ural elements to man in his supernatural life; that through objects sanctified to a higher use, strength and grace may flow from Christ to men; that simple, natural elements may be transmuted for a strange and mystical ministry to us both in body and soul; that such transformation and exaltation of the creature carries in it the prophecy of even greater things than these; that as man, complete in a recovered body and a ransomed soul, is destined to live on in a higher state than this, so the whole creation, guided by a divine instinct, is looking out anxiously and hopefully for some benediction and help as coincident with "the redemption of our body," that great event towards which all moves and on which all converges. Godet, in his "Studies on the Old Testament," has well and eloquently traced a progress and development through creation, which surely has not yet reached its final mark.

"On the theatre of nature unconscious life has been exercised, a slave to the senses. On the stage of history the human soul has displayed the riches of life, self-conscious and free. In the Church (understanding this word in its most spiritual sense) there grew up, and has since developed itself,

* Rom. viii. 23.

a new thing-the life of holy love, realized in Jesus Christ,

and by Him communicated to us.

Finally, in that supreme

perfect life, divine in its

abode which we call heaven, this essence, human in its form, will expand and radiate through matter then glorified.” *

Thus does the material world minister to its terrestrial head; thus do material elements receive a present glorification and change for transcendental use; thus does man draw along with him the whole order in which he has his place, while advancing towards completed redemption; and here we find the meaning of a divine arrangement which extends the Incarnation through the ages, and links us to Christ, and, in Christ, to God. Such are the more recondite aspects in which this teaching challenges our faith and cheers us in the darkness of our present life.

But now, having completed the first part of our work, we may proceed to study more closely that which rises on this foundation. The bases are, indeed, mysterious, obscure, and hidden from the sight; but it is easy to study the superstructure, and note the general arrangement of the edifice, its adaptation to its purposes, and its perfect cor

* "Studies on the Old Testament," p. 63.

respondence with the order of the visible world and the plan according to which we and all things about us live and move and act. The region thus far traversed may be, and doubtless will be, regarded by many as a place of speculation and dreamery. Studies such as these do not commend themselves to every mind; and if, in saying what has been said, we had spoken our last word on the subject, it would have been said to no purpose in the ears of the children of this generation. But there is much more to come. Catholic theology is broad and deep; it fails us not, wherever we need its help. Profound though it be, it is no less practical. It has its commonplace side, on which it meets the commonplace mind, and challenges the attention of that class, who, disliking abstract study, want to know precisely what a thing is worth, and are not interested until it is presented in a business shape, under conditions in which they can set to with square, line, and scales, with tables of figures and a schedule of prices, and bring it down to a calculation and a commercial result. Even so the Sacramental System may challenge study and will reward it; for we hold that it is in no sense a theory, a speculation, or an invention of romantic enthusiasts, but a very

plain, simple, and practical thing, by the help of which a man may live to the glory of God and the good of his fellows, if he knows the obligations which it imposes and fulfils the duties which it enjoins. Let us then proceed to consider it under some lower points of view.

To one brought up in the Anglican Church, the first thing thought of when a sacrament is mentioned is this, that it is a Sign.

“What meanest thou by this word sacrament?”

"I mean an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace."

"How many parts are there in a sacrament ?”

"Two; the outward visible sign, and the inward and spiritual grace."

Here we strike a line on which the aptness of these ordinances to the wants of man comes into view. For the use of signs is so extensive that there is no part of the visible creation with which we are acquainted in which they are not employed; they are the familiar and necessary conditions to individual intercourse and combination for social action. The sign system is as high as heaven, as far spread as to the ends of the earth; all-pervading, and everywhere in use for the purposes of personal and social life.

What is a sign? Something which stands for something else; something or other, exterior, visible, palpable, audible, which signifies, and usually or always conceals, something invisible, intangible, interior. This is the meaning of the word, and if sacraments are signs, then by a sacramental system is meant a system of such signs. Now we assert, and challenge a denial of the assertion, that such a system surrounds and hems in the entire life of man. Look on the universe of which we form a part. We are on the old ground again, but now we are studying the subject from a different point of view; not meditating of matters occult and hidden in the secret working of the Almighty Creator, but taking note of the common facts of daily life; it is not now the deep mystery of nature which calls our attention, but the peculiar mode on which it has been organized and in which things present themselves for inspection.

I. God's works in nature constitute a series of products of creative power, throughout which may be discerned the two parts of the sacrament, a visible form and an invisible life. It is a universe of signs and sacraments; nature, throughout, is sacramental. The things about us, amidst which we live, move, and have our being, are subject to ob