his Duty what would the greatest fortune avail me says the dying man what good could powerful friends do me now If I had spent my time in pleasures and follow'd the maxims of the world of what use would they be to me now I therefore condemn now and will condemn to all Eternity the maxims of the world all the Friendships on Earth cannot deferr my Death one moment I am for ever banish'd from all Company all the pleasures of the world are not able to moderate one of my least Pains and if I had fixt my heart on them I should now have nothing left but the regret of having weary'd my selfe for my own ruine He applauds himselfe for having been so wise as to contemn those vanity's which would leave him now whether he would or no if he had not left them T is sweet t is comfortable at the hour of death to think that one has left them His great business was to save his soul to make sure of an happy Eternity if he had been successful in every thing else and had not secur'd his salvation he would have done nothing he was in danger of not doing it and what would becoâ—â— of him if he had not He trembles with fear at this thought but having by the grace of God apply'd himselfe chiefly to that great work the same thought fills him with comfort Let us suppose that a man has taken a long journey about an impottant business on which his fortune His honour and his Life depends that he comes just time enough to have audience of his Prince and to justify his conduct and finds that if he had staid an hour or two longer he would have come too late have lost his cause and been condemn'd to Death How glad is he that he did not trifile away his time upon the road But if by his diligence he not only sav'd his life but gain'd an Estate honours and dignitys and became his Princes favourite would he repine because he had miss'd some little pleasures neglected some conveniences which he might have found in the way if he had stay'd for them And by staying for which he knew several who came on the same business with him had lost their cause and their Lives remembrance of past dangers gives us real pleasure and we delight to talk of them so the difficulties we have gone through for the love of God will be very sweet to us at the hour of Death Did it ever come into a mans thoughts on his death bed to regret that he had not diverted and pleas'd himself enough in the World We very often repent the having pleas'd our selves too much we regret the time we have thrown away in vain worldly diversions while we neglected mortification Alas are not all our Lives full of nothing else but these very things of which we repent when come to dye Did ever Religious man at the hour of Death repent his having willingly and meritoriously left his Relations his wealth the world which he must now leave whether he will or no gain nothing by his leaving it an imperfect Religious will repent of his imperfections but not of his being Religious The thoughts of Death terrify the stoutest make the wicked tremble but they fill the Saints with joy He is A good man says S. John Climacus that do's not fear Death but he is a Saint who desires it Then it is that those who have lov'd their Redeemer find a mighty sweetness in receiving the Viaticum being able to say come Lord Jesus my heart is ready A crucifix must needs be welcome on a Death bed to a man who has born the Cross all his Life and liv'd by it Proficiscere anima Christiana de hoc mundo With what pleasure do's he hear himselfe invited to leave the world which he values so little and to take possession of the New Jerusalem after which he has sigh'd like a Prince recall'd to his throne like a valiant soldier whom his soveraign sends for to come and receive the reward of all his fatigues and combats T is true the sight of his sins may justly make him fear but the view of the Crucifix the prayers of the Church the assistance of the Saints and especially of the Queen of Saints of Jesus-Christ himselfe inspires him with confidence in the mercy of God which no temptation or trouble is able to disturb The sight of his good works makes him confident but not vain being persuaded that the divine goodness who has guided him by his grace during this Life will not leave him in this last hour his tenderness devotion to the Blessed Virgin and the remembrance of her past favours will afford him no less joy and comfort This fervent sâ—ul lov'd his Saviour and long'd to be with him and now rejoyces in expectatien of that happy moment which will unite him to that dear Saviour for ever What a sweetness do's he find in pronouncing the name of Jesus whom he lov'd with so much tenderness fervour What a difference is there between the death of a Saint and the death of a wicked man a difference that is seen even after their Death The Corps of the former inspires veneration not with standing the natural horror we have for dead Bodys and for every thing about them so that we are not unwilling to come near them neither the body of a Saint nor any thing about it frights us we are not afraid to enter into the Chamber where it lyes we are earnest to get some thing that belong'd to it we kiss it we strive to touch it his death is not only agreeable to him but to us to such is the power of Holiness that it takes away all the horror of a Corps and renders it venerable and precious We are all charm'd with the Death of a Saint Is it not then very strange that our desire to dye like him do's not excite us to live better We are all ready to say with the Prophet Let me dye the death of the just and let my latter end be like his But to what purpose is this lazy wish while we will not imitate his Life Are we ignorant that the satisfaction which the Saints find in Death is the ordinary fruit of the holiness of their Lives we should have liv'd like them in a continual mortification of our passions in an entire renouncing contempt of the world an uninterrupted practise of all Christian virtues and an exact performance of the duty 's of our station What is the reason that we take no more care to prepare for Death seeing there is nothing of so great importance that all depends upon dying well and that if whe dye ill we can never repair our loss oh 't is a wretched thing to be reduc'd in in the last moment of our lives to unprofitable regrets Tho you were the greatest admirer of the world thou you were never so
Pro. 1.28 then he will laugh at the sinner he will mock at his misery when he cry's for mercy he will not answer and will have no regard to his prayers T is true we seldom see any dye ill who have liv'd well but 't is much more rare to see any dye well who have liv'd ill 2. A more particular manner of preparation and which is most suit able for this day of Retreat is to do all the Exercises of the Day as if it were the last Day of your Life endeavouring to put your selfe into such a disposition as you would desire to be in at the hour of Death To that end consider seriously at the close of each Meditation what your thoughts on that subject would be if you were just going to give up an account to God of your whole Life And particularly examine what it is that would most trouble you if you were now a dying Three things usually disturb dying men 1. Their neglect of the Duty 's of their station 2. Their frequenting the Sacraments without profit 3. Their abuse of the meanes of perfection which they have enjoy'd their having rendred useless the inspirations and graces which they have receiv'd We should examine strictly this Day especially during the meditation on Death whether we have nothing to reproach our selves on these heads how we have hitherto discharg'd the duty 's of our calling whether we are punctual and careful now If we are engag'd in the world do we live in it like Christians according to our Saviours maxims If we have the happiness to be Religious are we exact in keeping our vows and obseving our Rule If we have the honour to be Priests do our Lives answer the holiness of our Caracter In what ever station we are have we done our duty in it are we satisfy'd with our condition And should we not be sorry if we were going to dye that we have made no greater progress in the way of Perfection Do not our frequent Confessions without any amendment and our reiterated unprofitable Communions fly in our faces Jesus Christ hath fed us with his precious body and blood do we grow stronger by that Divine food what should we answer to that impartial judge if we were now before him commanded to give an account of his blood Do we say or hear Mass with that piety Devotion as becomes a Sacrifice which is the holyest act of our Religion Would a Priest find comfort if he were now to dye in the Remembrance of the sentiments with which he hath so often celebrated And could he rejoyce before God in having frequently offer'd that adorable Sacrifice Have we not made an ill use of those precious Graces which our Redeemer purchas'd for us with his Blood how many inspirations have we neglected how many good desires have we stifled we must give an exact account of all these favours are we ready to do it if we were to dye this moment Are we able to shew that we have improv'd our talents We know it is not enough to keep them can we shew that we have augmented them These should be the heads of our examination at the end of the Meditation on Death we should make our Confession as if it were our last and endeavour to repair what ever we have reason to fear has been amiss in our former We should do well to make some reflections on the state of our affaires and order them so as they may not disturb us when we come to dye In short we must endeavour to end the Day in such a state as we would desire to be in the last moment and we must close up all with a sacrifice of our selves our possessions our healths our Lives to Christ begging him to dispose absolutely of them for the advancement of his Glory and submitting our selves entirely and freely to Death when ever he pleases We must then devote ourselves wholly to the Blessed Virgin beseech her to stand by us in this difficult time we must address some prayers to S. Joseph to our Guardian Angels who are able to give us very powerful succors and summ up all our desires with begging the grace of perseverance in some particular prayer as we judge most proper 3. A third Method is to set one Day a part every year to prepare for Death to consecrate it entirely to that work and do that Day what we must do when we come to dye what we shall then wish we had done and what we shall not be able to do upon a Death Bed The Evening before we must put our affairs in such order that we may meet with no interruption next day for the work of the Day requires an absolute Retreat and a perfect tranquillity of mind if we have conveniency we should begin with visiting the holy Sacrament beseeching our our Redeemer by the merits of his Death to give us grace to dispose our selves to dye well Then we should address our selves in a particular manner to the Blessed Virgin whose protection is so necessary in that last hour to Saint Michael our good Angels S. Joseph and the Saint whose name we bear we should do well to say the Vespers for the dead and so close our preparation for the next Day with half an hour of Meditation on the improvement of Time the meanes and Graces which God hath bestowed on us to work out our salvation and the little pains we have taken for it The Parable in the sixteenth of S. Redde rationem villicationis tuae Luke 16.2 Luke is proper to be the subject of the Meditation where the Rich man who was disatisfy'd with his steward requires him to give an account of his conduct since he took the charge of his affaires or else we may choose the other parable of the barren figtree which is already propos'd for the evening before the Retreat Luke 13.6 We are to spend the rest of the Evening in solitude retir'd from the noise and distraction of the world wholly employ'd in taking care of our salvation in making a general Confession of our whole Lives or of one or so many years as our Director thinks fit And we must omit nothing that may serve to put our souls into soo good a state that we may have nothing to reproach our selves no scrupules concerning our past Life that we may be able to look on the next Day as the last of our Lives to employ it as we would employ the last Let us begin the Day with blessing God who hath been pleas'd to give us yet longer time and to inspire us with the design of preparing for Death And prostrate before the Crucifix let us offer up our selves our health our goods our Lives an absolute Sacrifice to God submitting our selves heartily to whatever kind of Death he thinks fit to send accepting it in satisfaction for our sins in union with the Death of Jesus Christ Then let us meditate
