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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A06360	The life of Gregorie Lopes that great servant of God, natiue of Madrid, written in Spanish by Father Losa curate of the Cathedrall of Mexico. And set out by Father Alonso Remon of the Order of our Lady de la Merced, with some additions of his owne.	Losa, Francisco de, 1536-1624.; White, Thomas, 1593-1676. aut; Remón, Alonso, 1561-1632.	1638 (1638)	STC 16828; ESTC S105406	99,533	326

on him in comparison of which this that is written is nothing partly by reason of the care which he vsed in concealing his vertues partly for feare least I should exceed the breuity which I had intended in this relation telling only those that were so open to the view as that they could not but be seene I asked him one day how he could so much conceale his vertues it seeming vnto me an heroicall and hard thing to doe he answered me that sentence worthy of eternall memory To conceale ones vertues is not a thing hard vnto him that hath a liuely faith for if a man doe certainly beleeue that all his vertues shall be seen in the court of heauen what will he care whether they be knowne or no in the village of this world THE X. CHAPTER Of the humility and inward pouerty of Gregory Lopes I should haue bene very happy if God had giuen me any part of the great inward pouerty which he bestowed on this seruant the which consisteth in hauing the heart free from all loue of creatures and giuing himself wholy to the loue of his Creatour for it may be sayd of this holy vertue peculiarly that those that practise it can speake better of it then those that study it and cōsequently I should better declare Gregory his vertues if I had some of it What an excellent patterne of it this Sainct hath bin may partly be vnderstood by that which I saw with my owne eies and by what I gathered by the auswers he gaue to many men in diuerse occasions The sons of Adam haue for the most part ingrafted in them a desire to be esteemed more excellent thētheir neighbours Gregory was so free from this that he allwaies preferred others before himself and to that purpose I haue often heard him say since I begun to liue solitary I neuer iudged any body I esteemed all men better and wiser then myself and therfore vnlesse I were asked I neuer gaue counsaile to any man nor made myself a teather of others Of this all that cōuersed with him are witnesses and we haue seene by experience that because he would not make himself a Master to any God hath ordained that he should be vnto many From hence proceeded the great care that he allwaies had to excuse those that did iudge him and as I told him one day that there were many that slaundered him he answered I haue allwaies excused them not only in wordes but allso with all my heart in deedes From hence allso it came to passe that he did not desire his speeches should be valued and therfore he neuer went about to premeditate and compose the wordes that he was to speake before hand and he told me to this purpose that once it was before he began his solitary life he spent some time before hand in thinking of the discourse that he was to make and that afterwardes he had no occasion to speake it wherby he was aduertised not to loose time in composeing his wordes trusting in God that he would giue him those that were conuenient when need was and for this cause God gaue him the grace neuer to commit any errour in his speech for all the wordes that he spoke seemed full of diuine wisedome the Lord of heauen and earth reuealing vnto this humble seruāt those thinges which he hath hidden from the prudent and wise of the world Eight daies before his death there came to visite him a religious man very wise and vertuous and his great freind and among other thinges that he talked of seing his life in danger he asked him very familiarly must we goe now to enioy God thinking that he would tell him of the hower of his death but this humble seruant of God answered him with great admiration Doth your reuerence aske me this it shall be as pleaseth God as if he should say you that are wise doe you thinke that I know the hower of my death I doe not deserue so much wherwith the religious man was much edified Three or foure daies before his death there came in to see him an Indian woman of this village and as I was speaking to her in her owne tongue because he did not vnderstand it he said vnto me note well what she saith peraduenture she will giue me some good aduice wherin I noted his great humility since that he thought himself of lesse worth then an Indian woman and that she could tell him what was conuenient for him now in the end of his life More ouer men are wont to haue another affection that is to thinke of what is to befall them from which Gregory was very free for he that desireth purely to serue God esteemeth all such cares as lets and hindrances and therfore he neuer thought of courses of changing his life what should become of him whether he should dy of hunger