JESUS Not long after she had Writ this Letter a good occasion offering it self by a Gentlemans passing through Graveling who going for England undertook to deliver a Letter to her Father with his own hand she took the pains to Write again being mov'd to it by the thoughts of her own approaching Death as well as by the news of the Death of several of her Fathers Neighbours and Relations which put her in mind of what might happen to him and how unprepared he was for it SIR WHilst I was making a strict iniquiry how I might speedily and securely send you another Letter in hopes that before I die your goodness would move you to vouchsafe me the comfort of such an Answer as my heart most passionately longs for Providence was pleas'd to bring a Gentleman this way who has kindly offer'd me the safe conveyance of this Letter into your hands wherefore thô I very lately troubl'd you with one and thô Writing in the weak condition I am in gives me a great deal of pain yet that of the Body is nothing in respect of the pain my Soul suffers as often as I reflest upon the danger yours is in and that the Eternal happiness of that depends upon the uncertain moments of this transitory Life Wherefore Dear Sir once more upon my Knees I humbly beg your Blessing which perhaps will be the last time I shall ask it and also beg the comfort of hearing of your health which I hope is good thô I thank God mine is at present in a very low condition his Divine Will be done in me who does all things for the best Alas Sir when I consider that we are all Mortal and that there is an Eternity of Happiness or Misery that attends us how can I refrain from being thus troublesome Since I know not how soon that change may come to you which I have reason to expect will soon happen to my self and which I lately heard has arriv'd to several of your Neighbors who thô young and as I fear far from the thoughts of it are now but Dust. How then can the pain that my Heart feels be conceal'd Or indeed how can I express what I feel till you are out of danger and in such a condition as Death may be welcome to you whenever it comes For God's sake Sir think of it surely such a number of Martyrs and Learned Confessors have not dispised the World and suffer'd for nothing Oh no God speaks to us in every thing and all the Benefits that we receive every moment proclaim his goodness who requires nothing but that we Believe be Sorry and be Saved And when we do believe in and love Iesus Crucified that we hate our selves for having offended so much love Having done this what he requires for our Repentance instead of seeming hard will prove sweet and easie And so I doubt not but it will to you Dear Sir if at my humble request you will do this and that you will find such a joy and comfort in the doing it as all your past Life could never afford you Behold me now therefore prostrate if I could below the Feet of all Creatures and even the Earth it self to beg of you for Christs sake not to deny my request of retiring your self two or three Days to consider the Truth of things and to take to heart your Eternal concern If I were dying you would not deny me this and I know not how far I am from it at present being very ill of a languishing distemper which I fear will end in Death And therefore I beg it of you as my last request with all the tenderness and earnestness my Soul can express assuring you that your grant of it will be as dear to me as the Life you gave me Pardon my too great boldness I beseech you for thô I would not for the World willingly offend you yet I cannot avoid making this presumptuous request as I fear you will think it Dear Sir my heart is too full of Affection Respect and Concern for you to be silent where your Eternal happiness is in so eminent a danger I humbly beg my Ladies and your own Blessing for Your Poor Sick Child CLARE of JESUS CHAP. XI Her interior sufferings in time of her sickness and the effects of her Childrens Visit ONE would have thought that the infinite goodness of God which permits him not to be behind hand with his Creatures seeing her in the interior affliction she suffer'd upon account of her Father as the foresaid Letters sufficiently express as well as the exterior she felt from her Sickness and a want of those helps to bear it which the Austerity of her Order permitted not the use of and which her love for him had therefore made her choose loving suffering above all things in this World because it was the best expression she could make of her love to him I say one would have thought that the goodness of God would have mov'd him to temper and sweeten these great afflictions with some interior Comforts but it happen'd that his Providence dealt quite otherwise with her not out of a want of Love but out of an abundance of it who seeing the fidelity and courage with which she serv'd him and her constant Conformity to his Divine Will even in the hardest things and knowing also what an Eternal weight of Glory these momentary sufferings gain'd for her and that the more pure her sufferings were the greater also was her gain seem'd to withdraw himself together with all interior comforts that accompany a sensible feeling of his presence so intirely from her that she thought he had totally abandon'd and forsaken her thô still he resided in the secret of her heart and invisibly assisted her to bear this most sensible affliction Declaring one Day these her sufferings to a Sister that came to Visit her who was a great confident of hers she desir'd her to Pray for her that she might intirely abandon her self to Gods Will and signified to her how great an addition it was to the Mortification her sickness brought with it that it depriv'd her of Religious observance especially that of the Divine Office Another time she exprest her self to those that Visited her in the following manner Happy are you dear Sisters that can assist in the Quire amongst those Seraphims for so she call'd the Religious in praising and loving God and can still be punctual in the performance of all other things that Religious Observance requires alas we never know a Benefit till we are depriv'd of it How happy was I when I had strength and abilities to perform what our Rules require but not justly acquÄtting my self in the performance of them God has justly placed me here and taken that happiness from me to whom I humbly submit for I know his Infinite VVisdom thinks it best to have it so his Holy VVill be done Adding moreover That it seem'd to her since she
