give credit to my word But he credited that of the Serpent A blind credulity ought to repair his curiosity Faith consecrates your Understanding It humbles pour Pride It raises your Knowledges It makes you subject to God You must believe that you may see Faith goes before glory And how can you have Faith If what you see be not hidden The Disciple I will again speak c. Doutless your Humanity For to be an object of our Faith Ought to be hid as well as your Divinity But why under the form of Bread Is this state sutable to you What honour is not due to you Who can honour you in this figure The Master My Wisdom would not be infinit Unless it were incomprehensible It would not be wonderful Unless it were unconceivable Wisdom avoids the open light It hides it self in darkness Goodness flies from obscurity And would produce it self into the light Wisdom hides it self Because it would be admired Goodness discovers it self Because it would be beloved A God under the form of a man Is a more astonishing change Than a man under the form of bread Than a body in form of aliment Did not they eat the Lamb the Manna The loaves of Proposition If the figures were eaten The Truth also ought to be eaten You stood in need of a Sacrament For the nourishment of your Souls As your life is divine You stood in need of a divine food As you have a Soul and Body So there was requisit my Soul and my Body Unless you eat my flesh you will not have life All men were to eat it There was therefore requisit an aliment That all men might make use of Men have different tasts But all men love bread I took this amiable figure That I might be eaten without horrour That I might enter into the bottom of your heart That I might communicate my Spirit to you For to purify your body For to asswage its concupiscence For to cure it of its maladies For to give it my purity And my virginal qualities Bread is an aliment Which shews the effects of the Sacrament I would have you all to be united together I would transform you into my self As I live for my Father So I would have you live for me The Disciple O divine Master How admirable is your Wisdom You are truly a hidden God O what Bread O what a Feast O what a Table O how am I obliged to you That you would remain with us That you would take this figure For to communicate your self to us I believe I will not see I am called a Believer and not a Rationalist What shall I do to acknowledge you Since you remain with me I will remain with you Since you humble your self for me I will humble my self for you Since you destroy your self for me I will destroy my self for you Since you will live in me I will also live in you CXXVII MED Of the Love of JESVS Christ in the Sacrament of the Altar THis Sacrament proceeds from Love This Sacrament contents Love This Sacrament produces Love The Son of God did institute it out of Love He ascended up to Heaven out of Justice But he remain'd on Earth out of Love Did men deserve this favour They made themselves unworthy of it Does there any advantage accrew to him by it He suffers therein a great contempt Love hath triumphed over God Love made him com down on Earth Love made him stay there Love keeps him as it were Prisoner there Love tends unto Unity 'T is the end of all its desires It finds in the Communion All its satisfaction There it is that Jesus unites himself to us There it is that we unite our selves to him That he transforms himself into us That we transform our selves into him That he becoms one self-same thing with us That we becom one self-same thing with him There is but one person made up Of the aliment and of him that takes it There is a distinction every where But there is none in the food This is that which contents Love This is that which makes it a Sacrament of Love Knowledge begets Love Presence nourishes Love Affection enkindles Love Benefits do draw Love The Soul here sees her well-beloved She enjoys his Presence She discovers his affection She is fill'd with his graces and favours The heart may resist hatred But it cannot resist Love She there finds her beloved She there finds her delights She there finds her Love Ah! whence coms it that I am all ice Whence coms it that I have so little love What Nature is my heart made of How can it defend it self Love encompasses it on all sides And yet it knows not what Love is Love shews it self to my eyes Love makes it self be heard to my ears Love makes it self be tasted by my mouth Love makes it self be felt by my heart Love calls me draws me warms me Fights me flatters me obliges me Does all things to win me And yet I know not what it is to love Whence coms this insensibility O it is because I love Creatures It is because I am not disengaged It is because my heart is divided It is because I am not mortified My Soul