Cylchgronau Cymru

Chwiliwch trwy dros 450 o deitlau a 1.2 miliwn o dudalennau

L. I.C. & M.I. *arf%w CENNAD LLYDEWIG LLANRWST. (Cambro Breton Mission), Llanrwst, North Wales. Vol. I. 25th SEPTEMBER 1910. No. 8. 4» 4? 4? 4? •>?«* 4? 4* 4* 4* *$? 4* 4? 4* 4* 4? 4* 4* 4* 4* 4* 4* 4* 4* 4? *t? 4? 4* 4* 4? 4* 4* 4* 4* 4* CHRIST'S OWN CHURCH. D' k0ES not the Roman Church teach that " out of the Church there is no salvation " ? -Yes, she does ; but do you realize the meaning of that short sentence ? By that axiom the Church understands that those who,—knowing the Catholic Church to be the One True Church established by Christ,—yet refuse to enter her fold, cannot be saved. Pope Pius IX., in a discourse pronounced on December 9, 1854, thus spoke: " We must hold, as of Faith, that out of the Roman Catholic Faith there is no salvation, and that she is the only ark of salvation ;...we must also, on the other hand, recognize that those who are in invincible ignorance are not guilty for this in the eyes of the Lord." In an Encyclical to the Italian Bishops (August 10, 1863), he explains this matter even more explicitly, and declares that those "who, being disposed to obey God, lead an honest and upright life, may, aided by the light of Divine grace, attain to eternal life," since God will not permit that anyone should " suffer eternal punishment, who has not, of his own free will, fallen into sin." The Church could not condemn to perdition all those who are not within her pale, for the Good Shepherd speaks clearly of " other sheep " who are, as yet, " not of this Fold"; neverthe¬ less, they are His sheep. The Church teaches that all who are united to Christ by sanctifying grace belong to the soul of the Church, and, though they are not exteriorly members, they can be saved. Thus, every infant who is validly baptized, no matter who administered the Sacra¬ ment, becomes ipso facto a member of the Catholic Church, and remains such until he grows up and professes a false religion. Even then he still belongs to the soul of the Church so long as he keeps his soul free from mortal sin. The Protestant sects, being the work of men, are so many soulless organizations, and they possess nothing of themselves, apart from the individuals who constitute these sects. The Catholic Church, however, is far more than an organization: she is truly a living body, of which the Holy Ghost is the vital principle uniting all the members. There is no spiritual Protestant Church here on earth nor beyond the grave, any more than there are spiritual societies of Odd¬ fellows or Freemasons in the next world. All Protestant sects are composed of a certain number of individuals who hold certain doctrines and are prepared collectively to profess them: "that is all. No Protestant owes his spiritual life to the sect he has joined, whereas the Catholic belongs to a Church instituted by Christ, to a Divine institution of which the Holy Ghost is the anima¬ ting principle ; and to be cut off from this Church involves spiritual death. The Catholic is saved by his Church ; and the Protestant is saved in spite of the false doctrines of the sect he professes and by means of the knowledge of certain true doctrines taught by those outside the Church but obtained from her, since to the Catholic Churoh and to her fidelity in preserving the saered Scriptures the non-Catholic, owes the Bible, Madame Cecilia, R.S.A.