The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1919-05-31
Continued from page L.

consists IN ATTAINING our Destiny. mat
was the mission of Christ and the
Church received from Him none other
He is the lamb that taketh away the
sins of the world. He is the Good
Shepherd that goes in search of the
lost sheep. He came to bring peace
to men by doing away with the en-
nifty between man and God, sin. His
birth, life, death were for this pur.
pose. Sacrifice, sacraments, priest.
hood have this for their object and
raison d etre. Gospels, epistles, the
, whole New Testament teach this one
fist ushered him into public life with
the preaching of penance. No sooner
had he left this world than the chief
of His apostles, st. Peter, took up the
burden of that preaching in his first
sermon to his countrymen in Jerusa-
lem, and to their despairing cry, what
shall we do men and brethren
he replied, do spenance and be
baptized every one of you in the name
of Jesus Christ for the remission of
your sins" Yes, this truly was the
mission of Christ and is the mission
of the Church, to save man from sin.
Dogma! of what avail is it, unless
it results in right conduct, in moral
living, in communion with God?
Ceremonial! Administration, of what
use are they, what can be their edu-
cational purpose unless they be means
to lead man to his eternal destiny
Now what is that destiny? to know,
love and serve God here below. And
what is the one obstacle to that
knowledge, service and love? Surely
sin. This then is the ultimate pur-
pose, the final mission, the main work
of the Church on earth--to do away
with sin. This is the view of the
Church which is ever before the eyes
of the priests who are dealing with
souls in the active ministry and of
the faithful who have recourse to
their ministry to be relieved of the
burden of sin. They forget or over
look this view whose intellectual
occupations bring the Church before
them only as the teacher of truth and
the stern curber of novelties. And
they too forget, or never know what
the Church truly is, whose whole con-
cept of her is drawn from the &C
counts of her given in the daily press.
If we would know the Church's mis-
sion. let us go to the cradle in the days
of Christ and the apostles, to her work
in the slums of the cities and the
hamlets of the land, where poor hui
manity grOaTs in it's sins and strives
to rise to purer regions.
Church is Means.
Man is not for the Church. The
Church is for man. The Church is
not an end, it is but the means to
an end. AS we'll say that civil govern
ment is an end in itself and that man
is for government; whereas it is only
a means to an end and government
is for man. The natural, unalienable
rights of man, life, property, liberty,
the pursuit of happiness-such is the
end for which government is insti-
tuted, to secure these government is
established; and as long as it does
secure them, the government is leg
itimate and to be obeyed; where it
ceases to secure them, the govern
ment is illegitimate and may be over
thrown in order to be reconstructed
SO as to be made an effective means
to the end for which it exists
The Church with her priesthood,
her sacrificial, sacramento, ceremOn-
ial, administrative system, is only a
means to an end, a continuance to
secure more safely and speedily an
end. That end is mans destiny, the
knowledge, love and service of God
here below and mans eternal happi-
ness hereafter. The Church, | say,
is a contrivance, a body of organized
means to effect that end. Thank heav-
en-, she is divine continuance, an
organization of Gods making, and be-
ing such, she is not subject to the
remaking of man, and being such, she
can never fail of effecting the end of
which she is the means, provided of
course that mans free will cooper
ate with her; for, you know, she is
HUI Gil pUW6I0u ny uSI ulNlAc lOuHu-
ing to override free will. no more
than God Himself overrides it. Thus
we are assured that in dispelling ig-
norance and sin, the two obstacles to
mans salvation, that is to say, in
teaching Gods revealed truth and
granting His grace, the Church is in
defectible, whereas she is not indefect-
ible in her pOlitico-ecclesiastica work.
This is her divine mission and work
and this is the divine element in her.
Upon this must we fall back when
puzzled, or discouraged, or wearied by
the human element within the Church,
by the play of human interests and
passions which at times rise up with
menacing prominence in her social
political and administrative work
Why are you puzzled, discouraged and
wearied at the prominence of this
human element? Unless it is that you
forget her divine element, unless it is
that you look at her from the jour
nalist's, or the scientists standpoint
and not, as you should, from the stand
point aof the parish priest, the mis-
sionary, the Apostles, of Jesus Christ
Himself. Yes, to teach and save souls
to do away with sin,' to lead up to the
heights of Christian virtue, that is her
God given work, and, thanks be to
heaven, in spite of all the frailties OF