19. The Sacraments

 
Christ above all, He who was the divine Savior of men, knew the priceless value of the human soul. He knew it so well that He was willing to lay down his own life to save it, to suffer the awful agony of the cross in so doing. He knew the awful responsibility that would be the lot of men to cooperate with Him in the salvation of their souls. He knew in addition the difficulty men would have in view of the weakness of human nature, and in the midst of the temptations to break God’s law in this life. Christ therefore not only redeemed mankind by His death on the cross, He not only established His Church to be a light and a guide and a teacher of men unto salvation, but He also purchased for him innumerable graces that man would need in his journey through life. These graces would be spiritual helps that would give man the spiritual strength necessary to win out in the struggle against the world, the flesh and the devil. That these graces might flow into the souls of men, He dug for us seven different channels of grace in order that all men might partake of the spiritual strength they so desperately needed. These seven channels of grace are called Sacraments.

Now a Sacrament is a sign, a sign of Christ operating upon the souls of men. It is a visible sign instituted by Christ Himself to show that He is pouring His grace into their souls. For instance Baptism is a Sacrament. Christ instituted this sign, which is the pouring of the water upon the head of the person to be baptized and the pronouncing of the words by the priest. Christ Himself, the Author of all grace, instituted the sign, the pouring of the water. Christ Himself indicated plainly the words to be used. “Baptize,” He said, “in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” He Himself taught us the necessity of Baptism. “Unless a man be born again,” He said, “of water and the Holy Spirit, He cannot enter the kingdom of God.” And to the Apostles He gave the command: “Go forth and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”

Baptism then is the first channel of grace, the first Sacrament. By it the person baptized is freed from the stain of original sin. He is made again a child of God and an heir of heaven. It is the badge of the Christian. It gives him the further right to partake of all the other sacraments Christ instituted. The sacraments the Church administers to the faithful are like the doctrines she preaches. They go back in an unbroken succession to Christ Himself for the Church neither makes up her doctrines nor invents her sacraments. She takes Christ at His word. Consequently when Christ says: “Unless a man be born again of water and the Holy Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven,” the Church takes Him at His word and teaches the absolute necessity of Baptism, the first Sacrament.

18. The Blessings of The Catholic Faith

 

What then can I expect if I embrace the Catholic faith? There ought to be some magnificent blessing that should come to me from God if I do so. Of course we should not consider only blessings and rewards when it is a question of doing God’s holy will. Blessing or no blessing, if it is God’s will, we must be prepared to do it. And yet God in His extreme goodness, always has a blessing and a reward for His children when they but do their duty.

One of the greatest blessings that shall come to you, if you re-enter the faith of your fathers, is that you will again be a member of the one, true Church Christ founded, in which He intended that you work out your salvation. And out of the knowledge that you are in the true Church, a lively feeling of security and peace will flow. There will no longer be any doubt, any misgivings, any confusion in your mind. You will be at home on earth, as much as this earth can be our home. And out of this security, a life-long happiness shall be yours. We can be happy in nothing if the salvation of our immortal soul is insecure; we lay the firm basis of happiness in everything, if, as far as we are concerned, we have made secure our immortal salvation.

Christ came upon earth not only to satisfy for man’s sins but also to establish His Church upon earth. He intended that Church to be, until the end of time, the teacher and the guide of mankind on its way back to God. After the work of the redemption had been accomplished, just before he ascended into heaven, Christ called His Apostles together and entrusted to them their mission. “All power,” He said, “is given to me in heaven and on earth. Going therefore, teach ye all nations—teaching them to observe all things, whatsoever I have commanded you. And behold I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world.” (Matt. 28;18,20)

To the Church He gave the command to teach; to the faithful He gave the command to listen and to accept the teachings of the Church. Furthermore He promised that He would be with the Church always, that the Church would have His continued assistance to the end of time to keep her in the way of truth forever. This is the firm foundation upon which will rest your security as a Catholic. Listening to the Church in matters of faith and morals, you will be listening to Christ Himself.

