, it is almost impossible fully to make amends for calumny; it is easy to break a seal, but difficult to repair it so that no one can perceive that it has been broken. An ink-spot is soon made on a sheet of paper, but no efforts will remove all traces of the blot.
5. Those who do not endeavor to repair the harm they have done by slandering their neighbor, cannot obtain pardon from God, nor absolution from the priest.211
What Are the Reasons Which Should Deter Us from
Injuring Our Neighbor’s Good Name?
1. He who is severe in his judgment of his neighbor, will in his turn be judged severely by God.
Our Lord says: “Judge not, that you may not be judged” (Matt. 7:1). “For with what measure you mete, it shall be measured to you again” (Matt. 7:22). “Condemn not and you shall not be condemned” (Luke 6:37). A monk who on account of delicate health had not been very regular in the performance of his religious duties, displayed great cheerfulness when his death drew near. On being asked the cause of this, he replied: “I have never judged anyone, even when I had just cause for complaint; therefore I hope that God will not judge me.”
“There is one Lawgiver and Judge; but who art thou that judgest thy neighbor?” (Jas. 4:12.) “Who art thou that judgest another man’s servant?” (Rom. 14:4.) Only He Who is omniscient can claim the right to judge others, for the intrinsic evil of an action depends upon the intention of the heart, and that is hidden from man.
A man of evil tongue shall not be established upon the earth (Ps. 129[130]:12). Jezabel, the wife of King Achab, suborned two wicked men to falsely accuse Naboth, who would not give up his vineyard to the king, of blasphemy. Retribution eventually fell upon her; she was thrown from the palace window, trampled upon by horses and eaten by dogs (1 Kings 21). It is now no uncommon thing for the slanderer to meet with the self-same fate which he prepared for another, as the following story shows: St. Elizabeth. Queen of Portugal, had a favorite page, who used to distribute her alms. One of the king’s servants, who was jealous of the large share of the queen’s favor enjoyed by that page, calumniated him to the king, one day when he was out hunting. The king believed the calumny: and going up to a lime-kiln which he saw in the forest, he said to the proprietor: “Tomorrow I shall send a young man hither, who will ask you whether you have executed the king’s orders; seize him instantly and cast him into the kiln.” On the following morning the king dispatched the queen’s page to the lime-burner with the message agreed upon. On his way thither the young man passed a church, and as the bell was ringing for Mass, he went in and assisted at the holy sacrifice. Meanwhile the servant who had slandered him, curious to know his fate, followed him, as he thought, to the lime-kiln, and on arriving, eagerly asked if the king’s orders had been executed. Almost before he had uttered the question, he was thrown into the furnace. When the queen’s page shortly made his appearance, he was told that the royal behest had been obeyed, and the workmen expected a reward. On his return to the palace, the king was astonished and horrified, and saw clearly that he had been foully deceived. “He hath opened a pit and dug it, and he is fallen into the hole he made” (Ps. 7:16).
4. He who indulges a habit of detraction is in danger of losing his soul.
The pulse does not always correctly indicate the progress of a fatal disease, but if the tongue becomes black, it is a sure sign of approaching dissolution. So many people are assiduous in their prayers, are diligent churchgoers, and are considered to be pious, but their tongue, wherewith they blacken the character of others, infallibly indicates the mortal disease of their soul. To blast a man’s reputation is a great sin, because his good name is better than great riches (Prov. 22:1). It is a kind of murder, because it destroys a man’s life as a citizen, i.e., his social standing, which depends on the repute in which he is held. It is also sinful because thereby one causes distress to one’s neighbor. The man of honor values his good name above everything. He would rather part with his money, with all he possesses, with life itself, than lose his honor. Hence we may conclude how grievous a sin is detraction. “Railers shall not possess the kingdom of God” (1 Cor. 6:10). “Detractors … are worthy of death” (Rom. 1:32). “Whosoever shall say to his brother, thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire” (Matt. 5:22). The magnitude of sins against one’s neighbor depends upon the harm that is done. On account of this, it matters greatly who the individual is who slanders his neighbor; if he be a man of position and respectability, the sin he commits is liable to be grievous, for the esteem in which he is held gives weight to his words. In the case of one who is known to be a tattler, on the other hand, the sin is slight. Let the evil speaker beware, for if he has not already fallen into mortal sin, he is on the high road to it.
2. THE COMMAND AGAINST UNTRUTHFULNESS
God is truth itself; consequently He forbids every kind of falsehood, especially lying, hypocrisy, and flattery.212
God is true (John 3:33). It is impossible for God to lie (Heb. 6:18). Our Lord says: “I am the way and the truth and the life” (John xiv. 6). Hence God commands: “You shall not lie” (Lev. 19:11). “Putting away lying, speak ye the truth every man to his neighbor” (Eph. 4:5). Let your conversation be upright and truthful, if you would show yourselves to be the children of Him Who is the Father of truth and truth itself.
a. He is guilty of lying who says what is not true with the intention of deceiving others.213
Lying is a misuse of speech. Speech was not given to man in order that he might deceive others, but as a means whereby he might communicate to them his thoughts. The conditions under which lies are commonly told are these: Under stress of circumstances, to avert some evil from one’s self or from others, as when St. Peter in the outer court of the high priest’s palace said: “I know not the man” (Matt. 26:72); in jest, to amuse others; or for the sake of injuring someone, as Jacob did when he deceived his father in order to obtain his paternal benediction (Gen. 27). But to relate a fictitious narrative, or make use of a fable for the instruction of others is no untruth, for it is done without an intention to deceive. Our Lord Himself employed parables in teaching. A liar is like counterfeit coin, which appears to be what it is not.
b. Hypocrisy or dissimulation is acting a lie; we commit this sin when we speak or act differently to what we think and feel.214
Judas kissed Our Lord in the Garden of Olives, as if he were His greatest friend, but he only did so to betray Him (Matt. 26:49). King Herod said to the three kings: “When you have found the Child bring me word again, that I also may come and adore Him” (Matt. 2:8). But he thought in his heart that when he knew where the Child was, he would have Him put to death. Those are hypocrites who make an outward profession of piety while in reality their lives are far from irreproachable. They are like Satan, who can assume the form of an angel of light. To feign sanctity in this manner is worse than to sin openly. Some appear very devout in church, they cross themselves and smite their breasts, but all the while their thoughts are far away; they are dissemblers. The hypocrite is like a dunghill covered with snow, which hides what it really is. Our Lord compared such men to whited sepulchers, outwardly beautiful, but within full of foulness and dead men’s bones (Matt. 23:27); also to wolves in sheep’s clothing (Matt. 7:15).
c. Flattery consists in praising another immoderately to his face, against one’s own conviction for the sake of advantage.215
King Herod Agrippa was highly gratified by the flattery of the Tyrians and Sidonians, when they exclaimed, on hearing his oration: “It is the voice of a god and not of a man.” But the angel of the Lord forthwith struck him, and he was eaten by worms (Acts 12:22–23). Flatterers speak contrary to their conviction; they deride a man behind his back while they praise him to his face. The flatterer only seeks his own advantage. He is like the cat which purrs, and the dog which fawns on his master to get a piece of meat. Crafty people cringe to others if they think anything can be gained. Flatterers frequent the presence of the rich, for from the poor they get nothing; they are like the locusts which do not come in the winter, or where the land is barren, but they alight in cultivated places, where there is plenty for them to devour. Flatterers praise immoderately, i.e., they ascribe excellences to a man which he does not possess, or they exaggerate his good qualities and palliate his misdeeds. They are dangerous acquaintances, because they hide a man’s faults, instead of endeavoring, as a true friend would, to correct them. It is a matter of indifference to them whether they do harm or good, if they only get themselves into favor; they are like a cook who cares not whether the dishes he prepares are wholesome or the contrary, so long as they are tasty and please the palate. Flattery feeds sin as oil feeds a flame; it is a nursery of vice. Isaiah exclaims, addressing flatterers: “Woe to you that call evil good and good evil” (Is. 5:20). Let us therefore be on our guard, if any one appears unusually complaisant and begins to praise us. Our Blessed Lady was troubled at the salutation of the angel.
What Are the Reasons That Should Make
Us Refrain from Untruthfulness?
1. The liar is like the devil and displeasing to God.216
He who forfeits the confidence of his fellow-men causes a great deal of harm and is capable of committing all manner of evil deeds.
The liar resembles the devil, for the devil is a liar and the father thereof (John 8:44). Remember how the serpent in paradise lied to Eve. Liars are children of the devil, not by nature, but by imitation. The liar is displeasing to God. God is truth itself, and therefore He abhors the liar. Our Lord did not speak as sharply of any one as of the Pharisees. And why? Because they were hypocrites (Matt. 23:27). From every class of sinners He gave an example of one who was saved; e.g., Zacheus among usurers, the good thief among highwaymen, Magdalen and the Samaritan at Jacob’s well among profligate women, Saul among persecutors of the Church, but not one single individual among liars and hypocrites did He mention as having sought and found pardon. Many a time God punished liars severely; witness Ananias and his wife Saphira, who for their falsehood fell dead at St. Peter’s feet (Acts 5) and Giezi, the servant of Elisha, who was struck with leprosy for his lies and avarice (2 Kings 5). “Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord” (Prov. 12:22). The liar forfeits the trust of his fellow-men. The shepherd who cried “Wolf” when no wolf was near, found he was not believed when his flock was really attacked; his comrades had been so often deceived that they did not heed his cries. A liar is not trusted when he speaks the truth; he is hated by God and man. Liars often do a great deal of harm. The spies who went to view the Promised Land deceived the Israelites by their false report, and alarmed them so that they blasphemed God, wanted to stone the two spies who spoke the truth, and clamored to return to Egypt. See what mischief those men wrought: God declared His intention to destroy the people (Numb. 13). Jacob deceived his father and obtained his blessing fraudulently; his brother Esau threatened to kill him and Jacob was obliged to take to flight. “He that hath no guard on his speech shall meet with evils” (Prov. 13:3). The liar falls into many other sins. “Show me a liar and I will show you a thief.” Where you find hypocrisy, you find cheating and all manner of evil practices. A liar cannot possibly be God-fearing. The Holy Spirit will flee from the deceitful (Wisd. 1:5). All the piety and devotion of one whose words serve to conceal, not to express his thoughts, is a mere sham; do not associate with such a one, lest he corrupt you with his ungodly ways. “Lying men are without honor” (Sir. 20:28). “The just shall hate a lying word” (Prov. 13:5).
