p. 6Faith and the Fear of God

Without the knowledge and practice of faith there can be no true wisdom. Genuine practical wisdom has its source in the fear of the Lord, for the royal prophet says, “The beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord” (Ps. cx. 10). But the fear of the Lord can be found only in the knowledge and practice of the true faith.

The advocates of the public-school system of education—among whom are found not a few Catholics who take this position because they ignore their holy religion or desire to please the world—maintain that ignorance is the cause of crime. If they meant ignorance of the true religion, we might let their assertion pass; but the ignorance they mean is illiteracy, or ignorance of secular and profane sciences. Their assertion is, however, utterly false, as has been repeatedly proved by the Catholic press throughout the land. It is not secular ignorance that is the cause of crime, but it is godlessness, that is, the lack of the true knowledge and fear of God. The fear of God is alone, at all times, capable of curbing and restraining man’s violent passions. A sad experience proves that where this wholesome fear is wanting, crime increases at a fearful rate. Has the universal diffusion of secular education in this country brought about the diminution of crime? No, not at all; read the daily papers, the proceedings of the courts, and you will be shocked at the daily increase of crime, both in frequency and malice, not only among the men, but even among the women; not only among the illiterate, but more especially among what are termed the “educated classes.” Injustice, adultery, seduction, divorce, murder, and suicide are becoming so common, that one might suppose that the country is fast relapsing into the corruptions and abominations of ancient paganism. All this is but the natural result of the present godless system of education that obtains among almost all our people, except the Catholics who are devoted to their holy religion.

An illiterate godless person is bad enough; but an educated godless person is incomparably the more to p. 7be dreaded, because his superior knowledge furnishes him with superior means and numberless expedients to devise and execute, in a wholesale manner, deeds of darkness, and at the same time to evade the clutches of human justice, and even to continue to move in respectable society! An illiterate godless person may by violent means steal small sums of money, but it takes the smart, educated godless person, in places of trust, power, and influence, to steal millions by apparently lawful means, and to commit other crimes of rare malice and refinement, and to be able at the same time, if not to secure absolute immunity, at least to defeat, in a great measure, the ends of justice. The greater scourge and curse of society is not the godless ignoramus, but the godless refined and educated gentleman! Godlessness, however, proceeds from the want of a lively faith and a lack of the fear of God. We are therefore justified in asserting that the principal source of crime is religious ignorance and neglect.

Your first duty, then, as parents, is to bring up your children in godliness, that is, in the knowledge and fear of God. To discharge this sacred and indispensable duty, it behooves you to impart to your children a good and sound religious education both in theory and in practice.

You should have your children baptized as soon as possible, that is, within a week after their birth; in certain dangerous climates it is the rule to have them baptized within a month. It is very sinful to defer their baptism for a longer period of time than the aforementioned. You should prefer the services of a good, conscientious Catholic physician, and of a good, well-instructed Catholic midwife, so that in case of danger private baptism may be duly administered to your little ones. You should, moreover, bear in mind that none but good, practical Catholics may stand as godparents to your children at baptism.

It is your sacred duty to begin to teach your children the science of salvation from their earliest infancy. Teach them, first of all, to lisp the holy names of Jesus and Mary; and, as soon as they begin to learn to speak, gradually teach them how to make the sign of the cross, and to recite the “Our Father,” the “Hail Mary,” the Creed, the acts of faith, hope, charity, and contrition. Explain to them the meaning of the crucifix and of the holy pictures which you have, or which you should have, in your house. Inspire them with the love of God, with the horror of sin, with a tender devotion to “sweet Jesus and Mary.” By the time they are old enough to be sent to school they ought to know not only all the ordinary prayers, but also the principal articles of faith and the obligations of a Christian. We shall develop this in the following chapters.