The Catholic times. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1951-current, 1955-09-30
Just Among Ourselves
Passing Comment Considered or Ineonsidersts

The newspapers tell us that there is concern
among some sectarian religious leaders about the
peace of-mind" type Of religion that is commonly
preached to-day and notably by radio This sort OF
religion is currently popular; many people are join
ing ''the church Of their choice; there seems 10
be what the papers call "a real resurgence OF inter-
est in religion" The leaders who are worried tnink
that perhaps the movement is wrongly motivsted:
God has been made TO appear a servant Of man
rather than the opposite.
This objection is not without solid foundation.
For when a man faces the fact and the responsl-
biity of human life, and looks to judgment TO
come he must realize that his business is to know,
love, and serve God, and nottmerely TO seek peace
of mind for his own present comfort
Peace of mind can mean several things. II may
mean mere luLling Of worries that ought not to be
ulled 1t may mean the "escapism" of the man un-
willing to exert effort in the acquiring of virtue
and the knowing Of Gods will in his regard.' Or it
may mean the true peace of soul which comes with
the conscious possession Of Gods grace mot the
emotional imaginative self-assurance of having
Gods grace despite the continuing trials and
stresses of earthly life
Life is meant for the steady carrying OF the
Cross of Christ Life is meant for duty, and duty
is never altogether free from pain But true peace,
the peace of soul the peace of Christ of which
Scripture exist side Dy SIDE WIN
ship and suffering II was to people enduring much
for the sake of Christ people who might at any
moment be called upon to endure persecution and
death that the Apostle wrote the confident words Of
hope May the peace of Christ abide IN your
hearts"
The fundamental truth to remember here is
this 'the truth shall make you free" person IN
quest of peace must know what he is to believe
and what he is to do Without that knowledge, he
is a traveller without a map; he cannot know
whether he is actually travelling to the right goal or
away from it, To what purpose would anyone advise
such TO cultivate peace Of mind? Rather, the
only sane advice to give the traveller is to find
the right road and then travel it faithfully, even
if it is hard one TO follow He may not have peace
of mind or peace of body as he tolls forward, but
he will have peace of soul in the knowledge that he
is making headway towards the true goal He will
have the hardships of struggle, but he will mot
fight as one beating the air." he will have the
painful effort of the race but he will mot run as
al an uncertainty"
Now it has ever been the mark Of the sects
that they cry out against the need of knowing and
knowing for sure what men are to believe and to
do. They shout down truth as dogma, and they
decry any authentic directVes touching morals as
an effort to enforce slavery or serfdom Christ told
His Church to teach all men," But the sectarians
say that to accept teaching is to ensaye the mind
Christ told His Church to have men do "all things
whatsoever | have commanded But the sectarians
say that to accept direction of conduct is to ensave
the will,
And now il appears that the Sectarians are
troubled about the poor fellow to whom they have
denied the light of infable truth and the direc
tives of nfable authority They tell him he is
indeed in bad way but that he is not TO worry; he
is to cultivate peace of mind" No wonder the
more thoughtful among the religious leaders in
the Sects are dubious about this easy prescription
for living. No wonder they are troubled they
face the fact that the peace of mind business is
a service of self and not of God, No wonder they
conclude that this type of religion puts God in the
place of servant and man in the place of the
person TO be served,
one minister remarks, "of course religion will
give you peace of mind. All true religion seeks
TO do that and accompliSheS that" But the purpose
of religion is to adore and serve God and to get
a man TO heaven; ultimately, with perseverance in
Gods grace religion will bring the peace which
SurpaSseth understanding But there is no guaran
ice that it will bring peace of mind" here on
earth.
When naval officer, captain of gun crew
asked Arnold Lunn whether his conversion TO the
Catholic religion had made him happy Ga modern
officer would have asked Lunn whether his conver
sion gave him peace of mind'D the convert re-
Piled What's the difference? You and your crew
the gun made the crew happy or whether il en-
abled them TO hit the target? My embracing of the
true faith enables me &C hit the target to attain the
goal of life. Whether il makes me happy is quite
beside the point
How often do we hear person say, Il love to
20 to that church or to hear that speaker find go
ing there or hearing aim great consolation" Ger
tanly one is tempted to reply, why do you 70
In church OF listen to sermons? To find conso
laton? II SO. you 70 to serve yourself, and not
to serve God The object of religion do adapt an
old sayng) is not to attain the consultations of God
but to serve the God of Consolation
The exercise of religion is not an emollient not
an opiate not the taking of kind OF spiritual
aspirin tablet Ii is strong and demanding effort
requiring steady sefdiscipline, exacting continual
acts of Selfsacrifee II does not consist in wor.
ries or palms. but il is not mere means of escape
from worries and pains, II makes = person disre.
gard worries and pains or helps him endure them
hravely As he seeks TO serve God who is also to
be his Reward exceeding great.