this Sacred Veil and wear it till you come before the Tribunal of the Eternal Iudge to whom all Knees both in Heaven and Earth and Hell are bent remember you have for ever taken leave of the World and given and united your self wholy to Iesus Christ as to your beloved Spouse may he defend and protect you from all Evils and receive you at length into Eternal Life Amen Then the Bride with a loud Voice recited the words of St. Agnes He has put a Mark and Veil ever my Face that I may admit no other Lover but himself Then the Abbess put on the Brides head a Crown saying Take my dear Sister this Temporal Crown as a certain pledge of that Eternal one which your Divine Spouse has prepar'd for you if you be faithful to him After this the Abbess also put a Ring on her Finger saying at the same time My beloved Daughter take this Ring as a Mark of that love and fidelity which you ought inviolably to keep to your faithful Spouse Iesus Christ as long as you love To which the Bride Answer'd with a high Voice My Lord Iesus Christ has engag'd me to him with his Ring and adorn'd me as his Spouse with a Crown Then the Abbess put into her hand a Crucifix and said Receive here and embrace your Spouse may he receive bless and preserve both you and us for ever Amen After she had receiv'd the Crucifix the Father recited the following Prayers LOrd Iesus Christ who by the immense goodness of thy Purity hast vouchsafed to Espouse our Souls with an indissoluble band of Love grant we beseech thee that this thy Servant being firmly engag'd by thy Ring of Faith may become so constant faithful and devout a Spouse in thy service as that she may firmly persever in it to the end who livest and reignest c. O God who by thy love hast inflam'd this thy Servant and drawn her from the Vanity of the World to the reward of so high a Calling vouchsafe so to purifie her heart with thy presence and the infusion of thy Divine Grace that she may persever in it that being strengthen'd by thy assistance she may be able to perform what by thy Divine inspirations she has promis'd and by the execution hereof happily partake of the Eternal reward thou hast promis'd those that persever in thy service through Christ our Lord Amen These Prayers being ended the Quire began to Sing the following Responsal The Kingdom of this VVorld and all it's Ornaments I have contemn'd for the Love of my Lord Iesus Christ Which having ended they began the Hymn Te Deum Laudamus and whilst they were Singing it the Bride went round the Quire and receiv'd the Embraces and Congratulations of all the Religious then returning to her place she and the rest of the Religious kneeling in their order the Father recited that Verse of the 67 Psalm Confirm O God what thou hast wrought in us and then made a very moving Sermon upon the following Text out of the 9th Psalm Sperent in te Domine qui noverunt nomen tuum Let them hope in thee O Lord who know thy Name In this Exhortation he First lay'd open the nature of this Action or Ceremony they had perform'd by evidencing that a greater Act of hope could not be express'd then by a Voluntary Contempt of the present but transitory Comforts of this World in expectation of those solid and inexplicable joys whose durance was to be Eternal in the next Believe me said he the vain hopes of the Earth are too poor and inconsiderable for so generous hearts as yours are the Kingdom of Heaven as you have made out to Day is only worthy of them Secondly He shew'd there could be no way more Compendious to Honor and Celebrate this great Feast of All-Saints then by striving to make themselves conformable to those Great Originals which in this present conjuncture they had done by so generously undervaluing all the transitory goods of this Life and so might justly hope to arrive at that pitch of Sanctity this Contempt of the World had rais'd the Saints unto and also to share with them the Crown of Glory in the World to come Thirdly Addressing himself to the Bride he assur'd her she had strictly follow'd the direction of St. Austin in Solemnising this Feast by so closely following the Example of Saints nay even the hardest example which is that of Martyrs Whereby she had made a better and a more moving Exhortation by her Example then he was able to make by his words she having verified those of this great Doctor Ser. 47. de Sactis Ab ipsis Martyrum Festivitatum gaudia celebrantur qui ipsorum Martyrum exempla sequuntur Solemnitates enim Martyrum Exhortationes sunt Martyriorum ut imitari non pigeat quod celebrare delectat The joys of the Festivals of Saints are best Celebrated by those who follow their Examples for the Solemnities of Martyrs are so many Exhortatations to Martyrdome that it may not be tedious to Practice what is delightful to Celebrate Proving that the Bride had couragiously enter'd upon the hardest of Martyrdoms by taking upon her so long and terrifying a one as was that dying Life or living Death she had so joyfully embrac'd for the love of God CHAP. II. What Effects this Ceremony wrought upon her self and those that were present at it The great Victory she had obtain'd over her passions manifested by her unconcernedness in this and two other very moving occasions Having ended the Ceremony of her Profession I hope the taking notice of some moving Circumstances in it and of the effects it wrought both upon the Bride and those that were present will prove as grateful to the Reader as I believe the foregoing Relation has been The Ceremony was so moving as that there was scarce a Religious or Secular Person present who were as many as the Doxal could hold that was able to refrain from Tears Nay the Governor himself the Marquiss of Flavecoeur a Person not at all subject to this passion declar'd that he could not refrain from weeping at the sight of it no more then the rest and that he had never felt such a tenderness of heart in all his Life She her self who was the Actor was the only person that seem'd unmov'd in this action appearing all the while with a chearful yet so recollected a Countenance as if she had been totally absorpt in God whose Sacrifice she fell that Day Her little ones stood by her all the time she perform'd the Ceremony which was enough to have mov'd any heart but hers For they being of an Age not sensible of their loss seem'd as little concern'd as their Mother and were very much pleas'd at what they understood not being very busie in assisting at the Ceremony The one put on her Veil the other her Crown at which Sister Clare smiling told her in a low Voice she wore that for her
