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4 v-a 1. How do people know that there Is a Purgatory? 2. Why do children have to suffer if they die before they are baptized? 3. Why does the priest drink wine during the sacrifice of the Mass and not also the people? 4. What good does it do a person to pray the Rosary? 1. Our knowledge of the existence of Purgatory is derived from the teach ing of the Catholic Church, which is based on Holy Scripture and tradition, and also from the dictates of right ^reason which postulate a middle state QUESTION «sr!j.'iuS^ANSWER. In the world to come in which the souls of those who die in venial sin, or without having satisfied God for the temporal punishment due to their tins, are cleansed and purified before being admitted to heaven. In the pages of Holy Scripture there are many references to this middle state or place of temporary exile from heaven, and the Church has always regarded its existence as a necessary provision of God's mercy for the ben efit of erring mankind. Our knowl edge of the immaculate purity required in a soul that enters heaven, as well as our conception of the condition of the damned, make it easy for us to realize the necessity of a purgatorial state of purgation in the other world tor souls that are unfit to enter heaven and yet too pure for hell. 2. The Catholic Church does not teach that 'children who die without baptism are made to suffer in the other world. In this department, questions of general interest in regard to religion will be answered each week in the order in which they are received. All communi* cations'must be signed, though the name will not be published. Address: "^Question and Answer", car*. The Catholic Bulletin, 315 Newton Bldg., St. Paul. 1. In a Catholic marriage can one •f the contracting parties have both brother and sister as witnesses? 2. .Does a person make his Easter duty If he goes to Communion within the allotted time but does not mention or Offer it as his Easter duty? 1. Yes. 2. A person performs his Easter duty if he receives Holy Com munion at any time during the Pas cal season whether he intends it as Ids Easter Communion or not. 1. Is it proper to rise when the fffiest stands to go to the altar after the Gloria and Credo, or should the congregation remain seated until he turns and says "Dominus Vobiscum?" & Can a person make his Easter duty outside his own parish? 1. The rubrics prescribe that the congregation be standing when the priest turns to the people after the Gloria and Credo and says Dominus Vobiscum. Hence, if they do not rise when the priest arises to go to the altar they should do so soon there after in order that they may not be seated or in the act of rising when the priest salutes them with the words "Dominus Vobiscum." 2. A person Is not required to make his Easter duty in his own parish. He can make it in any church he may chose. 1. In case one wants to say his penance soon after he has gone to Confession, but has forgotten it, what is to be done? 2. If one has been given a certain litany for his penance but forgets which iitany it is, what is he to do in such a case? 3. If he re members his penance, but when he goes to say it is so conscientious and scrupulous that he says it over and over again, always thinking he has not said it properly and thus saying it many times more than the confessor told him to do, is he making a worthy confession? 1-2. If the penitent forgets the pen ance imposed upon him by the con fessor he is excused from fulfilling any penance, as he is not bound to confess the same sins a second time and cannot substitute another pen ance of his own choosing for the one he has forgotten. He is not the min ister of the Sacrament and has no authority to impose, even on himself, a sacramental penance. The penitent •hould pay strict attention to hat the confessor says and try to remember the penance given him, but if he for gets it there is no prayer that he can substitute for it. It is always well to say the penance as soon as con venient after confession and while one is in the state of grace. 