The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1915-05-22
How did wakes originator


been a custom of Catholics of all ma
tions to watch at the side of a de-
parted relative or friend until the time
of burial In good old Catholic times
the hours of watching were spent in
prayer and Christian songs. The
Psalms were read, the Rosary recited,
and every newcomer Sprinkled the
corpse with holy water. In monas-
teries and converts throughout Eu-
rope, and to some extent in this coun-
try, this custom is still observed the
monks and nuns relieving each other
every hour during the night. Unfor-
tunately this pious custom led to re-
gretable abuses among the lay peo-
pie, who made the death watch an
apology for smoking, drinking, card
playing and riotous conduct, forcing
ecclesiastical authorities to forbid
wakes in some places. 1t is in most
cases more becoming to watch with
the dead for few hours in prayer,
and then to have all except, perhaps,
few, retire for the night or leave the
house of mourning.
Is a priest bound to secrecy about
things told him in the confessional
after absolution?
The secrecy imposed on priest by
his Office of confessor takes in not
merely the sins told him, but also the
various explanations that may have
been offered in the narration of sins.
Another angle is sometimes given by
the Church to mark out the field of
confessional secrecy. 1t forbids the
revelation of anything heard in con-
nection with a confession which would
work to the harm of either the Sacra-
ment or the penitent. The circum-
stances that a thing of this nature
was told after the bestowal of abso-
luton would not remove it from the
sacredness of Sacramento secrecy.
Are military chapIains allowed to
give soldiers absoIution collectively,
without hearing their confessions, but
insisting on the, necessity of contrition,
and then admit them to Holy Com
munion?
Yes, according to recent instructions
from the Sovereign Pontiff, given
through the Sacred Penitentiary and
nothing prevents soldiers thus absolv-
ed from receiving Holy Communion.
Military chaplains must be careful to
instruct the soldiers always at the OPP
perfume moment that such an absolu-
ton does not produce it's effects unless
they are we'll disposed and unless
they have the intention of fulfilling
the obligation of making their confess
sion in its integrity, if they escape the
danger.
tries where they have county option,
the priest is forbidden to use wine at
the altar. Is this so? If so, what
should the priest use instead?
County option, wherever enforced,
does not forbid the use of wine in
the Sacrifice of the Mass. In one
state in this country, Arizona, the
manufacture, importation and sale of
all wines and liquors are forbidden. If
rigidly enforced, according to the let
ter of the law, this would prevent the
importation of wine for sacramento
purposes. An appeal from this law
has been taken to the Supreme Court
on the ground that the law violates
the constitutional right of people to
worship God according to the dictates
of conscience. Those who were instru-
mental in having this prohibition law
placed on the statute books of Ari-
IONA declare that it was not their in
tention to prohibit the use of wine for
sacramento purposes and, up to the
present, it has not had this effect.
AT any rate, the priest is not bound
by such law, as it is evidently I'M
just. However, if he could not pro-
cure wine for the celebration of Mass
he could not offer up the Holy Sacri-
flee, for wine is essential. 1t was
bread and wine that Christ used when
He instituted the Holy Sacrifice and
the Church must preserve what He
has commanded.
Should every erown-up member of
family that rents pew and pays for
it be required to give sten cents in
the ordinary plate collection on SUM-
day? Should not the priest be salts
fled with nickel?
The tone of this question sounds
coppery The plate collection on Sun
day does not go to the priest person
ally. He is not one penny the richer
because of more generous offering
put in the collection box. Personally,
it makes little, if any, difference to
him whether an individual gives a
dime or nickel; but it makes a great
difference to the parish church. The
collection is intended to defray the gen.
eral expense of the church, the procur-
ing of supplies for the sanctuary and
altar and for the needy poor of the
parish. 1t is rare exception to find
parish supplied with poor fund"
to aid those in want. In an ordinary
parish of a hundred families there
would be approximately five hundred
communicates. If each of these gave
a penny the collection would be $500
which, sad to relate, is about the aver
age. If each gave ten cents the offer
ing would be $4,000. The average
church-goer could give much more
more than he or she usually does to
the collection without becoming any
poorer. Ten cents given to Almighty