Page:PracticalCommentaryOnHolyScripture.djvu/90

 God's Blessing the  one  thing  necessary. This  story  of  the  Tower of Babel  shows  us  the  truth  of  the  Psalmist’s  words:  “Unless  the  Lord build the  house,  they  labour  in  vain  that  build  it”  (Ps.  126,  1).

Necessity of  supernatural  or  revealed  religion. The  majority  of  men fell into  idolatry  about  2000  years  after  the  creation. However, there were always  a few  just  men  who,  with  their  families,  preserved  the faith in  the  true  God,  and  His  revelation;  such,  for  instance,  were Abram, Melchisedech,  Job  &amp;c. But the  true  faith  would  have  been lost even  in  those  families,  unless  God  had  revealed  Himself  anew,  as you  will  learn  He  did  in  the  stories  which  follow. Divine revelation was necessary,  or  else  even  man’s  natural  knowledge  of  God  would have been  lost. The men  of  the  time  of  the  Tower  of  Babel  possessed a revealed religion,  for  Noe  had  faithfully  delivered  to  his  descendants the revelation  of  God  handed  down  by  Adam. But as  men  followed their evil  inclinations  more  and  more,  their  faith  became  weak. They believed, indeed,  but  their  faith  was  not  living:  they  lived  as  if  there were no  God,  until  at  last  they  lost  the  supernatural  gift  of  faith. But, you will  say,  they  could  still  know  God  by  the  light  of  their  natural reason; “for  the  invisible  things  of  Him,  from  the  creation  of  the  world, are clearly  seen,  being  understood  by  the  things  that  are  made:  His eternal power  also  and  divinity,  so  that  they  (i.  e.  the  heathens)  are inexcusable” (Rom.  1,  20). But they  lost  even  the  natural  knowledge of God,  because  their  hearts  and  wills  were  so  corrupt  that  they  were no longer  capable  of  knowing  Him. They spoke  thus,  as  it  were,  to God:  “Depart  from  us:  we  desire  not  the  knowledge  of  Thy  ways” (Job 21,  14). When they  turned  their  hearts  from  God,  their  reason became more  and  more  blinded  by  their  evil  passions,  and  they  fell into the  utmost  spiritual  ignorance,  and  into  the  most  foolish  idolatry. Pride and  vice  still  lead  many  men  to  unbelief.

The punishment  of  dispersion  was  at  the  same  time  a benefit  to mankind. If all  men  had  remained  together  much  longer,  they  would have destroyed  each  other  by  civil  war  and  fighting  among  themselves. (See the  strife  between  the  shepherds  of  Abram  and  Lot.  Old  Test.  X.)

The re-union  of  mankind  in  the  Church. People  of  all  tongues  are gathered together  in  unity  of  faith  in  the  Catholic  Church;  for  all Catholics over  the  whole  face  of  the  earth  are  joined  together  in  one faith, one  hope,  one  love. This unity  of  spirit  is  expressed  by  the  unity  of faith  and  partly  also  by  the  unity  of  language  (Latin),  used  by  the  Church. In the  Catholic  Church,  therefore,  which  is  governed  by  the  Holy  Ghost, the very  opposite  has  taken  place  to  that  which  took  place  in  the  City of Confusion. There, the  speech  of  men  was  confounded,  and  they were scattered:  in  the  Church,  men  of  every  land  and  every  tongue  are gathered together,  in  unity  of  faith  and  speech,  by  the  Holy  Ghost  whom Jesus Christ  sent  on  Whitsunday. On that  day  there  were  collected together many  men  of  different  countries,  and  yet  they  all  understood