2. The pernicious habit of lying leads a man into mortal sin and to eternal perdition.217
Lying is in itself a venial sin; but it can easily become a mortal sin if it is the means of doing great harm, or causing great scandal. He who indulges the habit of lying runs no small risk of losing his soul, for God withdraws His grace from those who deceive their neighbor. “The mouth that belieth killeth the soul” (Wisd. 1:11). A thief is not so bad as a liar, for the thief can give back what he has stolen, whereas the liar cannot restore his neighbor’s good name, of which he has robbed him. “A thief is better than a man that is always lying; but both of them shall inherit destruction” (Sir. 20:27). A lie is a foul blot in a man (Sir. 20:26). The soul of the liar is like a counterfeit coin, stamped with the devil’s effigy; when at the Last Day, the Judge shall ask: “Whose image is this?” the answer will be “the devil’s;” and He will then say: “Render unto the devil the things that are his” (St. Thomas Aquinas). The Lord will destroy all that speak a lie (Ps. 5:7). Liars shall have their portion in the lake burning with fire (Rev. 21:8). Our Lord uttered a terrible denunciation of the Pharisees because of their hypocrisy (Matt. 23:13).
Lying is consequently forbidden, even if it may be the means of effecting much good.218
St. Augustine says it is just as wrong to tell a lie for your neighbor’s advantage as to steal for the good of the poor. Not even to save one’s own life or the life of another, is a falsehood justifiable. St. Anthimus, Bishop of Nicomedia, would not allow the soldiers who were sent to arrest him, and who were enjoying his hospitality, to save him by a lie; he preferred to suffer martyrdom. We must not do evil that there may come good (Rom. 3:8). The end does not justify the means. The enemies of the Jesuits allege that they teach and act upon the principle that the end justifies the means, but this has never been proved against them. It was the philosopher Voltaire who proclaimed that doctrine, for he said: “Lying is only reprehensible when it causes mischief; it is a virtue when it is a means of effecting good.”
A falsehood told in jest is not wrong if everyone can see at once that it is not meant in earnest.
If anyone says: “How delightfully mild it is today!” when the cold is exceptionally severe, no one will call this a sin. But if a foolish joke produces lamentable results, the case is different. A gentleman once told a peasant who was at a distance from home, that he had heard his cottage and half the village where he lived was burned down; he only meant to make an “April fool” of him, but the poor man took the news so much to heart that he fell down dead. As a rule it may be said that every lie, however trifling it may appear, injures either ourselves or our neighbor, for it is a departure from truth and uprightness; there is always a certain duplicity about it, even if it be only a joke. Let your speech be truthful and honest, as becomes children of Him Who is truth itself.
It is, however, lawful to give an evasive answer to one who causes us embarrassment by asking a question he has no right to ask.219
We are under no obligation to answer a question which another has no right to ask. We may return an evasive or an ambiguous reply, or refuse to give any at all. St. Athanasius, Bishop of Alexandria, was concealed in a vessel on the Nile, when the soldiers of the Emperor Julian overtook and stopped it. On their inquiring where Athanasius was, his servant replied: “He is not gone far, if you make haste you will soon take him.” The soldiers went onward on their quest, and the bishop escaped. The archangel Raphael himself told Tobias that he was Azarias, the son of a distinguished Jew, whose form he had assumed (Tob. 5:18), because, had he revealed his true nature, he could not have fulfilled the commission entrusted to him by God. If an impertinent person presumes to ask a professional secret of us, we make reply unceremoniously “I do not know,” i.e., “it is not mine to tell.” In this sense Our Lord stated that He did not know when the Day of Judgment would be (Mark 13:32). If any one whom we cannot trust wants to borrow money of us, we are justified in saying: “I have not any,” that is, “to lend you.” Again we may return an evasive answer if someone in authority, in the absence of proof, tries to force a confession of guilt from us, for no man is obliged to incriminate himself. In many cases we should refuse to give an answer. St. Firmus, Bishop of Tagasta, concealed in his house two young men, whom the emperor had unjustly condemned to death. The officers of justice came to the bishop, and demanded to be told where the young men were hidden. The prelate refused to answer; he was put to torture, but this availed nothing: “I can die,” he said, “but I cannot make others miserable.” The emperor hearing of his heroic conduct, pardoned the young men. Our Lord did not answer all the questions Pilate put to Him. It will be understood that ambiguous replies must only be given when considerations of the glory of God, the good of our neighbor, or the exigencies of our own position renders them necessary. When our neighbor has a right to the truth, we must answer simply and openly, in buying and selling, for instance, or drawing up an agreement. It would be grossly unjust if persons about to marry were to deceive one another by equivocating about money matters and other things.
3. Whoso is really upright is like almighty God, is pleasing in His sight, and is esteemed by his fellow-men.220
Christ says: “I am the truth” (John 14:6). Therefore the lover of truth is like unto Him. The lover of truth is well pleasing to God. Our Lord said in praise of Nathanael that he was: “An Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile” (John 1:47). The lover of truth is esteemed by his fellow-men. On one occasion when Cæsar Augustus was making a triumphal entry into Rome, he happened to hear that among the captives there was a heathen priest, who had never been convicted of a lie. Immediately he ordered him to be liberated. St. John Cantius was once stopped by robbers who, after taking his purse, asked if he had any more money about him. The saint replied that he had not. After he had gone a few steps on his way, he remembered that he had some pieces of gold sewn up in his clothes; he hastened after the robbers and gave them to them. The thieves were so astonished that they restored all that they had taken from him. See how highly pagans and robbers esteem truthfulness! Thus it is always best to acknowledge one’s fault freely, for thereby one obtains forgiveness, or at least a mitigation of the punishment due to it. It is said that Washington, when a boy, hacked with a chopper a beautiful cherry-tree which his father greatly prized. His father was extremely angry when he saw what was done, and asked the boy if he was the culprit. He replied: “Yes, father. I will not tell a lie. I did it.” This candor pleased his father so much that he did not punish the boy. We may, perhaps, sometimes have to suffer through speaking the truth, but the suffering is far outweighed by the approval of a good conscience. “He that walketh sincerely, walketh confidently” (Prov. 10:9). Our Lord exhorts us to be simple as doves (Matt. 10:16). Guile is not half so profitable as simplicity. It is therefore our wisest course to be candid and truthful.
3. THE MEANS OF PREVENTING
SINS OF THE TONGUE
It is the opinion of the Fathers of the Church that a third part of all the sins committed in the world are sins of the tongue.
We must not indulge the love of talking too freely. St. Augustine says that silence is the best preventive of sins of the tongue. He who knows how to keep silence will speak wisely. “He that keepeth his mouth, keepeth his soul; but he that hath no guard on his speech shall meet with evils” (Prov. 13:3). “In the multitude of words there shall not want sin” (Prov. 10:19). While all the organs of the senses are open to sight, God has enclosed the tongue behind a double wall, the lips and the teeth, to warn us to be circumspect in our speech. You should be as careful in choosing the words you speak, as in selecting the food you eat. Holy Scripture compares the tongue to a sharp knife, because we ought to be as cautious in our use of it as the surgeon in the use of his knife, when he has to perform an operation on the human body. We should speak with all the more deliberation because what is once said cannot be as if it had not been said. We can no more recall the words we have spoken than we can the arrow we have let fly from the bow. Our Lord says: “Every idle word that men shall speak, they shall render an account for it in the Day of Judgment” (Matt. 12:36). Nay, He will even judge us by our words, for He adds: “By thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned” (Matt. 12:37). “Death and life are in the power of the tongue” (Prov. 18:21). Furthermore, if anyone is spoken evil of in our presence, we ought to lift up our voice in his defense. Holy Scripture says: “Open thy mouth for the dumb” (Prov. 31:8), that is, for him who, being absent, cannot defend himself. If therefore, you hear the misdeeds of another spoken of, endeavor to show that he did not act from a bad motive; if that is impossible, then make excuses for the act on the plea of violent temptation, ignorance, or human frailty, and thus, at any rate, mitigate the harshness of the judgment passed on it. Or one may mention something to the credit of the person in question. This was St. Teresa’s invariable practice, and no one dared in her presence to utter a word of detraction. One may also express one’s disapproval by looking very grave, and thus putting the detractor to shame. It will have the effect of shooting arrows at a rock, the shaft will rebound upon the marksman. “The north wind driveth away rain, as doth a sad countenance a backbiting tongue” (Prov. 25:23). It is also advisable at once adroitly to change the conversation, and thus prevent the calumniator from pursuing the subject. By tolerating detraction one participates in the sin. We should never repeat anything depreciatory which we hear said of our neighbor. “Hast thou heard a word against thy neighbor? Let it die within thee, trusting that it will not burst thee. As an arrow that sticketh in a man’s thigh, so is a word in the heart of a fool” (Sir. 19:10–12). Be very cautious in speaking of your neighbor, lest unawares you may blight his whole future.
See what is said concerning the Sixth Commandment; and respecting the Sacrament of Matrimony; also the words of Our Lord in Matt. 5:28, and of St. Paul, 1 Cor. 10:6.221
In the Tenth Commandment God forbids us to endeavor to possess ourselves of the property of another by unlawful means.222
In God’s sight the will is equivalent to the deed. Evil desires are sinful as well as evil deeds, as the act is accomplished in will. Therefore transgressions of this commandment must not be omitted in confession (Council of Trent, 14, ch. 5).
1. In our own day a large proportion of the so-called Socialists or social democrats aim at depriving their fellow-men of their private property by unjust means.223
Social democracy, or the rule of the people (Demos) proposes to reconstruct human society. It is of recent origin, being first started in Germany in 1840, and propagated some ten years later by the notorious Karl Marx. In 1862, Lasalle was very successful in spreading socialistic doctrines, so much so that in 1878, a special law was passed for the suppression of Socialism. Associations and meetings were prohibited, publications advocating its principles were seized, and the leading agitators were banished from several of the large towns. From that time forward the work of propagation was carried on covertly, in the workshop and clubroom, meetings being held in the woods, and pamphlets circulated privately. In 1880 a Socialistic Congress was held in Zurich, attended by members from all the countries of Europe to arrange a general program for the universal upheaval of society and subversion of the existing order of things. Since then the system has made steady progress, and assumed a revolutionary character. Those who resort to open acts of violence in order to accelerate the disintegration of society are called anarchists. Switzerland is a hot-bed of Socialism, and there the principal organs of the society are printed. Socialism has gained ground chiefly on the continent of Europe.
a. The object of Socialists is this: They want all private property to be confiscated by the State, and capital and labor equally distributed among the members of the State; moreover many of them would do away with religion, authority, social order, and family life.
