The Church wishes to give to the marriage of its children observing its laws all the solemnity possible, and to impress its dignity and sanctity so deeply upon their minds that they may never forget the solemn promise made at the altar of God.  The thought of that day will keep them from sin.  On the other hand, the Church shows its great displeasure when Catholics do not keep its laws, but marry persons not of their own religion.  At a mixed marriage the couple cannot be married in the church, nor even in the sacristy; the priest cannot wear a surplice or stole or any of the sacred vestments of the Church; he cannot use holy water, or the Sign of the Cross; he cannot bless the ring or even use the Church’s language—­Latin.  Everything is done in the coldest manner, to remind Catholics that they are doing what is displeasing to their mother the Church.

Again the Church wishes its children to prepare for the Sacrament of Matrimony just as they would prepare for any other Sacrament—­Penance, Holy Eucharist, Holy Orders, etc.  Imagine a boy going up for First Communion laughing, talking, or gazing about him, without any thought of the great Sacrament he is about to receive; thinking only of how he appears in his new clothing, of those who are present, etc., and spending all his time of preparation not in purifying his soul, but in adorning his body!  Think of him returning from Holy Communion and immediately forgetting Our Lord!  Now, Matrimony is deserving of all the respect due to a Sacrament, and hence the Church wishes all its children to be married at Mass; or at least in the morning.  It does not like them to marry in the evening, and go to the reception of the Sacrament as they would to a place of vain amusement.  For on such occasions they cannot show the proper respect in the church, and possibly turn the ceremony into an occasion of sin for all who attend; for they often seem to forget the holiness of the place and the respect due to the presence of Our Lord upon the altar.  Indeed it should be remembered, at whatever time the marriage takes place, that conduct, dress, and all else must be in keeping with the dignity of the place and the holiness of the Sacrament, and the women should not come into the Church with uncovered heads.

Lesson 37 ON THE LAST JUDGMENT AND THE RESURRECTION, HELL, PURGATORY, AND HEAVEN

408 Q. When will Christ judge us?  A. Christ will judge us immediately after our death, and on the last day.

“Immediately.”  In the very room and on the very spot where we die, we shall be judged in an instant, and even before those around us are sure that we are really dead.  When we have a trial or judgment in one of our courts, we see the judge listening, the lawyers defending or trying to condemn, and the witnesses for or against the person accused.  We are in the habit of imagining something of the same kind to take place in the judgment of