The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1894-12-22
:A(,REA T sc E E.
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judgment to Almighty God. who alone
knows. each individual soul and can alone
Judge Of it's merits or dement's.
when the question was proposed to
the great st. Thomas Aquinas, what
would become ct the soul OF an Indian
who only knew of the Great Spirit and
worshipped and obeyed Him according
to the best Of his knowledge and ability,
would such man, because unbaptized,
be excluded from heaven? the great
theologian, expressing the mind OF the
Catholic Chuach, replied that if baptism
was essential to the salvation Of such 8
man God would sooner send an angel to
bsptize him than allow him to be lost.
Has this doctrine the ring Of bigotry or
exclusion?
"Agaip. the Catholic Church teaches
that Protestants who are in good faith
and whose fault it is not that they are
not aggregated to the body Of the Cath
Ole Church may belong to what IS desig-
mated the soul Of the Church, and If
otherwise good men and women will not
be excluded from salvation. If, however,
they feel that the Church is true and
are prevented by human respect or any
worldly motive from joining it they cease,
of course, to be in good faith and, there
fore, are not in the way of salvation. AS
to the smart hit at invincible ignorance.
beg to say that it is quite capable OF
being misunderstood If we look to the
mere words invincible ignorance. The
theological 1neaning is a want OF knowl-
edge which is mculcaple and Involuntary,
and therefore IMPLIES neither SIN nor
stupidity.
"This is but one of the many misun-
derstandings of Catholic doctrine. What
We want, above all things, is a more
thorough knowledge Of one another and
of our real principles, and this reproach
/ of our differences as cause OF agnosti-
cism must lose much Of it's force.
but Why should there: not be Chris
tian union? How much have we not In
common? Belief in God and His Provi-
aenee, belief in future rewards and pun
1shments. and above alh--above all-be
lief and hope and love in the great uni
tive, power of the Norld--Jesus Christ.
Around His standard let US gather who
love, Hin,. Let us remember the incident
related in the ninth chapter Of st. I,uke's
Gospel, when the Apostle 81. John said
to our Lord, that there was man who
was casting out devils in Thy name, end
we forbade him, because be followeth
not with u.s. And Jesus said; Forbid
him not. For he that is not against You
is with yon.' In another place He said,
He that is not with Ne is against. Me;'
but the man that cast out devils in
Christ's name was evidently not against
Christ, though he did; not associate with
His followers.
II believe the first. factor in the re-
union of Christians will be- a greater per
sonel love for our Lord. It is the senti-
ment on whiehthere is most accord snd
seems like the fulfilling Ola prophecy,
"And I when T shall be lifted up, will
draw all things to Myself The remedy
for agnosticism. and all the religious Diff
ferenoes and dividing isms Of the day is
the same now az in the days of st. Paul.
aNow, as then, the Jews look for sign,
and the Greeks seek out wisdom and we
should preach Christ and Him crucifed,
to the Jews q stumbling block, and to
the Gentiles feolishness; but to them
that are called both Jews and Greeks,
Christ, the power of God and the wisdom
of God. King of the kings of thoaght,
He is the wisdom of God. Lord Of the
lords of knowledge which is power he
is also the power Of God. There is no
one else to bring back lost unity to Chris
tlan peoples. And for those who are not
Christians, how great are the attractions
OF His glorious humanity. The most
beautiful of the sons OF men, He anites
in himself all the projections of our ma
ture. What strength ofpowef in denounc-
ing hypocritee in highest places Whit
ened sepulchers, fair without and within
full of rottenness and dead mems bones,
in scourging the avaricioue host Of buy
ers and sellers from the Temple, and yet
so sensitive, so tender and compassion
ate to the penitent and the broken
hearted. His worship is in ite true sense
the religion of humanity and around
him should gather all the children Of
men. It is remarkable that now even
the reformed Jews have learned to es-
TEEN him, and publicly glory in the fact
that He was one OF their race, and the
aenoetice'of our day who ever knew Him
in the past, do at times irresistibly pro.
claim His praise. Renan, once the Sui
pitan student, whose heart was warm
with the personal love of Christ, aban.
doned Him for the errors Of agnosticism
and wrote life of Jesus intended to de-