the second to the Corinthians We must all be manifested before the judgment seat of CHRIST that every one may receive the proper things of the body according as he hath don either good or evill For justice requires that we be recompenced and chastised in the same things which have contributed to good or evill But the greater part of sins are caused or Committed by the body 't is then reason that it rise again and feel the punishments due to them It concurrs likewise to vertuous actions 't is mortifyd by holy souls subjected to rigours of penance and to labours of a christian life it sufferrs prisons and punishments in Confessors torments and death in Martyrs 't is deprived of its pleasures in Virgins and in Widows and crucifyd in all true Christians it is then very just that it should participate in the satisfactions pleasures and recompences of Heaven The flesh says Tertullian is the Tertull. de Resur Carnis hinge of our salvation and if the soul be united to God 't is it that gives her capacity the flesh is washed to the end the soul be cleansed the flesh is annointed that the soul be consecrated the flesh is shadowed by imposition of hands that the soul be illuminated in Spirit the flesh is fed with the Body and Blood of JESUS-CHRIST to the end the soul be nourished by God they cannot then be seperated in recompences having been so joyn'd in actions And 't is vain to alleadg against this Verity the low condition of the flesh for the same Father says the flesh which God form'd to the resemblance of a man-God which He animated by his breath to the resemblance of his life which He fortifyd with his Sacraments of which He loves the purity approves the austerity and esteems the labours and the sufferances shal it not rise again It will never be that He leave in eternal death the works of his hands the care of his Spirit the tabernacle of his Breath the heir of his Liberalities the keeper of his Law the Victime of his Religion and the Sister of his CHRIST It will then be raised up again and in this God does as a Potter who seeing his Pot ill made breaks it to repair it better so God having form'd man of earth and finding him deprav'd by sin broke him by death to which he doom'd him but with design to repair and make him better in the day of the Resurrection 2. But if any one should aske me how that which is withered and rotten can becom living and flourishing again He needs not but to consider the Omnipotency of the Creator or with S. Paul the grain of corne which rots to rise again Foole 1. Cor. 15. Cgrysol Ser. 59. it first do die All things in this world according to S. Chrysologue are images of our Resurrection the Sun sets and rises the day is buried in darkness and returns months years seasons fruits seeds die in passing and rise again returning and to touch you with a sensible example as often as you sleep and wake you die in a certain manner and rise again Let us now reflect upon the words of this Article 3. The Apostles say not The Resurrection of the man though this he true But of the flesh for to teach us that when the man dies his soul dies not and therefore in the Resurection is nor raised-up again but reunited only to the body since nothing can be raised again to life unless it first be dead 4. They say not the Resurrecton of the body but of the flesh becaus the holy Ghost would afford us a means to Confute the errour of certain Hereticks who would sustain as in the first ages of the Church some did that we should rise not in a body of flesh but form'd of air 5. They use moreover these terms to convince orhers who in the time of the Apostles thought that the Resurrection of which the Scripture speaks signifys not that of the body but only that by which the Soul is raised out of the death of sin to the life of grace 6. In fine this word Resurrection makes us understand that we shal receive the same bodys which we had for since rising again signifys returning to life again It must be the same flesh which was dead that rises and returns to life 7. We All then shal have the same bodys which now we have but intire and perfect without want or superfluity without the imperfection of youth or the defect of old age None shal rise blind or purblind deaf or dumb lame or crooked too great or too little nor with any other defect or imperfection Becaus 't is God alone whose works are perfect that will raise us up He will not in this work make use of natural causes from which all defects proceed 8. Nevertheless the Resurrection of the Elect and that of the Reprobate will be very different The blessed Souls shal receive bodys like to Christs endowed with Light Subtility Agility and Impassibility that will shine as clear as Starrs that will penetrate and pass through althings as beams of the Sun through glass that will move as swiftly as lightning That will be impassible and immortal so that nothing in the world can hurt them They will enter into their bodys with great joy and gladness with many benedictions and congratulations ô my body such a soul will Say ô my dear companion and most faithfull friend receive now with ioy the fruit of thy labours mortifications and pains in the works of holiness thou hast been in miseries and in sufferances be thou now in felicity and in happiness and let us praise together the Authour of our good but the reprobate Souls will reenter into their bodies with great a version rage and many maledictions of those members which they go to animate for to render them sensible of ineffable and eternal torments Domine quis habitabit in tabernaculo tuo aut quis requiescet in monte sancto tuo Lord says the Royal Prophet who shal dwell in thy tabernacle or who shal rest in thy holy hill He answers Psal 14. Qui ingreditur sine macula operatur justitiam He declares that two things are absolutely necessary to avoid evill and to do good one without the other suffices not Quis habitabit who shal be that happy that fortunate person that shal com to the glorious Resurrection and shal dwell amongst the Blessed O what happy lot attends him happy a thousand times the womb that bore him and the breasts which He did suck happie the paines taken to bring him up ô how well was it employd happie earth that he tramples under feet one ought to strew with flowers the paths which he honours with his steps happie air that he breaths one ought to sweeten it with all the perfumes of Arabia happie the bread which he eates one ought to nourish him with all that is most precious in nature and what deserves
