As is customary in every organized society, in the Church the lawful rulers have the authority to make laws for the other members. Christ Himself explicitly gave this power to the first bishops, the apostles, and from them it has been passed down through the centuries to the bishops of the present day. The fullest measure of this authority resides in the Pope, the chief bishop of the entire Church who can make laws for all its members, whereas other bishop, can legislate for their respective dioceses only.
The laws of the Church are all directed to one great purpose to bring men to eternal salvation. For more than nineteen centuries the Church has had experience in making laws; in her legislative action she is guided by the Holy Ghost. Indeed, on account of the infallibility of the Church it would be impossible for her to pass any general law that would be harmful to the faith or morals of Christians. Like a good mother, the Church is not too severe in her laws. She knows the inclinations of human nature and human frailty; she is ready to dispense from her laws when there is good reason for a dispensation. Moreover, the Church is always ready to adapt her legislation to local conditions and to the customs of different nations.
What are known as the six commandments of the Church are in reality certain laws selected from the body of the Church's legislative enactments, stating the more urgent duties of the practical Catholic. The two commandments considered in this lesson concern the two important virtues of religion and temperance. In order that her children may practice religion, the Church prescribes that they assist at the sacrifice of the Mass, the most sublime act of Christianship, at least on every Sunday and on certain great feasts. In order that they may practice temperance the Church prescribes fast and abstinence at certain times some days being days of both fast and abstinence, others imposing only one of these forms of selfdenial.
These laws, like all the laws of the Church, are reasonable and easy to observe. The first of these two commandments calls for only one hour of our time every Sunday and on six other days in the course of the year. This is a grave precept, so that one who misses Mass, or a considerable portion of it, on a Sunday or holyday by his own fault is guilty of a mortal sin. If a person failed to come before the Offertory but was present from the Offertory to the end of the Mass, he would substantially fulfill his obligation but he would be guilty of a venial sin, in the supposition that the omission was culpable. But a person would not substantially satisfy his obligation if he were present only from the beginning of the Offertory through the Communion. It is permitted to fulfill the obligation by hearing successively portions of two Masses which together constitute an entire Mass, as long as one is present at both the Consecration and the Communion of one of the Masses.
In former centuries there were many more holydays of obligation than at present. In fact, even today Catholics in the United States are dispensed from the observance of four of the ten holydays that are prescribed for the universal Church. Similarly, our presentday laws regarding fast and abstinence are much easier than those of the early Church, when the precept of fasting forbade a person to touch food until late in the afternoon. Even at the present day among the Catholics of the Oriental rites the laws of fasting are much stricter than those binding Latin Catholics. And the Church is quite lenient in granting dispensations when there is a good reason. Thus, in the United States the laws of fast and abstinence have been considerably mitigated. For example, besides the points mentioned in the lesson, the soldiers and sailors of our country are dispensed from fast and abstinence on all days except Ash Wednesday, Good Friday, the Vigil of Christmas, and all of Holy Saturday, and if the soldier or sailor lives with his family, all the members share in this privilege.
Generally speaking, the laws of the Church begin to bind only when a Catholic has passed his seventh birthday and has attained the use of reason. This rule holds in regard to the law of abstinence and of attendance at Mass on Sundays and holydays. However, the law of fasting binds only those who have passed their twentyfirst birthday and have not yet passed their fiftyninth birthday. On the other hand, a child who has attained the use of reason but is not yet seven years old is obliged to obey the law of annual Holy Communion.
The two commandments we have considered in this lesson are a good test of a Catholic's loyalty to his religion. Catholics who observe them faithfully are usually practical Catholics, while those who habitually neglect Mass and the laws of fast and abstinence particularly the Friday abstinence are Catholics only in name and are in grave danger of losing their souls.