ment of Penance and to fulfil his other duties; they are intended to serve this purpose, and they should not be censured for not being what they were never intended to be. Ascetical and mystical literature which treats of the higher spiritual life is very abundant in the Catholic Church, and it should be consulted by those who desire to know the lofty ideals of life which the Catholic Church places before her children and encourages them to practise. Moral theology proposes to itself the humbler but still necessary task of defining what is right and what wrong in all the practical relations of the Christian life. This all, but more especially priests, should know. The first step on the right road of conduct is to avoid evil; in the doing of good each will act according to his vocation and opportunities, moved and stirred by the grace of God, who works in all as he wills.
PREFACE TO THE FIFTH EDITION
THE aim of this work was to state the Moral Theology of the Catholic Church as clearly and briefly as possible. A large portion of the Moral Theology of the Catholic Church depends on positive law. Many changes of far-reaching consequence were made in the positive law of the Church by the new Code of Canon Law. The new Code canonizes the law of the country on such important questions as Prescription and Contract. It changes the nature of more than one diriment impediment of Marriage. It alters numberless details on many other points of Church law. In this edition I have tried to bring my book into harmony with the existing law and teaching of the Catholic Church.
October 15, 1924.
