eternally What horrible ingratitude is it to give ones heart to a Creature to a foolish passion to a shamefull pleasure and not to love God after a gift so precious to refuse him our poor little heart after He hath given us his What monstrous malice is it to offend the holy Ghost who is the end and the non plus ultra the Center and the consummation of all the liberalities and donations of God to us 12. His scripture teaches us that we offend Him in dlvers manners either resisting or in contristating or affronting him or by extinguishing him in our hearts S. Steven sayd to the Iews you resist always the holy Ghost When we feel an impuls to rise out of the state of sin and to convert our selves seriously Asts. 7 51. to God 't is the holy Ghost that knoâ—ks at the door of our hearts It seems that He makes it his imployment so assiduous He is to solicite us by his inspirations if we consent not to his summons we resist him When we have consented to him and He is entred into our hearts we contristate and afflict him if we commit voluntarily and deliberatly a venial sin All naughty speech let it not proceed out of your mouth and contristate not the holy Ghost sais the Apostle We affront him consenting to Eph. 4. mortal sin by which we chase him shamefully out of our hearts and admit into them the euill spirit his corrival and mortal ennemy Such an one hath don contumely to the Spirit of grace says Heb. 10. 29. the same Apostle We extinguish him in our hearts when we commit the sins which are directly and diametrically opposit to him as when we presume of the mercy of God and to have pardon of our sins without doing penance for them when we are sorry for the vertues of others which are the works of the holy Ghost or when we indeavour to destroy them mocking those that pray much that frequent the Sacraments that remaine long in the church or when we oppose the known truth or contradict it t is to extinguish in our selves the holy Spirit 't is to do contrary to this advertisement of S. Paul The Spirit extinguish not â— Thess 5. 19. 13. Since then the holy Spirit enters not into our hearts without our free consent nor without dispositions convenient for such a Guest since we are so obdurat rhat we refuse him entrance and that we have not only indisposition and indignity but opposition and contrariety to his grace and that when we have received him we are so weake and miserable that we often afflict him or affront him Let us pray him humbly and fervently to remove all these impediments to vanquish our rebellion to introduce into us by his mercy the necessary dispositions to open himself the door to enter victoriously into our souls to make them worthy sanctuaries where He may dwell in this world by his grace and in the other by his Glory Amen DISCOURS XII OF THE NINTH ARTICLE I belieue the holy Catholick Church the Communion of Saints 1. THe Apostles by these Words make us to believe that CHRIST hath a true Church or Societie of faithfull people upon earth And they oblige us to submit to all that this Church proposes to be believed as a matter or an Article of Faith 2. This Submission is so necessary that unless we believe the Church we cannot reasonably belive any Point of Faith Nay we cannot so much as know what things are to be believed For we cannot be ascertained and assured but by the Church that they have been revealed Some will say that they are assured by the holy Scripture of what is revealed and learn in it what is to be believed 3. But how know they which is holy Scripture And how know they that the Gospells are the Word of God God never appeared to them to tell them this Book printed in such a place is my Word is my Scripture The Bible also says not I am holy Scripture And if also it should say so it should be in this suspected since it gives testimony of it self and another book might say I am the Word of God I am holy Scripture and we ought not to believe it They will say the Scripture is known by its own light to be divine or a light within them makes them see that 't is the Word of God 4. If this were so How could it com to pass that there should be hardly one book of Scripture that hath not been rejected The Marcionits rejected the five Books of Moses the Manicheans rejected the Prophets the Albigenses the Psalms and all the ancient Testament the Ebionites received but one of the four Gospells to wit the Gospell of S. Matthew the Cardonites admitted but one part of the Gospell of S. Luke Luther rejected the Book of Iob Ecclesiastes the Epistle to the Hebrews that of S. Iames and that of S. Iude the second of S. Peter the two last of S. Iohn and the Apocalyps all which books the Calvinists and our Protestants in England admit as holy Scripture How coms it that Protestants in England and in France do see divers books to be the Word of God which Protestants in Germany and other parts do not And How does the whole Catholick world admit divers bocks to be Canonical which Protestants reject as Apocryphal If there were any such light in the Books by which they discover themselves to be certainly divine or in men by which they see them to be the word of God all must necessarily see the same Books to be Canonical and all would acknowledg the Lib. cont Epist Fundamenti Cap. 5. same since the same Faith is necessary for all And S. Austin would not have sayd that He would not believe the Gospell if the authority of the Church did not move him to it for he would have seen them to be divine Must we not then necessarily believe the Church and learn of her which is holy Scripture And what is to be believed And since we have not the original of one only Canonical Book must we not believe the Church and trust her for a faithfull Copy 5 But suppose that God gave the Bible in English and that He sayd this Bible printed at London is his Scripture I say again that we must yet believe the Church and rely on her for the sense and meaning of it For S. Peter in the same Bible sais 1. Pet. 3. 