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Show HIE SUPERNATURAL j IZED BY TRUE FAITH I faith and Knowledge-faith and Certainty j It Excludes Doubt Inspiration Inlusion of Trutn Into the Heart Its Spiritual Benefits. ; I '(Written for the lutcrmountuin Catholic.) Reverting to the words of the Christian philis- ; i j Ik i- already quoted, viz: That to polos' faith, ; n, ir are throe ways of reaching it." Reason, ,! inspiration, we again return to the . i ti i r incuts of failii in order 1o be rational. The i p;.r taken by reason or of its necessity were made j ; mii an-! evident. Its litnils- were pointed out. 1 I'- vj' presented to the intellect for its as- s.'iii. differs 'from other matters of knowledge or .-. ii i u-c. whose object is intrinsically apprehended, . viiil.-i that of faitli. though txtronsieally evident, . . i- n"i an immediate object of intellectual appre-) appre-) h;i-i..ii. A proposition-in Euclid when deinou- li;liri' i intellectually apprehended ; mysteries of laidi following the definition of faith, which is an ;i-mhi ?.. the proposition on the authority of an-o;!n-r. arc not an immediate object of intellectual-; intellectual-; i''ivlicnion. though externally evident. The as- .!)? yiven to faith when the authority back of it i - adequate and sufficient is as reasonable as that v, iiich springs from knowledge. The student is i - certain 1 hat the city of St. Petersburg ex- j i-ts. that Xapoleon Bonaparte and George Wash- iti-;uu were men of fame, though lie never saw that j ci:y -or those men, lhan he is that .the. angles at f ill" base of an isosceles triangle are equal. Of the l :"': he has an inner consciousness which brings : c-i-tjinty to the mind, but not any greater than that ? there were such men. as George Washington and -V .poleon Bonaparte, r that a city named St. Pe-ti.rsl.iurg Pe-ti.rsl.iurg exists, and known to him only on eompet-I eompet-I . tut authority or external pvidpnw Faith means certainty and must exclude doubt. The "Credo"' (I believe) of the man of faith lias i ' I..d for its foundation, and as God is truth, who can neither deceive nor be deceived, faith , resting on hi- word must mean certainty to the bewildcr- 1 ing mind. Stripped of certainty, that it is God's ; word, it is no longer faith, but mere credulity, or : -w Tuition. Ilea son passes judgment on the mo- -. tivc- of credibility and when convinced that God I spoke, the eertainry of. his faitli is established, and I hal he believes follows as a logical consequence. . j "Jo 1 he Catholic mind, defined articles of faith, which, by the way. are not very numerous and entirely en-tirely distinct from devotional exercises and disciplinary dis-ciplinary rules, are as certain as they are uii-. uii-. H.u;ge;ible, because they rest on unerring author-v: author-v: . cimuni-sioned by (iod to teach. It has been al-? al-? i';i'iy pointed out how intimately connected are vv;'-on and habit in this question of faith. Here S ; 'e!iT!oii i directed to the third means, namely, ' ii-nirai ion. which alone, produces the salutary ef- ! i' ' t of the redemption by faith. ; 1 1 1 j i ra t icu means the communication, the in- i :u-ion ..f truih itself to the heart as a reward for i humble submission with which the grace of i Jidtii is implored from its true source, God. God, i v, !; er.ly begotten Son. who is our Resurrection ' Mid I. if-, or Christ in his Church. Faith is God, ! udering himself sensible to the heart by ggraee, j a- lb- i- sensible to reason by external proofs. i i ! !' t. .re. one may easily obtain the conviction ; ": ''liri-'iaii iruth without demonstration, if it ;..-" (Iod to render Himself present, in a sensible MM.ner, to ihe heart. There are numberless Christ-'. Christ-'. yho tee! 'thoroughly convinced and happy ; ' -noii! having recourse to long disquisitions or ar- '-"ii. i motions. It is then true in a sense what -l,!'.'ihain Lincoln said that "I'he more a man knew .; ' !ie.,l,,My ibe farther he got away from the ": "t ( 'hrist. It should Ik- so in the economy. ' f"iii.ir which is destined to constitute the I : !i:i and the salvation of every member of f ! ' '" 'iiiiiMii family. ! I' inii-t be accessible to every one who is en- I "1 with a good will to possess the truth and the. ! . 1; i- for this very reason that, no other pro- - ' ' 'altogether substitute the blessings of in- i "'' ': "'!. I he greaiest. genius and most profound. !' -..!. r ipu-i ultimately 'receive his belief through : ; n ehiiiiiH'J as the lowliest peasant. The other j " :- are. certainly good and should be studied i 'I'i- capable to grasp them, for God's truths ' !'irmoni7.. wilh the faculties of man's na- i ' -;ld every man should have as much as pos- ; v ' reason for the faith he professes. Apart i - 1 'he capacities of man's nature, it. must be . ;-,..,! i,j,t the heart, too. has its capacity ; '.mist h satisfied, and, as all men in the ' '' '! ' "1 are equal, man's relation to (iod is : ili.V " lie of submission, which should be kept j I "' l'"iinds'. becau.se of man's tendency to i or ibis and many othei reasons, true 'ii" iaiih which saves, is ;i gift whieh man ; of tioil. and that in the altitude of a . ''"";i i upe in the presence of his Creator; tliat ' u.. Mi- i rit v and with humility, man must pruy ; - i j i ! i j i iny ij,e imth of the Christian religion, s '1 .'i. the greatest ihilosophers and most pro- - ; ' !! " ' li inkers give their assent, then it would ' u - a logical consequence that God designed II ''' himself in closer relation with -man by 1 1 .hi- of his religion. Ilenee the necessary conclu-s:' conclu-s:' 11 is 'that Gh1 is in the Christian religion by the '"';'-"n ) our Lord, as our Lord himself is in his IS Vi mis and in his Church; that (iod dwells j hi, religion in a real and special manner; 'waits man with His hands full of blessings; ,i;'ii arc not obtainable by any other means when 'haiuiel of religion becomes' known. ' ins consequence demands the serious attention. L ;,H. The Christian religion is necessarily true, '"''eiore (iod dwells there for man as He dwells i 1 n 's''" Tlx'W'fwo He awaits man, and His f that man should go and find him. Should lj-'n make the efforl, "ask and you shall receive. J he will of necessity experience God's presence in a special manner, and his reason for believing in Him shall thereby receive a strong and powerful confirmation. Faith means God taking possession of the heart, and rendering Himself sensible, to all the faculties of nan. hoso then desires to taste its sweetness and profit by its treasure of grace, should ask for it with sentiments of simplicity, humility and generosity. gen-erosity. Xo man is free to reject the truth. He should seek for it in the supernatural order, -as he strives to obtain in the natural order. "Ask and you shall receive, seek and you shall find." They, who strive to secure, and are willing to embrace the truth, will soon learn that it will take posession of the soul in the same proportion as man strives to possess it, and in the same sweetness of its embrace em-brace shall man feel within himself the intimate testimony that he possesses the Truth. Tn that testimony of the truth, and with life shaped according ac-cording to its teaching, will man find true peace, joy, strength, freedom and life, i. e., the true, supreme su-preme and sovereign life. F. I). |