The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1916-07-08

Q$eQ IN GHe puTldl ScINlSSi
We have received several questions
of similar import from different
sources and in reply to all we state
that James j. Hill died a Catholic
and that is why the Catholic ritual
was used in the burial service. We
were under the impression that we
had stated this fact so clearly
when giving an account of Mr.. Hills
death and burial that none of our
readers could have any doubts about
the matter, or be under any mis-
apprehension in regard to the facts
of the case. In the issue of The Cath
Ollie Bulletin of June 3, we said:
Father Gibbons, who is an intimate
friend of the Hill family, was sum-
moned as soon as Mr.. Hills illness
became serious and administered to
him the last rites of the Church. :.
Before the remains were removed
from the house the Very Reverend
Thomas ]. Gibbons, V. g., pastor of
the Cathedral of st. Paul, assisted by
the Very Reverend Francis Schaefer,
rector of the ST. Paul Seminary, read
the prayers for the dead prescribed
by the Roman ritual and preached a
brief sermon eulogistic of the de-
ceased" And again; THE prayers
of the Catholic Church were heard
by James Jerome Hill as ahis earthly
life was nearing it's close; its sacred
rites were ministered to him; and
when all was over its chants of i'm
ploration reechoed around his coffin"
Every intelligent Catholic knows that
the last rites of the Church" are not
administered to any one except
Catholic, and since the last rites
were administered to Mr.. Hill it fol
lows that he died a Catholic. 1t is
true that Mr.. Hill did not profess the
Catholic religion during his lifetime;
but he was always well disposed
towards the Church, as witness his
generous benefactions and gifts to
religion from time to time. But be-
fore he died, a Catholic priest was
summoned, the last rites of the Cath
Ollie religion were performed, and the
prayers of the Catholic ritual were
said before his mortal remains were
consigned to the grave.
The Sacred Heart of Jesus was
pierced by lance. Why then, is He
generally represented with the wound
on His right side?
The gospel of st. John mentions
the fact that the side of the crucified
Savior was pierced by a lance That
the thrust of the lance reached the
heart is evident, for water and blood
flowed from the wound. Whether the
lance entered the body from the right
side, or from the left is not known
There are traditions for both opinions.
Many artists follow the tradition of the
right side, as it was the most convent
ent for thrust from below the cross.
When did the Mohammedan religion
originate? Was it in existence before
the time of Christ? Is their number
larger than that of the Catholic
church,
The Mohammedan religion origi-
mated through the activities of Moham-
med, an Arabian, who was born at
Mecca in the year A. D. $40 and died
in the year 633. He was a pagan, a
heather who in travels for commercial
purposes acquired an imperfect knowl
edge of the Jewish and Christian
religions. In the year Clio, he claimed
to have received certain revelations
from God through the Angel Gabriel
and Immediately set about the con
version of Arabia as the prophet of
Allah. He met with opposition and
was compelled to fee from Mecca to
Medina. His followers increased
so rapidly that within ten years he
was able to enter Mecca in triumph
as the master of Arabia The history
of Mohammed is so shrouded in legend
and myths and so full of contradic.
tions that it is not easy to Judge the
character of the man. He may have
been sincere in the beginning of his
career, but later fell into such gross
excuses that many explain them by
epileptic fits. After the death OF
Mohammed, his successors aspired to
world power, and for a while seemed
to be on the road to success. Within
a century they had conquered Pales
tine, Syria, Mesopotamia, Egypt
Northern Africa and Southern Spain
They even crossed the Pyrennees and
threatened to invade Italy, when they
met with a crushing defeat at the
hands of Charles Martel in the year
732. Later this religion spread to
Persia and India; they were finally
defeated by the Turks, who then
adopted the Mohammedan religion
The religious tenets are to be found
in the Koran. The existence and
unity of God are accepted; but the
Trinity of God and the Divinity OF
Christ are rejected, God rewards the
good and Furnishes the wicked. Only
Mohammedans shall be saved and
their paradise shall be one of fantas
tic and sensual pleasure. The moral
teaching is far inferior to that OF
christianity; in many things it is
strict to an irrational degree; in other
points it falls even below the ethics
of paganism. Mohammedanism is
strictly a state religion, and flourished
in the past and exists today through
the protection of civil authority. The
number of Mohammedans is approx
mately 2S0 millions; the number Of
Catholics is S6O,OO0,OOO.