The true Church of Christ.-The Church which is in communior On the Sacrifice of the Mass.-On the real Presence of the Body and Blood of Christ, offered to God, in the Holy Sacrifice, and received by the People, in the holy Communion; and on Transubstantiation, or the Change of the Bread and Wine into On Communion with the Saints in Heaven; on imploring their Intercession, particularly that of the blessed Virgin Mary; also. on Supplications for the repose of the Souls of the Faithful The Sign of the Cross used in acts of Religious Worship On the relative Veneration shewn to the Cross, on which Christ suffered, and to other Crosses representing it On the ancient Ceremonies of Baptism Confirmation administered, not only by imposition of Hands and Prayer, but also by the unction of Chrism, solemnly blessed The particular Confession of Sins, and the Sacramental Absolu- tion of penitent Sinners, practised in the Primitive Ages ... 162 The Fast of Lent, an Apostolical Institution, observed, in the earliest ages of the Christian Church, as a duty of conscientious Holy Orders, Matrimony, and extreme Unction, were adminis tered, in the earliest ages of the Church, as Sacraments or Institutions of Christ, by which grace was conferred ........ 169 In the primitive times it was held necessary that all Churches, and the faithful Disciples of Christ, wherever they were dis- persed, should be in communion with the particular Church of Rome, as the first Church in the Christian World, and the The Bishops of Rome have ever been acknowledged, from the earliest ages of Christianity, as the supreme Rulers on Earth of the whole Church of Christ; and have exercised an acknow- ledged primacy of Spiritual Jurisdiction, as of Divine Right, INTRODUCTION. CHRISTIANITY is that form of Religion, which was taught and instituted by CHRIST. It embraces the doctrines of faith, which Christ revealed; the supernatural moral precepts, which he delivered; the sacred rites, which he instituted; and the form of constitution, which he founded, for the government of his Church. Its doctrines are most sublime, and consoling; and, at the same time, most true and certain. Its moral precepts are most pure, and perfect; prescribing the renunciation of all sin, and the exercise of every virtue. Its religious rites are most holy, and salutary, being the divinely established means of offering an acceptable worship to God, and of communicating the graces of sanctification to the souls of men. those who embrace the Christian Religion with sincerity, and observe its injunctions with fidelity, it imparts peace and spiritual consolation in life, and ensures the enjoyment of a glorious immortality, after death. To Christianity is the work of God; a magnificent work, in the establishment and support of which, he has displayed his power, his wisdom, his mercy and goodness, even in a stronger light, than in the creation and preservation of the world. Its end is the glory of God, and the renovation and eternal happiness of man. ་ The institution and propagation of the Christian Religion, was a great public FACT; no less so, than the establishment, and extension of any temporal kingdom, or empire on earth. By its uniform laws of faith, and general discipline, it united together the nations of Europe, in one large society, and conti nued to regulate their religious, and moral conduct, from its early introduction into them, till the changes and divisions, in matters of Religion, which took place, in the sixteenth century. At that eventful period, the authors of these changes and divisions introduced the principle of determining what are the doctrines, and precepts, which Christ delivered, and commanded all to believe and observe, not by the authority of the Church, but by the judg ment of every individual, or by his private interpretation of Scripture. The consequence naturally resulting from this principle was, that according to each one's judgment or interpretation of Scripture, different, and not unfrequently contradictory, doctrines were held, as the revealed doctrines of Christianity; and articles of Christian faith, which had been uniformly and universally believed, as revealed doctrines, for fifteen centuries, began to be rejected as not revealed. Still, the divine revelation of a doctrine was considered as a proof of its being true. But it was not long before this principle of private judgment was carried further; and was made the rule of deciding, not merely the question, de facto, whether the doctrine was divinely revealed or not; but also the question, de jure, whether the doctrine, considered in itself, was true or not. By this system, the intrinsic nature of the objects of revealed doctrines was made an object of scientific inquiry and examination; and the truth or falsehood of revealed doctrines was determined, by the judgment formed of the agreement or disagreement of the revealed mystery, with the principles of natural science. Hence nothing was admitted as true in religion, which could not be proved by intrinsic demonstrative evidence, or by arguments drawn from self-evident natural principles of reason. Thus mere natural reason was made the only rule of faith. ག Those who consistently followed up this principle, rejected all the mysteries of revealed religion; and chose for themselves, what they called a natural religion. They took the name of Deists, professing to believe in the existence of God, and to worship him according to the dictates of nature. They admitted also the spirituality and immortality of the human soul. But they did not long stop here: for finding in the nature of God, and of the spiritual substance of their own souls, mysteries which they could not comprehend, and which they could not explain by the principles of natural science, any more than they could the mysteries of revealed religion; some denied the existence of God, and declared themselves Atheists. Others rejected the existence of all spiritual beings, and declared themselves Materialists. Nor were they yet come to the last conclusion flowing from their principle; for some, not able to comprehend the intrinsic nature and properties of matter, or to satisfy themselves of its real and external existence, first doubted, and then denied it. Hence by following this principle, of believing nothing that is incompre hensible to the human intellect, or that cannot be intrinsically demonstrated by mere natural reason, men have been led to believe, that neither matter nor spirit exist in the world, and that not only Revelation, but the universe itself is a mere non-entity. Does not this country, at present, exhibit all these descending gradations of error, leading to the abyss of mental darkness? On the ground of this principle, do we not here see the Lutheran denying transubstantiation, and the Calvanist the real presence; the Unitarian denying the Trinity; the Socinian denying the divinity of Christ; the Deist denying all revealed mysteries; the Atheist denying the existence of God; the Materialist denying the existence of Spirits; the Berkleian denying the extramental existence of matter; the Sceptic doubting of every thing?. Whoever denies any one mystery, for example, transubstantiation, because he cannot comprehend it, or because, examining it intrinsically, he cannot reconcile it to the principles of natural science; if he is consistent to his principle, can find no intermediate point on the ground of Religion, at which he can stop, between the belief of the whole Catholic faith and universal scepticism. To admit the existence of a grain of sand, is to admit a mystery. How did this grain come to exist? This is a mystery. Was it by creation? The act of creation is a mystery. Is it uncreated and self-exis- í tent? This is still a greater mystery. Is this grain of adopt the affirmative, or the negative, you find your |