The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1916-10-14
Does the Catholic Church approve

of evening marriages?
1t is an article of Catholic faith that
Jesus Christ made marriage Il sacra-
ment. 1t had been even in the be-
ginning an indissoluble contract; but,
Christ through His own goodness and
power made this same contract the
means of giving divine grace to the
souls of those who worthily make the
contract.
The Church guided by the same
spirit of Christ has surrounded this
sacrament of matrimony with all that
may impress upon the couple the sac
redness of the step that they are TAX
ing. She brings them before the
altar of sacrifice, while the Divine Vic
tim thereon offers up His life in their
behalf Even the words used in the
Mass, as chosen by the Church, are
particularly appropriate, again and
again asking that help and grace may
descend upon them from above. Even
during the moments of sacrifice, while
Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist
rests upon the altar, the priest turns
towards the two kneeling in the sanct-
uary and prays that Gods blessing
may come upon them, ending the pray
er with the words through Jesus
Christ Our Lord" Holy Communion,
the Body of Christ, is received by each
that Our Lord may abide with them in
their new state in life.
From this review of the Catholic
ritual we see clearly that evening"
or high noon marriages are quite
foreign, both to the mind and heart
of the Church. If she at any time
tolerates such it is always with grave
misgivings and only that greater evils
may be averted. What the Church
cannot dispense from is that those
who are to receive the sacrament of
matrimony must already be in the
state of sanctifying grace. So Jesus
Christ Himself has ordered He made
marriage means of giving grace to
those who are already possessed of
His divine friendship, Or, as the
catechism expresses it, He made mar
riage sacrament of the living. Over
this the Church has no control. She
would help us, however, to understand
this truth by surrounding the sacra-
ment with her richest solemnity.
Is a priest allowed to say two High
Masses on Sunday?
The ordinary public Mass of the
Church is u High Mass i'll which the
celebrant is assisted by deacon and
subdeacon. The High Mass that we
are familiar with in this country, in
which neither deacon nor subdeacon
assists is grown into a custom
through lack of priests. For the same
reason, namely, dearth of priests,
the Church grants to priests the priv
ilege of saying two Masses on Sun
days and holydays of obligation when
ever the Bishop of the diocese judges
that grave necessity for doing SO
exists as when, for example, a consid-
cradle number of people may not
otherwise be able to hear Mass Both
may be High Masses. But great.
er number of Masses may not be
said by the same priest even when
such grave necessity presents itself.
The only exception to this ruling of
the Church applies to Christmas and
All Souls Day, the latter Of very re-
cent legislation. On these two days
each priest is allowed to say three
Masses, even though there be no other
occasion for doing SO than that of pri.
vate devotion.
How is it right for God to put a
person on this earth and make him
live against his will? You may say
that ! am not normal. If so, | am free
from the rules Of normal people, and
therefore, may take my own life. 1t
is not my fault that | am not normal
You may answer that if | don't find
happiness in this life, | should look
for it in the world to come. The
thought of heaven brings me no com
fort. Is not God selfish in making so
many creatures for the purpose OF
adoring Him?
1t is generally admitted that it is
better to be than not to be. Exist
ence is in itself blessing. Evils may
crowd SO quickly and heavily upon
us that they will seem to outweigh
the good of life. We may admit that
in some cases they do exceed in this
life the joy of living But does not
st. Paul say that the sufferings of this
world are not worthy to be compared
with the glory to come that shall be
revealed in those who love God? He
appeals to the future life to balance
the irregularities that are found in
this world. There is no better solu-
ton of the difficulty so far as our
knowledge extends, given by philos-
ophers. In God we trust" is a good
Christian principle to live by.
That one would seriously and with
calm elaboration wish rather not to
be than to be is, indeed, a mark of
being abnormal. But such condi-
tion would not necessarily excuse one
from all responsibility. The fear of
taking the step of self-destruction is
an evidence that the person knows
such an act I'd be wrong, and he is,
therefore, at least somewhat respon.
sible.
1t is true that God did not consult
us before He gave us life, but neither
is it due to us that he has prepared
heaven for all, and that those who
will serve Him will obtain it. In one
case and the other gift is bestowed: