The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1905-03-18
THE REVERENCE DUE
THE HOLY NAME

The Catholic church has been called,
snd correctly so. a great school of ETH
quette. Whoever carefully watched a
solemn high mass, a procession of the
Blessed Sacrament, an ordination to the
sacred priesthood, without being i'm
pressed by the regularity, the precision,
the order with which the solemn cere-
monies are performed? A well trained
altar boy is a. picture and pattern OF
this marked feature in the church's
general whole. even as is a skilled mas
Ter of ceremonies or a very exact arch
bishop. When each individual knows
his own peculiar duty and place in the
solemn function; when each does his
share toward making the grand cere-
mony perfect around the holy sacrifice
of the mass, or in the procession about
our sacramental king, then the COM
plete whole becomes a living type and
image of the heavenly ceremony that
forever goes on in the courts of God
above. Those splendid ranks on ranks
of glorified spirits, described in Dante's
famous poem as rejoicing in the eter-
nal joys of the celestial kingdom, till
they form one immense and radiant
rose bloom of dazzling magnificence
around their majestic center-those
long, pure, snow-white files of saints
and angels following one another in
graceful lines upward and onward as
Traced by Fra. Angelico's inspired pen
cil-all these are typified in the process
sions and ceremonies of the Catholic
church on earth, in her abiding atmos-
phere of reverence, faith and love.
The spirit of reverence was very
clearly shown in the Jewish church.
The Old Testament has long and de-
tailed accounts of the manner in
which the dignity of worship should be
maintained in the temple of the one
God, the Maker and Ruler of the world.
This same spirit of reverence appears
in the Apocalyptie Vision of Heaven.
How is 1t, then, that we hear one of
Gods children treat his awful name
with disrespect, use il irreverently,
blaspheme it or make of it in any way
a hyword, an expletive, a jest, a COM
mon thing? Indeed, it is a curious
PSYCHOLOGICAL question why any man
ever swears at all. Where lies the sub
ne temptation to treat with irrever-
euce Gods holy name? One can I'M
derstand why a man may yield to
temptation 10 steal, or lie, or kill; but
10 swear-where is the use, the gain,
She advantage of it? Where the earth
ly reason of any sort whatever one IS
actually led to see in it, as it were pal.
rsbly. the evil influence of a personal
temper. outside of the human family,
i'm species; of that evil one whom ST.
John saw in awful vision, "a, beast
coming up out of the sea. having seven
heads and upon his heads names OF
Easpheny And he opened his mouth
unto blasphemies against God. 10 bias
phene his name, and his tabernacle
and them that dwell in heaven.
Sc
fellow who is tempted to swear or so
far forgets himself as to use lightly
the holy name. Let him give TO HIM
self the lesson of reverence that is
learned by every priest who stands at
Gods altar in his holy temple. Each
one of us is, individually, Gods temple.
God dwells in US. Lei. us reverence the
name. as well as the presence, OF the
great king.-Sacred Heart Review.