neighbour, and to his brother: | his seed and his servants for
What hath the Lord an- their iniquities: and I will
swered? and what hath the bring upon them, and upon
Lord spoken ?--And the bur- the inhabitants of Jerusalem,
den of the Lord shall be and upon the men of Juda all
mentioned no more, for every the evil that I have pro-
man's word shall be his bur-nounced against them, but
den for you have perverted they have not heard.
the words of the Living God, I testify to every one that Ap 22, 18-
of the Lord of Hosts our heareth the words of the
God. Thus shalt thou say prophecy of this Book: It
to the Prophet: What hath any man shall add to these
the Lord answered thee? things, God shall add unto
and what hath the Lord him the plagues written in
spoken? - But if you shall this Book.-And if any man
say: The burden of the Lord: shall take away from the
therefore thus saith the words of the Book of this
Lord: Because you have prophecy, God shall take
said this word: The burden away his part out of the Book
of the Lord and I have of Life, and out of the Holy
sent to you, saying: Say not, City, and from these things
The burden of the Lord :- that are written in this Book.
Therefore behold I will take
Do ye not therefore err, Mk 12, 24
you away carrying you, and because you know not the
will forsake you, and the city Scriptures, nor the power of
which I gave to you, and to God.
your fathers, out of My Pre- Every one that heareth Mt 7, 26-
sence. And I will bring an these My words, and doth
everlasting reproach upon them not, shall be like a
you, and a perpetual shame foolish man that built his
which shall never be for- house upon the sand,-And
gotten.
the rain fell, and the floods
Thou shalt say to Joakim came, and the winds blew,
the king of Juda: Thus and they beat upon that
saith the Lord: Thou hast house, and it fell, and great
burnt that volume, saying: was the fall thereof.
Why hast thou written there- As the tongue of the fire Is 5, 24-
in, and said: The king of devoureth the stubble, and
Babylon shall come speedily, the heat of the flame consum-
and shall lay waste this land: eth it: so shall their root be
and shall cause to cease from as ashes, and their bud shall
thence man and beast?-go up as dust: for they have
Therefore thus saith the Lord cast away the law of the
against Joakim the king of Lord of Hosts, and have
Juda: He shall have none to blasphemed the Word of the
sit upon the throne of David: Holy One of Israel.-There-
and his dead body shall be fore is the wrath of the Lord
cast out to the heat by day, kindled against His people,
and to the frost by night. and He hath stretched out
And I will punish him and His Hand upon them, and
struck them: For all this His teachers, having itching ears,
anger is not turned away, -And will indeed turn away
but His Hand is stretched their hearing from the truth,
out still.
but will be turned unto
Is 30, 9-11 It is a people that provok- fables.
eth to wrath, and lying chil- To whom shall speak? Je 6, 10
dren, children that will not and to whom shall I testify,
hear the law of God.-Who that he may hear? Behold,
say to the seers: See not: their ears are uncircumcised,
and to them that behold: and they cannot hear: behold
Behold not for us those things the Word of the Lord is be-
that are right: speak, unto come unto them a reproach:
us pleasant things, see errors and they will not receive it.
for us. Take away from me
the way, turn away the path
Examples of Unbelievers
from me, let the Holy One of in God's Word:
Israel cease from before us.
Ti4, 3-4 There shall be a time,
when they will not endure
sound doctrine but accord-
ing to their own desires they
will heap to themselves
(1) Joakim.
(2) Amasias.
(3) Jews.
Some of our Lord's Jn 6, 67
Disciples.
FOR LIGHT ΤΟ
AND OBEY THE HOLY SCRIP
118, 18 Open Thou my eyes, and I for ever: give me understand-
will consider the wondrous ing, and I shall live.
things of Thy law.
Give me understanding, Ps 118,34 I am a sojourner on the and I will search Thy law: earth: hide not Thy com- and I will keep it with my mandments from me.
$118, 125 I am Thy servant
give Direct my steps according Ps 118,133
me understanding that I may to Thy Word, and let no
know Thy testimonies. iniquity have dominion over
$118, 144 Thy testimonies are justicel me.
Thy hands have made me upon Thy servant and teach and formed me: give me me Thy justifications.
understanding, and I will Give bountifully to Thy Ps 118, 17 learn Thy commandments. servant; enliven me, and I
Ps 118,135 Make Thy face to shine shall keep Thy Words.
The soul of the Church
Faithful with their Head
These bonds are Faith,
THE Church, in its widest sense, may be defined
"The Faithful united, under the Headship of Christ, in
the true worship of God." Considered more in detail,
the Church is either militant on earth, suffering in
Purgatory, or triumphant in Heaven. The Church
militant consists of body and soul. The body of the
Church is identical with the Church considered as an
external visible society, or, in other words, is the external
union of the Faithful with their Head by bonds which
are visible.
