the heart, movements in the will, which flow from the Spirit of Truth and Grace upon all to whom the presence and the voice of the Church in Council reaches; and of these, some will refuse, many will obey. It is a time of visitation, in which, by a special intervention, God calls to the nations. It is a providential renewal of the declaration, God 'will have all men to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth;'[1] and of the invitation, 'The Spirit and the Bride say, come: and he that heareth, let him say, come. And he that thirsteth, let him come; and he that will, let him take the water of life freely.'[2]
I do not pretend, Reverend and dear Brethren, to know the motives which have determined the Holy Father to convene a General Council, further than his Allocution has expressed them; but those I have touched on are some which we may ourselves easily conceive. We may also anticipate many other reasons for thankfulness and hope as to the consequences of such an event.
(1.) And, first, it is evident that the conscious unity, universality, and power of the Church must be indefinitely elicited and strengthened by meeting in Council. As has been already said, no Pontificate for three hundred years has so brought the Church together as that of Pius IX. Three times the bishops have met, have become known to the Sovereign Pontiff and to each other, and have been united in solemn