in effect you are not more holy nor more learned nor wiser than S. Austin And hear what he sayd to a Pelagian Heretick That which the Fathers believed I belive what lib. 1 contra Iul. c. 2. circâ— med they taught I teach what they preached I preach Follow the example of this great and holy Doctor if you be wise and carefull of your salvation follow always Antiquity and Vniversality in your beliefe say with the whole Colledge of the Apostles I believe the holy and Vniversall Church And to all the reasons of humane Philosophy that Dissenters oppose Answer that S. Paul hath sayd Our faith ought not to be in the wisdome of men 1. Cor. 2. 5. but in the Power of God Amen DISCOURS XLV Of the Production Reception and Operation of the Eucharist S Peter having in the first chapter of his first epistle taught us that we are born again by the seed of the word of God bids us in the second to desire as new born children reasonable milk that we may grow unto salvation by which words he does not only invite us to suck yet more the milk of saving Doctrine but moreover to the participation of the holy Eucharist which here he also signifys by milk And in effect there are three great conformities and resemblances between the milk which a mother gives her child and the adorable Sacrament of the Altar Conformitie in the manner of their production conformitie in the manner of their reception Confirmitie in the manner of their operation 2. S. Austin in his frst sermon upon the Title of 33 Psalme brings this pat comparison Imagin that you enter into the house of a mother of many children Some of fifteen or Sixteen years of age other but four or five monthes old if you ask her what will you do with that bread T is she will say for the nourishment of my children And of what children of these great and little ones What for the nourishment of these little ones they have no teeth how will they eate that bread Yes that bread is for the nourishment of all my children both great and little but in divers manners the great shal eate it in the form you see it and becaus the little ones cannot eate it so I will concoct it in my stomake and change it into my blood and becaus they would have horrour to take my blood in its own form I will concoct it a second time by the heat of my heart in the limbick of my breast where it will becom white as snow sweet as sugar and liquid as wine The Son of God in his Divinity is living bread enlivening bread the bread of Angells The Celestial Spirits do not live are not nourished saciated and happy but by seeing loving possessing enioying God men also ought to be nourished with the same food but in this mortall life they are uncapable to enjoy God in his proper form they cannot see him openly and face to face what hath the Son of God don who compares himself in Scripture to a loving Mother He incarnated this bread this divine Word incorporated himself and took the form of flesh and blood And becaus men would have had fear and horrour to eate his flesh and drink his blood in the form He was He concocted this Bread a second time in the breast of this Sacrament by the heat of his heart by an ardent love He again transform'd this Word and cloathed himself with the species of bread and wine which are common and usuall with us to be the milk and nourishment of men who are his little children And as a mother giving her breast to an infant exposeth herself to many importunities incommodities and pinches which he gives her So our Saviour shut his Eyes to many considerations of his glory and of his interest which might have hindred Him from instituting this Sacrament He exposed himself to a thousand affronts which He receives and will receive to the end of the world from Hereticks bad Catholicks and vicious Priests that communicate in the state of sin and â—hough He be the Sovereign Purity the essentiall Sanctity who abhorrs sin infinitely yet is content to suffer all these injuries rather than deprive his well beloved children of the happiness of this breast 3. Jn the second place this Sacrament is compared to milk in the manner 't is to be receiv'd It must be taken as children take the brest with faith hunger and familiarity 4. An infant takes the breast with shut eyes he examins nothing but sucks the breast trusting to his mother a Dissenrer proposes questions as the Capharnaits how can this man gives us his flesh Psal 130. to eate How can so great a body be contained in so little a Host If I am not humble and if I exalt my Soul I shal be like to an infant that is weaned from the brest sayd the royal Prophet This happens to a Dissenter he exalts his Soul thinking that he hath much of knowledg and understanding he examins the power of the Omnipotent and will find that to be impossible which our Saviour sayd and he is weaned from this sacred brest Catholicks as humble simple docible children trust the Church their Mother who neither can nor would if she could deceive them they silence senses and shut the eyes of fallible reason to open only those