3. The manner in which one says the pen ance imposed upon him by the con fessor does not in any way effect the worthiness of the confession. Since baptism is the door to the super natural life, it follows that children who die without having received this Sacrament are excluded from heaven and the supernatural vision of God, Jwit this privation does not carry with II any suffering, for the little ones most likely do not even know there it such a thing as the Beatific Vision. They know God by a natural knowl edge and love and that satisfies for their natural happiness. They do not feel the pain of loss experienced by a soul raised to the supernatural plane and which, by its own act, has been deprived of the sight of God and the happiness of the blessed. Nor do they suffer the pain of sense, since they are not guilty of any actual Bin. 3. During the Mass the priest partakes of the Precious Blood, under the form of wine, in order to complete the sacri fice which he offers up. The people nowadays do not receive Holy Com munion under the form of bread and wine but of bread alone. The Church had good reasons for changing the custom which obtained in other days Of giving Communion to the people under the form of bread and wine. Since the entire Christ, His body and blood, soul and divinity, are present nnder the form of bread, as well as under the form of wine, the people who receive Holy Communion under the form of bread alone, receive the entire Christ with all His gifts and graces and, therefore, they are not de prived of any of the graces attached to the worthy reception of Holy Com munion by reason of the fact that they do not receive it nnder the form of wine, as well as under the form of bread. 4. What good does it do to «ay any praper? Prayer is necessary tBr salvation. Christ commanded us to ask of Him the graces and bles- iM sings we need and He taught us how to pray. The rosary is a form of prayer in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary which has been enriched by the Church with many indulgences and for that reason it is a prayer which is very dear to the heart of Catholics. Thos who say it devoutly receive many graces which it would be difficult for them to obtain in any other way. When a person is making a mission can reserved sins be forgiven in one confession or does the priest have to have special permission from the Bishop? When sins are reserved confessors, whether missionaries or not, must re ceive the necessary faculties to ab solve. As a general rule, application must be made in each particular case, though, sometimes, missionaries are given more general faculties. (Coutinued from Pa?ei) THE EUCHARIST: THE BOND OF FAMILY UNITY. A family life built up on these prin ciples is a life that will surely be passed in the love and fear of God. It will not be exempt from fault it may be tried by illness, by sorrow, by temporal misfortunes it may be rudely disturbed and rendered incom plete, here below at least, by the hand of death, but it will still possess the essentials of interior peace and resig nation, no matter what trials may assail it. There will be no place in lives so ruled and ordered by Our Lord Himself for the crimes and sins which are destroying family life in so many nations, the violation of the true conditions of conjugal life, the seeking of pleasure and gratification even to the breaking of the marriage vows. Respect for mutual rights, charity and forbearance in asserting individual claims, respect for parental authority, and respect, no less, for the inviolable independence of children in those matters where it prevails, all these things will come into existence, as it were, spontaneously, when father and mother and children are gathered fre quently around the table of their Lord. Regenerator of Society. Nowhere, then, should loyal whole hearted acceptance and observance of the Papal decrees on early and fre quent Holy Communion be more strongly urged than on those about to enter the holy estate of marriage, for in their control, as far as their opportunities extend, lies the ultimate regeneration of society. And, if there be some, who hear or read the words I utter today, and who looking back on many years of married life with still unrealised hopes of a happy future such as they conceived in the early days of union, let them not lose heart. The source of strength and mutual support is still at their disposal. Let them give now to our Divine Master that place in their united lives which He would gladly have occupied from the beginning, if they had made Him their ever-welcome Guest. They can turn to Him now in sorrow for their past remissness and neglect they can acknowledge to Him the mistakes and mischances of their lives they can beg of Him the guidance that they need. And most surely He, the Son of Mary and the Foster-Son of Joseph, who in His own Divine Person and in the persons of those most nearly and closely associated with Him has given to us the perfect example of family life, will bestow upon all those who look to Him for support and consola tion by approaching Him constantly in the Sacrament