World a little before I was by thy Judgments forced to leave it altogether I praise thee for all the Ministry of Angels For my Guardian Angel For all the faithful departed For thy great Graces given to them Their good example given to me For the Suffrages and Prayers of all Saints For my Communion with them and with all those who are at Prayers with me now in this holy hour For the large capacity and extent of my Soul that can be in union with all Ages past present and to come worshipping praising and adoring thee For enabling me so to rejoyce in thy Glories to dilate upon thy Excellencies to delight in thy Service so as if all our affections were united in one holy individual oblation of our Souls and Bodies unto thee As if all Souls were in one and one so in all that we could never more be divided from thee nor cease from the love and service we bear unto thee nor be separated from each other in thee I praise thee for preserving me from all perils and dangers either by day or night For that portion of Health I now enjoy For the contentedness and thankfulness thou givest me in all estates For all the necessaries of this life Healthful dwelling quiet safety plenty of food and raiment For all the retirements and happy opportunities thou givest me of Reading Praying and enjoying thee For assisting me to overcome in any measure any of those great Infirmities I am subject to by nature For all thy gifts of Grace and nature infused or acquired attain'd by study or experience in the world For any good use I make of them For all thy wonderful Mercies to me and mine blessing us in all good things For thy great preservation of us in many dangerous Journeys and deliverances out of very many great troubles which my Soul recounteth unto thee For all these and for all other thy Mercies known or not known manifest or secret willingly or unwillingly received I praise thee I bless thee I give thee thanks and I desire to praise bless and give thee thanks all the days of my life What am I that thou shouldst look upon such a dead dog as I am What reward shall I give unto the Lord for all his benefits toward me especially in that he hath spared and forborn me until now Holy holy holy thou art worthy to receive Honour Worship and Praise now and for evermore Amen A Prayer for Christmas-Day HOly Jesus who being infinitely higher than the Heavens didst condescend to look on the Earth to come down and visit us with the saving Presence of thine Eternal Godhead clothed with our Manhood in the Virgins Womb let this miraculous grace of thine effect another miracle in me Let it raise me by the inspiration of the Holy Ghost and change me by a new Birth and exalt me to a Divine and Heavenly life that I may forsake the world and live unto thee O thou who didst assume thy Body and Soul for me that we might be members of thy Body and of thy flesh and of thy bones unite me unto thee make me sensible of thee my head fill me with the joy of thy Nativity and give thy self unto me who wast born for me that I may be thine and my beloved mine for evermore O Eternal Glory of the Father vail'd over with mortal flesh remove the vail from off my heart clarifie my understanding and draw me near unto thee that I may know the mystery which was hid from Ages and Generations but is now revealed for our Glory Receive me to thy self make me one with thee and be thou more dear unto me than all the world O thou who didst vouchsafe to dwell in the dark Cloysters of a Virgins womb thou who didst vouchsafe to close thine infinity within the confines of Humane shape and advance our Humanity to the Throne of God Prepare the Temple of my Soul make it bright with knowledg and wisdom come and dwell in my understanding take possession of my will reign within my heart let thy Scepter of Righteousness be exalted over me and become the rule of my thoughts and actions O reign over all the World and let the Righteousness and true Holiness wherein thou delightest prevail and prosper in the Earth let the Souls be saved which thou hast redeemed Amen Amen A Prayer for Easter-Day ETernal Son of the eternal Father who wast a man of sorrows and art now the Lord of Joys look down from Heaven thy dwelling place upon me thy Servant who rejoyce in thy glorious and blessed Resurrection Thou hast broken the Bars of Death and Hell for it was impossible that he that was innocent should be holden of them Thou hast broken down the gates of the prison of the Grave because thou hast satisfied thy Fathers Justice He knew thy ability and therefore he trusted thee with so great a debt He knew thy Power and therefore did commit so weighty an employment to thy sacred Hands O cause me to know thee my Saviour to be the Son of God by this glorious Resurrection Let it quicken me and raise me up