had left these exercises as if God also had abandon'd her and that she had nothing now to comfort her self withal but the thoughts that he treated her no worse then his own Son whom also he had abandon'd for her sake all therefore she was able now to do was to unite these her interior sufferings and derelictions to those he suffer'd upon the Cross when he complain'd of his Eternal Fathers forsaking him and beg'd of them to assist her with their Prayers that she might bear this tryal as she ought testifying that the pain it occasion'd was so great as that it had made her almost insensible of her exterior sufferings neither feeling the pain of her distemper nor tasting what was given her to Eat One of the good Sisters thinking to give her ease in these her sufferings at least for some little time desir'd she would admit of a Visit from her Children but she knowing how much her indisposition had chang'd her from what she had been formerly was unwilling for fear she should not have strength enough to maintain that equality of mind which she had till then exprest in such like occasions yet after much intreaty she gave her consent that they should be brought to her no sooner were they come to the Bed-side but she fell a weeping This unexpected accident made them presently be taken away from her and after they were gone the Sister asked her the cause of her Tears she answer'd 't was my tenderness that made me VVeep being well I had often much a do to forbear the expressing the sentiments of a Mother but now being overcome by sickness I cannot overcome my self Then the Sister asked her How she had attain'd to that great Mortification and conquest over Nature She reply'd That from the moment she left Brother Clare all things but God were displeasing to her and that the Children putting her in mind of that other Sacrifice which she had made to God caus'd her a new to settle her Affections upon her Creator which by the assistance of his Divine Grace could not be alter'd by any Creature Perhaps the thoughts that this was the last time she should ever see them in this World and that they were to be left to the care of strangers or else expos'd to a dangerous Education by their Protestant Relations might occasion her tenderness in this Visit which she overcame in the next in which the Children were also taken from her upon account of their own arid not of their Mothers Tears As soon as they were out of the Room Mother Abbess asked her If she were not troubled for them No said she I bless God not in the least for I have long since given them into his hands and powerful protection who I am sure can and will take care of them Without doubt as the Religious took notice of before she had as great a Tenderness for her Children as a Mother could have and yet she was so much Mistress over this passion as she seem'd to have none at all for them which made one of the Religious once tell her in Recreation That she would be much above her in Heaven by reason of the great Oblation she had made To whom Sister Clare Answer'd It is you dear Sister that will meet with the highest place there for having given your self to him when you were Young making him your only Spouse upon which the Sister reply'd And do you count it a small thing to leave Brother Clare and your two Angelical Children Here her Humility would not let her own the greatness of the gift yet her love to God forced her to make this acknowledgment In leaving Brother Clare and my Children I cannot say that I have left nothing and then smiling said God deserves greater Sacrifices Dear Sister than we can make him CHAP. XII Another tryal God gave her to compleat her Crown 'T IS a strange and wonderful Paradox that affliction should be a mark of Love yet the Divine Wisdom Truth it self has declar'd That God Chastises those he Loves If this therefore be true as certainly 't is his Love to Sister Clare was very extraordinary who gave her so many marks of it by sending her so many afflictions But one comfort she exprest to have still left was that she should die before Brother Clare but God would not permit her long to enjoy this neither and would also give her this tryal even when she was in so very weak a condition as made her less able to bear it Viz. the suspition of Brother Clares Death which happen'd from his unwonted silence to several Letters she had Writ to him and in some of them about the Children's concerns which she knew he would not fail to Answer by the first opportunity and because she was disappointed in this she imagin'd that he was dead and under that conviction suffer'd as much as if he had been truly so yet she silently underwent this hidden affliction for a long time with that courage as not to discover any outward sign of grief at all till at last her want of strength forc't her at least to a change of Countenance caus'd by this following accident She giving some Letters which she had Writ to Brother Clare to send by a Father that was going to Liege the Sister that was to carry them to the Father finding them open desir'd her to Seal them upon which proposal they discern'd a more then ordinary change in her Countenance which proceeded as afterwards she own'd from the Confirmation this action of the Sister gave to the suspition she before had of his Death she believing that to hide it such care was taken that she should Seal her Letters This certainly was one of the greatest tryals that could befal her or that could call her constancy in the love of God to a more than ordinary Test If you desire to know the conflict she felt and how she behaved her self in it take it in her own words as I find amongst her Papers she gave account of it to her Ghostly Father The Combat I had and how I wholy offer'd up Brother Clare to Almighty God which I beseech him our Blessed Lady and all my Patrons and Patronesses to assit me to keep I by Almighty Gods Grace resolv'd to make this Sacrifice to his greater Honor and Glory and when I heard the Mass Bell Ring my heart trembl'd and I was all in a Commotion the first thing as I remember I did was to fancy him dead and so I presented him at our Blessed Ladies Feet and beseecht her to offer him up for me I beg'd also the ayd of St. Bruno and St. Teresa and then I resolv'd never to desire to see him and if he should come never to look on him to put him clearly out of my heart to be no more concern'd in him than a stranger then it came into my mind to behold him dead and to say to Almighty God I was glad
