The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1916-01-22
Continued from page ID
CATHOLIC GUILD HALL

Continued from page ID
CATHOLIC GUILD HALL
ment seat on high will depend on the
manner in which we treat those who
are in want and misfortune and mis-
cry here below? In surprise the just
as we'll as the wicked will ask: Lord,
when did we see Thee hungry?" And
His answer will surely be: Amen,
say to you as long as you did it
to one of these My least brethren
you did it to Me" And on the other
hand: "As long as you did it not to
one of these least ones neither did
you do it to Me-"
Supernatural Motive.
The motive which prompts our char
tiles is supernatural. We believe that
what we do for the poor, the sick, the
helpless, the suffering, the unfortu-
nate, the sorrowful, we do for Christ.
To serve them is to serve Him. Their
needs are His needs. They are at
Will I1lO USduty ISSdI
of their own merits or shortcomings.
The recognition of Him in the diff
ferent types of human want and
Indebtedness has always been the in
spiration of the noblest deeds of Cath
olic charity. Like her Founder, the
Church has always gone about doing
good She has come down through
the ages teaching the duty of charity,
urging the practice of it, organizing
it, and infusing His spirit into all her
children. And what a grand army of
charity workers, religious and lay, she
has always had! Her heart has ever
throbbed with compassion for man S
every i'll. In her eyes the victims of
distress of every kind are sacred be-
ings, deserving of generation because
with them Christ wishes to be identi-
fed. To minister to them is a priyi-
lege that is granted to her children
rather than an act of condescension
that is demanded of them. The super
natural motive is the foundation on
which our whole system of charitable
lnoIllullOli0 10 DullL. DuCH 10 l1e 1uO-
tive and such the reward
The history of the saints record
many legends and customs which
show the belief of our forefathers in
the faith that Christ wishes to be per-
sonified in the objects of charity. 1t
is related that st. Martin, a Roman
soldier, cut his mantle in two and
gave one-half of it to q beggar whom
he met. III a vision on the following
might he saw our Saviour wrapped in
the garment he had given to the beg
gar. We read that st. Jane OF Chan
tai, Of a princely house of France, was
accustomed TO speak to the poor with
the reverence due to sovereigns be-
cause she saw in Them she said, the
King of Kings. 1t is st. John Chry-
session. who tells of beautiful Gus
tom in. vogue among Christians in his
time of fitting up a room in their
homes for the poor and of calling it
Christ's room. All such variations
and customs were but different ways
of expressing the conviction that
Christ was recognized in the objects
of charity. There it is. Not the
starving you fed, not the ragged you
clothed, not the miserable you con-
so1ed but l was hungry and you gave
Me to eat, in rags and you clothed
Me, in sorrow and you consoled Me.
Charity Test.
Charity is one of the marks by
which the true Christian may be
known. When the messengers of
John the Baptist asked our, Divine
Lord whether He was the true Mes
siah or not His answer was: tGo
and relate to John what you have
heard and seen. The blind see, the
lame walk, the lepers are cleansed,
the deaf hear, the dead rise again, the
poor have the gospel preached to
them" As He appealed to His works
of benevolence, as proofs of His being
the true Messiah; SO when you, His
followers, are asked whether you are
the true Christians or not, you should
be able to make answer: Come and
consider our charities. Come and see
that the needy and the afflicted are
amply provided for" That is the sign
of the true Christian And it may be
unhesitatingly said that there is no
body of women in this community who
can stand that test so well as the
members of the Guild of Catholic
Women