or cold or should be bedrid whether he should liuelōg or a little while whether he should doe such or such thinges for the seruice of God or his neigbours good because he knew there was wont to be in thes and the like thoughts if one were caried away with them some secret temptation of the enemie or at the least losse of time and for this reason like a wary and humble man vpon occasion of such thoughts he allwaies said I am nothing I am good for nothing contenting himself with doing that which God in his holy law commandeth him and not iudging himself worthy of other thinges in times to come though he was alwaies prepared in mind to doe whatsoeuer the diuine Maiestie did ordaine One time as some were talking in his presence of the sumptuous tombes that some men build and of their competences about places and chappells he said when I dy let them bury my body where they will so it be in holy ground but if they doe not it will so annoy them as that it will make them quickly enterre it He was so far from taking care and prouiding for himself for the time to come as that he would not suffer that any body else should take care for him for when I went about to looke for another place to liue in because the aire of this village of Santafe was not very commodious for his weaknes and sicknes he allwaies said vnto me let no man be solicitous for me for God will haue a care to prouide as shall please him He had his heart allso free from all curious affection both temporall and spirituall into which some contemplatiues vse to fall so he told me sometimes that since his choice of solitary life he had neuer desired to see any thing of the world euen not his parents country or friends c. Neither did he desire to see the Angells nor haue extasies nor reuelations for he said that he only desired to see God yet allwaies with this resignation that it should be when and how it pleased God and that the rapts and extasies

Father the life Passion and death of Iesus Christ his son and our Redeemer This offering sometimes he made for the whole world othertimes for particular persons or intentions according as he vnderstood that it was the will of God he made such account of this Sacrifice or spirituall Masse that one day talking with me about it he told me that God had thousands of priests in the world who made this offering spiritually many times in the day and that he did frequent two kinds of spirituall communions both consisting in ardent desires the one of receiuing Sacramentally our Sauiour Christ the other of receiuing within himself the Father the son and and holy Ghost making himself a liuing and pure temple of the Blessed Trinity and giuing it actually entertainment in his heart where it might come and allwaies remaine I asked him one day how he did exercise the loue of God and his neighbour he answered me that he onely repeated some versicles of Dauid such as these Praise yee our lord all nations praise yee him all people All the workes of our lord blesse yee our lord praise yee him and glorify yee him for euer Let all the earth o Lord adore thee and blesse thee Wherwith I remained not onely satisfied but allso well affected to that manner of praving which containeth so much in it He was allso very carefull to pray for our holy Mother the Church for her increase and for the exaltation of our holy Catholick faith throughout all kindo●es He did pray very carnestly for those that were in sin and he said that this prayer was very pleasing vnto God relating vpon this occasion that which had passed betwixt our Sauiour and saint Catherine of Siena who praying vnto him instantly for those that are in mortall sin heard from his diuine mouth I intreat thee to pray vnto me for them and he was wont to repeate those wordes with much tendernes and commiseration when there was occasion to talke of those that are in sin To the same purpose he related an exemple which saint Denys the Areopagite in his eighth Epistle to Demophilus affirmeth that he had heard from the mouth of saint Carpus the Bishop to whom by reason of his cleanenes and sincerity of heart God reuealed many thinges and it was this the said saint Carpus vnderstanding for certaine that an idolater had peruerted a Christian and made him forsake his faith was so incensed against both as that he instantly besought God to take them away from the face of the earth not being able to endure that such wicked men should liue vpon it since that they peruerted the way of God and looking vp towardes heauen he saw therin Iesus Christ sitting enuironned with innumerable Angells and saints then looking downe into the earth as it were by the mouth of a well he saw hell and its tourments and in the very brinke of the well were those two wicked men whom he had cursed staggering and ready to fall and trembling in pittifull manner because those hellish serpents sought to catch hold and pull them in Carpus was told that he would doe well to pray for them that they might be freed from those grieuous paines but he would not yea he prayed vnto God to let them fall into that well and lifting vp his eies againe towardes heauen he saw the most mer●ifull Iesus who moued with compassion rose vp and offered them his hand that they migh● es●hape sent his Angells allso to help them and truning to Carpus said vnto him oh Carpus I am ready to suffer againe for mens sake see whether it would like you to be for euer in this hell and liue amongst those serpents depriued of the sight of God and the company of his Angells and saints He made vse of such examples to practise himself and teach others the spirit of Iesus Christ He did amorously and earnestly importune God in his prayers to draw vnto him all countries and nations couerting them and making them enter into the lap of the Church and to reduce the Iewes and heretikes to the holy Catholike faith This he did without eue● desisting from that act of loueing God which we spoke of The chiefe scope of his prayer for his neighbours was that the will of God might be fullfilled in them on earth as it is in heauen and he tooke occasion from all thinges to make that prayer If he heard men say how the king for his great power and iustice was feared and reuerenced and that he enioyed his kingdome in peace he presently turned to God and said thou art allmighty ād iust ô Lord let all feare thee and reuerence thee and possesse ô Lord all this thy kingdome in peace When he heard that a father for his goodnes was loued by his sons he presently said vnto God ô Father and fountaine of all good let all thy sons loue thee When he vnderstood how a gardiner endeauoured to make all his trees yeeld fruit he presently turned to the Creatour of all saying let none of thy creatures be lost oh Lord let them yeeld their fruit in their proper season When he heard of great warres and shedding of bloud he lifted vp his heart vnto God saying your sons and my brethren whom you command me so much to loue behold ô Father how they behaue themselues and to say in briefe all the goods and euills of the world were vnto him motiues of prayer Sometimes he told me that he saw in God all whatsoeuet was in the world as it were gathered into one point without any discourse the which it might be was by some great light of contemplation which he receiued in certaine occasions wherby we may gather something of the excellence of his prayer and how eleuated his soule was and like vnto God since that he had the whole world abridged in his vnderstanding and with such particular light reduced to an vnity that he might offer it vnto God He desired much that his neighbours should neuer cease to pray vnto God euen in their exteriour workes because as one well experienced he knew the great good that it containes and he was wont to praise the Machabes for that vertue who in their greatest battailes as is related in their history did at the same time fight with their handes and pray in their hearts He vsed another manner of praying worthy the learning and imitating for whensoeuer he was to speake answer or aske any thing he first fixed his mind on God by mentall prayer imploring his diuine assistance To this purpose he was wōt to tell that which befell Nehemias with Artaxerzes as is written in the second Chapter of the second of Esdras for this great Monarch asking of Nehemias his cup bearer what it was that he desired the text saith that before he began to speake he made his prayer vnto the God of heauen wherby he obtained of the king all whatsoeuer he asked He was much deuoted to the Pater

noster because it was taught him by our Sauiour and he reaped much profit by it in most of the Petitiōs he put in those wordes As in heauen so vpon earth as when he said Hallowed be thy name he added as in heauen so on earth for hereby he shewed the desire that he had of Gods glory and all though many seruants of God to induce men to good and draw them to the seruice of God doe write letters and take in hand great iourneyes and doe other thinges yet Gregory insteed of these when he desired to help his neighbours and relieue their necessities had presently recourse vnto God by his prayers knowing that all good was to proceed from him and by this meanes he wrought admirable effects and vpon this occasion he would sometimes tell merit is far better negotiating with God then with Men. But to those that asked him counsaile by word or writing he gaue answer according as he thought was necessary for their good and God his honour to whom he gaue thankes because he had personages in his Church that did allso assist their neighbours by such outward meanes THE XVIII CHAPTER Of his habitation or mansion in God I Haue differred as much as I could possible to write the māner how Gregory did liue in God because I was allwaies in hope of a greater light from his diuine spirit that I might be better able to declare a thing of such importāce This manner was not by extasies or rapts because his vnion seemed allwaies vnto me immediate since that his will free form all other affections tended very strongly