16. in the Epistles of S. Paul there are things hard to be understood which the unlearned and the unstable deprave as also the rest of the Scriptures to their own perdition Note perdition Have not Disputes controversies and contests always risen concerning the sense and meaning of them and that in matters of the greatest importance Have not the best copies of the Bible been consulted and all passages confer'd the controversies stil remaining and increasing Doe we not see that divers and
a poor man not through tenderness of heart but because JESUS hath commanded him and sayd that which you shal do to the least of mine shal be don to me Who Matth. 25. 40. ever shal give a cup of cold water to one of mine in the name of a Disciple shal receive reward He promises you nothing if you give an alms to a poor man becaus he is your countreyman of the same condition of the same nature with you but if you give to him Becaus he is a Christian and a Disciple of the Son of God in the name of a Disciple Matt. 10. 42. 13. Let us hear then with respect and put in practise this Word of JESUS Habete fidem Have faith It is the extream misery of a Christian to lose Faith whilst it subsists in the soul there remains always some hopes of salvation when it is once lost all is lost there is no recovery but by a miracle 14. Have divine faith not humane only You ought to believe what I say to you not because I say it but becaus God sayd it becaus God revealed it to his Church and the Church teaches you it by my ministery Divine faith believes all the words of the Scripture without exception if you believe some and not the other it is humane faith or opinion or phansie not divine faith which believes becaus God is the soveraign and infallible Verity who cannot deceive in any point if He could in one He might in all the rest 15. Have actual faith not habitual only It is very profitable to exercise often formal and express acts of faith especially in temptation and in occasion of Sin to do as our Savior who being tempted in the desart oppos'd to each temptation a text of holy scripture And S. Paul counsells us to make use of the shield of faith in every occasion are you tempted by imprudence to defer your conversion oppose to it this shield enliven your faith by Ephes. 6. 16. Luke 12. 40. these words of our Savior the Son of man will com in what hour ye think not Death and judgment will surprize you when you think least of it Are you tempted by injustice to do any injury to your neigbour oppose this shield actuate your faith by these words of JESUS Do not to another what thou wouldst not have don to thy self Are you tempted by choler to abuse another by your words actuate your faith by these words of our Savior He that is angry with his brother he that calls him fool shal be guilty of fire Are you tempted by impurity oppose this shield quicken your faith by these words of S. Paul know that all fornicators and unclean Eph. 5. persons have no part in the kingdom of IESUS-CHRIST Are you tempted to go in an open dress and to shew your breasts Stir vp your faith by these words of IESUS Woe to him by whom a Scandal comes that is to him who gives an occasion to one only person to commit a mortal Sin 16. Have firm and perfect faith which doubts not wavers not staggers not at all You must be more convinced and perswaded of all that the Church does teach than you are of what you see S. Peter having seen the glory of IESUS vpon Luke 17. 1. mount Thabor having heard the voice of the eternal Father This is my beloved Son says that he was yet more ascertain'd of it by the testimony of holy Scripture habemus firmiorem Propheticum 2. Pet. 1. 