The morning star and Catholic messenger., 1878-04-07

IAnly, or WHICH btAOOS "a A1o w
the State, were
sTRANGLRD OR PUT TO DEATH
in one way or another; the aged, the infrr1,
the helpless, wero cast upon some island or
some out-of-the-w way place, where they PeIi.h-
ed under their burdens. 1t would be well for
modern admirers of Pagan civilization to re-
cali these fuots to their own minds and to the
minds of others On this point, Christianity
aud the Catholic Church, in which alone
Christ1snisy is preserved in an It's PURITY, nave
but have made 1t soar 80 high that neither The
tongue nor the pen can Jollor IL.
The precepts of charity laid down by our
beloved Redeeroer were received with holy
transport, and His example initiated With in
comparable fidelity. From the very begin
ming, not only were the rich most earnestly
exhosted to give ont OF their abundance. md but
their hands were likewise exhcrted to make
every effort to possess the mesns wherewith
to help the weak, aud obtain the blessings re-
their goods than receive the goods Of others.
(Aets xx, 35 It would be . long and useless
task to rehearss the history that has been told
over o, and over over, again to iiiostrats how from
careful to better the condition of the unfortu-
nate moreover, this history has been written
in oIr own day, and there Is NO one who does
not know 1t. A distiD gnished modern apollo
gist does not hesitate TO assert that whoever
wanted to write the history of charity, would
be, in O manner, obliged to write the history
OF the Church.
She was not content with establishing asy-
lums, bospitals, retreats, but she did inoom
parably more: she caused tho
DIVINE VIRTUE OF eAcRIFIcE
to penetrate into the souis OF her children to
this most noble aim tend all her exhortstions,
her splendid worship, and especially the Macs
she calls upon Us to hear, and the Eucbaristic
Table to which we axe all invited. Before we
ever heard of the crumbs that fall from the
rich man's table to allow some Lazarus. cover
% n hro hnrr rsrvtk
perhaps, by great effort, it is true, have ar
rived at that degree Of bountifulness. either
by natural goodness of heart, or by the soft.
eEing of Manners or again through the medium
of onr civil laws; but no one could ever have
put into practice what has been accomplished
under the discipline of the Holy Catholic
Church, namely, the sacrifice of self, of liberty,
pleasure, riches, health, ard not unfrequently
of lie itself, for tho needs and corsoletiops OF
all unfortu ates. This is what Christianity
inspires. This is what is never seen outside of
the Catholic Church.
There is not corner of the world, net a
country ever so small, in which there are not
tn be found persons who renonnce the pleas
urss and comforts of life, every thing that is
allurlng, to devote themselves oheerfully to
the painful mission of tending the sick, OF
rescuing the fatherless and forsaken, of visit
ing tie poor at their rooms, aud going even
into the dismal bsunts of those outcasts that
society has been obliged to ALLEVIATE from its
be som. Even in the days In which we live,
when faith is banished from hearts, when
Virtues are 1851 8lgGb OF Dy go many,
because of continued and violent contradic-
tions, when it would seem as if there were no
higher or more important object than to ac-
4ulre wealth and to spsnd in the pleasuree of
The SybAriee the riches acquired by not I'M
z Questionable means when, In q word, every
thing conspires TO destroy the love of sscrifce,
7ou need only, dearly beloved, cast your eyes
around yoo to convince yourselves that the
work OF charity is still going on with fervor
that grace is not diminished, that the vivify-
ing breath of God pervsdes all parts of the
Church, to awaken the power of sacrifice, and
that a pro6igeous energy is ready to alleviate
Rl manner of affections.
XIV.
All dearly beloved, when, after having ex-
smined, with an unspeakabie delight, this
splendid proof of the divinity of the Church
and of its bene6cent influence, We hear of the
warfare waged against her in the name of
civilization, We admit that it is impossible for
ns to rid ourselves of q profound sorrow, and
we cannot drive from us the sinister PRESENT.
rnents of the scourges that this impious and
mad contempt for the blessings we have re-
ceived must bring upon Us.
War against the Church, dearly beloved
But why and with what object is this contest 7
Is it to plunge men into the weariness of q
labor that is regarded as the great end of man,
adopted as an instrn rnment for raising hime elf
over the bowed heads and over the trampled
bodies of bis feffowsf War against the
Church Again, wherefore is this cortestf Is
II to give the people over into the hands of
doubtful and necessarily weak boanty, to tear
Iuem Irom Lne bosom OF the religion that
inspires and ircites the prodigies of divine
charityf Why is this contestf Is it to wipe
out the glorious history of Christian civilizs-
tIon ana revive civilization that has only
emitted splendor and light enough to reveal
more clearly the fostering corruptions of man's
hesrtf
Gat the Catholic Church, by the mouth of
her Head, has declared that there can be no
peace with the civilization Of our times.
(Syllabus: Prop. LXXX) T0is is the war cry
that is sent mp against from the enemy's
camp, aud the reason made use of to Justify
the struggle that has been inaugurHted.
WHAT Is MODERN CIVILIZATION
Bnt, dearly beloved, what is this modern
that the Church condemns, and
with which her august Head, the Infallible
Master of the faithful, declares that there can
be nothing in common' IL is not, most as
suredly, that civilization nnder which man
perfects himself in the three,fo fold relation we
have indicated; no, il is not that one, but it is
civilization that seeks to supplant Christianity
and with it to destroy every blessing that It
has brought upon us.
Ii those who so artfplly use the Svl[abus and