never recover from that sickness The only concern she had now left was for her Fathers Conversion and what would become of the Children after her Death which the thoughts of Brother Clares Death had for some time hinder'd her from thinking upon CHAP. XIII Her concern for her Father and Children She seeks her greater Mortification even to the last The Declaration of her satisfaction in her State of Life a little before her Death THe concern Sister Clare had been in for the suspected Death of Brother Clare and fright of her own being deluded had for some time made her forget her concern for her Father but no sooner were those apprehensions taken away but this return'd together with the apprehension least after her Death her Father should endeavour to prosecute his design of geting the Children into England and there perverting them from the Catholic Faith bring their Souls into as dangerous a condition as his own was in But now not being able to Write her self she desir'd one of the Religious to Write what she would dictate to her which she did in the following words SIR BEing at present unable to Write my self I am forced to make use of anothers hand to beg with my last breath a continuation of your kindness to me after my Death by giving your consent that my Children may be brought up in the place where they now live and that you would also please to reflect how unsafe the Religion you are of is to dye in and think before it be too late cf your Salvation This I crave of you for the bloody Passions sake of our dear Savior Your poor Child TREVOR HANMER At the beginning of her Letter she seem'd pleasant and chearful but before she came to the end of it the sadness of the subject had made her Heart also sad this Letter thô short is very expressive of her constant affection to her Father and concern for her Children wherein she to move him the more to grant what she asked made use of the most powerful Motives of our Saviors Passion and his own Affection which she endeavour'd to stir up by subscribing it with her Maiden Name Being in this weak condition we have mention'd notwithstanding the interior and exterior afflictions she suffer'd she had not forgot or lest off to Mortifie her self for she still practis'd it upon her dying Body out of too unreasonable a persuit I know not how to term it of self denyal and suffering refusing to ask that assistance which her condition requir'd but would sometimes lye three or four hours and very often for an hour with that stilness and quiet that one could not discern whether she were living or dead unless by her breath And all judged it to be no little pain for one in a Feaver to live so long without any manner of refreshment or change of posture which the Religious were still ready to give her but she never askt nay would scarce accept of when offer'd unless by Obedience This render'd the Religious rather sharers in her sufferings than inabl'd them to give her any comfort or solace in them And from this all that attended her were assur'd that she treated her Body in her sickness with no less rigor than she did in her health and that to her last breath she kept inviolably that purpose I find amongst others in her own hand For the love of God I will ever deny my self whatever is pleasing to me thô lawful for we and endeavour as much as Holy Obedience will permit to do all such things for his sake as shall be most contrary to my nature Let all Creatures love praise and honor Jesus Maria Joseph but let me be confounded A brave and Heroical resolution in which she exprest the constancy of her Love to God and contempt of her self A few days before her happy Death some of the Religious in the presence of the Doctor compassionated her present weakness for her Spirits were almost exhausted and her strength quite spent but the Doctor Answer'd That 't was no wonder to see her in that condition by reason of the many Austerities and Mortifications she had undergone and chiefly the violent combat she had often had with Nature of which he found evident Symptoms in her Body Sister Clare hearing this and thinking that some might infer from hence that all her Life in Religion had been troublesome and uneasie to remove this suspition and to undeceive those that were present especially the Doctor call'd God to Witness these following words I have so much content and satisfaction at present and always had in this State of Life that I voluntarily took upon my self as that were I again as free to choose as ever I would embrace This very condition and State of Life and no other Thô this was the last yet 't was not the only time she had signified her satisfaction in Religion and then also exprest a dislike to her former condition for being asked what mov'd her so to Mortifie her self She Answer'd That the Love she ow'd to God made her esteem all she did and suffer'd as nothing and render'd all the hardships of her present Rules most easie and pleasant adding That what is suffer'd even in the strictest Orders is nothing to what many VVorldlings often suffer even when in outward appearance they seem most happy A few hours before she dyed she desir'd that several Candles might be lighted and put within her Curtains which all wonder'd at because she had before expressed a difficulty and unwillingness to see any light But it seems that Almighty God mov'd her to desire this faint Representation of that Eternal Light she was going to possess For she immediately after with a smiling Countenance declining her Head in Mother Abbesses Breast without the least groan or sigh gave up her pure Soul into the hands of her Creator about Seven a Clock at Night upon the 26th of Ianuary and as she had liv'd in a constant practice so Providence would have her dye in the bosome of Obedience wherefore we may truly say her Death Answer'd her Life she lived a Saint and so she dy'd The End of the Third Book THE LIFE OF THE LADY WARNER In RELIGION Sister CLARE of IESVS THE FOVRTH BOOK CHAP. I. Marks whereby God gave evidence of her Vertuous Life after her Death THE bounty and liberality of God to his Servants is such that as they give signs of their Love towards him in their Life as well in Body as Soul so he often expresses marks of his after their Death not only to their Souls in Heaven making them partakers of his Beatifical Vision but also extends such marks of his Love to their Bodies still in this World as may signifie to us the happiness of their Souls in in the other This he expressed to Sister Clare Whose Countenance after her Death retain'd so Angelical and Ravishing a sweetness as made all the Community which came with sad