more surprizing we are all agreed in the importance of Salvation and in the vanity of every thingelse yet we apply our selves onely to seek those vanity's and are negligent in nothing but the business of salvation We are all conceited of our wisdom and capacity in business every man pretends to understand it we think ignorance in business or neglect of it shows want of sence breeding that our reputation depends upon it but if we neglect nothing but our Salvation if we live as unconcernedly as if we had no soul to loose we are so farr from blushing or hiding our carelessness that we glory in it and tho we are never so indevout and irregular we pass for very honest men and if we understand the world and know how to be successful in it we are accounted wise 'T is an affront to tell a man that he do's not understand his business but 't is no disgrace to be accus'd of negligence in the business of Salvation surely we do not look upon it as our business My God! when did this one thing necessary cease to be so We can loose our souls with all the tranquility in the world and we are reasonable Creatures in every thing that do's not concern us we do not deny that the Saints were truly wise yet all their wisdom consisted in preferring their Salvation to every thing else in esteeming it their onely business Are we wiser them they that our actions are so contrary to theirs they spent their whole lives in preparing for Eternity to what end did they take so much pains spend so much time for what we pretend to do with so much ease Miserable unthinking wretches that we are to allow so little Time for what requires it all Have we found a new way to heaven whereof the son of God was ignorant or is the price of Heaven fallen and is that happiness which cost the blood of Christ to purchase become of less value What are now the sentiments of those famous states men whom we esteem the greatest Politicians of those extraordinary men who were alway's busy in pacifying or troubling the world which their heads wer alwayes full of Those men of Riches as the scripture calls them who liv'd without thinking on Eternity and who after an uninterrupted success in all their other business have miscarry'd only in this great business of Salvation They are not damn'd for laziness and sloth on the contrary they ow their ruine to too much useless business they were so busy that their very sleeps were broken by their Cares and they have lost themselves by labouring in what did not concern them by taking too much pains about nothing while they neglected their onely real business And 't is by this that the greatest part of mankind are lost And shall not I increase the number of the lost if I continue to live as I have done what have I done for Heaven what have I not done to deprive my selfe of it I have been careful of every thing but my soul and I act as if its ruine were nothing to me But I trust in thy mercy O my God that the change of my Life shall manifest that my heart is chang'd I will save my soul the care of my Salvation requires all my diligence and it shall have it all I humbly beseech thee to give me thy grace to recover what I have lost as thou hast given me Time for it I am sensible that this is my onely business I am resolv'd to do it let thy Grace make me successful SECOND MEDITATION OF THE MOTIVES which we have to apply our selves continually to the business of our Salvation FIRST POINT The Motives which are common to all Christians SECOND POINT The Motives which every one hath in particular FIRST POINT COnsider what God has done for our Salvation he is earnest and desirous to render us happy as if his own happiness had depended on ours Having made us free and masters of our selves what pains hath he taken what pains doth he still take to gain our hearts He desires our hearts he sollicites us to give them he is importunate with us for them some times he promises some times he threatens he leaves nothing undone to persuade us to love him he takes all this pains because he knows it is in our power to save or damn our selves and he earnestly desires our Salvation Did we ever duly consider are we able to comprehend the mistery of our Redemption where the Almighty exerts all his omnipotence to shew the greatness of his Love to our souls and with what earnestness he desires our salvation Could we ever have imagin'd that God should become man to the end that men might be saved Yet this he hath done and not content with this wondrous miracle he goes yet farther to engage us to love him he passes a Life of three and thirty years in poverty and sufferings and he subjects himselfe to a cruel Death Such a value doth God set upon our souls that nothing less than the sufferings the blood the Life of this God and man could redeem them and shall we think it a small matter to loose them Shall we think that we do too much when God thought nothing too much to purchase our happiness Let us rather conclude that we can never do enough What does he get by our Salvation yet what could he do more then he hath done Is not all the profit ours why then do we do so little for it How many are now raging and despairing for having neglected to do what I may do if I will and which if I neglect now I shall one day feel the same regrett as they Can we have a more powerful motive to excite us to set about it without delay and to pursue it continually Blessed be God we may yet work out our Salvation we have yet time God offers us his Grace these very thoughts proceed from that Grace but this may perhaps be the last moment wherein it will be offer'd us Our Eternal happiness for ought we know our Predestination may depend on this one important moment I am certain that I may make my Salvation sure at present if I turn sincerely and heartily to God I have at least great reason to doubt that if I let slip this occasion I shall never have a nother and can I wilfully deferr one moment Shall the Devil take more pains to destroy our souls then we will take to preserve them shall he value our souls at an higher rate then we do our selves The comparison is shameful but too true tho his nature be much nobler then ours and his pride so great yet he stoops to any thing that can ruine a soul he never gives over the greatest resistance never weary's him or renders him less diligent in assaulting us he cunningly makes use of every little occasion to destroy us Good God! must we learn of him how to prize our souls
A SPIRITUAL RETREAT FOR ONE DAY IN EVERY MONTH By a Priest of the Society of Jesus Translated out of French In the Year 1698 THE PREFACE THE design of publishing this Book is to furnish all sorts of Christians with an easy method of Retreat especially such whose business will not afford them leisure for an Annual Retreat of eight or ten Days together It is hoped that the facility of making these Retreats will render them more usual and ther fore for the help of those who being wholly strangers to these pious Exercises stand in need of more particular directions you will find some Chapters in the beginning of the Book and before the Meditations of the necessity of Retreat and of the methods of doing it well The Body and principal part of the Book consists of meditations on the great Truths of our Holy Religion In which I have endeavour'd to choose the most proper subjects and to put them in such an order and treat them so at large as may render them most capable of making a due impression on those who attentively and seriously consider them And because our design in these Retreats ought to be to prepare our selves by a true change of Life for an happy Death I have repeated the Meditation of Death every month and have added a new exercise of Preparation for it which may be very useful if we put it in practise with such dispositions as it requires And to render it more easy I have been very particular in specifying the Sentiments we ought to entertain and in inserting the most suitable Prayers to inspire those Sentiments The last Part contains Christian Reflections upon different subjects to supply the place of those Considerations whic are proposed in other Books of Spiritual Retreat for private Reading and entertainment In the number variety of which Reflections every Reader will find some thing profitable according to his state and disposition A TABLE THE PREFACE CHAP. I. OF Spiritual Retreat p. 1 CHAP. II. Of the great importance of making one Days Retreat every Month 9 CHAP. III. Of the dispositions in which we must be to make the Retreat with profit 21 CHAP. IV. How we are to spend the Day in Retreat 27 A MEDITATION to prepare for Retreat 37 JANUARY JULY I. MEDITATION Of Mans End 50 II. MEDITATION Of the means that which are given us to attain our ultimate End 65 III. MEDITATION Of the Sentiments we shall have at the hour of Death 75 OF PREPARATION for Death 102 FEBRUARY AUGUST I. MEDITATION Of the importance of Salvation 133 II. MEDITATION Of the Motives which we have to apply our selves continually to the business ef our Salvation 148 III. MEDITATION Of the Sentiments we shall have at the hour of Death 158 MARCH SEPTEMBER I. MEDITATION Of the small number of those that are saved 159 II. MEDITATION Of Sin 175 III. MEDITATION Of the Sentiments we shall have at the hour of Death 189 APRIL OCTOBER I. MEDITATION That we ought not to delay our Conversion 190 II. MEDITATION Of the good use of Time 205 III. MEDITATION Of the Sentiments we shall have at the hour of Death 215 MAY NOVEMBER I. MEDITATION Of the un willingness of most Christians and the insincerity of their desires to be saved 216 II. MEDITATION Of Lukewarmness 231 III. MEDITATION Of the Sentiments we shall have at the hour of Death 244 JUNE DECEMBER I. MEDITATION Of Hell 245 II. MEDITATION Of the Fruits of pennance 262 III. MEDITATION Of the Sentiments we shall have at the hour of Death 275 CHRISTIAN REFLECTIONS Which may serve for matter of Consideration every Day of Retreat 276 Of Salvation 276 Of the importance of Salvation 277 Of our indifference for Salvation 278 Of the false pretences of worldly men about Salvation 280 Of the facility of Salvation 282 Of the ill use of the means of Salvatéon 283 Of want of Faith 285 Of the thoughts of Hell 286 Of a miserable Eternity 286 Of the pretended Conversion of the Imperfect 292 Of the false Idea which many frame to themselves of virtue 294 Of the little progress we make in Virtue 295 Of the proper Virtues for every condition 296 Of the World 298 Of the confidence we ought to have in the merits of Christ 304 Of our indifference to please God 305 Of Confession 307 Of Private Friendships 310 Of the happiness of a Religious Life 313 Of the confidence we ought to have in the merits of Jesus-Christ present in the Eucharist 318 Of true fervour 319 Of voluntary Poverty 322 Of Aridity in the exercises of Piety 321 Of the facility with which we engage our selves in the world 322 Of the false Idea's which we have of holiness 324 Of the Sanctity proper to every Station 326 Of small Faults 327 Of Fidelity in little things 332 Of the source of our Imperfections 333 Of the false complaisance which we have for others 335 Of exactness 336 Of the Artifices of Selfe Love 337 Of the tender Love of God to those who serve him 338 How farr we are to imitate virtuous men 341 Of insensibility proceeding from careleness 342 Of the thoughts of Death 344 Of our condescension to the Imperfect 545 Of natural inclinations to Virtue 346 Of true Zeal 347 Of sincerity in the Service of God 348 Of submission of our Wills 350 Of the Love of Christ 351 THE END OF THE TABLE NOs infrascripti Sacrae Facultatis Parisiensis Doctores Theologi testamur nihil esse in hac traductione libri tui titulus Retraite spiuituelle pour un jour chaque mois aut fidei aut pietati dissonum Datum Parisiis die 22. Julii 1700. JOANNES INGLETON THOMAS WITHAM FIDEM facio testimonium hoc cui subscripserant Magistri Joannes Ingleton Thomas Witham ejus esse authoritatis ut ei facile credatur secure ambo sunt Angli in Facultate Parisiensi Doctores Pii eruditi quorum Chirographum hic appositum probe novi Die Augusti prima 1700. PIROT A SPIRITUAL RETREAT FOR ONE DAY IN THE MONTH CHAP. I. Of spiritual Retreat OF all pious Exercises there is none more proper to convert a soul then a spiritual Retreat And it is perhaps the onely one that is never unprofitable When every thing contributes either to pervert or distract us it is not at all strange that the most awakening Doctrines of our Religion make but a light impression But when we retire our selves from the noise and disturbance of the world when we set our selves to meditate at leisure on those great Truths which we had never seriously enough considered which appear to us then in another manner when our application enables us to penetrate the true sence of them and every thing helps to discover all their consequences it is almost impossible for us not to be affected with them Especially since this is a a Time wherein grace flows more abundantly and wherein our hearts are best dispos'd
of former Confessions chiefly to excite a true contrition in our hearts wherein in all sorts of people and even the best Christians are too often faulty We must hear Mass and receive as if were to be our last Communion and we must perform all the other exercises in the same disposition Priests should examin themselves particularly whether their Lives are suitable to the Holiness of their Character whether they celebrate with such affection as become men who are really penetrated with what they profess to believe Let them offer that adorable Sacrifice with such a fervent Devotion that this Days Mass may be an atonement for the faults they have been guilty of in all the rest and be a model of those they shall say for the future making it their great business to profit by this more than they have yet done We must be very careful to keep ourselves retir'd and to avoid every thing that can possibly distract us there us no danger of thinking the time long we shall find employment for every moment and one day so fill'd up is soon pass'd it is but a day let us make it indeed a day of retreat all the time we are not in the Church we should keep our selves shut up in our Chamber and indeed it would be well to do most of our spiritual Exercises in the Chamber unless we have conveniency of being as much retir'd before the blessed Sacrament Because this Exercise is very usefull to all sorts of men and the great est part cannot meditate I have calculated these Meditations for the greater number to that end I have made them long that they may find matter enough to take them up for an hour together that the very reading of them may be truly à Meditation and that they may be profitable Such as can meditate may make use of what part of them they find most for their purpose but these as well as the others must be very careful to avoid a fault to which most who meditate on the truths of our Religion are too subject They must not content themselves with believing them and think their work done when they are once convinced It is not enough to believe those important Truths the Devils believe as much perhaps more then we and tremble We must not stop at speculation we must reduce them to practise Our Meditations must all tend to reform us 'T is not sufficient to read and believe the Truth of what we read we must attentively consider every point and apply it to our selves We must examine its consequences and make those reflexions on them as we would do if we were on our death bed when we know we shall have little or no time left to profit by them Let this be your way of Meditation if you read do it with attention pause upon each passage that affects you most Put the question to your selfe is this true have I liv'd up to these Rules what is it they require of me for the future And then reflect seriously on the dismall consequences attending your negligence