Christ’s words on this point are very clear. Before He ascended into heaven, He said to His Apostles; “And I will ask the Father, and He shall give you another Paraclete, that he may abide with you forever. The spirit of truth.” (Jn. 14,16,17) “But the Paraclete, the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things, and bring all things to your mind, whatsoever I shall have said to you.” (Jn. 14:26) “But when he, the Spirit of truth is come, he will teach you all truth.” (Jn. 16:13) The Catholic faithful, then, have only to listen to the Church’s teaching and they can be certain that, with the help Christ shall give His Church, she shall not teach them error.

Nor could this be otherwise. Christ expressly commanded the faithful to listen to the Apostles and accept their teachings. If these teachings ever could be false, Christ Himself, the God of truth, would be forcing His own followers to believe in error. It is entirely against reason to think that God would do this. This is why the Catholic has no misgivings about his faith. The security of the Catholic as far as his faith is concerned is well illustrated by the following story.

There was a certain English lady some time ago who was dissatisfied with her religion. She was an Anglican, a member of the Church of England. So she brought her doubts to her pastor, an Anglican minister. “I am thinking of investigating the claims of the Catholic Church,” she told him frankly.

“Oh,” he replied, “You are just suffering from a touch of the Roman fever. We all get a touch of that sooner or later, but it will pass away.” The Roman fever is the name given by Anglicans to the desire to return to the Roman Catholic Church. But the fever did not pass away in this instance. The woman consulted a Catholic priest. The priest explained Catholic doctrines to her and set forth the claims of the Church to be the one, true Church of Christ. Again the woman returned to her minister. She told him she still had grave doubts whether or not she was living in the Church in which Christ intended her to live.

“You must not worry, my good lady,” said he. “These doubts will pass away.”

“Well,” she replied, “if I take your advice and remain in the Anglican Church, will you answer for my soul in making this decision when I stand before the judgment seat of God?”

“But you cannot ask me to do that,” came the reply.

“Then my mind is made up,” said the lady. “The Catholic priest had not the slightest doubt about being willing to stand security for my salvation as far as this decision of mine is concerned of entering the Catholic Church. That is the Church I will enter.”

Any Catholic priest then will stand responsible for your soul in the matter of your conversion. He will be willing to pledge the salvation of his own soul that you are making the right step. Of course, once you have embraced the Catholic faith, you will be expected to live up to the commandments of God and His Church; you will be expected to grow in virtue, to avoid sin. But you need have little fear if you are of good will. Just as Christ in His infinite wisdom gives His assistance to the Church to keep it in the way of truth, so also He gives to the Church tremendous helps in order that the faithful may have the strength required to lead good Christian lives to the day of their death. He wanted all of them to be able to say with St. Paul: “I have fought a good fight; I have kept the faith; for the rest there is laid up a crown for me in heaven.” The helps which Christ instituted and gave to the Church are called Sacraments. To be able to partake of the Sacraments Christ instituted will be one of the greatest blessings you will receive upon coming home.

17. Why Not Visit a Catholic Church

Just as no one should be timid as far as approaching a Catholic priest is concerned, no one should be timid about entering a Catholic Church. The doors are always open every day of the week. Each morning the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is offered up in the church if there is a resident priest present. All through the day the living Christ is in the tabernacle inviting the silent worshipper. You may enter and feel the quiet presence of God. Religion, you know, is not a thing that should be relegated to an hour or so on Sunday. The Catholic feels that every hour of every day should be consecrated to God and the church stands open every day to invite the faithful to a quiet visit with God.

And though many outside her fold know little or nothing of Catholic worship or doctrine, this is certainly not the intention of Christ or the Church. As her founder wishes her to be, the Catholic Church is open and frank and honest in her doctrine, her morality and her manner of worshipping. She has nothing that she wishes to hide.

