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Reflection: The Catechism Explained By Stories and Examples

Question: Which are the attributes of the Church?

Answer: The attributes of the Church are three: authority, infallibility, and indefectibility.

A Congress of Divines: A Catholic priest and a Protestant minister were one day walking together when they happened to meet a Jewish rabbi. “Here we are,” cried the minister, laughing, “three men of different creeds. Now I wonder which of us is he who has been really authorized to announce the truths of religion with certainty for all time.” “I will tell you,” said the rabbi. “If the Messias has not yet come, I am the man. If Jesus Christ was really the Messias, then our reverend Father here is the only true priest among us. But whether the Messias be really come or not, you, Mr. Minister, are certainly in the wrong.”

Question: What do you mean by the authority of the Church?

Answer: By the authority of the Church I mean the right and power which the Pope and the bishops, as the successors of the apostles, have to teach and to govern the faithful.

Individual Exposition of Scripture: The true Church cannot permit private interpretation of Holy Scripture. The principle that every one is free to put his own interpretation on the words of Holy Writ, is utterly false; otherwise two or three conflicting opinions would each and all be correct, which is a moral impossibility. Truth is one; no one can prove that two and two do not make four. So it is with the truths of our faith. The following instances show the result of putting the Bible into the hands of the people, and allowing them to expound it at will. 1. A man stole his neighbor’s cloak. When charged with the theft, he defended himself by saying he had only carried out the scriptural admonition: “Bear ye one another’s burdens.” 2. Again, the doctrine of private interpretation is responsible for the almost endless multiplicity of the so-called Christian sects, for their bitter opposition to one another, and their apparently hopeless disunion. This principle may justly be charged with all the graver heresies ever put forth and the absurd vagaries of the Scientists, Adventists, Zionists, etc.

Question: Are all bound to belong to the Church?
Answer: All are bound to belong to the Church, and he who knows the Church to be the true Church and remains out of it cannot be saved.

Napoleon’s Altar: When the Emperor Napoleon was preparing himself for death on the island of St. Helena, he gave orders that an altar should be erected in his room, and beautifully decorated for the reception of the Blessed Sacrament. One of his generals, Bertrand by name, ventured to expostulate with him, remarking that a monk might fitly express such a wish, but not a soldier and an emperor. Thereupon Napoleon raised himself from the couch where he lay, and said in an imperative manner: “Surely, I am master in my own chamber. You have no right to interfere with my commands. I never meddle with your domestic arrangements.” The ex-emperor was quite right. No one is justified in deterring another from the performance of his religious duties, least of all in his own house.