Bliliill’ 51hr rs . lEN IEN nsiiini

The following is llis Lordship Bishop il’i.i-ar_\"s Lciiicu

Pastoral Letter road iii 31H iill‘ thc (‘atholii- (‘hurchcs oi‘ tli.» Djogése last Sunday. . .

In Our Lenten Pastoral of last year. \\,'e called your at- tention to many evils that follow from injury done to your neighbor by the various unjust jiracticcs so prevalent in our midst.‘ This year we desire to remark for you and for your cor- recuon, if needed, the evils that accrue from neglect or forget- gulness of the second’ commandment 0t God. “Thou shalt not lake mg name of the Lord thy God in am." 13y this commandment wc are not only forbidden to show “reverence to G_otl_'s name but are also conimaiitlctl to show it the l-everence that is its duc. iiy tlic “namc" of (iod is not iticuni the mere word tiltine, but also ilic majesty appertaining to the Most lIlBh- _ , True reverence (IOIISISLS of fear and lovc and when we gonslder the infinite jicrfectious of God; the wisdom that pre- serves, guides _and knows in the very snialiest_ tlctails the many millions of beings on oarili, as well as the millions of celestial Hpirlts; the botintlltiss power, ‘that’ has by a word created the countless orbs in space and maintains tliciii in the greatest. har- mony of action and of I|lf)V(‘lll(.1lll.} thc wondrous Majesiy- “Who is like Thee among the strong, O Lord '2 Who is like to Thee, glorious in holiness, terrible and praiseworthy, doing wonders 2*" (Exotl. XV. ll) wc are impelled to a (lccp and reverential fcar or ll (ind so grcat, so infinitclyiuajcstic and so glorious. ' When wc think also oi‘ His infinite goodness and love, of v we personal (rare He exercises over us in evcry detail of our life, "or the love, proper to a God only; that brought Him down to earth andto an ignominious death upon the (‘moss that. we might. be saved, of’ the countless anti undeserved graces and benefits . that. Ile has showered upon us, our souls are filled with sincere and rgyereiitial love for Him Who “first hath lovcd us." (I. John V. .l . I We manifest our reverence, ~- our fear and, our love -- by invoking (‘rod-Ks Holy Namchwiih true and heartfelt. devotion, and lie demands this of us in the Commandment of which wc treat. Newton, the great astronomer, had the deepest respect for the name of God; he uncovered his head and bowed low whenever it was uttered in ‘i118 presence. Cardinal Wisenian writes, “To each of us Itpllgilt to be dear, by each of us it ought to be cherished and lovingly pronounccil. . Speak it in trouble and ii. shall bring you comfort; speak it in temptation and it shall bring you victory; speak it iii time of relaxing fervor and it shall throw fire into your hearts; speak it in tlcvotion and it shallperfect you. There is no time, no placc where it. is out oi season, if to the lips at lcasi ‘to ilic thought; tlicrc is no action so blessed which it will iioi improve; so deep from which it will not arouse you."

By the name of Jesus the apostles and saints worked miracles; St. Peter said to the lame man. at the gatev-of the 'l‘cmple :- “In the name of Jesus Christ ariscautl walk (Acts ill. b‘). Christ promised that in His iiainc devils should be cast out (Mark XVI. 1T). “'l‘here is no titlitir name unticrlreavcirgiveii to man, whereby we must be saved says Iloly \\'l‘ll , “(Acts IV. 11.’), and St. Paul adds, “Ai. thc name of Jesus every knee shoultl bow, of those that arc in heaven, on earth or’ under the earth. (Phil. II. 10). So should we with_the_l’s_aliiiist cry :, Bless the Lord oh my soul. and let all that is within thee bless his Holy Name.” (Ps. CIl. l).