of His love, the grace to keep His law ever before their eyes and to imprint it deeply on their chil dren's hearts, and to pass it on un sullied and intact to all the genera tions that shall come after them. "Blessed are all they that fear the Lord, that walk in His ways. For thou shalt eat the labors of thy hands: and it shall be well with thee. Thy wife as a fruitful vine on the sides of thy house thy children as olive plants round about thy table. Behold thus shall the man be blessed that feareth the Lord. May the Lord bless thee out of Sion, and mayest thou see the good things of Israel all the days of thy life. And mayest thou see thy children's children, peace upon Israel.'' Ps. 127. ICELAND'S LAST CATHLIC BISHOP BISHOP JON ARASON GAVE HIS LIFE FOR THE FAITH IN 1550— HIS MONUMENT AT SKALHOLT —FIRST BISHOP -CONSECRATED IN 1056. In a recent Sunday supplement of the "Volkszeitung," of Cologne (1913, No. 94), Dr. Sambeth, the German army physician, who preferred to re sign his commission rather than fight a duel, tells of his visit to Skalholt, the seat of the first and the scene of exe cution of the last Catholic Bishop of Iceland. Skalholt is a little hamlet consisting of a modest wooden church, a large farm, the property of the district phy sician, and a number of smaller farm steads. Dr. Sambeth made the long and difficult journey to this oasis in the wilderness to see the monument recently erected to the memory of Jon Arason, the great Icelandic poet, patriot and Bishop. The monument is the gift of a Protestant lady of Scot land, who is a frequent visitor in the island and an enthusiastic admirer of the martyr Bishop. Almost every trace of Skalholt's Catholic past has disappeared. The Cathedral has long since fallen a prey to the flames. A richly embroidered vestment is still shown the tourist in the little Protestant church that occu pies the site of the ancient episcopal church, and In the crypt of the ceme tery chapel a number of relics of saints are carefully stored away. A splendid antipendium and a large chalice, orna mented with enamel paintings, are preserved in the museum in Reyk javik. v First Bishop of Iceland Consecrated in 1056. It seems strange, to say the least, that such an out-of-the-way place as Skalholt should have been chosen as the residence of the first Bishop of Iceland, and yet the explanation is very simple. By the memorable reso lution adopted by the Althing, June 24, A. D. 1000, Christianity became the legal religion of the island. Isleifur, son of Gizur the Wise, though already far advanced in years and the father of a large family, was persuaded by his countrymen to prepare for holy orders and become their Bishop. He had been educated in Germany, probably in Hervorden, in Westphalia. In 1056 he was consecrated Bishop by St. Adalbert of Bremen, with the express consent of Pope Victor II. As he possessed considerable property in Skalholt, he chose the little village for his episcopal residence. Thus Skalholt became the religious centre of the Icelandic Church. Fifty year# later, in 1106, a second bishopric waa established in the north of the island, but Skalholt lost none of its well-de served prestige. From Holar and Skalholt the priceless gifts of divine faith and Christian culture were scat tered throughout the length and breadth of the solitary island on the confines of the Polar Circle. History bears eloquent witness to the flourish ing state of the Icelandic Church dur ing the twelfth and thirteenth cen turies. It was at this period that those famous "Sagas" and •'Heimskringlas" (histories) were written that still re tain a foremost place in the literature of Scandinavia. Last Bishop Beheaded in 1550. If Skalholt can boast of having wel comed the first Bishop of Iceland, to Holar belongs the honor of having been the seat of the last, Jon Arason. Arason ascended the episcopal throne in 1524. Not long afterwards the errors of Luther began to take root in the southern part of the island. The efforts of Christian III. of Denmark and of the apostate Bishop of Skalholt, Gizur Einarsson, had not been in vain. Gizur was the successor of Oegmundur Palsson, who had been induced to re sign his office on account of age and infirmity. When Oegmundur saw what turn events were taking he tried Jo seize the reins of government once more. With fearless energy he every where opposed the march of Lutheran ism, and with good hope of success, too, for the mass of the people was with him, until he was taken prisoner by the soldiers of Christian and car ried away to Denmark and to prison. Here he died in 1542, blind and