es him in the face, he never
shrinks from his post of duty, never abandons his flock while there is a
wound to heal, a soul to save.

When his duty calls him, he is not afraid of death, because St. Paul
says: "_He who is without a wife is solicitous about the things of the
Lord._"

XVIII. Conclusion

"If thou wilt enter into life keep the commandments" (_Matt_. xix. 17).

WHEN Jesus Christ died on the cross for us, He did so in order to lead
us into life, to open heaven for all mankind. How important our
salvation must be, then, for which Christ shed His precious blood. If it
is important, He must have taught us how to attain it. This, too, He did
by the words, "keep the commandments."

To assist us in keeping the commandments He left a representative on
earth. His Church, whose ministers were to teach all nations, is this
representative. To her He said: "He that hears you, hears Me."

The night before He died He instituted the adorable sacrifice of the
Mass, saying: "This is My body . . . This is My blood which shall be
shed for you." He then gave the apostles and their successors power to
do what He had just done: "Do this in commemoration of Me." He also gave
them power to baptize, to forgive sins, to bless, to be "dispensers of
the mysteries of God." He gave them power to confer these powers on
others. "As the Father sent Me [_i.e._, with the same power] I also send
you." To these apostles and their successors He spoke when He said that
He would remain with them until the consummation of the world. To them
and the Church He said: "He that hears you hears Me." What the Church
teaches, then, Christ teaches.

As, in the natural order, man is born, grows to manhood, is nourished,
and if sick needs proper food and remedies: so, in the supernatural
order, there is a birth, it is Baptism; there is a manly growth, it is
Confirmation; there is a nourishing food, it is the Holy Eucharist, the
Bread of Life; there is a medicinal remedy against death, it is Penance;
and there is a balm to heal the wounds, the scars of sin, it is Extreme
Unction. These are some of the channels through which God's grace flows
into our souls to assist us to keep the commandments.

The practices of the Church naturally flow from her teachings. She
teaches that there is but one God, the creator and Lord of heaven and
earth and all things; that man by his reason alone can find out this
truth; that the order, beauty, and harmony of the wo