The fundamental principle of Socialism is: All property has been unjustly acquired. Consequently in the new republic no one is to possess personal property, but is to be provided for out of the public funds. Everyone must work, and with the proceeds of his labor purchase what he needs. In the new republic of the extreme Socialists there is to be ni Dieu ni maître, neither the ordinances of religion nor the institutions of law. These men openly declare themselves to be atheists and republicans; they say religion concerns the individual alone. The intercourse of man and woman is to take the place of wedlock; the children are to belong, not to their parents, but to the State, to be educated at the public expense; a public kitchen is to supersede the domestic hearth. Prisons will not be needed, for there will be no criminals, since all crime comes from the possession of private property. These principles have spread chiefly among the irreligious, who care only for the gratification of their appetites, and the lower orders, the proletariat, who, in the division of property, have nothing to lose and all to gain. They are mostly held by certain ones of the laboring class who have been thrown by peculiar circumstances into the arms of Socialism.
b. The origin and development of Socialism is chiefly to be ascribed to the increasing poverty of the working classes, the greed of gain and immoderate craving for enjoyment among the rich, and finally, the decrease of religious feeling in all classes of society.224
As in the human body disorders for the most part originate in the stomach, so discontent among the people generally arises from material want. The prevailing destitution among the lower orders is partly due to the employment of machinery. Machines can produce, in a few days, more than a hundred workmen can in a month, and goods can be manufactured at a far cheaper rate by machinery than when made by hand. Consequently hundreds are thrown out of employment. Through the introduction of machinery, wealth has accumulated in the hands of the manufacturers, and the number of the poor and discontented has increased, from day to day, swelling the ranks of Socialism. The employers, striving to make larger profits, in many cases do not treat their workpeople according to the maxims of the Gospel; they reduce their wages to a scanty pittance (the market value of labor being so low); they require them to work for a lengthened period; they heed not the bodily health of those they employ, and even destroy their sense of religion and morality. These and other evils naturally have the effect of rendering the workmen irreligious and discontented. Factory hands, employed constantly in working machinery, are apt to lose their mental vigor and independence, they perform their task mechanically, and are easily beguiled and misled. The exhaustion produced by long hours of labor disinclines them to raise their hearts to God, thus they neglect their prayers. The wretched state of their homes, where several families live crowded together on account of poverty caused by the low rate of wages, adds to their moral degradation. Moreover, the sight of the rich man’s greed of money on the one hand, and his extravagant expenditure and love of luxury on the other, excites the envy of the poor man, and arouses in him the desire to satisfy his idea of happiness at the cost of the capitalist. Thus God punishes the rich in the way that they have sinned; the Socialist is the scourge where-with He chastises them. In the present day the Christian faith is more and more undermined by an irreligious press, by godless associations—notably the Freemasons—and in some lands by antichristian legislation; witness the exclusion of religious instruction from the schools. What wonder if the belief in God and a future life grows dim, the divine commandments are unheeded, and the people, craving for happiness in this life, seek to wrest his wealth from their richer neighbor!
c. If the dangers wherewith Socialism threatens us are to be averted, the condition of the laboring classes must be ameliorated; the rich must be liberal towards the poor, and religion must regain her place in the hearts of the people.225
Coercive measures will do no more good to the Socialist than random blows will correct a naughty child. If anything is to be done for him, it must be done through kindness. Above all, the employer must deal with his workpeople according to the principles of Christianity and justice. Ketteler is right when he says: “If for one day we all acted in conformity with the teaching of the Gospel, all social evils would be at once swept away.” The employer must pay his men properly, that is, their wages must be sufficient to support a Christian family suitably to their station, provided they are thrifty, industrious, and virtuous. The position of the workman must be secured; he must not be treated as a chattel, only to be employed as long as a good profit is to be got out of him. As the workman pays taxes, he is entitled to the privilege of the franchise. Opportunities of improving his mind should be afforded to him by the institution of libraries, evening classes, and the formation of workingmen’s clubs, which the Holy Father strongly advocates. Legislation must also interfere to prevent the undue growth of the proletariat, through the absorption of lesser industries by the manufactories, and the accumulation of capital in the hands of a few plutocrats. The rich ought, as the Apostle says, “to give easily and communicate to others” (1 Tim. 6:18). Now more than ever the rich are bound to give alms, otherwise they will be rigorously judged. But religion affords the most effectual means of combating Socialism. Social democracy is too often nothing but the absence of religious belief. Its chief dogma is the non-existence of God and of a future life, its chief commandment the gratification of the senses. Moreover, religion alone can give the poor the spirit of contentment, so essential to their happiness.
d. Some of the socialistic theories could not possibly be realized; others might indeed be carried out, but they would be attended by fatal consequences.
The universal equality which Socialists propose to bring about, is an utterly impracticable idea, especially in regard to property. For if the State apportioned to everyone the exact amount required for his livelihood, what more probable than that one would spend it all, and another put a part by. Thus an inequality would immediately arise; and to enforce the surrender of a man’s savings would be sheer tyranny. The same endless variety which we see in nature, exists among mankind. Differences of age, of sex, of health, of physical power and mental endowments, above all of character and of manners cannot be effaced, and from these, differences of position and of possessions are inseparable. Just as in an army all the soldiers cannot be officers nor all privates, so all members of society cannot stand on the same level. Some must manage the business of the State, or occupy themselves with military affairs, and they must naturally hold a higher rank than the other members of the State, because they work more exclusively for the common weal. The happiness the Socialist dreams of is not attainable upon earth. Whatever the exertions that may be made to ameliorate the lot of man here below, none can succeed in eliminating from it suffering, sickness, and death. Sorrow and suffering are the portions of mankind; a life of peace and enjoyment is not for this world. True happiness is not to be found in sensual pleasures, but in God. While the whole world lasts, crime, vice and poverty cannot be banished from it. Our Lord says: “The poor you have always with you” (John 12:8). And in regard to the proposed absorption of individual property by the State, this could not be accomplished without serious disturbances, for who would be willing to surrender his property without a struggle? And were community of goods once introduced, tranquility would not be attained; the oppressed minority would, out of revenge, commit fearful outrages. Besides, laborious and industrious individuals would not be content, as they would gain nothing by their industry; thus the working classes would lose instead of gaining. Socialistic theories could only be realized if men were like the lower animals, destitute of the love of liberty and the desire for improvement. Socialism would cast a blight upon culture and destroy all stimulus, all motive for the exercise of inventive genius. Few would exert themselves to make progress and aim at perfection if they knew their achievements would bring them no reward. In the socialistic republic all would be slaves. No man would exert himself to do better than another, if he knew all was provided for him; there would be a premium upon slothfulness and negligence. Experience has shown the evils brought upon mankind by the example of communities which have had their goods in common, and which have been noted for their crimes and have come to an ignominious end. But although the dreams of the Socialist are mere fantasies of the brain, yet, like much else that is undesirable, they are not without a certain use. As a hurricane tears down what is rotten and crazy, so Socialism points out the weak points in the social structure, and compels our rulers to institute the needful reforms. Attention has been drawn pre-eminently to the exploitation of the laborer by the capitalist, and the claims of the poor have been brought into notice. Yet the harm done by Socialism is far greater than any possible good it may indirectly produce.
2. All who endeavor by unlawful means to deprive their neighbor of his personal property, live in a state of mortal sin.226
The mere fact of coveting what belongs to another is a sin. We know that all sins bring others in their train, and this is no exception to the rule. St. Paul says that the inordinate desire of money is the root of all evils (1 Tim. 6:10), and the utterances of Socialists, at their gatherings prove the truth of these words. Their speeches often abound with virulent attacks upon all in authority, on the Pope, on priests, and civil magistrates. Some go so far as to assert that perjury in a court of law is permissible, if it furthers their own interests. We know the crimes of which anarchists have been guilty, dynamite outrages and assassinations. Let it not be said in behalf of their principles that the early Christians had all things in common, for the voluntary sharing of goods is quite different to what the Socialists propose to enforce. The fundamental principle of Christian charity, which urges to almsgiving is this: “Brother, what is mine is thine;” whereas the Socialist says: “Brother, what is thine is mine.” Again, the Socialists point to the religious Orders, where all is the property of the community; they say what is possible for them is possible in the State of the future. There is, however, no analogy between the two; for voluntary poverty and obedience form the basis of the religious life, while in the State of the future sensual ratifications are to be encouraged and enjoyed.
1. THE VALUE OF EARTHLY GOODS AND
THE USE TO BE MADE OF THEM
1. Earthly riches do not of themselves make us better in God’s sight.
It is not the possession, but the good use of earthly goods which makes us truly rich. It is in his moral qualities, in virtue and not in his wealth, that man’s real dignity and greatness consist. Let not the rich man arrogate anything to himself because of the abundance of the goods he possesses. The grave teaches us the worthlessness of earth’s treasures, for we can carry nothing with us out of the world (1 Tim. 6:7). When Crœsus, the rich king, showed all his treasures to the sage Solon and asked if he did not consider him a happy man, the sage replied: “No man is to be pronounced happy before his death.” Crœsus was displeased by this answer, but when, defeated and a prisoner, he stood beside the funeral pyre, he acknowledged the truth of the words. Let us not therefore strive eagerly to acquire riches on earth, but obey the injunction of Our Lord: “Lay not up to yourselves treasures on earth, where the rust and moth consume and where thieves break through and steal” (Matt. 6:19). How admirable is Solomon’s prayer: “Give me neither beggary nor riches; give me only the necessaries of life” (Prov. 30:8). St. Paul says: “Having food and wherewith to he covered, with these we are content” (1 Tim. 6:8). Remember Christ teaches us to ask day by day our daily bread.