who am dead in sins and trespasses Our Surety has paid the debt and is come abroad let all the Earth rejoyce and be glad in him Sing O Mountains and break forth into singing all the valleys in the World for our Redeemer and our Saviour hath conquered Death Hell and the Grave Let the light of his Resurrection transform the World into Heaven and turn the Wilderness into Eden let it restore a better Paradise than the old one unto us Let the power of his Resurrection quicken all the dead in sins and convert all the Kingdoms upon Earth and make them the Kingdoms of the Lord and of his Christ wherein Truth and Peace and Righteousness may reign for evermore O my Soul thy lover and thy friend that was killed dead and buried is alive and he is able to save unto the utmost all them that come to God through him seeing he ever liveth to make Intercession for us He by and for whom the Worlds were made loved thee to the death O let his Love enflame thee and turn thee all into Love and let the love of God which passeth all understanding possess thy Soul and Body for ever Let the Love of Christ constrain thee to forsake iniquity and to esteem nothing easie honourable or delightful but that which is so to him Love all that he loveth hate all that he hateth O Jesus the love and life of my Soul be thou my sovereign Lord and Friend my only treasure and possession be thou my Wisdom and my Glory my Kingdom and my Crown my Life and Blessedness be thou all in all to me Let thy will be my will and thy pleasure mine As thou camest to do the Will of thy Father let it be my meat and drink to do thy Will to glorifie thy Name and finish the work which thou hast given me
daily by it Grant me by the same spirit therefore to have a right Judgment in all things that I may both perceive and know what I have to do and have grace and power to fulfill the same Give me I beseech thee all the gifts and graces of thy holy Spirit Give me the spirit of wisdom to be sober wise and considerate in all things Give me the spirit of understanding to be quick clear and distinctive in my Apprehensions to distinguish between truth and falshood good and evil Give me the spirit of counsel to consult thy holy will and pleasure before I act any thing Make me meekly to receive all good counsel and prudently to give it Give me the spirit of ghostly strength that I may be modestly confident and impregnably couragious in thy service Give me the spirit of knowledg to know all thy revealed will to me and all my bounden duty to thee that so neither thy Law nor my duty thy mercy nor my sin may ever lie undiscerned in my Soul Give me I beseech thee the spirit of piety that I may ever be devoted unto thee And O my Saviour give me above all things thy holy filial fear that I may never more dare to offend thee Deliver me therefore I humbly beseech thee from all rashness inadvertency and inconsideration From a perverse confused unstable Understanding From refusing Counsel or neglecting to give it From ignorance of thy Will and my duty From all confidence of my self or diffidence in thee From all impiety and profaneness From casting off thy holy fear thereby growing bold or careless in offending And now dearest Lord having implored the gifts of thy holy Spirit and deprecated those evils that oppose it I humbly beg of thy divine Majesty the fruits of thy holy Spirit also that by finding those within me I may know thy holy Spirit rules and governs me Give me dear Lord I beseech thee an universal love make me to love thee for thy self my friend in thee and mine enemy for thee Give me joy in thee in thy works in thy ways in thy Laws in thy Saints and Servants in all the friends and blessings which I enjoy Give me O Prince of peace peace with thee my self my friends and enemies Give me patience in all my sufferings mercy to all who offend me or need my mercy Give me meekness in my heart words and behaviour in all to all Give me a true and irreprovable faith Give me modesty in all disputations shamefac'dness amidst all commendations sobriety in the midst of plenty that I never abuse thy bounty And with these give me I beseech thee the four Cardinal Virtues Prudence to govern me Justice to direct me Fortitude to discharge my duty Temperance to be moderate in all things Make me ever mindful Of Death to be prepared for it Of Heaven to desire it Of Judgment to dread it Of Hell to be deliver'd from it O keep me in with bit and bridle when I stick not close unto thee Make me to delight in the Assembly of the faithful to be among them that the holy Spirit which thou didst send upon thine Apostles may descend upon me even me also O my Lord compell I beseech thee my dearest N.N. to come in unto thee Make him to see the felicity of thy chosen Give him a taste and relish of all these