These bonds are the profession of the same
Faith, the participation of the same Sacraments, and
subjection to the Holy See, the Vicar and visible Repre-
sentative of Christ on earth.
is the internal union of the
by bonds which are invisible.
Hope, Charity, the virtues and the gifts of the Holy
Spirit by means of which the members of the Church
participate in the life of their Head. Many are saved
who, without fault of theirs, have never belonged to
the body of the Church. Nevertheless the visible
Church is the Divinely appointed organisation for saving
the souls of men. It ought, then, to be clearly recog-
nisable ; and it is made so by four notes-Unity,
Sanctity, Catholicity, Apostolicity. These four notes
are visible properties or characteristics of the true
Church. Where these four notes are found, there is
the Church of Christ; without them, there is no true
Church of Christ.
The Church militant, the Church suffering, and the Church triumphant are in communion with each other, for they are all parts of one family, one kingdom, one body of Christ, one Church, the various members of which are united with Christ as members with their Head, and are united with each other by the bonds of Charity, which are "stronger than death." We honour the Blessed in Heaven, and they intercede for us before God. What our brethren in Heaven do for us we do for our brethren in Purgatory, and we add to our prayers of intercession works of satisfaction.
1. CHRIST THE BUILDER, THE INVISIBLE
HEAD OF THE CHURCH, AND THE INVISIBLE
ROCK ON WHICH THE CHURCH IS BUILT.
You are God's building. Is not this the carpenter's Mt 13, 55 Other foundation no man can lay but that which is laid, which is Christ Jesus.
Son?
Wisdom hath built herself
a House.
As clay is in the hands of
the potter, so are you in My
hands, O house of Israel.
I am the Beginning and Ap 1, 8 the End. not Lu6, 49
The foundations thereof
are in the Holy Mountains.
He shall build My City.
The Stone which the
builders rejected the same is
become the Head of the
Corner.
He laid the foundation on a Rock.
upon a Rock.
They drank of the Spiritual
Rock that followed them,
and the Rock was Christ.
[The flood] could
shake it, for it was founded
A Son is given to us, and the government is upon His shoulders.
Behold, I do new things.
He built His Sanctuary as O poor little one, tossed Is 54, 11of the unicorns [firm and with tempest, without all 12 strong]. comfort, behold I will lay I am the Vine, you the thy stones in order, and will branches. lay thy foundations with sapWhat shall be answered phires. And I will make thy to the messengers of the bulwarks of jasper: and thy nations? That the Lord gates of graven stones, and hath founded Sion. all thy borders of desirable stones.
The Highest Himself hath
founded her.
All things were created by
Him.
Mountains are about Jeru- Ps 124,2 salem, so the Lord is round about His people, from hence
forth, now, and for ever.
In His First-born may He lay the foundation thereof.
Ep 1, 22-He hath made Him Head
maketh increase of the Body
unto the edifying of itself in
charity.
The husband is the head of Ep5, 23
over all the Church,-Which the wife, as Christ is the
is His Body.
Head of the Church. He is
Doing the truth in charity, the Saviour of His Body.
we may in all things grow up You are the Body of 1 C 12, 27
in Him Who is the Head, Christ, and members
even Christ.
member. From whom the whole I [John] saw the Holy Ap 21, 2 body, being compacted, and City, the New Jerusalem, fitly joined together, by coming down out of Heaven what every joint supplieth, from God, prepared as according to the operation in Bride adorned for her Husthe measure of every part, band. (See page 79.)
2.-CHRIST BUILDS HIS CHURCH UPON THE
FOUNDATION OF THE (1) APOSTLES AND
(2) PROPHETS.
I.-THE FOUNDATION OF THE
APOSTLES.
From St. Matthew.
Having called His twelve
12. And Judas Iscariot, Mt 10, 4 who also betrayed Him.
disciples together, He gave
Going up into a mountain, Mk 3, 13-
them power over
unclean He called unto Him Whom
Himself and
:
spirits, to cast them out, and He would
to heal all manner of dis-they came to Him.-And He
eases, and all manner of in-made that twelve should be
firmities. And the names of with Him, and that He
the twelve Apostles are these: might send them to preach.
1. The first, Simon who is
called PETER,
2. And ANDREW his brother.
3. JAMES the son of Zebe
1. And to Simon He gave Mk 3,16 the name Peter,
2. And James the son of
3. And John the brother Mk3, 17 of James, and He named
4. And JOHN his brother, them Boanerges, which is,
the sons of thunder.
4. And Andrew
5. And Philip,
6. And Bartholomew
7. And Matthew,
8. And Thomas
9. And James of Alpheus,
10. And Thaddeus,
11. And Simon the Cana- Mk 3, 18
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