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THE BULLETIN OF THE CATHOLIC LAYMEN’S ASSOCIATION OF GEORGIA
AN INDULGENCE- WHA T IS IT?
By a Member of the Publicity Committee
It will be plainer perhaps, if we
say first, what an indulgence is not
It is not a permission to commit sin.
It is not a pardon of future sin.
Neither of these could be granted by
any power, human or divine. It is
not a forgiveness of the guilt of sin.
An indulgence cannot be gained un
less the sin already has been forgiv
en : It is an expressed condition of
all indugences that in order to bene
fit by them one must be in a state
of grace, that is, free from moral
sin.
An indulgence is not an exemp
tion of any sort from any law or
duty. It does not remove the possi
bility of subsequent lapses into sin.
It does not release from the obliga
tions that are connected with cer
tain kinds of sin. A thief, swindler
or cheat, must restore property
wrongfully acquired and no indul
gence can relase him from this obli
gation. A slandered must retract a
false statement about his neighbor
and in every other way possible re
pair the injury done him, and no in
dulgence can release him from this
obligation.
Above all, an indulgence is not a
purchase of pardon which secures
the purchaser salvation or releases
the soul of another from purgatory.
Such absurd notions of an indul-
^ gence as this and those above nega
tived, have no foundation, now or
in the past, in the teaching of the
Church or the practices of her chil
dren.
This is what an indulgence is: It
is a remission of the temporal pun
ishment in God’s justice due to sin
that has been committed, repented
of and forgiven. The Church, in the
exercise of the power of the Keys
conferred upon her when Christ said
to Peter; “Whatsoever thou shalt
loose on earth shall be loosed in
heaven,” from time immemorial has
“loosed” her repentant children from
more or less temporal punishment
due their sins, upon their perform
ing certain works of charity or piety
or other conditions in her wisdom
imposed. No indulgence can be
gained except by the contrite and
humble of heart. The mere perform
ance of the conditions is nothing
unless it be done with a spirit pleas
ing to God.
Catholic theology teachers that
punishment for sin may be two fold
namely, temporal and eteranl; that
eternal punishment is inflicted only
upon sinners dying impenitent; that
sins repented and forgive, are not
punished eternally.
A slight transgression of God’s
law even though unrepented will
not be punished eternally; but
however slight, it must be punished
somehow, as God is infinitely per
fect and infinitely just. Not being
punished in eternity, it is punished
in time; hence the term, temporal
punishment.
And grievous transgressions,
which may be punished in both time
and eternity, may still be punished
in time although the eternal punish
ment has been remitted by forgive
ness, hence, temporal punishment
applies to both slight and grievous
(usually called “venial” and “mor
tal”) sin and may be due sins re
pented as well as those not repented
of.
What form this punishment takes,
how much is due in each case, when
it will be inflicted in time, none
knows but God. Man knows that
God’s justice is infinitely perfect
and, according to scripture, He will
exact “the last farthing” in satisfac
tion of sin; that His mercy is infin
itely great and according to His
word, sins “deep as sacrlet will be
washed as white as snow;” that
some sins of man, though repented,
will be visited on their children “to
the third and fourth generation;”
that some will not be forgiven “in
this world or the world to come;”
that to one person, at least, Christ
said, “This day, Ihou shalt be in
Paradise;” that to others He said,
“I go to prepare a place for you;”
that finally, some will go “cursed
into everlasting torment,” and some
will be “saved yet so as by fire.”
So run God’s words and though the
world pass away, His words will not
pass.
No more does any but God know
the form, the amount, the time, of
the rewards which prayers and good
works reserve. Man knows that
whoever “gives a cup of water in
I His name will be rewarded,” that
whoever “asks the Father for any
thing in My name,” will not be de
nied, that “at the mention of His
name every knee shall bend,” that
the merciful “shall obtain mercy,”
the meek “shall possess the land,”
clean of heart “shall see God.”
an knows that “faith without
works is dead,” that unless we pray
we “shall all likewise perish,” that
charity is the “end of the law,” the
bond of perfection,” the “whole
duty of man.” But how to weigh a
prayer, how to measure charity, how
to guqge the value of good works,
only God knows.
Here arc the fundation lines of
the Christian dispensation, broad as
humanity, deep as the mystery of
life, traced by the invisible hand of
Infinite Justice and Mercy, of Infin
ite Goodness and Love. In the di
vine economy of Creation—Redemp
tion—Salvanion, every thought has
value. No sin that ever darkened
the secret recesses of the heart will
go unpunished, nor any aspiration
that ever gave the soul an impulse
toward God unrewarded.