19. sermonem And since the sacred text does say Fornicators Avaricious Robbers and other sinners shal never possess the kingdom of God if they correct not in themselves these Vices you must be more certain never to be saved if you commit these sins and have not true repentance then of what you see or hear if you doubt of it or have doubted of it voluntarily you must accuse your self thereof as of a Sin of infidelity I say voluntarily For when thoughts do rise against faith if they displeas you or if you reject them promptly as soon as you perceive them there is no Sin But to avoyd the occasions of them do what S. Paul commands you avoyd those that would seduce you they will cast always into your mind I know not what maligne and venemous disposition if your calling be to serve though they would give you great wages serve them not if you pretend to marriage beware to marry them for you put your selves in danger of being seduced and when there should be no danger yet you may die and leave children who being bredvp by them will follow their errors and lose their souls Beware also to read or to have in your house naughty books some of your people may happen to read them and be perverted or prejudiced by them 17. Have explicit faith content not your selves to say I am a good Catholick I believe all Articles of faith but learn them in particular at least the principall and most remarkable To learn them you ought to hear as often as you can sermons catechismes to read Spiritual books to frequent devout persons who can instruct you to meditate upon them for to conceive the importance of them 18. And to make a publick profession of them you should of ten explicate them and make others to admire them You must not fear to oppose those who speak unworthily of them of God or of his Church nor be asham'd to practise the observances and devotions prescribed by the Church in consequence to them But remember this word of the Son of God He that shal be asham'd Luke 9. 26. of me before men I will be asham'd of him in the presence of my Father and his Angells 19. Have living faith animated with charity and fruitfull in good works otherwise S. Paul will say Your faith is vain for 1. Cor. 15. 17. Iames 2. yet you are in your sins S. Iames will say Shal dead faith be able to save you S. Bernard will say behold a fine honor you render to your God! you offer to him a dead carkess a faith joyn'd to infamous and stincking actions The Saints did not so they practised Heb. 11. vertue by their faith they converted kingdoms by the heroical actions of their faith they obtain'd the promises which God made to the true faithfull the possession and enjoyment of the principal object of faith the intuitive and clear vision of the essence of God in the happy eternity which God granr us all Amen DISCOURS XVII Of Hope 1. THe God of Hope says the Apostle replenish you with all Rom. 15. 13. sort of joy that you may abound in hope In which words he wills not only that we hope but he demands of God for all the Faithfull an abundance of this gift and vertue by which we may hope through the merits of IESUS-CHRIST to possess God and to enjoy eternal felicity This Vertue is so necessary that
perseverant In the first place blind to the motives of the Command It must propose no whyes no questions and no reasons All your why and all your reason ought to be the will of your Parents representing to you the will of God Be subject says S. Paul in all things pleasing not contradicting or murmuring Tit. 2. 9. Secondly your obedience ought to be amorous and to proceed out of a filial heart when you do the things commanded out of humane considerations out of servil fear or with a mercenary spirit you lose the fatte of your sacrifice the grace of your action and the merit of your good worke You must offer marrowie sacrifices you must obey your Superiours with a good will says S. Paul with a sincere and cordial affection acknowledging and honouring in them the soveraignity of God Thirdly your obedience must be perseverant it must continue to the end of your life 'T is true that Iustinian in his Institutes and after him other Lawyers have taught divers wayes by which a child may be emancipated But there is no civil Law nor humane power that can free a child from the obligation he hath by this commandement and by the Law of nature to honor and obey his Father and Mother unto the last moment of his life Wherefore Venerable Tobias thinking that Tob. 4. 4. he should die amongst other admonitions which he gave his Son sayd to him with great tendernes Thou shalt honor thy mother all the days of her life Is it not then deplorable to see children who during their minority are humble respectfull and obedient to their parents But being becom men or women married and elevated to offices when they thinke they have no more need of them forget and neglect disdain and contemn them our Saviour does not so He being elevated to the Throne of glory to the right hand of the Father adored by all the celestial Powers forgets not his mother He honors her more than ever accomplishes her desires favours and assists those who honor and invocate her and works more miracles for the honor of her than for the honor of his own Body there is no Kingdom Nation or Province in the Catholick world where there are Churches or Chappell 's consecrated to God in honor of the Virgin that God does not render famous by certaine miracles 6. In fine this Commandement obliges us to honor Parents by helping succouring and assisting them Wherefore Christ Matth. 15. S. Hierom and. S. Bede Tim. 5. 3. reprehended the Pharisees as transgressors of this Commandement for denying them this honor And the holy Fathers have truly noted that the word Honour in the Scriptures signifys not so much salutations and profers of services as giving alms and making presents Honour Widows that are truly Widows says S. Paul to his disciple Timothy that is nourish them with alms and recommending to him Priests Let them that rule well especially they Tim. 5. 