in the beginning of every Week The same thing I have likewise observed on the Feasts of the Saints for I give Meditations either on the Virtues which they practised or on the Gospel that is Read on their Mass Those who shall Read the Abridgment of their Life may easily joyn their Example to the Truth which they meditate on There are some virtuous Persons who desire every Month to make the Exercise of Death and for to satisfie their Devotion I have at the end of every Month put four Meditations for to prepare them thereunto Those whom this Devotion does not please may make use of the others that are there marked out for them or choose those they have a mind to in the first Table that follows Now for to make profit of these Meditations this I conceive is the Method they are to be made in After the ordinary Preparations of which we have spoken in our Method of Prayer Read with respect and attention the words of the Holy Scripture Weigh each word of them Make Acts of Faith and if you find your Mind to be taken up stop there without going any further But in case it fix not upon that subject Read then the first part of your Meditation and stop at that Truth which makes most impression on your Heart or else begin by the two first lines Endeavour to penetrate the sence of them Make reflexion on your self and see whether your life be conformable to those Truths Conceive a Sorrow and consequently made good Resolutions For example if you meditate upon Patience and that you be com to these two lines All that I endure is nothing in comparison of the Punishment that I have deserved Call to mind for a while the principal Sins of your life compare the place that you are in with that which you ought to be in the pains that you suffer with those that you ought to have suffered Measure the time of your pains with that of Eternity and see whether you have reason to complain Say If God had don with me according to his justice where should I now have been Am not I better here than in Hell If I were there as so many others are would not I reckon my self happy to com out from thence for to endure what I now endure Why then should I complain Does God do me wrong Have not I deserved infinitly much more Push on this Consideration and press your heart until it submits it self to God's Orders Consequently frame your affections give thanks to our Lord for his Goodness and Mercy that he has used towards you Beg Pardon of him for your Impatiences and make resolutions of suffering better than you hitherto have Then you shall pass on to the following line In comparison of the Glory that is prepared for me And you shall meditate on it as on the foregoing lines Thus flying up and down like a Bee from flower to flower until you have found the honey of Devotion But in case nothing do touch you yet quit not your Prayer for all that but remain quiet in the Presence of God or else make use of the Practices that we have taught you in the Method of Prayer You may also Read the words of Devotion which are at the end of the Fourth Part and there doubtless you will find som comfort When at any time you find your self in any extraordinary disposition of Joy or Sadness it will be good even out of Prayer to entertain your self in this manner Lift up your heart to God beg of him to make known to you his Divine Will and Pleasure Then opening your Book stop at that Meditation on which you have lighted and you will oftentimes find therein what you seek after The Providence of God says the Wise man plays upon Earth with Men and takes delight to manifest it self in casual and unforethought-of accidents Since I am commanded to put my Name to this new Edition I conjure all virtuous Persons through the Charity which they owe to those who are in misery to give som place in their remembrance to him and som share in their Prayers Here follow two Tables the First of the Meditations of the two Tomes The Second of those which are to serve for every Day in the Year A TABLE OF THE Meditations Contain'd in the First TOME The First PART For the Purgative Life Med. 1. OF the End for which Man was made Page 1 Med. 2. Of the Dominion of God over his Creatures Page 3 Med. 3. Of the care of our Salvation Page 6 Med. 4. Of disengagement from Creatures Page 7 Med. 5. Of the Will of God Page 9 Med. 6. Of the Obligations we have to love and serve God Page 10 Med. 7. Profitable thoughts fit to draw us off from the World Page 12 Med. 8. Of Death Page 13 Med. 9. Of the Death of the Just Page 14 Med. 10. Of the Death of Sinners Page 17 Med. 11. Of the Last Judgment Page 20 Med. 12. Of Hell Page 22 Med. 13. Of the Two Eternities Page 24 Med. 14. Of Mortal sin Page 25 Med. 15. Of Venial sin Page 26 Med. 16. Of Pennance Page 28 Med. 17. That we ought not to differ our Conversion Page 29 Med. 18. Of the Conditions of a true Pennance Page 32 Med. 19. Of the flight from Occasions and evil Companies Page 35 Med. 20. Of a good and a bad Conscience Page 39 Med. 21. Of the peace of the Soul Page 41 Med. 22. Of vain Desires Page 42 Med. 23. Of Tepidity Page 43 Med. 24. Of the Hatred of the World Page 45 Med. 25. Of the small number of the saved Page 48 Med. 26. Of Scandal or bad Example Page 50 Med. 27. Of outward Pennance and Mortification Page 53 Med. 28. Of the excellency of Mortification Page 55 Med. 29. Of the profit and necessity of Temptations Page 56 Med. 30. Of the causes of our Temptations Page 58 Med. 31. Of the troubles and pains of Mind Page 61 Med. 32. Of natural Inclinations Page 62 Med. 33. Of Aversions Page 65 Med. 34. Of Presumption Page 67 Med. 35. Of the good use of Time Page 71 Med. 36. Of Persecutions Page 73 Med. 37. That it is necessary to be afflicted and persecuted Page 75 Med. 38. Of human Respect Page 77 Med. 39. Of Slander or Detraction Page 79 Med. 40. Of Sadness Page 81 Med. 41. The ill effects of Sadness Page 83 Med. 42. Remedies against Sadness Page 84 Med. 43. Of Pride Page 89 Med. 44. Of the Pardoning of Injuries Page 91 Med. 45. Of the judgment of men Page 94 Med. 46. Of Avarice Page 97 Med. 47. Of Relapse Page 100 Med. 48. Of Customary Sins Page 102 Med. 49. Of Preparation to Death Page 105 Med. 50. How to resolve for Death Page 108 Med. 51. The Affections of a just Soul at the approaches of Death which we should cause to be read to us in our last sickness Page 111 Med. 52. A Paraphrase upon our
bottom of the heart 'T is the heart that conceives sin 'T is the heart that must destroy it 'T is the heart that withdraws it self from God 'T is the heart that must return to God Hatred takes its rise out of love One hates only because one loves I ought therefore to hate Sin As much as I ought to love God As much as I ought to love my self As much as I ought to love Heaven As much as I ought to fear Hell I ought to love God singularly I ought to hate Sin singularly I ought to love all things in order to God I ought to hate all things in order to Sin I ought to love God above all things I ought to hate sin above all things I cannot exceed in the love of God I cannot exceed in the hatred of sin That Repentance is nothing worth Unless it be of all crimes Unless grace blots them all out It blots not so much as one out One cannot be reconcil'd by halfs One cannot be both beloved and hated One cannot be both in sin and in grace One cannot be both God's and the Devil 's at once One cannot be both worthy of Heaven and Hell Unless one believes all one believes nothing To be a Son of the Church One must believe all things To be a Son of God one must hate all sin King Saul made exceptions And it was the cause of his ruin He became God's enemy For having saved one of his enemies What does it avail you to conquer one sin If you be a slave to another What good is it to bewail your Cholers If you be a slave to your Impurities One mortal stroke alone Is enough to bereave the body of its life One mortal sin alone Is sufficient to deprive the soul of life That man is no true Penitent Who will be so but for a time One must always hate that evil Which is always hated by God That friendship is not broke off Which one designs to make up again Can he be said to hate sin Who has a mind to commit it again Can he be said to have true Contrition Who only feels some small Aversion One may hate his sin Although he feel not the hatred One may feel sorrow And yet not have a true sorrow Then does one truly hate sin When one is resolv'd to destroy it If you love the causes of sin you still love sin 'T is not enough to hate it You must repair the damages thereof You must restore your ill-gotten goods Restore the honour you have taken away Repair the Scandals you have given Satisfie those whom you have offended You must punish by sorrow The pleasure you have taken in sinning God transfers to Pennance The right he has to punish a Sinner If Pennance spare him Justice spares him not If Pennance punish him Justice punishes him not O my God! How much reason have I to fear Least I be yet in the state of sin Have I hated it Sincerely Universally Constantly Efficaciously Am not I at the end of the year The same man still that I was at the beginning Oh! I will change my life My God change me from my heart Give me a new Spirit that I may lead a new life If with all your heart you will return to our Lord Take away the strange God from the midst of you 1 Kings 17. He that hides his crimes shall not be directed but he that shall confess them and relinquish them shall obtain mercy Prov. 28. Turn unto me with all your heart and rent your hearts and not your garments be converted to God your Lord because he is gracious and merciful patient and of much compassion and ready to be moved upon the malice Joel 2. Ananias why did Satan tempt thy heart to sin to the Holy Ghost and defraud of the price of the field thou didst not ly to man but to God Act. 5. Her transgressing Sister hath not return'd to me with her whole heart but in lying Jer. 3. Cast away from you all your prevarications and make to your selves a new heart and a new spirit And why should you die O house of Israel Ezech. 8. XIX MED Of the flight from Occasions and evil Companies 'T Is but a folly to hide your self The Company you keep betrays you Every one is pleas'd with his like Such you are as those you frequent If you suffer bad Company You may be reckoned to be of an ill life Or that you will at least soon resemble The persons whom you frequent 'T is good example that makes virtuous people Bad example that makes bad people Ignorance and Bashfulness Are the two Bulwarks of Innocency One would have been ignorant of many Crimes Had not one seen them committed One would have a horrour of sin If no body had taught it Example ennobles a Crime It makes it just and lawful It gives it authority It makes a necessity of it One is ashamed to be Innocent In the Company of the Nocent One does not blush at a sin When Example has crown'd it 'T is a vain thing to hope to be good among the wicked An evil is easily contracted Nature has a propension thereunto She imitates what she sees don She desires what is forbidden her One is not healthy for being among the healthy But one falls sick by being among the sick Go down into Hell Look upon those execrable Victims Hearken to their lamentable Cries Inquire into the cause of their Disaster There is never a Reprobate of them all Who will not with many tears tell you That it was Example that undid him That it was Company that damn'd him One is willing to please those whom one loves And you will never please the wicked Unless you be wicked like them O! but you do no harm say you You always remain a Sheep Although you live among Wolves You conserve the sweetness of the waters In the midst of a brackish Sea You draw in an innocent air In a house infected with the Plague And I say that you are dead If you think you are not sick Can any one without sin love the occasion of sin Is not the scandal of your Neighbour a very great evil Who can believe you to be chast With people that are not At least you will not long be so Example is a bad Master You will soon learn to do evil which you have seen don Occasion will draw you to it Company will drag you along to it The temptation will increase Fear will diminish Grace will grow weaker Shame will be blotted out Nature will yield A habit will be gotten The Will will be hardened This is the Progress of Iniquity This is the Road of Impenitence This is the term of Impiety O Christian Soul Retire out of Occasions Fly evil Company Love not those whom you ought not to imitate Please not those who displease God Withdraw from those who withdraw from God Fly away from contagious persons Avoid dangerous occasions