The reverence due to (iodsname should also be extended to all persons or things that pertain to divine worship. Our Lord bids us reverence His priests. “Ile that despiseth you dcspiseth Me". (Luke X. 16) and in the Old Testament we reatbthe coiii- inaud of God : "Touch not my anointed" (I. PaihXVl. 2.2) and He demands reverence for holy things and jilaces . To Moscscn appearing to Him in the burning bush, He_ said, "Come not nigh hither; put off the shoes from thy‘ feet; for the place wlicreoii Thou standetlris holy ground." (Lxotlus. Ill. 5), and thc Jews were forbidden to touch the Ark of the Covenant. (Numb. IV. 15) and commanded to have I‘(‘.V6l‘0ll('0'i(')l"til8 sanctuary o_i the Lord. "lteverenoe My sanctuary" (Leo XXX]. 2‘). So also in the New Dispensation the things that belong to God and to (rods holy worship are to be treated and spoken off with reverence and re- spectbecause of Iiini to Whom they now pertain. _

‘ By the second commandment it is not forbidden to take lawful oaths and vows. By an oath we nicziirtiit: taking of name of God or of something (lircctly pertaining to (|()(l oi Ilis holy worship to witness ilic truth of what we assent. Hy a,v‘ow we mean theproiiiise to do stunething (etinufirmetl by tialling fiod as witness to our promisc or intention. lhou shalt swcai by Ills name."~(Deut. VI. l3). As vice ovcrsprcati the‘ caith alnd lying developed as a means of corruption and injustice ll. ‘)8- calne necoasaryto have some confirmation for the assertions 05 promises of men to one another so that the)’ Wollldh bet {19019129 and relied upon. In many cases the piovills 01 l *1 "I'll e‘ came necessary for the good of religion and of society ant 1811f]? men, under God's sanction, began to call upon lliin vtihp [is tau‘. jtgelf to be the witness of their truthfulness oi as ti?) 0111‘ fly which they bind themselves in a promise. Thus hatlid vat) S upon God to witness the truth of what he writes . eho . tel- fore God I lie not." (Gal- I. 20).ai1d David protngses W11 =11" 011 1 that Solomon should be heir to his 5x11156011). ‘Eren as Tlswmfi to Thee by the Lord theltlllcidxof lsril: gosfylllg - 5° 0111011 1y B0 shall rel n after me." . H188 - - _

Cgrtainoconditions, however, have betilltfitttflikeid its)!‘ t3‘: Iawfulness of taking uncouth by the nmne‘ 0t teh ahd in iud - rm i» as Tr" "i i" we ....:. "lent 11nd i" ma"??? Her‘ IX 2y ere] orehs t we ‘know or in "rum ‘ tut iswmnmgfiod to witnessdort ydw" ain ‘ud menf ' 1'98"? believe to beqme or really ‘metal o 0d caiise “and n] is with '§’“"§.§'°'Zi..‘i.'§°§ii‘l?il t.:"1..s'.:.gi:....... .. justice : t at B, l3 "Wesl- we w“ mereme’ lawfully take ant ogiiiltigigegiirttaii? for (he (rum, when God's honor requires lit,‘ as n Own 00a as gm“ and worship’ when it ls necessary orhteuroui‘ negi hour's when our me or reputation be at stake. 01‘ W 11 5 d

knowing the innocence of an accuse good requires It, a9 when Kl ars to observe the person we swear to n’ as when the ' ing s“: 1 justice the Wita oongtllutloypkthlel jizdgttahto administei mpar a . . ness to spea t e ru . -- _ by an oath m lawful and becomes a solanglTllie ugshalt fear the Lord fPOHT dmeffillt P9598385 of Scripture’ HP oiil and thou shalt 1hr God." ea ‘Moses, “and 59"“ serves: iiiihn iiitiie Apocalypse SW98!‘ by H 9 "amer" (Dem ‘ 1' 13). i ke use of this solemn assures "lbthm the angehi. sonleunlis mil whom I saw standing 30,1311 ttclilgtstgitggg Kg: thelkielairttllileliftxefleup his hand to heavyen , n . d ever." (Ap. X. 5-6). and he swm-e by Him that lit eth forever an l “That Cod Hum .ln his e lstle to the Hebrews, 5h P111" "Y3 - ' _ w“ i» bear“: ‘.i°~“zi*i.i°cratrsii iii will“? Iihtciliileiaglllsitrggqiafiliiizofifaiiiiyhatii gworn and He will not . e Ba m s - - * ' - fepgnt; (hofigay; acjligeiat) forever according to the oider of ' Melchisedic ', 8- - - i