if this double discovery do not produce more fruit then your former Meditations have yet done You need not trouble your self to read the whole Meditation if one single reflection take up all the hour provided you receive good by it you have spent that hour well And the rest of the Meditation may serve you to read some other time of the day which is not absolutely allotted to some particular exercise A right consideration is very useful and therefore to be carefully perform'd It consists in reading with application the Reflections at the end of the Book you may pass lightly over those which are less suitable to you and dwell longer on such heads as you find affect you most and which are most proper for you Besides the hour usually spent after dinner in consideration it would be well to allott half an hour in the morning for Religious men to reflect on the observation of their Rules and others on the duty 's of their particular callings observing exactly wherein they have fail'd and prescribing to themselves such methods as may be most efficacious for their amendment if we cannot spate half an hour we may divide the hour of consideration one half for general reflections and the second for those that concern our particular Rules and the duty 's of our Callings And here we are always to remember that we must not content our selves in these spiritual exercises to form good designs and take strong resolutions of changing our Lives it is to no purpose to resolve though we seem to do it never so sincerely unless we likewise fix the particular means and methods by which we may effectually practise what we have resolv'd It is not our business to read much let uâ— read less and profit more we should choose to read only what is useful to us 'T is not sufficient to be able to say that we have read some spiritual discourse we must read with a design to grow better by what we read We have already observ'd that Religious persons are not hereby dispens'd from the exercises of their Community's nor even from their usual recreations but having discover'd by their Examinations the faults they are subject to in those Exercises and recreations they should begin that very Day to reap the benefit of their Retreat by beginning to correct themselves and reform those faults carrying themselves in every occasion â—s men who are already chang'd And being careful now more then ever to lift up their hearts fervently to God and beg him to preserve thâ—m from that distraction and dissipation of mind which generally accompany'is conversation The great design of this spiritual Retreat being to prepare us for Death I have compos'd a third Meditation on the sentiments we shall have in that last hour to be read in every Retreat And it being the most proper subject for the End I propos'd to my selfe I judg'd the same Meditation might be renew'd every Month. The chief benefit we are to receive by this pious Exercises being a reformation of all the faults we have discover'd in our selves since the last Retreat a more earnest longing for perfection the getting the Victory over our favourite Passion a more ardent Love to our Redeemer particularly in the adorable Sacrament and a greater exactness in all our Duty 's we are at the begining of each Retreat to propose these things to our selves as the end for which we make it And seeing it is a direct preparation for Death we are to come out of it in such a state as we would desire to be in if we were immediately to dye And we must be careful to keep our selves in the same disposition General resolutions are commonly useless and to no purpose our best way is to pitch upon some particular fault which may be the subject of our daily Examination and to regulate the means which we will every day
Order and he who has embrac'd them can never hope to be a Saint by any other means then the observation of the Rules Don't pretend that they seem of small consequence that they do noâ— bind you under pain of fin remember there is nothing little in the service of God Did you enter into Religion to seek perfection only when you were forc'd to it How will you distinguish your selfe from other Religious if it be not by exactness in your particular dutys And how will you pretend to merit supply's of grace proportionable to your necessity's if it be not by this exact observation of your Rule We need not wonder that so many Communions so many helps have no effect on us and that after all those advantages we are more lukewarm and have more reason to fear tho we seem to have made great progress 't is because we neglect the particular meanes which we have in our own hands this renders all the rest ineffectual As the best Physick do's us more harm then good when we neglect the least precautions Let not a Religious man who is careless of observing his Rule expect any benefit by his Communions Let not a worldly person who hath no care of his family who neglects the Duty 's of his particular station expect to be the better for all his pretended good works How should we like a servant that meanes never so well that do's never so many good things if he do's not his Duty And how can he do his Duty who do's not do what his Master commands Let us now reflect seriously on our conduct what use have we made of the meanes of salvation have we improv'd the particular God will not only examine and severely punish the Evil we have done but the Good we have not done when it was in our power and the good we have not done well Are we ready to give an account of our Lives immediately all the actions of our Lives should have God for their End and can we find one among them all that was done only for him Let us inquire what can be the cause that the Sacraments and the spiritual Exercises have hitherto done us so little good Let us impartially examine what use we have made of the meanes of perfection that are in our hands If we be engag'd in the world how have we discharg'd the duty 's of our condition If we be Religious or Ecclesiastiques how have we acquited our selves of our obligations and observ'd our Rule By this examination we shall be able to excite an hearty sorrow for our past faults and to make such Resolutions as may be effectual for our future amendment THIRD MEDITATION OF THE SENTIMENTS We shall have at the hour of Death FIRST POINT The sentiments of a dying man who has lead a sinful and lukewarm Lfe SECOND POINT The sentiments of a dying man who has liv'd a fervent virtuous Life FOr the better fixing your imagination and to avoid distraction suppose your selfe upon your death-bed having but a few hours to live reduc'd as you will be one day to the last extremity of weakness almost motionless continually unquiet your soul disorder'd with fear your heart already seiz'd by Death's convulsions your breath failing a cold sweat spreading its selfe over your whole body which smells already like a dead Corps your cheeks hollow your colour chang'd your hair moist with a mortal damp your eyes sunck staring frightfully leaving you only sight to disover your pitiful condition just ready to close themselves for ever Suppose your selfe abandon'd by all you lov'd in the World and upon the point of expiring in the Arms of some Domestick and unknown person Then for a second Prelude beg of God 'to assist you with his grace that you may be throwly affected with the consequences of that important moment where on Eternity depends so penetrated by it that it may make the same impression on you now as it will do when you see it approach that you may be there by incited to take the surest methods of Salvation FIRST POINT Consider how strangely a dying man is chang'd he who a few days ago was strong and in perfect health enjoying his Riches and honours and contriving great projects is all on a sudden confin'd to his bed reduc'd to extremity unable to help himselfe incapable of pleasure forc'd to abandon all to be abandon'd by all My God! what is man tho never so Rich and great since a few hours sickness are able to make him useless to all the world and render all the world of no use to him We think our selves happy when we have Riches enough to serve us many years but alas what are we the better for many years riches if we have not many years to enjoy them What is able to comfort a sinner in this miserable condition when the remembrance of past pleasures leave only a mortal regret behind them the fear of future pains makes him already begin to feel them When God and man when every thing in the world conspire to terrify and affright him How do the tears of Friends cut him to the heart and the Assistants encrease his apprehensions how sensible must the grief of his wife the tears of his Children and the hurry of his servants be to him with what fear has he recourse to desperate remedies and what a terror is it to find those remedies ineffectual And when to calm his frights his Confessor approaches can we think that the sight of him allay's his trouble he sweats is quite confounded and in this agony he is to prepare for death but is this a fit time is he in a condition to prepare when fear and trouble has weakned and clouded his Reason how can he go about it He speaks not his own thoughts or sentiments he onely repeats what he hears his Confessor say he neither knows what he says nor what he ought to say Even Jesus Christ himselfe whose presence in this last hour is the great consolation of a dying Saint visites the dying sinner only to upbraid him make him more sensible of his impiety's And indeed what benefit can he expect from the last Sacraments being so ill prepar'd to receive them With whom shall he find ease For as soon as he has receiv'd the rights of the Church his friends and Relations retire Let us now consider what his thoughts will be when the Priest only stays to present him the Crucifix inform him that there is no farther hopes of recovery that now being bereft of all Creatures Jesus Christ alone must be his refuge and consolation Jesus Christ crucifyed must be now your only hope you must seek strength in those sacred wounds against the fear of Death for they are able to soften all its rigours to swee ten its bitterness receive then Dear Brother this comfortable Object in whose Arms I leave you This is the End of all the vain
projects of all the greatness and pleasures of worldly men In what a condition is a libertine who has neglected Jesus Christ all his Life which he has spent in sin and pleasure and in an extreme carelessness of Eternity what consolation can he find now in holding a Crucifix in his hand If he has no ressemblance of a crucify'd Jesus he was never sensibly affected with the terrible verity's of our holy Religion but laugh'd at the most serious Exercises of Piety what thoughts can he have when he has nothing but a Crucifix to entertain himselfe withal He may indeed make a good use of the little time that is left but alas his weakness and feares do compose his Reason and do not leave him the Liberty that is necessary to use it well Yet the Sick man dyes and there is little hope that the prayers of the Church should give him any consolarion they are indeed full of comfort for those who dye well but what comfort can they afford a dying sinner whom every word reproaches with the disorders of his Life What terror must it be to him to hear the Priest pronounce those words Proficiscere anima Christiana de hoc mundo Christian Soul go out of the world to him who lov'd the world so much who perhaps never lov'd any thing else nor ever made one step towards Heaven Go out there is no more to do you must leave all your delights tho you be never so fond of them unwilling to quit them you would leave nothing but you must dye to all The Charitable recommandation May'st thou enter into the habitation of peace Hodie sit in pace locus tous habitatio tua in sancta Sion and may'st thou dwell in the holy peace of Sion can be no comfort to one who knows they have no reason to make that prayer for him How can be expect any benefit from that petition Miserere Domine gemituum miserere lachrymarum ejus pity O Lord his sighs and let his teares prevail with thee if his grief proceeds only from his fondness of the world and if he weeps because he is forc'd to quit it and because he can sin no longer The priest go's on Agnosce Domine Creaturam tuam non à Diis alienis creatam sed à solo Deo vivo vero Look O Lord upon thy creature made by thy selfe and not by strange Gods own the work of thy hands But if the dying man has alwayes lov'd the Creature more then his Creator if his Life has not been at all conformable to the maxims of Christ how can he be like his Saviour in this last hour what must he expect seeing he is not like him and how terrible must his apprehensions be of what is to come after Death Great God! in what a condition is a dying man torn with grief and despair without hope If he have yet his sences left every thing that presents its selfe every thing he hears is an addition to his fear trouble and when he has lost his fences when external objects can make no more impression on him then the remembrance of all his Sins of all the ill he has done of all the good he has neglected when it was in his power or which he has done ill racks and torments him more How many are his Reflections yet all to no purpose he then sees his Error but it is too late to reap any benefit by it he repents of a great many things but that repentance adds new force to his torments because he knows it will do him no good How dos he grieve for not having done his duty when he was able how do's he despair of being able to do what he has left undone he would not reflect seriously on the great Truths of the Gospell while he might have done it to good purpose now he reflects and reflects at leisure but 't is a Cruel leisure for all the fruit of those Reflections is despair rage Now he is sensible of all the disorders of his Life he is now convinc'd of his Error but it s too late Oh! what must the sentiments of a person consecrated to God be when he sees his Eternal condition ready to be decided remembers how imperfect he hath been in a state which requires so much perfection to what end did I make such a doe in leaving the world and entring into Religion Was it to follow the maximes of the world there God hath called me by his Grace to an Ecclesiasticall or Religious state have I made good use of that Grace I quitted all and chose that perfect way of Life that I might dye in peace by dying like a saint but wretched Creature that I am did I consider that an happy Death is the consequence of an holy Life How often have I taught others this doctrine O! why have I made no better use of what I taught How have I been distracted in prayer how many Masses and Communions have done me no good how often have I confess'd my sins without leaving them how many graces have I rendred useless how many good works have I lost for want of right motives O my God! why have I taken so much pains to lose my selfe have left my Relations been insensible to their tears and all their caresses surmounted so many difficulties that I might secure my salvation And by loving my ease too much by setting my heart on trivial matters which one would have been asham'd of in a secular state I have been a lukewarm Religious I am now on my death bed torn with remorse oppress'd with fear trouble and having cause to doubt positivly of my salvation Oh! 