evil without remedy There is no pardon to be hop'd for Unless restitution be made The sin is not forgiven Unless what is stolen be restored Honour is not to be repaired When once it is taken away The Wound of Slander is incurable The Scar thereof remains for ever O my God! How many Robberies have I committed And how many Murders My Tongue is a Pen that writes lightly And which has prepar'd the Decree Which will be pronounc'd at my Judgment I shall be justified by my Tongue I shall be condemn'd by my Tongue Alas who then shall be saved Who can say I have never detracted I have made reparation For the harm my Detraction has done Fly from Detractions Satan is in their mouth when they speak In your ear when you hearken to them Bear with a Detraction but give no occasion for it Repair those you have spoken in the best way you can That Truth which is not charitable Proceeds from a Charity that is not true I persecuted him who did secretly slander his neighbour Psal 100. Detract not one another brethren he that detracts his brother or he that judgeth his brother detracts the law and judges the law Jam. 4. He that detracts any thing he obliges himself for the future Prov. 13. Neither Robbers nor Slanderers shall possess the Kingdom of Heaven 1 Cor. 6. Out of thy words thou shalt be justified and out of thy words thou shalt be condemn'd Matth. 12. XL. MED Of Sadness WHence comes it that you are sad 'T is doubtless because your heart is sick Because you are a slave to som Passion Because you love som Creature Because you feed som desire Because your Conscience is not clear Because you have committed som sin Because you would have what you cannot have Because you cannot do what you would Because you will not do what God would have you do Because you would do what God would not have you do 'T is because you would suffer nothing Because you adhere too much to your own sence Because you fear the World too much Because you seek your own ease too much Because you love your self too much Happy is that man who desires nothing but God How joyful is that man who fears nothing but God How secure is that man who has nothing to lose How contented is that man who lives a virtuous life Have an esteem for nothing but God And nothing will afflict you Think all that you can lose already lost Love not that wealth which may be taken from you Ty your self to nothing that may perish Whatsoever you lose still preserve your peace Live always well and you will never be sad Leave your self to God and you will always be contented Drive away sadness far from you Eccles 30. Rejoyce in our Lord and exult O ye just Psal 31. Let the just exult in our Lord praise becomes the upright Ps 32. Rejoyce in our Lord always again I say rejoyce Phil. 4. As it were sad but always rejoycing 2 Cor. 6. XLI MED The ill effects of Sadness A Man that is sad dishonours God He shews that he believes not his Providence He accuses God of ignorance He tacitly complains of his injustice 'T is I says he that take this good from you 'T is I that permit this persecution 'T is I who send you this sickness And do you dare to murmur Do you dare to complain Can one be sad without murmuring You blaspheme not with your mouth But you blaspheme in your heart You say there is no God Or that he knows not how to govern the World A man that is sad loses himself He wasts himself with Melancholy He shortens the life of his Body He brings death to his Soul His heart is a Hell The Devil has a right to dwell in it He pushes him on to Despair He engages him in all sorts of Vices He proposes to him bodily Pleasures For want of Spiritual ones O strange Disease which needs such a Remedy O JESUS who never wert melancholy And yet hadst always causes of sadness Give me not over to this Passion Plunge me not into this Hell I will always have a contented heart Because you dispose of all things for my good I. will honour your Providence Edifie my Neighbour Begin my Heaven even in this life For to confirm it after my death A discontented Servant dishonours his Master A true Servant of God ought never to be sad He will not be sad nor turbulent Isa 42. Why is thy countenance sad 2 Psdr 2. As it were sad but always rejoycing 2 Cor. 6. A wicked heart will cause sadness Eccles 36. Be not like Hypocrites sad Math. 6. XLII MED Remedies against Sadness WHy do you afflict your self That which seems ill to you is not so Your Miseries are Mercies Your Disgraces are Graces of God They take you off from the World They unite you to our Lord. They make you enter into your self They give you a disgust of this life They make you feel your sin They are marks of your Salvation They are Pledges of your Predestination Did not God love his Son Was there ever man more afflicted than he Your evil is not to be complain'd of If it be light it is easily boren If it be violent it cannot last long A great ill cannot be long Unless it be droven away otherways It must sink under it self Either it bereaves you of your life Or of your feeling of it No where but in Hell evil is immortal Time without your thinking of it will do your buliness Your pain cannot last any longer than your life And what is life in regard of Eternity Do you think to live in this World without affliction How will you be a member of Jesus Christ How can you reign with him Unless you be afflicted as he was Shew me a man without his Cross And I will discharge you from yours Is it just that you should have for nothing That which has cost all the Saints so dear What rank will you take in Heaven In what place shall you be put All the Saints are loaden with wounds Shall you be the only one that has none Think on Heaven and your sadness will away The hopes of a great good produces a great joy All evil is little which delivers us from an Eternity of pains The body feels but little pain when the mind dwells in Heaven Do not you know that Heaven is the in heritance of the afflicted That it is the Kingdom of the Crucified That it is the portion of suffering Souls If you have a mind never to be sad Drive sin out of your Soul 'T is that which saddens Hell it self If they were without sin They would be without sadness What joy can that person have Who has driven God out of his heart What rest can he take who has poison lying on his heart If you fasten your self to nothing You will afflict your self for nothing We suffer in proportion to
