wonders are scarcly related of any other, save of the apostles."*

These are literally all the objections which have been brought against the miracles of the saint; and I put it to every impartial man to say whether they are not most futile, and whether they have not been most triumphantly answered. †

20. Our argument, then, fairly drawn out, fully sustains the position, that miracles have been wrought in all the successive ages of the Church; and as fully warrants the inference necessarily flowing therefrom,—that the Catholic Church is the one true Church of Christ. No Protestant church even claims those miraculous gifts promised by Christ; therefore, if they exist at all, they certainly belong to the Catholic Church alone, and, as a necessary consequence, she alone is, or can be, the true Church.

This conclusion can be escaped in only one of two ways: either by denying the existence of miracles in all successive ages of Christianity,—and then all human testimony must be repudiated, and nothing in human transactions remains any longer certain; or by denying that miracles are sufficient criteria of divine truth, or conclusive evidences of the divine sanc

*Lib. II. c. 10-work above quoted. "Convertamus oculos in nostri sæculi hominem, B. Magistrum Franciscum virum apostolicæ vitæ; cujus tot et tam magna signa referuntur per plurimos eosque idoneos testes, ut vix de alio, exceptis apostolis, (talia) signa legantur." The translation of this passage in the text of the appendix to the American life of St. Francis is very deficient,

+ I might here refer to many miraculous events of recent occurrence, both in Europe and in America. Every one remembers the sensation created some years ago by several wonderful cures effected through the prayers of Prince Hohenlohe. Among many of this kind, I may refer to that of Mrs. Mattingly in the city of Washington, a full account of which, with all the evidence bearing upon it, was published at the time by the late bishop England. She was of a highly respectable family and of unblemished character. Her disease was of a most inveterate chronic nature; it had baffled the skill of the best physicians; and her cure was sudden and instantaneous. It occurred, too, during the session of Congress, and was vouched for by witnesses of unimpeachable character, both Protestant and Catholic. The fact is indisputable, and its miraculous character certain. In fact, I know of no attempt ever having been made to refute the abundant evidence and conclusive arguments spread out in bishop England's publication. Our adversaries seem, on the contrary, to have been greatly puzzled for an answer, and to have permitted an event so extraordinary to pass by almost unnoticed.

tion to any religious system,-and then one of the most brilliant and irresistible evidences in favor of Christianity itself is given up, and the infidel is left to triumph. Either the Catholic Church, then, is the only true Church of Christ, or there is nothing any longer certain either in history or in Christianity. THIS IS THE THIRD EVIDENCE OF CATHOLICITY.

In my next Lecture, if you will favor me with your attendance, I will endeavor to point out to you a fourth evidence, not less striking and conclusive, founded upon some of the primary characteristics impressed on the Church by her divine Founder himself.

May God grant, my dear brethren, that we may bring to the investigation of truths so closely interwoven with our eternal destinies minds free from all undue prejudice; minds and hearts humble, docile, and pleading fervently by persevering prayer for the divine light and assistance, without which all our feeble efforts for ascertaining or unfolding the truth were wholly unavailing. May God vouchsafe us this boon, through Jesus Christ our dear Lord and Savior! Amen.

LECTURE V.

CATHOLICITY AND UNITY.

THE FOURTH EVIDENCE OF CATHOLICITY.

Recapitulation-The truth plain-But often obscured by passion and prejudice-Necessity for distinctive characteristics or marks of the true Church-Their qualities developed-Those assigned by Protestants examined-The Church visible-Her marks palpableThose of Catholicity and Unity inferred from the words of the commission-Each of them threefold-That of Catholicity established by the prophecies of the old and the testimonies of the new testament-Unity essentially connected with Catholicity—Application of these marks as tests of the true Church-The question simplified-A popular objection answered-Relative extension and numbers of the Catholic Church and of all dissenting communions-The tree and its branches-Religious statistics-Test of Unity-No Unity out of the Church-Number of Protestant sects-Divisions and sub-divisions-A necessary consequence of Protestant Rule of Faith-A quibble answered-General council of Protestant sects-And one of the Catholic Church-A picture of Catholic Unity-The College of Propaganda-The conclusion reached-The fourth evidence of Catholicity-Striking facts of early Church history-The Church of all ages and of all nations.

