The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1919-05-17

WHY do those outside the Church
find it hard to accept the BLESSED
Sacrament? sometimes cannot un-
derstand why Protestants do not all
Join our Church.
1t is surely not more difficult to
understand why all non-Catholics do
not Join the Catholic Church than 1t
is to grasp why all the Jews did not
accent the teaching of Christ. Yet
comparatiycly few were converted by
the personal preaching of the Messiah.
Faith is gift OF God and is. not
forced on any man. God granted you
that faith gratuitously, and you nave
fostpred and cherished it, and so 1t is
easy for YOU to believe. The ancestors
Of vour non-Catholic friends ahan-
doned the true faith centuries ago,
and that faith has not been regalned,
AS to the point in question, the doc
trinc of the Real Presence, this same
general principle holds true. There
is the additional difficulty that many
Protes,ants approach the doctrine
with the prejudice that it is impos-
sible for God to be encompassed
within the little Host. We answer
that nothing is impossible with God
eXcert the self-contradictory; the
mere fact that something seems diff
cult to us, and hard OF comprehen-
sion. should not be an inSurmounta-
bic difficulty, for there are many
things that we do not understand. II
the infinite God Of Heaven was able
TO be born man, TO assume human
nature. surely that same God is able
10 dwell. really, truly, and suhstan-
TALLY, within the dimensions of the
cucharistic wafer Moreover, it is
not a question Of our comprehension,
it is a question Of the word OF God.
Did God promise to give us His flesh
10 eat and His blood to drink, and
did He keep that promise? That is
the point for the Christian TO de-
rermne. That promise and its full
illment are made clear from the
words Of our Lord in the sixth chapter
of the Gospel OF st. John and at the
Last supper There is no reason to
suppose that Christ did not mean
what He said The people understood
Him literally. and while they found
His doctrine hard, He offered no cor
rectiOns: the Apostles accepted His
teaching in its true meaning, and ST.
Paul expressed that meaning in his
epistla TO the Corinthians; the Chris
uian Church for sixteen centuries was
undivided in its faith on this point,
and the first refOrmers were unable
TO deny this doctrine OF the Real Pres
ence. We believe this doctrine OF the
word Of God and the teaching of
Gods Church. Until those outside the
fold are willing to accept it on the
same grounds, they will never &C
cept it.
May a Greek priest offer up Holy
Mass on our consecrated affairs?
\ Greek priest who belongs to the
Catholic Church is permitted to offer
Mass on our affairs.
What was the name Of the first bad
ANGEL that was cast into he'll?
Holy Scripture tells us that hell
was created for the rebel angels.
The Church says nothing as regards
the name Of the first angelic victim.
What we do know is that Lucifer, the
leader of the rebelious spirits, was
cast into hell with his followers. Ec-
clesiastical tradition has given the
name of Lucifer TO the leader Of the
rebel angels
What is novena7 Can it be made
privately at any time?
4 nOVena is form Of prayer which
lasts for nine days. Any person may
make a noyena at any time providing
he follows certain conditions. In
some cases certain fixed prayers Of
devotion are prescribed by the Church
in preparation for a particular feast.
In such a case, to make the noyena
in the sense intended by the Church,
it is necessary to follow out these
prescriptions. Ordinarily speaking,
any person may make a novena pri-
vately beginning at any time, choos-
ing his own devotions, the time and
the place for the performance Of these
devOtions, etc. Thus many pious
Catholics made noyena to some par
ticular saint, beginning a series of
prayers and fixing the same accord
ing to ones own pleasure.