Man is made partaker of reconciliation in spiritual regeneration, which he attains to, being led and kept by the Holy Ghost. This divine help is offered to all men without distinction, and may he rejected. In order to attain salvation, man is justified, and, when so justified, can do no more than the commands of God. He may fall from a state of grace through mortal sin.
Regeneration is offered by the word of God and in the sacraments, which, under visible signs, communicate God's invisible grace to Christians when administered "cum intentione."
There are seven mysteries or sacraments. Baptism entirely destroys original sin. In the Eucharist the true body and blood of Christ are substantially present, and the elements are changed into the substance of Christ, whose body and blood are corporeally partaken of by communicants. All Christians should receive the bread and the wine.
The Eucharist is also an expiatory sacrifice. The new birth, when lost, may be restored through repentance, which is not merely (1) sincere sorrow, but also (2) confession of each individual sin to the priest, and (3) the discharge of penances imposed by the priest for the removal of the temporal punishment which may have been imposed by God and the Church. Penance, accompanied by the judicial absolution of the priest, makes a true sacrament.
The Church of Christ is the fellowship of all those who accept and profess all the articles of faith transmitted by the apostles and approved by General Synods. Without this visible Church there is no salvation. It is under the abiding influence of the Holy Ghost, and therefore cannot err in matters of faith.
Specially appointed persons are necessary in the ser-