of infallible Faith 5. They that have a lively faith of that which is contained in this Sacrament have a great appetite to it an earnest desire of it and therefore they reape incredible fruits from it The Virgin sayd in her canticle God fills the hungry with good things Such as approach to him with a Spiritual greediness and avidity see says S. Chrysostome with what readiness a little infant takes the teat with what force he joyns himself to the brest you would thinke that Hom 60. ad pop he would thrust himself into the brest of his mother or that he would suck out the heart and soul of his nource and if he be one only day without this refection he is wholy unquiet troublesome and insupportable Do the same says this holy Doctor go to the Body of IESUS amorously ardently and greedily as if you would lodg your self in the sacred side of JESUS unite your self to Him heart to heart soul to soul essence to essence and transform your self wholy unto Him and when by your fault you are depriv'd of this divine refection be sorry and troubled as having suffered a great loss 6. And after you have had the happiness to receive make good use of it This Sacrament hath a permanent Being and remaines as long as the species in the stomack that IESUS may have leasure to convers with us and we with Him We ought then to keep him company to court and entertain him by acts of adoration gratitude love oblation of our selves with resolution to serve Him well we must believe He coms to us full of
What is CHRSIT This is a Mistery well known to many But which ought not to be unknown to any because 't is the foundation of Christianity And the Source of our salvation And it oonsistes in this that as in us there are two parts the one interiour invisible and Spiritual which is the soule The other exteriour visible and material which is the body body and soul so knit togeather that thay make but one thing which is man So in our Saviour there are two Natures one increated eternal and infinite to wit the Divinity the other created temporal and finite to wit the Humanity that is to say a body and a reasonoble soul which Divinity and Humanity are so united and ioyned togeather that they make but one Personne which is true God and true Man whom the Apostles signify by these names IESUS-CHRIST SON OF GOD and OUR LORD 2. First they call him IESUS which signifys a Saviour And it was imposed with great reason For if Joseph in the Egiptian tongue was Called Saviour because he kept the people from Gen. 41. Numb 13. famine by his providence if Osee the Son of Num the Successor of Moyses had the same name becaus he led the people into the land of Promise after they had fought many battells And if the Son of Iosadech had also the same name for contributing 1. Esdras 3. to the delivery of the people out of the captivity of Babylon with much more reason our Saviour received this name since He does not only deliver some particular people out of certain calamities as they did but moreover all mankind from sin damnation and eternal misery 3. He also apply's himself to our Salvation with so much tenderness and affection with so much fervour and zeal that more than most deservingly He may take from this also his Name They that love passionatly write in a ring with their own name that of their beloved The Son of God hath written our salvation not with his Name but in his Name He cannot thinke of his own Name without remembring our Salvation When you will express an ardent desire of any thing you say I would give for it a part of my blood IESUS sayd it not but He hath don it and He gave not a part only but all his precious Blood for our Salvation IESUS makes so much account of our soules that having bought them with his Blood He pleases himself in the bargaine and shal we sell them to the Devill for a little money or for a brutal pleasure He begins to suffer for us from the time He begins to live and shal we serve him but when we decay or begin to die He thinks not on his Name without remembring us and shal we hear or pronounce this holy Name without calling to minde the benefit of our Redemption without thanking and honouring the Personne named Let us have him in our thoughts frequently in the day thanking him and offering our selves to him In our words speaking often of him and of what He hath done to be our IESUS In our prayers demanding of him and by him the graces and vertues which are necessary for us In our hearts loving him and reioycing in him 4. In the second place the Apostles call him CHRIST which signifys annointed And this name was given to Priests Kings Exod. 29 1. kings 10. 3. kings 19 and Prophets because they were annointed with oyle which signifys grace in figure of IESUS CHRIST But IESUS is not a Priest only but the sovereign Priest of Priestes not King only but the King of Kings not Prophet only but Prophet of all the Prophets Priest King Prophet Annointed not by men but by God not with oyle but with the fullness of his graces 5. In the third place they call him Son of the Omnipotent Father SON not by adoption or grace only but by nature For He is begotten from all eternity not according to his humanity or according to his Soul and Body but according to his divine Person Begotten I say not carnally corporeally but spiritually divinely and incomprehensibly by the understanding of the Father or by the knowledg the eternal Father hath of himself And by the property of his birth He receives three names which are to him particular notional and personal which appertaine to him and not to the other Persons of the BB. Trinity He is a WORD an JMAGE a SON He is a WORD Verbum erat apud Deum the WORD was with God S. Iohn 1. Collos 8. He is an IMAGE Ipse est Imago Dei invisibilis He is the JMAGE of the invisible