our love Our Desires are our Tormentors We quit not without grief what we possess with love Have you a mind never to be sad Place your hopes upon God Lay open your pains to him Beg comfort of him Persever in Prayer Submit your self to his orders Leave your self to his Providence Conform your self to his good pleasure And you will soon find what you seek Are you desirous not to be sad Conduct your self by reason Correct your imagination Men are not miserable But because they imagin themselves so A grief is light when opinion adds nothing to it 'T is Opinion that creates all our evils One would not be unhappy Unless he fancied himself to be so Regulate your self by Faith And not by your Senses Consult your reason not opinion You are afraid of an evil that threatens you This is to afflict your self without a cause To afflict your self before you have cause You bewail an evil past Your tears will not deliver you from it Why do not you make a virtue of necessity Why do not you make profit of your losses What good does it do you to recal an evil that is no more Why will you make your self miserable Because you have been so 'T is a shame for a wise man Not to cease to be sad But when he is weary of weeping It is better to quit that grief Than to stay till it quit us What is past concerns us no more The future concerns us not as yet What is present is but a moment Why will you prolong your torment We must fit our selves to our evils When we cannot rid our selves of them Sadness increases our losses but repairs them not There is nothing but sin that it destroys For sin only we ought therefore to be sad O how happy should we be Could we correct our thoughts O how joyful should we be If we desired nothing here on earth O how great a torment is a great desire A virtuous man is always contented He has always what he would have Because he always would have what he was Change does not change him Because he rests upon what is immoveable Anna why dost thou weep 1 Kings 1. Why art thou sad O my Soul and why dost thou trouble me Ps 41. He said to her Weep not Luk. 7. My brethren rejoice in our Lord. Phil. 3. Let the hearts of those who seek God rejoyce Ps 140. Is any among you sad let him pray Jam. 5. XLIII MED Of Pride AN humbled God is a great mercy A proud man is a great misery Pride is the head spring of all evils As Humility is the Mother of all Virtues We are angry because we are proud We are sad impatient We would be rich We are envious unchast Because we are proud God humbles the spirit by the body He gives up the proud to shameful Passions He covers with beasts-skins those who aspir'd to be Gods Pride is the sin of the Devil 'T is the first that ever was committed Heaven was the place of its birth Hell will be the place of its punishment Other sins fly away from God This makes war against God And God on his side makes war against it He looks on it as his foe He gives his grace to the humble But he resists the proud He humbles them Corporally Spiritually Temporally Eternally O how great an evil is it to have God for ones Enemy My God! I beg one favour of you For your glory and my salvation That I may know you And that I may know my self That I may know your greatness And my own littleness Your benefits and my ingratitudes Your goodness and my malice What I have from you that I may praise you What from my self for to humble my self O pretious Nothing wherein I find all things O luminous Nothing wherein I see all things O delicious Nothing wherein I tast all things I am in rest when I am in Nothing Because I am then in my place I have no rest when I am out of Nothing Because I am no more in my center O God my All When shall I be void of all that I am That I may be fill'd with all that thou art Every arrogant man is an abomination to our Lord. Prov. 16. Our Lord swore in his soul I hate the pride of Jacob. Amos 6. He that humbles himself shall be exalted and he that exalts himself shall be humbled Luk. 14. Amen I say to you unless you be converted and become like little ones ye shall not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven Matth. 18. God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble Jam. 4. XLIV MED Of the pardoning of Injuries GOd commands you to do it And will you not do it You would do it for your King If he should order you to do it Who has right to command if God has not Will you not do what pleases him The Servant's satisfaction must yield to his Masters authority What God forbids you He forbids the whole World What God commands you He commands the whole World As he forbids you to hate your enemy So he forbids your enemy to hate you As he commands you to love all men So he commands all men to love you Is there any thing more just than this Command God orders you to do it as a King He intreats you as a Father He teaches it to you as a Master By his mildness and by his patience By his word and by his example What does he not suffer from you In one hand he holds revenge And in the other patience The one is necessary for him But the other is very dear to him He lays aside his revenge For to conserve patience He pardons with joy He punishes with sorrow He pardons by inclination He punishes out of necessity If we are Subjects let us obey our King If we are Children let us do the will of our Father If we are Disciples let us follow the example of our Master Why do you hate your Brother Is he not a man like you Is he not a Christian as you are If you hate him because he is a sinner You ought to hate all men Were you just when JESUS loved you What would have becom of you If he had not lov'd sinners The wrong that is don you is a small matter If you consider the wrong you do to God You are slighted Have you not deserv'd it Can one that is damn'd be slighted enough Your goods are taken from you Was it not God that gave them to you Has he not a right to recal them When he pleases and by whom he pleases Do not call him an enemy Who makes you get Heaven If he have offended you He shall be soundly punish't for it His damnation is unavoidable Unless he make you satisfaction Can you push on your hatred beyond Eternity Leave the revenge to God 'T is a right that belongs to him Keep patience for your self 'T is the pain that 's due to your
