The Spirit Of St. Ignatius

ON FAITH. 

1. There is only one Catholic Church. As the- Bridegroom is One, the bride is one also. There was only one Noah s ark, outside which no one was saved at the Deluge ; there was only one tabernacle constructed by Moses, only one Temple at Jerusalem built by Solomon for sacrifice and for worship ; only one Synagogue the sentences of which were legal. 

2. Outside the Church there is nothing good. Who ever is not united with this mystical body will not receive from its Head, Jesus Christ, Divine grace which vivifies the soul and prepares it for everlasting life. 

3. Laying aside all private judgment, we ought to keep our minds prepared and ready to obey in all things the true Spouse of Christ our Lord, which is our holy mother, the Hierarchical Church. 

4. All Jesus Christ s faithful people should cling to the opinions of the Church, and consult her when they meet with anything ambiguous or obscure. 

5. Far from disapproving of what is the custom among Catholics, we should always have reasons ready to defend it. 

 6. In order to be free from all error, we should conform our private way of looking at things to that of the Church, so as to hold what seems to us white to be black, if the Hierarchical Church pronounces it so. For this end we must be convinced that between Christ our Lord, the Bridegroom, and the Church, His bride, there is one and the same spirit, which governs and directs us to the salvation of our souls ; and that our holy mother the Church is guided and ruled by the same Spirit and Lord that gave the Ten Commandments.

Link (here) to the book entitled The Spirit of St. Ignatius translated from the original French by Francis Xavier, S.J.

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