lso hath sealed us and given the
pledge of the Spirit in our hearts."(357) God _confirmeth_ us in faith; He
hath _anointed_ us by spiritual unction, typified by the sacred chrism
which is marked on our foreheads. He hath _sealed_ us by the indelible
character stamped on our souls, which is indicated by the sign of the
cross impressed on us. He hath given the _pledge_ of the Holy Ghost in our
hearts, by the testimony of a good conscience, as an earnest of future
glory. The Bishop performs the external unction, but God, "who worketh all
in all," sanctifies the soul by His secret operation.

It cannot be asserted that the laying on of hands and the graces which
followed from it, as recorded in the Acts, were not intended to be
continued after the Apostles' times, for there is no warrant for such an
assumption. This function of imposing hands formed as regular and
imperative a part of the Apostolic ministry as the duties which they
exercised in preaching, baptizing, ordaining, etc. Hence the successors of
the Apostles in the nineteenth century have precisely the same authority
and obligation to confirm as they have to preach, to baptize or to ordain.

Those who were confirmed by the Apostles usually gave evidence of the
grace which they received by prophecy, the gift of tongues and the
manifestation of other miraculous powers. It may be asked: Why do not
these gifts accompany now the imposition of hands? I answer: Because they
are no longer needed. The grace which the Apostolic disciples received was
for their personal sanctification. The gift of tongues which they
exercised was intended by Almighty God to edify and enlighten the
spectators, and to give Divine sanction to the Apostolic ministry. But now
that the Church is firmly established, and the Divine authority of her
ministry is clearly recognized, these miracles are no longer necessary.
St. Gregory illustrates this point by a happy comparison: As the sapling,
he says, when it is first planted is regularly watered by the gardener,
who softens the earth around it, that the sun and the moisture may nourish
its roots until it takes deep root and it no longer requires any special
care, so the Church in her infancy had to be nourished by the miraculous
power of God. But after it had taken root in the hearts of the people and
spread its branches over the earth it was left to the ordinary agencies of
Providence.

St. Augustine writes also on the same subject: "In the first