17. that labor in word and doctrine be esteemed worthy of double honour that is of a greater recompence or reward than others 7. If then we will observe this Commandement we ought not to content our selves with Ceremonies we must not thinke it enough to say that we honor and respect our Parents but we must shew it them in effect We must recompence them says the holy Ghost by the mouth of Ecclesiasticus Them who brought us Ecclus. 7. 31. into the world who have loved us so long so cordially and effectually When then they are broken with old age think it not a burden to entertain them be not more voyd of reason than animals that have none you who are humane creatures and by your nature ought to have humanity you who are Christians and by this quality ought to have charity be not less charitable than storkes that nourish their parents in old age have not less piety then a pagan woman who depriv'd her child of nourishment to give it to her father say no more we have children we fear they will want we cannot nourish Parents without injuring our families For Divinity also teaches you to D. Tho. 2. 2. q. 26. ar 9. ad 3 m. Coloss 3. 21. let your children dye with famine to assist your Parents in extream necessity 8. To excite Children to acquit themselves worthily of these dutyes S. Paul proposes three motives to them The first is that by so doing they please God and we see this clearly by the benedictions which God bestows upon those that are respectfull and obedient But would you believe that God worked miracles also amongst Infidells to approve this piety of children Aristotle in the book of the wonders of the world and in the abridgment of Philosophy which he sent to Alexander the Great reports that a raging fire devided and gave passage to a young man that retarded his flight and neglected his own life to save his aged father and reunited it self upon those that ran before them 9. On the contrary the impiety of a child is so abominable in the sight of God that in the ancâ—ent Testament He condemn'd him to death not only if he killed or beat but if he cursed them or was notably rebellious or disobedient Exod 21. 17. Deut. 21. 18. Ephs 6. 10 Secondly the holy Apostle tells us that it is just to honor them Consider I pray what languishings what faintings what loathings and incommodities your poor Mother suffered for you whilst She did bear you in her womb what paines what dangers and what feares of death she had in bringing you into the world what uneasy nights what toyles what vexations she had and what ordures cryes and importunities she suffered to nurse and nourish you Consider what cares what troubles what watches what journeys what suits what labours your poor Father hath embraced to get and keep a few goods for you God willing to afflict the son of Pharao sayd by Moses to this king I will send my plagues upon thy heart becaus a father and a mother love their children as their hearts you will be never able to return the tendernesses which they had for you when you were sick they were ill when you were contented they were joyfull when you discontented they sorrowfull and after so many testimonies of affection not to love them not to rejoyce them not to comfort and content them to the utmost of your power but to be the cause of their sorrow and affliction is not this to be more cruell than Tigers and more monstrous than monsters themselves 11. But if your duty and the strict obligations that you have to them do not touch you let at least the love of your own selves and your proper interest move you through hope of the promises which God hath made you He promises you long and happy life if you honor your Father and Mother S. Thomas says he that is gratefull for a benefit merits to have it continued Ephes. 6. and
is in credit or through avarice to have a rich Party If two are assembled in my name says our Saviour I will be in the midst of them He is not in the midst of those becaus they were not assembled in his name This ought to be the intention of Christians says S. Augustine to give children to IESUS and to his Church to have a posterity that may praise love and serve God in your place after your death 12 Honor marriage in the election and choise you make you must pray God much for this that He give you a convenient Party with whome you may worke youâ— Salvation it belongs to God only to know the persone and to give the same to you House and riches are given of the Parents but of our Lord properly a Proverb 19. 14. prudent Wife says the holy Ghost by the mouth of the wise man to obtain this favour you must live holily and do many good works before your marriage a good woman is a good portion she shal be given to a man for good deeds 13. Honor marriage in the treaty of it let there be no circumvention Ecclus. 26. 