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THE BULLETIN OF THE CATHOLIC LAYMEN’S ASSOCIATION OF GEORGIA
7
dignity of mission which have brought to the church
the confidence, the respect, the admiration and alle
giance of the mass of the people.”
The country knows well enough that the churches
of all denominations may be counted upon to give ac
tive support to the prohibition movement. It is a
recognized moral obligation of the church, and any
undertaking to stir up strife in the religious ranks
is one which must cause unconcealed regret by the
friends of prohibition. It was the same influence
which is now moving in the direction of antagonizing
the great influence of the Catholic Church that drove
Colonel Bryan from the missionary field in New York.
It is to be hoped that fanatical leadership in the pres
ent movement may be confined to the State of New
York. It is a queer notion some people have that
the best way to help a cause is to make as many
enemies as possible for it.
SUNDAY; THE COMMANDMENTS; ORIGIN OF
THE BIBLE; TRADITION
(Note: Below follows in catechetical form a letter
recently sent to an inquirer. It covers such a wide
range of subjects that it is reproduced in The Bulletin,
not only for the information it contains, but as a speci
men of some of the shorter answers given. The last
Bulletin contained a long letter, the subjects treated
requiring more explanation. This one contains much
information not at the finger tips of the average lay
man, but which is avaliable in that most of the topics
are frequently heard in every-day conversation:)
Q. Did the Catholic Church change the day of
worship from the seventh day to the first day of the
week, and when and why?
A. The Catholic Church holds every day of the
week to be a day of worship, but she recognizes the
first day, or Sunday, as being in particular the Lord’s
Day, upon which men should abstain from all servile
works and gainful occupations and pay special homage
to Jesus Christ. The custom of observing the first
day of the week instead of the seventh originated with
the first Christians, and was practiced in the time
of the Apostles, as is indicated in Acts XX-7, and in
I. Corinthians XV-2. The change was made because
our Lord arose from the dead on the first day of the
week; and on this day He broke bread with the Apos
tles; and on this day the Holy Ghost descended upon
the Apostles. Accordingly, we read in the Epistle of
the Apostle Barnabas XV, which, though not canon
ical, is historically true: ‘‘Wherefore, we keep the
eighth day (i. e., the first day of the week) with joy
fulness, as the day on which Jesus arose from the
dead.” In the writings of St. Ignatius, who was taught
by the Apostles themselves, we read (Ep. Ad Magnos,
LX) : ‘‘Christians no longer observe the Sabbath, but
live in the observance of the Lord’s Day, on which
also our LIFE arose again.”
The Ten Commandments.
Q. Is it a fact that the Commandments as you
have them are different from the Commandments in
the non-Catholic Bible?
A. No, the Ten Commandments taught to Cath
olics are the same as are found in non-Catholic ver
sions of the Bible. They are not numbered alike, but
the numbering is not strictly biblical in either case,
as you will observe by reference to Chapter XX of
Exodus, verses 3-17. The numbering of the verses
in the non-Catholic version of the Bible follows that
of the Catholic. In usage, however, if I am not mis
taken, non-Catholics number verses three and four
as two separate Commandments, and number third,
the Commandment, ‘‘Thou shalt not take the name
of the Lord, Thy God in vain.” Catholics join the
words in verses three and four and include the words
in verse five in the First Commandment, and number
Seco nd the command, ‘‘Thou shalt not take the name
of the Lord, Thy God, in vain.” Thus the command,
‘‘Remember thou keep holy the Sabbath Day,” is
known to Catholics as the Third Commandment, while
it is known to non-Catholics as the Fourth. Thus
for the remainder of the Decalogue to the Ninth Com
mandment, what Catholics know as the 4th, 5th, 6th,
7th and 8th Commandments, respectively, are
known to Protestants as the 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th and
9th Commandments. ‘‘Thou shalt not bear false wit
ness against thy neighbor” is the Eighth Command
ment to a Catholic, the Ninth to a Protestant. What
are known to Catholics as the Ninth and Tenth Com
mandments, namely, ‘‘Thou shalt not covet thy neigh
bor’s wife,” and ‘‘Thou shalt not covet thy neigh-
;bor’s goods,” are known as one Commandment to
non-Catholics, being united by them in the Tenth
Commandment.
The Catholic Bible.
Q. Was the Catholic Bible taken from the Protes
tant, or the Protestant Bible taken from the Cath
olic? Why the difference in the two Bibles today?
A. The Bible consists of various books written at
different times and by different persons, and in dif
ferent places. Some of them were written by the
Apostles, and others by those who were not Apos
tles. Some writings by Apostles are not in the Bible.
For three hundred years after the Apostles all of these
writings existed in one or another of the different
Churches in the Church of Corinth, of Thessalonica,
of Jerusalem, of Rome, etc.
Early in the fourth century the Catholic Church
appointed a commission to collect all the writings
thought to be inspired. St. Jerome, perhaps the great
est scholar of his century, was the head of the com
mission. After the various writings thought to be