The Israelites then, as I have said, went from every part of the land up to the Temple in Jerusalem to celebrate the Pasch each year. It was during one of these celebrations that Our Lord was put to death, and during another feast that St. Peter preached to the people after Our Lord"s death. He spoke only in one language, and yet all his hearers understood, for each heard his own language spoken. (Acts 2:6). This was called the gift of tongues, and was given to the Apostles when the Holy Ghost came upon them. For example, if each of you came from a different country and understood the language only of the country from which you came, and I gave the instructions only in English, then if everyone thought I was speaking his language--German, French, Spanish, Italian, etc.--and understood me, I would have what is called the gift of tongues, and it would be a great miracle, as it was when bestowed upon the Apostles.
In the first ages of the Church G.o.d performed more miracles than He does now, because they are not now so necessary. These miracles were performed only to make the Church better known, and to prove that she was the true Church, with her power and authority from G.o.d. That can now be known and seen in Christian countries without miracles. These special gifts, like the gift of tongues, were given also to some of the early Christians by the Holy Ghost, when they received Confirmation; but they were not a part of or necessary for Confirmation, but only to show the power of the true religion. Those who heard St. Peter preach, when they went back to their own countries told what they had seen and heard, and thus their countrymen were prepared to receive the Gospel when the Apostles came to preach it.
*98 Q. How did the Holy Ghost come down upon the Apostles?
A. The Holy Ghost came down upon the Apostles in the form of tongues of fire.
99 Q. Who sent the Holy Ghost upon the Apostles?
A. Our Lord Jesus Christ sent the Holy Ghost upon the Apostles.
100 Q. Why did Christ send the Holy Ghost?
A. Christ sent the Holy Ghost to sanctify His Church, to enlighten and strengthen the Apostles, and to enable them to preach the Gospel.
"Sanctify," to make more holy by the grace which He would give to the members of the Church. "To enlighten." The Apostles did not understand very well everything Our Lord taught while He was with them; but after the Holy Ghost came upon them they understood perfectly, and remembered many things which Our Lord said to them, and understood the true meaning of all. The prophets foretold that when the Messias, Christ, would come, He would bring all the world under His power. The prophets meant in a spiritual sense; but most of the people understood that He was to be a great general, with powerful armies, who would subdue all the nations of the earth, and bring them under the authority of the Jews. We know they thought that the great kingdom He was to establish upon earth would be a temporal kingdom, from many of their sayings and actions. One day the mother of two of Our Lord"s Apostles came to ask Him if, when He had established His kingdom upon the earth, He would give her sons honorable positions in it, and place them high in authority. (Matt. 20:20). Our Lord told her she did not understand what she was asking. This shows that even some of the Apostles--much less the people--did not understand the full nature of Our Lord"s mission upon earth, nor of His kingdom, the Church. Often too, when He preached to the people, the Apostles asked Him on His return what His sermon meant (Luke 8:9). But after the Holy Ghost came, they were enlightened, and understood all without difficulty. "Strengthen." I told you already that before the Holy Ghost came they were timid and afraid of being arrested, but that afterwards they went out boldly, and taught all they had learned from Our Lord.
They were often taken prisoners and scourged, but it mattered not--they were firm in their faith, and could suffer anything for Christ after they had been enlightened and strengthened by the Holy Ghost. Finally, they were all, with the exception of St. John, put to death for their holy faith. St. Peter and St. Paul were crucified at Rome about the year 65, that is, about thirty-two years after the death of Our Lord. St.
James was beheaded by order of King Herod. St. John lived the longest, and was the only one of the Apostles who was not put to death, though he was cast into a large vessel of boiling oil, but was miraculously saved.
Certainly by dying for their faith the Apostles showed that they were not impostors or hypocrites. They must really have believed what they taught, otherwise they would not have laid down their lives for it. They were certain of what they taught, as we saw when speaking of St. Thomas.
*101 Q. Will the Holy Ghost abide with the Church forever?
