Faith of Our Fathers

New Zealand Tablet, 13 October 1921, Page 33

Faith of Our Fathers

• [A Weekly Insteuction for Young and Old.] THE INCARNATION.—(Continued.) Second Article: Jesus Christ considered in His Person. 10. After having considered Christ historically as the Redeemer of men, it remains for us to study Him dogmaticallythat is to say, with the eye of Faith, and in the lessons of Faith proposed to us regarding His Person, His mission, the worship which is due to Him, and the wonderful effects produced by Him on the human race. In the first place, what does Faith teach us about the Person of Jesus Christ or His personal constitution?.. 11. What is the Person of Jesus Christ? Who is this Christ whose history we have been contemplating ? Is He a man, a sage, a saint? Is He an angel? Is He God? He is not an angel. He is, at once God and a man. Jesus Christ is the Word, or God the Son become incarnate; the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity made man for us. Remaining God as he was from all eternity, the divine Word became also man by means of His birth in time. 12. His birth was miraculous: conceived by the power of the Holy Ghost. He was born of the Virgin Mary, who became His Mother without losing her virginity. She is both Virgin and Mother. In the womb of this Virgin, God tho Son took our human nature, by uniting it in His person to the*divine nature. In a manner like the son of a king, who over his princely robes wears the dress and badge of slavery, the divine Word clothed Himself with our humanity, which He made His own substance, His second nature. 13. We distinguish three constituent parts in the Person of Jesus Christ, namely, the divine nature, the human nature, and the personality of the Word, which unites the two natures. In other words, Jesus Christ, the Incarnate Word, unites in His one divine personality two naturesthat of man and that of God, the divine' nature and the human nature. Hence the ordinary mode of expression : in Jesus Christ there are two natures and one only Person, which is divine, namely, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity. To understand this doctrine better, wo will glance at the contrary heresies, and then consider separately (1) the divinity, (2) the humanity, (3) the union of the two natures, • (4) the consequences of this union. 14. As our Faith concerning the Person of Jesus Christ is the basis of the Catholic religion, it has, as a matter of course, been the principal point of attack for the followers of Satan. A crowd of heretics, instigated by "the Father of Lies, have "risen up against the dogma of the Incarnation, and have attacked each point in turn. The Arians denied the divine nature of the Word, and consequently the divinity of Jesus Christ; the Docetes, His human nature; tho Nestorians, the unity of His Person; the Eutychians, the distinction of .His two natures; the Monothelites said there was only one will in Christ; and the Adoptians called Christ the adopted Son, and not the only Son, of God. 15. Denying all these errors, the Catholic Church believes and confesses that in Jesus Christ there are two natures, the divine and the human—distinct from each other, arM united together in the single Person of the Word made Flesh. (1) All the plenitude of the Divinity, says St. Paid, dwells corporally in Jesus Christ (Coloss. ii. 9). Jesus, who appears so poor, is the true God. He is God the Son, equal in everything to His Father. He is the eternal \and all-powerful God, the Creator of the world. He is the supreme power, goodness, and beauty, and all that is said of God applies also to Him. The Divinity of Jesus Christ is proved (1) by the doctrine of the Church, which has already been shown to be infallible. (2) By the teaching of the Apostles, who preached, the following fundamental dogma most clearly: "The Word was God," writes St. John;, "the world was made by Him"; "the Word was made flesh and dwelt amongst us"; '[Jesus, of whom John the Baptist fgave testimony". (John i ;) (3) By the doctrine of Jesus Christ Himself: 'My, Father and I , are one; the Father is in Me, and I am in the Father" (John xiv.). ; "All power is given to Me in heaven and earth" (Matt, xxviii.). /"As the Father

raises the dead and gives them life, so the Son gives life to whomsoever He pleases" (John v.). (2) "Humanity Considered in His human nature, Jesus Christ is truly man, having a body and soul like ours. , His body, by reason of His free and entire acceptance of our humanity, was, during His mortal life, like ours, subject to sufferings, hunger, cold, and fatigue; to wounds and to death, but not to disease or concupiscence. It possessed no glory, no splendor, nor did a ray of His hidden light pierce through the veil of His humanity. Once only—at the time of His Transfiguration—the Saviour manifested, as.it were, a reflection of it to His disciples, so as to give them some idea of the celestial glory which He promised to the just. After His resurrection His Body became glorious, possessing four heavenly qualities, namely, incorruptibility, subtility, and light, or the beauty ] of glory. • i The Soul of the Son of God, endowed .like ours with intelligence and free-will, was susceptible of joy, sorrow, and sadness; but not subject to ignorance, nor to sin. From the first moment of its existence it possessed the perfect use of all its faculties, enriched as it was with all the treasures of wisdom and science, grace and holiness, and, in a word, with all the plenitude of the gifts of the Holy Ghost. In His mortal life our Saviour always saw God; but Ho did not taste that joy and glory the intuitive vision produces in tho souls of the blessed. It was His will to bo deprived of those effects of the beatific vision until the moment of His sacred death upon the cross, when, the work of our redemption being accomplished, His Soul, liberated from His Body as from a darksome prison, became filled with glory and beatitude. In this blessed state He descended into hell— is to say, into limbo, where the souls of the just of the old law were detained—and there showed Himself in all His splendour and divine beauty. For the Son of God, in showing to the patriarchs His glorious Soul, manifested also to them His divinity, and gave them in His Person the joys of the beatific vision, thus changing the place of their exile into paradise, as He had promised to the good thief in these words: "This day thou shalt be with Me in paradise." On the third day the glorious Soul of our Saviour reunited itself to His Bodv, which was lying in the sepulchre, and reanimated it. hot with an altogether new life, communicating to it all His glory and His blessed qualities'.

CATHOLIC ENTERTAINMENT AT LEESTON. * • During the winter months the ladies' social committee of the Leeston Catholic church have been promoting a very successful series of social evenings. These functions usually took the form of a euchre tournament, followed by a social, and throughout the season have been well attended. The funds go to assist the Sisters of the Missions in their work, and a substantial sum has thus been accumulated. About a month ago the ladies determined on a special effort and organised a concert and supper, followed, of course, by a social. This eventuated on a recent Wednesday evening, and proved -very successful indeed from every point of view, and the big audience thoroughly enjoyed themselves. Much credit is due to the ladies concerned for their choice programme, which was of so varied a nature as to cater for all tastes. Every one of the items was enthusiastically received and many recalls were made. The hall was very prettily decorated and the stage nicely arranged, it being necessary to provide seating accommodation there as well as in the body of the hall. The opening item was a wellplayed pianoforte duet by Mrs. Winter and Miss N. Holley. Mrs. C. J. Dugan, Misses C. Ryan, McMahon, and Holley, Messrs. P. J. Eccleton (songs); Messrs. Hood, Godsel, and Eccleton (recitations); Miss R. Austin, Messrs. H. Austin, and T. Owens (instrumental trios); Mr. 0. iQ.uigley (pipe selections); and Mr. Owens (violin solo), contributed to the programme. The " accompanists were Misses Kilbride and Austin and Mrs. Winter. At the conclusion of the concert Rev. Father Creed, parish priest, thanked the audience for their patronage, and. said that the entertainment, which had proved.most successful, was a credit to the ladies' committee. He also thanked the performers for their services. ' After supper the social was proceeded with, the music being supplied by Mrs. Lambie, Miss Thian, : and;Mr. Galvin. Mr. AV, O'Boyle filled the dual role of chairman and M.C. very capably.