't is terrible to pay so dear for such a Death And indeed what else can be the consequence of a careless Life when we come to consider seriously as we shall certainly do then that the least grace we have abus'd was sufficient to convert an infidel yet so many of them have ve not made one good Religious or good Christian When we shall discover a multitude of faults which we took no notice of before or which through the violence of our passions and our indifference we took for small ones but which now appear to be great sins What comfort can an imperfect Religious find then Will he seek it from the saints of his Order he hath dishonour'd them by his conduct Will he seek it in his Rule he has not observ'd it Will he hope to find comfort in God he hath offended and incens'd him by serving him so ill after having receiv'd so many favours from him How dismall must his apprehensions be after an irregular Life when he reflects I have but a few hours to live If I be out of the state of Grace I am lost for ever and I have not only some reason to fear that I am not in the state of Grace which fear the greatest saints
have but cause to doubt positively that I am not In this extremity all that he hath heard of judgment of Hell Eternity come afresh in his mind affright him in a terrible manner 'T is wonderful that he who some few days ago was full of doubts and uncertaintys is now fully convinc'd of the truths which he was then so unwilling to believe Behold his fears see how he trembles and quakes at the thoughts of Death judgment We sometimes meet with men who turn the most serious exercises of Piety into Rallery and call the exactness of those fervent souls who are punctual in performing the smallest dutys of their station preciseness and weakness Let these men who imagine they have reason to censure and act thus continue to think so at this hour and mantain their character of wits to the last if they can If they were in the right let them please themselves now with calling exactness and devotion preciseness and scrupulosity They have made a false conscience to themselves under its shadow they lull themselves in a false security let rhem now maintain that imaginary systeme Alas 't is the remembrance of these very things that now drives them to despair While we are in health our passions blind us ill examples seduce us we are charm'd with present objets the hurry of business takes us up and we industriously avoid serious Reflections on the Truths of Religion even our Faith is halfe dead stifled by the corruption of our manners but at the approach of Death it revives to terrify distract us like the Faith of the Devils it makes us tremble but do's not convert us Every body is convinc'd that when Death comes we shall repent our neglect of mortification our worldly voluptuous Lives our having done so very few good works and having liv'd no better and yet which is exceeding strange after all these reflections after being fully convinc'd of them how few take pains to amend their Lives My God! how long shall we make these useful rections and yet live so unlike Christians Death makes us see clearly then our prejudices and prepossessions vanish formerly we saw but were not sensible of the vanity emptiness of every thing in the world but now we both see and feel it and wonder at our stupidity in finding it no sooner and in not discovering our double want We find we were deceiv'd and at the same time find to our unspeakable an speakable anguish that we are ruin'd by that Error and that we cannot recover what it has made us loose A Dead man is indeed a mournful but an useful sight very proper to disabuse us and to alienate our affections from the pleasures of this Life the most accomplish'd man in the World inspires horror when he is dead immediately all is silent the Corps is cover'd the Curtains drawn and every body retires where is now his beauty and good miene where is his agreeable humour what is become of all his projects great fortune you see what is the end of all But what is become of his soul what must be done with this corrupted body which begins already to grow offensive Not withstanding all its greatness notwithstanding all its charms though the most Lovely in the world every body fly's it Husband wife Children Relations Friends neighbours servants are all striving to be rid of it those who lov'd it best are most desirous to have it carried away and most uneasy to hear it spoken of It s nearest and best friends hire men to throw it to the worms they make hast to nail it up they hide it in the ground and we cannot without horrour think of its condition a few days after You are forgot as soon as bury'd every one returns to his business your Friends seek other Friends take new measures and hardly think any more of you They concern themselves no more about you then if you had never liv'd no body fears your anger nor desires your favour they often undo all you had done within a little time you are not so much as talk'd of At your Death indeed some teares may possibly be shed by your Relations and Friends for the loss of some pleasure or advantage which they expected from you teares are common but the greatest part of those teares are only grimace they will soon be comforted especially if they gain by your Death any part of your Estate falls to them We may guess what others will do for us by what we have done for others after their Death Our grief for a friend and Relation has been soon appeas'd and though they were so wretched as to have ruin'd their souls for our sakes have we thought our selves much oblig'd to them After all this can we make any great account of the world and its pleasures 'T is indeed very surprising that we think so seldom of Death but t is much more surprizing that we can think once of it and not be converted How many live as if they were sure they should never dye were to dye more then once as if they should lose nothing by dying ill or as if they could recover that loss after Death Is not this our case And what will our thought be on a Death Bed when we call to mind the reflections we now make if we reape no benefit by them SECOND POINT Consider how happy a thing it is to dye when one has liv'd well Death is the punishment of sin it can therefore be a real trouble only to those who are defil'd with sin It must needs be a subject of great joy and pleasure to those who have led a virtuous Life How can they dye unhappily since they dye saints The Death of a Righteous man saith the Prophet is precious before God consequently dear to him for one alwayes esteemes and takes care of what is precious 'T is no matter to a good man to dye destitute of all humane aid tho he dye suddenly he never dyes unprepared God takes a peculiar care of him he dyes happily because his Death is precious in the sight of his God Every thing ought to contribute to his consolation how great must his joy then be when he reflects that he has liv'd like a Christian led a penitential Life The sight of what is to come will most certainly alleviate the pains of his present condition He is now got over all the difficulties in the way to heaven fasting mortification labours austerity pennance all is over What a satisfaction is it in Death to know that the hath done all the good that was required of him and avoided the ill which he might have done especially when he thinks on the remorse of Conscience which would have tormented him if he had done otherwise The longest Life seems then but a moment from the Cradle to the Tomb what a satisfaction must it be to a dying Christian that instead of omitting he has done
fond of it there is no more world for you when you are once dead what do you carry away with you what reward do's the world give you for having been so long its slave what vexation regret and despair for having serv'd it They are truly wise who leave the world first who do not stay till it leaves them but despise it before it despises them T is a sad spectacle to see a man carried out of a great house which he had newly built or purchas'd into which he never must return more All his riches his goods and what ever he had in the world is now in the possession of another Where are all those great men who made such a bustle in the world and appear'd in such splendor They are gone they are nothing now and the world who considers men no longer than they are useful thinks no more of them they are in their graves their flesh putrify'd their bones calcin'd their whole body turn'd into dust How little do we think of those who liv'd before us unless it be to blame their actions or publish their faults And this is all the recompense we are to expect even from those whom we have most oblig'd With what satifaction would men dye if they did for God but the hundred th part of what they do for the world to no purpose My God! what benefit shall I reap by these Reflections what thoughts what anguish shall I have upon a death bed if these considerations do not make me fruitfull Am I so fully persuaded that there is no solid satisfaction but in thee and shall I seek it any where else thou onely canst make me happy both in Life and in Death The Saints were wise hated themselves and kept their body's in subjection never sparing them while they liv'd why then do not I endeavour to be wise after their Example They applaud themselves for having liv'd a mortify'd and holy Life in opposition to the maxims of the world My God! what good will these pious reflections do me if I defer my Conversion any longer I give thee hearty thanks for affording me this time to prepare for death I know that I must begin by an holy Life and Jam resolv'd to delay no longer but begin this very moment OF PREPARATION FOR DEATH SECT I. OF THE NECESSITY OF preparing for Death ALL the world agrees that no thing is of so great concern as Death that it is the most difficult thing in the world to dye well that we can never recover our selves if we dye ill yet there is hardly any thing for which men make so little preparation as for Death If we could dye twice our imprudence would not be so great we might have some hope to repaire our fault by expiating a wicked Life and an unprepar'd Death together But we can dye but once and we know that an Eternity of happiness or misery depends on that once We are not onely bound to live well saith an Eminent servant of God but much more to dye well for the most pious Life will avail nothing if it be not follow'd by an holy Death Have we labour'd for Heaven have we lead an holy Life we are so much the more concern'd to dye holily that we may not lose the fruit of our pains 'T is true an happy death is the ordinary fruit of an holy Life but 't is no less true that if we dye ill we lose all the merit of the most Exact Life and all those merits cannot secure us an happy Death Whence comes it then that we take no more care to prepare for Death then if were certain that we should never dye or that we should dye well or that we should dye more then once whence is it that we act as if we could lose nothing by dying ill or as if it were a very easy thing to dy well Can we be ignorant of the danger we run of acquitting our selves ill of what we never try'd especially when we don't know how to go about it Can we be ignorant that it is the hardest thing in the world to dye well that if we desert our preparation to a death bed we put it off to a time that is too uncertain for so great à work The work is long the time is short and very improper for a business so extremely nice and delicate so that he who waits for this time stay 's till he is a dying to prepare himselfe for Death We must therefore adds that holy man prepare our selves betimes We should begin this moment least if we delay any longer we begin too late or least the time we shall have then prove as most certainly it will altogether unfit to prepare to dye in If a good Death consisted only in receiving the last Sacraments in kissing a Crucifix or shedding a few teares our imprudence would be more tolerable but how many with all imaginable helps have dy'd miserably because they never prepar'd for death He who dyes well dyes in the state of grace he dyes truly penitent which he cannot do unless he hates sin above all things in the world will it be easy for a man who has lov'd and doted on sin all his Life and stays till death tears him by force from the occasions of it will it be easy for such a man efficaciously to resolve against it will it be an easy thing for him to make sincere acts of Contrition of faith of hope and Charity who was never us'd to them when he is oppress'd with pain and sickness his soul troubled and disorder'd at the approach of Death will it be an easy thing for him to regulate his family and his Conscience too at such a time to make a general Confession which requires so much leisure thereby repair all the faults of his past Confessions Is such a man who scarce knows what he do's in a condition to dispatch in two or three hours the most difficult work in the world which requires very much time a perfect tranquility of mind and the greatest application If we imagine it easy to dye well and with so little preparation we must condemn the Saints who took so much pains who spenr Their whole lives in preparation and yet after all were not free from a saving fear at their last hour Nay we must condemn our selves for acknowledging that they were truly wise in what they did We own that we cannot be too well prepar'd for Death O why then do we make so little preparation for it Our Redeemer forsaw our carelessness in this matter and therefore he has exhorted us more to this preparation than to any thing else Matt. 24.42 Mar. 13.35 Luke 21.35 Watch says he for you know not the hour wherein your Lord will come watch because you know neither the day nor the hour Be alway's ready and upon your guard And to let us see more clearly that this preparation is a sure way to dye well
