“Catholic.”  The word catholic signifies universal.  The Church is universal in three ways, viz.:  in time, in place, and in doctrine.  It is universal in time; for from the day Our Lord commissioned His Apostles to preach to the whole world down to the present, it has existed, taught, and labored in every age.  It is universal in place; that is, it is not confined to one part of the world, but teaches throughout the entire world.  It is universal in doctrine, for it teaches the same doctrines and administers the same Sacraments everywhere; and its doctrines are suited to all classes of men—­to the ignorant as well as the learned, to the poor as well as the rich.  It teaches by the voice of its priests and bishops, and all, civilized or uncivilized, to whom its voice reaches, can learn its doctrines, receive its Sacraments, and practice its devotions.

It has converted all the pagan nations that have ever been converted, and the title catholic belongs to the Roman Catholic Church alone.  All Protestant churches that claim this title do so unjustly.  They are not universal in time, and cannot be called the Church of all ages, because they were established only three hundred or four hundred or less years ago.  They are not catholic in place, because they are mostly confined to particular countries.  They are not universal in doctrine, because what they teach in one country they reject in another; and even in the same country, what they teach at one time they reject at another.  Wherever it is possible for civilized people to go, there you will find a priest saying Mass in just the same way you see him saying it here.  It is a great consolation for one in a strange country to enter a church and hear Mass, perceiving no difference in the vestments, ceremonies, or language of the priest.  A little altar boy from the United States could serve Mass in any part of the world.  See, therefore, the great advantage the Church has in using the Latin language instead of the vernacular or ordinary language of the people.  If the Church used the usual language of the people, the Mass would seem different in every country; while natives would understand the words of the priest, strangers would not.

The Latin language is now what we call a dead language; that is, it is not the common language of any country; and because it is a dead language does not change:  another reason why the Church uses it, that nothing may change in its divine service.  The prayers used in the Church are exactly the same today as they were when they were written many centuries ago.  The living languages—­that is, those in use, such as English, French, German, etc., are always changing a little—­new words are being added, and the meaning of old ones changed.  The Church uses the same language all over the world to show that it is not the Church of any particular country, but the true Church of all men everywhere.