knew had Visited her several times whilst she was in London My Lady had several Discourses with Father Travers in which he gave her so evident an assurance of the Truth of the Roman Catholic Religion that she resolv'd forthwith to embrace it and was in pain till shâ— did so but yet would first acquaint Sir Iohn with her desires Wherefore one Night they being alone together she told him she had a request to beg of him which for the Passion of our Savior she desir'd him not to deny her he was surpriz'd at such an earnest and unusal Petition and told her he wonder'd she should by so earnest a Solicitation express a fear of his refusal who had never yet deny'd her any thing she had askt and therefore she needed not with that earnestness demand any thing that was in his Power to grant since she could not but know it was as great a satisfaction to him to grant her request as it could be to her to obtain what she askt Upon this she desir'd him to give her leave to save her Soul he told her That he was now more struc at the request it self than before at the manner of asking it because she could not think he would deny her leave to save her Soul it being as dear to him as his own He could not yet conceive the drift or reason of this demand Infine she told him That she beg'd his leave to Reconcile her self to the Roman Catholic Church without which she was convinc'd she could never be sav'd Adding That thô she knew his Condescention to her Request would be a prejudice to him both in his Estate and Reputation yet she could not but believe that the Love she had ever experienc'd from him and the necessity of a grant of what she desâ—r'd in ordâ—r to her obtaining Heaven would move him to Sacrifice both for the Salvation of her Soul Sir Iohn knowing her Zeal for the Protestant Religion and how far she was from sickleness or unconstancy in any thing especially in Religion Could not conceive what should be the cause of so earnest and unexpected a Request Therefore He desir'd her to tell him how she came now to make this Petition after such an eaâ—nest manner as she had done Hereupon she told him all that had past at London both between herself and Father Hanmer and also between her and Dr. Buck at which he was no less surpriz'd than she had been before never having believ'd that to be the Protestant Faith which Dr. Buck declar'd to be so she told him also That this Gentleman whom her Vnckle Hanmer had sent had given her such a clear knowlâ—dge of the Roman Catholic Faith and such convincing Reasons of the Truth of it that she no longer doubted there was any other way to Salvation than by making her self a Member of the Roman Catholic Church Sir John desir'd her not to be too rash in her Resolutions telling her That oftentimes a too precepitous Zeal is apt to out-run reason and discretion and make Resolutions otherways good to become Abortive that too great heat is an hinderance from bringing any thing to prefection and then added How uncomfortable a thing it would be for them to be of different Religions that he had a Soul to save as well as she and that no Temporal Interest or loss of Reputation should hinder him from doing what was necessary to obtain Salvation That he was troubled no less than her self was upon what she had related and assur'd her that he would not rest satisfied till he was throughly convinc'd which of the two Religions was the truest and that perhaps after a diligent enquiry he might be of the same mind with her and that 't would be most comfortable to both to embrace the same Religion together But he believ'd this Gentleman would not be able to Answer such difficulties as he would propose to him concerning the Roman Catholic Faith which if he could not she would then have little reason to acquiesce in those Arguments he had given her for it And lastly Desir'd her for sâ—me time at least to defer for his sake the change of her Religion however if she thought these his Reasons insufficient to move her to do what he desir'd he left her intirly to her liberty to do what she thought best Hereupon she resolv'd to put off her Reconciliation till another time The next Morning Sir Iohn not doubting but that the difficulties he had to propose were unanswerable accosts the Gentleman who handsomly Eluded all Questions that might occasion a Dispute in Religion Which Sir Iohn perceiving told him That he wonder'd he shew'd not the same Zeal for his Soul that he had express'd for his VVives and did not give him the same satisfaction in his doubts that he found he had given her in hers The Gentleman perceiving that my Lady had inform'd Sir Iohn of all that had past desir'd him to propose his difficulties which he had no sooner done but the Gentleman so easily and clearly answer'd them that Sir Iohn was astonish'd and had nothing to reply to his Answers they being so clear and convincing Amongst other things Sir Iohn asking him what rational grounds there could be for a Belief of Purgatory Hereupon he solidly explicated them shewing the difference between the guilt of Punishment and guilt of Offence by the Example of David who after the Pardon of his Transgression had the Punishment of it inflicted upon him by the Death of his Child and so ingeniously Moraliz'd upon God's Infinite goodness and mercy that would not permit him to Damn a Soul for one small Offence no more than his Justice would suffer any thing that was defil'd to enter into Heaven and therefore requir'd either a Voluntary Pennance or Mortification to be undergone in this Life or an involuntary Punishment to be suffer'd in the next to purifie such a Soul and thereby render it fit for Heaven and also clearly Explicated the difference between a Voluntary satisfaction made for Sin in this Life and a necessary undergoing the Punishment inflicted for it in the next and how much more acceptable the one must needs be to God than the other and that therefore a small Pennance perform'd in this World was able to satisfie more than many Years great sufferings could do in the next The one being freely and willingly undertaken the other suffer'd by force Sir Iohn at the end of this Discourse found himself so sensibly toucht by it that he could not refrain from telling him That were he convinc'd there was a Purgatory as he should be were he once a Roman Catholic he would use the best means he could to avoid it and he thought none better than to betake himself to a Religious course of Life the Roman Catholic Church affording this means of avoiding it having many Religious Houses whether such as perceiv'd the great danger the VVorld expos'd to and the little satisfaction it gave might retire