But if you enter a Catholic Church, do not be surprised if Catholics worshipping there take little notice of you. They are there for what they imagine you came for, to worship God. Hence they will be intent upon one thing and one thing alone while they are in church, the worship of God. With them you too can slip into a pew, look up at the altar and commune with your God.

16. The Next Step

The next step you should take on your way home is to seek the assistance and direction of a priest. Any priest will be only too glad to give you what help he can. This is a part of his vocation, one of the duties of the office he fills. Christ Himself said: “Other sheep I have that are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice, and there shall be one fold and one shepherd.” (Jn. 10, 16)

But if you do not feel confident enough to introduce yourself to a priest, ask some Catholic friend of yours to do so. The priest may seem strange to you at first, but you will find him surprisingly reasonable and human. The Catholic priest by the Sacred Orders he receives, has a special work to perform. He is chosen from among men and set aside to offer up worship at God’s altar. But though he is set apart and anointed for a holy work, he is still a human being, very glad to be of service in God’s cause and in the service of his fellowmen.

We are all, Catholics and non-Catholics, children of God, bound by the charity of Christ to love one another. The very greatest love that we can show one another is that love whereby we are anxious about the salvation of our neighbor. This is the love that impelled the Son of God to descend to earth and take upon Himself our flesh in order to save the sheep of Israel that were lost. This is the same love that impels the missionary to leave family and friends to travel to distant parts of the earth to win souls for Christ. This is the only reason why the Catholic priest is anxious that the truth of Christ be made known to you and to all men. He is absolutely confident that he is a member of and a leader in the Church in which Christ meant that all men should work out their salvation.

15. How Shall I go About it?

If I wish to investigate the claims of the Catholic Church with a view to entering it, providing I discover it to be the one true Church Christ founded, how shall I go about it? What steps shall I take? Well, the first step you must take in this matter is to pray. As a humble seeker after truth, ask God for light to know His holy Will. Like the beggar in the Gospel, cry out with the loud voice of your soul: “Lord, that I may see.” For faith is a gift of God, that God gives to those who ask for it. Christ has promised that whatsoever you shall ask of the Father in His Name, you shall receive.” “Ask and you shall receive; seek and you shall find; knock and it shall be opened unto you.”

The great Cardinal Newman, one of the keenest minds of all time, took over twenty years to find his way back into the Church of his fathers. He had been a member of the Anglican Church, and he wished to remain a member of that Church if such were the will of God. Amid the doubts and perplexities that tormented him, he wrote the beautiful lines of the hymn ‘Lead Kindly Light.’ We too can repeat his words in prayer:

Lead kindly light, amid the encircling gloom,
Lead thou me on.
The night is dark and I am far from home,
Lead thou me on.

God finally answered his humble prayer, giving him not only the light of mind that he begged for, but adding also the strength of soul that would enable him to follow the inspiration of God. From that time forward no sacrifice that he would be called upon to make could deter him from answering Christ’s call to return to the Church of Christ.

“Without faith,” Scripture tells us, “it is impossible to please God.” (Heb. 11, 31) But without God’s grace, we cannot possess faith. That is why there are many men in the world today who are convinced that the Catholic Church is the one, true Church founded by Jesus Christ, yet who have not entered it because God did not give them the gift of faith. Such a man was Cobbett, author of a history of the Protestant Reformation in England. Though Cobbett was not a Catholic, in his history he gave irrefutable proofs that there was no need of any such reformation in England, that the Catholic faith was literally stolen from the people, that they did not willingly give it up. On one occasion Cobbett was asked by a Catholic: “Why, then, do you not embrace the Catholic faith? You seem to defend it in everything.” Cobbett replied: “I am surprised that you, a Catholic, should ask me that question. You certainly should know that there is a great difference between conviction and conversion.” In other words Cobbett was intellectually convinced that the Catholic Church was the true Church of Christ, and yet he lacked the grace of God to live up to his convictions. To merit the grace of embracing the Catholic faith means more than just making an intellectual study of it. It means in addition humble prayer that God will give you not only the light of mind that you may see your way but also strength of soul, that you may have the courage to walk therein.

