The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1913-06-14
perpetual, 60 infallible, and (4) in

In the last instruction we showed
that the Church is an organized So
ciety to do the work of Christ on
earth, among men. The Church is
an organized society of men. Men,
human beings, are of course visible
The mere fact that the Church is COM
posed of men, of visible beings, does
not yet constitute the attribute of
visibility The fact of their being
associated must be visible" "The
bond of union among them must be
of it's own nature cognoscible by the
senses, and it must be of such mag
nitude as to attract attention to it.
self" (Hnnter, No 1857. The Church
must be visible as an organized So
ciety. There are two theories
among Protestants in opposition to
the doctrine that the Church is al
ways essentially visible. One boldly
declares that no visibility is required
and that the Church membership is
purely internal; the other is forced
by the plain teaching of Scripture to
admit that in some sense the Church
must be visible, but holds that it need
not be conspicuous; according to this
view it suffices if there have always
been some true professors to be
found on the face of the earth" BY
means of the one or other of these
theories the enemies of the Church
have tried to justify their departing
! from her.
But the very end of the Church, as
we explained in the last instruction,
necessitates society at all times con-
spicuously visible as the Church.
When the prophets of the Old Law
speak of the Church of the Messias
they speak of society that shall
be prepared on the top of noun
tains" (Cf. Is. 2, 2; CT. Micheas 4, -.
Our Divine Lord, speaking of the
Church, tells us that city seated on
mountain cannot be hid; that a
candle is lit and placed upon can
dlestick (Cf Mt 5, IA, 49,. The
Church is nearly always referred to
as a visible society throughout Holy
Scripture.
The Church Must Be Perpetual.
By perpetual we mean that the
Church founded by Jesus Christ shall
exist continuously until the end OF
the world The Church as a visible
society fulfilling her end on earth
shall last to the end. Many heretics
have assailed the perpetuity of the
Church (Cf. Hurter, Vol. L, No. 1867
The Church was foretold as perpet
ual Thus Jeremias (32. 400 calls the
Church IAN everlasting covenant
Daniel 2, Az that "the God OF
Heaven will set up Kingdom that
shall never be destroyed" The angel
Gabriel told the Blessed Virgin that
"of His (Christ's) Kingdom there shall
be no end" duke /, 33). Jesus
promised to remain with the apostles,
with the Church, until the end of the
world (Cf Mt. %, 2O). But if He
would remain until the end the
Church must continue until the end
If Christ established the Church to
do His work to the end of time, we
must certainly admit that He will
keep it in existence until the end.
The Church Must be Invaluable.
The Church has been constituted
the teacher of mankind until the END
of the world. The Church is to teach
the whole doctrine of Jesus Christ;
she is to demand faith from the PEG
pie; yea, those who refuse to believe
shall be condemned. The teaching
/ Chrvoh in tho nf Thric%
HE that heareth you, heareth Me-
duke 10, 20). Jesus promised His
Church the assistance of the Holy
Ghost Who will teach you all truth
John 16, 49,. Jesus promised to re
main with the Church to the end
Why did the Holy Ghost come upon
the Church? Why does Christ re
main with the Church to the end? Nc
doubt, to instruct and guide the
Church in the discharge of her work
The Church must necessarily be di
vinely secured against all error in
matters of faith and morals-what
men must believe and do to affair
eternal life. The infallibility of the
Church must also extend to all thai
is necessarily connected with doc
trine and practice. This attribute o.
the Church begets unity of faith, ant
by reason of it she has right tt
demand unconditional acceptance o.
her doctrine. If the Church were
not divinely protected against, error
in matters of faith and morals, il
would be unreasonable to believe
without doubt all that she teaches.
The Church Must Be IndefectibIe.
Indefectible means that the Church
shall continue unchanged as Jesus
Christ constituted her. Indefectibil
ity comprises more than perpetuity
The Church might continue to the
end, and yet change in some respects
The Church cannot lose her origina
constitution. She is today wha
Christ made her. The indefectibilit.
: of the Church has been assailet
throughout the ages. What have no
: heretics devised to render their posi-
ton plausible, appear reasonable
Some have held the possibility of de
lection, and have advanced differen
theories; some asserted the fact o
detection, departure from the trutl
: as taught by Christ. When presses
for the time of detection, they dit
fer very widely; when asked to spe
city the points wherein the Churc
, departed, they again do not agree
Tho dofootion of the Mother Churc