The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1908-06-13
THE mTERMoMTAN AND COLORADO CATHOLIC: JUNE 10, 1903

the Catholic business man.
How does the Catholic religion af
feet the business MANI" is asked. T.
which the answer might be anothe
question.
What is the ideal business man?'
He must be honest in dealing will
his fellow man. he must be truthful
he must be fair; he must refuse t,
take advantage of the weakness o
others because he finds might in hi:
hands; he finds it profitable to set al
example for his employees which viii
conduce to his own material advan-
tage when they indulge in the emula-
ton which is natural His heart must
be free of vengeful feeling, the graf
ification of which too often brings dis
aster even when its moral wrong is
not considered.
The Catholic church makes itself
felt i'll the business world by form
ing such type Of business man, great
! ly through the corrective and instruc-
| tive power of the sacrament of pen
ance.
The Catholic business man is con-
stantly under two forcibe deterrents
when he is tempted to depart from
our description above of the ideal bus
mess man. The first, common to all,
whether religious or not, is the fear of
being caught.
But assuming that he is ready to
take the chance of being caught if he
is a Catholic, your business man con-
siders thus:
BY doing the thing which is wrong
he will offend his God. He will break
the law which Jesus Christ gave to
him and for all other men. What
then? He must confess it to God.
= III Ip1,iy n
the confessional wicket. He might de-
ceive the priest but he knows he can
not deceive God. So, believing that
God is his final judge, that there will
be none OF the blessings of heaven for
him if he commits the sin of lying to
Gods minister he does not lie in the
confessional.
When tempted to cheat, to steal
goods or character, to traduce, to deal
unjustly with his fellow man, he knows
that before him there is Il day of reck
oning, not only in the confessional, but
also before Gods final judgment seat
If having conducted himself in his
business otherwise than as follower
of Jesus Christ, he confesSSs his trans
gression.
In the confessional where his iden-
tity is concealed. and perhaps he
knows not even the name of the hid
den commissioner of God, he is told
that he must make amends.
Has he cheated? He must give back
what he has dishonesty gained.
Has he lied? He must undo the
damage his lie has cost another.
Has he injured the reputation of a
fellow man or woman? He must find
a way to make complete restitution foi
his injurious act.
If he does not. there is the penalty
which a Catholic breads more than any
other short of communications
denial of absolution.
BY the power to loose and bind,
distinctly endowed by Jesus Christ
himself the church leaves the man
who fails to make amends for his sins
without absOlution.
The Catholic business man knows all
this. The realization of certain pun
to come on earth or beyond
and the penance that must be done
for this. even of thought are con-
stantly with him.
Does h lay his employees less than
4 living wage o. subject them t. evil
moral or physical? Then
he flies in the face of the holy re-
hinder: For inasmuch as We have
done it unto the least of these my
We have done it unto me.
For every offense, however slight, |
the Catholic business man knows he
must sooner or later be judged.
Let him conceal from the priest |
these sins of his business life and he
knows that should he die the eternal |
Tres of hell await him. The business
man. no more than any other, knows
when he is to be called from this earth |
o face the court from which there is
10 appeal He knows not what mo-
nent the opportunity afforded him by
he grace of "a merciful God of making
estitution for his bad acts is to be
lenied him.
He will not take the chance of dying
With anothers money in his pocket.
md as a business proposition, he can't
zee what good that other persons
money is going to do him if he is
compelled to give it back and acknowl-
dge that he acquired it wrongfully.
The road is plain for the Catholic
business man.
Let the business world beware of the
who ceases to approach the
acrament of penance; who ignores
he curcshhup shrdlu cmfwyp vbgkqj
ach Sunday: who speaks slightingly |
f the sacraments and who arrogateS
O his own untrammeled conscience the |
Judgment of his acts which is the eX-
,ress duty of the successors of Christ's
hosen disciples on earth. For such
nan has taken to the dark byways and
leeds to be watched.