forever live with Christ who is my Life And these of the Wise Son of Sirach Fear not the Sentence of Death Remember them that have been before thee and that come after For this is the Sentence of the Lord over all flesh And why art thou against the pleasure of the most High There is no inquisition in the grave whether thou hast liv'd ten or an hundred or a thousand years Let him represent to him St. Hilarion surpris'd by Thieves who with Sword in Hand are just going to murther him when astonish'd to see him so unconcern'd and asking him why he fear'd not Death 'T is answered he because I have been a long time preparing my self for it He may also observe to him the Words of St. Cyprian who says that such only ought to fear Death as lack Faith and have no Hope of reigning with Christ To all which the Minister may superad divers Examples and Sayings of other Saints and Martyrs who have wish'd and long'd for their Dissolution whereby to pacifie and calm the trouble with which the Sick Person 's mind is disturbed Thirdly The last means we propos'd for removing the Patient's Fear of Death is by Ejaculatory Prayers the Minister teaching and assisting him to say after this manner O my God! I feel the horrors of Death upon me but as much as in me lies I sacrifice them to Thee and am ready to die if it be thy Pleasure I humbly submit my will to Thine O Lord who hast created me preserved me and by a special Grace caused me to be born within thy Church to the end I might be saved What reward shall I give unto Thee for all these Benefits I will receive at Thy Hand this Cup of my Death which Thou presentest to me I take it O my God with all my heart in testimony of my Love and Submission to Thee If Thou O Lord hast so decreed it notwithstanding my natural reluctance thereto I am most ready and willing to die hoping my Death will through thine infinite Goodness be follow'd by Eternal Rest O Father of Mercy and God of all Comfort I thank Thee that I am now come to my last hour which will put an end to all my Sins I thank Thee especially that Thou hast been pleas'd to afford me time to prepare my self for Death O help Thou me in my troubles and anguishes Strengthen my Soul that stands surrounded with the dangers of Hell Support my weakness and be my strong Defence against Satan that so I may die in Thy Favour and Love I know that my Redeemer lives and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the Earth And though after my Skin Worms destroy this Body yet in my flesh will I see God Whom I shall see for my self and mine Eyes shall behold and not another Lord I beseech Thee encrease my Faith and Confidence in Thee and comfort thou me in all my Afflictions Thus may the Minister entertain the Sick Person in devout Meditations and Prayers making use also of such other Words and Sentences as he shall judge proper for the raising his Soul and fixing his Thoughts and Desires upon God CHAP. X. What is to be said to a Sick Person whose unwillingness to die proceeds from an excessive Love for the Things of this World OThers there are who are very loath to think of Death not so much like those mentioned in the preceding Chapter from an over-fondness of Life it self as a difficulty of quitting some particular Things and Circumstances attending it such as Riches and Honours and Pleasures and above all the Persons they most dearly love their Wives and Children c. On which last account the Poor Man's Case claims our greatest pity and attention For whilst his heart is fill'd with grief and anxious thoughts what will become of his distressed Family the Devil ne're fails to lay hold on this Occasion to divert his Mind from the Business of his Salvation If therefore the Minister find this to be the Condition of the Patient having first exhorted those that are present humbly to implore Almighty God to allay his Disquiets and render his Mind free and composed to the end he may think of nothing but Eternity let him make use of the following Means for comforting him And in the First place let him cause all such Persons to withdraw whether Wife or Children or others whose presence may attract the Patient's Affection to this World and keep up those melancholy thoughts he is in taking care to prevent as much as possible his being spoken to about them further than he shall think of absolute necessity with regard to their future Settlement After which he may proceed to inform him that this Disquiet of his is not only useless both to himself and Family but most prejudicial to his Soul in that it obstructs its due Preparation for Death That the Poverty under which he leaves his Family is an Evil that soon or late will have an end but the Torments of the other World have none and that therefore in these last moments of his Life he ought to entertain no other thoughts but how to avoid his own Eternal Misery That his Family is under the Conduct of the Divine Providence that