rely the God of Truth is incapable of
sanctioning an untruthful judgment.

"Behold, Satan hath desired to have you (My Apostles), that he may sift
_you_ as wheat. But I have prayed for _thee_ (Peter) that thy faith fail
not; and thou, being once converted, confirm thy brethren."(179) It is
worthy of note that Jesus prays only for Peter. And why for Peter in
particular? Because on his shoulders was to rest the burden of the Church.
Our Lord prays for two things: First--That the faith of Peter and of his
successors might not fail. Second--That Peter would confirm his brethren in
the faith, "in order," as St. Leo says, "that the strength given by Christ
to Peter should descend on the Apostles."

We know that the prayer of Jesus is always heard. Therefore the faith of
Peter will always be firm. He was destined to be the oracle which all were
to consult. Hence we always find him the prominent figure among the
Apostles, the first to speak, the first to act on every occasion. He was
to be the guiding star that was to lead the rest of the faithful in the
path of truth. He was to be in the hierarchy of the Church what the sun is
in the planetary system--the centre around which all would revolve. And is
it not a beautiful spectacle, in harmony with our ideas of God's
providence, to behold in His Church a counterpart of the starry system
above us? There every planet moves in obedience to a uniform law, all are
regulated by one great luminary. So, in the spiritual order, we see every
member of the Church governed by one law, controlled by one voice, and
that voice subject to God.

"Feed My lambs; feed My sheep."(180) Peter is appointed by our Lord the
universal shepherd of His flock--of the sheep and of the lambs--that is,
shepherd of the Bishops and Priests as well as of the people. The Bishops
are shepherds, in reference to their flocks; they are sheep, in reference
to the Pope, who is the shepherd of shepherds. The Pope, as shepherd, must
feed the flock not with the poison of error, but with the healthy food of
sound doctrine; for he is not a shepherd, but a hireling, who administers
pernicious food to his flock.

Among the General Councils of the Church already held I shall mention only
three, as the acts of these Councils are amply sufficient to vindicate the
unerring character of the See of Rome and the Roman Pontiffs. I wish also
to call your attention to three facts: First--That none of these Councils
were held in Rome;