These values can be apprehended
by the finite mind in no other than
a relative way. God, of course, keeps
exact account of them, with debits,
credits, Loss and Gain. The Gains
of extraordinary souls, saints and
martyrs and men of God, whose all-
absorbing thought in life is to do
the will of God,—their Gains, being
over and above what in God’s Just
ice is strictly necessary for their sal
vation, go into that spiritual Treas
ury where thieves cannot enter nor
rust nor moths eat in.
From this Treasury in God’s Mer
cy is dispensed those favors called
by the Church, Indulgences, by
which the sorrowful penitent can
Make peace with thine adversary
quickly,”,and not be cast into spirit
ual prison “until he has paid the
last farthing” in suffering. This
Treasury will be available only in
Time, its stores cannot be applied
in Eternity; the Last Judgment will
fix all rewards and all punishments,
forever. Hence, the indulgences
drawn therefrom must be of a tem
poral nature, can have only a tem
poral value and be only of temporal
application.
And now we can understand the
Scripture that says,“Bear ye one
anothers burdens,” for as the
“prayer of the just man availeth
much” and the just must need but
little, somewhat of a brother’s bur
den can be thereby taken away. And
also, that other scripture, which
says, “Let every man bear his own
burden,” for all the treasures laid
up by all the Saints could not re
lieve one sinner from the eternal
punishment due one mortal sin.
Eternal punishment is remitted by
forgiveness only, through the merits
of Jesus Christ and His Divine
Atonement, which the Church ap
plies in virture of the specific grant,
“whose sins you shall forgive, they
are forgiven them.” This is our sal
vation. Our consolation, over and
above this, lies in “The Communion
of Saints,” whereby, in virture of the
more general grant of Our Lord,
“WHATSOEVER thou shalt loose
upon earth shall be loosed in heav
en,” the Church for the piety, char
ity and good works of her repentant
children, looses them, not of their
sins, hut of the temporal punish
ment due their sins, God’s Justice
being satisfied through the merits
of the saints which in a wonderful
system of divine economy His'
Church applies on earth.
All this, the Catholic subscribes
to when he repeats, “I believe in
the Holy Ghost, the Holy Catholic
Church, the Communion of Saints,
the Forgiveness of Sins, the Resur
rection of the Body and Life Ever
lasting.”
CATHOLIC CUSTOMS
AND SYMBOLS
By RT. REV. H. T. HENRY, LITT. D.
ROGATION DAYS.
The word “rogation” is familiar
to us only in the expression Roga
tion Days, although we recognize it
in its compounds “interrogation.”
“supererogation” and the like. In
Latin it is rogatio (from rogare, to
ask) and means the same thing as
“litany” (from the Greek litaneia,
a prayer or supplication).
The Rogation Days, then, are days
specially set apart for supplication
to God for mercy on our transgres
sions and for all kinds of spiritual
and temporal blessings, as illustrat
ed in the Litany of the Saints, which
is then recited during a procession,
while a special Mass of these days
contains touching eulogies of the
power of prayer. Of old, they were
days of fasting as well as of prayer.
There are four such days, and all
of them occur during Eastertide.
The first is April 25. This is also St.
Mark’s feast, but there . is no con
nection between them save an ac
cidental one; so that, should St.
Mark’s feast be transferred, the
procession and it any remain fixed.
In the rare case when Easter falls on
April 25 (in 1886, and not gain until
1943,) the procession and litany are
transferred to the following Tues
day.
The other Rogation Days are the
Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday
immediately preceeding Ascension
Thursday. The procession, litany
and Mass arc the same for these as
for April 25.
Solemn and public processions
were not. infrequent in the Church
after she had emerged from the
darkness of the Catacombs. She
selected for them by preference the
days dedicated by pagan Rome to
the honor of th false gods, and
thus gently”corrected the traditions
of the false worship without sacri
ficing the established physical habits
of the people. April 25 had been a
pagan processional day of supplica
tion for good harvest, styled the
Robigalia. It next became a day of
processional Christian prayer. Sub
sequently, Pope St. Gregory the
Great (d. 604) regularized the cele
bration.
The other Rogation Days were ap
parently instituted by St. Mamertus,
Bishop of Vienne, in 447, on the oc
casion of an earthquake, to suppli
cate the mercy of God. The obser
vance quickly spread throughout
Frankish Gaul, England, Germany.
In 799, Popejseo III. placed them in
the Roman Calendar.
It is interesting to note that the
three days were observed in Eng
land even after the Reformation,
down to the year 1571. The proces
sion was then replaced by a “Per
ambulation,” which still persists in
parts of England, of the clergy
around the parish boundaries in
order to keep these well fixed in the
memory. The Anglican “Book of
Common Prayer” still marks the
days, in somewhat vague terms, as
days of fasting.
