The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1917-09-22
Continued from page ID
Death and Immortality

Death and Immortality
VII. FuIfiIIment Has Already Begun.
But the promise of the resurrection
gathers strength not only from Gods
word and His sure and abundant
fidelity but from fulfillment already.
For Christ is risen from the dead the
first fruits of them that sleep. His
resurrection is not only a forerunner
of our resurrection but it is both cause
and guaranty of the same. For by
faith we are made "a beginning of
His substance" we are Migrated in
to Him and partake of His immortal
life. Il am the vine," He said,i I'VE are
the branches" When, therefore, He
rose from the dead He made our res
direction secure. Already He has
mounted on high and with sacrifice
of infinite value has entered that
tabernacle not made with hands pur-
chasing for Himself and for all be-
longing to Him eternal entrance to
God. It was with foreknowledge of
His triumphant entry on high and of
all that it implied that He said: Il
am the resurrection and life. He who
believeth in me even though he be
dead shall live, and everyone, who
liveth and believeth in Me, shall not
die forever
Viii. Sign of Immortal Life.
The Deluge was such tragic al
though merited punishment that there
was danger that men henceforth
would look upon God as God of fear
alone. To remove this danger and to
brighten their thoughts of Himself,
God made the many-hued rainbow His
sign of reconciliation. By His word
He made that, which ordinarily signi-
.fies the ending of a passing shower, a
sign forever that universal death by
water would not take place again.
Christ came when spiritual death was
as universal as the deluge. He, too,
instituted for His followers sign
that the reign of this universal death
was at an end. He took bread, which
is the staff of life. and by His word,
changing it into His Body and Blood,
made it the sign and the source of
eternal life. 1.-The bread which shall
give is My flesh for the life of the
world" Let me speak in similitude.
1t is matter of ordinary knowledge
that words are transmitted from con-
tinent to continent on waves not per-
ceived by sense. But these are not
| the only unseen forces in the world.
We are surrounded here with many
varieties of stone. To our dull senses
of sight and touch they seem to be
inert, idle and merely encumbering the
ground. But science tells us not
to trust our senses alone. 1t
| tells US that these stones and all in
organic things are continuously com.
municating with one another, bonn.
| harding one another and assimilating
one another in a way beyond our
sense perception. Science has been
able to catch some of these emana
lions on a sensitized plate. 1t has
gone further and has flashed them on
our eyes in brilliant colors. We our
selves can verify that the magnet
makes things about it magnetic, that
radium makes things radioactive and
we suspect that one heavy thing gives
gravity to another in proportion to its
mass. Now if the New knowledge
may ask us not to rely on oul
senses alone surely the ancient
foitl, NOW do tho soma IF thoco inar1
things around us have most marvel
Gus force by which they makes Other
things like to themselves, surely Jesus
Christ, not inert like matter, but thu
living Conqueror of DEATH the great
est Force that ever entered this world
has the power to assimilate to Him
self. This assimilation He works
through the Bread of Life which HI
has given us. He works on the sou
now: "He who partakes of Me thu
same liveth by Me- He will worl
upon the body in the consummatiol
of all things. 81 shall raise him III
on the last day. With great reason
then, creeds, councils and Fathers o
the Church are at one in teaching thu
resurrection or the QeaQ.
: All who are sleeping here had il
fact or desire that Bread of Life. FO
many it was their Viaticum on thei
journey through the portals of death
It's life-giving effects could be nullifiel
only by willful, persevering revol
!. against God. Let us hope thatn none her
passed away in such revolt but tina
!, all like Elias fortified in the strength
of this Bread journeyed to the noun
:. tain of God. Turning the expression
of this hope into a prayer we say:
"Oh God Father, Comforter
Friend! Look down with kindly an
indulgent glance on this spot wher
rest the brethren of Thy Divine Sor
t Sanctify all those whom here we hav
confided to Thy keeping until tn
2 great day. With Thee is. pier
$ tiful redemption. May these word
t be verified in them. Our fat
] in the words and the sacred sign c
$ Thy Divine Son makes us picture ther
! radiant with the light of Thy face
2 May that picture of faith prove true
: This is our great and only consolatiO