ful
for, since being even more sacred than oaths, their abuse incidental to
frequent usage would be more abominable. The fact that men so far
respect the vow as to entirely leave it alone when they feel unequal to
the task of keeping it inviolate, is a good sign--creditable to
themselves and honorable to God.

People have become accustomed to looking upon vows as the exclusive
monopoly of the Catholic Church and her religious men and women. Such
things are rarely met with outside monasteries and convents, except in
the case of secular priests. 'Tis true, one hears tell occasionally of
a stray unfortunate who has broken away from a state voluntarily,
deliberately, chosen and entered upon, and who struggles through life
with a violated vow saddled upon him. But one does not associate the
sacred and heroic character of the vow with such pitiable specimens of
moral worth.

The besom of Protestant reform thought to sweep all vows off the face
of the earth, as immoral, unlawful, unnatural or, at least, useless
things. The first Coryphei broke theirs; and having learned from
experience what troublesome things they are, instiled into their
followers a salutary distaste for these solemn engagements that one can
get along so well without. From disliking them in themselves, they came
to dislike them in others, and it has come to this that the Church has
been obliged to defend against the change of immorality an institution
that alone makes perfection possible. Strange, this! More sad than
strange.

First of all, what is a vow? It is a deliberate promise made to God by
which we bind ourselves to do something good that is more pleasing to
Him than its omission would be. It differs from a promissory oath in
this, that an oath makes God a witness of a promise made to a third
party, while in a vow there is no third party, the promise being made
directly to God. In a violated oath, we break faith with man; in a
broken vow, we are faithless to God. The vow is more intimate than the
oath, and although sometimes the words are taken one for the other, in
meaning they are widely different.

Resolutions or purposes, such as we make in confession never to sin
again, or in moments of fervor to perform works of virtue, are not
vows. A promise made to the Blessed Virgin or the saints is not a vow;
it must be made directly to God Himself.

A promise made to God to avoid mortal sin is not a vow, in the strict
sense of the word; or rather suc