April 25 is styled the Major Roga
tion of Litany. The other three days
are the Minor Rogations or Litanies.
Major and Minor here do not imply
any variation in the procession or
litany or Mass. It has been conjcc.-
turned that Major refers to the sup
posed institution by Pope Gregory;
and Minor, to the lesser eminence
of the Bishop of Vienne. The pro
cession of April 25, however, an
tedated St. Gregory. It has also
been supposed that the Major pro
cession assembled at the Church of
St. Mary Major, and derived thence
its name. The “Station,” however,
was at St. Peter’s, and is thus mark
ed in the Missal.
Early Days of The Paulist Order
Described By Father Elliott, An Associate of Father
Hecker, Its Illustrious Founder,
BY MICHAEL WILLIAMS, LITT. D.
(Written for the N. C. W. C. Editorial Sheet.)
Denton, Texas.
To The Editor of The Bulletin:
The Bulletin, May 30, has an item
on page 5, headed: “The Power of
Prayer Brought Health Back to Mc
Cormack.” This is a very oppor
tune item when faith in prayer is
on the decline. In this boastful
age we rely on science and human
means, and God is ousted out of
His own existence, They did not
pray at Versailles, Washington, Ge
noa. What has been accomplished
by these wise men thus far? Will
they soon see their folly, and be
gin to pray to the Father of Rights?
(Signed)
RAYMOND VERNIMONT.
unreasonable, but having been
taught as I was all my life, how
could I know? I think you have
been the most mistreated people in
the world. Everything you say
looks reasonable. I want all the
light I can get on the matter, espec
ially on the parts they assail most.
FROM INQUIRERS
Tifton, Ga.—Your letter and tracts
came on time. I am glad you took
up the matter. The whole thing
(the charges made by anti-Catholics
against the Church), always looked
Rome, Ga.—I have read with a
great deal of interest the booklets
sent by your association, yes, I will
say with intense interest. You give
history that I have forgotten. It
will not fail to interest anyone
who is not intolerant and ignorant.
I consider ignorance the greatest
menace the human family has to
contend with. I would like to see
the day when men become more
broadminded and tolerant; how
much better it would be for the
world. Who suggested that you
seud me the literature’
By MICHAEL WILLIAMS, Litt. D.
(Written for N. C. W. C. Editorial
Sheet.)
Fifty years a priest, the Rev. Wal
ter Elliott, oldest living member of
the Congregation of St. Paul the
Apostle, co-founder of the Apostolic
Mission House for the training of
missionaries to non-Catliolics, a vet
eran of veterans among the Catho
lic missionaries of the United States,
voluminous author, experienced edi
tor, and master of spiritual science,
speaks with authority on the state
of Catholicity in America today.
Few, if any, have the length and
depth and breadth of practical ex
perience which is possessed by Fath
er Elliott. His is not the mere
statistical knowledge of a closeted
student, though his acquaintance
with books and with contemporary
utterances of the perodical press is
thorough and always up to date,
but he possesses in addition an un
rivalled, first hand personal knowl
edge of the work of the Church
among the American people.
At the Apostolic Mission House
in Brookland, I). C., on Ascension
Thursday, the fiftieth anniversary
of the ordination to the priesthood
of Father Elliott was celebrated. He
himself sang solemn high Mass. His
Excellency, Archbishop Bonanzo, the
Apostolic Delegate, was present, lit.
Rev. Bishop Swint, of Wheeling,
W. Va., preached the sermon. Rt.
Rev. Thomas ,1. Shahan, Rector of
the Catholic University, of which
the Apostolic Mission House is part,
and other prelates and priests from
many parts of the United States,
were there. Scores of others who
could not be present wrote letters
of congratulations, letters over
brimming with heartfelt and ferv
ently expressed testimonials to the
influence exerted by testimonies to
the influence exerted by Fathr El
liott as missionary, teacher and
trainer of missionaries, as writer,
and, even more, as exponent and
model of the priesthood.
Expression of Affection.
To Father Elliott the splendid
sclebration was not chiefly a per
sonal tribute, although he Is so hu
man that this expression of the af
fection and admiration of his fellow
priests could not but touch him
deeply, for to him the occasion was
principally welcome simply because
it called attention afresh to his be
loved Apostolic Mission House, and
to the great work of converting Am
ericans to the Catholic Church,
which is carried on by Father El
liott, and his associated Paulists
there.
In this spirit, the spirit of using
all circumstances that can possibly
advance the work of the missions
that mean so much to him, Father
Elliott' told me his own story when
I visited the Apostolic Mission
House a few days before the cele
bration. A fall that strained his
bock some little time gefore, had
slightly crippled his move ments,
but apart from this accidental cir
cumstance, 1 found him full of vig
orous life. His clear, keen eyes
were bright as the eyes of a hoy.
