Albuquerque daily citizen. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1895-1903, 1903-02-26
FATHER BARRY.
Concluded from page one.)

erless to fill the abyss of its cravings ]
and its aspirations. Whenever it is !
not consciously ~thoughtless or foolish
it reaches outward and upward by the
very necessity of its being and de-
mands the why and the wherefor of
its own exist nee and the existence of
the things that fall under its observa-
ton.
I'm vain man appeals to science for
an answer TO these problems. 1t can
not answer even the simple question,
What is life?' 1t tells us that at some
period in the remote long ago. there
were atoms; these atoms grouped
themselves into molecules; these mol
ecules united to form bodies; the
bodies gave themselves an o%rganiza-
ton; and this organization became
life. At first there was only the vege-
table life which constitutes the plant,
but little by little this life developed
itself into the sensitive life-the life
of taste. touch, smell, sight and hear
ing. Finally, by the force of exercise
the life of sense became the life of in
telligence and free will. In other
words, the stone converts itself into
a plant. the plant becomes an animal,
the animal makes itself into a man,
Nonsense, how could the simple ma
terial disposition of the elements of a
body give to itself that interior and
spontaneous movement called life,
which it had not? Again, how could
life, reduced to simple internal move
ment in the plant, give TO itself sensa-
ton, which it had not? Finally, How
could the life of sense given to itself
the life of intelligence, which it had
not? Memo dat quod non habet,
"No, science cannot solve the prob
lem of mans existence. 1t cannot n
swer the question. Whence he Gamer
much less the more difficult ones,
Why is he here?' and Whittier is he
going?' To answer these questions
satisfactorily, we must know the fun
damental principle of mans constitu-
ton. Without this principle we have
no key to his nature or destiny. Com
posed of a spiritual soul and a ma
terial body, the body is the organ of
the soul and the soul is the vital form
of the body. The body exists only for
the sake of the soul, and the soul ex-
lists for a higher purpose. a nobler OBJ
ject. Man is a subject made for an
object, this is the fundamental prin-
ciple of his constitution, without know
ing the object we cannot understand
the subject.
What then is the object for which
man exists? The catechism answers,
God. This is the only answer that sat
isles the intellect and soothes the
heart. Who made your God made
me. Why did He make your That |
may know, love and serve Him here
on earth and be happy with Him for
ever in heaven. These few words con-
tain more wisdom than all the philos-
optical systems and scientific theories
that were eve invented: When a man
understands them, in a practical way,
then he can answer the question, Is
life worth living?'
Man is made for God, nothing else,
or nothing less, can satisfy the crav-
ing of His intellect for truth and
knowledge, and the desire of his heart
for happiness and love. Maj is made
for God. Consequently he is not an
Independent being. He is constituted
under special relations of dependence
on his Creator. The nation has a right
to the service of its citizens. The
parent has a right to the love and re-
1 enact of hig nhi1Irnn Tho nnnnInunr
has a right to the labor of the en-
ployed. The farmer has a right to the
produce of the field he has cultivated.
Much more has God a right and title
to the love and service of man This
love and service constitute the sum of
mans relations and obligations of his
Maker. Therefore they should not be
limited to a secondary place in the
makeup of a mans life. Since God
exists, man is His creature-the work
of His hands, consequently man is
bound to worship God with a positive,
personal worship. The citizen, for the
very reason that ne is a citizen, has
certain duties and obligations to full
fill. The soldier, because he is a sol
der, has other duties and obligations
in accord with his military profession,
Even the child, for the simple reason
that he is a child, has duties and obi
cations towards his parents. Much
more the creature, man, for the very
reason that he is a creature, has GER
tain duties and obligations towards his
God. Did We belong to ourselves, were
we capable of giving content and hap
piness TO ourselves, we might then