Will weaker Passions more rebellious Remedies slower The Devils more powerful Their possession more powerful What ingratitude after so many benefits What contempt after so much knowledge What perfidiousness after so many promises What malice after so many promises Is it thus that we mock God That we fail in our word to him That we sport at his patience Abuse his goodness Contemn his justice Presume of his mercy Combat his gentleness VVast his graces prodigally Stifle his Spirit Drive him out of our hearts Prefer Lucifer before him After abundance comes poverty After graces com punishments After patience fury After contempt revenge O my God! I dare no more appear before you After so many Contempts and Ingratitudes After so many Treacheries and Disloyalties My sins have almost chang'd their nature They were only Frailties But now they are hardnesses of heart They were pardonable faults They are now inexcusable Crimes Their number is infinit Their load unsupportable Their malice irremissible Their cure almost desperate But if my sins are great Your mercy is yet greater My sins are finit Your mercy infinit I may go to Heaven until such time as I am in Hell I may be converted as long as I am alive O! I will save my self in good earnest I am weary of being wicked My God take my life away Unless I change my life Take me quickly out of this World Unless I do draw off from the World It is impossible for them that were once illuminated and have tasted also the heavenly gift and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost and have moreover tasted the good word of God and the powers of the World to com and are fallen to be renewed again to Pennance Hebr. 6. If what I have destroyed I build up again I make my self a Prevaricator Gal. 2. Behold you are now cured sin no more least something worse befal you John 5. The latter things are becom worse than the first Luk. 11. XLVIII MED Of Customary Sins 'T Is a great evil to accustom one's self to evil A habit of sin is a chain of iniquity Which captivates the Soul And inslaves her to sin It lessens our knowledge It hardens the heart It lulls the Conscience asleep It blots out shame The oftner one commits a sin The less one blushes to commit it At first one commits it with a horrour One reiterates it with fear One continues it with pleasure One persevers therein with contempt These are the gradual steps of iniquity Hither it is that a habit of sin leads us That body is very sick that feels not its sickness An inveterate sinner is almost desperate He knows not his own misery He cannot hate it He finds pleasure in it He will not get out of it His resolves are without effect His efforts without perseverance His Vices in fine pass into nature And his habit into necessity When the weight of Custom lies heavy upon the inclination When the Current of Passion finds nothing to resist it 'T is a Torrent that draws all after it A Tyrant that destroys all 'T is a Law of Iniquity that domineers over the Will 'T is a second Cuncupiscence More tyrannical than that we are born with 'T is a second nature more corrupt than the first In vain does grace attack a heart that sins by Custom It is insensible to her touches It is impenetrable to her strokes One may sooner blanch a Moor Than cure an inveterate evil One may sooner root up a Tree Than pluck up an old Sin In what state are you Do you sin through ignorance Through Passion Through Frailty Through Custom Without Remorse Without Sorrow With Pleasure With Contempt Do you blush no more at your sin Do you commit it with assurance Do you glory in committing it Are you not afraid when you have committed it O then you are a slave to vice Your sins are pass'd into your nature You are now hardned You are now grown insensible Alas if you were sensible of your evil There would be som hopes of life Beg your cure of God Do your best to break your chains asunder Resist small Temptations And you will obtain the victory over great ones Do the things that are easie And God will do those that are difficult Help your Neighbour And God will help you Shew mercy to him And God will shew it to you VVithout a miracle you will not be cured VVithout Charity you will obtain nothing Let not sin reign in your mortal body that you obey the concupiscence thereof Rom. 6. If an Ethiop can change his skin you may also do well having learnt to do ill Jer. 13. My scars are grown rotten and are corrupted Ps 37. My iniquities have over-topped my head ibid. A young man according to the way of his youth so will he be in his old age Prov. 21. XLIX MED A Preparation to Death ARe you prepar'd to die Have you given order to your affairs Have you any affair greater than that of your Salvation Do you think to escape death That which must happen one day May it not happen this day You think of nothing but of living And you ought to think of nothing but dying You labour only for the time present And you ought to labour only for Eternity Small care for small affairs Great care for great affairs 'T is too late to think of dying VVhen it is time to die A wise man never undertakes a business of importance VVithout having first thought well on it Every one learns his own Trade To be saved is all mens Trade There needs no study to learn to die There needs much to learn to die well One can never do that well VVhich one does but once To know how to die well One ought to die often Death is but one only The fault committed therein Is an irreparable fault That Actour acts his part but ill VVho never exercis'd himself A Lawyer pleads a Cause but badly VVho never prepar'd himself for it 'T is a hard matter to die well VVhen one is acquainted only with the trade of life Is our life too long to dispose our selves for death Have we too much time to prepare our selves for Eternity VVatch or you will be surpriz'd Prepare your self for Death Or else you will die unprepared He that watches not is surpriz'd He that is surpriz'd is damn'd Learn that Trade which you must of necessity make use of How important is it to do well That which you will do but once VVhere it is dangerous to fail VVhose fault is without redress And whose punishment will have no end Do not trust to time 'T is but a bad security It has cozened many a man If you trust it it will infallibly deceive you O my God! I thank you for having given me time To prepare my self for death VVhere had I been had you surpriz'd me I will henceforth stand upon my guard That I may one day dy well I will dy every day I will