God He is a SON misit Deus filium suum God sent his Son He is a WORD because produced by the Vnderstanding a WORD for the science knowledge and doctrine of the Father is most simple and uncompounded 't is but one only WORD but which represents all says all and does all He is an Image for He is the actual knowledg which God hath of himself the Expression of his Essence He represents it then perfectly otherwise the Science of God would be imperfect He is then the natural image lively representation and perfect character of Gods substance He is a SON for He is produced by the Vnderstanding by a natural Power by a natural and vital action and through inclination the Eternal Father hath to produce his like not only by resemblance but in identity of Nature He is then the true Son of God his production is true generation and He is not only equal to the Father but the same God with him 6. They Say only Son And He is so the only one that 't is impossible there should be another because the eternal Father begets him most necessarily and continually and his generative Power tho' infinite is wholy entirely and eternally employd in producing him 7 In fine the Apostles most justly call him Our Lord. For so He is by many Titles Other Lords and Sovereigns have generally but one Title one only right to their Dominions and that sometimes pretended usurped and uniustly acquired or at the best a very slight one JESUS is our Lord by all sorts of Rights by all the Titles that can give authority and jurisdiction He is our Lord because He created us the Workman is naturally Master of his worke ' the Father of his child and the Potter of his earthen vessel He is our Lord because He conserves nourishes and hinders us from returning to the nothing out of which He drew us He is our Lord because He directs governs and commands us and by other prerogatives of Nature 8. And becaus that all these Titles of Sovereignity give him Empire and Dominion over other creatures as well as over mankind He would be our Lord by Titles that give him particular and special authority over us We appertain to him by the right of Conquest by the right of Emption or purchas and Redemption This right God alleadged often to
for a scepter and thorns upon his head for a crown as if He were a king of the Theater To be decry'd and condemn'd as a blasphemer as a seducer as ambitious as sedicious as an Imposter What confusion greater then to be dragd through the streets of Hierusalem with hues and cries as a fool and as an extravagant person from Caiphas to Pilate from Pilate to Herod from Herod to the Pretory To be less esteem'd then Barrabbas a seditious person and a murtherer to be esteem'd more wicked more unworthy to live and more worthy of the cross then he What indignity more intollerable than to receive foule and fiâ—thy matters in token of vility and baseness not upon his garments or hands only but upon his most venerable and adorable face this indignity was so ignominious in Israel that if a child receiv'd it from his father he was to bear the confusion Numb 12. 14. of it at least seven daies To be short What greater contempt than to die not the death of Nobles nor with honourable persons not in private and in prison not in the night by torch light but the death of slaves with infamous persons in a high and publick place at mid-day in the sight of more than two hundred thousand persons 7. What shal I say of the punishments receiv'd in his sacred Body He suffered more horrible harsh and bitter torments than were ever suffer'd by any creature upon earth The Prophet Isaiah calls him by excellence the man of Paines Abel was murthered c. 33. 3. Zachary was stoned Isaiah sawed Lazarus covered with ulcers and not one of them is called the man of Paines We have heard of men to whom their vertues or their vices their birth or their condition have given honourable or shamefull Names But we have not heard but of IESUS-CHRIST only to whom Paine hath given a name He is the Man of Pains because He did bear all our paines He is the man of Paines becaus He suffered in all his members and He is the man of Pains becaus He was pierced through with Pains exposed Sacrificed and given wholy over to sufferances and Pains 8. But the sufferances in his soul will make appear yet better the Greatness of his Paine He sayd in the Garden my soul is sorrowfull to death It would seperate my soul and Body if I shoul not hinder it for to endure yet more To whatsoever part He casts his sight He sees objects of the greatest sorrow His soul is nail'd to a most hard Cross before his Body is Crucifyd and the Cross of his Soul is much more harsh and insupportable then that of his Body The three nails of this interiour cross are the injuries don to his Father the Commpassion of his Mother and the damnation of his brothers Philosophy teaches us that a paine is more sharp and bitter when 't is received in a power more pure and immaterial IESUS was pierced with paine not only in the inferior part of his soul but also in the superior which is wholy spiritual in the part in which He was blessed and his Beatitude also contributed to the increas of paine says S. Laurence Justinian He de tryumphali Christi Agone saw by the light of glory God face to face He knew clearly the Greatness of his Majesty the outrage and the injury that sin does him he loved him with a most ardent and excessive love and therefore He could not be but excessively afflicted seeing the Ocean of sins committed against that most high adorable and amiable Majesty The wounds of his Body were made by hands of Torterers hands indeed most cruell and inhumane Yet their activity had stil limits But the wounds of his heart were inflicted by the hand of love by the love which He had for his Father a