A. The Holy Ghost will abide with the Church forever, and guide it in the way of holiness and truth.
"Abide" means to stay with us.
Lesson 10 ON THE EFFECTS OF THE REDEMPTION
102 Q. Which are the chief effects of the redemption?
A. The chief effects of the redemption are two: the satisfaction of G.o.d"s justice by Christ"s sufferings and death, and the gaining of grace for men.
An effect is that which is caused by something else. If you place a danger signal on a broken railroad track the effect will be preventing the wreck of the train, and the cause will be your placing the signal.
Many effects may flow from one cause. In our example, see all the good effects that may follow your placing the signal--the cars are not broken, the pa.s.sengers are not killed, the rails are not torn out of their places, etc. Thus the redemption had two effects, namely, to satisfy G.o.d for the offense offered Him by the sins of men, and to merit grace to be used for our benefit.
103 Q. What do you mean by grace?
A. By grace I mean a supernatural gift of G.o.d bestowed on us, through the merits of Jesus Christ, for our salvation.
"Supernatural," that is, above nature. "A gift"; something, therefore, that G.o.d does not owe us. He owes us nothing, strictly speaking. Health, talents, and such things are natural gifts, and belong to our nature as men; but grace is something above our nature, given to our soul. G.o.d gives it to us on account of the love He has for His Son, Our Lord, who merited it for us by dying for us. "Merits." A merit is some excellence or goodness which ent.i.tles one to honor or reward. Grace is a help we get to do something that will be pleasing to G.o.d. When there is anything in our daily works that we cannot do alone, we naturally look for help; for example, to lift some heavy weight is only a natural act, not a supernatural act, and the help we need for it is only natural help. But if we are going to do something above and beyond our nature, and cannot do it alone, we must not look for natural, but for supernatural help; that is, the help must always be like the work to be done. Therefore all spiritual works need spiritual help, and spiritual help is grace.
104 Q. How many kinds of grace are there?
A. There are two kinds of grace: sanctifying grace and actual grace.
105 Q. What is sanctifying grace?
A. Sanctifying grace is that grace which makes the soul holy and pleasing to G.o.d.
"Sanctifying," that is, making us holy by cleansing, purifying our souls. Sin renders the soul ugly and displeasing to G.o.d, and grace purifies it. Suppose I have something bright and beautiful given to me, and take no care of it, but let it lie around in dusty places until it becomes tarnished and soiled, loses all its beauty, and appears black and ugly. To restore its beauty I must clean and polish it. Thus the soul blackened by sin must be cleaned by G.o.d"s grace. If the soul is in mortal sin--altogether blackened--then sanctifying grace brings back its brightness and makes it pleasing to G.o.d; but if the soul is already bright, though stained or darkened a little by venial sin, then grace makes it still brighter.
*106 Q. What do you call those graces or gifts of G.o.d by which we believe in Him, hope in Him, and love Him?
A. Those graces or gifts of G.o.d by which we believe in Him, and hope in Him, and love Him, are called the divine virtues of faith, hope, and charity.
"Virtues." Virtue is the habit of doing good. The opposite to virtue is vice, which is the habit of doing evil. We acquire a habit bad or good when we do the same thing very frequently. We then do it easily and almost without thinking; as a man, for instance, who has the habit of cursing curses almost without knowing it, though that does not excuse him, but makes his case worse, by showing that he must have cursed very often to acquire the habit. If, however, he is striving to overcome the bad habit, and should unintentionally curse now and then, it would not be a sin, since he did not wish to curse, and was trying to overcome the vice. One act does not make a virtue or a vice. A person who gives alms only once cannot be said to have the virtue of charity. A man who curses only once a year cannot be said to have the vice of cursing. Faith, hope, and charity are infused by G.o.d into our souls, and are therefore called infused virtues, to distinguish them from the virtues we acquire.
107 Q. What is faith?
A. Faith is a divine virtue by which we firmly believe the truths which G.o.d has revealed.
"A divine virtue" is one that is heavenly or holy. Faith is the habit of always believing all that G.o.d has revealed and the Church teaches.
