The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1900-09-08
THE SIN OF CURSING.
IT NOT ONLY oFFENDS, BUT INSULTS
ALMIGHTY GOD.

What 1t Really Mems to Violate the
Divine Commar. Thou Shalt Not
Take the Name O. she Lord Thy God
in Vain" by CuFs-ng Another.
There is nothing in heaven, nothing
on earth, for which the Almighty God
has so great a regard as his own name.
When he speaks of the people Of
Israel, he says, Il will be their God.
1 will be in the midst of them. l will
give them every grace and every gift
and he tells us that he will crown his
graces by putting his name upon them
land my name shall be amongst
them"
When the evangelist inspired wants
to describe to US the glory of heaven
and the brightness of Gods saints, he
tells us that the highest glory in
heaven will be to have the name Of
God written upon our foreheads. For
beheld an hundred forty-four thousand,
and they followed the Lamb, for they
were the first fruits of the blood of the
Lamb, ard they had his name and his
Fathers name written upon their fore
heads"
And this is the name that the
Hebrews of old were not permitted to
mention, even in prayer; yet this is
the name that the drunkard, or even
the man who does not drink. but is
addicted to cursing, will take upon
every occasion. 1t is nothing but
"God' here and God" there, and per
hapS that awful habit of cursing in
which the Almighty God is called upon
to execute vengeance. as for instance
when a man says Damn your Blast
your or when man tells another in
anger to "gc to hellr' or any Of those
things.
Consider the insult that man offers
to Almighty God. Listen: will put it
before you in a few words as clearly
as possible. The greatest insult that a
man can offer to God is to pass SEN
tence upon his fellow man and then
call upon God to execute it.
According to the laws of the land. if
a man is guilty, if he is tried for any
crime and brought before a judge and
jury, when his trial is over and the
jury find him guilty, then the judge
sentences him. For instance. after a
trial for murder the judge passes sen
tence upon him, and it is that "On such
day, at such an hour, you are to be
put to death"
Who executes this sentence? Will
the judge do it? All. no; he is too high
and dignifed a parsonage. Will the
sheriff do it? No. Will the humblest
peasant do it? No. But when the day
of execution comes a wretched crea-
ture who was never seen before. who
arrives In the night time and has a
mask on his face, in order that no man
may know who he is-the common
hangman comes with a mask upon his
face and puts the rope round the mans
neck and launches him into eternity.
Now the man who curses his fellow
man and says to him Damn you"
''Blast you," ITO hell with you" that
man puts God into the position of the
common hangman. He says. you
have offended me; l am not able to
damn you; cannot send you to hell;
but 1 ask Almighty God to do ito
carry out my sentence"
Actually, the man puts himself in the
position of the judge of his fellow
man, and then. with impudence and
past all believing. he calls
upon the eternal and omnipotent God
to execute his sentence and damn his
fellow creature-the greatest insult
hat can be offered to our Lord and our