The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1900-08-18
DUTY.

That which man is bound by natural
moral or legal obligation to do or per-
form. is his duty.
The obligations of child towards the
parents are natural. Hence there is a
duty on the part of the child to obey
the parent. The state will maintain the
rights of the parents until the child
! attains his majority. Under Pagan
| Rome the child belonged to the pater-
familias. whose authority over his fam
| lily, wife, children and slaves was abso-
lutte. to the exclusion of the city or
state. Christian influence changed this
order. and when the Empire became
| Christian the child was to belong to the
parents. whose authority was subject
to the rights of God.
Duties to God! The obligation of
child and parents. and all individuals
to God are the moral obligation under
which all are placed to worship Him
and from which man cannot by any act
of his withdraw himself, and from
which God Himself could not dispense.
Fear God and keep His command
ments: for this is the whole duty of
man" (Eccl. XII. 49, A denial of ones
obligation to worship God, or that he is
in duty bound to serve Him is a denial
of all morals. A moral action may not
be always agreeable or convenient TO
perform, but inasmuch as it is a debt
due, man is bound to do it. To refuse
it is to become guilty of an injustice.
The principle of duty is the foundation
of all morality, and duty itself rests
on justice, which eXacts that we give
every man what belongs to him. If obli-
gated to fellow man by the rigorous
laws of justice, under the same prin-
cipIe man is bound to worship God.
Obligation to God includes all other OBJ
legations, like the child, during his mi
nority, who is in duty bound to obey
the parent, so is man at all times bound
to obey God. Nor can man, like the
minor, contract debts in His name,
since he belongs wholly to God and
without his Fathers consent, is incom-
petent. Mans duties, then, are pri-
marily to God, in whom and through
whom he can be bound. 1t includes
mans duties to his neighbour who is
Gods property and who must be es-
teemed and loved, if not for his own
sake, at least for his Masters sake
Hence the command, Love your neigh
Dor as yourself" because your neighbor
is Gods child equally as you are
Religious duties! Religion, the uniting
link between God and man, points out |
mans duties, after first giving an ade- |
quate knowledge of God and His holy
will. Catholic duties may be found in |
the precepts of the Church. Like Cath |
olic faith, only those defined and set |
forth by the Church are obligatory. All |
are reasonable, and must be so. mas |
much as they have sanction of the
Church, the living teacher appointed by
Christ to govern and instruct the faith
full. AS a private devotion, good in
itself and suitable to certain individ-
uals, may be discarded by Others not
being part of the deposit of faith
so may self-imposed duties, or duties
not having the sanction of the living
representative of the Church. be dis
carded. Vows freely made have for
those who make them certain duties
but being self-imposed are binding only
on those who make them. A parent
could not, or should not ask his child
to make vow which would interfere
with the child's liberty. If made
through persuasion, or under coercion.
would not bind the conscience.
The same rule applies to duties not