with sense and reason not inferior to our own, have never been able, to this day, to come to any degree of knowledge about them.

Q. 26. Did then Almighty God ever reveal those truths to mankind?

A. He did; and it was one of the principal offices of the Redeemer, to bring from heaven to men the knowledge of these Divine truths, and to deliver them from the miserable darkness in which they had been involved. The deplorable situation they were in before he came, with the admirable light he brought among them, is thus beautifully described in the holy Scriptures. Isaiah, foretelling this happy effect of his coming, says, "The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light; to them that dwelt in the region of the shadow of death, to them light is risen," Is. ix. 2. And God thus speaks to the Redeemer by the same prophet: "I have given thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles; that thou mightest open the eyes of the blind, and bring forth the prisoner out of prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house," Isaiah xlii. 7. Zacharias also, in his prophecy at the birth of Saint John the Baptist, says of the Redeemer, "Through the bowels of mercy of our God, the Orient from on high hath visited us, to enlighten them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, and to direct our feet in the way of peace," Luke i. 71. The holy Simeon, when he held the Redeemer, then a child, in his arms, said, he was the salvation of God, "which thou, O Lord," said he, hast prepared before the face of all people, a light to the revelation of the Gentiles, and the Glory of thy people Israel," Luke ii. 31. And the Redeemer himself, when he appeared to St. Paul, and authorized him to carry the light of his revelation to the Gentiles, said he sent him to

the nations," to open their eyes, that they may be converted from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and a lot among the saints by the faith that is in me," Acts xxvi. 17. Hence the same holy Apostle, describing the misery and blindness of the Gentiles, says, "They walk in the vanity of their mind, having their understandings darkened, being alienated from the life of God, through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of our hearts," Ephes. iv. 18. But that God, by the Redeemer, "has made us worthy to be partakers of the lot of the saints in light, and delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption through his blood, the remission of sins," Colos. is 12. St. Peter declares to Christians, that is, to the followers of the Redeemer," You are a chosen generation, a kingly priesthood, a holy nation, a purchased people, that you may declare his virtues who hath called you out of darkness into his admirable light; who in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God," 1 Pet. i. 9.

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Q. 27. What are the principal offices of the Redeemer?

A. They are chiefly these two; first, To redeem us from our sins, and from the captivity of Satan, to which mankind has been reduced by sin. Secondly, To enlighten our minds, by revealing to us the great truths of eternity, which we could never have known without such a teacher, and upon the knowledge of which our eternal happiness depends.

Q. 28. What is the Redeemer's name?

A. Jesus Christ. The name Jesus signifies a Saviour, and was given him by God himself, as fore

told by the Prophet Isaiah, many ages before his coming, when he said, "Thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of the Lord shall name,” Is. lxii. 2. And it was brought immediately from heaven before he was born; for, when the angel discovered the mystery of his incarnation to St. Joseph, he said, "Thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins,' Matth. i. 20.; and not only from their sins, but also from the fatal effects of sin, the slavery of Satan, and the torments of hell. The name Christ signifies anointed, and implies that the Redeemer is anointed with all kind of grace, and with the divinity itself: for "in him it hath well pleased the Father that all fulness should dwell," Coloss. i. 19.; and" in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily," Coloss. ii. 9. By this divine unction he is consecrated to be " a priest for ever, according to the order of Melchisedech," Ps. cix. 4.; as also," to the king over Sion his holy mountain, Ps. ii. 6.; and "to reign in the house of Jacob for ever;" for," of his kingdom there shall be no end," Luke i. 32. It also implies, that he is anointed with all the graces of the Holy Ghost, according to Isaiah, "and the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the spirit of counsel and of fortitude, the spirit of knowledge and of godliness, and he shall be filled with the spirit or the fear of the Lord," Is. xii. 2: Hence St. Peter says, that "God anointed him with the Holy Ghost and with power," Acts x. 38.

Q. 1. IS it necessary to know Jesus Christ the Redeemer?

A. It is most necessary to know both what Jesus Christ is, and what he has done for us; for "there is no other name under heaven given to men, whereby we must be saved," Acts iv. 12. And Christ himself, speaking to his eternal Father, says, this is eternal life, that they may know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent," Jo. xvii. 3.

Q. 2. Who is Jesus Christ?

A. Jesus Christ is God the Son, the second person of the ever Blessed Trinity, who, taking our nature upon him, became man, in order to redeem lost man.

Q. 3. Where doth it appear that Jesus Christ is God the Son, the second person of the Blessed Trinity?

A. From many plain texts of Scripture. Thus the angel declared to the blessed Virgin Mary, before he was conceived in her womb, "The holy One that shall be born of thee, shall be called the Son of God," Luke i. 35. St. Peter, inspired by God himself, said to Christ, "Thou art Christ the Son of the living God," Matth. xvi. 16. St. John declares, "that the Word was God," and that this "Word," or Son of God, "was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw his glory, the glory as of the Only Begotten of the Father. Jo. i. 14. St. John the Baptist, by particular revelation from the Holy Ghost, says of Jesus

Christ, "I saw, and I gave testimony that this is the Son of God," Ja. i. 34. God the Father, at the transfiguration, by a voice from heaven, declared, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased," Matt. xvii. 5. All the miracles he performed are recorded in the gospel in proof of this truth. "Many other signs Jesus did; but these are written, that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God," Jo. xx. 30. And St. Paul declares, that Christ is over all things God blessed for ever," Rom. ix. 5.

Q. 4. Is Jesus Christ true man?

A. Jesus Christ is also true man; for, whereas he was always God, equal to his Father from all eternity, when the fulness of time was come, he became man, by taking our nature upon him, and uniting it to his Divine nature in his own person; so that he is also true man, having the nature of man, that is, having a soul and a body like unto us. Thus," the Word," or Son of God, "which in the beginning was with God, and was true God, was made flesh, and dwelt among us," Jo. 1. "Jesus Christ being in the form of God; but debased himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men, and in fashion found as a man," Philip. ii. 6. God sent his own Son in the likeness of " sinful flesh," Rom. viii. 3. "For no where doth he take hold (that is, take upon him the nature) of the angels; but of the seed of Abraham he taketh hold," Heb. ii. 16. "And hence we are sanctified by "the oblation of the body of Jesus Christ oncefor this man offering one sacrifice for sins, for ever sitteth on the right hand of God," Heb. x. 10, 12. "Forasmuch then as the children were partakers of flesh and blood, he (Jesus Christ) also himself, in like manner, partook of the