Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XIV.djvu/409

 ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH 393 to Christ the Redeemer. So the images of the saints awake the remembrance of their virtues. The bowing of the head to a statue, or the burn- ing of incense before a shrine, is referred to the saint whose memory is honored for his love of God and his zeal for the divine glory. Relics, that is, objects used by the saints, or particles of their remains, are venerated for the relation they bear to them. The fall of the first parents of the human race is the fundamental doctrine on which the belief of the mystery of re- demption depends. They were created in in- nocence, and raised to a state beyond the pow- ers of nature, being constituted just and holy by a communication of divine grace, and ren- dered capable of immortality. The prohibi- tion to eat of a certain tree in the garden in which they were placed was intended to ex- ercise their obedience, that their dependence on the Creator might be manifested. If they had been faithful, they would have transmit- ted to their descendants the supernatural gifts with which they had been endowed ; but their disobedience involved the forfeiture of them for their posterity, as well as for themselves. Original sin is that transgression which is com- mon to the whole human family, each one be- ing estranged from God and liable to his wrath, in consequence of the act of the heads of the race. The natural powers have been weak- ened by the fall. The freedom of the human will remains, but it is less vigorous than in our first parents. Our nature is not vitiated and depraved, but it is prone to evil and exposed to violent temptation. It is despdiled of super- natural gifts, cast down from the exalted posi- tion to which it had been gratuitously raised, and deprived of the special providence destined to it in the beginning. A redeemer was given us, in the person of Christ, who, being God- man, atoned by his sufferings for the sin of our first parents, and merited for us all grace by which temptation may be overcome. Ac- tual sin is the wilful transgression of the di- vine law by individuals having the use of rea- son. It supposes advertence to the malice of the action and the consent of the will deliber- ately given, although the advertence and con- sent may not be full, since sins of ignorance occur. The omission to perform duties posi- tively prescribed is also sinful. The design to do evil is criminal even as the act, and the wilful contemplation of forbidden acts may imply guilt on account of the danger of con- senting to them. Mortal sin is any act, speech, desire, or thought grievously opposed to the natural or divine law. Sins which imply no direct or grievous opposition to the law of God are styled venial, because their pardon is easi- ly obtained, since they do not separate the soul from God. Slight impatience, rash words, vain self-complacency, may be venial. Delib- erate hatred, gross calumny, acts of violence, not to speak of drunkenness, lust, and murder, are mortal sins. The distinction of sins is not derived from the individual who commits them, although they may be aggravated by his per- sonal obligations. Forgiveness of sins, even the most heinous, is promised to the penitent. Sorrow for having committed them is a neces- sary disposition in order to obtain it. Perfect sorrow, which is called contrition, springs from divine love, and leads us to detest sin as op- pjosed to the goodness of God and to his essen- tial perfection. Attrition is sorrow of a less perfect kind, arising from an experience of the evil consequences of sin, and a dread of the pun- ishments which await it hereafter. If it weans the heart from sin, and inspires an effectual detestation of it, so as to be accompanied with a firm resolution of amendment, it is held to be useful and salutary, and such as may dispose for pardon in the sacrament of penance. No degree of anguish of mind can insure our rec- onciliation with God so long as we are not firmly determined to shun sin and the occa- sions of relapse. The forgiveness of sin prop- erly belongs to God, who is offended. Christ, as God -man, forgave sin, and authorized the apostles to impart forgiveness or withhold it. In virtue of this commission the power of for- giveness is exercised by bishops and priests, as delegates of Christ. The power is judicial, since they may bind or loose, retain or re- mit; on which account a confession of sin is required from every applicant for its exercise. When this is made with sincerity, humility, sorrow, a willingness to repair the wrong committed, and a determination to shun the occasions of sin, the priest absolves the peni- tent. This absolution is a judicial sentence, deriving its force from the divine institution. The sacraments are rites instituted by Christ our Lord as instruments and means of grace, to apply to our souls the merits of his suffer- ings and death. They are said to contain and confer grace, technically ex opere operato, be- cause they are effectual means divinely chosen to impart it, where no obstacle is presented by the receiver. Certain dispositions, however, are required on the part of adults who desire to partake of them. Faith and compunction are necessary on the part of the applicant for baptism. Sorrow with a firm purpose of amendment is likewise required from the pro- fessed penitent. The strengthening grace of the Holy Spirit is granted, by the laying on of hands with prayer, to the baptized believer whose heart is free from wilful sin. Sin is forgiven to the dying man who with penitence and hope receives the mystic unction, and for whom the prayer of faith is offered up. The imposition of hands is available for the com- munication of sacerdotal power, even to the unworthy candidate ; but grace is given to him who is called by God, and who with humility corresponds to the divine vocation. Marriage is a great mystery, the image of the union of Christ and the church, to be celebrated with purity of affection. The eucharist, the chief sacrament, is to be approached with hearts cleansed from sin, under penalty of becoming