succession And this also none hath done but the Roman Church nether doth anie Protestant lay claime vnto it for aske any Protestāt whether they receiued their doctrine from the Apostles or no they will answer yes by whose hands they will answer by the scripture But a Catholike saieth by succession from his forefathers and they by succession from theirs and so vpwards to the Apostles themselues without interruption Now the question of being Apostolicall is not only whether they beleiue the same thing that the Apostles did belieue but withall whether those who now are did receiue their beliefe from the Apostles by a true continuated succession or no. 22. How is the true Church also one It is such first because it hath one principle in which all that are of it do agree wherein if others should agree they could not be of any other Religion but Catholike and this is Tradition to which none layeth claime but the Roman Church Neither haue other Churches any one such principle as to make all that agree in it to be of the same Religion with themselues for the scripture which is their only supreme rule is of itselfe subiect to the seuerall misinterpretations of euery priuate spirit Secondly it is one because all that are in it professe one and the same faith and vse the same Sacraments Thirdly it is one in gouernment because the members of it are all vnited vnder one head the Bishop of Rome for as S. Peter had amongst the Apostles so haue his Successours amongst Bishops the princely and definitiue sentence And this is a marke to be found no where but in the Roman Church although it be a thing verie necessarie for the ending of controuersies which cannot be ended where equality is on both sides a thing that may easily fall out if there be not one supreme head ouer all as we see by dayly experience 23. What thinges are necessary to make a member of the Church Three that is Baptisme true faith with the profession thereof and vniō And therefore Pagans are not of it because they want baptisme nor Heretikes because they professe not the true faith nor Schismaticks because although they be baptized and professe the true faith yet they do not keepe that vnion which is necessarie to knitt the members of Christ his mysticall bodie together 24. Are all Catholikes of the Church Yes except only excommunicated persons 25. Are ill liuing Catholikes of the Church Yes but they are as dead members of a liuing bodie for they want the loue of God and his grace which is the life of this mysticall bodie But at the end of the world these also shall be cast out of the Church and be separated from the blessed in heauen where the Church shall remaine only triumphant for all eternitie 26. Are all Christians of the Church No for all schismatikes heretikes and excommunicated persons are Christians though imperfect ones and yet they are not of the Church LESSON XI Of a Christian 1. WHo is he properly whom we call Christian He who hauing been baptized professeth to belieue in Iesus Christ 2. From whom doth the name of Christian distinguish vs From Iewes Turkes and all Infidells 3. Who is a Catholike Christian That Christian who belieueth and professeth the true faith of Iesus Christ and cōmunicateth in Sacraments and publike seruice of God with that Christian Church which is dispersed through the world and is vnited in one visible head the Bishop of Rome 4. From whom doth this word Catholike distinguish vs From Heretikes and Schismatikes 5. Who is an Heretike That Christian who refuseth to belieue any point taught as a matter of faith by the Roman Catholike Church when it is sufficiently proposed to him as such 6. Who is a Schismatike That Christian who in Sacraments and publike seruice of God refuseth to communicate with the Roman Catholike Church or with the head of the Roman Catholike Church or with anie member of the Roman Catholike Church 7. Why do you call it the Roman Catholike Church We do not call it Roman as if there were any other Catholike Churches besides the Roman Catholike nether do we call it so as if the particular Church of Rome were the whole Catholike Church for as it is a particular Diocesse it is only one part of the Catholike Church but we call it so because all the Catholikes of the world are vnited in the Bishop of that particular Church as in their generall Pastour And so the word Roman is not limited to the particular territorie of Rome but it doth signifie a property belonging to the whole Church to wit that relation which the whole Church and euery member of it acknowledgeth towardes the Bishop of Rome as to their head appointed by Christ to gouerne his whole flock And therefore the word Roman taken in this sense is of no lesse extent then the Church it selfe so that he who is not a Roman Catholike is no Catholike at all 8. Is it sufficient to make one a Catholike in point of faith that he b◅eue the same thinges that the Catholike Church belieueth No vnlesse the Catholike Church be also the ground of his beliefe for whosoeuer doth belieue any point vpon no other groūd but only because it seemes to his priuate iudgement to be contained in scripture or to be in it selfe true yea though he should belieue in this manner euery thing that the Church belieueth yet he would not be a Catholike and so may be damned for want of faith And the reason of it is because seeing that faith is to belieue a thing because God reuealeth