Gifts and Graces of thy holy Spirit that he also may be filled with those unspeakable joys which they feel and find who spend their days and hours spirits souls and forces in knowing loving and obeying thee Give me the whole armor of God that I may resist all evil and persist in doing all good O give me the spirit of Grace and Supplication that these and all my other prayers may be acceptable to thee blessed to me and graciously answered for thy mercy sake Amen A Prayer to the Holy Ghost out of St. Augustine O Love of the Divine Power the holy Communication of the Omnipotent Lord and Father and of the most blessed Son come down even now I beseech thee by thy powerful Virtue into my Soul and get into all the corners of my heart and by thy splendor clearly illuminate all the darkness thereof Let thy gracious Visitation and abundant dew make my Soul fruitful in all good works pierce the most retired parts of mine inward man with the keen piercing darts of thy love enflame me with thy holy fires feed me with delicious Viands replenish me with thy Coelestial Graces Give me so to drink of the torrents of thy delights that I may have no taste of vain or sinful pleasures Come O thou comforter of all sorrowful Souls come thou comforter of the weak and strength of the strong come thou supporter of the falling and thou lifter up of the faln come thou cleanser of our sins and curer of our wounds Come thou teacher of the Meek and destroyer of the Proud Come O thou hope of the Poor and reviver of those that faint Come propitious Star of such as sail and haven against Shipwrack Come thou stay and comfort of those that live and thou only hope of all those that die Have mercy upon me have mercy upon me and make me fit for thy self and abide in me for ever And that thou mayst abide with me I do again beg of thee the fear of the Lord because this fear is Beautified by Wisdom Informed by Understanding Directed by Counsel Strengthened by courage Filled with Knowledg And crowned with Piety As this fear advanceth our knowledg so our knowledg brings us to this fear Therefore O thou only spirit of Wisdom give me this knowledg that I may always have this fear Such a fear as may make me wise unto Salvation Give me wisdom to understand thy Word Open mine eyes to see the wondrous things of thy Law Enlighten my Understanding to find out the hidden and glorious treasures thereof Fill me with the love of it With all delight in it Inspire me to meditate humbly of it Make me in every reading or hearing of it to profit by it and in all things to be obedient to it Amen Dearest Lord and most blessed Saviour give me I beseech thee such grace in meditating such divine light in understanding thy sacred sufferings in thy passion for me That by faith I may believe in thee and depend upon thy Merits therein By love feel thy sufferings be crucified to the world and be transformed into thee Make me willing to suffer any thing for thee Enable me to imitate thee in all thy imitable perfections and virtues which thou hast exemplified to me in this thy sacred Passion Give me the vast extensive love which thou didst shew to Almighty God in thy obedience to his Will and satisfaction of his Justice Give me that great Zeal of Souls which thou hadst even to die for their good especially their Coversion as thou didst for their Salvation Give me O Lord I beseech thee thy
mercy upon me By all thine anguish thou didst feel in the suspension of the divine aid have mercy upon me By the immensity of thy love in this thy most copious Redemption have mercy upon me and fill my Soul with the love of thee By all the barbarous outrages which thou didst endure for me deliver me from all mine Enemies visible and invisible My dearest Lord be thou the only supream love of my heart and the life of my Soul Let thy Virtues be in all my Actions and be thy honour the sole end of all my intentions Let me live in thy Wounds and for ever remain in thy love O my dear Lord Jesus thou heavenly Physitian of all humane nature thou great and glorious and eternal King remember I beseech thee all the bitter pains thou didst endure in all thy sacred members when thou wert hoised up on the Cross for me And let not my Soul be lost which cost thee all those inexplicable pains Make me feelingly and thankfully to remember how all thy precious body was rent and torn thy sacred limbs tortur'd and rackt thy head pierced thy bones disjoynted and all thy body broken for me Let me never forget this love of thine or ever offend thee more From the crown of the head to the soal of the foot thou hadst no part left whole in thee Never suffering like thine Never dolor like thine Never love like thy love Yet wert thou unmindful of all thine own Sufferings and didst pray to thy Father for thy cruel enemies