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The author begins: "In the midst of contradictory beliefs of every
description, the world is at a loss to know what should be accepted
as true. Theories are conceived, as it were, over night;
long-established customs are abandoned; doctrines of unquestionable
authenticity are ruthlessly overthrown, - in a word, chaos reigns
in the world of thought and deed. But one institution retains the
stability of centuries; and men and women of judgment hopefully
turn their eyes to her, the one whom ages and changes have not
altered-the Roman Catholic Church. It is with the hope that this
book may aid Catholics to remain faithful to the Church and stand
by her in these difficult times, and that it may be the means of
attracting the many, who are sincere in their efforts to find a
trustworthy guide through the maze of beliefs and unbeliefs, to a
more thorough investigation of the 'Catholic Church, that it is
given to press." In the chapter on the Church as a Sign of
Contradiction, the author writes: "Simeon, the seer, some nineteen
hundred years ago took a little infant in his arms and made the
remarkable statement, "Behold this child is set for the fall and
resurrection of many in Israel, and for a sign which shall be
contradicted," a bystander might have ridiculed the thought that
the child of apparently unknown parents could ever rise to such
heights as to be the occasion of the success and failure, the rise
and fall of individuals as well as of nations. And yet this Child,
the Son of God, has been a sign of contradiction, and has exerted a
tremendous influence upon the nations of the world and their
destinies."
My association with converts has taught me that they are so much
happier in the True Faith if they are familiar with the devotions
and practices that are essentially Catholic. Experience has also
demonstrated that not a few who were born and reared in the Faith
betray a lack of thorough instruction, or have simply forgotten the
meanings and purposes of many Catholic practices. For such readers
I have endeavored to gather in the following pages the most salient
features of Catholic life. My aim has been to give interesting and
profitable reading in plain words. And thus I hope that this book
will find favor with all classes of Catholics. In our busy American
life we lose so easily our hold on the things that are eternal.
There is, therefore, all the more need that from time to time we
refresh our souls with the contemplation of the service, the wealth
of consolation, and the brilliant hopes for the future which are
afforded us by the beautiful devotions and practices of our
religion. Let us consider this on devotion to the Blessed Virgin
Mary: "To me it has been one of the most baffling mysteries of the
world that the propriety of honoring and venerating the Mother of
God should ever have been brought into question. On that memorable
day when the Saviour hung on the cross, a bruised and crushed
victim for the world's crimes, some of the last words spoken by Him
were addressed to His Mother and St. John: "Woman, behold thy son.
After that He saith to the disciple: Behold thy mother." (John xix.
26-27.) It has always been the belief of Christians that hereby the
Blessed Redeemer constituted His Mother as the Mother of all
Christians, and placed the faithful of His Church under her special
guidance and protection. But one might object that this
interpretation is forced and not implied in the words. If not, how
can we explain that Our Lord chose such an important moment, if He
merely desired to provide for His Mother. An ordinary human being
makes many requests upon his deathbed because he realizes that he
will be unable to counsel and provide after the hand of death has
touched him. But surely, no one will suggest that Our Saviour just
happened to think of the needs of His Mother as He saw death
approaching. No indeed. The solemnity of the occasion, as well as
the publicity of the act indicated that here was something
important and of interest not only to those who stood beneath the
cross, but to the whole world."
This scarce antiquarian book is included in our special Legacy
Reprint Series. In the interest of creating a more extensive
selection of rare historical book reprints, we have chosen to
reproduce this title even though it may possibly have occasional
imperfections such as missing and blurred pages, missing text, poor
pictures, markings, dark backgrounds and other reproduction issues
beyond our control. Because this work is culturally important, we
have made it available as a part of our commitment to protecting,
preserving and promoting the world's literature.
This scarce antiquarian book is included in our special Legacy
Reprint Series. In the interest of creating a more extensive
selection of rare historical book reprints, we have chosen to
reproduce this title even though it may possibly have occasional
imperfections such as missing and blurred pages, missing text, poor
pictures, markings, dark backgrounds and other reproduction issues
beyond our control. Because this work is culturally important, we
have made it available as a part of our commitment to protecting,
preserving and promoting the world's literature.
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