Page:The Church, by John Huss.pdf/57

Rh strong woman whose maidens are clothed with double garments, Prov. 21:2. She is the queen, of whom the Psalmist says: "The queen stands at thy right hand in vestments of gold" [ Psalms 45:9]. This is Jerusalem, our mother, the temple of the Lord, the kingdom of heaven and the city of the Great King; and this whole church, as Augustine, Enchiridion, 41 [''Nic. Fathers'', 3: 255, 256], says, "is to be understood not only of that part which sojourns here, praising God from the rising to the setting of the sun, and which, after its old captivity, is singing the new song, but also of that part in heaven which, continuing true to the purpose for which it was constituted, has always been loyal to God, and has never felt misery from any fall. This part among the holy angels remains blessed and, as it behooves it to do, helps the part sojourning upon the earth, because she who is to be one by the companionship of eternity is now also one by the bond of love. And this whole church was constituted to worship God. Therefore, neither the whole nor any part of it wishes to be worshipped as God." So far, Augustine.

This is the holy catholic church which Christians profess immediately after professing their faith in the Holy Spirit. First, because, as Augustine says, she is the highest creature,