An explanation of the Baltimore catechism of Christian doctrine : $b for the use of Sunday-school teachers and advanced classesDe Concilio, J. (Januarius)
Religion
An explanation of the Baltimore catechism of Christian doctrine : $b for the use of Sunday-school teachers and advanced classes
De Concilio, J. (Januarius)
Baltimore catechism; Catholic Church -- Catechisms -- English
A pilgrim is one who goes on a journey to visit some holy place for the
purpose of thus honoring God. He would not be a pilgrim if he went
merely through curiosity. He must go with the holy intention of making
his visit an act of worship. In our time pilgrimages to the Holy Land,
to Rome, and other places are quite frequent. "To harbor"--that is, to
give one who has no home a place of rest. A harbor is an inlet of the
ocean where ships can rest and be out of danger; so we can also call the
home or place of rest given to the homeless a harbor. "Sick," especially
the sick poor and those who have no friends. "To bury" those who are
strangers and have no friends. All Christians are bound to perform these
works of mercy in one way or another. We have been relieved to some
extent of doing the work ourselves by the establishment of institutions
where these things are attended to by communities of holy men or women
called religious. They take charge of asylums for the orphans, homes for
the aged and poor, hospitals for the sick, etc., while many devote
themselves to teaching in colleges, academies, and schools. But if these
good religious do the work for us, we are obliged on our part to give
them the means to carry it on. Therefore we should contribute according
to our means to charitable institutions, and indeed to all institutions
that promote the glory of God and the good of our religion. To explain
more fully, religious are self-sacrificing men and women who, wishing to
follow the evangelical counsels, dedicate their lives to the service of
God. They live together in communities approved by the Church, under the
rule and guidance of their superiors. Their day is divided between
prayer, labor, and good works, more time being given to one or other of
these according to the special end or aim of the community. The houses
in which they live are called convents or monasteries, and the societies
of which they are members are called religious orders, communities, or
congregations. In some of these religious communities of men all the
members are priests, in others some are priests and some are brothers,
and in others still all are brothers. Priests belonging to the religious
orders are called the regular clergy, to distinguish them from the
secular clergy or priests who live and labor in the parishes to which
they are assigned by their bishops. Sisters and nuns mean almost the
same thing, but we generally call those nuns who live under a more
severe rule and never leave the boundaries of their convent. In like
manner friars, monks, and brothers lead almost the same kind of life,
except that the monks practice greater penances and live under stricter
rules. A hermit is a holy man who lives alone in some desert or lonely
place, and spends his life in prayer and mortification. In the early
ages of the Church there were many of these hermits, or Fathers of the
desert, but now religious live together in communities.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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