"Go ye, therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost; teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you; and behold, I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world."

St. Math. xxviii. 19, 20.

"And other sheep I have that are not of this fold: them also I must bring; and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be made ONE FOLD AND ONE SHEPHERD." St. John x. 16

THE Commission given by our blessed Savior to his apostles, fulfilled both in its substance and in its manner;—all the nations taught of God, and entering one by one into the ever ex

tending fold of Christianity;-stupendous miracles in each successive age, following and confirming the preached word :this is the ground which we have hitherto gone over; these are the three first evidences of Catholicity which I have so far feebly endeavored to lay before you. I propose now, with the assistance of God and your kind indulgence, my beloved brethren, to proceed to the development of other evidences, growing out of these, equally convincing with them, and, perhaps, even more striking; of evidences adapted to every capacity, clear as the light of day, and such as no one, no matter how unlearned or how dull, can fail to understand or appreciate.

There can be no doubt, that Jesus Christ made his Religion plain, and that, consequently, he placed the decision of the great and all important question,-which is the true Church,— within the reach of every sincere and well disposed inquirer. The question has, indeed, been not unfrequently obscured by prejudice and passion, the fumes of which have so darkened the mirror of the mind, that it could no longer reflect fully and fairly the image of the truth. The veil of misrepresentation and sophistry, raised by crafty men "lying in wait to deceive," ,"* has often interposed to conceal its real merits and true issue; and the truth-loving and simple-minded Christian has thus been often sadly bewildered by the array of conflicting claims based upon conflicting arguments. Yet the truth itself is plain enough, and is easily discoverable by those who, distrusting their own lights and fervently imploring those of heaven, are disposed to pursue the investigation with proper humility, diligence, prayerfulness, disinterestedness, and courage. Thus the sun is clear and conspicuous in the heavens; the clouds which sometimes flit across his disk do not blot it out from the firmament; these soon pass away, while he is still there; and all who will consent to open their eyes may be illumined by his rays. So it is precisely with that blessed light of Religion, which "enligheneth every man that cometh into this world." All may easily see it, by simply opening the eyes of their mind, and by chasing away, with the divine aid, * Ephesians ch.iv. + St. John i. 9.

the interposing clouds of prejudice which sometimes conceal its brightness from the heholder.

We have already seen, that Christ taught and established but one Religion; that he fixed and defined it in all its parts; that he made the belief and practice of it, as thus defined, obligatory on all men; and that, consequently, he must have furnished all with the means necessary for ascertaining it with ease and certainty. As he founded but one Religion, so also, in the very nature of things, he could have established but one Church, for the guardianship, preservation, and faithful transmission of this one Religion to the end of time. This we have also shown.

Upon this one Church, established for this purpose, he must have impressed certain great distinctive characteristics or marks, by which it might easily be recognized by all, and clearly distinguished from every other society, and more especially from every other which might falsely claim to be that one original Church. Had he not done this, he would have left his work incomplete, and would not have made any adequate provision for the salvation of men. His blood would have streamed from the cross all in vain; his ardent love for mankind would have been frustrated of its purpose; we would still have been left in the darkness of doubt and uncertainty; and our very salvation would have been in jeopardy: for, in this hypothesis, it would have been impossible for us to ascertain with certainty which is the Church of Christ. All men were bound "to hear the Church," under the awful penalty of being cast forth with "the heathen and the publican:" + and yet they would have been deprived of a means indispensably necessary for discovering where the Church is to be found.

Merely human legislators have taken special care to stamp certain distinctive features on the governments which they respectively originated; a monarchy has characteristics by which it may readily be distinguished from an aristocracy or a democracy:-and are we to say that the divine Founder and Legislator of the Church had less wisdom and foresight than they;

*In the first Lecture.

St. Math. xviii. 17.