loves them and will watch over them and bestow on them Temporal Goods sufficient perhaps too great a measure thereof so that instead of afflicting himself with the Consideration of the sad Condition he leaves them in he ought on the contrary to rejoyce in God and to lift up his Heart and Mind to Him and to beg his Grace to forget and reject whatever respects not his Everlasting Salvation with full perswasion that God to whom he is to recommend his Wife and Children as Christ when ready to die did his Disciples will be their Protector and Helper and Defender who being also more their Father than he himself is of his own Children and governing all things both in Heaven and on Earth by his Almighty Providence will supply them with whatsoever is necessary as well for their Bodies as their Souls This Trust and Confidence the Minister shall say to him will be more available to the good of your Family then all the disquieting thoughts you can entertain about them For God is Merciful and will grant us every thing we ask according to his Will Moreover remember that he who undertakes a long Journey should not carry ought about him that is combersom You are setting-out upon your Journey to Eternity and may within a little time appear before the Tribunal of God Take upon you therefore no such unnecessary Burden as that of the care of your Wife and Children Peradventure they have been the cause of your committing many Sins in the course of your Life Beware they be not that of your undoing now Disburthen your heart of this heavy Load that so it may be able to raise it self up to God and savour nothing but things Eternal Consider
conjunction with him and giving him an Explanation of its Contents From which if the Patient shall think himself in some measure inlightened but not yet sufficiently acquainted with some certain Articles thereof the Minister may prudently and dexterously instruct him concerning the same without any shew of catechising of him but by way of Prayer exhorting him to say after him Lord I commend my Soul to Thee O most Holy Blessed and Glorious Trinity Father Son and Holy Spirit One only God in Three Persons and Unity of Substance have mercy upon me I commit my self to Thee O Father Almighty who hast created Heaven and Earth and all things visible and invisible I commend my self to Thee O Blessed JESU Saviour of my Soul who wast sent from Heaven by the Father Eternal Who wast conceived by the Operation of the Holy Ghost in the Womb of the Virgin MARY Who Suffer'dst Dyedst and wast Buried Who didst descend into Hell and rosest again on the Third Day Who ascendedst into Heaven and art sitting on the right Hand of God the Father Almighty From whence Thou shalt come to Judge all Men who are to rise again in their own Bodies giving Life to such of them as shall have dyed in Grace and adjudging the Reprobates to Eternal Fire I commend my self to Thee Holy Spirit who proceedest both from the Father and the Son and whom together with these Two Divine Persons I adore with one and the same Adoration who inlivenest and sanctifiest One Catholick and Apostolick Church on Earth in which Thou hast ordain'd Two Sacraments for the Remission of Sins and Communion with Thy Self I beseech Thee I humbly intreat Thee through Thine Own Merits O sweet JESU my Redeemer by Thy tender Love and Mercy and by all that Thou hast done and suffered for me to lead me to those Mansions of Eternal Bliss and Glory which Thou hast prepar'd for those that love Thee Amen The same thing may be done also by way of Oblation as I Offer up my Heart and my Soul to Thee O Lord who c. Or by way of Supplication as Have mercy upon me O Lord c. Or Lastly by way of Thansgiving as I thank Thee O most Holy Blessed and Glorious Trinity Father Son and Holy Ghost One only God in Three Persons who hast created c. as before The Minister may also instruct the Patient by raising his Hope towards God and shewing him what Father he has by Creation and at the same time explaining to him those Articles of Faith that respect the Divinity Then by shewing him who his Redeemer is and acquainting him with the Mystery of the Incarnation And lastly by telling him who is his Comforter discoursing to him of the Holy Spirit and of the Graces which he communicates to us In like manner may he teach him the Articles of his Belief by causing him to ponder the Benefits and Favours God has done him by representing to him that the Father the Son and the Holy Ghost have created all Things for him and that Jesus Christ who is the Word equal to his Father has been willing to put on Human Flesh in order to his Redemption from Sin and Death and the purchasing for him a Crown of Everlasting Glory All these different Ways of explaining the Articles of the Christian Faith to One that is not throughly acquainted with them may also be very useful to those that are the most perfect therein not for instructing but