The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1868-04-26

Incredulity and Miracles.
The first act of worship which the Chris
tiun makes is an act of faith. The first word
that he utters in spiritual life is the WORD
CREDo-I believe. On the other hand, the
first step to infidelity is increduHty-the
pride of reason, the arrogant rejection OF
whatever is above reason will not be-
lieve.
Faith is always based on the right use OF
reason. Credulity and incredulity are both
equally the abuse of that faculty. They are
the two extremes of pride and abasement,
of assumed strength and actual feebleness,
which generally meet in the same person.
Faith and incredulity are neither of them
purely intellectual; they each presuppose
q condition of the villa willingness or an
unwillingness to believe ON evidence ap-
proved by reason. Faith is willing to ac-
cept whatever is proved, even though not
comprehended Incredulity rejects, with
offended pride, whatever it's reason does not
comprehend, no matter how well established
by evidence, even by the evidence of its
own senses.
Our readers may have observed a remark
able exemplifcation of this latter principle,
in the highly interesting article which we
have recently republished from the Atlantic
Monthly, entitled "Our Roman Catholic
Brethren, This article, emanating from
Protestant source, shows familiarity with
Catholic customs, and breathes spirit of
liberality and appreciation highly creditable,
alike to the industry and fairness of it's au-
thor. But when the same author comes
to make reference to the miraculous cure of
Mrs. Mattingly, at Washington, in the year
1924, after fairly stating the facts, and citing
the testimony, he adds:
But no amount or quality of testimony
could convince Protestant mind that Mrs.
Mattingly's tumor was cured miraculously,
and her linen miraculOusly cleansed. For
my part, if the President and Vice Presi-
dent, if the whole cabinet, both houses of
Congress, and the judges of the Supreme
Court, had all sworn that they saw this
thing done, and 1 myself had seen lt-nay,
if the tumor had been on my own body and
had seemed to myself to be suddenly
healed-still should think it more pr0ba-
BILE that all the witnesses, including myself,
were mistaken, than that such q miracle had
been performed.
This is candid, certainly, and stated with
great force Most of our readers are prob
ably astonished at this language, They
have really had no thought, no suspicion,
that Protestant incredulity could go to that
length. But here we have q most intelli-
gent Protestant thinker, a very excellent
and distinguished writer, who speaks not
only for himself, but for his co-religionists
in general. "No amount of testimony
could convince Protestant mind, J" etc.
Let it not be supposed, however, that in
credulity stultifies itself by fiat refusal to
believe, without some plausible excuse
The justification always is,- that the appa-
rent miracle is all mistake, Il delusion !;
that there was some natural cause for the
phenomenon, though not yet ascertained
How many occurrences, they will say, have
appeared miraculous until their history
has afterward come to light
This gratuitous superstition, however,
| cannot relieve them from the charge of be-
ing among those who having eyes will
not see.' 1t was upon Il similar assumption
that SO many thousands of eye-witnesses of
our Saviour's miracles refused to recognize
them as such. 1t is upon an assumed ground
of the same kind that incredulity now re-
fuses to accept the miracles of Christ as
anything more than wonderful manifesto
tions of skill, or legerdemain, or chance.
The same incredulity which insists against
no matter what testimony, that miracles are
impossible for this generation, does not be-
lieve Internationally that they ever We're
possible. 1t takes its acceptance of them at
second hand, and thereby throws the hu-
mility of their admission the first be-