he adds blessed is that servant whom his Lord when he cometh shall find watching ready to run and open the door as soon as he knocks This preparation is necessary for all those who desire an happy Death and it seems that God the Soveraign dispenser of all Grace has annex'd the Grace of dying well to the care we take in preparing for it This we learn by the Parable of the Virgins the Virgins who had been careful in feeding their Lamps and had prepar'd them selves before hand to meet the Bridegroom went in with him to the wedding from whence the foolish Virgins were excluded because of their negligence want of preparation This truth that we have need of preparation to dye well is universally acknowledg'd 't is for this reason that we are so afraid of sudden Death But what do's this fear produce Has it awaken'd and excited us to prepare for Death Or do we wait for our last sickness that is staying for Death to prepare to dye The wise men of the world are not so negligent in their temporal concerns do we our selves act in the same manner do we undertake any thing of importance wherein our interest our honour or our pleasure is concerned without taking our measures before hand we will not venture to speak in publick or to shew our capacity till we have taken time to prepare our selves for it and with what care and diligence do we improve prove that time If we are to shew our skill in any exercise we allwayes take some time for practise what pains did they take saith S. Paul who strove for victory in the publick games how carefully did they study all the flights necessary for their design how did they foresee the artifices their adversary might make use of to surprise them how did they avoid pleasure least it should enervate them how temperate were they in their dyet how great was their chastity for many years together And shall we who know that our Salvation that our Eternal happiness depends on the manner of our dying be less solicitous to learn to do it well we are then to engage in a terrible fight dare we venture before we have learn'd to make use of our weapons how to void being overcome how can we hope for an happy death if we de not learn to dye well if we do not so much as know what we are to learn How long shall we rely on out health and youth and on the facility of being assisted on our death beds do we know any thing more certainly then the uncertainty of that last hour who would venture his Estate upon the hopes of a long Life we may dye every moment this for ought we know may be the last day we have to live we see men dye every hour and yet we deferr to prepare for Death still we put it off to a nother time Good God! what time do we mean The time of sickness is no time of preparation we should be ready then Estote parati Matt. 24.44 Be ready says our Saviour he do's not say prepare your selves but be ready now common sence will tell us that we must prepare before we can be ready What should we think of a Captain of a ship who never enquires whether his anchors and cables be in a readiness and fit for service till he is just perishing in a violent storm what should we think of a Governour who neglects to repair the breaches of his Town and lets the magazines remain empty till he is close besieg'd and the trenches opend Death says the wiseman is a dangerous voyage we sail from time to Eternity among Rocks and tempests It is a sudden siege where our Enemy has shut us up in a moment and can we think this a fit time to prepare our selves to fight We are afraid that the thoughts of Death will disturb our joy and make us sad we deceive our selves the thoughts of Death disquiet onely those who are unprepar'd and unwilling to think of it After all our endeavours we shall never attain a solid happiness in this Life by any other means then those which conduce to an happy death He who has learn'd to dye well says a very holy man has learn'd not only to live well but to be happy for the thoughts of death are uneasy only to those who have cause to fear they shall dye ill 't is the truest subject of joy and consolation to him that knows how to dye well he who is alwayes ready to dye cannot be afraid to think of dying I could not avoid insisting on the necessity and manner of preparing for Death because the chief design of this retreat ought to be to excite a Christian to prepare to dye happily by living holily No practise of Devotion is more universally necessary then this Every body cannot fast Solitude and austerities are not equally proper for all sorts of men but every age rank and condition is able to prepare for Death nothing can be a reasonable hinderance Let us then examine how we have been hitherto prepar'd whether we do now prepare And seeing we are now convinc'd of the necessity of doing it how will our souls be rack'd with despair when we come to dye if we negiect it SECT II. OF THE MANNER HOW we must prepare to dye well 1. THe most general and most necessary Preparation is an holy Life when we begin that we ought to begin to prepare for death the whole Life of a Christian being indeed a preparation to dye well We are afraid to dye suddenly but what good will that fear do us if we put our selves under a kind of necessity to dye ill for how can a man dye otherwise who will not prepare till he is just going to expire And indeed what probability is there that a man who has liv'd ill should dye well that he should be able in two or three days to make reparation for the wickedness of a long Life When the greatest Saints after a perfect Life of many years have not yet been out of danger of dying ill But we hope the we shall have time what time A time that is no time for us a time of which we can make no use a time when the time of mercy is past But we trust in the grace of God and thus whe hazard all by supposing our selves sure of Grace which God without any injustice might have refus'd to the most perfect Saints and the son of God hath protested that they who deferr their confession to the last shall dye in their sins In peccato vestro moriemini Joh. 8.21 And the Holy Gost hath declar'd by the pen of the wiseman that when death seizes you which you put so farr from you now when distress and anguish which you did not apprehend come upon you of a sudden In interitu vestro ridebo subsanabo vos Prov. 1.26 Clamabitis ad me non exaudiam vos
an hour on Death on what we shall suffer feel and think then let us endeavour to become sensible that it is not farr off and to put on such dispositions as we shall have at its approach Let us reflect seriously on the rigour of Death how without any exception it deprives us of all things on the condition of our body 's in the grave and how soon we shall be forgotten in the world how little our Relations our Friends and acquaintance will think of us as if we had never liv'd Let us affect our selves with the vanity of all that charms us here with the folly of placing our happiness or our hopes on the Creatures Riches honors pleasures all vanish are as nothing at the sight of Death but above all let us press home the importance of dying well the danger of dying ill if we do not prepare for it betimes and that it will be to little purpose for us to put off our preparation to a Death-Bed This Meditation should produce sincere resolutions that we will immediately begin to do what when Death comes we shall wish we had done sooner and what we shall not be able to de if we deferr it till then And because external objects very much contribute to render us more recollected we may follow their Examples who make their Chambers as obscure as they can who have the representation of Death before them leaving onely just light enough to discern it Others suppose themselves ready to expire and with a Crucifix in their hands seek all their consolation from that amiable object Others hang their Chamber with mourning and endeavour by the sight of their winding sheets to represent Death approching These funeral objects have a certain mournful air which is capable of making agreat impression Our Confession must bu such as we would make if we were dying we must omitt nothing we must disguise nothing that may give us any trouble we must lay our souls entirely open that our Confessor may be as well acquainted with our interior as we are our selves We must shew him all that passes in our hearts all that God sees there and which he will one day expose to all the World if we do not prevent that terrible discovery by a full and entire Confession Hove all we must be truly contrite which is the point wherein we are oftenest deficient Say to your soul that you are working for Eternity t is not a Ceremony you are about you are now to blot out all your past fins to do this work in such a manner that you may be in no need of doing it again were you immediately to dye Examine your selfe carefully on these Articles the restitution of your neighbours goods the reparation of his honour blasted by your censures the example you have given the repidity and slothfulness of your Life your Enmity's and hatreds your want of godly sorrow of sincerity and of resolutions of amendment in your Confessions the sins of your youth those which your interest hath made you commit the ill habits in wich you have indulg'd your selfe the dangerous engagements you would not break the next accafions of sin which you would not avoid the darling passion the beloved sin which men hardly ever mortify which is the source of all their disorders your inordinate Love of pleasure your wilful ignorance of the duty 's of your station your abusive and scandalous railleries the ill use of the Sacraments of time of Grace If you be Religious search into the violation of your vows your carelessness indischarging the particular duty 's of your Calling These are the things which do generally disturb us on a Death-bed and make our Salvation doubtful when restitution reparation of honour to those we have aspers'd when quitting the occasions of sin reconciling our selves to our Ennemies precede our Confession it is the best sign that our sorrow and resolutions are sincere We should look upon this days communion as the Viaticum and imagine that we hear the Priest when he puts the blessed Host into our Mouths says Accipe viaticum Frater corpus Domini nostri Jesu Christi c. Receive Dear Brether the precious body and blood of Jesus Christ your Saviour to be your viaticum in your passage to Eternity The Acts following the Communion must be suitable to the condition of a dying Christian which we shall not be able to make when we are indeed expiring Having regulated our Consciences let us then put our temporal affairs in order as if we were going to dye Fac Testamentum tuuÌ„ dum sanus es dum sapiens es dum tuus es Make your will saith Saint Augustin while you are yet in health while you have your sences free while you are Master of your Time of your selfe In your last sickness continues the same Father you will be exposed to so many flatteries â— In inâ—mitat blanditiis minis duceris ubi tu non vis importunities and surprises that it will not be your will but the will of those about you Besides your time will then be too precious and too short to spend any of it in worldly matters but you must be careful not to forget your selfe while you provide for others you forget your selfe if you give nothing to the Poor Let the remainder of the Day be employed in good works in a profound solitude and recollection and in reading some spiritual Book that treats of Death Father Colombiere's three discourses on that subject are admirable and may be very useful if we peruse them carefully Or else we may read the foregoing Meditation on the sentiments which we shall have at the hour of Death Let us pass one hour in consideration on the duty 's of our private station especially on those particulars which may trouble us on a Death hed and we may reap great benefit by being attentive to the prayers of the Church for dying persons either in the administration of the Sacrament of extreme unction or in the Recommendation of the soul to God It is evident that we ought to debarr our selves all manner of conversation during the whole Day we must speak only to our Director unless we visit some poor sick or dying person not only to comfort and assist them but also to raise in our selves a more lively image of what we shall be one day We must close the Day with a Meditation on Judgment on the different conditions of a fervent and alukewarm soul going to appear befor God The chief fruits of this Christian practise are these we must be perfectly wean'd from every thing of which we know Death will deprivus to which we must add an exceeding horror of all mortal sin Reformation of our Lives and a sincere desire to lay up a treasure of merits by the practise of virtue and Good works SECT III. PRAYERS AND Ejaculations to help us to dye well THe time of our last sickness