"Firmly," that is, without the slightest doubt. "Revealed," that is, made known to us. Revelation is the collection of all the truths that G.o.d has made known to us. But why do we believe? Because we clearly see and know the truth of what is revealed? No, but because G.o.d reveals it; we believe it though we cannot see it or even understand it. If we see it plainly, then we believe it rather because we see it than because G.o.d makes it known to us. Suppose a friend should come and tell you the church is on fire. If he never told you lies, and had no reason for telling you any now, you would believe him--not because you know of the fire, but because he tells you; but afterwards, when you see the church or read of the fire in the papers, you have proof of what he told you, but you believed it just as firmly when he told you as you do afterwards. In the same way G.o.d tells us His great truths and we believe them; because we know that since G.o.d is infinitely true He cannot deceive us or be deceived. But if afterwards by studying and thinking we find proof that G.o.d told us the truth, we do not believe with any greater faith, for we always believed without doubting, and we study chiefly that we may have arguments to prove the truth of G.o.d"s revelations to others who do not believe. Suppose some person was present when your friend came and said the church is burning, and that that person would not believe your friend. What would you do? Why, convince him that what your friend said was true by showing him the account of the fire in the papers. Thus learning does not change our faith, which, as I have said, is not acquired by study, but is infused into our souls by G.o.d. The little boy who hears what G.o.d taught, and believes it firmly because G.o.d taught it, has as good a faith as his teacher who has studied all the reasons why he should believe.
108 Q. What is hope?
A. Hope is a divine virtue by which we firmly trust that G.o.d will give us eternal life and the means to obtain it.
"Eternal"--that is, everlastings life--life without end. "Means"--that is, His grace, because without G.o.d"s grace we cannot do any supernatural thing.
109 Q. What is charity?
A. Charity is a divine virtue by which we love G.o.d above all things for His own sake, and our neighbor as ourselves for the love of G.o.d.
The virtue of charity makes us "love G.o.d," because He is so good and beautiful, wise and powerful in Himself; therefore for His own sake and without any other consideration. "Above all things," in such a way that we would rather lose anything than offend Him. But someone may say, he thinks he loves his parents more than G.o.d. Well, let us see. To repeat an example already given, suppose his parents told him to steal, and he knew stealing to be a sin; if he would not steal, that would show, would it not, that he loved G.o.d more than his parents, for he would rather offend his parents than G.o.d. That is the kind of love we must have for G.o.d; not mere feeling, but the firm belief that G.o.d is the best of all, and when we have to choose between offending G.o.d and losing something, be it goods or friends, we would rather lose anything than offend G.o.d.
"Neighbor." Not merely the person living near us, but all men of every kind and nation--even our enemies. The people who lived at the time of Our Lord in His country used to dispute about just what persons were to be considered their neighbors; so one day they asked Our Lord, and He answered them by telling them the following. Said He: (Luke 10:30) A man was once going down from Jerusalem, and on the way robbers beat him, robbed him, and left him on the wayside dying. First one man came by, looked at the wounded man, and pa.s.sed on; then another came and did the same; finally a third man came, who was of a different religion and nationality from the wounded man. But he did not consider these things.
He dressed the poor man"s wounds, placed him upon his horse and brought him to an inn or hotel, and paid the innkeeper to take care of him.
"Now," said Our Lord, "which of these three was neighbor to the wounded man?" And they answered rightly, "The man that helped him." Our Lord, by this example, wished to teach them and us that everybody is our neighbor who is in distress of any kind and needs our help. Neighbor, therefore, means every human being, no matter where he lives or what his color, learning, manners, etc., for every human being in the world is a child of G.o.d and has been redeemed by Our Lord. Therefore every child of G.o.d is my neighbor, and even more--he is my brother; for G.o.d is his father and mine also, and if he is good enough for G.o.d to love, he should be good enough for me.