love ineffable and incomprehensible If a soule that loved God well could have as much contrition as she would desire ô how would she pierce herself with sorow How willingly would she bathe herself in her tears ô how would she calcinate her poor heart JESUS had as much of sorrow as He desired and He desired as much of it as He had love for his Father his sorrow was equal with his love If He had seen but one only mortal sin committed against him whom He so loved He would have grieved infinitely ô how then was He afflicted when He saw so many so different and so enormous 9. The love which he had for his Mother was another nail that pierced his heart and which fastned him to this interior Cross He sees her present at all the Misteries of his bitter Passion He sees all the wonds of his Body united in her heart and we may say that his compassion was another Passion 10. He looks below His soul is sorrowfull He sees the torments of hell wherein so many shal be plunged notwithstanding his sufferances for them He sees that their wounds are incurable that they abuse his Blood death and merits and that after so many remedies they damne themselves for trifles and what He indured for them would serve but as oyle and sulphur to inflame the divine Justice to punish their ingratitude more rigorously 11. S. Austin wholy astonished at the sight of CHRISTS sufferance cry's out ô Son of God whither hath your humility descended whither hath your charity been inflamed whither hath your piety extended it self The Wiseman sayd that you have don every thing in number weight and measure But in this work of your Love You have observ'd neither number nor weight nor measure You have exceeded all hopes and desires You have made an excess that could not be imagined The Angells were astonished considering this wonder a God whipt a God cover'd with spittle the King of kings crown'd with thorns a God crucifyed for slaves a God pierced with sorrows for worms of the earth of whom He had no need and knowing that they would be ungratfull for so great a Benefit What transport what excess and if He were not God I might say with Pagans what folly of Love Gentibus stultitia 12. After a love so cordial undeserv'd and so excessive shal we not love him If the least slave had don the same for us He would be Master of our hearts and seeing a God hath don it shal He not be Qui non diligit Dominum Iesum Anathema sit 1. cor 16. 22. says S. Paul since JESUS suffer'd for us if any one love him not let him be Anathema Curs'd excommunicated and abhorred of all creatures But if any one should not love him and moreover be so ungratfull as to offend him what punishment would You wish him holy Apostle He adds it not nor can one wish him a pain so great as he deserves there should be a new hell to revenge an ingratitude so monstrous and enormous 13. For as S. Bernard sayd if Moses speaking to the Iews who had but a gross and imperfect Law who had
since all the right will be on God's side and all the wrong on ours IESUS will take his Fathers part and espouse his quarrell will do him justice for the injuries He received and judg us without favour or acceptance of persons â—phes 6. 9. 5. He will rejoyce exceedingly to satisfy his Father becaus his interests are dear and precious to him Impious and Idiots censure the Providence of God becaus they know not the reasons and the end of it they murmure that the just are humbled the poor afflicted the bad honoured and glutted with riches and delights they are astonished that the child of a devout woman dies without Baptisme and is reproov'd the child of a dishonest woman is predestinated and dies after Baptisme our Savior will justify his Father He will make clearly seen the Wisdom of his conduct the uprightness of his judgments the equity of his decrees and the admirable Economie of his Providence This rejoyces souls that love our Saviour this nourishes their hope and is the object of their devotion Let us elevate then our selves to God and say with the Psalmist make jubilation in the sight of the king our Lord becaus He coms to judg the earth Psal 97. 6. In the second place it is convenient there should be another Judgment besides that which is made in the hour of our death becaus in this the soul is judged only and the body ought to be judged also For The body contributs much to the merit and demerit of the soul it cooperats vsually to the good and to the evill which she practises it is the cause that a reprobate soul offends God by intemperance drunkennesse luxury idleness vain ornaments it is rhe cause that an elect soul pleases God in fasting whatching wearing hair cloath kneeling travelling keeping Virginity induring death for defense of Faith since then in the particular judgment these bodies receiv'd not the salary nor the paine which they merited in this life there ought to be another judgment which recompences or punishes them according to their deserts 7. In fine it is expedient that the elect may be praised honoured glorifyd and the reprobate dispraised reproched and confounded in the face of the whole world Our Lord will then give 1. Cor. 4. 5. to every one the praise which he deservs says the Apostle He will praise you for your Charity you for your patience you for your humility He will discover your secret penances your alms given to the poor your hidden hair shirt your nightly and early rising to prayers And consequently He will give also to the reprobate the blame and infamy which they deserve 8. To this effect he will enlighten the hidden things of darkness 1. Cor. 4. 