and do we stand in need of his Example to excite us seriously to work out our Salvation Is nor all that thou hast done sufficient must we search for new arguments to convince us of the worth of a soul for which thou hast paid so so great a price Thou hast redeemed me o Divine Saviour I am thine by a double title and am resolv'd that nothing in the world shall hinder my giving my selfe wholly to thee without reserve SECOND POINT Consider how much Gods peculiar care of us obliges us to concurr with him to secure our Salvation shall God himselfe act for us as if he had nothing else to do as if he could not be happy without us And shall we stand in need of a more powerful motive to excite us to diligence How do's his infinite wisdom improve every moment from our births to make us love him How admirarable is the conduct of his Providence in bringing about our Salvation Do we count it a small Grace that we are born of Christian Parents when so many are born of Infidels Is it a small Grace to be educated in the bosom of the Church out of which perhaps we should have still continued if we had been bted in Error How great a mercy was it to have a good instructor in my youth a companon who set me a good example a good Friend to advise me We look on these things as common Accidents but we shall one day see that the hand of Providence dispos'd them all We afflict our selves for the loss of a friend for the death of a Relation we are quite dejected with Poverty our want of capacity disturbs us and we are troubled to find our selves so little considered in the world while perhaps these very things are the cause of our conversion and we shall one day find that we owne our Salvation to these seeming misfortunes Most men have been in some dangers or sick perhaps to extremity God who saw we should certainly be lost if we dyed then being desirous to save us hath given us more time we have read some pious discourse only to pass away the time and have found our hearts touch'd by it how many happy occasion have we met with which tho wholly unforeseen were very proper to promote Gods designs in our conversion One inspiration one sudden thought one word spoken without design is frequently the first occasion of great Conversions If we have the honour to be consecrated to the immediate service of God let us call to mind all the circumstances of our vocation and we shall find them so many miracles of Providence that we should come to such a place at such a time and in such company that when we thought our selves most wedded to the world we found our selves on a sudden weaned from it that the numerous examples of worldings did not allure us nor the love of our Friends retain us that we were not discourag'd by the austerity's of a life which appeard so terrible but that we had resolution enough to surmount all rhese obstacles Nothing but grace could inspire this generous resolution to a person weary of the world tir'd out with Crosse and terrify'd with the thoughts of approaching Death but in the heat of youth when the world appears most charming when we are most eager in the pursuit of pleasures when the hopes of a long Life and the prospect of making a great fortune suggest other thoughts what is a miracle if such a conversion be not But whence proceed these pious sentiments at a time when I deserve them so little whence is it that among so many who would have been better then I God hath inspir'd me only with this thought And if others have entertain'd the same sincere desires have had much greater merits whence is it that they are not chosen how comes it that if they were chosen they did not persevere that God perhaps hath suffer'd them to fall back that I might take their place Add to these distinguishing favours all the inspirations and powerful assistances with which he prevents us daily and if all these visible proofs of his singular care of us do not prevail with us to love and serve him without any reserve we must be certainly the most ungrateful wretches living and deserve the severest and most immediate vengeance These are great subjects of meditation which require frequent and serious reflexions they are the sensible effects of Gods particular Providence which continually watches over us They are the visible marks of his singular Love in preferring us to so many others and nothing is so capable of exciting in us a lively faith a firm confidence an invincible resolution and ardent Love to him And yet perhaps there are some who never thought of it My God! how do we employ our thoughts How can we neglect these comfortable important Truths surely it would be impossible to delay setting about the great work of Salvation if we did seriously reflect on what God hath done and continues to do every day for us No wonder the Devil employs all his cunning to prevent our meditating on these things he knows how very proper they are to inspire a sincere desire of serving God but we are inexcusable to pass so slightly over and be so little affected with these pressing motives to endeavour after perfection in our several stations Let us examine whether we have faithfully concurr'd with the Grace of God and whether we have comply'd with his designs in taking so much care of our Salvation Let us examine wherein we have been negligent and penetrated with this wonderful goodness of God who is so desirous to make us Saints let us deferr no longer let us immediately correspond with his will who seeks our good and resolve on such measures as will make our Resolutions effectual Then we shall reap the fruit of this meditation and of this Day 's retreat if we be careful to pursue our Resolutions and not suffer them to be as so many have already been without effect THIRD MEDITATION OF THE SENTIMENTS we shall have at the hour of Death SEE THE THIRD MEDITATION For the month of January MARCH SEPTEMBER FIRST MEDITATION OF THE SMALL NVMBER of those that are saved FIRST PONINT Our Faith teacheth us that but few shall be saved SECOND POINT Our Reason convinces us that hut few shall be saved FIRST POINT COnsider that then umber of those who shall be saved is very small not only in comparison of above two thirds of mankind who live in infidelity but even in comparison of that vast multitude who are lost in the true Religion There are few doctrines of our Faith more clearly reveal'd than this Strive to enter in at the strait Gate saith our Saviour for wide is the Gate and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction and many there be that go in thereat but strait is the Gate narrow is the way that leadeth to Life
disposing our selves to fall in to mortal Sin of indulging our selves in those irregularity's which are often the ginning of the Reprobation of many who appear'd eminent for Piety Consider what are our thoughts of venial Sins have we fully resolv'd in all our confessions to mend them for it is much to be feard that by frequent confessing the same venial Sins we too oftenrender our confessions at best useless for want of contrition Let us no longer look upon them as little things there are but few things that we ought to fear so much Let us examine our selves strictly accordingly regulate our practise THIRD MEDITATION OF THE SENTIMENTS We shall have at the hour of Death SEE THE THIRD MEDITATION For the month of January APRIL OCTOBER FIRST MEDITATION THAT WE OVGHT NOT to delay our Conversion FIRST POINT If we delay our Conversion we thereby put our selves into an evident danger of being never converted SECOND POINT If we delay our Conversion we thereby put our our selves under a kind of necessity of being never converted FIRST POINT COnsider that there is no Christian who has not some time or other desir'd to turn sincerely to God there are certain happy moments wherein by an inward light we discover on a sudden so many faults in Creatures we find so little solidity in every thing on the earrh and are so disgusted with what seem'd most charming that we cannot avoid confessing that to neglect the service of God is the highest degree of madness Our Reason is convinc'd but our passions are too strong and wehave not resolution enough to oppose them there fore self-Love finds an expedient to flatter both it satisfy's our Reason by persuading us to resolve on Conversion and pleases our sloth by engaging us to deferr it and to retain our former habits but here it apparentiy deceives us for this delay puts us in to an evident danger of never being convetted Time Grace and a willing mind are necessary to Conversiow if we put it off but for one day how can we promise our selves that one day if we have that Day are we sure that we shall be more willing to improve it And who hath told us that we shall then be assisted with amore efficacious graee than that which we have hitherto resisted Is any thing more uncertain than Time how many have been surpris'd by Death while they were deliberating And would it not be a dismall thing to dye full of designs for a future Conversion We think it is not now a fit Time to quit our dangerous conversations to avoid the occasions of sin to reform our Lives and to live more retir'd more like Christians alas what time would we have we are for staying till the heat of youth is past till age and experience have disabus'd us ' as to those triffles which take us up now and then every thing will contribute to our conversion Thus the greatest part of mankind argue about their projects of conversion for no man pretends to dye unconverted but do they reason well do we find many of these Resolvers converted before they dye We accept saith S. Augustin their pennance who deferr their conversion to the end of their Lives but we make no great account of such conversions No my Brethren adds that great Saint I dare not deceive you and therefore must declare that we make no great account of them We refuse to be converted now what grounds have we to believe that we shall be more willing here after If we find difficulties now we shall meet with greater then they increase with our passions which will then be stronger and instead of youthful amusements which take up our Time now we shall then find that multitude of business will be a greater hindrance Do not flatter your selves that you may be converted at any time who has told you that you shall at all times be capable of conversion If we refuse to be converted when God invites us now when our ill habits are but weak few can we reasonably expect to be able to do it here after when they are multiply'd and grown inveterate God will be weary of waiting his sollicitations will diminish as our resistance of his Grace encreases so that we are forc'd to own that we run the greatest hazard in the woild by delaying and yet we are not a fraid to venture Was it ever heard that a condemne'd malefactor was unwilling to receive his pardon desir'd it might be deferr'd to another Time God offers us his Friendship he tenders his pardon to us and we are unwilling to have it yet we desire him to stay till we are in humour to receive it He sollicites us and we bid him keep his Love for another Time would we treat the last of men thus and how should we resent this usage our selves Every man promises him selfe Time for Conversion if Jesus-Christ had promis'd us with an Oath that we should have notice of his coming we could not live in greater security than we do thô we know that he hath sworn the direct contrary Did ever any Merchand when he had found an opportunty of recovering all his losses put it off to another Time and deferr the securing his fortune till the next day Would not we think a man distracted who being dangerously sick should desire his Physician not to visit him till five ot six Day hence Am not I with all my pretensions to wisdom this distracted man when I delay my Conversion one Day I am out of favour with God my soul is dangerously ill the most efficacious remedy's do me no Good my sickness encreases God sollicites and beseeches me to be cur'd he desires onely my consent and I refuse his offer Has not the Son of God prevented all our excuses and all our false pretences by declaring that he will come when we are not aware of him this is not only the Counsell of a wise and knowing friend it is the decision of the Lord of Life and Death who knows the time in which he designs to call us Let our designs and projects be never so well laid Death will come when we least expect it Did we ever see a man dye were we ever dangerously ill our selves without resolving to turn to God and yet we are still unconverted Our last sickness will put us on the same resolutions but how can we be sure they will be more sincere than the former and why should we think that God will accept them Men tremble when they find themselves in danger of losing their Lives or Estates is it nothing to loose our souls by remaining unconverted If the loss of a soul be so small a matter why did Jesus-Christ do and suffer so much to redeem it My God! thou desirest not the Death of a sinner thou desirest his Conversion so that it is my own fault if I be not converted Am I unwilling and how can I pretend to be