"As ourselves." Not with as much love, but with the same kind of love; that is, we are to follow the rule laid down by Our Lord: "Do unto others as you would have others do unto you." Never do to anyone what you would not like to have done to yourself; and always do for another just what you would wish another to do for you, if you were in the same position. Our neighbor is our equal and gifted with all the gifts that we ourselves have. When we come into the world we are all equal. We have a body and a soul, with the power to develop them. Money, learning, wealth, fame, and all else that makes up the difference between men in the world are acquired in the world; and when men die, they go out of the world without any of these things, just as they came into it. The real difference between them in the next world will depend upon the things they have done, good or bad, while here. We should love our neighbor also on another account: namely, that he is one day to be in Heaven with us; and if he is to be with us for all eternity, why should we hate him now? On the other hand, if our neighbor is to be in h.e.l.l on account of his bad life, why should we hate him? We should rather pity him, for he will have enough to suffer without our hatred.
110 Q. What is actual grace?
A. Actual grace is that help of G.o.d which enlightens our mind and moves our will to shun evil and do good.
"Actual." Sanctifying grace continues with us, but when grace is given just so that we may do a good act or avoid a bad one, it is called actual grace. Suppose, for example, I see a poor man and am able to aid him. When my conscience tells me to give him a.s.sistance, I am just then receiving an actual grace, which moves me and helps me to do that good act; and just as soon as I give the help, the actual grace ceases, because no longer needed. It was given for that one good act, and now that the act is done, the actual grace has produced its effect. Again, a boy is going to Ma.s.s on Sunday and meets other boys who try to persuade him to remain away from Ma.s.s and go to some other place. When he hears his conscience telling him to go to Ma.s.s by all means, he is receiving just then an actual grace to avoid the mortal sin of missing Ma.s.s, and the grace lasts just as long as the temptation. Sacramental grace is sanctifying grace--given in the Sacraments--which contains for us a right to actual graces when we need them. These actual graces are given to help us to fulfill the end for which each of the Sacraments was inst.i.tuted. They are different for each Sacrament, and are given just when we need them; that is, just when we are tempted against the object or end for which the Sacrament was inst.i.tuted.
*111 Q. Is grace necessary for salvation?
A. Grace is necessary for salvation, because without grace we can do nothing to merit Heaven.
*112 Q. Can we resist the grace of G.o.d?
A. We can and unfortunately often do resist the grace of G.o.d.
Grace is a gift, and no one is obliged to take a gift; but if G.o.d offers a gift and we refuse to take it, we offend and insult Him. To insult G.o.d is to sin. Therefore to refuse to accept, or to make bad use of the grace G.o.d gives us, is to sin.
*113 Q. What is the grace of perseverance?
A. The grace of perseverance is a particular gift of G.o.d which enables us to continue in the state of grace till death.
"Perseverance" here does not mean perseverance in our undertakings, but perseverance in grace--never in mortal sin, always a friend of G.o.d. Now, if G.o.d keeps us from all sin till the day of our death and takes us while we are His friends, then He gives us what we call the gift of final perseverance. We cannot, strictly speaking, merit this great grace, but only pray for it; so anyone who commits mortal sin may be taken just in that state and be lost for all eternity.
Lesson 11 ON THE CHURCH
Before speaking of the Church I wish to give you a short account of the true religion before the coming of Our Lord. When Adam was created in a state of grace, G.o.d communicated with him freely; he knew G.o.d even better than we do now. But after their sin our parents fell from the friendship of G.o.d. Cain--one of Adam"s sons--murdered his brother Abel, and for this he and his posterity were cursed by G.o.d, and all his descendants became very wicked. (Gen. 4:11). The other children of Adam remained faithful to G.o.d as long as they kept away from the children of Cain; but just as soon as they a.s.sociated and intermarried with them, they also became wicked. This should teach us to avoid evil company, for there is always more likelihood that the good will become bad than that the bad will be converted by the good. You know the old saying, that if you take a basket of good apples and place a bad one among them, in a short time they will be spoiled.