5. and will manifest the counsells of the hearts as the Apostle says He will discover all thoughts words and actions of the reprobate in in the sight of that great assembly He will confound the hippocrisie of those that deceive the world reprove the craft and subtility of them who supplant the simple and thunder against the calumniators and diffamers of the innocent He will shew how unjustly the elect are contemn'd derided vilefied neglected and abused and how vainly and foolishly the reprobate are admired praised honored and preferr'd He will shew that He is good not only by praising approving and recompencing good but also by dispraysing condemning and persecuting the enemies of good 9. Cheer up then ô chosen Souls cheer up and rejoyce when we speak of judgment lift up your heads for behold your Redemption Luke 21. 28. is at hand What consolation what joy what gladness and what assurance for you when the whole world shal be moved at the terrible sound of the trumpet when the Iudg shal be in a throne of glory and of Majesty amidst thunders and lightnings when the rocks themselus shal tremble and people shal shake and shiver for fear when you shal see Hercules and Alexanders Cesars and Pompies Plato's and Aristotles the great Conquerors and Wise of the world dragg'd as Criminalls to the Tribunal of the Iudg reduced to an extream dispair not daring so much as to lift up their eyes expecting with horrour the sentence of their condemnation Then Then if you will believe me if you will indure a little here and keep exactly the commandements of God Then I say you will rejoyce heartily you who are esteem'd the lees and the scum of the world the objects of a thousand incommodities you will laugh with a celestial laughter you will be filled with a solid assurance you will acknowledg him whom you have so well serv'd and whilst others tremble you shal go to meet him in the Air obviam Thes. 4. â—6 Christo in aere you shal approach to him with confidence saying with joy which cannot be exprest behold my good Master that was crucifyd behold my Saviour whom I loved so ardently Look upon him now you worldly souls Is not this the Savior whom you so much despised heretofore you mocked us you called us hyppocrits scrupulous and superstitious people you held it simplicity to pardon injuries to indure affronts to deprive your selves of sensual pleasures to mortify your flesh and passions to contemn temporal goods through the hopes of eternal which you esteemd uncertain You see well now that we were not deceived you see it by experience O God! what extream favour to have serv'd well a king now so honour'd Sacred labors happy mortifications and persecutions which are now so divinely recompenced sweet austerities How great and admirable are the joyes you breed me Then Then ô Christion souls these bodys so often bowed and humbled before God shal be exalted and replenished with glory then you shal be justifyd from the faults of which at present you are so unjustly accused you shal be deliver'd from the persecutions they raise against you 9. But you on the contrary ô worldly soul you ought to tremble and shake when we speak of judgment You ought to consider that you must render an account to a Iudg infinitely powerfull to whose anger none can make resistance To a judg infinitely Wise and knowing who searches the bottom of the heart from whose knowledg you cannot hide your most secret thoughts to a Iudg infinitely good who is oblig'd by his nature to be mortal enemie to sin Hear then and put in practise his divine Words by which He vouchsafs to instruct you how to avoid the rigour of his justice behold how He concluds the sermon which He made of the last judgment Look well to your selves lest perhaps your hearts be aggravated Luke 21. with surfetting and drunkenness and cares of this life Watch therefore praying at all times that you may be accounted worthy to escape the things that are to com and to stand before the Son of man Amen DISCOURS X. OF THE SEUENTH ARTICLE From thence He will com to judg the quick and the dead 1. IT is
horrible to fall into the hands of the living God says S. Paul becaus He is always living Heb. 10. â—1 and as long as He shal be living the damned shal be in torments Wherfore the Son of God threatens a long time before He striks He speaks much of judgment before He does justice He never hurls a thunderbolt without making the thunder sound the lightning flash and without covering the air with clouds He sent from time to time Prophets as Heraulds of his justice forerunners of his judgment who always endeavoured to express the terrour of it by the most proper and significant epithets imaginable they call it the day of anguish and tribulation the day of affliction and misery the day of obscurity and darkness the day of outrage and tempest of anger and vengeance the day of the fury of the Lord the day of horror and of slaughter you may see this in Isaiah in Hieremiah in Ezechiel and in Joel Isay 13. and 34. Hiere 16. Ezec. 7. and 27. Ioel. 2. 2. And becaus usually the faithfull only believe the Prophets and as S. Paul says infidells have need of signs and prodiges To the end none may doubt of it God will proclaim it to all the world by most remarkable signs which He will shew in Heaven earth sea and other parts of nature and as at present according to the saying of the Prophet the heavens and the starrs declare the Omnipotence Wisdom and Goodness of God who produced such glorious creatures governs them in so constant and regular an order and designs them for an end so noble so before the judgment the sun moon and starrs shal foretell the justice of God they shal preach it to all people and that in so lowd and intelligible a language that none not the most stupid incredulous and insensible shal doubt the least of it In which we ought to admire and adore the goodness of God who exercising his patience so long time and towards so many persons will exercise his justice as