O by this mercy of thine give me love and mercy to all that offend me and do thou now have mercy upon me Grant that I may always have such a devout memory and feeling of thy Passion that it may be a most powerful protection of my Soul against all temptation O thou who hanging on the Tree didst there make satisfaction for the sins of the world have mercy upon all Men. Convert the Obdurate Convince Hereticks Reduce Schismaticks Call in the Jews Bring in the fulness of the Gentiles Make all the Profane to tremble at thy Word Enflame all luke-warm Christians with an holy zeal unto thee Take pity on those who do not pity themselves Bring us all into obedience unto thee O holy Father accept of this propitiatory Sacrifice of thine only eternal Son for the full pacification of thy wrath and for the satisfaction and salvation of all returning sinful penitent and believing Souls Bring all that are ignorant of this thy Sons redeeming love to the knowledg of it and thee Since it is life eternal to know thee O holy Father and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent Make all those who are ignorant of the terms of the Gospel to know and embrace the same Bring in all who are out of the Covenant of Grace by sincere faith and unfeigned Repentance into Covenant with thee Convert those in particular whom I am obliged to pray for effectually Keep my Soul for ever from offending thee Let this sweet peace my Saviour hath purchased with his own blood never more be broken between me and thee Let none of my rebellions break it keep me from sin that it never be disturbed O blessed Jesus as there was darkness at the hour of thy Passion over all the Earth untill the Ninth hour deliver me from all the works and from the place of everlasting darkness by thy holy sufferings in this hour Amen O soveraign Lord and blessed Saviour Jesus our only Redeemer Saviour of the World who by the sole motive of thy mercy didst humble thy Soul to the death for our Redemption and ascend to thy Father for the full accomplishment of our peace graciously apply to our Souls the infinite Merits of thy sacred Passion and with thy precious blood cleanse us from all our sins nail them to thy Cross hide them in thy Wounds bury them in thy Grave that they may die in us and we live in thee the life of Grace here and the life of Glory hereafter wherewith the Father and the Holy Ghost thou livest and reignest in the Unity of the Glorious Trinity ever blessed World without end Amen Prayers for the Ninth Hour O Blessed Jesus I come now to commemorate thy holy Death which after all thy pains hanging so tedious a time on the Cross thou didst suffer at the Ninth Hour in full satisfaction for all our sins O by this death of thine have mercy upon me let it kill crucifie and destroy all sin in me let me die unto the World and live henceforth only unto thee At the Ninth Hour was thy Heart pierced with a Spear O transfix my Heart unto thee By that precious Water and Blood shed for me have mercy upon me wash cleanse purifie heal my wounded and defiled Soul Then blessed Jesus did the virtue of the Holy Sacraments flow from thy sacred side the Water by which we are regenerated the Blood by which we are redeemed give me evermore the virtue and benefit thereof Then was thy sacred Soul separated from thy Holy Body O separate me from this evil World and unite me wholly unto thee Then didst thou admit the Thief into Paradise O admit me into thy Heavenly Kingdom For all these stupendious Mercies I praise and magnifie thy Name for ever I beseech thee that the power and effect of all thou hast done for me may be saving to me Make me now to feel the horror of Sin and the sorrow due unto it that hath cost thee thy life and the very last drop of Blood to make atonement for it O that I could comprehend the immense love of my dying Saviour that I might make some grateful return of love unto thee Why should not the sense of thy Weeping make mine eyes to overflow with tears for offending Why should not the Blood which thou didst shed for me make me desirous to shed mine for the love of thee O my dear Lord let thy thirsting brest make mine to thirst and languish after thee inebriate me with the delicious viands of thy grace and love since my Soul can take no satisfaction in any thing but thee O fountain of living Waters to thee I come let me by faith drink up the Water and Blood which flowed from thee As thy Heart was broken for me break mine with sorrow for offending thee proceeding purely from the love I owe unto thee Hide me in thy wounded side till thy Fathers indignation be over past By thy precious Blood save me By thy holy Water cleanse me By thy prevailing death give me life and By thy Resurrection Glory O blessed Jesus what a bill of payment hast thou here discharged what an acquittance hast thou made for me The Rocks did rent the Graves open the Heavens mourn the Earth did shake at thy Passion and shall I evermore make leight of any transgression more O strike the Rock of my hard Heart that it may kindly flow forth in tears for thee as thou didst overflow