inciting them to Acts of Faith especially when drawing near to Death it being very necessary at that juncture to fix in the Patient a Belief of those Blessings he hopes to enjoy to all Eternity CHAP. VI. How the Minister is to raise and exercise the Hope of the Sick Person FIRST of all he must examine how his Soul is affected there being three sorts of Dispositions to be found in Sick Persons Some have little Hope with much Fear whether proceeding from a Natural Timorousness and the remembrance of their Sins that perhaps are very many and heinous or from the Craft and Malice of the Devil who having propos'd to them while they were in health God's Mercy alone abstracted from his Justice for the more easie inducing them to a Security in Sinning does now they are approaching Death and Judgment present to their Eyes the Severity of God's Justice unattended with his Mercy to the end he may cast them into Despair concerning their Salvation and so harden them to a thorough impenitence Others there are who on the contrary exceed in Hope even to Presumption as thinking of nothing but the Virtuous Actions and good Works they fancy to have done and regarding only the Divine Mercy and infinite Merits of Christ without reflecting at all upon their Sins or the Judgments denounced by God against them The third and last sort are such as have neither Hope nor Despair in whom it is therefore expedient to excite the former by the Means we shall next endeavour to shew referring it to another place to speak of raising the Hope of the Timerous and moderating that of the Presumptuous As the principal Object of Hope is God He being the Author of that Felicity we look for so there are two Things which the Minister is chiefly to attend to with regard to this Head The one is the raising and fixing the Sick Person 's Hope upon the Glory Eternal The other is the exciting him to a Christian Confidence that he shall attain to it He may raise his Hope and strengthen his Courage by telling him that within a little time the Torments and Afflictions which always accompany this present Life will be at an end He may comfort him also with that which made the Prophet rejoyce namely The glad Tidings of his being now going to the House of God Wherein he shall feel no more Pains nor Cares nor Grief the same Prophet assuring us that no Harms no Sufferings no Torments no Fears shall ever come nigh the Everlasting Mansions Where also as St. John says God shall wipe away all Tears from our Eyes The Minister shall endeavour to lift up his Heart and Mind to the Heavenly Jerusalem that Divine City and sure Refuge from all our Enemies where the World the Flesh and the Devil shall no longer be able to pursue after us and where we shall reap the Eternal Fruits of our Victories over them and be Crowned with immortal Life and Glory It may inspire the Sick Person with some sort of Joy too to put him in mind that he will shortly return his acceptable Thanks to Almighty God for his having led him as it were through Fire and Water into a Place of true Refreshment and Delight Let him repeat sometimes the Words which God spake by his Prophet Isaiah Behold I will extend Peace to them like a River and Glory like a flowing stream that is I will cause their hearts to overflow with joy and tranquility Let him remember with St.
be us'd when the Patient does not resign himself as he ought to the Will of God and is afraid of Death through a too great Love of this Life p. 68. Chap. X. What is to be said to a Sick Person whose unwillingness to die proceeds from an excessive Love for the Things of this World p. 77. Chap. XI What is to be done to a Sick Person that is Impatient p. 84. Chap. XII How those Persons ought to be managed that lie under Temptations against the Faith p. 89. Chap. XIII How to comfort a Sick Person that is mistrustful of God ' s Mercy and troubled with Despairing Thoughts p. 94. Chap. XIV What is to be said to such as shew too great a Confidence and presume too far upon their Salvation p. 101. Chap. XV. How a Sick Person is to be managed when bereft in a great measure of his Senses and Understanding p. 104. Chap. XVI What the Minister is to do when he finds the Sick Person posess'd of his Speech and Understanding but likely to die very soon p. 107. Chap. XVII How the Minister is to apply himself to a Sick Person who has the Vse of his Reason but no Disposition to such things as are necessary to the making a Happy End p. 109. Chap. XVIII What in the last place the Minister is to do if the Patient dies and What in case it shall please God to restore him to his Health again With regard on the one hand to the Standers-by and on the other to the Person Recover'd p. 117. Being concluded with A Prayer and Thanksgiving to be offer'd to GOD by One newly Recover'd from a Dangerous Sickness p. 124. THE Dying Man's Assistant OR Short Instructions For those who are concern'd in the Preparing