The Irish standard., 1895-05-18
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An Interesting an inst ructiye sermon
was deliyered ther fore
. large audience On Sunday evening
last. The Bad Cathol ic' was the SUBJ
ject Of his discourse.
No society of human beings has ever
existed ]. |, said Father Cleary that has
not suffered more or less from the bad
conduct of some Of it's members. Even
the small band, Of IL men, selected for.
his apostlate by Jesus OF Nazareth,
was dishonored by the basest act.
Of ingratitude ever committed
In the world. AS long 4 as men are
free to do as they please, some will al.
ways be found who appear to revel in
the privilege Of pleasing to do wrong. /
The more closely men are identified
with any organization to which they
belong, the greater the injury their bad
conduct will appear to infict upon the
society. Teh older the ganization,
and the more widely extended over the
face of the earth, the greater Likelihood
there is that it's noblest aims and grand
est. work will be affected by the sins Of
its smembers. The noble aims of any.
society of men are no security against
the vices of it's members. The unset
fish deeds OF human devotion, and the
transcendent virtues Of even the ma
jority Of the members Of any society are
no protection against lapses OF virtue.
The Catholic church is the Oldest chris
tian society in the world. Although it's
head and founder, Jesus Christ, Is d.
vine, its members are human and may
become the victims of the vices and
frailties, which are the common hertz
age Of man. . It is the most widely diff
fused society in the world, embracing
within its folds representatives OF all
the nations and tribes Of men. 1t is,
therefore, exposed to dangers unknown
to associations merely local, and must
bear the odium of peculiar national fol-
lies, and national vices. It has had to
deal with rude races Of men, reclaim
them from savagery. or refined materl-
alism, and mold them for enlightened
and Christian civilization.
"The Catholic church gave birth to
the glorious civilization which we now
enjoy When forms Of government now
considered venerable, were yet un-
known, the church was ruling the minds
and the hearts Of men by noble and
everlasting principles. When forms OF
religion, now regarded as antique and,
behind the times, were yet not dreamed
of, the church was preparing the rude
minds Of untutored races for the en-
|lightenment Of Christian truth. The
history OF human progress is not intelli-
gently surveyed, unless men take ac-
count of the fact that the church Of all
times, Of all nations, has had to encoun-
ter the vices incidental to transition
from barbarism to civilization.
I" by their truths We shall know
them men are fond of quoting when
they publish the sins Of Catholic individ
uals or nations. Catholics are perfect
ly willing to be known by their fruit.
but they insist as their right, in being
known and judged by their best, not by
their worst fruit. The work Of the IL
apostles will forever be remembered
among men, not by the one betrayal of
Judas, or the denial Of Peter but by the
heroic zeal and glorious success that
have given it an exalted character The
bad Catholic inflicts great injury upon
mis- church and brings to 1t dishonor
and shame because of the intimate re-
lations existing between him and his
spiritual mother. Membership in the.
Catholic church IS acquired in quite a
different way, and: conveys quite a diff.
ferent meaning from membership in
other societies or denominations. The
Catholic acquires his membership by a
spiritual birth, by baptism he becomes
a child of the church. Just as in the
order of nature, one remains for time
and eternity the child Of the mother
that bore him, so in the spiritual order,
one, who is once born into the church
by baptism, forever remains the spirit
ual child of the church, his spiritual
mother, who gives him spiritual birth.
In the order of nature, our mothers can
not cease to be our mothers, no matter
how deeply cur misdeeds may wound
their affectionate hearts. The church,
in the spiritual order, continues to be
our spiritual mother, no matter what
Injury we may infiict upon her by our
unchristian, or irreligious conduct.
This explains why unchristian Catho-
lies are not more frequently expelled
!, from the church. AS the wayward son
needs all the more his mothers love
and tender care, SO the sinner needs the
care Of the church. Christ declared
that he came into the world to bring
the sinners, not the lust, to repentance.
Inc @EQuTCasf lS hot d Society OI SAINTS,
but is the congregation OF true believ-
5ers, both good and bad. Scandals must
come, but woe to him by whom scandal
cometh. We canot disfranchise every
citizen who's false to a citizens duty,
neither can the church disowr every
every member who brings discredit
upon her ss.s s55.F ,s. u,
ON TfiE SIDE ..=
y; Sometimes the most serious and sol