onely vnto God and this manner of vnion might be seen by its great fruits that allwaies remained in him This mansion I thinke cannot be otherwise tearmed better then a trāsformation into God because the soule in this estate is wholly besides herself and wholly in God according to that of the Apostle I liue but now not I because Christ liueth in me And thus the matter is for vnto vs that haue looked into his life and conuersation he allwaies seemed a pour-trait of Christ and therfore we called him a man truely crucified into the world for he onely regarded the spirituall life of which when spirituall persons did talke with him he inuited them to this transformation saying vnto them those wordes of S. Iohn God gaue them power to be made sons of God to those that beleeue in his name who now are not borne of flesh and bloud nor of the will of man but God himself and I am certaine that this transformation of Gregory into God was well liked of by all the spirituall men that conuersed with him In this transformation which I call immediate vnion there vseth to be a great spirituall ioy which is called fruition because those that are so transformed for a long time are rather in ioy then paine because they are caried by God without any labour of theirs to that most happy state and this is that which is called the spirituall oile there they are with God as it were onely passiuely ād I call it so because allthough it be true that the soule in that vnion be allwaies in actiō yet not so much inseeking after as in possessing for she rather exerciseth the act of possessing and enioying then the act of desiring I doe not know whether Gregory had this as it were passiue vniō from the time that he went into the desert for God did in such manner communicate himself vnto him as that he euery day desired more and therfore did not so much entertaine himself in enioying that which was giuen him as with new desires to see himself euery day approch nearer vnto God S. Denys the Areopagite saith that Hierotheus his Master had the state of spirituall rest and fruition which we haue spoken of and he putteth it downe for the highest perfection that is in this life and all the contemplatiues are of the same opinion and this is the only reason why the surname of Diuine was giuen to Hierotheus for this vnion maketh the soule to be the same with God and very like the diuine nature the which doth not exercise its operations with paine and toile but ioy I haue told vpon diuerse occasions this so common opinion vnto Gregory fifteen yeares before his death and though he yeelded allso to it for he knew it very well yet he esteemed it was better for himself to be in action and allwaies louing God and his neighbour labouring therein both day and night And therfore he embraced this estate the more willingly for he said that God had giuen him that exercise as being the best and that he was to endeauour with all his strength not to leaue it off for any ioy or fruition whatsoeuer for he could not conceiue how in this life that should be most perfect which had least merit●ād that enioying is not of so much merit as taking of paines is but I will leaue this doctrine for wise men to determine and will prosecute my intent Gregory his transformation into Christ which I perceiued in him was an ardent loue and desire to ●ollow him in his life and imitate his labours and Crosse for it is manifest that the most holy life of our Sauiour Iesus Christ was a liuely patterne for vs all to imitate in fullfilling the will of his eternall father and so he saith I came not to doe my will but my fathers and in another place it be hooueth me to doe the worke of him that sent me while it is day It is allso well knowne that the life of our Sauiour Christ from his birth till his death was a cōtinuall bearing of the crosse of our sinnes working therby our redemption so as all his life was a suffering of troubles in these therfore Gregory desired and allso did imitate Christ wherfore in his life there was but little fruition and ioy and much care and trouble so as it seemes that this want of sensible ioyes may be esteemed a priuiledge and particular guift of God since that without these fauours his diuine Maiestie bestowed vpon him that which he is wont to giue to others that haue them as may be seen in the knowledge wisedome fortitude perseueance and all the other diuine gifts wher with he was endued Hereby allso it is manifest that God directed him in waies proper to men for his diuine Maiesty doth for the most part giue those ioyes to his friends in the beginning of their conuersion when they begin to dy to the world and liue in God then he bringeth them into his cellar to giue them a tast then he giueth them some light and ioy as a pledge or earnest of that which is in heauen to make them walke on with strength and perseuerāce but after they haue profited and are growne strong he inuiteth them to the highest degree of charity which is to suffer and dy for their beloued we haue examples of both in the