His tall erect figure recalled the
fact of his military training. He
is a veteran of the Civil War, hav
ing volunteered at the first call,
fighting at Gettysburg, (where a
brother, William Elliott, was killed
—another brother, Major Robert El
liott, being slain near Richmond—
and at Chancellorsville, Antietarri,
Winchester and in other battles.
When the Civil War was over he
studied and practiced law. So,
when he was called to the priest
hood, he was already a man of ac
tion, a man deeply experienced in
life, but what was to him the true
life—the field of true action—only
began when he became a priest.
Father Elliott’s parents came from
Ireland from the County Tipperary,
shortly after the War of 1812. They
met and married in Quebec. His
father, Robert T. Elliott, was an
architect and builder. There were
seven boys and two girls in the
family. The family moved to
Rochester, in New York, sometime
between 1820 and 1930, and later
they went to Detroit, where Walter
Ellictt was born Januray 6, 1842,
Early Days in Detroit.
“Most of the Catholics in Detroit
at that time,” said Father Elliott,
“were French Canadians, our fam
ily being one of only five or six
FnrttffainfMfiillljtiIf Catholic families,
Irish. However, even if there were
only a few, they were enough to
have a church of their own, which
my father built for them. He was,
indeed, the priest’s factotum, serv
ing the Mass, keeping the church in
order, and in' every other way prov
ing himself the great practical
Catholic that he was. When I
grew up I was sent for awhile to
Notre Dame under the Brothers of
the Holy Cross. I would have
graduated in the class of ’60 had I
completed my course, but I did not.
The. times were too disturbed or
me to go on with my schooling and
in the spring of the following year
I was a private in the Fifth Ohio.
Even at Notre Dame, nevertheless,
although I had absolutely no
thought of the priesthood, the at
traction to the spiritual life had be
gun for me, for even today I can
remember the wonderful impression
produced upon my boyish mind and
soul by the nocturnal adoration of
the Blessed Sacrament which the
boys took part in once a month.
But the excitement and stress of
the war kept my mind fully occu
pied for the next few years.”
After the war, Walter Elliott went
to Cincinnati and studied and began
the practice of law. But his thoughts
had begun to turn toward the priest
hood and his dawning vocation was
brought to the point of resolution'
by the coming of Father Isaac Heck
er, the founder of the Paulist Con
gregation, to Cincinnati, where ho
gave one of those remarkable mis
sions to non-Catliolics which were
then attracting national attention.
After the young lawyer heard Fath
er Hecker speak, he sought and
secured an interview with him
which decided his destiny. A year
later he followed Father Hecker
to New York and entered the
noviate of the Congregation, being
ordained in 1872, by Bishop Syl
vester Rosecrans, a brother of the
famous General llasecrans under
whom Father Elliott’s regiment for
awhile had served in the Civil War,
In later years it was Father El
liott’s -lot to be intimately associ
ated with Father Hecker, whom he
personally attended during his last
illness, and whose biographer he
became under obedience to his su
periors in the Congregation.
“Tell me, please,” I asked, “about
Father Hecker. You were very. !
close to him, and he was an ex- j
ceedingly remarkable man. What j
are your impressions of him now?
What do you particularly remember
concerning him?”
Father Elliott looked at me in
silence before replying, then said:
“I can only answer by saying i
that it is love I remember when -
I remember Father Hecker. He (
gained me through love. He gain
ed his influence among us all and
among the people by love, by the
love of God.
“Father Hecker was distinctly £
public man, in appearance and in
fluence,” continued Father Elliott,
“His contemplative spirit was ex
pressed in practical ways that sym
pathized with American modes of
thought and action. When I saw
him for the first time on the lec
ture platform he was then in his
full tide of success, conscious of his
opportunity and of his power to
profit by it. I never can forget
how distinctly American was
impression of his personality. S
had heard the nation’s greatest
men living, and their type was too
familiar to be successfully counter
feited. Father Heckt. was so
plainly a great man of that type,
so evidently an outgrowth of our
institutions, that he stamped Ameri
can on every Catholic argument ho
proposed. Nor was the force of
his peculiar impression lessened by
the whispered grumblings of a few
petty' minds among Catholics them
selves, to whom this apostolic trait
was a cause for suspicion. Never
was a man more Catholic than
Father Hecker, simply, calmly, joy
fully, entirely Catholic. What bet
ter proof of this than the rage into
which his lectures and writings
threw the outright enemies of the
Church? Grave ministers lost their
balance and foamed at him as a
trickster and a liyprocite, all the
wgvse because double-eyed with pre
tence of love of country.
A Future Priest.
“I will never for,
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