her Friends especially two such choice Friends as these whose great Vertue mov'd her to a high esteem of them their Station to a confidence in them and their extraordinary Zeal for her Perfection to a grateful affection for them cannot but wonder to see her in so short a time to have gain'd so strange a command over her passions as not to shed a Tear at their Death which is the more to be admir'd in her tender Sex especially since as her Answer to the Governors Lady declares she so sensibly felt this Tryal But God by her faithful co-operation with his Grace had so strengthen'd her to overcome these feelings of Nature as not to give the least sign or expression of sorrow whereby she manifested that thô she lov'd them well yet she lov'd God better whom also she lov'd in such a manner as to desire rather that he should please himself than her nay that even he should please himself in her affliction Which shew'd not only her sincere love to God but also her dis-interessed love to her friends prefering their happiness before her own and therefore since their Death was a gain to them she could not regret her own loss by it nor permit her sorrow to overcome the joy she ought to have in thinking they were happy The will of God was what she endeavor'd most industriously to find out and joyfully embrac'd in whatsoever terrifying manner it appear'd to her as her words to that Pious Religious who was lamenting the Abbesses Death declares And therefore what tryal soever of her Love God thought fit to send her by depriving her of those friends she lov'd best she was resolv'd this tryal should not deprive her of the chief object of her Love himself who was the best of friends And therefore was resolv'd to express her love in the best manner she was able by preferring his Will and Pleasure before her own in all things Whereby she so surmounted all these sensible tryals as to seem even insensible of them And also dispos'd her self for the making her Profession and for the loss of two such friends with such a constancy and unconcernedness as I have declar'd And was also inabl'd quite to overcome the tenderness of an affectionate Mother towards her Children as in the following Chapter I shall relate CHAP. III. Her exact compliance with Mother Abbesses Orders in taking care of her Children in which she exprest more of a careful Mistress than a tender Mother and hereby manifested that Pure Obedience the inclination of Grace and not affection to her Children the inclination of Nature mov'd her to accept this employment AFter she had made her Profession as above declar'd the first thing she set upon was strictly to perform what she had so lately promis'd Obedience was her chief care and thô nothing was more contrary to her inclination than to look after her Children yet seeing this charge was impos'd upon her by her Superior she chearfully undertook it She knew by experience what advantages order and method always brought with it and therefore was sollicitous that every moment should be rightly spent by her Children For this end she made them an exact Distribution or Journal for every hour of the Day accommodated to their Age and Years She spar'd no labor to Cultivate these tender Plants and even from their Infancy to prepare them for the Garden of Religion if God should make them so happy as to call them to that blessed State To set down the whole Distribution of time she had made for them would I fear seem too tedious yet I cannot but let the Reader see some part of it and thereby give him a knowledge of her own Devotions she without doubt practising her self what she endeavor'd to instil into them She order'd them that the first thing they did as soon as they awak'd should be to make the Sign of the Cross adding the following words Blessed be the Holy and undivided Trinity now and for ever Amen And having done this she bids them tell sweet Jesus that they would suffer the Mortification of rising in the cold and of leaving the comfort of their warm bed for his sake who left Heaven for theirs Then as soon as they were up she Counsels them to kiss the ground in Memory of that dust out of which they came and to which they were to return and to make an Act of Adoration and Thanksgiving to the Divine Majesty for having Created them of nothing capable of loving serving and enjoying him for all Eternity and also for having preserv'd them the Night past from all dangers Then that they should make an Oblation of themselves to his Infinite goodness Afterwards to say an Ave Mary to beg our Ladies blessing upon them for that Day whom they were to love and confide in as in a Mother having recourse to her in all their necessities as such and dayly beg her Intercession by saying their Beads together at the time she had appointed Then she order'd them to say a Gloria Patri c. in thanksgiving to God for the glory given to their good Angels and for the honor given to themselves by bestowing upon them such Beautiful and Powerful Protectors whose Protection that Day they were humbly to beg and then to recommend themselves to their particular Patrons and Saints of their Name and Pray for their friends especially for their Grand-fathers and Uncles Conversion This done she order'd them before they came to School to her to go to their Closset and there offer up that and all the other actions of that Day with a pure intention for want of which many even of our best actions were frequently lost and the Merit also of our other actions which are indifferent and of no Merit without such an intention that as soon as they came thither they should strive which of them should first kiss sweet Jesus's Feet in their Crucifix and remember they had chosen St. Mary Magdalen for one of their Patronesses whose place was at the foot of the Cross when Christ dy'd upon it and wish to Love him as she did saying a Pater and Ave and telling our dear Savior they were going to School to please him and that all their actions that Day shall be for no other end When they came to School to confirm them in the practice of that profitable Devotion to their good Angel she had recommended to them she gave them an example of it her self and took out of her breast a little Paper Picture of her good Angel she always carry'd about her and placeing it before her and them to put them in mind of their good Angels who were present thô invisible she recommended her self and Children to them To these she added also other profitable Documents and necessary Instructions as of submission of obedience but most particularly of that of Humility a Virtue very necessary to be acquir'd in young Years where Nature still leads to the