when we desire to succeed in any worldly business What a difference is there between a man following his business or his study and the same man working out his Salvation Were we as earnest for heaven as we are for honours and Riches we should soon be great Saints for we cannot be rich if we will but we may be be Saints if we will We are not contented to make use of all necessary means to obtain our temporal ends we employ even those that are not necessary and we justify all this care and pains by saying that we would not have any neglect to reproach our selves do we observe this maxim in the business of our soul shall we have nothing to reproach our selves on a Death bed If we do not design to be saved why do we make use of any means if we de design it why do we not make use of all is it not because some are more difficult than others but to what purpose do we practise onely those that are easy since they are all necessary Are we ignorant that he who do's not do all he ought to be saved is no more advanc'd than of he had done nothing Do we think some few and doubt ful means sufficient in a business of consequence And would we venture its success upon such means as common experience has found very improper for a business of that nature certainly the business of Salvation is a business of consequence Jesus-Christ hath declar'ed that he will have all or nothing that he will accept no divided heart there is no medium they who are not absolutely for him are against him Yet notwithstanding we all know this lukewarmness tepidity this divided heart is the cararacter of most Christians at this day Thus we live but did any of the Saints sanctify himselfe by such a Life Do not we our selves doubt of the Salvation of those who dye in such a State What shall we think of our condition if we don't take other measures after all these Reflections can we reasonably expect to be saved And that which makes our danger yet more visible is that our Lives are a manifest contradiction to our Faith and yet we do not mind it we are convinc'd that it is necessary to Salvation to believe the mistery of the Trinity and of the Eucharist notwithslanding all the difficulties that sence reason suggest because God hath reveal'd them but hath not the same God declared that he who will be saved must abhorr the maxims of the world that he mâ—st bear the cross daily ad must make use of those very means which I neglect wedurst not pretend a desire of Salvation if we refus'd to believe the least tittle of what Christ requires us to believe in order to be saved how then can I pretend that I desire to be saved if I practise onely some part of the means which he hath clearly told were absolutely necessary to Salvation But our Religion is too sincere not to condemn this contradiction between our Faith and manners it teaches us that God requires all or nothing surely he deserves very little if he do's not deserve all it would be better for us to give him none than not to give him all such a division is exceeding injurious to him for infine we carry our selves thus only to those whom we neither respect nor fear God abhorrs this conduct he hates tepidity more than coldness and therefore cannot endure to be serv'd by halves Absolute perfection is not necessary but our Saviour commands every one efficaciously to seek perfection in his station do not object that the number of these men of good will is so very small that if this be true there will be but few saved who can doubt of it after what Christ hath told us of the small number of the Elect Do we see many who love God with all their hearts how can we pretend that we are sinceeely desirous of Salvation while we do not obsewe this first and great Commandment while we make use onely of some meanes and neglect the rest while we satisfy our selves with some pretended good works of our own choosing and indulge our selves in our belov'd passion which is a continual Source of Sin I see now my God that I have not been truly willing that I have hitherto deceiv'd my selfe with a false desire which hath kept me in ignorance of the greatness of my danger but I am now resolv'd sincerly to be saved at anyrate And I have some grounds to believe that I am truly willing but it is thy grace my Dear Saviour that must render my desire efficacious I hope for it through thy mercy I am convinc'd of the necessity of using all the means this conviction hath dispos'd me to do whatever thou commandest Paratum cor meum Deus paraâ—um cor meum Ps 56.9 command now whatever thou pleasest 〈◊〉 will make no difficulty I will obey without any reserve SECOND MEDITATION OF LVKEWARMNESS FIRST POINT There is no state more dangerous than a Lukewarm state SECOND POINT It is harder to recover out of a Lukewarm state than from any other FIRST POINT COnsider that by a lukewarm State is meant a certain disposition of the Soul in which it contents its selfe with avoiding heinous sins but takes little care to avoid small faults it is negligent in spiritual duty 's its prayers are distracted its confessions without amendment its communions without fervour and without fruit it is unfaithful to the divine grace and sins without fear or remorse Such a soul grows indifferent to the greatest virtues and soon after disgusted with them its affections languish in the service of God so that the yoak of Christ seems heavy insupportable its thoughts are distracted so very little taken up with God or its selfe that it fuffers them to rove after every object it dares not retire in to its selfe because it can find no peace there In this condition it makes no scruple of exposing its selfe to the occasions of Sin if it do's any good 't is only by fiâ—s if it performs any duty 's 'tis only out of custom and provided is keeps some measures and avoids the reproaches of those of whom it stand in awe it is not at all sollicitous to please God whom it offends almost by every action It makes no difficulty of committing all sorts of venial Sins with deliberation it performs with reluctancy and uneasiness those devotions which it cannot avoid it enterrains an aversion for pious Christians because their vertue is an uneasy reproach to it it takes pleasures onely in the imperfect because their actions countenance its carelessness Hence proceed those pernicious friendehips to which so many pretended Friends ow their ruine those insipid rallerys on Christian exactness whereby they stiffle the small remainders of their fervour they are no sooner in this wreched state of Lukewarmness but they frame to themselves a false Conscience
that none enter into heaven but those who do violence to themselves and yet we pretend to enter there without mortification The Life of man upon the earth is a perpetual warfare for S. Paul telles us that the desires of the flesh arc contrary to the desires of the Spirit and the desires of the spirit are contrary to those of the flesh how then can we hope to be victorious without the practise of Pennance We please our sensual appetites in every thing we are careful of our body 's even to excess we follow blindly our natural inclinations and in this condition we live without fear in the midst of the world where we are expos'd to the greatest dangers Certainly either we are of a different nature from the rest of mankind or the Devil stands in awe of us and respects us or we are confirm'd in Grace or else we are in danger which is much more probable to dye in our Sins Do's heaven cost the most fervent and generous souls so much and can we expect that the lazy and imperfect should gain it with less pains Saint Paul chastis'd his body he joyn'd a continual pennance to the cruell persecutions he suffered for fear of being perverted himselfe while he converted others And shall men who dare not pretend to be any thing near as perfect as S. Paul imagine that they have no need to practise mortification Were the Saints more frail than we Did they expect another recompense Did they follow another guide or serve another Master Their lives were a continual mortification are ours like them And can we call our selves the Disciples of Christ while we neglect to do pennance Our Saviour says if any man will come after me let him deny himselfe and bear his Cross daily True mortification is inseparable from true piety not only because no virtue can subsist long without a constant and generous mortification but also because no virtue is real that is not attended with it We have great reason to distrust our exercises of piety our good works every thing is to be suspected in those whose passions are strong who are unmortify'd It do's not seem that we are afraid of the difficulty we dislike the motive for what do we not suffer in the service of the world Alas if God requir'd of his servants all that the world exacts of those who serve it I am afraid he would have but few servants How to we constrain our selves every day to please those whom our Interest requires us to manage what mortification so severe and so continual as a Courtiers a Merchants intent upon his trade a Soldiers or a scholars Yet they are not dis courag'd they seem satisfy'd amydst all their sufferings but when God calls upon us to constrain our selves a little every thing is uneasy we find his yoak heavy virtue frights us we are disgusted and the sole thought of mortification makes us loose courage But oh we shall have other thoughts on a death bed when the image of Jesus-Christ crucifyed is presented to us will not the sight of it have a quite contrary effect it will upbraid our delicacy and increase our regret for having lead so lazy so sensual a Life for having neglected pennance and mortification They present a Crucifix to the dying but my God! do all the dying find much comfort in contemplating a crucifix at their Death is it possible my dear Jesus that the mortification which thou hast render'd so easy should seem hard and insupportable only when we are to practise it in conformity to thy example and for Love of thee Oh! my God! what should I do if thou hadst requir'd of thy servants if I were bound to do and suffer as much for salvation as I do and suffer to ruine my selfe thou requirest less than the world do's less than I do and suffer in its service and shall I refuse to do and suffer what is absolutely necessary for salvation what I have deserv'd by my offenses and what all the blessed Spirits in heaven have done and suffer'd that they might imitate thee God forbid that I should glory in any thing but in the Cross of our Lord Jesus-Christ Absit mihi gloriari in nisi in cruce Domini nostri Jesu Christi per quem mihi mundus crucifixus est ego mundo Gal. 6.14 by whom the world is crucify'd to me and I unto the world SECOND POINT Consider that by the fruits of pennance is meant not only macerating our body's but chiefly the mortification of our passious and the Reformation of our Lives these are indeed the fruits which God expects from our Contrition and pennance by these marks we may know whether we have made good use of the Sacraments and whether we be truly sorry for our Sins and faithful to the Grace of God The Exercises of Devotion the frequentation of the Sacrements and the practise of good works are powerful means of perfection but while we retain our former passions with these powerful means while we are as proud as impatient as peevish as envious as difficult to be pleas'd as cholerik as unmortify'd as ful of selfe Love as before can we reasonably rely on these pretended exercises of Piety Mortification of the body is an exercise of Pennance but that pennance must have its fruit which consists in suppressing our passions in regulating our inclinations and in repairing the disorders of self-Love To what purpose do we confess so often if in a whole years time we have not perhaps reformed any one of the faults that we confess its is not enough for us to detest our Sins we must resolve to commit them no more and how can that resolution be sincere if we do not likewise resolve to avoid the least occasion of Sin The execution of this resolution is properly the fruit of pennance In good earnest if we know the efficacy of this Sacrament of pennance only by the fruits we find of it in our selves should we have an high Idea of it It is much to he feared that our using our selves by an unaccountable carelesness and especially by want of contrition to reap no profit by the Sacrament will render our disease incurable A Religious Life is a continual pennance but is there no danger of its being unfruitful What a miserable thing would it be for a Religious to have done penance so long without any fruit And what fruit can an unmortify'd Religious who is of a worldly spirit lukewarm and careless receive from all his pennance He is very much in the wrong who bears the Cross and will not tast the fruits of it he would not suffer more nay he would suffer much less for those fruits are ful of true sweetness It is certain that every body has very much to suffer in this life we shall meet with Crosses every where they who live most at their ease are not exempted let us at least bear them patiently let us unite
our sufferings with the sufferings of Christ this will not augment them but it will make us reap fruit by them Another fruit of pennance is a constant practise of mortification My God! what fruit may we not gather from this practise Every thing in the world may give us an opportunity to curb our inclinations there is no place no time improper for it without deviating from the rules of good sence Let him who loves Jesus-Christ truly make a good use of these little occasions have we a great desire to see any object or to speak in some particular occasion we may reap great benefit by casting down our Eyes and holding our thoughts If we have an opportunity to gain applause by saying something very seasonably or by some witty piece of rallery we have also an opportunity of making a great Sacrifice There is scarce an hour where in some subject of mortification do's not present it selfe are we sitting or standing we may choose an uneasy seat or a painful posture without seeming to affect it In fine the inconveniences of the place of the season the disagreableness of the company born so that we seem not to mind them are indeed little occasions of mortification but the mortification its selfe is not little in these small occasions It is very meritorious and I may say that the greatest graces and the most sublime holiness commonly depend upon a generous constant mortification in these small matters A punctual performance of the duty 's of our community an exact observation of our Rule a conformity to the common way of living in every thing without any regard to our inclinations our employements or our Age are precious fruits of a mortification so much the more considerable as it is less subject to vanity and more conform'd to the Spirit of Christ These are the true fruits of pennance what hinders our bearing abundance of them But there is another fruit of penance yet more necessary and without which all the rest will avail us little for Eternity and that is the Reformation of our manners the victory over our dominering passion Let us observe what passion is most powerful which habit is strongest to what sin we are most subject which is in some manner the source of all the rest and of all the false maximes we frame to our selves in matter of Conscience All other fins may be strangers to us but the domineering passion is our proper caracter the fruit of a true conversion is to retrench our reigning vice to conceive an holy detestation of that imperious passion to fight against it without ceasing The Victory over this Sin alone will deliver us from the strongest temptations but we willingly attack our other sins and commonly spare this and this is the true cause of our receiving so little benefit by our penance My God! what do we stay for to become fruitful thou hast cultivated us with so much care we are planted in a ground watered with thy tears and precious blood how long shall we be unfruitful what do we get by bringing forth only thorns we feel their points but we receive no benefit by our pain because we fly from the Cross I am resolv'd my Dear Saviour to neglect nothing that I may not live such a barren Life I can do nothing without thy Grace I can do all things with it since thou givest me this Time for penance suffer me not to