teaches that there is but one God, who is infinite in
knowledge, in power, in goodness, and in every other perfection; who
created all things by His omnipotence, and governs them by His Providence.

In this one God there are three distinct Persons,--the Father, the Son, and
the Holy Ghost, who are perfectly equal to each other.

We believe that Jesus Christ, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, is
perfect God and perfect Man. He is God, for He "is over all things, God
blessed forever."(4) "He is God of the substance of the Father, begotten
before time; and He is Man of the substance of His Mother, born in
time."(5) Out of love for us, and in order to rescue us from the miseries
entailed upon us by the disobedience of our first parents, the Divine Word
descended from heaven, and became Man in the womb of the Virgin Mary, by
the operation of the Holy Ghost. He was born on Christmas day, in a stable
at Bethlehem.

After having led a life of obscurity for about thirty years, chiefly at
Nazareth, He commenced His public career. He associated with Him a number
of men who are named Apostles, whom He instructed in the doctrines of the
religion which He established.

For three years He went about doing good, giving sight to the blind,
hearing to the deaf, healing all kinds of diseases, raising the dead to
life, and preaching throughout Judea the new Gospel of peace.(6)

On Good Friday He was crucified on Mount Calvary, and thus purchased for
us redemption by His death. Hence Jesus exclusively bears the titles of
_Savior_ and _Redeemer_, because "there is no other name under heaven
given to men whereby we must be saved."(7) "He was wounded for our
iniquities; He was bruised for our sins, ... and by His bruises we are
healed."(8)

We are commanded by Jesus, suffering and dying for us, to imitate Him by
the crucifixion of our flesh, and by acts of daily mortification. "If
anyone," He says, "will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up
his cross daily and follow Me."(9)

Hence we abstain from the use of flesh meat on Friday--the day consecrated
to our Savior's sufferings--not because the eating of flesh meat is sinful
in itself, but as an act of salutary mortification. Loving children would
be prompted by filial tenderness to commemorate the anniversary of their
father's death rather by prayer and fasting than by feasting. Even so we
abstain on Fridays from flesh meat that we may in a small measure testify
our p