The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1899-01-21
FAITH AND SUPERSTITION.
Last Monday night, at the Lxceum

FAITH AND SUPERSTITION.
Last Monday night, at the Lyceum the
alter, Col. Robert G. Ingersoll, the elo-
quent agnostic, lectured to an interested
audience on Superstition" which he
defined as 1.-The child of ignorance, the
mother of misery" The evening before
Rev. J. M. Cleary, OF. St. Charles church,
delivered an address from his pulpit on
the same subject to an interested con-
gregation. Many Protestants were pres
ent. The daily papers reported Bob In
gersoll at length, but made no reference
to Father Cleary, and yet the Catholic
priests address was far more interesting
to the Christian community than was
the blasphemous attack on God and the
Bible by the oratorical pagan. Father
Cleary spoke one hour on Faith and
Superstition" and said in part:
Faith is a supernatural gift of God, by
| which we believe without doubling what
God teaches lis by His church, for He
|
is truth itself. Faith is founded on the
truthfulness of God. Superstition is dis
eased faith, is believing something is
| true on delusive or insufficient testi-,
mony. Faith is light and life to the
human mind Superstition is darkne 50
and ignorance. Superstition is to faith
what sickness is to human health, what
ignorance is to knowledge. Faith and
superstition are often found together, as
are knowledge and ignorance, health and
disease, strength and weakness.
Because two things are found together
or in close company, it by no means fol-
lows that one is the cause of the other,
or that one produces the other. The
scoffer at supernatural faith condemns
faith as the origin of superstition. lie
demands the destruction of all faith in
the supernatural in order to drive SUI
perstition out of the world. The unbe-
lever pretends to appeal to reason only
as his guide in all things. He acts most
unreasonably, however, in his attitude of
superstitious enmity to revealed religion.
1t would be just as logical to insist on
the suppression of knowledge, because
some learned people are ignorant about
many things, and are quite superstitious
about the things they do not clearly I'M
derstand. knowledge is the only reli-
| able remedy for the removal of igno-
rance. Enlightened faith is the only re-
| 6nt0 10
| ignorance will remain after all the best
efforts of the noblest minds to remove
it. Much superstition will still Turk in
the dark places of human life, after all
the efforts of supernatural truth and
human genius to remove it. Man is a
free agent. He is credulous. Infinity
itself cannot destroy his credulity.
No human being is so safe from the
decisions of superstition as is the in
telligent Catholic. AS an intelligent
Catholic, able to offer reason for the
faith that is in me, can proclaim to all
the scoffers in the world, and all igro-
rant unbelievers, that my faith rests not
on an uncertainty. 1 follow no changing
phantoms. l believe in no human testi-
mony, in matters of supernatural char
acter. I believe in the teachings of the
church. The church is the pillar and
ground of my intelligent faith. By thu
church do not mean the priest. follow
no mans preaching and no mans per-
sonal leadership in my religious convic-
tons. l am not a Catholic because Of
my personal liking for any priest or
> layman, or on account of my special lik-
ing for the style of preacher, nor for
the nice people that may attend par
ticular church, nor because of the at
tractive service; but am a Catholic be-
cause Christ planted His church on the
imperishable rock of unchanging truth.
and believe in its teachings, because
Christ invested it with divine and en-
during authority to teach me- No man
in all the world can thus assert his faith
as can the intelligent Catholic. No
other mans faith rests upon the rock of
eternal truth. Christ is the corner stone
of no other building. Because 1 believe
Him, and have perfect confidence in His
power and in His promise, accept with
out doubt or question the truths pro-
posed to my reason by His church.
This intelligent, living, certain faith
is fruitful. Superstition, like ignorance
and unbelief, is unfruitful, produces no
wholesome results for humanity. Su-
pernatural faith has renewed the face of
the earth, has elevated man, regeneratcd
human society, dispelled much of the
ignorance and superstition that had
covered the earth with gloom. 1t has
established firmly the universal equality
and the universal brotherhood of man,
in spite of the determined opposition Of
superstition, ignorance and irreligion.
When men have no faith in God, their
faith in humanity soon disappears.
The influences of unbelief have never
dried a human tear In all it's Wanting.
braggart love for humanity, in all it's
vapid. inane phrasing about humanity s
rights, hopes, ambition, and happy long
ings, how barren of results has unbelief
been! 1t laughs at the anxious uues-
tions Of earnest men. 1t sneers at the