abuse it any more My God I am resolv'd to begin this moment to bring forth fruits worthy of pennance THIRD MEDITATION OF THE SENTIMENTS We shall have at the hour of Death SEE THE THIRD MEDITATION For the month of January CHRISTIAN REFLECTIONS WHICH MAY SERVE for matter of Consideration for every day of Retreat OF SALVATION ARe we fully convinc'd of the great Truths of our Religion If we do not believe them we do too much but if we do believe what we profess we do not do enough Dare we say that the Saints did more than was needful tho at the end of their Lives when mens judgments are most impartial they were troubled for having done no more How different are our Lives from theirs Do we indeed walk in the same way with them Do we govern our selves by the same Rules and yet we pretend to arrive at the same place Good God! have not we reason to fear that we are out of the way We admire the wisdom of the Saints for practising what they believed but how little do's our practise agree with our belief And shall we have cause to applaud our selves on a Death-bed for our past Lives Of the importance of Salvation What is this Salvation of which we talk so much this soul this Eternity Is it true that I am sent into the world onely to secure it is it true that I am undone if I do not secure it tho I should gain the whole world is it true and do I indeed believe that the business of my Salvation is the greatest business I can have That it is indeed my only business That nothing else deserves my care that this requires all my applicerion and alone depends on it if I do not believe this I am lost for ever and if I do believe it do not I deserve to be severely punish'd for my indifference which degenerates into a downright contempt of Salvation do I apply my selfe to this great business am I much concern'd about it And what ground have I to hope for success while I take so little pains should not I conclude a man ruin'd if he minded his temporal business no more than I do this difficult this important business of Salvation Of our indifference for Salvation Our indifference for Salvation is so great that we must own that of all our affaires we neglect this most and lay it least to heart Whence proceeds this unaccountable indifference for Eternal happiness God gave us our lives only to think on it he judg'd them all little enough to succeed in it Death for ought we know is very near us what part of our Life have we spent in this important business How few years how few days nay how few hours have we devoted to it Have we the confidence to reckon those we spend in the Church with so much distraction and voluntary irreverence Alas have we made any great progress in those hours Can we have the face to mention the little time we have given to hasty prayers without devotion to Confessions without sorrow and without Reformation to Communions without fruit or to a few pretended good works which we have lost by doing them upon natural or which were corrupted by bad motives We are so taken up with superfluous cares and worldly business that we can spare but a little Time to think of our Salvation and we grudge the little time we spend in thinking of it What reason can we give for such an unreasonable couduct unless we will own that it proceeds from want
to ask if his Master means him Tu dixisti Matt. 6.64 Christ conceals it no longer but this answer which should have fill'd him with confusion makes no impression on his hardned heart he hears coldly that terrible threatning from his Saviours Vae homini illi per quem Filius hominis tradetur Matt. 26.24 mouth Woe to that mâ—â— by whom the Son of man shall be betrayed remains insensible Jesus condescends to wash his feet to give himselfe to him in the communion to exhort and threaten him yet nothing moves him nothing can stop him he goes out and puts his impious design in execution and accomplishes his black and malicious ingratitude by a treacherous kiss How should we tremble at the thought of this insensibility It is the most dreadful of judgments and so much the more dreadful in that it is not perceiv'd by those who lye under it The surest mark that we are not in that state is a fear least we should be in it nothing is so difficult as to convert those who are not sensible of their want of Conversion Of the thoughts of Death The thought of death is a most powerful argument to convince us of the vanitys of this Life we shall easily be disgusted with the empty pleasures of the would its imaginary honors and its false Riches for which we weary our selves if we seriously reflect where they all end in a winding sheet in a Coffin in a grave in worms and dust there are the end of all humane Pride and greatness Form as many vast projects as you please rely upon your wisdom friends and Riches you must quit them all whether you will or no and they will all abandon you Only thou o God! dost never forsake those who serve thee I will therefore love and serve thee none but thee Of our condescention to the Imperfect It is surprizing that men have so little consideration for fervent Christians while they have all the condescention in the world for the careless imperfect But we do not see the special hand of providence who herein favours those whom he loves most is a man truly virtuous we make no scruple of excercising his patience his desires are frequently cross'd and he is often forc'd to do what he do's not like yet at the same time we refuse nothing to the imperfect whether it be that we use them like sick men that are past recovery whom we let have what they please or that God by a terrible judgment lets them alone in this Life and leaves them to their own imaginations However hard this distinction seems it is much for the advantage of those who serve God faithfully and renders them much more esteem'd by all who judge wisely and who are animated by the Spirit of Jesus-Christ Of natural inclinations to Virtue Men of soft and peacable tempers who seem born with a natural propensity to virtue are in great danger of being but indifferently virtuous and of making no progress in the way of perfection if they do not heep a strict watch over all the motions of their hearts else their natural tranquility will degenerate in to an indolence which is very a greable to self Love so that they wil take no pains to acquire great virtues and will content themselves with an obscure Life with a seeming moderation not founded upon humility but the pure effect of self Love which is unwilling to take pains and chooses a moderate virtue for fear of meeting with oppositions and sufferings in the pursuit of a more sublime But alas they who satisfy themselves with an ordinary virtue will in all probability live and dye destitute of all true virtue Of true Zeal It is a dangerous fault to be uneasy when others do as many or more good works than we would to God that all Preachers were eminent and successful would to God that every Director of souls had the gift of wisdom and discerning of spirits the zeal and solid piety which are so necessary for all Directors so God be glorifyed what matter it whether I or another be the instrument when the good success of others in the exercise of their Ministry is a real satisfaction to us it is a sure sign that we seek only his Glory Of sincerity in the Service of God Many desire to be perfect and from time to time endeavour after it yet how few attain it That which hinders the greatest part from advancing in the way of virtue is a want of sincerity in Gods service some little affections which they do not and will not renounce 't is selfe Love disguis'd under thes specious names of moderation good sence prudence and civility in fine it is a certain secret pride which corrupts the greatest part of their best actions God will be serv'd with a dove like simplicity with an uprighteness of soul that cannot stoop to those little arts of selfe Love which are so prevalent every where we seek an easy Director we torment our brains to forge something like Reasons to excuse our selves from some duty 's which we know in our Consciences God requires of us but which we sind unpleasant and are unwilling to perform Do we think to deceive God by these artifices The number of those who seck God in spirit is very small who serve him with that true simplicity which is necessary to Perfection how many instead of endeavouring to pleasa God Study to persuade themselves that they may please their own Appetites in every thing without displeasing him If they make him any little Sacrifice They presently find out some way to make themselves amends How come so many Professors of Piety to be so very sensible in the imaginary points of Honour The tone of a voice a disobliging word disturbs them Let them make as much use as they please of the words Modest and humble true humility is inseparable from Patience and sweetness Many think that they are truly humble because they have a mean opinion of themselves but they deceive themselves if they are not willing that others should have the same thoughts of them It is not sufficient to know that we have no true virtue or merit we must be wiliing to have others believe it too Of submission of our wills It is generally said and perhaps not without appearance of Reason that devout men are fond of their own opinions but it is an error to think that men who will always follow their own Wills and are obstinately conceited of their own sentiments can be truly devout This submission of our Wills is that renouncing of our selves which Jesus-Christ requires so positively and commands so often in the Gospell and without which we cannot be his Disciples And indeed we can never be truly virtuous without this submission both of our Understanding and Will Of the Love of Christ. If any thing says agreat servant of God could shake my faith in the Mistery of the Eucharist it
would not be a doubt of that infinite power which God exerts there I should sooner stagger at the exceeding Love of Jesus in giuing himselfe there to us for I am not able to comprehend how men can believe that he is present on our Altars and that they receive him in this adorable Sacrament And yet be indifferent and cold to him be forgetful of and disgusted with him Who would not expect that such a wonderful Prodigy of Love should excite at least a desire an earnestness and exceeding tenderness in the hearts of all men But Alas it is just contrary We act as if we should have lov'd him more if he had lov'd us less I tremble O my God! at the thought of the indignitys and outrages which the impiety of bad Christians and the fury of Hereticks have offer'd to thee in this August Sacrament how Sacrilegiously have they profan'd thy Altars and thy Churches how impiously an'd scornfully have they often treated the Body of Christ Can any Christian call to mind these horrible impiety's without being earnestly desirous to repair by all possible means those barbarous outrages And how can a Christian live and not have that desire Have I often thought on this Do I think often on it I who appear so seldom at the foot of the Altar and who am so unwilling to spare a little Time to adore my Saviour a specially at those hours when the Churches are least frequented My God! I will think seriously on it for the future because I will now begin to love thee truly and certainly it is high time for me to begin I have made several resolutions to love thee and have broke them all but I am confident this will be effectuall Yes my Divine Saviour I am fully resolv'd to love thee and to love thee without any reserve thou hast loved me and wouldst have me love thee and therefore I am sure that thou wilt not refuse me thy Grace to enable me to love thee full of this hope and confidence I am bold to say with thy Holy Apostle Quis ergo nos separabit à charitate Christi Certus sum quia neque mors neque vita neque Angeli neque Principatus neque virtutes neque instantia neque futura neque fortitudo â—bque altitudo neque profundum neque creatura alia poterit nos separare à charitate Dei quae est in Christo Jesu Domino nostro Rom. 8.35 38.39 who shall separate me from the Love of Christ I am certain that neither Death nor Life nor Angels nor Principality's nor Powers neeiher the sight of things present nor the prospect of things to come nor greatness nor adversity nor any Creature shall ever be able to separate me from ordeprive me of the Love of God which is in Jesus-Christ our Lord FINIS THE COMPOSER NOT understanding English many litteral faults have escap'd correction which the Reader will easily mend as also the mistakes in the Stops and points Such faults as spoil the sence are here set down P. 5. l. 29. blot out not p. 17. the last line r. of our p. 25. l. 11. r. their vanity p. 26. l. 3. 4. for at r. as p. 29. l. 8. blot out in p. 40. l. 13. r. like them p. 58. l. 15. blot out you are put in that dignity p. 73. l. 25. after Salvation r. have we made good use of the general p. 80. l. 12. 13. for do compose r. discompose p. 97. l. 1. r. he is like p. 98. l. 11. blot out not p. 112. l. 26. 27. for confession r. conversion p. 121. l. 28. for Hove r. Above p. 153. l. 18. for owne r. owe. p. 171. l. 19. after our wills r. to his p. 203. l. 9. for any r. my p. 208. l. 3. for of r. or p. 216. l. 1. for OCTOBER r. NOVEMBER p. 216. l. 3. for willingness r. un willingness p. 217. l. 24. for thare r. share p. 227. l. 16. for of r. if p. 238. l. 6. for S. Bonavenre r. Bonaventure p. 258. l. r. r. Sin hath p. 266. l. 22. for to r. do p. 272. l. 1. for thoughts r. tongues p. 277. l. 21. for applicerion r. application p. 280. l. 17. for orldly r. worldly p. 282. l. 2. 3. blot out of the ill use of the means of Salvation p. 290. l. 16. for this r. ' t is p. 293. l. 9. for chamns r. charms p. 3ë 1. l. 17. for own'd r. vow'd p. 325. l. 7. for reason r. season l. 8. for for Salvation r. out their salvation p. 330. l. 16. r. It matters not say's S. Augustin p. 332. l. 1. for the. r. be p. 335. l. 23. 24. for to displease no. r. not to displease any man no. p. 337. l. 2. for one very r. on every p. 337. l. 20. after is r. What. p. 352. l. 20. for aspectaly r. especially There are some quotations omirted in the Margin and divers faults in those that are inserted j it is needless to remark them for those who do not understand Latin and they who do know how to correct them