The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1878-01-20
Msrning S+ar and Catholic Messenger.
1Nw O1LRANs, SUNDAY, JANUARY 20. res.

honor given to his own mother, and given her
himf And wherefore shalt our Divine Lord
b jealous OF the honor Givon TO hts mother
when that honor 10 given especially because
"But yon pray 80 lepg 10 tho Blessed Virgin
aud the Saints, and s,uetimes pray but for .
abort time to Almighty God. IL not tLis an
evidence that you are thinking more of these
s sssr;sf'' OF ''a than you n'' OF ''0 him.
It 10 not the length OF time that We spend
praying that determines the character Of the
prayer. One bending Of the knee In alteration,
which mpBt be offered to God alone, 10 . higher
aot of worship than II ones were q century
praying without alteration. IL the Catholic
performs acts Of worship that mislead the non
Catholic--long prayers or bowling before the
statues Of the Blessed Virgin, or swinging the
osnseIs before the statues of saints or angels
You must remember that the character Of th q
worship is to be- judged by the doctrine, not
the doctrine by the Worship. You must have
fret the key To what tho Catholic meAns by
these external expressions, either in action or
In word, before You understand, and certainly
before yoo condemn, this external action.
may bow tue knee without intending adors
tion. In the old Engiish Book of Com mon
Prayer, in the Protsstant marriage service. the
bridegroom uses the words, IL l remember
rightly With this ring thee wed, and with
said'to him, Do you really mean to adore this
creature Yon say you worship her. oh.
mo-" he will say. "You must first understand
what mean by worship. Words words.
It 10 the meaning attached to the word. aud tt
IL by that moaning I have to be judged.
honor her. 1t docs not mean here soch wor-
Rious sense OF the term, men adored, as the
torn implies, by placing the hand to the mouth
and then toward the s.atue-ad os, TO the
mouth so kissing hands was supreme adora'
tion. It 10 not now, OF course, supreme adora-
tion. The external act, thou, must DO inter-
preted by the internal intention. and the inter
nal intention by what 10 the t'aoaf"g Of tho
There 10 no Catholic who believes that it
would not be idolntry and blasphomy to offer
10 any being that supreme worship that 10 Cue
70 God alone; and hence he cannot have any
iutontion OF alteration in these otherwise in
different acts. He may indeed spend n long
time in asking the saints or the Blessed Virgin
30 pray for him, but he we'll knows IL 10 only
God that can bestow upon him what he wants:
aIa man that desires an oface from the Prssi-
dent knows that 1t Is only the President oAn
versAtion with s,me dear friend of the Presi-
don't. and you do not conolad from this that
no thinks this friend can do more for him than
ths President oan He 10 only interesting the
friend to 60 to the President to ask the favor
for him. so they ask the saints to pray for
them, as Catholics ask ono GHethor's prayers.
believe upon these subjects, yon will fud no
difficulty in understanding how rational that
faith Is. and how far from degrading:
Bot here" says another, "are insuimate
objects. These inanimate objects are houored
in she same manner and are even shid to per.
form miracles. Now, if ipaumate objects per.
form miracles, th6rD must he q divinity IN GhoD0
inanimate objects; therefore you defy the
object. You suppose that in that old bone of
9sAint, OF III that old oruoifix, there is power
20 pertorm miracles, and here is surely idolatry.
Here 10 certainly q derogation from tho honor
which should be given to Almighty God and
here IL IL worse IAN in the case of the Blessed
Virgin or the saints, because they are rational
and holy beings. bnt here is an inaninase, vile
object Of earth, to which you attribute the
power Of performing miracles"
Miracles arc perpetually performed, 1t ia said,
~ kAnn oh ia IN hnr. do ne -
great many stories, sometitnes very smusiug
oGes, are told OF the number and manner end
marvellous character of these miracles. Sap
pose. IS q relief to this long lecture, relate TO
Jon = few Of these pious stories, then proosod
70 illustrate the subject.
Once thers was = pious, oredulous people, and
hermitage, near the banks of lake, apart
from the world, with only ono lay brother.
One day this saint took u walk ny the banks
of the lake. He saw q woodman telling trees.
The hatchet of the poor man fell into tho lake,
and the saint, with q marvellous facility for
performing miracles by tho aid Of iuanimate
the hAtohet up, and gave 1t TO the woodn au,
who went on his way rejoicing. The sAint ro-
turned home; and Aftor ne had returned TO his
With the request that 10 uhsnid 20 ana TSiso
her child to life. Sho supposed thst 10 could
do anything that he pleased Tho saint was
fAtigued, probably, after his walk, aud didn't
wish to go, go he called to tho lay brother and
sSid, "Brotbor, take this waiNipg-Stiok OF
mine. and with it revive this poor woman's
child" Af,er while tho ssint died--fOr sal ats
viii die, too-and they buried him. In tho
open grave of the saiut another body was sub
sequeDtly placed. The asiHt, who was very
fond of solitude during bis life, rather rejoioed
in 1t after death, and dtdn't wand this In
the came grave with him. Therefore. with the
same facility for performing miracles, his In
animate body brought tho man TO life without
being restored TO life ITSELF aud sent him on
his way rejoicing.
Now, in the came country there lived another
ed by snSksS this saint, who wac not cruel
TO the snakes as "a certain lrsh saint who
polled them all, erected u large GROSS, somo
thing like the mission cross that you may
outside or inside of certain churches, aud tod
tbe people " hen they wero Gitten by tho snakes
that they shouid look at the cross, ana they
would DO Cured; ard it il said they were.
This saint had n box made, in which he placed
some relics. and told the people that they must
tAke great care of tho box, that it would
always prOtsct them, and whom tney went to
Aght they must bear it with them. Their enc
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