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.. . . » ly one t 111"" W111“ ‘m’ s°c°nd (mmmandmenti iimtgiitonin all the which Ho hasattacbed ‘the threat o_f pun a . _ ens-Mme“ r 51$?.i.ii.iii'.i‘..‘i2.'ii%i m‘ forbidden to do others but t ‘e icshment for disobedience; but. accompanied b!’ a mm“ of pun d after that one only we flnd after the Second Commflndmem a" '

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guiltless that shall take the name of the Lord his God in vain." (Exod. XX. 7). TAKING GOD'S NAME IN VAIN

Many persons have contracted the habit of thoughtlcssly exclaiming at every trifle that surprises them ‘fGood Lord", “My God" or some such similar expression, or they interlard their conversation with the name of the Lord in one form oranothei- without any reason whatever. This is a very bad habit and eas- ily lcads to graver sins against the Commandments of God, es- pecially when surprise or enthusiasm becomes changed to auger or grave.disappointment. Such a habit shows an habitual want of reverence for the name of God and those who truly lovc God are never tiiimoved when they hear His Holy Name thus profan- ed, and such careless, fiippant use of God or any other sacred name is at least a veiiial sin. “Let not the naming of God be usual in thy mouth for thou shalt not escape free from sin." (Ecclus. XXIII, 10). The Jews did not venture to pronounce the name of God, but changed the vowels in it to make another- word which they made use of ;" such was their reverence for the name which God had given them.

How much more shocking and even scandalous is the use of the namc of our most Divine Saviour, and how much inorc~ gravc is lhc sin! lii the first place the reverence which is taught to all for the Iloly Name of Jesus is so great that rarely can it bc used flippantly or carelessly unless there be real iiio- tives of irreverence behind its use, and in the second place such usage so offends the ears and souls of the hearers that a much gravcr scandal is tliercby given. Still more shocking and grav- er the cvil on the part of godlcss pat-cuts and tcatrhcrs when from the mouths of‘ little children, whom (flirist likened unto tho Angels, pours forlii irreverent and profane speech and cvcn the

‘ most Iloly Name of‘ Jesus as if from the mouths oi‘ the demons

in I-lell.

A habit. that. may not be so grave iii an adultniust cer- tainly take on arvery special gravity, that of scandaliziiig youth, when it is a source of the acquisition of‘ irrevrent and profane speech by the young, in whose presence it is thoughtlcssly_oi' maliciously made use of. Hence in judging of the guilt. of such. habits of irreverence and profaiiation the amount. of ir-rtiverencc and of scandal must be taken into account.

SWIGARING '

We have seen that God permits anti approves oi‘ swearing ~under certain conditions, but where these conditions arc absent it is ‘sinful to swear or to take an oath. ‘

‘ ls is forbidden to take a false oath, that is to swear to, what we know to be untrue, as when St. Peter ilcnied with an oath that he knew the Saviour. _ '

This is the sin known as perjury and is perhaps far too common today, especially in our courts of law. . ‘I -

Often to avoid inconvenience, to aid a friend or for some other reason, witnesses brazenly swear t0 What they know to be false and frequently salve their consciences with the thought

i- that it was doing good to someone and no harm to aiiyonc. They ii

forget. that. it t harm to the Infinite Majesty oi‘ (iod, whom they

called upon to be the witness oi‘ ilic lic they tell. The God oi‘

, truth is tlciicil and insultcil |i'y being called upon to be ilic wit- thcrc is no forgctfulncss‘ ,

ness and to sanction wliatvis false and incndzicious.

EVPII when the lie itself is trifling,

calling God to bc a witness to it is a

5 grave injury i.o the Almighty and hence a mortal sin.