14. Can We Afford to Remain Indifferent to God?

 

The true Church then is One; it is Holy; it is Catholic; it is Apostolic. These are the four great marks Christ has imprinted upon His Church in order that it may be distinguished from imitations of the true Church even in this day of multiplication of sects. In this day of widespread doubt and confusion, you need truth and security as you seek the salvation of your soul; you want to feel sure you are on the right path. If you do, you will honestly and sincerely investigate the claims of the Catholic Church.

Holy Scripture warns us: “It is a terrible thing to fall in the hands of the living God.” It is not comforting then to consider the state of those who live their lives indifferent to the claims of God. Such people bother little whether the church in which they worship is the church Christ established. As one lady remarked to me on a certain occasion: “Oh! any Church is good enough for me, except the Catholic Church.” Yet this lady knew little or nothing about the Catholic Church. Her eyes were closed to the truth. She did not want to investigate. She preferred to listen to the gross calumnies against the Catholic Church, and to be content with the misrepresentations by which its doctrines are depicted.

This attitude of being indifferent to all truth, leads in the end to indifference to religion, which is the great sin of America today. How many people will tell you frankly: “I don’t go to any Church. My children some­times go but neither I nor my wife go. We have got out of the habit of going.” Or they will say: “When I do go, I go to the Church that has the best preacher. I like to hear a good sermon.”

On one occasion I asked a young man where he had been baptized. “Father,” he said, “I really do not know, but it was in the church that was nearest to the house in which we were living at that time. There are four boys in our family. None of us go to Church any more, nor do my parents, but we were all baptized, and as it so happens, in different churches.” This is undoubtedly the wrong attitude to take regard­ing one’s religion. To attend a Church because its pastor is the most popular preacher or be­cause it is the most convenient to reach or would seem to imply that God’s truth rests upon popularity or convenience. This attitude of mind is the cause of what is present in the United States today, a woeful indifference to religion in any form, indifference to the extent that some sixty to seventy million of our citi­zens admit that they worship God in no Church whatsoever.

13. Holy

 

Not only must the Church Christ established be Catholic but, as the Nicene creed professes, she must be Holy too. In other words Holiness must be a distinguishing mark of Christ’s Church. The Catholic Church has that mark for she is Holy in her founder Jesus Christ, who was holy with the holiness of God. The Church is also holy in her doctrines. The entire world testifies to this. It recognizes the Catholic Church as a tremendous force for good in the world precisely because of the doctrine she teaches. This is the very objection that some of those outside her fold hold against her, that she expects too much of frail human nature and holds her children to the practice of too high a morality. Such people do not want a church that will refuse them divorce as the Catholic Church does. They don’t want a church that will stress the awful malice of sin, and the great punishment God has in store for unrepentant sinners. They don’t want the Church as Christ made it, but they want a church of their own making, a church that will not bother them too much with thoughts of the next life. And they refuse to acknowledge that if the morality of the Catholic Church is high, it is because Christ made it so, as He declared: “Be ye perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

Nor is the Church Holy only in her founder and her doctrine. She is holy also in the remarkable holiness of so many of her children, the Apostles who gave their lives to the spreading of Christ’s kingdom upon earth, the early martyrs who likewise gave their lives to testify to their faith, and after the Apostles and Martyrs hundreds of thousands of Confessors and Virgins, men and women who in every age through the grace of God rose to sanctity in the Church He founded. Of course there are Catholics in the past and in the present who have not led and who do not lead holy lives. But this is because they do not live up to the teaching of the Church of which they are members. Christ’s Church was made not only for the salvation of the just but for the salvation of sinners as well. Granted, then, that there are Catholics whose lives are not what they should be, this is but a small part of a large picture: of the Church of Christ coming down through the ages as an inspiration and a help for millions of common men and women to lead holier lives in Christ.

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