of Sick Persons FOR DEATH CHAP. I. The Duty of a Minister in assisting Persons who are in danger of Death THOSE whom it shall please Almighty God to call to the Assistance of Dying Christians in order to their making a Happy End ought well to consider that this is an Office of the highest Consequence for as much as no less than our Neighbour's Salvation may depend thereon As we die but once so if in the last moment of our Lives we omit ought that is necessary to our Eternal Welfare we are gone for ever the Fault is irreparable And what should still the more excite the Zeal and Charity of Ministers on this Occasion is this Consideration That oftentimes the Divine Providence marks out some particular Persons to contribute to the Salvation of others who without their Assistance might eternally perish But though this were not so certain it is that they who are aiding to Dying Persons may perform their Duty in such a manner as to dispose them at least to die in more abundant Grace and contribute to their enjoying a greater degree of Felicity in Heaven If it be an Act of Charity to preserve in Grace those that are in Health by exhorting them to a frequent Participation of the Blessed Sacrament and the Use of other Pious Means What ought the Minister's Zeal to be in assisting those poor Souls that are drawing near the time of their Departure it being certain that wheresoever the Tree shall fall be it on the South or be it on the North there it will for ever lie Let the Minister therefore remember that of himself he is by no means capable of performing this important Part of his Ministry but must apply himself to God for the Assistance of his Holy Spirit herein A Sick Person has often-times his Mind disturb'd through the violence of his Distemper and sometimes a Prospect of Hell too raises in him an inward Terror and Disquiet and whil'st he is in this Agony and just upon the point of giving up the Ghost the Devil n'ere fails to use all his Arts for improving the little time that remains to his final Destruction The Consideration of all which should oblige the Minister humbly to acknowledge his own Weakness to be mistrustful of his own Strength and repose in God alone all his Hopes of contributing to the Salvation of Dying Persons His intention of assisting them in the Condition they are in must be sincere remembring they are the Images of God and Members of Jesus Christ who has redeemed them with his Blood and appointed him in his stead to take care of their Salvation and that by how much the better End they make so much the more God will be glorified Let all these Motives serve to raise in him a fervent desire of saving them by all the Means the Divine Providence shall inspire him with Let him every day ask of God the Talent necessary for this Function Let him pray for the Sick in general and particularly for those to whom he is called Let him renew his Zeal by Exultations of the Heart and short and frequent Ejaculations which he may apply to them and let him recommend their Souls to God not only in his private Prayers but above all in the Publick Prayers of the Church 'T is advisable that the Minister think afore-hand of what he is to say or do on this Occasion and so to order and dispose it in his memory as to omit nothing that may be necessary both for the Comfort of the Sick Person and Edification of those that are present This he ought to be very intent upon forasmuch as the same things are not always proper to be said or at least not to be said in the same manner but must be caâ—efully suited to Time and Place and the Disposition he shall find in the Patient of hearing them A Person of Quality is to be dealt with after a quite disferent manner from one of a low Condition They that abound with Wit and Learning and are of a sweet Temper and have exercised themselves in the Practice of Devotion are not to be addressed to in the same Stile as those that are ignorant rude and of a moâ—ose Nature To the former a few Words well chosen and seasonably spoken are sufficient Whereas the latter need common things to be said to them adapted to their Apprehensions and those to be also inlarged upon But here the Minister is to consider whether they retain or have lost their Sences whether their Distemper puts them to great Torment or not whether they may for some time be spoken to or whether their Pain will not permit it All which shews that there is a great deal of Prudence requisite in the Minister for his making a good and seasonable use of those Things he has prepar'd speaking them sometimes interruptedly and by intervals sometimes softly and at other times in a different tone to the end the Sick Person may the better relish them be less troubled therewith and reflect on the same with more leisure He may also propound Questions to him if he perceives in him Strength and Understanding enough to answer them And above all he must not omit Praying