The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1917-03-03
To the Clergy and the Laity of the
Diocese of st. Paul:
Relieved brethren:

Diocese OF st. Paul:
Beloved Brethren:
take as the theme of my letter for
the Lenten season of 1917-The
Church, Founded by Christ, the In
fallible Interpreter of His Revelation.
Solemn duties rest upon us in our
attitude towards the Church: those we
do not understand to the fullness of
their bearings, unless we have pom
dered we'll over the origin of the
Church in Christs own love and
power, and understand we'll the SOW
ereign authority with which its Found
er has invested it.
| rehearse the act of faith, a part
of our morning and evening prayer:
20 my God, firmly believe that thou
art one God in three Divine Persons,
Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. l be-
lieve that thy Divine Son became man,
and died for our sins, and that He will
come to judge the living and the dead.
/ believe these and all the truths
which the Holy Catholic Church
teaches, because Thou hast revealed
be deceived"
The ultimate, the fundamental rea-
son of our act of faith is the supreme
veracity of God: because God has
spoken who can neither deceive nor
be deceived. The immediate, the near
at-hand reason is the Church-the
Church, established by the Incarnate
God, guided and guarded by Him in
its Interpretation of the teachings
that went forth to the ears of men,
nineteen hundred years ago, in the
cities and across the plains of Samaria
and Judea.
Admitted that the Teacher of nine
teen hgndred years ago Ts2Ss the S@ll
of God, who neither deceives nor is
deceived, the question is urgent-How
we, so distant from Him, may know
with moral certainty, what He did
teach, what He did command.
The mandate is conspicuous in the
clarity of its terms: "He that believ-
eth and is baptized shall be saved: he
that believeth not shall be con-
demned." But that we may believe,
we must have the knowledge, positive
and unmistakeable of the things that
are to be believed.
A link manifestly there is bringing
us into contact with the Teacher, who
was the Son of God, a channel through
which His words descend to us, a
means by which we may know what
He did say, what He did command
us to believe. A proXimate rule of
faith there must be, by which and
through which we listen to Him, and
are made morally sure that we are
hearing His teachings, pure and un-
defiled, as they were when first
spoken by Himself. Else our obedi-
ence were without reason: our faith
were a vague, uncertain assent, un-
worthy of the human mind, incapable
of begetting the resolve that He eX.
acts from us, of transmitting His
teachings into the deep fibre of our
manner of life, and adhering to them
even unto the martyrdom of blood.
This link, this proXimate rule OF
faith, we must at once presume, was
established by Christ himself. The
matter was too important, too vital tc
our faith to have been left to human
device or ingenuity. The revelation
promulgated by Christ was itself sc
important that He, the Eternal Word
had descended from Heaven to speal
it to the children of men. But wha
could have been the meaning of this
great act of condescension, if at the
same time unmistakeable means were
not taken by which the revelation
should reach those for whom it wa:
intended? And who else than the Re
vealer himself could be trusted to pro
vide such means-means adequate il
all measure to the purpose it was t.
fulfill?
And so was the occurrence. H
who first promulgated the revelation
provided for its preservation and pei
petuation.
Christ, the Founder of the Church.
Christ founded a Church, society
human in it's visible elements, divin
in it's inner soul, to be the custodia
and the expounder of His revelation
to endure upon earth so long as Hi
revelation was to be the source {
supernal light to the children of me
-''All days even unto the consumm;
tion Of the world"
We open the authentic book Of hi
tory, the volume known as the Ne
Testament. Two supreme facts illun
inc it's pages-the first, that Chris
was the Teacher; the next, this othe
fact. that He founded a Church as tn
means of repeating to all times th
truths of which He had been th
Teacher.
He announced that He should foun
a Church: "And / say to thee: TIL;
thou art Peter: and upon this rock
will build my Church, and the gate
of Hell shall not prevail against it
81 will build my Church: languas
could not be palmer. A Church ";
to be built, built by Christ Himself