The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1906-11-03
CHARITY.
the future.

Faith. hope and charity, But the greatest Of
these is charity. For when faith and hope have
passed away into beatifc attainment. charity will
still remain the first law of heaven
Men have called order the first law. but God
is love, and from love came order in heaven and
in nature g.
Charity is the fountain whence flows all that
is good
Violation of charity-for charity is law from
God to men-brings in its wake numerous train
of ills. The father i'll treats the child and the child
will hate the father. The government misreats its
subjects, and they in turn will strain every nerve
to destroy it. An angry word and human blood is
shed. A hungry man is refused assistance. and
robbery follows A guard bats a convict and one
of them becomes corpse. Millions hold Chris
tanlty III contempt and class it all as one i'm
mense graft. Why. famished human being goes
to the house of priest minister or a layman
who processes to be follower of the Savior. and
says I'm hungry, give me something to eat" and
IS turned away-nay oftentimes insulted The
man. burning with rage, the dregs of which will be
in his heart forever, finally gets position In
the boarding house where he IS living there are
fifteen fellows, like himself compelled to do the
nlearned, sweaty and dirty toll of the universe
A member of this group brings up religion for
discussion and essays, maybe to speak an evangez-
ing word IN its favor. Like the rage of wild
beast Gagged, the smoudering effects of the insult
the man received who was turned away while tenn
porary distressed bursts forth to the eternal hurt
of Christ and his own soul He is an infidel now.
lie tells his story to his astonished listeners how
he was hungry one day and went to the house of
a priest or minister, as the case may be. and was
turned away, not only unfed. but insulted. His
fellows side with him. They scatter through the
world Wherever they go the tale is told with en-
Enlistment. Untold thousands hear it. The
charity of priests and nuns of every age is for
gotten, nay, disbelieved.
This is not a fictitious case The writer per-
sonaly has met men in every walk of life Catholics
at that, who would not go back to the church, and
many Protestants as well, because they had suf-
fered uncharitably at the hands of some black
shepherd, who is more a follower of Christ than
Judas Iscariat was.
universe absolutely lost because of sin stood
in living reality around Calvary and God gave
them His hearts blood and flesh to drink and eat
that they might possess eternal life abundantly
What will this same God do to those who refused
perishable bread and handed out a stone to their
fellow mortals! He has in terrible words promised
to hur them from Him forever.
If atheism is raising its dragon-Iike head in
the world today. which it is, in terrible manner
let every one who has Christs interests at heart ask
himself, whether he be high or low leader or
follower if he has not done his little share in
strengthening the great beast of infidelity Christ
imperatvely tells men to give to him that asketh
of thee and from him that would borrow of thee
turn not away.
Victor Hugo's great character in LES Misera-
bles,n Jean Vatican. became Chrst-hke because a
bishop treated him mercifully when he was vaga-
bond and ticket of leave man. with the whole
world against him That noble bishop brought him
in and they supped together as saint and sim
ner. The bishop babe the accursed galley slave
stay all night. and left the door of his humble
home open No thieves would bother him, because
there was nothing much to steal Besides. this ven
cradle bishop trusted in his God to deliver him
from danger of men.
We assert positively that unchartableness in
thought word or deed. is the evil seed from which
all evil and disbelief spring good seed viii bring
forth fruit hundred fold and one mans acts can
bar thousands from heaven. If any man say he
loves the Savior and has not charity he IS liar.
He is as tinkling cymba. and sounding brass.