The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1916-12-30

God will Judge all according to one
and the same standard, the standard
OF the Cross. Fidelity to this in the
individual will be measured by his per-
sonal responsibility, how far each OF
his acts is his own, placed with his full
knowledge of the morality of the act,
his free will and the full consent OF
his will
Each OF these elements in moral
act will vary for many individuals.
Some will class a certain work as OF
minor Importance, others will put the
same matter in a very different class.
Some individuals, because of their un-
fortunate rearing, will have much
more limited knowledge of what is
right or wrong than others, brought
up in good Catholic homes. Again, be-
cause of ones physiological defects,
one may not possess that perfect free
dom of will that ordinarily belongs to
man. In each and all of these cases,
the individual, we presume, is not re-
sponsible for his present defective con-
dition Should he be so, he must then
answer also for the effects that would
presumably follow from such defects.
Ordinarily, however, it is not the indl-
Vidual, but his parents and sometimes
a long line of ancestors, who handicap
the child from the beginning of its life,
in it's struggle to keep the command
ments. A drunken father, for instance,
will very often see his child defective,
mentally and morally, as well as physi-
gally. And the father will answer to
God not only for the unnatural condi-
ton of the child, but for all the evil
that will follow from those defects, OF
which the father is really the author.
The individual then will answer for
his acts so far as they are his own,
SO far as he has been the master, the
author of the act. How far this full
responsibility will apply in any individ-
ual case, it is impossible for another
person to decide, and in some cases,
the individual himself may not always
he infallible in reaching a judgment.
70 God, however, all the circum-
stances that affect the act are present.
lie sees the heart and knows how far
and how deeply the malice extends; or,
how bravely the faithful soul clings to
the cross at the cost of every sacrl-
flee, in spite of the strongest lncl1na-
lions to sim The conscience is the
highest law for each and according to
his conscience each will be judged.
Certainly God will not condemn any
one for that of which he is not guilty,
nor can he be guilty, in the full sense
of the word, of an act which is not his
own The best course, however, for
us all to follow is to repent and hope
for pardon.
Can any benefit be derived from re-
ceiVing a Sacrament when one is toe
young to fully understand, or, when
one is unconscious?
II is a matter of Catholic faith that
the Sacramento produce their effect OF
themselves. AS children we learned
i'm our catechism this same teaching
that the Sacramento always give grace
unless we put some obstacle IN the
wav. 1t is not the faith, or the knoWl
edge, or even the charity of the re
cipient that produces the grace, 1T /:
the sacrament itself, through Gods
ordaining, that gives the grace to th'
soul. An evident example OF this
teaching in the practice of the Church
is the baptism of infants. The little
child is unconscious, yet we bellev'
that the sacrament of Baptism give
grace to it's soul, makes it SPIRITUAL.
n friend of God, admits it to Cod
kingdom, and gives it right to
heaven.
The inquirer probably had in mine
only the Sacrament of the Holy Eu
charist. In this case, also, the rule i
the same. We would apply the ques
tion to his own case. Does he now, II
his mature years, fully understan
the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist
the fact of Christ's real presence, ant
how He is, present? Yet we presum
that he worthily receives the Holy Eu
charist and in doing so follows the eN
annie of all others in the Church, evel
the Apostles themselves, who, whel
they heard Christ speak the words
This is My Body; This is My Blood,
bowed their heads and believed. BE
cause we may be able to appreclat
better than little children the depth o
the mystery in the Holy Eucharist i
not the same thing as to understan
this mystery. But is not the creates
mystery in this sacrament the meas
ure of Gods love for us? Do not eve
little children reared in pious homes
as every catholic home should bt
know that God loves them? Do no
they understand, as we'll as many VIII
are much older, that God shows Hi
love for us by coming to each one i
the Holy Eucharist, the sacrament Q
Ills love? 1t is not years that are s
necessary for a fruitful and worth
Holy Communion as childlike low
for Cod. And we believe that earl
communion for children leads bot
parents and children to practice thi
Christian piety, this childlike love fo
God.
If a soul is in danger of being COZ
demned to hell would it not have bee
better had God not created mann
God did not create man to b
damned. He destined man for HEAVIER
for eternal happiness. 1t is true thu
there is a possibility that one ma
lose heaven. but if so, one will hay
done so by ones own deliberate choic
and in spite of all the graces that Go