with the weight of more than fourscore years upon him, but to the last mo ment a faithful shepherd of his flock and a true son of Holy Church. Jon Arason and the inhabitants of the Northland were not slow to recog nize the danger that threatened their faith and their liberty from the South. They were determined to resist to the utmost. In 1547 the Bishop wrote to the Emperor Charles V. and to Pope Paul III. The Sovereign Pontiff sent him in reply an apostolical brief, in which he commended the Bishop's courage and zeal in defense of the faith. On receipt of this writing Arason called a meeting of his clergy and solemnly declared that he was prepared to die rather than prove un faithful to the Holy See. He kept his promise. Being not only a churchman, but also a statesman and warrior, he quickly succeeded in organizing a strong military force to oppose the armed invasion from the south. In the autumn of 1548 Gizur Einarsson was taken prisoner with many of his followers, and the old faith reigned supreme once more over the greater part of the island. But the triumph was destined to be but short lived. Whilst preparations were making to crush the last resistance made by the Danish troops, the Bish op was betrayed into the hands of his enemies by a certain Dadi. He was taken to Skalholt and, without even the formality of a trial, beheaded November 7,1550. On his way to exe cution he met the traitor Dadi and publicly forgave him. He died with the same heroism that had ever distin guished him in life. His Monument. The monument which marks the place of his execution consists of twr rough, almost unhewn blocks of Ice landic basalt in an unpretentious in closure. The outlines of an episcopa mitre are chiseled into the uppe block. The simple but touching in scription reads: "Jon Arason Biskup Ljet Hjer Liflt Fyrir Tru Sina Og Aett lord 7. Nov. 1550." ("Here Bishop Jon Arason gave hit life for his faith and his fatherland, Nov. 1550.") The memory of the great champioi of the faith in Iceland is held in undy ing honor not only by the little Cath olic community of Reykjavik, but every true Icelander as well. "Or November 7, 1910," says Dr. Sambeth "the third centenary (the Iceland!* century consists of one hundred am twenty years) of the death of our here was solemnly commemorated in th Catholic church of Reykjavik. Nearl every official and dignitary of th island was present at the High Mass The catfalque was adorned with thi red velvet cope which Paul III. hat sent three hundred and fifty-eigh years before to Jon Arason as a tokei of his affection and admiration." It may interest the reader to knov that it was Jon Arason who introduces the printing press into Iceland, anc that the first books printed under hit direction were a "Calendarium Ro manum" and a "Breviarium Nedro siense." Is It preeumptuous to hope that Go will in His mercy hear the prayers o the last confessor Bishop of Skalholt and of the last martyr Bishop o Holar, and soon lead back to the tru faith the island which they loved evei onto death? U" II! Iii{i), i ny|iyjn|ij ^pipi ,l.ii THE CATHOLIC BULLETIN, MAY 24, 1913. THE BLESSED ViHCIN PROTESTANT POETS PRAISE THE MOTHER OF GOD. I have no desire to drag myself or my readers into a controversy, says a writer in the Providence Visitor, and the only object I have is to advance my idea that even if unconsciously the love of our Blessed Mother is in the spirit of all men, for almost every English Protestant poet has paid his tribute to the Blessed Virgin and in a strain so lofty in sentiment, so de vout in expression, so unctuous in prayerfulness, so haunting in pathos, so redolent of spirituality, that even the most sceptic and callous reader cannot divest himself of its forceful, fervid charm., Listen to Byron: Ave Marie! 'tis the hour of prayer Ave Maria! 'tis the hour of love Ave Maria! may our spirits dare Look up to thine and to thy Son's above. Ave Maria! oh, that face so fair, Those downcast eyes beneath the Almighty Dove! Or Wesley's great biographer, Southey: They served a Maid more beautiful than tongue Could tell or heart conceive. Of hu man race, All heavenly as that Virgin was, she sprung But for her beauty and celestial grace Being one in whose pure elements no trace Had e'er inhered of sin or mortal stain. The highest heaven waa now her dwelling place: There as a Queen divine she held Iter reign, And there in endless Joy forever would remain. Or Wordsworth: Mother! whose virgin bosom was un crossed With the least shade of thought to sin allied Woman, above all women glorified Our tainted nature's solitary boast Purer than