wrath Ps 9. LXVI MED Of Conformity to the Will of God TO judge as God judges is to be wise as God is To will as God wills is to be holy as God is His judgment is the Rule of our judgments His will is the Rule of our wills God alone has right to do what he will He alone can have a will of his own Wilt not thou then my Soul obey God Wilt thou always make war against him Wilt thou wrestle with the Almighty Hast thou measur'd thy arms with his Art thou wiser than he Wilt thou teach him to govern the World If thou wilt not do his Will Thou wilt take away his Crown Thou wilt ascend his Throne Thou wilt be independent as he is Is it just that God should do thy will Or that thou should'st do his Will How happy would'st thou be If thou would'st nothing but what God will In what a profound peace wouldst thou live How would thy affairs change their face What cares and disquiets wouldst thou spare God does the affairs of those who do his He obeys those who obey him He loves those that love him He contents those that content him Is it not to be in Heaven To will all that God wills Is it not to be in Hell To will nothing of what God wills A man does always his own will When he has no proper self-will A man never does what he will When he does not do what God will The Will of God is always don one way or other If I oppose him he will oppose me If I afflict him he will afflict me If I disturb him he will disturb me If I serve him he will serve me O my God! There is no pleasure in displeasing you There is no profit in offending you Since I have been at odds with you I have been at odds with my self Since I have made war against you I never could find any peace Do with me what you please If I will not do what you will have me Make me serve you if I will not love you Force me if I will not obey you Draw me if I will not follow you Good and evil life and death poverty and honour are from God Eccles 11. I have found a man according to my heart who will do all my wills 1 Kings 13. Whatsoever shall befal a just man shall never make him sad Prov. 12. Whosoever shall do the will of my Father he is my Brother and Sister and Mother Matth. 12. Not as I will but as thou Matth. 29. LXVII MED Of the love of our Neighbour MY Neighbour is a man as I am He is framed to the Image of God as I am Redeemed with his Blood as I am Is a Member of his Body as I am Is a Child of his Church as I am Is fed with the same Sacraments as I am Is design'd to the same Heaven as I am God commands me to love him as my self Jesus prays me and orders me to do it He reckons it as don to himself All that is don to our Neighbour He has substituted him in his own place He has transferr'd all his rights to him He will have me pay him all that I owe him I am not his Disciple Unless I love my Neighbour I am no Christian unless I assist him If I afflict him God will afflict me If I excuse him God will excuse me If I support him God will support me If I pardon him God will pardon me God will use me as I have used him God will judge me according to my charity to him O I will then love him that I may be beloved I will assist him that I may be assisted I will support him that I may be supported I will save him that I may be saved I will love him Tenderly Universally Generously Constantly Thou shalt love thy neighbour as t' y self Matth. 12. To love your neighbour as your self is more than all Holocausts and Sacrifices Mark 12. Bear one another's burdens and so you will fulfil the Law of Christ Gal. 6. But above all things having continual Charity in your selves because Charity covers a multitude of sins 1 Pet. 4. In this all shall know that ye are my Disciples if you have a love for one another John 3. LXVIII MED Of the duty of Fathers to their Children and of Masters towards their Servants A Father owes to his Children Nourishment of Body and Soul He must not bring them into the World For to send them to Hell Why will you be a Father Unless you will also be an Instructor What does it avail you to feed the Body If you leave the Soul forlorn The first life of Children Is but the life of Beasts They becom men but with time 'T is wise instruction that discloses their reason 'T is a new Birth 'T is the Organ of Faith 'T is the Principle of Salvation 'T is the Ground-work of Virtue Salvation and Damnation depend often upon Education Unhappy are those Children Whose Fathers will pardon them in nothing But much more unhappy are those To whom their Fathers grant all things A good education ought to be mildly severe Parents ought to imitate God Who does the office both of a Father and Mother Of a Father by severity Of a Mother by tenderness One must not always punish Nor must one always pardon One must not always be silent Nor must one always chide Never correct a Child when you are in Choler A Physician that is sick must first cure himself A Father that is hurried along with passion Does himself deserve correction Punishment is a Medecin Which is to be given in its due time When Chastisement is just and moderate It gives Understanding But it creates a Contempt When it is us'd too often For to breed up ones Children well They are to be loved equally The partiality of affections Is the cause of all disorders Why should you make a difference Where Nature has made none Why should you violate the rights Which she has wisely establish'd Ought not the Branches of the same tree Bear the same Leaves Nature acts by Inclination But those who love out of charity Do more good to those persons For whom they have most aversion Imitate God in his conduct Has he not more tenderness For the Predestinate than the Reprobate But he hides it in this life The wicked are not jealous of it He oftentimes shews more friendship To those by whom he has been most offended Instructions bring but little fruit Unless they be accompanied with example You destroy by your Actions What you build up by your Words The Hand advances more than the Tongue Example is more powerful than Discourse The Child gives more credit to his Eyes Than he does to his Ears He thinks he has a right to do What he sees his Parents do He places his glory in imitating them And his perfection in being like them All your sins are Scandals Which infect your