3. deceit nor fraud you would not be well content to be deceiv'd in a treaty of smal concerne why should you deceive another in a matter of such importance as is marriage where there is no reliefe and which is for all the life This is the câ—us of aversions complaints reproaches and horrible divisions 14. Honor marriage in the solemnization or celebration of it You must confess communicate hear Mass with great attention and beg of God an abundance of graces in this Sacrament Invocate the Sainrs that have been married especially the B. Virgin implore the intercession of those Angells that have been employ'd in making marriages as S. Gabriel that of the Son of God S. Raphael that of Tobias and another that of Isaac Banish those impudent persons who say such words especially in the brid-chamber which would make impudence it self to blush You would do better and draw down the benediction of God upon you if you would follow the counsell which the Angell Raphael gave to Tobias and his Wife to pass the three first days in continence and not to employ them in delights but prayers And he admonished them also that the Devill hath power over those that give themselves to lust as hors and mule which have not understanding 15. Honor in fine marriage in its Effects which is a perfect society of heart goods fortune and of all If husband and wife are divided and one will hot and the other cold one sower the other sweet one will negotiate in this manner the other in another the burdens of marriage are most heavy and insupportable their house is a hell a Place of sin and paine of brawling bitterness and despaire But if they live in union and ayde each other serve God and to keep his Commandements they are agreeable to Him For there are three things that please Him much the concord of bretheren the love of neighbors and Ecclus. 25. 2. a husband and wife that agree together IESUS will be in the midst of them to assist them their temporal affaires will have better issue their children will learn vertue of them and consigne it to posterity their people will serve them more faithfully Neighbors will be edifyd Parents and Friends rejoyced they will bear more easily the burdens of marriage and comfort one another their house will be like a terrestrial Paradise it will be an image a foretaste and prelude of the celestial into which they will one day enter Amen DEO GRATIAS I humbly submit these writings and my self also to the correction of the Catholick Church of which I desire to live and dye a member and a most obedient Child TABLE OF THIS BOOK A Absolution Authority to absolve from sins proved 73. The wonderfull Circumstances of it 74. Adore in the Scripture signifies all sorts of honour 170. Adultery is a very Enormous Crime 217. Alms all Christians are obliged to give them 155. To whome 157. How to be given 159. Exhor to give them 160. Anger Its Effects and Symtoms 204. It was not in our Saviour as God 204. It was in him as man but without imperfection 205. His was vertuous ours is vicious 205. Remidies for ours 207. Exhor to Patience 209. Attrition must be supernaturall 280. It leaves us in state of sin if not followed by absolution 281. Avarice is a pernicious and common vice 221. who is avarici ous 222. B Baptisme obliges to à morall and vertuous death 249. Jn what consists this death 249. It obliges to a new life 251. Excuses of worldly Souls removed 252. What life the primitive Christians lead to satisfy obligations of Baptisme 253. Exhort to imitate them 253. Beatitude See Heaven Blasphemy a detestable Vice 184. C Children are obliged to honour their Parents with the honour of Reverence 192. with the honour of Obedience which must â—e blind cordial and perseverant 193. with the honour of assistance 195. Motives to acquit themselves of these dutyes 196. Christ the true Messias Discours 3. we must live according to his Doctrine 20. What is Christ 21. Why called IESUS CHRIST only Son our Lord. Disc 4. he is not acknowledged Lord by many Christians 25. The Miracles wrought in his conception and Nativity 27. These Misteries declared by a natural Comparison 29 His Doctrine preached in the Crib contrary to that of the world 31. His Sufferances for men Disc 6. Exhor to love him 37. He Rose up againe by his own Power and his Father also raised him 39. We ought to thank the Father for it 40. How He contributed to his Resurrection and how we must to ours 41. His Ascension described 44. How He sits at the right hand of the Father 44. His Ascension very advantagious to him to the Virgin and to us 46 To follow him to heaven we must imitate his actions 48 Church 'T is necessary to submit to all the true Church proposes as an Article of faith 65 We must rely on her for true scriptures and for the sense and meaning of them 65 66 The true Church is One 67 The Romane Church only is One 67 The true Church is holy 68 The Roman Church only is holy 69 The true Church is Vniversall or general 70 The Roman Church only is so 70 'T is necessary to salvation to be united to the Roman Church 71 Commandements of God must be studied learnt and pondered 162 they may be kept 164 We must keep them with filial love 165 They are most reasonable just and amiable 165 Why called Testimonies Iudgments justifications wayes and paths 166 Catholicks divide them best 166 Confession of all mortall Sins to a Priest is necessary 281 Confirmation makes Soldiers of IESUS-CHRIST 255 'T is a true Sacrament 255 Imprints a Character and gives Special grace to fight against Tyrants and wordly souls 257 These hurt more