The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1905-10-07
A NATION WITHOUT REVERENCE.

Probably the editor of the Western Waterman
was thinking about Rev. GulsauIus of Chicago
NWho at Denver not long ago compared Roosevelt
with Christi when the following was penned:
:" he horrible blasphemy recently uttered by one
OF our most prominent Protestant ministers. and
winch SO shocked the whole land, has caused think
ing people to inquire into the causes of the strange
want of reverence for sacred persons and things
noticeable among all classes of our non Catholic
citizens 1t is said of the japanese that they have
no sense OF religion. and are utterly devoid of
reverence, as of fear; for religious reverence is
only supernatural fear Are we becoming Jap
anese!
The first and quite adequate cause Of the want
OF reverence for sacred persons and things among
mont Catholics Is the plain and palpabe fact that
non-Cathohcs have sacred persons and things
to reverence. They have no signs or symbols of re-
hgon. They have rejected even the Cross of Christ.
They know no sacred persons, living or dead They
have no clergy in the Catholic sense: that is, men
set apart by God to do Gods work in Gods name
and by Gods authority a minister is with them
no more sacred than Iayman; more virtue
IS expected OF HIM and 10 more references paid
nm than his age, character or talents command.
They have no saints; and if they have scanty re-
speet for the living they have at all for the
dead Their churches meeting houses; not more
sacred than their own homes. They have no pie
lures of the Saviour, his holy mother the apostles
or the saints and sages Of the church; in fact they
would regard that measure of attention to
the personages of the Gospel as bordering on SUI
perstition. They know little Of the men and women
who died for the faith in the early ages of the
church; much less than they know of mythology
and fables of the gods Of Olympus They do not
give their children the names of saints or sacred
persons In the history of the Christian religion.
The result of all this is that these children are
brought up entire strangers to their Christian herr
tage, and out of touch and sympathy with the
'l1-,-t Il.
would of Socrates or Plato; and of Peter Paul,
James and the other apostles; as of the shddowy
heroes of pagan antiquity.
"See the other hand, how the Church tries
to develop the sense of reverence among her chill
dren. She places before their eyes evermore the
sign of the cross. the symbol of their redemption.
The crucihx is in the room III which they are born.
1t hangs the wall their nursery. They can
scarcely speak the sacred names before they are
taught to make the sign of the cross. They are
taught their prayers, which begin and end with the
sign Of the cross. They are taught to go on their
knees when speaking to God; and when pronounc-
ing the name of Jesus to bow their head. When
they are old enough to be brought to church they
are brought to the holy water font, and made to
bless themselves. Then they are taught to genu-
feet before the Blessed Sacrament Before the altar
burns the perpetual light. Above the tabernacle
rises the cfucifx On the side affairs are the statues
of the blessed mother, of St Joseph and of the
saints. When passing before them these children
are taught to bow. When passing in front of
church they taught to uncover out of rever-
ence for our Lord in the tabernacle. When they
meet priest they are taught to salute him by
taking off their hats The name they bear is one
once borne by the saint to whom they are dedi-
Gated His life is inspiring to them, and his exam
pie is inspiring. When the age of discretion is
reached they are made to go to confession. Here
they stand before God and have intimate personal
dealings with him. How their young hearts beat
with reverential fear the first time they enter the
confessional. And that sense of awe always ac-
companies that act of self accusation. The oldest
penitent In the world enters the confessional with
awe. When the time comes to receive Holy Com
munion how carefully are the children prepared
to receive Jesus Christ the second person of the
adorable trinity, into their heart and souls The
oldest Catholic in the world approaches the holy
table bowed down under the weight in awe. There
is for him nothing so solemn on this earth as Holy
Communion. And this feeling of reverence grows
with his years and is taken up by the rising gem
Grafton. No wonder Protestants feel in Catholic
churches sense of awe that they do not expert
ence in their No wonder that the very at
mosphere of d Catholic church works miracles of
conversion But to the priest. the living repre-
sentative of Jesus Christ Catholics preserve deep
and lively reverence. For them he is always his
reverence" OF all the signs and symbols OF re-
ligion he is the most sacred. As in hearing and
obeying him they hear and obey the masters; so In
him they see him who walked in Galilee. If there
is one mark that distinguishes Catholics from all
nominal Christians it is their deep and universal
reverence for the priest. The child is taught it
by the word and example of his parents; and du-
ring his alter life personal intercourse with the
priest ever tends to heghten his reverence for the
priesty character Before Catholics cease to rever-
ence love and respect their priests, they will have
to have forgotten their own mothers.
''All this the church does outside the Catholic
school This last is but training ground for
reveranee The Catholic child learns in his school
many useful things; but before all else and above
everything else he learns respect sacred persons
and things. Professionalism is the greatest laiciz-
ing agency i'll the world, and if it encumbers the
earth another four hundred years there will be no
Christian instinct left among Protestants.