up for it: that he might sanctify it, cleansing 1 by the laver of water in the word of life: that h might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle, or any such thing; but tha it should be whole and without blemish. (Eph. v, 25-27).

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Jesus founded the Church for the salvation of mankind. For this reason it "behooved Christ suffer and to rise again from the dead the third day." Consequently, being infinitely wise and pow ful, He must have given it the means necessary to attain that end. (See page 139.) He gave His Church a priesthood, doctrines, laws, sacraments: everything it needed to help it in every way possi ble to save souls. "He that believeth, and is bap tized shall be saved. "Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them. "If your sins be as scarlet they shall be made as white as snow and if they be red as crimson, they shall be white as wool "And he gave some apostles, and some prophets, and other some evangelists, and other some pastors and doctors, for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ. (Eph. iv, 11-12). These and innumerable other passages of Scriptures clearly show that Christ's Church is inherently holy; that it is her purpose to make her children "perfect as your heave ly father is perfect."

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The Church is holy because it is the mystic body of Christ, the Son of God. The Church is divine. When Paul was miraculously converted he hear a voice from heaven saying: "Saul, Saul, why dost thou persecute Me? Who are thou, Lord? he asked. I am Jesus, whom thou are persecuting, was the answer." (Act. ix, 4-5). Jesus identified himself with the persecuted Christians. At the last judgment He will say to the good "Come, ye blessed of my Father, possess you the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave me to eat: I was thirsty, and you gave

me to drink: I was a stranger, and you took me in; naked, and you covered me; sick, and you visited me; I was in prison, and you came to me. Then shall the just answer him, saying: Lord, when did we see thee hungry, and fed thee; thirsty, and gave thee drink? And when did we see thee a stranger and took thee in? naked and covered thee? Or when did we see thee sick or in prison, and came to thee? And the king

answering shall say to them: Amen I say to you, as long as you did it to one of these my least brethren you did it to me. (Matt. xxv, 34-40). "For as the body is one, and hath many members; and all the members of the body, whereas they are many, yet are one body; so also is Christ. For in one spirit were we all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Gentiles, whether bond or free; and in one spirit we have all been made to drink. For the body also is not one member, but many.... And if one member suffer anything, all the members suffer with it; or if one member exult, all the members rejoice with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and members of member." (1 Cor. xxi, 12-14, 26-27). Hence, the Church is holy because it is the mystical body of Christ, Holy of holies.

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Since the Church of Christ is holy, it must produce saints. That is, some members of the Church should always attain an extraordinary degree of sanctity whose holiness is confirmed by miracles. Jesus worked numerous miracles to prove to the Jews that He was the Son of God. He promised that "he that believeth in me, the works that I do, he also shall do; and greater than these shall he do. (John xiv, 12). "And these signs shall follow them that believe: In my name they shall cast out devils: they shall speak with new tongues. They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them: they shall lay their hands upon the sick, and they shall recover.

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Christ's Church did produce saints. We need only mention the twelve apostles; the holy women of

Jerusalem, the early Christian converts. Their sanctity was confirmed by numerous miracles. The Apostles and those with whom they associated in the direction of the Church possessed the gift of miraThey prophesied, (Acts, v, 9); they cured lameness by a word or a touch, (Ibid iii, 7; xiv, 10); they spoke languages of which they had no natural knowledge, (Ibid, ii, 4-13); they restored the bedridden to health, (Ibid, ix, 34); they handled serpents, (Ibid, xxviii, 5); they cast out devils, (Ibid, svi, 18); they inflicted blindness, (Ibid, xiii, 11); they raised the dead to life, (Ibid, ix, 37-41; xx, 9-12); they even, in some cases cured men by the touch of their shadows, (Ibid, v, 15); or by handkerchiefs and aprons from their persons, (Ibid, xix, 12). The acts of the Apostles, written by St. Luke, is a true account of the holiness and sanctity of the first members of the Church. The virtue of the early Christians was so extraordinary that it surpassed the ideal set by pagan ethics. They loved not only friends, but enemies. Their humility and chastity were virtues the pagans thought were beyond the ability of men to practice. They practiced the teachings of our Lord in the Sermon on the Mount to perfection. They strove to be like their heavenly Father, perfect and like His Son, meek and humble of heart.

Because the Church is holy and possesses all the means to sanctify its members we must not conclude that mortal sin shuts those who commit it outside her pale. Holy Scripture likens the Church to a field in which cockle grows with the wheat; to a barn containing chaff as well as wheat; to a net cast into the sea and catching all kinds of fish, good and bad; it tells us that in the Church the goats are mingled with the sheep (Matt. xiii, xxv). The Apostles looked upon sinners as still members of the Church: "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. (1 John 1, 8). "It is actually reported that there is

impurity among you. (1 Cor. v, 1). "Fly from impurity! every other sin that a man may commit is outside the body; but he who commits impurity sins against his own body. Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God? and you are not your own, for you were bought with a price. Glorify God, then, in your body." (1 Cor. vi, 17-20). Christ gave His Church the power to forgive sins. Hence, we must expect to find sinners in the Church as well as saints. However, the Church continually strives to convert the sinner and make him a saint. "There is more joy in heaven when one sinner does penance, than ninetynine just who need not penance.

Catholicity

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The Church of Christ is necessarily Catholic. The word "catholic" is of Greek origin and means "general" or "universal. When we say the Church is catholic we mean she is universal in regard to time, place, doctrine and mankind. The Church is catholic as regards time because it is perpetual; it was founded for all times until the end of time. hold I am with you all days. The Church is catholic as regards place because Christ destined it to be, and it actually is, spread simultaneously throughout the entire known world. "Teach all nations." The Church is catholic as regards doctrine because it must teach all that Christ revealed to it. "Teach all nations whatsoever I have commanded you. The Church is catholic as regards mankind because it was founded to receive into her fold all peoples of all nations, tribes and conditions of life. "Go ye into the whole world, and preach the Gospel to every creature." "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved: he that believeth not shall be condemned." (Mark, xvi, 15)

As a mark of the true Church catholicity of place is the easiest to observe and the one we shall consider. The other characteristics are implied in

the notion, the true Church of Christ. It is obviou that the idea of universality of a society includes besides extension, unity. If unity were missing we could only speak of several societies existing in different countries each claiming to be the Church o Christ. We have shown such a condition to be impossible; i.e., several churches, teaching contradictory doctrines, each to be the true Church.

We must also keep in mind that catholicity is the destiny of the Church. That is, while she has the power to extend to all nations of the earth and to exist equally well under all forms of just government and types of people, she may not actually be in every part of the world. However, she should always be conspicuous among Christian communities fo her wide diffusion and numerous members and will, to wards the end of time, become known in all parts of the world. It is obvious that on the birthday of the Church, Pentecost day, she was not spread throughout the entire world. She did, however, have the power to do so. She was like an acorn which con tains within itself a mighty oak and which grows so large as to cover the earth and to protect in its branches all the birds of the air.

The Old Testament contains many passages foretelling that the Church founded by the Messiah would be universal. "I will give thee the Gentiles for thy inheritance, and the utmost parts of the earth for thy possession. (Ps. 11, 8). "He shall rule from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth. (Ps. lxxi, 8). "All the kings of the earth shall adore him, all nations shall serv him. (Ps. lxxi, 11). "From the rising of the sun even to the going down my name is great among the Gentiles, and in every place there is sacrifice, and there is offered in my name a clean oblation; for my name is great among the Gentiles. (Mal. 1, 10-11). The New Testament contains many passages

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showing that our Lord intended His Church to be Catholic. His commission to the apostles was "Go ye