2. Earthly goods have their value, however, because with them we can earn eternal felicity.227
On the one hand earthly riches contribute to our temporal welfare; they relieve us of many cares and anxieties, may render our life pleasant, and give us a certain ascendancy over our fellow-men. The man of wealth is a small potentate. They are also a means of salvation. This may be inferred from the words Our Lord will address to those on His right hand at the Day of Judgment (Matt. 25:34). “Your property was not given you,” says St. John Chrysostom, “that you might live in luxury and revelry, but that you may help the poor.” Money should therefore be regarded as a means of doing good, for it is only good when turned to good account.
3. God is the Lord of all earthly riches; we are only His stewards.228
“The earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof” (Ps. 23[24]:1). “The silver is Mine and the gold is Mine, saith the Lord of hosts” (Hag. 2:9). Thus when we give alms, we distribute what belongs to another, not to ourselves.
4. Earthly riches should consequently only be employed in accordance with the commands of God.
We are not even at liberty to make what use we choose of the senses and members of our body; we must employ them as God ordains. It is exactly the same with our property. And how are we to employ our property according to the will of God? We must employ it to His glory and for the welfare of our fellow-men. As the steward has to give an account to his master, so we shall have to give an account to God; He will reckon with us concerning the use of the talents entrusted to us (Matt. 25:14). At our death He will say to us: “Give an account of thy stewardship” (Luke 16:2).
2. THE PRECEPT TO PERFORM
WORKS OF MERCY
1. Christ has strictly enjoined upon us to assist our neighbor who is in need with our earthly goods; for He will only grant everlasting happiness to those who have helped their fellow-men who were in need.229
At the Last Judgment Our Lord will, as He tells us, set some men on His right hand and others on His left. To those on His right He will say: “Come, ye blessed of My Father, possess you the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave Me to eat; I was thirsty and you gave Me to drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in, naked and you covered Me; sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.” Then shall the just answer Him, saying: “Lord, when did we see Thee hungry or thirsty or a stranger, and ministered to Thee?” And Our Lord shall answer them: “Amen I say to you, as long as you did to one of these, My least brethren, you did it to Me.” And to those on His left hand He shall say: “Depart from Me, you cursed, into everlasting fire! For I was hungry and you gave Me not to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me not to drink.” Then they also shall answer Him in like manner as the just. And He shall answer them: “As long as you did it not to one of these least, neither did you do it to Me” (Matt. 25:31–46). The poor must win heaven by patience, the rich by works of mercy. One gladly parts with the lesser for the sake of keeping the greater; one submits to have a foot or an arm amputated in order to save one’s life. So must you give up the lesser, in order not to lose the greater, which is eternal felicity.
a. The rich are chiefly bound to assist the needy.230
To whom much is given, of him much shall be required (Luke 12:48). The rich ought of their abundance to supply the wants of the poor (2 Cor. 8:14). They ought to sustain the poor, as the elm supports the vine. The elm is a stately tree, but it produces no fruit; the vine is a creeping plant, and unless it clings to something, its branches trail on the ground and its fruit is apt to be spoiled. But if it casts its tendrils round the elm, and clings to its trunk, it will grow up and flourish. The rich man is like the elm; his wealth alone gives him no claim to an eternal reward, but by the help he renders to the poor he will purchase for himself everlasting treasures. But if the rich do not give willingly, they imperil their eternal salvation. Our Lord says: “It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 19:24). The rich run risk of shipwreck, like a vessel that is too heavily freighted. They are reluctant to part with their money because they think the enjoyment of the present is real happiness; they mistake the shadow for the reality, and value the false more than the true. In the hour of death they will discover their sad mistake, as a bird resting upon a limed bough only finds that he is a captive when he attempts to fly away. The rich man, when the moment comes for him to pass from time into eternity, will feel how bitter has been his deception, like one who awakens from a delightful dream to find his happiness a delusion (Ps. 75[76]:6). Therefore God has made the way to the attainment of riches a difficult and thorny path, as a farmer plants a quickset hedge round the field that he does not want trodden down.
b. Even the poor man can help his neighbor who is in need.
Tobias says: “If thou hast much, give abundantly; if thou hast little, take care to bestow willingly a little” (Tob. 4:9). If any one gives a cup of cold water out of charity to his neighbor, provided that is all he can give, it will count for as much as when Zacheus the publican gave the half of his goods to the poor. The poor widow in the Temple gave more with her two mites, than all the rich who cast their gifts into the treasury (Luke 21). The widow of Sarephta gave Elijah the last remainder of her oil (1 Kings 17:12).
c. He who has not helped his neighbor who is in need, will find no mercy with God.231
St. James says: “Judgment without mercy to him that hath not done mercy” (Jas. 2:13). The rich man was buried in hell, because he gave no alms. “He that stoppeth his ear against the cry of the poor shall also cry and not be heard” (Prov. 21:13). He who refuses to relieve the necessitous defrauds them of their own. St. John Chrysostom says the rich man who is hard-hearted is no better than a thief, for he stores in his chests treasures that belong to others. He who keeps exclusively to himself the gifts Providence has bestowed on him, creates himself the murderer of those who perish from want. It is not enough to say we have never wronged the poor. By not giving alms we incur the penalty due to those who take from their neighbor that which is his.
2. The assistance we give to the needy, of whatever nature it may be, is an alms, or work of mercy.232
These works are called works of mercy, because in performing them we are actuated by feelings of compassion or mercy.
The corporal wants of our neighbor are: Food, drink, clothing, shelter, liberty, health, or life. What can we do to supply him with these? His spiritual wants, the needs of the soul, are: The knowledge of the truth (for which instruction or counsel is required); a good will, through lack of which he offends God or his fellow-man (which calls for correction, patient endurance or forgiveness); a joyful spirit (in lack of which he needs consolation). If we can do little or nothing to succor and solace our neighbor, we must pray for him, that God may come to his aid.
1. The corporal works of mercy are: (1), To feed the hungry; (2), To give drink to the thirsty; (3), To clothe the naked; (4), To harbor the stranger; (5), To visit the sick; (6), To ransom the captive; (7), To bury the dead.233
(1), To feed the hungry. Abraham entertained the three men; Christ fed five thousand people; St. Elizabeth of Hungary gave all the contents of her granaries to the poor in a time of famine; St. Louis of France provided a dinner daily for a hundred and twenty poor men, and sometimes waited on them himself. (2), To give drink to the thirsty. The Samaritan woman gave Our Lord water to drink at Jacob’s well; Rebecca drew water for Eleazar. Wine and medicine come under this category. (3), To clothe the naked. Tabitha at Joppe made garments for destitute widows; St. Martin gave half his cloak to a beggar; Christmas gifts to poor schools are works of mercy. (4), To harbor the stranger. Hospitality is a duty enjoined upon us by St. Paul when he says: “Hospitality do not forget; for by this some, not being aware of it, have entertained angels” (Heb. 13:2). Both Abraham and Lot were privileged to receive angels in human form beneath their roof. The Good Samaritan took the man who had been wounded by robbers to an inn. Martha and Mary received Our Lord into their house as their guest. The monks of St. Bernard perform a work of mercy when they rescue travelers who have met with accidents, and carry them to their hospice, where they nurse them until they recover. When travelling was more dangerous than at present, they were the means of saving many lives. (5), To ransom innocent captives. Abraham delivered Lot out of the hands of the robbers; the Christians in Damascus rescued St. Paul out of prison; in the Middle Ages the Order of Ransom was founded for the release of Christians taken prisoner and held in slavery by the Turks. More than a million Christian slaves regained their liberty on the payment of a sum of money, or by others taking their place. Cardinal Lavigerie also established a guild for the liberation of slaves in Africa.
(6), To visit the sick is only to be reckoned as a work of mercy, when the object of the visit is to afford spiritual or temporal relief to the sufferer.234
The visit Job’s friends paid him was no work of mercy. That of the Samaritan to the wounded man was on the other hand, most meritorious. Several religious Orders have been founded for the express object of nursing the sick in hospitals or elsewhere; witness that of the Christian Brothers, founded by St. John of God (1617), and that of the Sisters of Charity, founded about the same time by St. Vincent of Paul. The self-sacrifice of Catholic priests in taking the last sacraments to the dying, especially at the time of an epidemic, is most emphatically a work of mercy. We read of the Emperor Joseph II that he was asked one day by a poor boy in the street for a florin, that he might get a doctor for his mother. The emperor gave him the money, and asked where he lived. He then went to see the sick woman, who took him for a doctor, and he wrote a prescription for her. Shortly after his departure the doctor whom the boy had called in made his appearance. On opening the paper to look at the supposed prescription, he read these words: “Woman, your visitor was the emperor. Take this paper to the palace, and fifty ducats will be paid you.”
(7), To bury the dead. It is a particularly meritorious work of mercy to provide the dead with decent burial, to follow the body to the grave, or to erect a stone to his memory.235
Tobias used to bury the dead at the time of the persecution of the Jews under Sennacherib. The inhabitants of the city of Naim accompanied the bier on which the young man was carried to the grave. Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus laid the body of Our Lord in the sepulcher. In burying the dead we do him a service which he can never requite. “We ought,” says St. Augustine, “to show respect to the bodies of Christian people, because they have been the instrument employed by the soul.” In some localities the pernicious custom prevails of making funerals an occasion for feasting and revelry. This is most unseemly, and a waste of money which might be spent for the benefit of the soul of the deceased. Besides it is the means of stifling the grace of God, which exercises a salutary influence on the soul through the solemn ceremonies of an interment.
In addition to the seven corporal works of mercy already enumerated, there are others, e.g., the distribution of money, the rescue of one in danger of death, giving assistance in case of accidents, etc.236
King Pharaoh’s daughter performed a work of mercy when she saved the life of the infant Moses; so did Veronica when she gave her veil to wipe Our Lord’s countenance. In fact every kind word or act, if spoken or done to our neighbor because we see Our Lord in him, is a meritorious work. Our Lord Himself says that a cup of cold water given in His name shall not go unrewarded (Mark 9:40).
