Kentucky Irish American. (Louisville, Ky.) 1898-1968, 1912-03-30
Mgr. Brann Explains Difference
Between the Natural and
Supernatural.
Necessary For knowledge OF
Important and Sacred
Truths.
Adds New Light and Sanctity
to Public and Private
Morality.
BASIS OF SCIENCE and LAW

Last Sundays New York Herald
contains an editorial from the pen of
Right Rev. Henry A. Brann, pastor
OF st. Agnes church, upon "The
Necessity of Faith" that gives the
true Catholic position, which It would
be better for all Christians to under
stand. Father Brann begins with
the text, Without faith II is impos-
sible to please God" and says:
Faith is divided into two kinds
natural and supernatural. Natural
faith is the acceptance of truth be-
cause OF trust In the knowledge and
the veracity of man, while super
natural faith is a divine virtue and
implies the acceptance of revealed
truth on the authority of Gods
Veracity. III | were to ask you, one
by one, for the proof of what you
believe you would find that most of
your information Is derived from the
testimony of others. How few could
prove that this earth is a ball and
moves around the sun; that many of
the stars, floating in space, are thou
sands of times larger than the GLOBE
on which we live? We are daily
making acts Of faith in the veracity
OF geographers, of historians, of as
tronomers and of chemists, and even
OF newspapers. II faith then be nee
essary for the knowledge of common
things, why should 1t not be neces-
sary for the knowledge of more
important and elevated truths?
How necessary ii must conse-
quently be for our knowledge OF
the Supreme Being, God. In proving
ais existence, reason argues from the
effect to the cause; as we argue from
the watch, with its system of springs.
wheels and pendulum. to the watch-
maker; or from the building 10 the
architect. In like manner from the
Unite, created uniyerz/we prove the
exfstence OF an Infinite Creator. For.
as the Psalmist says, "the heavens
show forth the glory of God and the
ornament declareth the work of his
hands,; or as st. Paul more fdiiy
expresses 1t, "the invisible things of
Him, from the creation of the world.
are clearly seen, being understood by
the things that are made; his eter-
nal power also and divinity"
This truth that man and all things
have been created by God is the
basis of science and law, for it in
wolves the idea OF dependence and Of
obligation to the First Cause. But
there are certain drawbacks to be
considered in the rational proof OF
the existence of God. This demon
stration is impossible to childhood,
because 1t can not understand meta
physical subjects or proofs; for this
a developed and trained intellect is
required. Therefore the only way to
obtain this all important knowledge
in childhood is by trusting the teach
ing of legitimate authority. 1t is be-
cause of the existence of faith that
the children of Christian country
understand divine things better than
the greatest pagan philosophers.
Questions regarding God that Plato
and Socrates could not solve are now
correctly answered by Christian chill
dren of ten summers. If left to
themselves even adults do not like
the labor Of metaphysical study, or
they are too much occupied with the
temporal cares of this life TO have
leisure for metaphysical investiga-
tions. Many are too dull to under
stand them. Out of number Of
children in school or of grown
children In or out of college you may
find half a dozen able to understand
the higher mathematics. Since this
is the case, we see at once how few
Il left TO their own forces would OBJ
tain a knowledge of the grand and
sublime truths relating to the SUI
preme Being whose nature faith at
once reveals.
What babel men make of the
ology when they are left TO their
own light What confuslonl What
endless disputesl But when God
Himself teaches mankind what they
must believe about his essence and
his works He adds the certainty Of
revelation TO the certainty of dem
onstration. Then all things become
clear. for the light of faith illumines
them. The words OF Isaias the
Prophet are then literally fulfilled:
"All thy children shall be taught OF
the Lord. and great shall be the
peace OF thy children" The peace OF
double certainty is the result. Thus
revelation makes the knowledge OF
God universal, gives II more quickly
than reason, and makes Him known
70 the illiterate as well as 10 the
learned, and thus faith elevates rea-
son. The supernatural supplements
and perfects natural reason by pour
Ing special gifts into the treasury OF
natural truth. Faith also adds new
light and additional sanction to pub
nc and private morality, without
which men can not live peacefully
together or please God.