thou hast done me by thy self or others Angels and Men the Ministers of thy providence to me for the good of my soul and body and for all the good thou hast wrought in me and for giving me grace and strength in the discharge of my duty to thee and my neighbour for all and every of thy blessings in every kind which are infinite for number and for worth invaluable and every way unspeakable whatsoever from thy bounteous hand I have received I thankfully return my heart and soul in a most grateful acknowledgment of thy infinite Bounty and my unworthiness with the tribute of all possible love honour and praise beseeching thee to the vast heap of all thy unspeakable blessings to add this one more of a thankful heart that with joyful lips and a glad heart I may praise and bless thee all the days of my life whilest I have any being here and in the land of the living in Heaven hereafter everlastingly Amen III. After Thanksgiving for all Benefits it will do well to make a confession and beg pardon for all our sins and to do it as if it were to be our last LOrd God who didst make me for nothing else but to serve thee and love thee who art most worthy of all love and service and to whom I have infinite obligations so to do With shame and blushing I confess I have not loved nor served thee as I ought nay I have dishonour'd thee and offended thee as I ought not doing what thou hast forbidden and not doing what thou hast commanded In my thoughts in my words in my actions by all the senses of my body and all the powers of my soul and all the Creatures which thou hast given to serve me in thy service transgressing thy Commandments infinite ways by numberless Transgressions O my sins my many sins my grievous sins my ingratitudes my unfaithfulness O that my soul were all sorrow my heart full of Contrition my eyes of Tears and if it might be tears of blood to blot out my offences against a God so glorious so gracious whom having all the reason in the world to love honour and to please I have so little loved so much dishonour'd and offended if all the torments and martyrdoms in the world all the violent and voluntary sufferings that such a wretch could endure were sufficient to expiate my faults sure I would at least I should undergo them to make amends for my Injuries against my God my dear God But alas they cannot repair the least injury nor satisfie for the least of my offences But this is my comfort thy Son my Saviour hath done it for me he hath honoured and pleased thee in all holy obedience in all his thoughts words and actions by all his senses the powers of his soul and members of his body and by all the Creatures of the world he made use of yielding exact obedience to thy holy will for me and by the sorrows and sufferings of his soul and body made full satisfaction for all my sins Him therefore I offer up to thee and all that he hath done and suffer'd for me that as thou hast promised I may be accepted to pardon grace and favour through him in whom thou canst not but be well pleased Holy Father look upon thy Son thy beloved Son and pardon thy ungracious servant Lord set thy sorrows and sufferings between my Sins and thy Fathers wrath that his justice being satisfied I may be received to mercy and as to God so to all Men and Angels and all Creatures whom I have injured do thou satisfie all my injuries and offences that none of them come in against me to accuse me at that day but that I may have a clear and full acquittance through thy blood O my dear Redeemer whereby thou hast fully purchased me that I may be wholly thine Amen IV. A Prayer to die to Sin LOrd Jesus Christ who didst die for me to the end I should no longer live to my self but unto thee who diedst for me and that so I might reckon my self dead indeed unto sin but alive unto God in righteousness and true holiness mortifie in me wholly the life of sin and of the old Adam that all my sins and even the affections and lusts thereof may die before me that I may be perfectly dead to the world and to my self and to all things else but thee Mortifie in such a manner my eyes mine ears my tongue my hands my feet my heart and every member of my body and all the powers of my Soul that I may no more see hear or speak or do or walk or think or wish or make any use of any Member of my body or faculty of my Soul to the service of 〈…〉 service of 〈…〉 may retain 〈…〉 â—…ctions 〈…〉 such 〈…〉 and 〈…〉 course 〈…〉 thy servant in this world to 〈◊〉 when death comes it find me not