The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1913-05-31
SERMON SUBJECTS FOR JUNE

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The following subjects have
been assigned by the Most Rev
erend Archbishop for the sermons
in the Churches Of the Archdio-
cese on three Sundays of the
month of June:
obligation to Belong to the
Church Of Christ.
(a) To belong to the Church of
Christ is the command of Christ.
Separation from the Church is re-
bellion against the authority Of
Christ: it is separation from
Christ's divine truth, from
Christ's divine love and mercy.
(b) A church founded on the
authority of men, though arrogat-
ing to itself the name Of Christian,
is not, cannot be, the Church of
Christ. It is a counterfeit, pos
sessing neither the rights nor the
gifts that appertain to the one
Church founded by Christ.
(c) The absurdity of the rather
common saying: One church is as
good as another-the true mean
ing of this saying being-a church
founded by men is as good as a
church founded by God
(d) "Outside the Church, no
salvation" i. e. no salvation out
side the obedience to the command
of Christ that we should belong
to His Church. The only excuse
in being outside the Church is
invincible ignorance when by no
manner of means it is possible to
discover the Church of Christ, to
become conscious of the obligation
of belonging to it.
1.-THE Catholic Church, the
Church of Christ.
(a) The promises of Christ can
not fail of fulfllment. Christ
promised perpetuity of His
Church, therefore the Church of
Christ is that and that alone
which He founded 1880 years ago,
when from Olivet He commits
stoned His apostles to teach all
nations and assured them of His
continued presence until the end
Of time.
(b) The Catholic Church, his
tory attests, is the Church-the
only church that goes back to the
days of Olivet. Therefore the
Catholic Church, and the Catholic
Church alone, is or can be the
Church Of Christ.
(c) The origins of all other
churches date from later ages
the time, the authorship being
clearly told in history. Other
churches are rebellions against
the first church-sects cut off
from the main body-branches
Topped off from the living tree
unjustifed and unjustifable in
their movement Of secession.
(d) Christ has not receded
from His Church: This His
promise did not permit. There
fore, men receding from the
Church, recede from Christ, from
His truths and gifts, recede from
His guiding hand, to put them
selves under the rules Of men
without other sanction, other au-
thority than that of mere man.
IH-The Body, the Soul of the
Church.
(a) What is meant by the body
Of the Church? Who are they
that belong to the body of the
Church? What is meant by the
soul Of the Church? Who are
they that belong to the soul of
the Church? Within the soul of
the Church are all those who pos
sess the gift of sanctifying grace,
whether they are actually mem
bers Of the body, or are prevented
from being members through in
vincible ignorance. Within the
body are all those who being bap-
tiled remain in visible communion
with the visible chieftain of the
Church, the successor Of st. Peter,
through visible communion with
bishops and priests of the Church.
(b) Insuficiency of member
ship in the body for eternal sal
vation: Catholics, however much
their faith and their exterior
union with the Church, are not
saved unless through full obedi-
ence to the laws Of God and of
the Church they merit and possess
sanctifying grace.
(c) The blessings Of member
ship in the body of the Church of
/ Christ. Besides obeying the COM
mands Of Christ, the members of
the body of the Church hear the
integral truth of Christ's preach
ing: they are within touch of His
sacramento graces; they live with
and among His saints, the saints
of nineteen centuries, profit by
their example and prayer-fnd