The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1916-11-11
A MOST PRECIOUS RooK-To BE
READ, RE-READ AND
REMEMBERED.
The catechism.

full of instruction, that every Cath
olic should read, re-read, and know by
heart-a book that has, besides its
other merits, this special argument in
it's favor-that it is cheap-costing
only FIVE cents. 1t is the Catechism.
The Catholic Church is essentially a
teacher, bearing with her a message,
the Gospel of Christ. The Catholic
faith is a compleXus of well-deined
doctrines to enlighten the mind, of
clearly-expressed commandments to
guide the WILL The Catholic faith is
ours: we are the sons and soldiers of
the Catholic Church. 1t is our solemn
duty to know what the Church teaches
and commands.
The Catholic Church is a teacher
necessarily so, because she is the
Church of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ
was the teacherAthe teacher coming
from Heaven to save mankind. He told
what we should know, what we should
do in order to possess in our souls
the fruits of His mission. He was the
bearer of an evangel, a gospel-the
word evangel or gospel meaning "the
good news" The good news" was
the voice of Heaven, the voice of Jesus
Christ. "IIe taught" says the sacred
writer, las one having authority" He
taught" and, because He was the In
carnate God, He taught with author
ity." He taught demanding from all
hearers full acquiescence in his
words: amen, say unto you, that he
that heareth my word and believeth
Him that sent me has life everlasting
and cometh not into judgment" Fur
thermore, He made due provision that
His teaching should re-echo through
the nations long after He had with
drawn from earth His visible pres
ence. He built an organism, society,
a church, to take His place, to speak
for Him. He appointed as chieftains
of this Church Apostles, teachers:
Going, therefore, teach ye all nations"
-"preaching the Gospel to every
creature" "--"Teaehing them = Phserve
all things whatsoever l have COM
manded you"-"He that believeth and
is baptized shall be saved: he that
believeth not shall be condemned
And behold / am with you all days
even unto the consummation of the
world"
An anomaly to be at once spurned
by the human mind is that the Incar-
nate God was on earth without mes
sage, without Gospel, without good
news" for the children of men. These
were in sore need of truths telling
them of Gods love for mankind, of
mankinds duty to God; telling them
of salvation from their sins; awaken
ing within them hopes of eternal life.
To appear among them and say that
He had no other message than that
which their own philosophy, their own
science, whispered to them, were un-
worthy of His majesty and were a
mockery of their poverty and sinful
ness. And an anomaly it were to be
at once spurned by the human mind
is that, once His credentials given, He
could have taught without demanding
immediate belief and acquiescence:
that He could have taught heavenly
truths and then hidden men to pluck
His words to pieces, to take what
pleased, to reject the whole message
did they choose to do so.
And an anomaly too were it that
Christ established an organism, a
church as His representative, His
spokesman, to have promised to this
organism His abiding presence, with
out the command that this organism
ON its own part should teach "as one
having authority" and that on their
part men should quickly lend to it be
lief and acquiescence as to Christ
Jesus Himself Hence the words:
Teach all nations"-"He that believ
eth and is baptized shall be saved;
he that believeth not shall be con
tlemned." So the Catholic Church, the
Church of ages, the Church of nations
the lineal descendant of the first
Apostles is a teacher. The Catholic
Church has a gospel, message, ant
it is the divine precept that we rev
erently receive and believe this mes
sage, this gospel. Without messag
the Church is a useless, meaningless
eaNIlly uDOu w - AAASA''~-o
over and above all human learning
she were but one other of those man
schools of philosophy and science wit
which the world of men is alread
burthened, and which, whatever tn
light they throw across our footstep
over the earth, leave us in sad ignol
ance of the things of God, the thing
of our immortal souls. The Catholi
Church has a message: she teache
truths. These truths are her yer
principles of life: her Unborn Const
tuition: her creed: her dogmas.
Can you think of the Republic of tn
United States without its principle
telling why it exists and what ar
its purposes. The Republic has II
Declaration of Independence, its Coz
stitution: else it were chaotic mass
a tribe of savages where each on
is master and sovereign; where eac
one wanders tentatively and insecur
ly as his meager life. his weak wi
suggests or counsels. Yes, the Cath
lie Church has her creed, her dogma
This is the proof that she Is u