The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1914-01-03

Church, viewed collectively with it's
children in the Communion Of Saints?
Broadly speaking, this is the first Sal
walton Army. composed of all the ma
lions of the world, of which Christ
Himself is supreme Commander and
Captain, and of which His vicegerent
upon earth, the successor of st. Peter,
is the visible Head. To this army we
must all belong either in fact or in
spirit, if we would flight the good
fight" and deserve the laurel crown of
ultimate victory. 1t is of paramount
and most vital Importance upon which
side we enlist ourselves-if with
Michael or Lucifer, beneath the ban
ner Of the Cross, or with "the grisly
host who troop under the sooty flag
of Acheron," for the issues involved
in eternal conflict between good and
evil are tremendous. Within the
Church we may speak in a more re-
stricted sense of another Salvation
Army.
From the earliest centuries of
Christianity there have been religious
orders that have combined the mon
astic and military character, being
banded together in soldier fashion, to
wage the wars of God. Benedictines,
Dominicans, Franciscans and the rest,
are all uniformed and valiant chivalry
of Christ the Crucified 1t remained
for the Jesuits, however, to show the
world distinctively religious body,
with military rank, titles and disci-
pine, and with chief commander
known to the members as General
name adopted also by few of the
other orders. The warrior-saint of
Loyola, injured at the siege of Pam
peluna, turned his thoughts from tenn
poral to spiritual warfare, and the
great Society or Company of Jesus
superb in it's conception and perfect in
it's organization-was the fruit of his
new ideals.
This is the order whose herculean
might, even in it's infancy, made apos-
tate princes tremble, and strangled
the hydra of heresy, winning by it's in
defatigable zeal the grudging admir-
alton of prejudiced historians. Today
it is still one of the Church's most
learned, active and influential brother.
hoods. It's priests-and indeed all
priests rightly-ordained and commits
sioned-penetrate the sins hidden
lurking places and secret strongholds,
combating evil continually, from the
pulpit and through the confessional,
both by word of mouth and by actual
example. Compared to the hierarchy
and priesthood of the Catholic Church,
the latter-day followers of General
Booth are as raw, unframed militia to
the seasoned veterans of thousand
fields.
Any Christian, either cleric or lay
man, may generalize on the cardinal,
basic truths of our common faith
may tell the social pariah and the
sinner in the slums about God, in
spring them with love of His good
ness, fear of His justice and hope in
His mercy and merits; but none may
speak with the voice of the Church
las one having authority nor car
every man personally apply Christ's
abundant merits to the soul of his
fellow-man, like "spikenard of great
price," a precious, healing JUNCTION
The right to administer saving grace
at the same time with the Sacra
ments, is vested in priests alone, and
is shared by the Pope of Rome with
the humblest village curate. But
whether serving as chieftain or pri
vate, whether in the ranks of the
militant, suffering, or triumphant
children of the Church, the Catholic
Christian is foremost and always g
member of the First Salvation Army