with bad Mony and indeed we have no other make a Divine Commerce an Eternal Bargain with God whereby your Will which is a free Spiritual and an Immortal Power Mistress of her self and of all the other Powers does from this moment for ever destine imploy and apply all the parts and peices of your Being to be as the hand of a Dial that shows the hour a perpetual Remembrance Congratulation Thanksgiving and Iubilation for all the Praises Homages Respects and Adorations which all Creatures give or shall eternally give to God for the love he bears to himself to the end you may Adore and Glorifie him in this Spirit and love him with that eternal love which alone is worthy of him And God will shew you as much good will and give you as great a reward for it as if you your self did give all the Offerings Sacrifices and Blessings which Men and Angels give him in Heaven and Earth Nay the Will that has an Infinity for it's Object may make all the Individuals of Human and Angelical Natures all the motions of Soul and Body Nay even all Created Beings to an Atome or grain of Sand concur to so noble a work Good God how admirable profitable and Divine is this exercise which costs nothing at all and may be compleated in a moment And what Treasures of Glory does a Man loose that is either ignorant of it or neglects it Whilst he is busied in so many things whilst he is sad or joyful upon account of different accidents without referring them to God as their Origin Since in him they are eternal infinite and most perfect and out of him they are nothing but vanity and lys that is finite corruptible and subject to an infinity of changes Dear Sister stop a while here view this Spirit of Vnity which is the Spirit of God himself which gathers divided and dis-united things into one to draw us out of multiplicity and the imperfection of nature into this holy Vnion with a Transformation into himself Which makes one contrary to be found in the other the Creature in God Perfection in Imperfection Vnity in Multiplicity Light in Darkness Peace in War Recollection in Distraction Sweetness in the Cross Abundance in Poverty Life in Death Corporal in Spiritual God in All and All in Him Do not mistake me I beseech you in thinking that because God changes so often his manner of proceeding with you he is not still yours and you his dive by the light of Faith into the darkness where he hides himself penetrate the Veiles of Bodies and Spirits with which he covers himself see him act in all his Creatures giving them their determinate motion who is properly their Life and Being Not a Hair presents it self unto our Eyes without his sight and permission to the end that that lively and active Faith of yours may see him in his Images and Characters as we see a Saint in his Cloaths or a Friend in Imagination whilst we behold his Picture that repairs the weakness of our Memory Dear Sister make the last effort imitate a King who to Establish himself and to Reign peaceably in a Kingdom newly Conquer'd fills every place with horror and desolation Puts to the Sword not only such as oppose his designs but even rids himself of his suspected Friends for fear of some Treasonable surprize In like manner do you kill and destroy all your Sworn Enemies Annihilate all your desires and Passions take leave even of what appears Vertue and Perfection because they make a noise and pudder and cause more Smoak and distracttion than they augment the fire of Love Bid Love enter into it's source cause Humility to keep love Company or debase it self below Lucifer and desire your Friends to sleep and take their repose since the Son of Man goes to be abandoned forsaken and Crucified to Establish God alone in All and through All. His Dominion and Empire in a Soul in Grace is the Creating Essence or the very Essence of the Creator I have made an Epitome of the Nothing of all things and of the All of God which Practice will better explain than reason I hope this at present is sufficient to assure you of the Affection of him who is as much as any one in the World except your Brother Clare Dear Sister Your most humble and most affectionate Servant in God RUISSON Herke Iuly 13. 1669. To show with what Humility and how briefly and solidly she reply'd to this excellent Letter I will here set down her Answer Translated out of French which contains a great deal of substance in a few words SIR I Confess 't is a good while since I receiv'd your welcome Letter which my indisposition hinder'd me till now from Answering Please but to obtain for me some of that true and pure love of God which you so well discourse of and so faithfully practice that animated thereby I may be able to suffer sickness or whatever God pleases to send me with such a perfect submission and Vnion to his Divine Will as that I may become intirely his and then I shall be better able to converse with you for at present I am unworthy of such a Conveâ—sation but must own that when 't is God's Will to move you to Write to me I both receive and read your Letters with a great deal of comfort yet cannot desire this or any thing else but that his Holy Will should be done in all things Amen SIR Your most unworthy Servant CLARE of JESUS For the Love of God and the Blessed Virgin Pray for me CHAP. VIII A Short Account of some remarkable passages in the Life and Death of Mr. Ruisson SInce Mr. Ruisson's Letter set down in the foregoing Chapter as you have seen contains so much Spirit and Devotion I think it will be no unpardonable digression if I add a word or two concerning himself that the Reader may be convinced that this Servant of God practized what he Taught and thereby be induc'd to set a high value and estimate as well upon his Person as upon his Doctrin and also conceive a higher esteem of Sister Clare since a Person so Illuminated and favor'd by God as he was exprest so high an esteem of her and such a Zeal to serve her in so earnestly promoting her advancement in Perfection and the service of God Take for a mark of his Humility a Vertue that is the foundation of all Perfection the humble Letter he Writ to Brother Clare then Studying Philosophy at Liege in which he inclosed the foresaid Letter unsealed where after all the pains he had taken in Writing it and in obtaining light from Heaven without which such a Letter could not be Writ left the sending or burning it intirely to him confiding more in the Judgment of others than his own a great mark of Humility and of the true Spirit of God His Letter follows Translated out of Latin in which it was Writ Dearest Brother in
