The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1903-03-21
Conversations 10
Our Club = B Bys S5sssss H.

d lew CRUMBS from the rich man
table. but it leads us to love and re-
spect them. 1t places them not below
but above the rich and although it con-
cedes that it is possible for the rich to
be saved, it represents is as easier for
camel to go through the eye of a
needle than for them to enter into the
Kingdom of heaven. BY the blessings
1t pronOunces on the poor, by the honor
1t bestows on them, and the small ac-
count it makes of worldly wealth,
greatness and distinction, it lays the
axe at the root of our more worldly
passions and propensities The poor
and humble are under Catholicity our
nobility our aristocracy, il l may use
the term. They are the special friends
of our Lord. They are, under God, our
firm st e lance. al .,i ro-.A IN IN.
not through the rich and the great, that
this country Will be converted. II it is
ever converted. God always chooses
for carrying on his work the instru-
ments the world despises. The stone
which the builders rejected has become
the head of the corner. The apostles
were fishermen and publicans, the low
est and most degraded classes among
the Jews. The Jews, of all people the
most despised by the Romans, were
chosen to be the first missionaries and
to form the first congregations in the
Roman empire The subjugated and
condemned Gauls and Italians converted
their proud. and naughty barbarian
conquerors. The Irish, impoverished
and oppressed by the proud and over
bearing Anglo Saxon, are. we may be-
lieve, selected as the instruments for
Catholicizing England and the United
States God NOT work
and he, chooses to carry on his work
precisely with those instruments hui
man wisdom would reject"
Il see" interrupted De Bonneville,
mo good to come of discussions of this
sort. 1t would be better to leave the
question of converting the country TO
solve itself. I am a Catholic, but l
leave the care of religion to the cure. 1
have no vocation to be propangand-
list, and little sympathy with the prose-
lyting spirit so strong in recent con-
verts 1 enjoy my faith and practice
my religion for myself, without inter-
fering with the faith and worship OF
my neighbor; to his own master each
much stand or fall. L dislike religious
and leave the conversion
of heretics and infidelds to our good
In France all religions
are placed on a footing of perfect
equality before the state. and we nave
no quarrel with our separated breth-
rem who though separated, are still
our brethren The only thing we labor
to do is to moderate the zeal of the Ill
tramontane party, to restrain the big
otry and intolerance of those hot-head-
ed Catholics who are always insisting
that theirs is the only way to heaven.
| worship God according to the dictates
of my own conscience, and leave others
to worship him according TO the die
tates of theirs. Why should | disturb
them? ? Why should I force my faith
upon their unwilling. attention, destroy
their good faith. and thus peril their
souls salvation? They will, not ac-
cept the Catholic faith even if pre-
sented to them, and it is better to leave
them in their good faith, to be saved
through invincible ignorance
Ignorance that is vlncible," replied
D'Flanagan. lis neither inYincible nor
and no man is in saliva
Die state who has the disposition to re-
ieet the truth wnen presented: That
there is inyincible ignorance with re-
gard to some things of secondary inn
oprtance, and that invincible Ignorance
excuses from sin in those matters
whereof one is invincibly ignorant, l
,oncede: but 1 have yet to learn that
1ne is or can be saved by invincible ig-
lorance. Ignorance, according to st.
Augustine, in those who can know and
will not, is itself sin; in those who
cannot know it is the penalty of sin,
md therefore is in neither an excuse,
,ut in both just cause of damnation.
Salvation lies in the supernatural or
Ter. and is not secured in the unsuper-
f,,,.o od hv- fhn Cinnlp NEGATIVE |
merit of not SHINING. 1t is the reward !
# supernatural virtue, and is bestowed |
,nly on positive supernatural merit. II /
u. de Bonnevilles doctrine about de-
troying the good faith of non-Catho- |
les be true our Lord must have COM ]
nitted a great mistake when he sent |
orth his apostles and commanded !
hem to go into all the earth and
reach the Gospel to every creature.
)ur missionaries to Catholics, or /
o heather nations, fall into great err
or, and endanger the salvation OF
euls, by destroying good faith in err
or, teaching the truth and dfspelling
ignorance. 1t is our friend, however,
apprehend, that is in error. and an
rror in excuse of which he can hardly
lead invincible ignorance. The church
I this world is and must be the church
Militant, and precisely because she is
nd must be propangandist, and there
pre- aggressive. Our Holy Father
'ius TX, has enjoined more than once
pom the bishops of France and Italy
} be careful to teach those confided. to
1eir care, the absolute necessity or
ne Catholic faith to salvation. If the
[oly Father is to be credited-a mat
4r which some of you in France deem
French to doubt-it is a matter
II of the last Importance that all
lould be taught and thoroughly
lught the Catholic faith. Zeal for the
and conversion of unbeiiev-
3 and n,iehc levers is the natural
'uit of Christian charity Your polite
your distinguished scien-
fic and literary men, who are so COM
aisant to heretics and infidels, so
rocked at religious earnestness, and
respectful to religious indifferentism,
.em to me to have very little of the
)irit of the gospel, and to be in a fair
ay of being damned, if not for their
ant of faith, at least for their lack of
rarity IT is because the upper
asses of society. those who are in
,ssession of worldly wealth and dis I
notion, are usually ready to frater I
re with the cultivated heretics and
fidels of the same social class, and to
ok with naughty Indifference or con-
mpt on the earnest and untiring eff
rts of Catholic zeal and charity to
read the faith and extend the empire
Christ on the earth, that turn ,
pm them and place my dependence on
e poor and simple, whom the world
spises."
THE wealthy, cultivated Catholics in
+ own country" interposed Winslow.
re by no means the most earnest Ia
rers for the spread of the faith and 4
e conversion of non-Catholics.
ley are very amiable, very
lite, very hospitable. but they are so
xed up with non-Catholics in their
siness. in their amusements, their