it and that there is no infallible way without a miracle whereby God his reuelation cometh to vs but only by the Churches propositiō it followeth that we cannot belieue anie thing certainly vpon the motiue of God his reuelatiō vnlesse our beliefe be likewise grounded vpon the Churches proposition Wherefore the faith of a Catholike must consist in submitting his vnderstanding and adhering to the Church and in belieuing euery thing because she proposeth it for all other perswasiōs of our owne discourse are resolued at last into our particular iudgements or els into the iudgements of other particular men and so cannot breed in vs Catholike and diuine faith but only opinion or human beliefe 9. What signe is there whereby to know whether ones beliefe is grounded vpon the Catholike Churches proposition or no The best signe is when you do without difficultie assent to any thing as soone as you know that it is proposed by the Catholike Church for if you haue the least doubt of any thing which you know to be proposed by the Church it is an infallible signe that your beliefe in all the rest relyeth vpon some other groūds which sway more with you then the authority of the Church or els that you haue no firme beliefe at all but only an opinion or coniecture grounded vpon your owne discourse 10. Who is a good
and Adam lower then they were and made all other creatures rebell against them and rendred them slaues to their owne passions it rendred their bodies obnoxious to death and miserie their vnderstanding to ignorance and errors and their will to malice and the Diuell And no wonder for if the loue of God was the cause of those good effects in them the contrarie must needs breed contrarie effects 5. What comfort then did there remaine for them None at all but God his mercifull goodnesse for they had no meanes left in themselues to defend themselues from so manie enemies or to deliuer themselues from the miserie they were in they could not deserue so much as that God should take pittie of them for hauing lost intirely his grace they had of themselues no power anie more to doe the least good worke as it ought to be done not so much as to praie to God to assist them 6. This disaster was it to goe no farther then to Adam and Eue Yes to their children and to all their posteritie For as all the fruits of an ill roote are ill and cleare water cannot proceed from a fountaine which is infected no more could there be borne of our first parēts infected with sinne anie other but sinners For Adam his first sinne did not infect him only as a particular person but also as the generall roote of all mankinde 7. Are we all then borne in sinne Yes for as those who were borne of Adam and Eue were borne sinners by the infection of their Parents so were their children likewise for the same reason borne in sinne and the children of their children and so it must needs be for all their posteritie to the worlds end And the reason of this is because Adam falling from the loue of God to loue himselfe more then God which loue was contrarie to reason this change in his soule could not choose but worke a great change in his verie bodie and destroye its former good dispositions that were fitted to the grace of innocency by moulding in it others of a contrarie bias For we see by experience that our soules operations haue strong effects in our bodies we see that when we heare good newes the ioy in our soules maketh our very bodies light and iocond and when we grieue the griefe of our soules redoundeth to our bodies and maketh them dull and heauy Now then Adam being changed not only in his soule but also in his very bodie he could not make his sonnes bodie with a better disposition then his owne bodie had which was not now disposed to be subiect to reason but the quite contrarie for the soule by louing an other thing better then God carried the bodie along with it and put it into possession of command against reason and so it remained in rebellion with its proper motion independent of reason which bad disposition being deriued also to the childs bodie and being there as a marke of that transgression which we did all of vs incurre by Adam it rēdreth the same bodie through a necessarie consequence by reason of Gods couenant with Adam vncapable of anie other soule but such as is guilty of that losse which was inflicted by God vpon Adam and vpon all his posterity in case that he did breake his cōmandement From whence it followeth that no other soule could be due to such a bodie as Adam made to his sonne but such as was depriued of originall iustice And this is that which Christians call originall sinne to witt the missing of grace or originall iustice in the child as proceeding from the guilt which we contracted through the fault of our first father in whom we all sinned So that the want or priuation is particular to euery one the cause or actuall sinne only in Adam 8. But seeing that Adam after his fall did pennance and began to loue God anew did he not recouer againe the former good dispositions as well in his bodie as in his soule both for himselfe and his posteritie No for this second loue being preuented with dispositions in man contrarie to it selfe it could not according to the ordinarie course of God his prouidence produce that effect which the first loue did that found no such contratie dispositions but all thinges fitted to it selfe Nether