14. Does sin, then, drive the Holy Ghost from the soul?
Yes, mortal sin drives away the Holy Ghost, and profanes the temple of God.
'But if any man violate the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which you are' (1 Cor. iii. 17).
15. But is not the Holy Ghost everywhere?
As God He is everywhere; but as the Author and Dispenser of grace, He is especially with the Catholic Church, and in the souls of the just.
Application. Strive most earnestly, by avoiding sin, to preserve the Holy Ghost in your heart, and to correspond faithfully with His inspirations. 'Wisdom will not enter into a malicious soul, nor dwell in a body subject to sins; for the Holy Spirit will flee from the deceitful' (Wisd. i. 4, 5).
The Ninth Article.
'The Holy Catholic Church; the Communion of Saints.'
§ 1. On the Church and the Form of her Government.
1. What did the Apostles do after they had received the Holy Ghost on Whit-Sunday?
They went forth into the whole world preaching and baptizing, and gathered all those who believed and were baptized into congregations (Short Hist. of Revealed Rel, 28, 29).
2. What arose from these congregations of believers?
There arose in many places communities of Christians,1 whose rulers were the Apostles.2 (Short Hist. of Revealed Rel., 30).
1 See Acts of the Ap. ii. 41, 44, and iv. 32. 2 The whole Book of the Acts of the Apostles, and all their Epistles, bear witness that they did not only preach and baptize, but also rule their communities in every way. They made regulations and laws, threatened, judged, and punished; they excluded the unworthy