Some there are who vainly anti ignorantly excuse them-

i selves by saying that they did not repeat the words of the oath,

they did not kiss or touch ilic Bible when called upon to take the oath and therefore they were not bound by it. They are only dcludiug themselves because by the fact that they. enter into a witness-box, or take the placc assigned in court to a witness, go

‘ through the ceremony of an oath even incompletely and care--

i lessly they nevertheless by

the above actions publicly proclaim

; themselves iii ilic courtias sworn witnesses and are bound by the

oath even if it was improperly atluiinistered or incompletely

taken through thoughtlessncss or with malice afqrethought. Prevarications therefore do not excuse in C0llSCi€ll(2|Zll1(I' telling an uiitruth under such circumstances is ever and always. coiii- initting perury and. is also a grave sin. It may befwell to note here also that should perjury be the cause of damage to‘ one’s neighbor, by causing him to.lose his case or his reputation or injuring him in any other way, the pcrjurer is bound in coii-

. science to make good the damage thus unjustly inflicted.

, St. Peter, in the Passion.

Many texts of Scripture show us how detestable in the sight of God is the sin of perjury, thus in thc Prophecy of ZaCilflI‘lll$"WF'l‘€Z1(i "Love not a false oath — which I hate," saith the Lord; and in the second Book of Kings it is narrated that God sent a famine under David because Saul had broken his oath not to slay the Gabaoiiites, and the seven of his chil- drcn were given to crucifixion. _

The civil law formerly [iunished the perjiircr with death but now, even in our lax day, a convicted perjurei- in our courts of law is jiunishctl by a severe term of imprisonment.

Taking oi‘ false oaths therefore is ileiestablti in the eyes of God anti man, has been punished by (iod in this lifc with the severest jiunishment even in the succeeding generation and will be jiunishctl by llim more severely, in the lifc to conic. The tak- iug of oaths evcn when true should not be done too frequently and for trivial reasons. We should have recourse to them only for just and grave reasons. An erroneous opinion existed among the Jews that truth alone was the only condition required for an oath and hence they did not hesitate to make use of them on the most t.rviaI occasions and to exact them in a similar inan- ner from others. Our Divine Master reproves and condemns this practice and teaches us that anoath is never to be taken unless rvery grave interests necessitate so solemn a pledge. “You have heard that it was said of them of old. Thou shalt forswear thyself but thou shalt perform thy oaths to the Lord. But I say to you not to swear at all, neither by heaven, for it is the throne of (ind, nor by the earth, for it is His footstool . . . . but let your speech be yea, yea, no, no, and that which is above these is of evil". (Matth. V.. 33-37). Forgetful of this Divine teaching the conversation of many to-day is loaded with oaths and they confirm the most frivolous assertions, with oaths "By God," “By Jesus", and so forth, making what would otherwise be at least a harmless conversation amusing or entertaining an offense to the Almighty, deserving of His detestation and anger. "Let not thy mouth be accustomed to swearing," says the Book of Ecclesiasticus, “for in it there are many falls, and let not_ the naming of God be usual in the mouth, and meddle not with the names of the saints, for thou shalt not escape free from them. A man that sweareth much shall be filled with iniquity and a scourge shall not depart from his house.” (Ecclias. XVIII. 9-12).

CURSING _

By cursing we mean the use of the holy names as an ini- precation or sort of prayer calling down evil upon persons or things. lt differs from swearing since in swearing no. evil is wished or prayed for, while in cursing we pray for evil upon ourselves or upon God's creatures as when parents who when angry wish ill to their children, using the name of‘ God or hea- ven, or workmen who call down evil on the tools they employ. Cursiiig, therefore, is of a diabolical nature, that is, the one who curses speaks the language of the devil sincehis utterances are directly opposed to the love of one's neighbor which God re- quires 0f us. By wishin evil to ones neighbor a person expresses hatred for that person §nd no one hates as does thedevil. Ask- ing God to condemn to eternal perdition a soul for whose sal- vation He shed His most Precious Blood is to oppose the very object of His incarnation and redemption, and thus again to par- take of the devil's desires and sentiments and to speak his lan- guage. Bishop Hay gives the following explanation of why cursing is the language of I-Iell : “All intelligent creatures are divided into three classes : First the Angels and Saints, whose country is heaven, and whose language is to praise and glorify God; secondly, the devilsand the damned souls, who country is Hell and whose language is to blaspheme the God of Heaven and to curse their folly in having brought themselves to Hell by their own deliberate act; thirdly, we men still upon earth, travelling towards one or the other of these two countries. If a stranger be travelling about and can speak but one language, that. language will show to what country he belongs, as it did So our language here will help us to discover which will be our country, hereafter in eternity."

