The Church and Her Attributes [pp. 788-803]

The Church and her Atiributes.
leged little or nothing against her which the power, the wisdom, the
but the errors and bad conduct of justice, the love, and the mercy of
churchmen. When they wish for God, of the indivisible and ever
examples of the purest and most Blessed Trinity, in all their infiniheroic sanctity, they are obliged to tude are, so to speak, embodied and
seek them in her communion, and the displayed. Even God himself canmost anti-Catholic among them feel not do more or better than he has
thattheymayassertwithoutproofany done in the church, for he gives in
doctrine they happen to like, if the her himself, and more than himself
chlurch has taught and teaches it. even he cannot give. How great,
It is remarkable with what confi- how glorious, how awful is the
dence and mental relish they assert church! How great, how exceedparticular doctrines for which they ing great, the loving-kindness of
feel that they have her authority. Isit God, who permits us to call her our
because a secret conviction of her mother, to draw life from her breasts,
infallibility lurks in the minds of all and to rest on her bosom! We love
who are Catholic by their reminis- the church, who is to us the sum
cences? and would they not be far of all things good and holy, and we
less enraged against what they call grieve daily over those who know
"the seductions of Rome," if it were her not; we grieve when her own
not so, if they did not feel them- children seem to treat her with leviselves constantly tempted to return ty or indifference; we are pained to
to her communion? They resist her the heart when we hear men, who
influence, in fact, only by a constant have souls to save, for whom Christ
effort, by main strength. died, and whom she longs to clasp to
But it is time to bring cur remarks her loving bosom, railing against her,
to a close. We have opened a vast calling her "the mystery of iniquisubject, one to which we could do ty," and her chief pontiff "the man
scant justice in a magazine article, of sin." We seem to see our Lord
even if we were otherwise able, as we crucified afresh on Calvary, and to
are rnot, to treat it not altogether hear her sweet voice pleading, "Faunworthily. No mortal can speak ther, forgive them, for they know not
worthily of the church of Christ, in what they do.'.'