Wilt thou always be ungrateful Wilt thou never let thy heart be won Shall not a God who is always with thee A God who gives himself all to thee A God who annihilates himself for thee A God who stands not in need of thee Who is happy without thee Who has so much Love for thee Who bestows so many benefits on thee Win thy heart Cannot he deserve thy affection O I can no longer resist this Love No longer defend my self from its pursuits I will no longer withdraw through fear I will approach out of Love O I will mortify my self For I cannot live without loving I will communicate frequently For I cannot live without eating The children of Israel said to one another Manhu which signifies What is this for they were ignorant what it was To whom Moses said This is the bread which our Lord has given you to eat Exod. 16. This is the bread that came down from Heaven not as your Fathers did eat Manna and died He that eats this bread shall live for ever John 6. Who shall give us of his flesh that we may be filled Job 31. My flesh is truly meat John 6. When he had loved his who were in the World he loved them unto the end John 13. CXXVIII MED Of the Holy Communion Ye Daughters of Jerusalem Tell my well beloved That I expect her day and night And that I languish with love I quitted Heaven for to com down on Earth And for to gain her love I took the form of Bread To make my self be loved And eaten without horrour I made my self a food that I might unite My self strictly to this ungrateful Soul I would fain feed her I would enrich her With the treasure of my Graces Why does
because you are a Christian And have a mind to be happy Why does the Devil tempt you 'T is because he hates the Image of God Because he envies man Because he would make you his Slave Because he would have Companions Because he would enter into your heart Because he would ascend God's Throne Because he would profane his Temple Because he would be ador'd therein Because he would Crucifie JESUS Christ And renew all his Ignominies Will you carry on his Designs Will you content his Passion 'T is what you do as often as you consent to Temptation Why does God permit you to be tempted 'T is for his glory and your good He would know whether you love him He would make you know your self He has a mind to try your virtue To keep you in a dependance on him To fit you for a Combat To thrust on your Sloth To take you off from Creatures To oblige you to have recourse to him To make you merit Heaven O my Saviour I wonder not that I am tempted Since you were also tempted 'T is good that I should know you 'T is good that I should know my self I find that Temptation hinders me from entring into Presumption Tempt me O God try me See whether there be no iniquity in me O no! tempt me not Alas I know my own weakness Deliver me rather from my temptation At least fortifie me against my temptation Satan strikes at you as well as me Defend your self in me and through me God tempted Abraham Gen. 20. Fear not for God came for to try you Exod. 20. The Lord your God tempts you to make it publickly known whether you love him or not Gen. 13. Anania why did Satan tempt thy heart Act. 5. Every one is tempted by being drawn and allured by his own concupiscence Jam. 1. God tempted them and found them worthy of him Wisd 3. XXXI MED Of the troubles and pains of Mind HOw these thoughts torment me Why art thou tormented at them I fear I shall give consent to them If you fear you do not consent Your fear ought to secure you I am fallen into sin You must rise quickly out of it God is angry with me 'T is in your power to appease him Walk with more Diligence Labour with more Fidelity Confess your self without delay Humble your self without disturbance One evil does not repair another Sin is not cur'd by Sin This Temptation is importune Yes But it is necessary for you It keeps you in humility It maintains you in your dependance It obliges you to pray It hinders you from presuming Without Temptation one cannot be tryed Without fighting one cannot be crown'd Without a Cross none can be saved O my God! Keep me close to you And I will not fear the Devils Although they were all against me Without you I am nothing but weakness With you I am all fortitude If I have wherewithal to ruin my self You have wherewithal to save me Let not your heart be troubled John 14. Because thou wert acceptable to God it was necessary that Temptation should try thee Tob. 12. God is faithful who will not suffer you to be tempted above what you are able but he will make profit of your temptation that you may be able to sustain it 1 Cor. 10. Blessed is the man who suffers Temptation Jam. 1. XXXII MED Of natural Inclinations TO love by Inclination is to love like a Beast To love with Inclination is to love like a Man To love