The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1921-01-08
IRREVERENcE.

To revere God, to revere ones self
and to revere ones neighbor, consti-.
tute the sum and substance of religion.
If the present age is irreligious it is
because it is irreverent, says the Tor
onto Register. This spirit manifests it.
self especially i'm the worlds attitude
towards God and the things which per-
tain directly to God, leaving out of con-
Sideration the Church with its Sacra.
ments and sacrifice, its devotion to the
mother of God and the saints, how lit
tie reverence do those outside the fold
manifest towards those things which
they nominally at least still hold sa-
cred, They profess great devotion to
the written Word of God, the Bible
While many of them are no doubt sim
cere in this, yet the doctrinal vagaries
of their ministers are doing much to
undermine their faith. 1t is an evil
dence of the spirit of the times that
the younger generation seem to sympa-
thize with the most outspoken -oppon-
ents OF the divine inspiration of the
scriptures and their historical relia-
hility.
Just as the Bible critics are destroy
ing reverence for the written Word of
God, so the itinerant evangelist is
bringing into disrepute the spoken
Word. While there are among the
resident nom Catholic clergy of Canada
a certain number of notoriety seekers,
who make outlandish statements in or
der to get into the limelight and. dis
cuss everything else but religion, yet
a goodly number aim at giving their
people moral exhortations based on
certain fundamental truths which they
as they have very little positive doc
trine to proclaim to the people, and
cannot proclaim that with any degree
of authority they introduce revival
in order to hold the interest of the
congregation. An evangelist, some
Gipsey Smith or Billy Sunday, is in
vited to stir up the brethren and in
cidentally raise some funds. The in
temperate language, the vulgar slang
and the fiippant manner of referring
to the Deity, which often characterize
the utterances of these so-called di-
vines bring the pulpits to which they
have been indiscreetly invited into dis
repute and lessen in the minds of the
people whatever respect they might
have had for the utterances of their
own ministers.
AS a body, Catholics are noted for
the reverence which they show to God
and to holy things. Their devotional
attitude in church is a source of edi-
fication. That great Catholic society
of the Holy Name presents to the
world an object lesson whose influence
is far-reaching. The Church is uni
yersally recognized as the greatest
sSch00i of reverence in the world;
hence the scandal that arises from the
failure of individual members to live
up to those ideals which are set before
them.
From the very fact that Catholics
have such reverence for the Church, it
follows logically that they should have
great respect for themselves, for each
one of them is a member of that great
mystical body of Christ If being a
member of noble family is stimuli
us to young man or woman to main
tain the best traditions associated
with the family name, surely member
ship in the great Communion of Saints
should prompt every Catholic to walk
circumspectly and to have reverence
for himself
What scandalizes npn-Catholics is
not the great faults of unworthy mem
bers of the Church, but the petty
WEAKNESSES and dishonesties, the I'M
gentlemanly conduct, the crude man
ners and unseemly chickering's which
sometimes dim the lustre of real vir-
tue. The Catholic man who receives
often the Bread of Angels should not
only avoid serious faults, but should
deport himself, no matter what his
position in life may be, as Catholic
gentleman, and not allow himself to
be dragged down to the level of asso-
ciates who have no supernatural as,
pirations. In like manner, the Cath.
Ole woman, whose model is the Bless
ed Virgin, should stand as adamant
against those customs in dress or man.
ners that are begotten of low ideals,
no matter what the social standing or
even the virtue may be of those who
adopt them. That both sometimes
fail in this regard is due to lack of
Self-reverence arising from forgetful
ness or ignorance of their dignity.