2. In this one incomprehensible and infinitely perfect Being there are Three distinct Persons,-the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. The Father proceeds from no one, the Son proceeds from the Father alone by an eternal generation, the Holy Ghost proceeds from the Father and the Son. The Father from all eternity necessarily contemplated Himself, and so in His own divine mind formed an image of Himself, which embraced all His perfections. This image, which is necessarily substantial, real, and existing,the brightness of the Father's glory, and the figure of His substance" (Heb. i.), -is the Son, omnipotent, eternal, most holy, most perfect, like the Father. The Father saw all His own immense perfections in the Son ; the Son beheld His divine attributes in the Father; and both, united in mutual complaisance, and infinitely loving each other, produced the Holy Spirit, who is the substantial love of the Father and the Son; who proceeds alike from both, as from one principle, and who is equally eternal, infinite, most blessed, as the Father and the Son. These Three Divine Persons are really distinct, because the Father is not the Son, the Son is not the Father, and the Holy Ghost is neither the Father nor the Son; but though distinct from each other, they are in no way divided, and consequently there is but one only God. When we adore the Father, we adore the Son; and when we adore the Father or the Son, we adore the Holy Ghost. The Father is eternal, the Son is eternal, and yet He is begotten of the Father; the Holy Ghost proceeds from the Father and the Son, and yet He is equally eternal, and the same God as they are. The Father is not more powerful than the Son, the Holy Ghost is equally powerful with the Father and the Son. We must believe that there are in God three distinct persons, without the plurality of persons multiplying the nature or essence, which is indivisibly one and the same in all the three; that there is an order of procession without priority of time or title of preeminence; that there is a real distinction of persons without any inequality of perfections. The Three Divine Persons are in every way equal; they each and all possess the same Divine nature, and yet are each distinct in their separate personality. "One is the

person of the Father, another of the Son, and another of the Holy Ghost. But the Godhead of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost is all one; the glory equal, the majesty co-eternal. In this Trinity there is nothing before or after, nothing greater or less; but the whole three Persons are co-eternal together and co-equal: so that in all things the Unity is to be worshiped in Trinity, and the Trinity in Unity."

The Blessed Trinity is the most incomprehensible of the Christian mysteries, and must be accepted with a simple, childlike faith, bowing our reason to the revelation of God. When we speak of the august mystery of the Blessed Trinity, of one undivided essence subsisting in three several persons,—of the Father, who is no more than the Son; of the Son, who has no dependence on the Father; and of the Holy Ghost, who, proceeding from the Father and the Son, is yet co-eternal and co-equal with them,―our reason stands amazed, is humbled, and veils itself like the angels whom the prophet saw around the throne of God. All experience, all examination, all curiosity is baffled before the greatness of this mystery. All that we can do is to acknowledge our ignorance, and this avowal, according to the expression of a holy father, is the only true confession of the Trinity. With St. Paul we exclaim, "O the depth of the riches of the wisdom and of the knowledge of God! How incomprehensible are His judgments, and how unsearchable His ways!" (Rom. xi. 33.) As they who attempt to gaze steadfastly on the midday sun are dazzled by its brightness, and are unable to see any thing, so they who would search the majesty of the Blessed Trinity are overwhelmed with glory. But as the sun is not the less brilliant because its effulgence blinds the eye of the body, so the greatness of God is not the less infinitely perfect, because our reason is dazzled in attempting to approach the light inaccessible in which He is enthroned.

The word 'Father' in this article describes the first Person of the Blessed Trinity, who proceeds from no other, and from whom the Son proceeds by an eternal generation. As applied to God, for instance, as used in the Lord's Prayer, the word 'Father' has several distinct mean

ings. God is the Father of all mankind by creation; He is, in a more intimate manner, the Father of those whom He has adopted into the household of the faith, and whom He has made His children and members of His Church by holy Baptism; and finally He is, in a still more special sense, the Father of all the just who are in the state of grace and friendship with Him. In these senses the word Father' applies equally to all the Three Divine Persons; but, as used in the first article of the Creed, its meaning is defined by being contrasted with the words, "His only Son, our Lord," which occur in the next article. The first Person is called Father, because He is the Father of the second, or in other words, because the Son proceeds from Him by an eternal generation.