foam on central ocean tossed, Brighter than eastern skies at day break strewn With fancied roses, than the unblem ished moon Before her wane begins on heaven's blue coast, Thy image falls to earth. Yet some I ween, Not unforgiven, the suppliant knee might bend As a visible power, in which did blend All that was mixed and reconciled in thee Of mother's love with maiden purity. Of high with fc*w, celestial with ter rene. Or Longfellow: Virgin and Mother of o*r dear Re deemer! All hearts are touched and softened at her name Alike the bandit with the bloody hand, The priest, the prince, the scholar and the peasant, The man of deeds, the visionary dreamer, Pay homage to her as one ever pres ent, And if our faith had given us nothing more Than this example of all womanhood, So mild, so merciful, so strong, so good, So patient, peaceful, loyal, loving, pure. This was enough to prove it higher and truer Than all the creeds the world has known before. Or Poe: At morn. at noon, at twilight dim, Maria, thus hast heard my hymn In joy and woe, in good and ill. Mother of God, be with me still. Or the Episcopalian Keble: Ave Maria! thou whose name All but adoring love can claim, Yet may we reach thy shrine! For He, thy Son and Saviour, vows To crown all lowly, lofty brows With love and Joy like thine. Or Kipling: O Mary, pierced With sorrow, I Remember, reach and save The soul that goes tomorrow, Before the God that gave! As each was born of woman, T. S. 750 N. W. Cedar 2SZC For each in utter neeJ, True comrade and brave foeman, Madonna, intercede! But why continue? Orby Shipley, who at one time was a collaborator of the celebrated Dr. Littledale, as an uncompromising foe of Catholicity, but who by the grace of God became a de vout Catholic, has compiled a Marian anthology "Carmina Mariana" of nearly 500 pages, in which the praises of the Blessed Virgin are sung in al most every key by the English-speak ing poets. NEW SEMITE GE« FATHER LEPICIEJt ELECTED HEAD OF THE SERVITE ORBTER. A cablegram received from Rome last week by the members of the Servite Order in America notified them of the election of the Very Reverend Alexis Lepicier of France as General of the Order. For twenty years the new General has been pro fessor of Dogmatic Theology in the Propaganda and is widely known among the clergy of the United States, many of whom studied under him. HEADS STITE The greater portion of the estate of the late John E. O'Toole of Bal timore, which is estimated to be worth between $70,000 and $80,000 will go to the St. Mary's Female Orphan Asylum in Baltimore. Eventually the remainder of the estate will come into possession of the Orphanage as Mr. O'Toole left no children to inherit his wealth. The will of the late Hugh Monaghan of Charlottetown, P. E. I., bequeathes $5,000.00 to the building fund of the new St. Dunstan's Cathedral and $2,000.00 for Masses for the repose of tbe souls of himself, his wife and the members of his family. mm FOB SENATOR O'GORMAN WOULD DECORATE SURVIVORS OF GET TYSBURG. Senator O'Gorman, of New York, has introduced into the Senate a bill em powering the Secretary of War to give a medal to each surviving Union and Confederate soldier of the Battle of Gettysburg. The bill carries an ap propriation of $30,000. The War De partment states that about 104,000 Union soldiers and 67,000 Confederate soldiers took part in the battle, about thirty per cent tif whom we now alive. The nearer you come into relation with a person, the more necessary do tact and courtesy become. i u BOARD FATHER O'RYAN OF DENVER ELECTED PRESIDENT OF THE COLORADO STATE BOARD OF CHARITIES AND CORRECTIONS. At the meeting of the Colorado State Board of Charities and Correc tions on May 13 the Reverend Wm. O'Ryan, pastor of St. Leo's Church, Denver, was elected President of that organization to succeed Mrs. James Williams. Father O'Ryan has been a member of the board for some time, having been appointed by Governor Shafroth. CENEROIISJEHUESTS LARGE SUMS LEFT TO THE CHURCH FOR SPIRITUAL AND TEMPORAL WORK8. The will of Agnes Barnum, of Manchester, Mo., bequeathes more than $100,000, or two-thirds of her estate, to the Most Reverend Arch bishop Glennon of St. Louis for re ligious purposes. Her relatives say that she never attended church. SAINT PAUL Tel. 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FORSEEN PHOTO STUDIO Fine Photos, Portraits and Frames Special Prices on Communion Photos Differs Sixth and Jackson Streets with the new V shaped jplaited and only 91 MINNEAPOLIS Center No. 8 SAINT PAUL Avoid boasting—a boaster generally speaks falsely. 4 1 BIII8SI 3 JmifM