can it on the suddaine extirpate those contrarie dispositiōs but with a great deale of paine and labour and neuer wholy because these affections and ill dispositions of sensuality goe before reason and are in some sort independent of it infecting the motions of sense before reason can espye it And so allmighty God hath most iustly ordained that these ill inclinations caused by this inordinate loue should alwayse remaine in mankinde as due punishment for his first sinne And this is that which is called concupiscence which is an inclination that draweth our harts to loue our selues more then God contrarie to the former good disposition that was in man by the grace of innocencie And no wonder if since the soule cannot be without loue and hauing lost the loue of God it runneth after sense and loueth those thinges which sense proposeth seeing that sense is the gate that openeth the way for obiects to enter into our soule LESSON VIII Of the Redemption of man 1. DId God allmighty abandon man in this his most miserable state No for Adam had no sooner sinned but God moued by compassion out of his meere goodnesse promised to relieue him by the meanes of Iesus Christ who being to descend from Adam and Eue by the blessed Virgin was to redeeme mankinde and to bruize the head of the serpent that is of the diuell by whom Eue was seduced 2. Did God fullfill this promise presently No he expected foure thousand yeares or there about 3. In what state was the world all that time In the state that the sinne of our first father had put it into 4. Were all men then in the state of sinne and damnation Yes in so much that those who were saued were only some few in whom God conserued his grace and a liuely faith of his promise so that of the whole world in Noes time hardly eight persons were found iust in the sight of God and presently againe not fiue men in fiue cities 5. Were the Iewes of the number of those few Not all but only those who had a liuely fayth of Iesus Christ as chiefly the Patriarkes and Prophets and some others 6. Was all the rest of mankinde damned Yes except some particulars whom God did fauour extraordinarily amongst the Gentiles as Melchisedec Iob and some others All the rest were vnder the power of the Diuell who abused them so farre as to make them adore stones beasts for Gods 7. Why did God expect foure thousand yeares before he redeemed mankinde To the end that men might know the grieuousnesse of sinne which was cōmitted against him seeing that it was the cause of the ruine of so manie soules and
in the Sacrament of Pennance for some time before they communicate for by vertue of the Sacrament of Pennance of ten reiterated being ioyned with the worthy fruits of repentance they will afterwardes communicate more worthily Wherefore I should aduise those who communicate but once a yeare to confesse at least euery three monthes once and those who communicate euery quarter to goe to confession at least once a moneth as others who goe to communion more frequently would do well to confesse more frequently it hauing been the practise of many holy Saintes to confesse dayly though they did sometimes abstaine from communion LESSON XIX Of the three Euangelicall Counsells 1. IS there no more required for the practise of charity but only to obserue the commandements of God and his Church and other superiours Whosoeuer doth this hath as we haue sayed an assured marke of charity and therefore it cannot be doubted but that he hath charity in some measure Yet euery one that obserueth the commandements hath not charity in the same measure for he who obserueth them so as not to breake them in any matter of weight which maketh a mortall sinne remaineth in charity but for the perfection of charity there is required a more exact performance of them and especially of that great precept conteined in the first commandement of directing all our actions and thoughts to God his honour and glory the marke whereof is when we do auoyde euen veniall sinnes so farre forth as the condition of humane frailty will permit vs for although these smaller offences do not depriue vs of the grace of God yet they are vngratefull and displeasing to him because they do intrench in some sort vpon his commandements by hindering vs from performing them readily and with alacrity and by bringing vs into danger of breaking them grieuously Now as we see that one who loueth his friend entirely will not only do what he cōmandeth but he will do it also with alacrity and vse the best meanes he can for that end so shall we do the like towardes God if we loue him feruently 2. How shall we know which be the meanes to attaine to this perfection We may know this by looking vpon the life of our blessed Sauiour and by seeing what thinges those were which he exhorted those to who were nearest about him for certainly seeing that out Sauiour came to teach vs not only perfection itselfe but also the meanes to attaine vnto it and this by making himselfe our patterne that is by leauing vnto vs an example in his owne life for vs to imitate there can be no doubt but that those thinges which he himselfe embraced for our instruction and which he inured his most familiar friends vnto are the most efficacious meanes to attaine to the height of Christian perfection 3. Where shall we finde these thinges We shall finde them at large in the foure Euangelifts who writ the life of