The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1910-05-28

with its accompanying sermon or familiar instruc-
ton; the Confessional, and the Holy Communion.
These are the main batteries of the Church In her
warfare against sin. They are the which
she relies to build up strong spiritual lives In her
children.
and clothing; indeed money could not pay for what
they glye coming from all classes of society, even
the highest, their time and their hearts are undi-
vded by the and selfish interests of the word
they give themselves unspaungly with the utmost
measure of heroic devotion, to the service of God In
their brethren; the friendless the homeless the des
tiude and the outcast find in them what they most
need-the tenderness and strength of hearts that
are at virginia. and motherly
Every Catholic is obliged, under pain of serious
sin, to be present at Mass every Sunday unless pre-
vented by a good The Church thus safe
guards the honor that is due to God through the
public worship of His children SO it is that, rain
or shlne III heat In cold, churches crowd
ed every Sunday. 1t is very indifferent Catholic
who will not put himself to great inconvenience
rather than absent himself from Mass the Lords
Day. To Catholics the Mass whether celebrated
amid all the imposing soemnity of cathedral appur-
tenances whether offered in an unadorned chapel
of backwoods village, is the great act of worship
They believe that Christ Himself becomes present on
the altar and besses them and all they hold dear
No sincerely believing this doctrine and assist
ing at Mass with proper dispositions go back to
his home and to the duties Of the week without
infusion of comfort, courage and high resolve
Every Sunday there is at the low Masses the
short, familiar instruction. because time does not
permit Of anything ese and at the high Masses the
set sermon. In large parishes there are from SIX
to eight Masses of Sunday, so that all the mem
bers of families may be accommodated. Many times
is the church, and each time is the appointed pas
sage from the Gospel read and expounded and APP
piled to the daily life of the people Thus through
out the year the Church keeps up her mission of
fhn olYY
duties, now warning, encouraging, reprov-
ing, now pleading laundering against abuses,
now explaining with authority revealed doctrine
always conscious of her responsibility and yearning
that Christ may more surely be formed In the hearts
of her people.
What towering and impregnabe buwark the
forces Of orderly government have in the Catholic
pulpit and in Catholic worship. The Catholic pulpit
may be said to reach every Sunday 600
souls; for while it would be idle to pretend that we
have at the Sunday service full number, yet
may safely say that practically every family, when
it has not all most Of its members present, has
at least representative who will hear and bring
back to the home circle the Sunday message. And
that message will always be of selfrestraint of
respect for the rights of Others of obedience to law
fully constituted authority, of charity and Of peace.
What, armory against the growing dangers of
antiC Christian socialism society will find the Catho
lie Church. From her pulpit men learn their duties
as well as their rights. The poor find In her an
equality which they can discover nowhere else.
They sit in the pews, kneel at the altar
railing, kiss the same crucifix with their richer
brethren. They know that they are the children of
their Father in Heaven as much as the wealthiest
and the most distinguished; nay, that they the
favorites, if they but live purely and JUSTLY of Him,
who, while Ruler of the world, deigned to be the
Carpenter of Nazareth. With the blessing of the
Church they will strive by every honest and legiti
mate means to better their condition. but they will
not be msled by the false lights of the theory whose
gods are earthly comfort and impossible equality;
least of all will they be persuaded to purchase pos
sessions here at the price of surrendering their al
legiance to Him whose life and teaching have for
ever sanctified labor, and have given to the nobly
poor the infallible promise of the kingdom of
Heaven.