Kentucky Irish American. (Louisville, Ky.) 1898-1968, 1901-12-14
in his name, will add to the combined
efforts of all his own infinite efficiency.

in his name, will add to the combined
efforts of all his own infinite efficiency.
Your motto proclaims your allegiance
not only to God but also to your country.
In other words, your aim is to he not
merely good Catholics, but likewise good
citizens. These two aims you have
joined together, because you are con-
scious that one is the effect of the other.
To be good Catholic and not be a good
citizen is simply an impossibility. To
be good Catholic means to respect
authority and to uphold its hands in all
lawful measures, since to obey authority
means to obey God himself, in whom
authority originates and from whom it
proceeds. To be good Catholic means
love of the neighbor, since we are all
children of the same loving Father,
redeemed equally in the blood of his
only begotten son. To be good Catho-
lie means respect for the rights of others,
courtesy toward all, forgiveness of in
juries; in word, it means that charity
which deals with others as we would
wish others to deal with ourselves Sup
pose these principles to be transplanted,
as they should be, into the daily life and
walks of society, what would be the
RESULT Would anarchy dare raise its
head in a country believing that obedi-
ence to lawful authority is obedience to
God himself?
I Would we see capital and labor arrayed
in deadly strife were society to recog-
nize that labor and capital should deal
with each other as each would wish to
be dealt by were their positions reversed
Would the wealthy despise the poor, or
the poor envy the wealthy; would the
strong Cypress the weak, or the cunning
defraud the unworldly minded, if the
law of Christian charity, to love the
neighbor as ourselves, were the rule and
guide of daily life? And what renders it
still more incumbent upon us to show
ourselves good Catholics, and conse-
quently good citizens, is the fact that
outside the church there is no remedy
for the evils just indicated. Natural
niCdho WAL nOl ouAANCs nC ollCdul Cdil
not rise higher than its source. More
than this, friction and other obstacles
will prevent its rising to that height.
How, then, can we expect human nature,
fallen as it Is and impeded by its preju-
dices and passions, to- do work that
would tax its efforts, even were it in the
state of integrity and free from the
various obstacles by which it is cloggedl
God alone, working through his church,
can accomplish all this. He alone, by
raising the natural man to the realms of
the supernatural, can perfect nature in
its own order, and by his help enable it
10 take the measures necessary for its
own regeneration. And this is the
higher, supernatural work in which you
are called to assist; this is the work to
which you are bound by the motto of
your society.
Courage then, gentlemen of the Young
Mems Institute. 1t is upon your organi-
zation, and Others of a similar kind, that
our holy mother the church relies, at
least il part, to counteract tile evils
which afiict modern society. Bishops
and priests must indeed direct, and by
the sacraments and other means of grace
furnish the needed strength; you of the
laity form the mass of Gods people and
you must do the bulk of his work. True,
the evils with which you contend are
great and numerous. whilst compared
with the masses to be regenerated your
numbers are small and, humanity speak
ing unequal to the task. And yet it
was only last Sunday that we were read
ing the gospel which tells Of the small
amount Of leaven leavening the entire
mass. Associations like yours win be,
let us trust, the small yet vivifying germ
which, injected into modern society, will
quicken It into new and higher life,