late and against as few as He can He exercises his patience from the beginning of the world He employs in it not one day month or year but many ages He exercised it above six thousand Years and He will exercise it to the end of ages towards all sinners but He will not execute the last judgment the act of his great wrath but at the end of time as late as possible and that He may find but few upon whome to exercise the same He forewarns them of it He frightens threatens and sends Prophets He gives signes in heaven and in earth shewing by this that He desires not to strike that he wills not the death of a sinner but that he be converted and do live and this shews also the great and enormous malice of sin which provoks and irritats so much a God so mild and mercifull 3. The Prophetes Apostles Evangelists and the Apocalyps foretels us many terrible signs which shal be as messengers Matt 24. 30. 2. Pet. 3. Psal 76. 19. and forerunners of the Iudg see here some of them The sun shal be turned into darkness and the moon into blood Starrs shal fall from Heaven and the Powers of it shal be moved The Heavens burning shal be resolved There shal be no light but that of lightning which shal always flash The thunderclaps shal be so great that the Heavens will seem to teare thunderbolts shal be darted Wisdom 5. 22. Wisdom 5. 22 forth as from a bow full bent and shal fall directly contrary to their custome The Water of the sea shal rage against men and the rivers shal run togeather roughly The earth agitated with convulsions and tremblings will open as if threatning to swallow them God will send devouring fire which shal burn the 2. Pet. 3. elements consume Towns and reduce to ashes all the works of men What horrible spectacle to see and feel the air changed into flames stones into burning coals rivers into boiling water houses into furnaces of fire 4. If one only of these prodigies should happen now in what a condition should we be If we should see the sun and moon to lose their light or the earth to tremble a whole week in what a trance should we be how should we cry-out mercy what â—ill it be then to see all the aforesayd things togeather And yet they shal be but signs and presages of what shal follow after they shal be but the commencement of the sorrows says JESUS in the Gospel And if the beginnings are so sorrowfull what shal the progress be if the shadows and the figures are so terrible what will the reality be if it be so tirrible to see the Sergeants and the Apparitors that precede the Judg what will it be to see the Iudg in the heat of his anger and to be struck with the thunderbolt of of his sentence 5. He is now our Advocate He will be then our Iudg not only to reveng injuries don to Orphans Widows Laborours and to the Poor But moreover to reveng offences committed against God his Father He hath infinite obligations to him a passionate love for him a most ardent zeal for his glory is very sensible of that which offends him His interests are dear to him He will have an ocean of enormous sins to condemn and punish I leave you to think with what indignation with what heate of anger He will be inflam'd It will be so great that it will be a horror and a death to sinners I will not say to be condemn'd but to appear in his presence I will not say they will not dare but they will not be able to subsist in the sight of his Majesty they will not be able to think of him who shal he able to think the day of his Advent and who shal stand to malach 3. 2. see him says his Prophet 6. The terrour of him will be so great that the reprobate will desire rather to be crushed ground and reduced to dust then to be presented to the tribunal of this terrible Iudg. they Luke 23 30. will say to the mountains and to the rocks fall upon us and hide us from the face of the Lamb we have abused his meekness we have oblig'd him to becom a Lyon we shal not be able to endure the reproches He will make us rocks fall upon us and crush us to pieces that we may not be forced to appear in his presence hide us from the face of the Lamb they have cause to fear it His presence only will put them to more pain the rocks would but crush their bodys the presence of JESUS will crush their bodys and their souls 7. They know they must now render a most punctual and exact acount of all the Talents and Goods they receiv'd from the liberal hand af God and of all the evills they have ever don 8. They know they must answer not only for mortall sins but
is good and deserves to be loved for God is so good great holy powerfull and worthy to be loved that if He did desire it we should sacrifice our selves for his service though there were neither heaven for those that love him nor hell for those that love him not 11. We should do as the blessed Spirits do it is IESUS that gives the Counsel putting these words into our mouths Your will be don in earth as it is in heaven that is as the Angells do it they do the will of God and obey his Orders with a free pure and disinteressed love all that they pretend is to obey God to do his will all the recompence that they passionately desire is to receive new Orders to be employd again in his service purely for the love of him 12 This is not sayd that a faithfull soul may not hope and keep the commandements for reward or retribution as the Prophet says he did But that it be not the principal yet less the only aime of our love for as S. Bernard says perfect love of God intends no recompence but merits much The loving soul receives from the hands of God ineffable and incomprehensible goods but though she should not though there should be no Paradise nor reward she would not omit to love God serve him and to be pleasing to him and if she practises vertue for reward the reward which she desires is the increase of her love if she is glad to merit to be higher in heaven this is not to have there more of honor and glory but it is to have more of love if I merit much says she I shal see God more clearly and perfectly in heaven I shal glorify him more excellently I shal praise him more advantagiously I shal be united to him more strictly and intimatly I shal love him more ardently and so love is the true salary of love 13. In fine your love must not be idle and paralitick but active to render service to God and to do good works for his glory Charity works great things where it is and where it works not there it is not says S. Gregory S. Iohn 14. 