The Catholic times. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1951-current, 1952-04-04
Just Among Ourselves
Passing Comment Considered or Ineonsidersts

We are right in the heart of that sacred season
which commentaries the Passion and Death of Our
Divine Lord. passion" means an undergoing, an en-
during, a suffering. We think during these days of
what Christ Who is true God and true Man. endured
for us And we realize with increasing faith and love
as we'll as with ever deepening sorrow for our sins
that He endured everything that Godmade-Man can
endure down to the shedding of the last drop of His
blood
When our first father sinned, he closed heaven
to his whole race BY sin he cast away Gods gifts
and graces, and did injury to his own nature.
nature hurt in its powers and deprived of grace
was all he had TO Iansmit to his descendants. And
VIC arc all his descendants. Here we see the two
great evils wrought by the original sin: the forfeit
ing Of heaven, and the loss of the means necessary
to gain heaven even if il were not forfeited.
God so loved man who was made in His image
than He became man to rescue us from the two
evil effects Of original sin, and also to give us
means TO cancel and conquer sins of our own, our
actual sins lie died in His human nature, offering
an infinite price Gor lie is God, and His works are
of boundless value) 10 pay the infinite debt of sin
and so TO open heaven more. But His Passion
and Death we're not only to pay this debt, but to
merit for us the means of taking advantage of the
fact of reopened heaven, He opened heaven and
lie earned Us the helps we require to get there.
When our Lord and God had done these things
for us He rose again from the dead He had saved
us by dying and gaining us merit and grace. But the
work was not yet complete He had to establish in the
world a permanent institution through which the
flood of merit and grace could flow to us He did
this by founding the Church and instutlng the Sac
ramens He promised TO live in the Church, giving IT
His voice TO teach and guide us, not leaving us
orphans.
Thus ,pas n,r cafvattou accomnitshad Rut no.
tice that the salvation, the saving OF mankind
dhat is the winning back for us of the opportunity
and means of gaining heavenl was accomplished IN
this way an general The individual salvation of
person is not achieved except in so far as that in
dividual person concurs in the general work. Each
person now has the opportunity, and the divine urg
ing TO take advantage of it, of lUorkng out his own
personal salvation using Gods ever available gift
Of grace,
Individuals are not saved dhat is brought TO
eternal happiness in heaven) except by taking ad
vantage If the opportunity won for them by Our
Lord. Getting to heaven is automatic process
There Is no mere sailing with the crowd 10 Beau
tfu Isle of Somewhere.
When God made man lie dignified this creature
by giving him job to do and providing him with
ample natural and supernatural helps to do it, Mans
full stature is expressed in the words that describe
him as having free will. Man made for the
Lasting City of heaven for his true home; man was
shown the way TO get there and given the means
to sustain the journey. But man was no robot, no
machine He was to choose to make the journey by
the right road God said 81 have set before you
life and death choose, therefore, life" But 1t is
man who has to choose and to abide by the endless
result of his choice.
In a word, man has a sublime responsibility In
this is his great dignity In this is dlscerned the fact
that life is no dull routine. but glorious venture
Life is meant for energy for action, for alert
ness and interest for devotion and courage for un-
tagging fidelity TO a great through hard
ships and dstresseS We can be certain of ultimate
success If we Stcadlast in the use of grace But
we move in constant danger We cannot coast into
heaven We have to work always aware OF our peril
and vel with abiding confidence that cannot fail
If take and the means of victory which Christ
has won for and placed IN our hands or within
reach I'VE arc" says St Paul twhose words are
Gods own utterance) ito work out our salvation
in fear and trembling" And again, the inspired
Word tells us that the kingdom of heaven suffer
eth violence, and the violent bear il away"
The great and ruinous heresy of today is the doe
rine that we do not need bear the Cross of Christ
This is the heresH of this-wordsm ii is secularSm
II is the belief that life is meant for greater ends
than health and wealth and ease and pleasure And out
of this masterheresy which aims at comfort has
come the chaotic discomfort of the modern world.
The Passion and Death of Christ has opened
heaven TO us and gained us the helps we require
TO reach heaven Thus far, salvation is achieved
But each of has still the task of using the means
made available Our personal and individual salvation
is, under God in own hands. In Passontide, we
think of this truth and with fervent energy of will
we devote ourselves anew to the one essential task