our blessed Sauiour and for that reason they are called the Euangelicall counsells and the practise of them is called particularly the imitation of Christ 4. How many be the Euangelicall counsells There be very many set downe in the Ghospell whereof there are three which are the principall called voluntary pouerty perpetuall chastitie and entire obedience of which the religious orders do make their essentiall vowes and by them they are mainely assisted to extirpate those three pernicious rootes from which most sinnes do proceed to wit luxury auarice and pride 5. What is meant by the counsell of Pouerty We vnderstand by it a voluntary renouncing all worldly wealth a thing which our Sauiour did teach both by word and example and after him the holy Apostles followed it and the first Christians did practise it at Hierusalem in the primitiue Church 6. Wherein doth consist the counsell of perpetuall chastity It consists in a resolution to abstaine perpetually not only from all sorts of carnall sinne but euen from lawfull marriage it selfe which also our Sauiour Christ did both teach and practise 7. Wherein consisteth the counsell of entire obedience It consists in renouncing our owne proper will and iudgemēt which in holy scripture is called the denying of our selues by submitting our selues to the will of a superiour for the honour and loue of God which counsell our Sauiour not only taught by word but also by perfect example submitting himselfe for so many yeares to his mother the blessed Virgin and to S. Ioseph his supposed father on earth 8. What fruit and profit is there gotten by obseruing these holy counsells They mainely helpe to take away the impediments of Christian perfection which consisteth in charity the impediments whereof are chiefly three to wit the loue of temporall goods which is taken away by pouerty the loue of carnall pleasures which is taken away by chastity and finally the loue of worldly honour and power which is takē away by obedience Moreouer whereas a man hath but three sorts of goods a soule a bodie and his exteriour wealth by giuing his exteriour goods to God by pouerty his body by chastity and his soule by obedience he maketh a perfect sacrifice to God of all he hath and thereby disposeth himselfe to the perfection of charity in the best manner that in this life is possible 9. Were these three Euangelicall counsells giuen to all Christians in generall Yes for although the embracing of them by vowe and in that manner as we haue declared them here belongeth properly to Religious men whereby they are afterwards tyed to them no lesse then if they were precepts and so are obliged to performe them more strictly then others are yet all Christians are called to that perfection which is attained by these three Euangelicall counsells and consequently ought to practise actually these three vertues pouerty chastity and obedience in some measure proportionable to the state and condition in which they liue as pouerty by giuing actually part of their goods to the poore and by enduring with patience and alacrity the want of such commodities which they themselues haue need of chastity by moderating the vse of lawfull marriage obedience by submitting themselues to the direction of some prudent and deuout person and by yeelding in indifferēt thinges to the will and iudgement of others with whom they cōuerse mortifying thereby their owne will and proper inclinations For since these are meanes to attaine to perfection of Christianity Christ who biddeth all Christians without exception to be perfect as his Father is in heauen doth also propose to all the practise of these his holy counsells which are the meanes that all who will attaine vnto perfection haue neede to practise in some degree or other so that there is no Christian whom these holy counsells do not concerne And whereas their condition of life will not permit laymen to practise actually these counsells in that latitude as Religious men do yet if they will attaine to that height of perfectiō which Christ calleth euery
only vpon worldly thinges and that the seruice of God and the saluation of our soule is least in our thoughts and the most neglected of all our occupations certainly we do grossely deceiue ourselues if this notwithstanding we imagine that we do loue God aboue all thinges or that the loue of him is the most cordiall loue of all our loues as if we will be saued it must be according to that which hath been sayd Less 17. Num. 23. because our vnderstanding doth tell vs it must be so For this appretiation of loue by which we are bound to preferre God aboue all thinges doth not consist in discourse but in affection and the rule or marke of our affection is not our vnderstanding but as I sayd before our actions for the very damned themselues do know by their vnderstanding as well as we that God is the last end they ought to adhere vnto Now you will easily vnderstand by this why Christian people are commonly instructed to know which are the seuen deadly sinnes to wit that thereby they may discerne the seuerall rootes from whence all their particular sinnefull actions proceed and so when they examine their cōscience see what passion it was that induced them to sinne that they may by searching diligently from what source their sinnes proceed cut them of in the roote it selfe and by abating those affections and passions which are most