people that dwell therein shall have their iniquity taken away from them;" [1] but, also, that in her resides the power of forgiving sins; [2] which power, if exercised duly, and according to the laws prescribed by our Lord, is, we are bound to believe, such as, truly to pardon and remit sins.
But, when we first make a profession of faith at the baptismal font, and are cleansed in its purifying waters, we receive this pardon entire and unqualified; so that no sin, original or actual, of commission or omission, remains to be expiated, no punishment to be endured. The grace of baptism, however, does not give exemption from all the infirmities of nature: on the contrary, contending, as we each of us have to contend, against the motions of concupiscence, which ever tempts us to the commission of sin, there is scarcely one to be found amongst us, who opposes so vigorous a resistance to its assaults, or who guards his salvation so vigilantly, as to escape all the snares of Satan. [3]
It being necessary, therefore, that a power of forgiving sins, distinct from that of baptism, should exist in the Church, to her were entrusted the keys of the kingdom of heaven, by which each one, if penitent, may obtain the remission of his sins, even though he were a sinner to the last day of his life. This truth is vouched by the most unquestionable authority of the Sacred Scriptures: in St. Matthew, the Lord says to Peter: "I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound also in heaven; and whatever thou shalt loose on earth, shall be loosed also in heaven:" [4] and again, " whatever you shall bind on earth shall be bound also in heaven; and whatever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed also in heaven." [5] Again, the testimony of St John assures us that the Lord, breathing on the Apostles, said " Receive ye the Holy Ghost, whose sins you shall forgive they are forgiven them; and whose sins you shall retain, they are retained." [6] Nor is the exercise of this power restricted to particular sins, for no crime, however heinous, can be committed, which the Church has not power to forgive: as, also, there is no sinner, however abandoned, none, however depraved, who should not confidently hope for pardon, provided he sincerely repent of his past transgressions. [7] Neither is the exercise of this power restricted to particular times; for whenever the sinner turns from his evil ways, he is not to be rejected, as we learn from the reply of our Lord to the prince of the Apostles, asking how often we should pardon an offending brother, whether seven times: " Not only seven times," says the Redeemer, " but even seventy times seven." [8]
But if we look to its ministers, or to the manner in which it is to be exercised, the extent of this power will not appear so great; for it is a power not given to all, but to bishops and