unprepared but that I may receive and welcome it as my summons to a better life where there is no sin nor temptation nor misery nor want nor pains nor death but bliss and happiness and joy and fulness of pleasure and life for evermore Amen V. A Petition for the Virtues of the Dying Jesus LOrd Jesus teach me when the time of my dissolution shall come to depart this life as thou didst with the like holy affections and dispositions of soul that thou hadst that I may loose hold not only of my sins and all that is sinful but even of all that is in the world the chiefest of the allowed comforts of it my dearest Friends and even my self to be ready at thy call as thou wast at thy Fathers Teach me as thou didst earnestly to commend to thy Father the care of the Catholick Church and especially of this of England my dear Mother to keep her in unity and purity to the end Teach me then and even now and till then to give good spiritual counsels and instructions to those about me as thou didst to thy followers Teach me from my heart to pardon all mine enemies as thou didst thine and to pity and pray for them with all other high and holy lessons of the Cross of submission to the hand of God his heavy hand of patience in pains of body and sorrows and heaviness in soul contempt of the world obedience to the death and all other those virtues which in the last act of thy life thou didst in a most eminent manner practise in thy self leaving the pattern for an example to all and to me in particular that I might practise them in my last Act and leave them as a Legacy to all mine Particularly teach me the art of true love to and of a right care for all mine that I leave behind me that as thou didst commend thy blessed Mother to the care of thy beloved Disciple so may I all my nearest Relations my my Friends to such as St. John was if such be to be had beloved of God and faithful in their trust that they may be so carefully instructed and bred up in piety and virtue as to live in holiness and righteousness all their days that when they come to depart this world as I am now a doing we may meet and enjoy one another in thee in bliss everlasting But if no such there be to whose hands I may leave them or if there be there is none to thee I consign them over unto thee the only friend of the friendless that thou conducting them either by thy self or by the Ministry of such faithful friends of their Souls as thou shalt raise them they may so pass with innocency through the things temporal that finally they lose not the things eternal And that I may not be ingrateful to all other my Benefactors whom thou hast used as thy instruments to convey thy Blessings Spiritual and Temporal to me for what I can make no return to them of I earnestly recommend them to thee to the riches of thy bounty and mercy to reward them sevenfold into their bosom humbly beseeching that they may find mercy in that day and abundant recompence in the day of recompence for all the good they have done to me in thy name and for thy sake Amen And now my God and my all as having nothing in the world left me but my self my sins I have renounced and all my affections to them as none of mine and the dearest pledges of my love which I have past over to thee as no longer mine but thine I cast off from me all the care of my self and cast all the care of me upon thee put off this earthly tabernacle of flesh when and as it pleaseth thee and return it to its ancient dust and commend my Spirit deliver'd from this burden of flesh by the Ministry of thy holy Angels to be presented to thy Father as pure and spotless as thy Divine Blood can make it that among those he hath given thee according as thou hast prayed and thy Father granted it may ever be where thou art And now what have I to do having taken leave of earth and sent my thoughts and desires and hopes and in them my soul to Heaven but to languish and call and cry and not to cease till I breath out my soul into thy hands Come Lord Jesus come quickly Amen and Amen DEus vitae meae quam vane consumpta sunt quam infructuose elapsa sunt tempora mea quae dedisti mihi ut facerem voluntatem tuam in eis non feci quanti Anni quot Dies quot Horae perierunt apud me in quibus sine fructu vixi coram te Quomodo subsistam quomodo levare potero oculos meos in faciem tuam in illo magno examine tuo si omnia peccata mea vel tempora mea fructus requisiveris singulorum Patientissime pater non fiat hoc sed sint in oblivione coram te Et quae perdidi tempora heu multa sunt nimis si quae te juvante utiliter servavi quorum O domine numerus brevis est in memoria aeterna fac permanere Fiat amande Pater saltem hoc residuum temporis mei fructuosum sanctificatum in Gratia tua ut in diebus Aeternitatis inveniat locum computabile sit ante te Amen FINIS