against the Son will be forgiven, but rebellion against the Holy Ghost never— either in this world or in the next, He now says to His Apostles: " Receive ye the Holy Ghost." And the dominion He gives them, He promises, shall embrace every creature in the whole world and shall endure for all time. Now this kingdom of Christ, forasmuch as it is on the earth, is not wholly spiritual — it is as visible and tangible as the kingdom of Britain or the German empire. When Christ said: "My kingdom is not from hence," He did not mean to disclaim an earthly empire, but He pointed, rather, to the divine origin of His authority. With this authority He invested a purely human society which, after His ascension, from small beginnings grew into a mighty empire, the ruler of rulers, the common mother and protector of kingdoms. Herein is verified that twofold description of Christ's kingdom in the Gospel: " First, it is like a man gone into a far country who called together his servants and delivered unto them his goods; and second, it is like the mustard-seed, the least of all, but being grown becomes a great tree in whose branches the fowls of the air find a shelter."
Granted then, the imperial nature of Christ's kingdom on earth — Christ's Church — we are confronted immediately with the one great menace to her stability— her contact with the purely secular powers of the world and the consequent clashing of rights. Having her divine destiny to attain, the Church can never forego one iota of her authority without proving false to her mission and her Founder. On