predominant in them auoid the danger of damnation and eschew those rockes against which all the wicked do suffer shipwracke 21. What meanes is there to cut of these routes of sinne By practising the seuen contrary vertues 22. Which be they They are humility liberality chastity fraternall charity sobriety patience and diligence 23. What is the effect of a sinfull act It hath chiefly two effects the first is called by Diuines Macula which if the act be a mortall sinne maketh the sinner abominable and hatefull in the sight of God and so depriueth him of God his grace The second is called Reatus poenae whereby he is guilty of eternall punishment if the sinne be mortall And although when the sinne is remitted the former effect be perfectly taken away yet this second effect is not allwayes wholy abolished but only lessened by chāging the eternall punishment into temporall by which we are to satisfy God his iustice either in this world by doing worthy fruits of pennance or in the next by suffering the most grieuous paines of Purgatory vnlesse it be remitted vs through indulgences grāted by the Church But nether indulgences nor other workes will auaile vs any thing vnlesse the sinne it selfe be remitted and God his grace recouered 24. May we then recouer God his grace though our sinnes be neuer so great Yes for the mercy of God is infinite and neuer forsaketh vs as long as we liue in this world but if we dye without grace it is not recouerable in the next LESSON XXIII OF the seuen Sacraments 1. WHat be the meanes which God hath left to abolish sinne and to recouer grace when we haue lost it They are the holy Sacraments of the new law instituted by Iesus Christ 2. What is a Sacrament of the new law It is an outward and sensible signe which hath vertue and efficacie to sanctify men and doth giue them a right to certaine speciall helpes of grace proper to each Sacrament which signe representeth in some sort the speciall effect of that grace whe rewith allmighty God inuisibly imbueth our soules when we receiue the Sacrament 3. What is the difference betwixt Sacraments and sacramentalls Sacraments differ from sacramentalls because they are the maine instruments of grace and cannot be instituted by any but by Christ himselfe whereas sacramentalls are instituted by the Church and are only made by certaine blessings as holy water and the like which though they be blessed yet they do not produce infallibly the effect for which they are blessed 4. What is the difference betwixt the Sacraments in the old law and the Sacraments in the now law The Councell of Florence teacheth vs that the Sacraments of the old law were only figures of grace to be giuen by Christs passion but they did not cause grace whereas the Sacraments of the new law according to the doctrine of the same Councell do both containe grace and also cause it in those who receiue them worthily Wherefore you are to vnderstand that as God Allmighty brought the Iewes to loue him by temporall promises and rewards that he might afterwards giue them celestiall ones so their Sacraments made them capable only of temporall blessings as Circumcision made the Iew to be one who had part in the land of promise their purifications made him to be one who might offer Sacrifice and be heard for obtaining of children peace long life c. And therefore they were sayed to cleanse the bodie not the soule to be empty and poore elements Whereas the new law doth bring vs to loue and serue God by the immediate promise of supernaturall rewards and so the Sacraments of Christians if they be worthily receiued do giue the thinges themselues which these corporall promises did signify that is celestiall goods as Baptisme maketh a man to be one whose share is in heauen c. 5. How many Sacraments be there There are seuen Baptisme Confirmation holy Euchariste Pennance Extreme vnction Order and Matrimonie 6. But what say you to these who tell vs that t it is no where put downe in scripture expressely that the number of Sacraments instituted by Christ is seuen neither more nor lesse I answer that it is not also set downe in scripture that there be only two Sacraments Baptisme and Euchariste and no more or that these very two be Sacraments and yet no man doubteth of them Wherefore as we gather out of scripture that these two be Sacraments because they haue all thinges essentiall to a Sacrament that is that they conferre grace by an outward sensible signe so do we by the same rule sinde in scripture that there are seuen Sacraments neither more nor fewer Besides we are assured of the same by tradition which is the maine ground of Christian Religion Moreouer do not the Protestants admit that there are twelue principall articles of our beliefe to which all the rest are reduced and yet where do they finde this number expressely in scripture 7. Were none of these seuen Sacraments instituted by man but all by Christ himselfe No not any one of them for as God alone is the sole fountaine of all iustice grace and purity so he hath thought good not to communicate to any but to reserue vnto his only sonne the power to ordaine Sacraments which are the principall instruments that produce grace and purify vs from sinne 8. Why did he institute them in the number of seuen Because our spirituall life is proportioned to our corporall now in our corporall life these thinges are required First to be borne that is to begin