without Inclination is to love like a Christian To love against Inclination is to love like a Saint Christian Charity embraces all the World Its motive is singular and universal If for God I love him that pleases me I ought also to love him that displeases me They are both of them created by God Both made to his Image Both redeem'd with his Blood Both call'd to his Glory I am not bound to love all the World equally But I am bound to hate no body Particular Friendships are Universal Hatreds The Unions of Inclination Are Schisms and Heresies of Heart The nearer you draw to one person The farther you remove from all others If you are totally one person 's You are nothing to all the rest You commit an injustice You refuse them what you ow them You wound Charity You divide Unity You slight Regularity You scandalize the Community You fly from Solitude You dare not remain any more before God You commit a great many sins Your Spirit is without Recollection Your Heart without Devotion Your Prayers without Gust Your Communions without Fruit. Your Life without Peace Your Labours without merit O my God! How amazed shall I be at my death When I shall see that I have not lov'd you Unless I love all my Brothers I love not so much as one for your sake If I have an Aversion for one I have no Charity for all the rest O how much time ill spent O how many dangerous Familiarites O how many unprofitable Discourses O how many criminal Entertainments O my God! I will for your sake love all sorts of persons I will love my Friends and my Foes The Rich and the Poor The Great and the Little The good humours and the bad humours Those that do me good and those that do me hurt Since they are all your Subjects All your Children All your Members Since you love them all That you are in them all That you order me to love them all There is no acception of persons with God Rom. 2. He makes his Sun to rise upon the good and the bad and rains upon the just and unjust Matth. 5. Thou shalt not make acception of persons Deut. 16. Is there not one Father of us all Is there not one God who created us why then does every one contemn his Brother Mal. 2. These are those that separate themselves Animals that have not the Spirit Jude v. 19. XXXIII MED Of Aversions THe wounds of the heart are mortal Hatred makes Charity die The fairest of all Victories Is to triumph over our Aversions To love a Friend is the virtue of a Pagan To love a Foe is the virtue of a Christian 'T is the strongest of all loves Because it triumphs over the greatest enemy 'T is the amplest of all loves Because it embraces both friend and foe 'T is the purest of all loves Because Nature cannot love an enemy 'T is the most meritorious of all loves Because there is nothing harder than to love an enemy God loves all things that he made He has an Aversion to nothing but sin The Creatures that fight with each other Are at peace in his bosom He has no Antipathy because his Essence is infinit Great Souls have no enmities They have a dominion over all Objects They are not divided by matter All things are at peace in their heart Sin only alone is not there in quiet Because it makes war against Sanctity Self-love is divided within it self Divine love
admits of no division Inclination has its bounds Charity has none To love all things except sin Is to love out of Charity 'T is to be like God 'T is to have a heart as great as God's O how happy should I be Had I an assurance that I lov'd God truly I can have no greater assurance thereof Than to love my enemies for God If I am pleas'd with those that displease me If I oblige those who disoblige me If I love those that hate me If I testifie an affection to those For whom I feel an Aversion I have all the assurance that one can have That I love God sincerely That all my sins are forgiven me Because I love my enemies for his sake O God my Lord I will testifie my love towards you By loving for your sake those who are not love-worthy By doing good to those who do ill to me By conversing with those that displease me By seeking after those that I cannot look upon without pain By that it is that you will know That I am your Child That I am your Disciple That I live not by humour And that I love you with all my heart If you love those that love you what reward will you have do not the Publicans do the fame Matth. 5. If you salute your Brethren only what do you do more do not the Heathens do the fame ibid. Amen I say to you as long as you have not don to one of these little ones neither have you don to me Matth. 