We have already stated that God is infinite in all perfections. He possesses in the most eminent degree, as their source and fountain, all the excellences and endowments which are shared by His creatures. To express His infinite perfections, He is called eternal, immense, omniscient, omnipresent, most just, most holy. But instead of these or other attributes which belong to God, He is called in the Creed Almighty, which means that He can do all things whatever He pleases, and that nothing is impossible or difficult to Him. This word 'Almighty,' or all-powerful, is introduced into this article to convey to our minds a general idea of all the attributes and perfections of God; for according to St. Thomas omnipotence includes, or at least implies, all the other names and titles of preeminence which belong to God, such as His wisdom, His providence, His goodness, His mercy, His justice, His eternity, and His infinity in all perfections. The first Person of the Blessed Trinity is also called Almighty in the same way that He is called Creator, viz. because in the language of Holy Scripture the work of creation, and generally works of power, are attributed to the Father; works of wisdom and the Redemption to the Son; and the work of our sanctification to the Holy Spirit. In reality all the exterior works of God, that is, every thing with the exception of that which constitutes the distinction of the Persons one from another, or every thing except the procession of one

from the other,—are common to all the Three Divine Persons.

CHAP. IX. The Creation.

BEFORE any part of the visible universe had any being,before the sun, the moon, or stars, or the earth on which we dwell, was called into existence,-God was living in an eternity of unspeakable repose and happiness in the contemplation of His divine perfections. He stood in no need of creatures, but of His own free will He chose to manifest His power and magnificence in the creation of the world. It cost Him no labour to make all things out of nothing. He spoke, and they were made; He commanded, and they were created. He had only to will it, and all this visible universe, with its varied beauty and magnificence, sprang into being. Before, He alone existed; but at His beck, all creatures, with prompt obedience, presented themselves before Him.

God might have created all things at the same instant; but we learn from the sacred Scripture that the work of creation was extended over six successive periods of time, which are called days. Though many interpreters are of opinion that the six days of creation, like our days, were simply a duration of four-and-twenty hours each, there is nothing in the Mosaic narrative, or in the definitions of the Church, which forbids us to hold that they were six successive periods of indefinite duration. If, then, the discoveries of modern science prove that the world has existed much longer than six thousand years, such a fact would in no way contradict the sacred narrative. Knowing as we do the inspiration of holy Scripture, we are perfectly certain that though the truths of science may refute the private opinions and interpretations of men, they can never be at variance with the revelation of God. Science

will probably continue to develop itself as it has hitherto done; its early conjectures, which cause dismay in religious minds, will be contradicted by its more mature judgments; but to whatever extent its study is prosecuted, we may

rest perfectly assured its ultimate conclusions will only strengthen the ground of our faith. So often has this been the case in the past, that scientific men ought to be above all others the most modest in raising objections against the foundations of revealed truth.

When the work of creation was completed, God did not abandon it to chance, but by His divine providence He continued to watch over and to preserve what He had made. The existence of this providence is a necessary consequence of the existence of God. An all-wise, allpowerful, all-good God would not act without a purpose, nor neglect the care of His own work. The creatures of God necessarily claim His love; and loving them as the Author of their being, His care extends to every one of them. So minute is this providence, that we are assured that "the very hairs of our head are all numbered" (St. Matt. x. 30).

"And God saw all the things that He had made, and they were very good" (Gen. i.). All the works of creation are pronounced good because they were all admirably adapted for the wise purposes for which they were designed. But as some of God's creatures were intended for a more noble end than others, and reflected more abundantly the Divine attributes, so were they more noble in their nature and endowments. The highest and most perfect among them are the angels and men, and of these it is fitting to speak more in detail.

CHAP. X. The Angels.

By the angels we mean pure spirits, created by God, and endowed with free will, with reason and understanding. Like us, they think, they reason, and understand, but in a far more perfect manner. Like us, they are free to choose one thing or reject another. They are pure spirits; that is, they have no bodies, nor any thing material or corporeal in their nature. We cannot see, hear, or touch them. Nor are they created, as our souls are, to be united to bodies or any thing material. If they are represented in