f they have not believed
earnestly enough therein, to repent, in this time of Lent, of that at
least; to repent of having neglected that most cardinal doctrine of
Scripture and of the Christian faith.

But if we really believe in that changeless kingdom and in that
changeless King, shall we not--considering who Christ is, the co-equal
and co-eternal Son of God--believe also, that if the heavens and the
earth are being shaken, then Christ Himself may be shaking them? That if
opinions be changing, then Christ Himself may be changing them? That if
new truths are being discovered, Christ Himself may be revealing them?
That if some of those truths seem to contradict those which He has
revealed already, they do not really contradict them? That, as in the
sixteenth century, Christ is burning up the wood and stubble with which
men have built on His foundation, that the pure gold of His truth may
alone be left? It is at least possible; it is probable, if we believe
that Christ is a living, acting King, to whom all power is given in
heaven and earth, and who is actually exercising that power; and
educating Christendom, and through Christendom the whole human race, to a
knowledge of Himself, and through Himself of God their Father in heaven.

Should we not say--We know that Christ has been so doing, for centuries
and for ages? Through Abraham, through Moses, through the prophets,
through the Greeks, through the Romans, and at last through Himself, He
gave men juster and wider views of themselves, of the universe, and of
God. And even then He did not stop. How could He, who said of Himself,
"My Father worketh hitherto, and I work"? How could He, if He be the
same yesterday, to-day, and for ever? Through the Apostles, and
specially through St Paul, He enlarged, while He confirmed, His own
teaching. And did He not do the same in the sixteenth century? Did He
not then sweep from the minds and hearts of half Christendom beliefs
which had been held sacred and indubitable for a thousand years? Why
should He not be doing so now? If it be answered, that the Reformation
of the sixteenth century was only a return to simpler and purer Apostolic
truth--why, again, should it not be so now? Why should He not be
perfecting His work one step more, and sweeping away more of man's
inventions, which are not integral and necessary elements of the one
Catholic faith, but have been left behind, in pardonable human weakness,
by our great R