25. Their heart is divided now they will perish Os 10. XXXIV MED Of Presumption WHat art thou that thou presumest of thy self What wert thou heretofore What art thou at present What wilt thou be one day Thou know'st that thou hast sinned But thou know'st not whether thy sin be forgiven Thou know'st that thou hast offended God But thou know'st not whether thou hast appeas'd him Thou know'st that thou hast lost grace But thou know'st not whether thou hast recovered it again Thou saist Thou hast been at Confession But was thy Confession good Was it entire Was it accompanied with sorrow Was this sorrow supernatural Was it sincere Was it of all thy sins Was it with all thy heart Was it of all thy life Hast thou been seen to change thy manners Is that sorrow true and real Which dies as soon as it is conceiv'd Thou feelest not thy self guilty of any sin But that does not justifie thee One ought not to be disquieted for what is past Neither ought one to presume of what is to come What art thou at present Art thou in the grace of God Hast thou nothing upon thy Conscience The Heart of man is very hidden The Devil's wit is very crafty Vices imitate Virtues Passions disturb our knowledge One is easily perswaded that what one loves is innocent No man is an enemy to himself We defend all that we love Many times we make a Mortal sin pass for a Venial one We reckon but as a slight Detraction Calumnies of the highest importance Whatsoever good thou do'st secures thee not that thou art good In whatsoever state thou art Thou know'st not whether thou art in a good one For to do a good action thou must have a good intention Who knows when it is good Many go down into Egypt That think they go up to Jerusalem Many are in Illusion who believe they are in Contemplation How deceitful is the heart of man Onely God alone can understand it Thou must not therefore flatter thy self Thou must not over-perswade thy self What wilt thou be for the time to come Art thou sure that thou shalt persever Wilt thou answer for thy own Will How often has she deceiv'd thee Wilt thou answer for God's Will He efficaciously would have thee be saved But thou must cooperate thereunto Does he owe thee all sorts of graces Is he bound to priviledge a presumptuous man Little sins lead us unto great ones Our Salvation often depends upon a small matter Whilst we are here on Earth we may ascend to Heaven Till we are in Heaven we may fall down into Hell I find no assurance but in Humility and in Obedience The fall of great ones shall make me little The ruin of the Proud shall make me humble O my God my hope Give me not over to the Spirit of Pride Take all things from me I care not Provided you leave me humility Draw back your Talents I ask them not Provided that I have Charity If I look on my self I find all things to be feared If I consider you I find all things to be hoped Alas I deceive my self but you cannot deceive me I oftentimes wish harm to my self But you always wish me well My Salvation is more in assurance In your hands than in my own I will always diffide in my self But will always conside in you He that lives without diffidence Deceives himself if he be in assurance Man knows not whether he be worthy of love or hatred Eccles 4. The heart of man is wicked and unsearchable who shall know it Jer. 17. I am not conscious to my self of any thing but I am not thereby justified 1 Cor. 14. Thou standest by faith be not high-minded but fear Rom. 4. Be ye therefore humble under the mighty hand of God 1 Pet. 5. XXXV MED Of the good use of Time TIme is precious short irreparable Precious because each moment of it is worth an Eternity Short because it lasts only our life Irreparable because it never returns What will it avail you to have liv'd in pleasures If you die in sin What will it avail you to have past your time well If it go ill with you for all Eternity Time is given you to think on your Salvation You have but little of it remaining Death draws on Eternity advances Your life slips away Your health impairs Your Judgment is preparing Poor fool this very night thy soul shall be fetch'd away And to whom wilt thou leave all that thou hast hoarded up To whom will he be good who is naught to himself After your death you will wish for one moment Of that time which you squander away in Pastimes After death you will repine at the loss of that time Which you spend unprofitably Make therefore good use of your time Manage those precious moments Redeem that which you have lost Employ the present well Regulate well that which remains Think on your Salvation Save your Soul An Angel hath sworn by him that lives in all Ages That soon there will be no more time O my God! Give me yet a little more time And I will give you all satisfaction Alas I deserve indeed to be deprived of it Because I have so long abused it But I will henceforth make better use of it I will think on nothing but my Salvation I will repair the time I have lost And employ well the time remaining They were taken away before their time Job 22. Do