The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1916-09-09
How can Catholic convert friend
who is willing to hear the truth?

who is willing to hear the truth?
Conversion comes from God. Oul
best efforts will do no more than dis
pose the mind faVorably for GODS
grace. This grace comes in the day
of visitation" When person is will
ing to hear the truth, the difficulty OF
conversion should not be very great
The simplest plan to follow is to bring
the person to a Catholic priest who
will take up in a systematic manner
the different doctrines of the Church
and explain each in its proper order.
If the person is not willing to go this
far. Catholic literature can be given
him: books that are instructive OF the
faith. such as 1.-The Faith of Our
Fathers" Sometimes spiritual read
ing. such as THE Heart of the Cos
nell" is more effective than works OF
controversy. Earnest and humble
prayer will obtain the grace so long
as the heart is rightly disposed.
VIII you please state in the Question
and Answer column of The Catholic
Bulletin If the following statements
taken from the christian Herald" OF
June 21st, 1916, are true? "The doc
trine Of the immaculate Conception or
the belief that the Virgin Mary was
conceived and born without sin is not
TAUGHT in the Scriptures, and was not
adopted as an article of Catholic faith
till past the middle Of the nineteenth
century. This doctrine must not be
confused with that of the Virgin Birth,
which teaches that Jesus was born
without human father"
We will reply to the second state
ment first. A truth is held as OF Cath
Ollie faith after it has been defined by
the supreme authority of the Church
as a part of divine revelation. The
Church does not pretend to reveal the
doctrine. The Church has no author
ity and has never pretended to add
anything to the gospel of Jesus Christ.
He taught all truth, finished the work
of revelation, and confided the whole
body of truth to His Church, that is,
the apostles and their successors, the
Teaching Church. The truth, then,
that the Church defines already eX-
listed in the body of truth received
from her Founder. Such truths, and
so, also, the doctrine of the lmmacu-
late Conception, not only are con-
tanned in the deposit of faith, but were
believed by the Church previous to
the final authoritative definition OF
them. We say, then, that the Church
believed this doctrine long before it
was publicly proclaimed as of Catho-
lie faith in the year 1854 by Pope Plus
TX. The doctrine as now defined by
the Church was held and believed
in the Church even explicitly back to
very early times. Four hundred
wears earlier before the date OF the
definition, Pope Sixtus ~ adopted the
feast of the Immaculate Conception
for the whole Latin Church. Two hun
dred years earlier than this, the Fran
ciscan and many other religious or
ders observed the feast publicly. Two
hundred years still earlier, that is, in
1890. the feast was observed publicly
in the diocese of Winchester, England.
Even in the seventh century this feast
was honored by the Church. George,
metropolitan Bishop of Nicomedia, IN
$50, says that the feast was already
of long standing. Though the state
ment quoted above, that the doctrine
was not of Catholic faith before 1854,
is literally correct, yet it was always
of divine faith that is contained in the
deposit of revelation and it was even
explicitly believed in the church in
the early centuries, and was implicitly
held by the Church in the general
honor paid to Blessed Virgin Mother,
even from the beginning.
That the doctrine is not specifically
mentioned in the Scriptures, we ad-
init, but, in this case also we deny the
Implication, namely, that the doctrine
is not contained in the revelation OF
Jesus Christ. The assumption that
what is not written specifically in the
Scriptures is not taught by Jesus
Christ we deny. st. John says
Many other signs did Jesus which
are not written in this book" III
they were written every one, the
world itself, think, would not be able
to contain the books that should be
written (Jno. Xxx, 30 and XXI, 25),
Where in the Scriptures is there any
specific command to observe Sunday
as O day of rest and to keep it holy?
The seventh day of the week is the
one that in the beginning God com
manded to be kept holy. We readily
acknowledge that there is scriptural
sanction for the observance of the
Sunday and we also just as firmly
claim scriptural sanction for the doc
trine of the Immaculate Conception OF
the Blessed Virgin Mary.
1t is not necessary, nor consistent
with our allotted space to quote many
passages of Scripture to justify our
confidence. The fact that the I'm
maculate Conception of the Blessed
Virgin Mary is questioned shows that
it is possible, that there is no neces
sary contradiction in the two words
Mary and Immaculate Conception. II
this grace or favor was possible il
must have been implied in the words
God sent to Mary by His angel: Hail
full of grace" These words must have
been justified by facts already exist
ing in the person of Mary. She must
as these words indicate, have held q
unique position among creatures in
the world of grace. This would de
mand that her soul had always beer