The students answered that for Christ both were important. I agreed, but again asked which they thought Christ considered the more important. Ninety-eight per cent of the class thought Christ emphasized morals more than faith. It was a rude awakening for this teacher, because it meant that the teaching of the disciple was not the same as the teaching of the Master.

When the angel appeared to the shepherds on the first Christmas night, he told them, "I bring you good news of great joy." Years later, St. Matthew described Christ's mission by saying that Our Lord went about the towns of Palestine "preaching the good news of the kingdom." Both at the beginning of Our Lord's earthly life, and at the beginning of His public life, what is announced is "good news." Now, in the ordinary estimation of man, laws, prohibitions, restrictions, bans, and anathemas do not constitute good news. They may be necessary, but they are not good news.

When Our Lord came, He described the Last Judgment. The Son of Man will say to those on His left hand, "Depart from me, accursed ones, into the everlasting fire." Undeniably we will go to hell if we are seriously wanting in charity, if we commit murder, adultery, and theft. Our Lord said we will go to hell if we do these things, and we firmly believe Him. Though this is part of Christ's message, it does not characterize the good news Christ came to announce.

Christ emphasized these aspects of the good news more than law. He would have been most unhappy to hear Matthew Arnold define Christianity as "morality tinged with emotion." And imagine Our Lord's reaction to this definition of a Catholic: He is one who cannot eat meat on Friday, cannot miss Mass on Sunday, cannot divorce his wife, cannot practice birth control, cannot marry before a Justice of the Peace. Would Our Lord recognize in this the good news He came to give? Or imagine yourself as a missionary bringing Christ's message to a foreign land. How enthusiastic for the Faith will the noble pagans be when you launch at them such a barrage of prohibitions as the whole message of Christ? How many converts will you make? Or do not be a missionary. Stay right at home and explain to the noble pagan next door that Catholicism is a collection of desirable things, all of which are forbidden. Tell him that Catholicism is something you don't do. Tell him that a Catholic is one who goes about being careful. Do you think he will be moved to anything approaching admiration?

If we think law is the highest good and decency the highest goal, the fire of love will never burn within us. We may attain respectability but not real holiness. And we will never change the world. Respectability, like a sidewalk, is a necessity, but it is not something about which we get apostolic.

I did not suggest to my class that we pad our crosses and walk the comfortable ways of earthly salvation. Christ planted the Cross at the very heart of our faith. We cannot take the Cross away without also taking away the Christ who is nailed to it. But I did attempt to show them that the moral law, pure and simple, is not Christianity. Not that morals are unimportant. Our Lord's words about "everlasting fire" are testimony enough of the eternal earnestness with which he spoke of morality.

I tried to show them that formalized morality, pure legalism, morality in a vacuum is un-Christian. As Christians we are moral more because of love than because of law. We do not dumbly obey the moral laws because we dare not do otherwise. We gladly fulfill them because we love Our Lord. And we do not stop here.

The good news Christ brought urges us beyond mere obedience to law. We want to serve Christ and give Him glory by striving for perfection.