The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1902-10-25
FOR BACHELORS ONLY"
Are They Saving Their Souls by Re
naming Unmarried
"a Catholic Priest in Transcript

| "a Catholic Priest in Transcript
| A man may come to discover that
the state in which he finds himself
| placed is not the one for which he
was evidently intended by the Maker
Again, one may become alive to the
| fact that to remain in an abnormal
position means to seriously jeopardize
his souls salvation; celibacy may, as
| for many it does, spell it out for him,
clearly and plainly, eternal damna-
ton. 1t is to no purpose here to eX-
anime the causes of, and reasons for,
such a conditions of affairs; we take
the fact as it stands, plain and evil
dent, a stern, hard fact, that will not
be downed, because it is supported by
| the living proof of habit and con-
duct; living and continuing to live a
celibate, taking him as he is, and as
there is every token of his remain
ing without any reasonable ground for
expecting a change, this man is
doomed to perdition. His passions
have made him their slave; he can
not, it is morally impossible for him to
do so, remain continent.
Surprising again, that the Almighty
had created the state of wedlock for
just such emergencies, whereby a man
may find a remedy for his weaknesses,
an outlet for his passions, regulator
of life here below and a security
! against damnation hereafter; and this
is precisely the case for the ends of
marriage are not only to perpetuate
the species, but also to furnish rem
edy for natural concuptscence and to
raise barrier against the flood of i'm
purity.
Now, the. case being as stated, need
a Catholic young or-no longer young
man look long or strive hard to find
his path of duty already clearly traced?
The obligation to marry, to increase
and multiply, was given to mankind
in general, and applies to man as a
whole, and not to the individual: that
is, in the common and ordinary run
of human things. But the circum-
stances with which we are dealing are
outside the normal sphere; they are
extraordinary, that is to say, they do
not exist in accordance with plan and
order established by God; they
constitute a disorder resulting from
unlawful indulgence and wild impiety.
1t may therefore be, and it frequently
is the case, that the general obliga-
ton to marry particularizes itself and
falls with its full weight on the in
dividual, this one or that one, ac-
cording to the circumstances of his
life. Then it is that the voice of Cod s
authority reaches the ear of the unit
and says to him in no uncertain ac
cents. Thou shalt marry" And
behind that decree of God stands di
vine justice to vindicate the divine
right.
We do not deny but that, absolute
ly speaking, recourse to this remedy
may not be imperiously demanded; but
we do claim that the absolute has
nothing whatever to do with the ques-
ton, which is one of relative facts.
What a supposed man may do in this
or that given circumstance does not
in the least alter the position of an
rother real, live man who will not do
this or that thing in a given circum
stance; he will not, because morally
speaking, he cannot. simply because
through excuses he has forgotten how.
And of other reasons to justify nom
compliance with the law, there can be
none; it is here a question of saving
ones soul; inconvenience and difficult
ties and obstacles have no meaning in
such a contingency.
1t has come to such a pass ow-
adays that celibacy as a general thing,
is a misnomer for prohigacy. Making
all due allowance for honorable eX-
ceptions, the unmarried male who is
not well saturated with spirituality and
faith is VIGOROUSLY gallinaceous in his
morals. In certain classes he is ex-
pected to SOW his wild oats before he
is out of his teens; and by this is
meant that he will begin young to tear
into shreds the Sixth commandment
so as not to be bothered with it in
later life. If he married he would be
safe.
Finally what kind Of an existence
is it for any human being, with power
to do otherwise, to pass through life
a worthless, good-for-nothing nonenti-
ty, living for self, shrinking the sacred
duties of paternity, defrauding nature
and God and sowing corruption where
he might be laying the foundation of
a race that may never die? There is
no one to whom he has done good and
no one owes him a tear when his bar
rem carcass is being given over as food
to the worms. He is a rotten link
on the chain of life, the curse of OBJ
livion will vindicate the claims of his
unborn generations. Young man, mar
ry, marry now, and be something in
the world besides an eyesore of I'M
productiveness and worthlessness: do
something that will make somebody
happy besides yourself; show that you
passed. and leave something behind
that will remember you and bless your