she slight me Why does she fly me O ye Daughters c. I am Bread and not Poyson I would make her live and not make her dy It was for to be loved that I took this shape 'T was for to be eaten That I made my self Bread And not for to be admired It is to sanctify her Body That I give her my Flesh 'T is for to enliven her Soul That I give her my Spirit 'T is for to unite her to my Divinity That I give her my humanity As wise as I am I know not what more to give her As rich as I am I have no more to give her As powerful as I am I can give her no more Why then does she sly me Why does she fear me O ye Daughters c. I have been at infinit Charges For to prepare this Banquet I have spared nothing for to content her I give her my Body to be eaten I give my blood to be drunk I heap up my graces on her I enrich her with my Merits I fill her with my Virtues I invite all the World to my Feast The sick for to cure them The weak for to fortify them The blind for to give them sight The sad for to comfort them Sinners for to sanctify them What reason has she to apprehend I do not require the end of the Sacrament For a disposition necessary to this Sacrament O ye Daughters of Jerusalem Tell my well-beloved That I expect her day and night And that she makes me languish with Love Tell her that she will dy with hunger Unless she eats this Bread That she will have no grace Unless she eats at my Table That she will have no strength no life No health no comfort That she will be strongly tempted That she will sink under that temptation Unless she eat at my Table That if she excuses her self from coming She shall not tast of my Meats Neither in her life time nor at her death Neither in Heaven nor on Earth That I will give her place To the Blind and to the Lame That she contemns me Instead of honouring me That she afflicts me Instead of comforting me That she offends me Instead of contenting me O Bread of Angels Who cam'st down from Heaven Shall I dare make thee com down into my heart Can I receive thee knowing who I am Can I refuse thee knowing who thou art Can I approach thee knowing thy Sanctity Can I draw off without necessity O Divine Lover Who dost invite us to thy Wedding And who dost invite us so lovingly Give a Nuptial Robe to this Prodigal Penitent I do not deserve this honour I am unworthy of this favour But the sentiment of my humility Will supply the want of my sanctity You will have it so You desire it You order it You command it You threaten me with your anger If I fail to be present at it 'T is better to side with Love than Fear Obedience is surer than Diffidence I will therefore approach with Respect I will receive you with Confidence I will imbrace you with Love I will thank you with Tenderness I will eat you with Pleasure I will speak to you with Liberty I will serve you with Fidelity I will bless you in time and in Eternity Amen With desire have I desired to eat this Pasch with you before I suffer Luk. 22. He that eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him John 6. A certain man made a great Supper and called many and they all began to excuse themselves Luk. 14. I say to you that none of those men that were called shall tast my Supper Bring in hither the poor and weak and blind and lame force them to com in c. ibid. CXXIX MED In Form of Prayer to our Lord Jesus Christ which may serve for a Thanksgiving after Communion SOul of JESUS sanctify me Blood of JESUS wash me Passion of JESUS strengthen me Wounds of JESUS heal me Heart of JESUS receive me Spirit of JESUS enliven me Goodness of JESUS pardon me Beauty of JESUS draw me Humility of JESUS humble me Mildness of JESUS gentle me Peace of JESUS pacifie me Love of JESUS inflame me Kingdom of JESUS com into me Grace of JESUS replenish me Mercy of JESUS have pity on me Sanctity of JESUS consecrate me Purity of JESUS purify me Cross of JESUS support me Nails of JESUS hold me fast Thorns of JESUS crown me Gall of JESUS inebriate me Mouth of JESUS bless me In my life and at my death In Time and Eternity Amen You must pause at every verse and relish that which shall touch your heart CXXX MED Of Devotion towards the B. Virgin FOr to be a Son of God's You must be the Son of Mary She is the Mother of all the just The Advocate of all sinners The Queen of all the Predestinate She brought them forth on Mount Calvary They were given to her at the foot of the Cross She hath given life to all men In giving life to God She hath co-operated to their Salvation In sacrificing him to his Father No man can go to the Father But by the Son Nor to the Son but by the Mother The Father refuses nothing to his Son Nor the Son to his Mother I shall not be saved But by the Merits of the Son Nor shall I be saved But by the intercession of the Mother The Son is our Mediatour with his Father The Mother is our Mediatrix with her Son JESVS is the Head of the Church Mary is the neck of the Church JESVS is the fountain of graces Mary is the bason of them JESVS is the Sun of the World Mary is the Moon thereof Nothing is produced in grace But by JESVS and by Mary The Moon receives the whole Sun And contributes to the generation of Beings Mary receives all from JESVS And contributes to the sanctification of Souls O holy Mother of God! I begin to breath Because my salvation depends on you Your Son is my Saviour But he is also my Judge His Goodness encourages me But his Justice affrightens me I am a Criminal I dare not appear before him But you my dear Mother You have nothing to frighten me You are a Mother of Grace and not of Justice You became a Mother Only for to give us a Saviour You would not have been the Mother of God If there had been no Sinners O I will be your child That I may be God's child O I will be your servant That I may be God's servant He saith to his Mother Woman behold your Son Then he saith to his Disciple Behold thy Mother And from that hour the Disciple received her for his John 19. Dwell in Jacob and have thy inheritance in Israel and take root in my Elect. Eccl. 24. He that shall find me shall find life and draw salvation from our Lord. Prov. 8. CXXXI MED Of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin MAry is happy In
