ractical sympathy for our dear Lord by the mortification of our body,
endeavoring, like St. Paul, "to bear about in our body the mortification
of Jesus, that the life also of Jesus may be made manifest in our
bodies."(10)

The Cross is held in the highest reverence by Catholics, because it was
the instrument of our Savior's crucifixion. It surmounts our churches and
adorns our sanctuaries. We venerate it as the emblem of our salvation.
"Far be it from me," says the Apostle, "to glory save in the cross of our
Lord Jesus Christ."(11) We do not, of course, attach any intrinsic virtue
to the Cross; this would be sinful and idolatrous. Our veneration is
referred to Him who died upon it.

It is also a very ancient and pious practice for the faithful to make on
their person the sign of the Cross, saying at the same time: "In the name
of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." Tertullian, who
lived in the second century of the Christian era, says: "In all our
actions, when we come in or go out, when we dress, when we wash, at our
meals, before retiring to sleep, ... we form on our foreheads the sign of
the cross. These practices are not commanded by a formal law of Scripture;
but tradition teaches them, custom confirms them, faith observes
them."(12) By the sign of the cross we make a profession of our faith in
the Trinity and the Incarnation, and perform a most salutary act of
religion.

We believe that on Easter Sunday Jesus Christ manifested His divine power
by raising Himself to life, and that having spent forty days on earth,
after His resurrection, instructing His disciples, He ascended to heaven
from the Mount of Olives.

On the Feast of Pentecost, or Whitsunday, ten days after His Ascension,
our Savior sent, as He had promised, His Holy Spirit to His disciples,
while they were assembled together in prayer. The Holy Ghost purified
their hearts from sin, and imparted to them a full knowledge of those
doctrines of salvation which they were instructed to preach. On the same
Feast of Pentecost the Apostles commenced their sublime mission, from
which day, accordingly, we date the active life of the Catholic Church.

Our Redeemer gave the most ample authority to the Apostles to teach in His
name; commanding them to "preach the Gospel to every creature,"(13) and
directing all, under the most severe penalties, to hear and obey them: "He
that heareth you, heareth Me; and he that despiseth you, despiseth Me. And
H