2. The spiritual works of mercy are: (1), To instruct the ignorant; (2), To counsel the doubtful; (3), To admonish sinners; (4), To bear wrongs patiently; (5), To forgive offences willingly; (6), To comfort the afflicted; (7), To pray for the living and the dead.237
One may instruct the ignorant either in religion or other useful knowledge either by word of mouth or by writing good books. The holy apostles, and the evangelizers of the different nations, performed a work of mercy, as in the present day do all the missionaries to heathen lands, besides all preachers, catechists, confessors, Christian writers and teachers. To cooperate with God for the salvation of souls is the highest of all works. Those who impart religious instruction to others will have a more exalted place, and enjoy a greater degree of glory in heaven. Daniel says: “They that instruct many to justice shall shine as stars for all eternity” (Dan. 12:3). Those who collect money for foreign missions also perform a work of mercy. To counsel the doubtful is another of the spiritual works of mercy; but the counsel given must previously be maturely considered, and not forced upon one’s neighbor. Joseph gave good advice to Pharaoh; Christ to the rich youth; Gamaliel to the council.
We ought to admonish the sinner, provided we can do so without prejudice to ourselves, and provided a good result may be anticipated.
He would indeed be cruel, who seeing a blind man on the brink of a precipice, did not warn him of his danger; and yet more blameworthy would be he who, having it in his power to save his brother from everlasting death, will not take the trouble to rescue him. God will require us to give an account for the soul of our neighbor, if we omit anything we might have done to further the work of his salvation. “We call a man’s attention,” says St. John Chrysostom, “to a stain upon his clothes, but we do not tell him of stains upon his soul; which, if not washed away, will be his eternal ruin.” Jonah preached penance to the Ninivites. The good thief admonished his fellow culprit. Admonition is like salt; it makes the wound smart more, but it heals it. Thus reproof is not agreeable but useful. If by administering a rebuke we shall bring trouble on ourselves, we are not obliged to give it; no one is required to love his neighbor more than himself. (It is however the bounden duty of those who are in authority to admonish those under them of their faults; justice, not charity, requires it.) Nor are we called upon to correct others if no good will come of it. Who would be so unwise as to rebuke a man who was intoxicated? Rebuke him by all means, but wait until he is sober.
In admonishing sinners we should observe the rule Christ gave us.
First we are told to rebuke our brother when we are alone with him. If he will not hear us, we must rebuke him in the presence of two or three witnesses. If that is useless, we are to tell his superiors (Matt. 18:15–17).
We must admonish our neighbor with gentleness and charity.238
The greater the gentleness and tact wherewith a reprimand is administered, the more effect it produces. If our admonition is to be of use, it must fall on the heart like a gentle rain upon the earth; for it is the still, quiet rain that sinks into and fertilizes the soil, whereas a violent, sudden downpour only breaks up the surface of the ground and rushes away. The bitterness of the reproof should be tempered with kindness and charity, as sour fruit is sweetened with sugar and cooked to render it digestible. Before rebuking any one, it is well to mention something praiseworthy in his conduct, and afterwards to speak a word of encouragement. If the rebuke is harsh and severe, it will do no good, only harm. Rough reproaches will not bring a man to a better mind, any more than kicks will put a wanderer in the right road. They will only drive him in the opposite direction. The sinner will not resolve to amend his ways unless he feels that the admonisher has his welfare sincerely at heart. The Christian must treat his erring brother as the coachman treats a timid horse, which is not to be managed by the violent use of the whip, but by a gentle hand on the rein.
“He who causeth a sinner to be converted from the error of his ways shall save his soul from death, and cover a multitude of sins” (Jas. 5:20).
We are told that the Evangelist St. John took the greatest trouble to save an unhappy youth whom he had converted, and who afterwards became a highwayman. He went after him to the mountain fastnesses, and called to him: “Why, my son, do you fly from your father, from a defenseless old man? Fear not; I will myself implore pardon for you of God, and make satisfaction for you.” These kind words touched the heart of the prodigal. We cannot offend Christ more deeply than by robbing Him of the souls He has redeemed; nor can we honor Him more than by bringing back to Him those which have gone astray. There is nothing upon earth to compare with the value of a soul. “If thou wert to give vast sums to the poor,” says St. John Chrysostom, “the merit would be nothing in comparison with that of having converted one sinner.” He who converts a sinner deserves an infinitely greater reward than he who rescues a king’s son from death; for he saves a son of the King of heaven, and saves him not from temporal, but from eternal death.
When we bear wrongs patiently, we benefit not ourselves only, but also our fellow-man; we prevent him from going to greater lengths, and make it easier to bring him to a sense of his wrongdoing.
David bore Semei’s abuse patiently, and after a time he acknowledged his sin and implored the king to pardon him. We lose nothing if we suffer wrong patiently, for when our innocence is proved, our forbearance will be richly rewarded. It is also most meritorious, as St. Teresa says, not to justify one’s self when one is blamed. Unhappily too many people are like the hedgehog, which rolls itself into a prickly ball the moment it is touched, for at the first fault-finding word they break out into excuses and exculpations. However it is incumbent upon us to protect ourselves from false accusations, when to bear the injustice in silence would be productive rather of evil than of good. Slight affronts should not be heeded, but one ought not to allow a heinous crime to be falsely laid to one’s charge.
By forgiving offences willingly is meant that we do not seek to avenge ourselves on those who offend against us, but treat them kindly, and are ready to confer upon them any benefit within our power.239
Joseph’s conduct towards his brethren affords a beautiful example of this virtue; instead of revenging himself on them, he embraced them and kissed them and loaded them with gifts. If we willingly forgive those who trespass against us, God will forgive our transgressions, as we are told in the fifth clause of the Our Father.
We can comfort the afflicted by showing them heartfelt sympathy, by suggesting grounds of consolation, or by succoring them in need.
Evincing sympathy towards those in trouble is called condoling with them. We may suggest comfort to the poor and afflicted by reminding them of the watchful care of God’s providence, of the happiness that awaits them in heaven; to the sinner we may speak of the divine mercy and compassion. We shall do still better, if we relieve them in their distress. Thus Our Lord comforted the widow of Naim, and the sisters of Lazarus. Grief is a mental malady: “The sadness of a man consumeth the heart” (Prov. 25:20). To console the sorrowing is as much a good work as to nurse the sick. Words of comfort in a time of affliction are as welcome as rain in the time of drought.
To pray for the living and the dead is a work well pleasing in God’s sight. It benefits at the same time both them and us. God enjoins upon us especially to pray for our parents and benefactors, for the Pope, and the ruler of our country, for the bishops and clergy, and also finally for our enemies.240
St. Paul declares that it is good and acceptable in the sight of God, that prayers be made for all men, for kings particularly, and those that are in high stations (1 Tim. 2:2–3). Furthermore we read in Holy Scripture: “It is a holy and a wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from their sins” (2 Macc. 12:46). Far from being losers, we are greatly the gainers if we offer prayer to God for others, for we thereby increase our merit, and draw down upon ourselves the blessing of God. Before Judas Maccabeus gained the decisive victory over Nicanor, he caused sacrifices to be offered for the warriors who should fall in battle. Prayers offered for others sometimes seem to be fruitless. On one occasion when St. Gertrude complained that no improvement was discernible in the persons for whom she prayed, Our Lord said to her: “No sincere prayers are in vain, although the effect they produce may be imperceptible to the eye of man.” Abraham interceded for Sodom, Moses for the people, the Christians for St. Peter when he was in prison. At the Last Supper Our Lord prayed for His disciples and for the whole Church, and on the cross He prayed for His enemies. Let us follow the example He gave us. When we recite the Our Father we pray for all men; we say, “Give us our daily bread, etc.”
4. IN WHAT SPIRIT SHOULD THE
WORKS OF MERCY BE PERFORMED?
1. We ought not to do good to our neighbor in order to be seen and praised by men, for in that case we have our reward on earth (Matt. 6:1).241
Nor should we do good to our neighbor in the hope that he will requite our kindness (Luke 14:12).
Our Lord says: “When thou dost give alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right doth” (Matt. vi. 3). The saints, as a rule, gave alms secretly. St. Nicholas threw money to the poor out of his window at night; others performed works of mercy under cover of the darkness. The less reward we get on earth for our good works, the greater will be our recompense after death. Hence, as Christ exhorts us, we should do good by preference to those who cannot repay us: the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind (Luke 14:13). Nor must we expect to be thanked. God is repaid with ingratitude and so are the charitable among men. Yet we ought not on this account to desist from doing good, for it is in showing kindness to the unthankful that true charity consists.
2. We must do good to our neighbor for Christ’s sake.242
Christ lives in His people. This we learn from His own words at the Day of Judgment. Thus we must see God in our neighbor. St. Magdalene of Pazzi placed works of mercy before prayer: “When I engage in mental prayer,” she said, “God assists me; but when I do good to my neighbor, I assist God, for He regards what I do to my neighbor as done to Him.”
3. We should do good to our neighbor promptly and pleasantly.
We ought not to postpone giving alms until the morrow, if we can do it at once (Prov. 3:28). What is given promptly has a double value. He that showeth mercy, let him do it with cheerfulness (Rom. 12:8). God loveth a cheerful giver (2 Cor. 9:7). We ought not to upbraid the poor (Sir. 18:18). Those who are harsh to the poor are like a surgeon who in healing one wound makes another. We ought not to question the poor at too great length; we should rather give of our own accord, without waiting to be asked. Nor ought we to hold ourselves aloof from the poor. If almighty God permits us to proffer our petitions to Him at all times, and is always ready to grant them, surely we who are but dust and ashes, ought not to do less for our brethren. The Emperor Rudolph of Hapsburg used to say: “Everyone can have access to my presence. I was not chosen emperor that I might live in seclusion.”
4. We are only required to give alms of our superfluity.
In no wise are we bound to deprive ourselves of what is necessary for our subsistence or to keep up our position. Theologians are of opinion that it is sufficient to give a small percentage of one’s yearly savings.
5. We must only give alms out of what is our own, and only give to those who are really poor or who are unable to work.
Some people think they will give alms at another’s expense; they take from one what they give to another. Such almsgiving, which is an act of injustice, is abhorrent to God. Therefore let a man who is in debt pay his creditors, instead of giving alms to the poor. Justice comes before generosity. “How manifestly unjust it would be to take the coat off one man’s back to give it to another; it is no less unjust to give in alms money which thou owest to another” (St. John Chrysostom). As well might a thief, when brought to trial, offer the judge a part of the stolen property; he would only insure his conviction. “And canst thou hope to gain the favor of God by giving alms of what is not thy own?” (St. Augustine.) To give to those who are known to be idle and addicted to drink, is to encourage them in sin; but it is better to err on the side of charity than of severity. When the Master of the house is so liberal, it ill becomes His steward to be stingy. As all shipwrecked sailors without distinction are received in a port, so we should not sit in judgment upon those who have fallen into poverty, but hasten to help them in their misfortune.