obeyed Serve her whom God hath served Love her whom God hath loved Salute her whom the Angel did salute Say to her often with heart and mouth Hail full of Grace Give us a part of your fulness Our Lord is with thee As Father as Son as Spouse Blessed art thou among Women With infinit blessings Thou alone art a Virgin and a Mother Thou alone wert conceiv'd without Crime Thou alone didst live without Sin Thou alone didst dy without Pain Thou alone hadst God for thy Son and Subject Thou alone art his Daughter his Mother his Spouse Thou art the repairer of the World The Queen of the Universe The Gate of Paradise The Dispenser of Graces O Blessed Virgin give me thy blessing And blessed be the Fruit which thou gavest to the World Most holy Mary and most worthy Mother of God Pray for the Just and for Sinners Now that thou seest them Beaten by so many Temptations Slaves to so many vices Overwhelm'd with so many miseries But especially at their Death When their Salvation is in greatest danger And thy succour will be most necessary for them The Word was made flesh John 1. You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ that for you he was made poor whereas he was rich that by his poverty you might be rich 2 Cor. 3. He exinanited himself Phil. 1. He was subject to them Luk. 2. All generations shall call me blessed Luk. 2. CXXXV MED Of the Visitation of the B. Virgin JESVS visits S. John Mary visits S. Elizabeth Jesus sanctifies both the Mother and the Son By the mouth of Mary As soon as ever she had spoken John Baptist was sanctified Her speech was a Conduit-pipe of grace which gave sight to a blind man Which delivered a captive Which raised up one that was dead Which justified a sinner Mary applies to the first amongst men The first fruit of our Redemption She conceives man spiritually After having conceiv'd God corporally She becoms the Mother of men After having becom the Mother of God She is the Mother of grace She is the Mother of mercy Of grace for the just Of mercy for sinners O Mother of grace Mother of mercy Visit us frequently together with thy Son You want not grace Since you have the fulness thereof You want not mercy Since it dwelt nine months in your bowels Exercise it on a poor blind man And on a poor captive On a sinner a slave to his Passions On one dead to the life of grace Com and enlighten and enlarge him Com and raise him and sanctify him Make thy voice to be heard to the ear of my heart For thy voice is sweet And thy beauty incomparable Speak and my heart will leap with joy Say the word and my soul will be healed For you have in you the Word of God Which gives life to the World Mary Mother of grace Mother of mercy Defend us from our Enemies And receive our Souls at the hour of our Death For to honour the Virgin You must imitate her Virtues Love Solitude as she did Go not out of it but for to do good Visit the Prisoners Help the Miserable Deliver Captives Sanctify Sinners Be a Mother of grace to their Souls A Mother of mercy to their Bodies Blessed is the Lord God of Israel because he hath visited c. Luk. 1. Through the bowels of the mercy of our God in which he visited us ibid. Visit us in thy salvation Ps 205. Thy visitation hath preserved my Spirit Job 10. As soon as she heard the salutation of Mary Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost Luk. 1. Arise make hast my friend my sister let thy voice sound in my ears for thy voice is sweet and thy face comely Cant. 2. CXXXVI MED Of the Death of the B. Virgin WHat is it that makes the Chalice of Death bitter It is the loss of the World 'T is the separation from the Body 'T is the account that is to be given We feel sadness in quitting the World We feel pain in quitting our Body We dread being to appear before God Mary died without Fear Sadness Pain Because she liv'd without Sin ty Pleasure O let my soul dy with the death of the Saints O let my death be like the death of Mary Live the life of Saints And thou wilt dy the death of Saints Live like Mary and thou wilt dy like Mary Live without sin and thou wilt dy without fear Live without ty and thou wilt dy without sadness Live without pleasure And thou wilt dy without pain If you lead the life of sinners You will dy the death of sinners If you live in disorder You will dy in confusion If you live in sin you will dy in fear If you live in pleasure You will dy in pain That which makes your delight during your life Will make your torment at your death That which is your pain during your life Will be your pleasure at your death O Holy Virgin I care not by what death I dy Provided that I dy in a good state I shall dy without fear if I dy in your arms I shall dy in grace if I dy in your service For you save those that belong to you You never suffer your Children to perish O fail not to be present at your Son's death All the Predestinate must dy in your arms Since you saw the first Predestinate dy I will disengage my self from the World That I may dy without sadness I will afflict my Body That I may dy without pain I will abstain from sin That I may dy without fear I will live in pain that I may dy in pleasure I will live in Pennance That I may dy with assurance I will live in Charity That I may dy in Sanctity I will live a Child of the Virgins That I may dy like a Predestinate I will live in grace that I may dy in grace I will live in love that I may dy in love I adjure you O ye daughters of Jerusalem that if you find my beloved you will tell him that I languish with love Cant. 5. Love is as strong as death Cant. 8. Let my soul dy the death of the just Numb 23. The Death of sinners is very bad Ps 33. He shall laugh at the latter day Prov. 31. Into thy hands O Lord I recommend my spirit Luk. 23. CXXXVII MED Of the Resurrection of the B. Virgin MAry is risen again Her body is no longer in the grave So pure a flesh as hers Ought to be exempt from corruption So holy a Temple ought not to be profaned Mary is the chastest of Virgins She ought therefore to be incorruptible Mary is the best of Mothers She ought therefore to be with her Son If the body of Jesus by its Communion Gives a right to a Resurrection Who ought to rise again If not she who gave him flesh If the Servants are with their Masters Where ought his Mother to be If this favour