The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1917-08-18

Shameful pridet - The blind man
follows the guiding dog; but man
no longer trusts his God. "a 81
w. Kreiten, S. J.
Is. Mysteries Are Not to My Taste.
objection: Revealed religion con-
tains mysteries; but mysteries are
not to my taste. Spare me with your
mysteries, please!
Answer: But are we not actually
surrounded by mysteries? Goethe
says: Mysterious is Nature in the
sunlit day" There are mysteries in
the grain of sand, in the blade of
grass, in the drop of water, in the
nerve, in the eye, in the brain, in the
light, in the sound, in electricity, in
magnetism. The laws of gravitation
have been calculated, but gravitation
remains a mystery.
A great mystery is life" Who I'M
derstands how inanimate matter, for
example bread, becomes living matter
in man? But for all that no one will
quit eating or drinking. Who will re-
fuse TO accept money because no one
has yet understood the real nature of
metals? Hence mysteries are all
over in nature.
And therefore you need not be so
much surprised if also religion has its
mysteries. Or can God not know
much which surpasses our little I'M
derstanding, and. can He not reveal it
to us?
/ even think it very reasonable and
it is to be expected from the start,
that when God speaks to us, He should
tell us most interesting things, but
which we do not fully understand.
Already the great Church father ST.
Athanasius Ct 373) says: ga God Who
could be fully comprehended by us
would be no God at all"
16. Mysteries are Contradictions.
Objections: My reason forbids me
to accept mysteries which contain
contradictions, e.g., the mystery OF
the Trinity; l can not. accept that
three equal one and one equals three.
Answer: | don't accept that either
nor does the Christian religion; nay,
the assertion that three divine persons
are equal to one person or that one
divine nature is equal to three ma
lures, would be an express heresy.
The dogma is: The three Divine
common. This certainly is mystery,
and among men such thing does not
happen. But to prove that this is i'm
possible wftf~God WE would shav ito
comprehend clearly the inner nature
of the infinite God and only thus
would we be able to judge what is and
what is not possible in and with God.
But since this is absolutely impos-
sible, it is simply want of common
sense and judgment to claim that
there is a contradiction in the mys-
terry of the Holy Trinity. The only
thing that reason can say is: Of my
self I know absolutely nothing Of the
threefold personality of the Divine
Nature, neither whether it is possible
or impossible. But if God Himself
informs me of this fact by means OF a
well-attested revelation, I accept it on
the authority of God with the fullest
certainty and wait patiently till after
death | can penetrate deeper into this
mystery.
This is one of many instances
where the teachings of religion are
misunderstood and then, because OF
this misunderstanding, become I'M
reasonable and are therefore rejected
by the superficial philosopher" "A
little learning is a dangerous thing!
AZ. Mysteries are Against the Dignity
of Man.
Objections: The dignity of man con-
sists in his nationality, but mysteries
are against reason, hence they are
against the dignity of man.
Answer: The mysteries revealed
by God are above but not against hui
man reason. Hence they are not
against mans dignity. On the con-
trary, God does us a great honor by
leaving us partake in his divine
knowledge, though it must be limited
on account of our limitations. Only
bride. which considers itself the
source of all truth, feels itself hum
bled by mysteries and rather remains
ignorant than be instructed by high
er Authority.
It is the same frame of mind OF
the one or other backwoodsman who
will not believe that the earth moves
around the sun or that fire can be
made to burn in water, and the like.
1T is said the great, noble reason
struggles against mysteries, but the
fact is it is the flesh, the sensual,
ignoble- flesh, which struggles against
the commandments. For the aboil-
ton of two Commandments, e;g., the
sixth and seventh, these philosophers
would gladly take 200 mysteries into
the bargain. "
lFranko, s. J., Populaere, eAntworttee1nr
Popular Answers-voE i, CHI. I5.)