St. Paul exhorts us: “Let us do good to all men, but especially to those who are of the household of the faith” (Gal. 6:10). For what we give to the poor we give to God, as we know from Christ’s own words. The money bestowed in alms is lent to the Lord and He will repay it with high interest.
5. OF WHAT BENEFIT ARE THE
WORKS OF MERCY TO US?
1. Almsgiving obtains for us the remission of our sins; that is to say the sinner obtains the grace of repentance, while the just man receives the pardon of venial sin, and the remission of the temporal penalty.243
Our Lord therefore says: “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy” (Matt. 5:7). “Water quencheth a flaming fire and alms resisteth sins” (Sir. 3:33). St. Ambrose exhorts the sinner to employ his money to ransom his soul. Daniel gives similar counsel to King Nebuchadnezzar (Dan. 4:24). By almsgiving the sinner obtains actual graces, which gradually bring about his conversion, or sometimes he obtains extraordinary graces. Cornelius, a heathen centurion at Cæsarea, was the recipient of great graces as the reward of his prayers and alms; an angel was sent to him, and he was converted by the preaching of St. Peter. “A merciful man doeth good to his own soul” (Prov. 11:17); almsgiving is a means whereby we may escape eternal perdition. The archangel Raphael expressly told Tobias: “Alms deliver from all sin, and from death, and will not suffer the soul to go into darkness” (Tob. 4:11). “He who has made the poor man happy,” says St. John Chrysostom, “will not himself suffer misery.” God will not allow a man who has shown mercy to be lost; He will grant him the graces necessary for his conversion. St. Jerome declares that he has never known one who in his lifetime was liberal to the poor, to make a bad end; for the charitable have many to intercede for them. The just man obtains the remission of what is due to his sins by almsgiving; for St. Thomas Aquinas says the satisfaction made by alms is greater than that which is effected by prayer and fasting.
It is related of the German Emperor Louis II that he lost his way in a forest when hunting one day. Late at night he reached a village presbytery, and begged the priest to give him a night’s lodging. The priest entertained the stranger most hospitably; the next day the latter took leave, after thanking his host. Some weeks later a messenger presented himself at the priest’s humble dwelling, and handed him a letter stamped with the imperial seal; it announced his nomination to the see of Münster. In like manner your heavenly King will reward your alms hereafter in a manner which you little anticipate. Alms are like seed cast into the ground; they are not lost, but yield an abundant harvest. The ant lays up a store for the winter; by giving alms we lay up treasures for the life to come. Thus we exchange what is temporal for what is eternal; we purchase everlasting possessions with our earthly pelf. Success in trade consists in buying cheap and selling dear; we too are engaged in commerce, and for a mere trifle, a piece of bread, even a cup of cold water, we purchase for ourselves heaven. When the new continent was discovered, the aborigines exchanged silver and gold for things of no value to the Europeans who landed on their shores. So we obtain the good things of God in return for the worthless goods of earth. “Give, then, to the poor that which thou canst not keep, in order to obtain that which thou canst not lose” (St. Augustine). Even in this life almsgiving produces a feeling of happiness. A youth was one day walking through a wood with his tutor, when he saw a pair of boots which a woodcutter at work at a little distance had taken off. The boy wanted to hide them, but his tutor suggested that rather than do that, he should put a piece of money in each. When the poor man went back to get his boots, he found the coins, and falling on his knees, thanked God and invoked blessings on the unknown benefactor who had helped him in dire distress. The money was the exact sum he needed to pay his rent. The boy, who had watched what occurred, turned to his tutor and exclaimed: “I never felt so happy in all my life.” Truly a blessing attends works of mercy.
3. Almsgiving brings down upon us temporal blessings: God increases our means and gives us bodily health.244
“He that is inclined to mercy, shall be blessed” (Prov. 22:9). “The blessing of the Lord maketh men rich” (Prov. 10:22). God declares that he that giveth to the poor shall not want (Prov. 28:27). Our Lord says: “Give, and it shall be given to you” (Luke 6:38). The widow of Sarephta gave generously to Elijah. For this she got back far more than she gave to the prophet, for her little store of meal and of oil was not diminished until the time of scarcity was over (1 Kings 17:14). A nobleman of Granada, who had bestowed a large alms on St. John of God, went to him the same day disguised as a mendicant, and asked for money. The saint gave him all that he had received from him a few hours before. Thereupon the nobleman restored ten times the amount, and was his greatest benefactor during the rest of his life. God acts in a similar way; if we give to the poor even a portion of what He has bestowed on us, we shall receive it again with interest. A tree grows all the better for being pruned; so the rich will increase in goods if they part with some of their wealth, in acts of charity. St. Paula gave a great deal to the poor, though she was the mother of five children; when her relatives remonstrated with her, she said: “The best inheritance I can bequeath to my children is the blessing of heaven, which almsgiving draws down on us.” God gives bodily health to those who are bountiful to the poor. The archangel Raphael was sent to heal Tobias because he had performed so many works of mercy (Tob. 12:14). Tabitha was raised from the dead by St. Peter because of the good works and almsdeeds which she did (Acts 9:36, seq.). David exclaims: “Blessed is he that understandeth concerning the needy and the poor; the Lord will deliver him in the evil day” (Ps. 40[41]:1). Throughout the Scriptures we constantly find instances of blessings being the reward of almsgiving.
4. Almsgiving is a means of obtaining a speedy answer to prayer.
The angel said to Cornelius: “Thy prayers and thy alms are ascended for a memorial in the sight of God” (Acts 10:4). Listen to the voice of the poor, if you would have God listen to your voice. By nothing do we gain access to God so readily as by showing mercy. Alms, like fasting, is one of the wings on which prayer soars to heaven.
The ancients of the Jews besought Our Lord on behalf of the centurion at Capernaum who had built them a synagogue; and immediately He complied with their request (Luke 7:3–5). The poor of Joppe prayed for Tabitha; she was restored to life (Acts 9:39). God Himself declares that the prayer of the poor is always heard (Ps. 21[22]25; 68[69]:34). The petitions of those who are in heaven are, however, more effectual. Thus Our Lord bids us: “Make unto you friends of the mammon of iniquity, that when you shall fail, they may receive you into everlasting dwellings” (Luke 16:9). Therefore never refuse an alms to the poor.
Our Lord says: “It is better to give than to receive.” And why? Because the one who receives is bound to give thanks, whereas the giver has a right to a reward.
1. For every act of mercy done to us, we are bound to render thanks first to God and then to our benefactor; for God requires of us that we should be grateful for the benefits we receive.245
It is our duty to be grateful; i.e., to show our sense of the benefit conferred upon us, and to endeavor to repay our benefactor. Gratitude is due to almighty God in the first place, because from Him comes down every best gift and every perfect gift (Jas. 1:17). Men are His servants, the instruments He employs; therefore we owe thanks to them in the second place. Whenever Our Lord received a favor from His heavenly Father He raised His eyes to heaven, and said: “Father, I thank Thee.” This He did at the raising of Lazarus (John 11:41). He never rose from table without giving thanks; after the Last Supper a hymn was said. All the saints did the same. David exclaims: “What shall I render to the Lord for all the things that He hath rendered unto me?” (Ps. 115[116]:12). The first words Tobias uttered when he was cured of his blindness were these: “I bless Thee, O Lord God of Israel, because Thou hast chastised me and Thou hast saved me” (Tob. 11:17). Noah’s first act when he came out of the ark was to build an altar to the Lord and offer sacrifice (Gen. 8). Columbus, when he beheld the continent of America, gave thanks to God; and in gratitude to Him he gave the name of San Salvador to the first island on which he set foot, and erected a cross on its shores. Accustom yourself to repeat the words Deo gratias or the Gloria Patri whenever any benefit is conferred on you. It is also incumbent on you to return thanks to your human benefactors as well as to God. David wished to take with him to Jerusalem and entertain at his court the wealthy old man who provided him with sustenance in the camp during the period of Absalom’s rebellion. And on Berzellai declining the honor, on account of his advanced age, the king took his sons with him instead, and showed them every kindness; and on his death-bed he bade Solomon to be mindful of his obligations to their father, and let them eat at his table (1 Kings 2:7). Tobias wished St. Raphael to accept half of all the things they had brought back from their journey (Tob. 12:5). Even brute beasts show gratitude: witness the well-known story of Androcles and the lion. It is the will of God that we should in all things give thanks (1 Thess. 5:18). Our Lord was much displeased with the nine lepers because they did not turn back to thank him (Luke 17:17). Almighty God frequently complains by the mouth of the prophets of the ingratitude of mankind: “The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master’s crib; but Israel hath not known Me” (Is. 1:3). St. Paul repeatedly exhorts the Christians to give thanks (Eph. 5:20; Col. 3:15).
2. By our gratitude we obtain fresh favors, whereas ingratitude brings misfortunes upon us.
The husbandman scatters fresh seed in the fertile soil, knowing that it will yield an abundant harvest. God acts in a similar manner: nothing pleases Him more than thankfulness for His benefits. Gratitude for past favors prepares us for favors to come. God notices and takes especial care of those who acknowledge and appreciate His gifts (Ps. 49[50]:23). Ingratitude, on the other hand, dams up the stream of divine grace; he deserves no fresh favors who is not at the pains to return thanks for those he has received already. Ingratitude is a hindrance to salvation; St. Bernard expresses the opinion that nothing is so displeasing to God as unthankfulness, especially on the part of His own favored children. He that rendereth evil for good, evil shall not depart from his house (Prov. 17:13). Judas had received the greatest kindness from Our Lord, yet he betrayed Him, and how terrible was his end! The grateful soul is a friend of God; whereas the devil takes possession of the thankless.