and also in English that the meaning of it may be understood by all of our own Nation for whom this Life was chiefly Writ Siste Lege Mirare Sta Viator debitaque lachrymarum tributa Huic persolve Funeri Jacet hic Sepulta CLARA de JESU Nomen illam haud vulgarem indicat Nobilis ac Illustris HANMERORUM Domus Suam esse Progeniem jactat Latuit aliquantisper haec Stella Errorum tenebris offuscata Sed ut postea Orbem Orbe splendidiore decoraret Nupsit perillustri Domino JOANNI WARNERO Baronetto Sed cum nil nisi Caelum spiraret Caelestes affectavit Thalamos Sicque consentiente atque approbante Optimo Conjuge Toro Maritali Parentum Charissimorum pignorum Amplexibus posthabitis De Mundo esse desijt ut de JESU fieret Hoc Monasterium Suae Virtutis Theatrum esse voluit Ubi suave Christi jugum Ad finem usque vitae portans Omni perfectionis genere Multisque Nominibus CLARA Vixit Obijt Anno Domini M DC LXX Ianuarij xxvi Stop Read Admire Stay Passenger and pay a due Tribute of Tears To this Funeral Here lies Buried CLARE of JESUS Her Name speakes her no ordinary Person The Noble and Illustrious House of HANMERS Boasts of her as their Progeny This Star lay hid a little while Clouded with the darkness of Errors That afterwards it might adorn the World With a more resplendent Orb. She Married the Honourable Sir JOHN WARNER Baronet But breathing after nothing but Heaven She Aspir'd to Celestial Nuptials And her desires being approv'd and consented to By her Excellent Husband Forsaking his Embraces and those also Of her Dearest Father and Children She ceast to be of the World to be of JESUS She chose this Monastry For the Theater of her Vertue Where she carried the sweet Yoak Of Christ to her very last breath By the Practice of all Perfection Verifying her Name GLORIOUS She liv'd And Dyed In the Year of our Lord M DC LXX the 26th Day of Ianuary CHAP. III. The Letter of Reverend Mother Abbess of Graveling to Brother Clare concerning Sister Clares happy Death with an abridgment of her Vertuous Life THE Authority of Mother Abbess must needs gain no little credit to what she Writes concerning Sister Clare as having been very intimate to all her actions and proceedings For she always looked upon her as her Mother and with a more than filial confidence had recourse unto her upon all occasions believing her advice and direction to be the infallible Rule of Gods Will whose place she bore and consequently none can be more fit than she to give the World her Caracter Mother Abbess then after her Death Writes in this manner to Brother Clare Honour'd Dear Brother THE Will of God be ever done Life and Death are in his Hands and all works are perfected in mercy and goodness I have taken my Pen in hand upon the saddest subject that could have happen'd to me or this Community and were I not resolv'd never to let my Will jarre with the Will of God I should want resignation to this present visitation which has depriv'd us of your and our ever dear Sister Sister Clare of Iesus whom Iesus her dear Spouse called to his Eternal embraces on the 26th Instant Having left us a greater affliction I am bold to say than ever any conceived at the Death of their own Natural Sisters For in her we lost a great light of Vertue more than I am able to express since her generous embracing of our Abjections did incourage us in our Vocations I never heard her complain nor repine at our Austerities but I have often heard her say that they were too little and that she did nothing as she ought for the love of God Her Humility engag'd her to make use of all means to cover her Vertue yet I cannot frame to my self how any one could have liv'd more perfectly than she has done these few Years that she hath been with us Her perfection appear'd so much in all she did that it is hard to say in what she was most perfect I never could see how any one could be more prompt simple or blindly Obedient than she was and yet she was always accusing her self of her want of it O how clear sighted are Saints This made her to say dayly to me when I came to Visit her in her Sickness that she scarce thought her self Religious because she had never done any action in her Life time like a Religious Woman Dear Brother what great Humility was this That did so wean her from all self-opinion when the Life she led was such as I am sure none can surpass In her Sickness she us'd to express her Conformity in such like words as these It has pleas'd God to send me such or such a tryal or to deprive me of such or such a comfort This shew'd that she took all from the immediate hand of God and that her Sickness did not as her Humility made her believe rob her of her former near Vnion with him as far as I could perceive but when he seem'd to withdraw himself from her it was without doubt the greatest Affliction in her Sickness and consequently an effect of his Love to encrease her Merit Dear Brother I wish that you had seen her dying as we did what profit would you have made of such an example That God did not think us fit to enjoy any longer I wish I could do by her as our Blessed Lady did by her dear Son lay up in my Heart all the Words and Actions of her Life as a Rule whereby to square my own There has been little other Discourse since her happy Death but of her Vertuous Life and I wish that it may always continue amongst us to excite us to a faithful Imitation of her as the best means of meeting her once more in Heaven What reason have we then but to confide in her present happiness She knew that Heaven suffer'd violence and therefore resolv'd to be one of those that should take it by force Whilst she was well her Life was a continu'd practice of Religious Perfection and her Sickness was nothing but an encrease of her Merit because she suffer'd it with so much love and patience She would often sweetly invite Death that is dreadful and ugly to most to come and dispatch and not linger about her We are now Writeing to all the Convents as we use to do upon such occasions to procure Prayers for her thô I believe we want her Prayers more than she does ours I shall dayly beg at her Grave that she would obtain comfort for you and that you may bear this Cross with a resign'd Patience Our whole Community is full of Affliction and I hardly see what I Write my Eyes are so full of Tears I wish they may Redeem yours As for her two sweet Children if you please to intrust your dear Sister and me with them by Gods Grace