Cursing also takes tn itself tho gravity of the scandal or bad example given pot only to adults but. especially to the young. -,,;g.';.i!' I ‘j pittfi‘ ' ' '

l

1 ‘blessing and it shall be far from him." (Ps. (JVII. 18).

-c0vcr your property and have him

That this example is terrible in its evil efficiency is evident by

the fact that everywhere on our streets, in our work-shops and a

factories, in our shops and mills, in our harvest-fields and fish- ing boats —— yea, even among our school children, are t.o be heard the most shocking curses. A number of our young men,

i and sadly be it said, even some of our young women, seem lii‘-

capablc of uttering. a single sentence without iiiterlarding it with an oath or a curse. “And he loved cursing," said the

Psalmist, “and it shall conic unto liiiii; and he would notshaive

cr p- turc tells us also of four cases in which ilic curse is heard of God. (1) Tht poor cursing the, rich who oppose them --- “The prayer of him (the poor) that curseth shall be heard". (Ecclus. IV. 6). (2)_\\'idows and orphans cursing their oppressors ~- “The widows tears . . . . the Lord will not bc delighted with them." (Ecclus. XXXV. 1S) f3) Parents cursing their chil- dren —- “The mother's curse rooeth up the foundations." (Ecclus. III. 2), and (4) People cursing themselves -— “I-le loved curs- ing and it shall come t0 him." (Ps. CVlll. 18), as when the Jews cried out at thc crucifixion: "Ills Blood be upon us and upon oiii' children." (Mattli. XXVI]. 25). Stich cursing is always a mortal sin when thc evil wished or prayed for is a grcvious onc anti the one cursing knows and adverts to it bcing such, as also when the habit of cursing is continued. “Hut such as trurse llim shall jierish." (Ps. XXXVI. 22).

. it is a veiiial sin when the evil wished is not a grave onc or the sin-is not tleliberatc, as also ii‘ carnest efforts arc befits magic to correct the hahlt. .

IILASIHIEIIIING 'l‘hosc are guilty of blasphcining who rcvlle God, llis

Saints, onspcak with contumely of objects connected with His Worship. We have very striking examples ot‘ blasphcniing in the words and actions of the Emperor Julian the Apostate who always spoke oi‘ ilicfSon of (iod as the (Ialilean (at that. time a word oi‘ insult) and at Iiis death when thrust with a lance, llc is said to have thrown sonic of Ilis blood towards Ilcavtan, say- ing: “Thou has conquered, () fialileaii"; or when Voltaire in France referred to the Divine IMastcr as “The Infamous fine". Those are guilty of blasplicming who deny the attributes of (iod, claiming that llc is not just, not merciful, not infinite, who speak oi‘ Ilini with contempt as when they cried out in the Pas- sion, “Vah ! Thou that (iestroyeth the 'l‘cinplc of (iod"—--(.\latth. XXXVIP.’ 40). who wish there were no God to punish sin, who

_ say God is guilty of sin, as xvhen the Jews called our Lord a glitt-

ion (Math. XI. 19), who perform any acts insulting to (iod as pFOfflIlillg the Sacred Ilost, jilacing a harlot on the altar and per- forming mock ceremonies before her as in the timc of the French Revolution or who wish‘ evil to God in any way.

There are also indirect ways of committing the sin of blasphemy when such is directed, (Upgainst the Blessed Vir- gin, the Saints or Religious as such, (2) against ilic Sacraments, the Scriptures and ilic Church. (3) by zitiributiiig to creatures what bclting to (lod, as whcn ilic Jews attribulcil our Lord's miracles to Satan (Luke .\'l. l5).