Ingratitude is a mark of ill-breeding and a bad disposition.246
It is vain to look for gratitude from the world; its votaries take as their right the benefits conferred on them; they repay them with ingratitude, nay, more, they return evil for good. How thankless was Achitophel, who after sitting at King David’s table, and basking in the royal favor, joined in Absalom’s revolt! Of this David complained bitterly (Ps. 54[55]:13 seq.). Those who are ungrateful to their fellow-men are yet more so towards God. “He who loveth not his brother whom he seeth, how can he love God Whom he seeth not?” (1 John 4:20.) However trifling the gift may be, show yourself thankful for it.
XIII. THE POVERTY OF THE CHRISTIAN
God does not distribute talents to all alike; to one He gives five, to another two, to a third only one (Matt. 25). It is in wisdom that He thus acts; for if the same were given to all, every one could stand alone, and there would be no need of mutual good offices. What opportunity would there be for the exercise of brotherly love, what occasions of merit?247
1. Poverty is no disgrace in God’s sight; to be poor in virtue and in good works is the only thing of which one need be ashamed, for it leads to eternal damnation.248
In the eyes of eternal Truth poverty is not the slightest shame (Lev. 13). Our Lord Himself being rich, became poor (2 Cor. 8:9). He Who was the King of heaven and of earth passed His life in constant privations; He had not where to lay His head (Luke 9:58). What could exceed the poverty of His birthplace! A man may be poor in this world’s goods and exceedingly rich before God; and on the other hand, a man may be rich in earthly possessions and utterly destitute before God (Luke 12:21). “The fear of God is the glory of the rich” (Sir. 10:25). Virtues, not earthly treasures, constitute true riches. “He,” says St. Augustine, “is not rich who possesses chests full of silver and gold, but he in whom God dwells, who is the temple of the Holy Spirit.”
2. The poor save their souls more easily than the rich.249
Our Lord declares that it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven (Matt. 19:24). Wealth affords its possessor the means of gratifying every inordinate desire. It is otherwise with the poor; they have not this occasion of sin. Just as a traveler goes on his way more easily if he is not encumbered with baggage, so the poor man is less impeded on his journey to the goal whither he is bound. The pugilist overthrows his opponent with greater facility when he is stripped to the waist; so the poor man is better prepared to resist the temptations of the devil. Consequently many of the poor will have a higher place in the kingdom of heaven than their richer brethren. Christ says: “Many that are first shall be last, and the last first” (Mark 10:31). Lazarus after his death was carried to Abraham’s bosom, while Dives was buried in hell.
3. God often sends poverty upon a man for his salvation.
Many, if they were rich, would misuse their wealth, lead a vicious life, and be eternally lost. This God foresees, and therefore He takes their earthly possessions from them. “Poverty and riches are from God” (Sir. 11:14). St. Antoninus, Archbishop of Florence, saw angels descending and ascending around a certain house; on hearing that the inmates were a poor widow with three daughters, he made them a liberal allowance. Later on he saw evil spirits coming and going about that same house; he made inquiries and learned that the people he had assisted now led an idle and dissolute life. Thereupon he immediately withdrew his gift. God deals in like manner with us. What does the schoolmaster do if he sees one of his scholars playing with a toy instead of learning his lesson? Or a father, if he sees a knife in the hand of a very young child?
4. The poor are beloved by God.250
Those who are unhappy and forsaken in this world are especially dear to God. Christ calls the poor blessed (Matt. 5:3). He invites all that labor and are burdened to come to Him, that He may refresh them (Matt. 11:28); the oppressed and persecuted are the objects of His peculiar favor (Matt. 5:10). These truths ought to serve as an encouragement to the poor, and repress the pride of the opulent and powerful. To the poor first of all the Gospel is preached (Matt. 11:5). The offerings of the poor are more acceptable to God than those of the rich. Our Lord said the widow’s mite was of greater value than all the gifts that the rich cast into the treasury (Mark 12:41–43). God promises to hear the cry of the oppressed (Jas. 5:4). The poor shepherds were privileged to see the Infant Christ, not the rich Pharisees and Scribes. There is no respect of persons with God (Rom. 2:11). Poor and rich are alike His children (Prov. 22:2).
5. The poor man who leads an upright life will never be forsaken by God; nay, more, he will enjoy happiness and contentment in this world.251
God Who feeds the birds of the air, and clothes the lilies and grass of the field, will also provide for man, who is of so much more value than they (Matt. 5:25–30). God does not allow the just to want the necessaries of life. Our Lord says: “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His justice, [i.e., be solicitous for your salvation and keep the commandments] and all these things [i.e., the wherewithal to live] shall be added unto you” (Matt. 6:33). David says: “I have been young, and now am old, and I have not seen the just forsaken, nor his seed seeking bread” (Ps. 36[37]:25). When we read that by God’s permission, just men, such as Job, Tobias, Joseph, fell into destitution and distress, we also read that in God’s good time they were restored to ease and plenty. Virtue is generally attended by temporal blessings here below (Ps. 111[112]:2–3). A poor man may be very happy despite his poverty. Happiness by no means consists in the abundance of things that one possesses (Luke 12:15), but in interior peace and content, and these the just man enjoys, whether he be rich or poor. St. Paul speaks of himself as having nothing, and yet possessing all things (2 Cor. 6:10).
6. The poor are not warranted in wresting from the rich the alms which they have a right to expect; they should rather bear their lot patiently and rely on help from God.252
The duty of giving alms is not required by justice, except in cases of dire necessity. It is a duty of Christian charity, consequently no man can lawfully be compelled to give. The Fathers of the Church constantly exhorted the rich to give alms. “Thou art master of thy property, and canst give or not give at thy will,” St. Jerome said to the rich: “Distribute a portion of thy wealth. But if thou refusest, I cannot force thee. I can only entreat.” The poor can however demand that their labor be sufficiently remunerated. Doubly indeed is that poor man to be commiserated who forsakes God and transgresses His law; for in that case he has nothing in this life, and after death everlasting perdition awaits him.
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1 CCC 1950.
2 CCC 1954–1960, 2036.
3 For further explanation of Fr. Spirago’s thought, the reader is encouraged to consult CCC 1955–1956, with its inclusion of the thought of St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas.
4 CCC 1961–1974, 2196.
5 CCC 1960–1961.
6 CCC 1899–1900, 2041–2043, 2238–2240.
7 CCC 1903, 2242.
8 CCC 1706, 1777–1802.
9 CCC 1790.
10 CCC 1828.
11 CCC 2196, 2822.
12 CCC 1033, 1822–1829.
13 CCC 1997, 2011.
14 CCC 1033, 2026, 2028.
15 CCC 1, 41, 293, 356, 478, 901, 1706, 1822, 2055, 2083, 2093, 2196.
16 CCC 224, 901, 1033, 1473, 1823, 2067, 2637, 2842, 2090.
17 CCC 1824, 2090.
18 CCC 224, 1473, 2637.
19 CCC 1033, 1823, 2067, 2069, 2842.
20 CCC 2055, 2083, 2093, 2196.
21 CCC 1723, 1889, 2541, 2544–2550.
22 CCC 2197–2199.
23 Father Spirago expresses his private opinion here. The only reason given in divine revelation for Joseph being sold into slavery in Egypt—other than the jealousy of his brothers—was that, in God’s providence, Joseph would subsequently rise to a high position and be able to save his family from famine (Gen. 45:7–8).
24 CCC 2002.
25 CCC 2010, 2026–2028.
26 CCC 226, 546, 1972, 2095–2100, 2544–2547, 2705–2719.
27 CCC 1855. See also CCC 1033.
28 CCC 1889, 2534–2540, 2818–2820, 2822–2825. See also 1394–1395.
29 CCC 2850.
30 CCC 2094, 2148.
31 CCC 1006–1008.
32 CCC 356–357, 360–361, 369, 1929–1940, 2196.
33 CCC 1740, 1929–1940.
34 CCC 2196.
35 CCC 2443–2447.
36 CCC 678, 1039, 1965–1970.
37 CCC 2538–2543.
38 CCC 2052, 2069, 2072.
39 CCC 678, 1039.
40 CCC 2347.
41 CCC 787–791.
42 CCC 1825, 1933, 2303, 2662,
43 CCC 361, 1933–1934.
44 CCC 2608, 2662.
45 CCC 2302–2306.
46 CCC 2838, 2843.
47 CCC 356–358, 605, 2264, 2280.
48 CCC 1024, 1718–1724, 2548.
49 CCC 27, 2541.
50 CCC 2056–2059.
51 CCC 577, 2054–2055, 2064–2068, 2072–2074.
52 CCC 2069, 2083, 2196–2197, 2534.
53 CCC 1955, 2074.
54 CCC 1858, 2072–2073.
55 CCC 2074, 2082.
56 CCC 2084.
57 CCC 2096–2097, 2628.
58 CCC 2098.
59 CCC 2098–2100, 2105.
60 CCC 1147–1152, 1378, 1807, 2702–2703
61 CCC 1430, 2095–2097, 2559.
62 CCC 1437.
63 CCC 2112.
64 CCC 2113, 2534,
65 CCC 2111, 2115–2117.
66 CCC 2111, 2138.
67 See the discussion regarding sacramentals and the need to avoid superstition at CCC 2111.
68 CCC 2115–2116.
69 CCC 2116.
70 CCC 2117.
71 CCC 2098.
72 CCC 2125–2127.
73 CCC 828.
74 CCC 1173.
75 CCC 828, 957, 1474–1475, 2683–2684.
76 CCC 828, 955–957, 962, 1173, 1192, 1195, 1475, 2030, 2132, 2156, 2177, 2683–2684.
77 CCC 957, 970, 2011–2012, 2113–2114.
78 CCC 484–488, 494–511, 721–726, 744, 2677.
79 CCC 148–149, 273, 721, 971, 1195, 2675–2679.
80 CCC 488, 492, 495, 501, 506–511, 721, 726, 966–970, 975, 2674, 2679.
81 CCC 64, 144, 273, 488–495, 722, 726, 773, 829, 966–970, 1172.
82 CCC 726, 966–970, 2618.
83 CCC 971, 2618, 2675–2679, 2682.
84 CCC 966, 969, 1014, 1053, 2677.
85 CCC 2130–2132.
86 CCC 1159–1162, 1192, 2132.
87 See discussion at CCC 1670, 1674–1676.
88 CCC 617, 1235, 2157, 2669.
89 CCC 1161, 1192, 1674, 2132.
90 CCC 1159–1162, 2132.
91 CCC 2502–2503, 2669.
92 CCC 1674.
93 CCC 2300.
94 CCC 1003–1004, 2300.
95 CCC 1670, 1674.
96 CCC 2147, 2150–2155.
97 CCC 2154–2155.
98 CCC 2155, 2164.
99 CCC 2150–2153, 2163.
100 CCC 2101–2102.
101 CCC 930–933, 944–945, 2103.
102 CCC 2135.
103 CCC 2103.
104 CCC 2144.
105 CCC 430–435, 2157, 2807–2815.
106 CCC 1197–1199, 1584.
107 CCC 1359–1361, 2626–2628, 2637–2643.
108 CCC 2146, 2155.
109 CCC 2146–2147.
110 CCC 907, 2120.
111 When St. Paul wrote this, he referred not to a physical sanctuary but the members of the Church, the new and living Temple.
