The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1918-03-09
THE WORD OF GOD

QrapGry tnat luxury KNOWS. WIS
dom is not found in the land of those
who live in delights" (Job XVIII, 13).
But high up on the mountain, out on
the lonely hillside, il the bleak wilder
ness it came. 1t came in the bush all
afire, in thunder and lightning in the
roar of a mighty wind, in the vein of
whisper. Not only the mightiest
elements acknowledged it's advent but
mysterious sleep was attentive to its
still small voice. But whether it was
the shepherd of Madam, or the herds
man of Thecua, or the precursor in the
desert, or any other other Of the long
line of prophets, who heard the voice
from beyond, he knew that he had
been in communication with the Most
High God. All his faculties were eX-
alted by that word and he spoke be-
cause he had TO speak. "The Lord
Of hosts decrccs and who can annul
it. His hand is stretched out and who
can turn it away? 0s. XIV, 27) So
in long succession prophets came tell
ing with power the existence and the
mandates Of the Living God. They
knew what they taught because they
saw it. Men knew that they taught
truly because God sealed their word
with the manifestation of power. They
became His ambassadors. Their words
were His.
Attributes of Word of God.
Mans material advancement has
been largely due to accident. The dis
covery of bronze and glass, the nota-
bic Improvement in the steam engine,
the invention of the pendulum, of the
electric motor, of wireless telegraphy,
of serum therapy, and of a hundred
other things, was largely accidental.
In fact, scientific experimentation
today is an order provoking into
action Of the unknown energies
Of nature. Thus, knowledge has
grown up haphazard. Each new
discovery has been over-emphasized
and has thrown out of harmony all
the rest Of the edifice of knowledge.
1t is this over-emphasis, of which the
humanist takes advantage, that
causes a temporary bewilderment be-
fore harmony is restored. But the Word
of God descending from the plane of
the Divine Mind proceeds froAh har-
mony to harmony, from faith to faith.
The faith of Moses was that of Abra-
ham, Isaac and Jacob. The faith of the
other prophets was built on that of
Moses until the Word of God Itself
was made Incarnate and in all its
splendor made known the treasures of
the wisdom of God. 1--WE saw His
glory as of the Only Begotten of the
Father full of grace and truth" That
glory was so great that no pen has
been able to reproduce it. We only
know that even the fragmentary
sketches of the Evangelists are so
sublime that they could not have been
written without living model The
glory of the word so enlightened and
emboldened the prophets of the new
order that in their own words they
were ready to "dismay tactics" ito
pull down battlements" and to LAY
low every height that extolleth itself
against Cod" This fearlessness OF
! the spokesmen was but an outward
manifestation OF the intrinsic fear
| lessness of the word of God. 1t is GER
tain with the certainty of God Who
with wondrous deeds sealed it with
| the seal of truth. 1t is independent
of all mans theories, all his quiddets
and outlets, and all his most reason
ed research. 1t is eternally true. All
other teaching has to adjust itself
4 to the word of God. The word of God
can never be trimmed, clipped or
Topped any more than it can be up
rooted and thrown aside in favor Of
any scheme of human thought. A
| treasure so precious must be kept
untarnished from contact with earth.
Hence God to make worthy recep-
! tacle for His word elevated and enrich
ed the prophets Of old and the Church
now with a wondrous gift-the gift of
faith.
The Setting of Gods Word.
Great men can be understood only
by the great or by those who are
somehow brought up to their level.
Their aim is too high, their outlook
too broad, their principles too pro-
found for groveling, narrow and shall
low minds. Therefore as rule they
are misunderstood and undervalued by
4 their contemporaries. Had these great
men the power to illumine the minds
of. their fellows they might bring these
to a level with themselves. But no
man has this power; prejudice, envy,
selishness, suspicion are too strong.
If justice is done them eventually and
in time we acknowledge the superior
merits of Washington or Lincoln;l
it is not done by one man but by the
collective mind of after years, when
: the small men with their small pas.
. sions have passed away. Now the
knowledge of God and of Christ in as
much as it must be received by the
human mind is subject to this law.
! Men of old lost in sense received the
knowledge of God, but gave the Divine
name to wood and stone; the contem.
4 lporaries of Christ, filled with envy and
! prejudice interpreted His wisdom.
3 His holiness and His miracles in a
a lsense the opposite of the true. God
E Who respects at all times human lib
Q Crty forced neither the idoIator nor