112 CCC 2118, 2120, 2146, 2148.
113 CCC 2121.
114 CCC 2168.
115 CCC 345, 347, 2169, 2171, 2184.
116 CCC 348, 2170–2172.
117 CCC 1166–1167, 2174–2178, 2191.
118 CCC 1167, 2177, 2180–2188, 2192–2195, 2447.
119 CCC 2180–2187, 2193–2195, 2289.
120 On this point, Father Spirago appears to advance a pious, pastoral opinion. Please see CCC 2186–2187.
121 CCC 2187–2188, 2194.
122 CCC 531, 533, 2427.
123 CCC 378,
124 CCC 2427.
125 CCC 2428–2429.
126 CCC 308, 378, 2834.
127 CCC 901, 2427–2428.
128 2184–2185.
129 The precepts of the Church are discussed in CCC 2042–2043, where they are not delineated as “amplifications of the Third Commandment,” but under the heading “The Church, Mother and Teacher.” Currently, only five precepts are enjoined by the Church (the sixth being removed). For the exact wording and current requirements of the precepts, please consult the aforementioned paragraphs.
130 CCC 2037. See also 862.
131 CCC 1389, 2042, 2180.
132 January 1 is now celebrated as the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God. In some dioceses, the Solemnity of the Ascension is transferred from Thursday to Sunday.
133 January 1 is a holy day of obligation, the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God.
134 CCC 2185–2187, 2193.
135 CCC 1168, 1171, 1194.
136 CCC 524–529, 1096.
137 CCC 540, 1096, 1438, 1168–1169.
138 CCC 2043.
139 CCC 1438. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, no longer require the faithful to abstain from meat on all Fridays of the year. Friday, however, remains “a day of self-denial and mortification in prayerful remembrance of the passion of Jesus Christ.” The faithful are strongly encouraged to maintain the traditional discipline of abstaining from meat but may substitute other penitential practices or works of mercy; Pastoral Statement on Penance and Abstinence (1966), https://www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/liturgical-year-and-calendar/lent/us-bishops-pastoral-statement-on-penance-and-abstinence.
140 The current norms for fasting and abstinence in the Latin Catholic Church require fasting and abstinence on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday as well as abstinence on the Fridays of Lent. (If possible, the faithful are asked to continue the Good Friday fast until the Easter Vigil.) “Abstinence” means abstaining from meat, and applies to those age fourteen and up. “Fasting” here means that a person restricts himself or herself to one full meal and two smaller meals (that together do not equal a full meal), and is applicable to those between the ages eighteen and fifty-nine. During the other days of Lenten season, the Church recommends self-imposed fasting, increased prayer—especially participation in the Eucharist—and almsgiving; https://www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/liturgical-year-and-calendar/lent/catholic-information-on-lenten-fast-and-abstinence.
141 Ember days continue to be celebrated in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite and the Anglican Ordinariate, but they no longer appear in the General Calendar. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops removed the obligation to fast and abstain during Ember Days. The faithful, however, are encouraged to “freely bind themselves, for their own motives and in their own spirit of piety, to prepare for each Church festival by a day of particular self-denial, penitential prayer and fasting”; Pastoral Statement on Penance and Abstinence (1966), https://www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/liturgical-year-and-calendar/lent/us-bishops-pastoral-statement-on-penance-and-abstinence.
142 As with Ember Days, the faithful are encouraged to freely bind themselves to a day of self-denial, penitential prayer, and fasting.
143 Current norms dispense those under age eighteen or over age fifty-nine.
144 CCC 1434, 1438.
145 CCC 1430–1431.
146 CCC 1457, 2042. The precept to confess sins once a year, while recommended to all, is technically only incumbent upon those guilty of mortal sin.
147 The extension to Trinity Sunday is the norm in the United States.
148 The Church does not deny funerals to those who have struggled with sin, as this is true for all Christians. Current canon law states, “Unless they gave some signs of repentance before death, the following must be deprived of ecclesiastical funerals: … manifest sinners who cannot be granted ecclesiastical funerals without public scandal of the faithful. If any doubt occurs, the local ordinary is to be consulted, and his judgment must be followed” (Canon 1184); https://www.vatican.va/archive/cod-iuris-canonici/eng/documents/cic_lib4-cann1166-1190_en.html.
149 CCC 2043.
150 CCC 1635 states that, for a Catholic to marry a baptized non-Catholic, the Catholic must receive express permission of ecclesiastical authority. For a Catholic to marry a non-baptized person (disparity of cult), the Catholic must receive an express dispensation. For a more extensive discussion of this issue, see CCC 1633–1637.
151 CCC 2197–2200. See also CCC 1897.
152 CCC 2197, 2214.
153 CCC 531–532.
154 CCC 2214–2220.
155 CCC 2218.
156 CCC 2216–2217.
157 CCC 1897, 2199, 2234, 2238–2243.
158 CCC 2214–2218.
159 CCC 2200.
160 CCC 2200, 2304.
161 CCC 1897–1904, 2032–2037, 2245–2246.
162 CCC 882–883, 891–892, 1897–1904, 2238.
163 CCC 882–883, 891–892, 1899–1901, 2238.
164 The Church recognizes that those born into Christian communities not in full communion with Rome cannot be charged “with the sin of separation,” and are to be accepted by Catholics as “brothers in the Lord” (CCC 818). The communion that the Catholic shares with the Orthodox Churches, although imperfect, is in fact “so profound” that it “lacks little” to attain the unity necessary for a common celebration of the Eucharist (CCC 838).
165 CCC 2238–2243, 2310.
166 CCC 1915, 2240
167 CCC 2235–2237. See also CCC 1902–1904.
168 CCC 1935, 1938,
169 CCC 2525–2527.
170 CCC 2258, 2261.
171 CCC 364.
172 CCC 1004, 2288–2291.
173 2289. See also CCC 2113.
174 CCC 2290–2291.
175 CCC 2280–2283.
176 CCC 1808, 2473.
177 CCC 2261–2262, 2268–2279.
178 CCC 2262.
179 CCC 2269. See also 1737.
180 CCC 2268. The sin of abortion is discussed in CCC 2270–2275, and euthanasia in CCC 2276–2279.
181 CCC 2284–2287.
182 CCC 2263–2265.
183 In regards to the prudential implementation of the death penalty, see CCC 2267. For a nation’s right to self-defense, see CCC 2307–2317.
184 CCC 1459, 2412, 2487.
185 CCC 2302–2306, 2840.
186 CCC 2415–2418, 2457.
187 CCC 2331–2400.
188 CCC 2351, 2520–2522.
189 CCC 2352–2359, 2380–2381, 2384–2391.
190 CCC 2520–2521.
191 CCC 2354, 2523.
192 CCC 2522–2524.
193 CCC 2380–2381, 2384–2390.
194 CCC 2401–2463.
195 CCC 2402–2406.
196 CCC 2408–2412.
197 CCC 2421–2436.
198 CCC 2408–2414. See also CCC 1867.
199 CCC 2269.
200 CCC 2411.
201 CCC 1459, 2412, 2487.
202 CCC 2412.
203 CCC 1450, 1459–1460. Penance, or satisfaction, is one of the integral elements of the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
204 CCC 2464–2499.
205 CCC 2469.
206 CCC 2475–2487.
207 CCC 2477–2478.
208 CCC 2477, 2479.
209 CCC 1753, 2477, 2479
210 CCC 1459, 2487.
211 CCC 2487, 2509. Penance, or satisfaction, is one of the integral elements of the Sacrament of Reconciliation (CCC 1450, 1459–1460).
212 CCC 2480–2486, 2504–2509.
213 CCC 2482–2486.
214 CCC 2505.
215 CCC 2480.
216 CCC 2482.
217 “Deliberate and unrepented venial sin disposes us little by little to commit mortal sin” (CCC 1863).
218 CCC 1756.
219 CCC 2488–2492.
220 CCC 2465–2470.
221 CCC 2514–2533.
222 CCC 2534–2557.
223 CCC 2424–2425.
224 CCC 2421.
225 CCC 2424–2425, 2428–2436, 2461.
226 CCC 2407–2412, 2453–2454.
227 CCC 2447, 2462.
228 CCC 2402–2406, 2452, 2456, 2459.
229 CCC 2443–2446, 2449, 2544–2547. See also CCC 1939–1942.
230 CCC 2445–2446.
231 CCC 2443–2446.
232 CCC 2447.
233 CCC 2447 encapsulates these in six corporal works of mercy: (1) feeding the hungry, (2) sheltering the homeless, (3) clothing the naked, (4) visiting the sick and imprisoned, (5) burying the dead, (6) giving alms to the poor.
234 CCC 1503.
235 CCC 2300.
236 CCC 1039, 2447–2448.
237 CCC 2447, while not seeking to be exhaustive, encapsulates the spiritual works of mercy as: (1) instructing, (2) advising, (3) consoling, (4) comforting, (5) forgiving, (6) bearing wrongs patiently.
238 CCC 1783–1785, 1829.
239 CCC 1968, 2840, 2842.
240 CCC 958, 1032.
241 CCC 1966, 1968–1969.
242 CCC 1039, 2407, 2443, 2449, 2463, 2541.
243 CCC 1434, 2443, 2447.
244 CCC 2010.
245 CCC 224, 2637–2638.
246 CCC 2094.
247 CCC 1936–1937.
248 CCC 2544–2547.
249 CCC 716, 2544, 2547.
250 CCC 544
251 CCC 2122.
252 CCC 2833.