23. 1. Ep. 3. 18. Psai 96. 10. He that loves me will keep my word says IESUS My little children says his beloved Disciple let us not love in word and tongue only but in work and veritie and the Royal Prophet You that love our Lord hate ye evill he says not only commit not evill but hate it He says not hate it in your self but absolutely hate it If you love God you will hate sin wheresoever it is found you will destroy it in your self and in your neighbor also if if you can if one should say I abuse not my friend but is not sorry that another does nor hinders him when he can may one truly say he loves him Let us conclude with a reflexion upon these words of JESUS I Came to cast fire upon the earth and what desire I but that it be inflam'd Luke 12. 49. And does He not move solicit and stir up our hearts to this fire and flame of love by all possible wayes 14. He prevents us with great love He lou'd us more than riches He was made poor for us more than honours He suffered a thousand infamies more than his ease and pleasure He led a life in pain and labor more than his body He depriu'd it of glory and of life more than the Angells He redeem'd them not And though we are so ungratful and unworthy as not to return love for love He tryes yet other means 15. He heaps Benefits upon us and makes us presents to engage our mercenary hearts He practises the counsel He gives us by the Wiseman and by his Apostle Give meat and drink to your enemy Prov. 25. 21. Rom. 12. 20. when he hath need and you shal heap upon him burning coales to heat his love to you so many prosperities that are sent you so many morcells of bread you eate so many creatures that serve you are so many burning coales He heaps upon you to heat your love so many presents He makes you to gain your affection so many baits he laies to catch your heart Et si parva sunt ista adiiciet majora And if it seems to you that all this is too little and that your heart is yet worth more He assures you that all the favours whiich he hath don you and which he does you yet every day are not but gages and pledges of the great Goods He hath prepar'd and promis'd you if you love him Neither eye hath seen nor eare hath heard 1. Cor 2. 9 nor the heart of man can comprehend the things which God hath prepar'd for them that love him says S. Paul 16. But since we esteem not these promises enough and are like those Israelites who contemn'd she desirable land He lifts up his hand He commands us ro love him and threatens punishments if we do not Is not this to be extremly desirous of our love to put as it were a dagger to our throats and say to us love me J will kill you if you will not He does not only say it but he does it he damnes us eternaly if we love him not 17. And when He sees that fear of future punishments doe not sufficiently move our hearts He sends us sometimes afflictions to force our love He takes away all you love in this world becaus you love not well that which ought to be loved above all things He removes from you all that may amuse and employ your heart that it may be in a manner forced for want of other object to unite it self to Him ô great God what can you do more to have this heart which you so passionately desire you besige it on all sides and it renders not neither the preventions of your love nor the attractives of your benefits nor your promises of paradise nor your strict commands nor threats of hell nor constrains of afflictions can open this lockt heart Extremis morbis extrema remedia 18. When a passionate lover hath tryed all wayes and finds them unsuccesfull he coms to the last makes use of a charm composes a love potion JESUS makes use of this artifice to gain our affection He puts himself upon our Altars and into our Tabernacles there he is the charm of love They say that in a charm of love to render it more powerfull the Lover ought to mix with it some of his own substance some drops of his blood and JESUS puts all his blood into this potion not a part of his substance only but all his substance Body Soul and Divinity 19. What think you Judg you not that God ought to have your heart after so many pursuances do they not inflame you to beg that of God which is so necessary and which you cannot have of your own selves Aske it of God fervently humbly frequently aske it of
of spirit and affection of heart But we are composed of body and soul we receiv'd both from him and we ought to employ both in his service When we kneel reverently bow or prostrate humbly before God we testify his greatness and excellence our lowness indignity and vility that the burden of our sins oppress us and that we com to God to be eased and these humble postures excite our interior humility and devotion they dispose us to receive the dew of heaven more abundantly and the grant of our requests one reason why the man-God was heard of his Father was that He prayed with great humility of spirit with a profound reverence and prostration of body He was heard for his reverence says S. Paul 5. He pray'd in the second place with teares and a strong cry to shew the fervour of his spirit and to testify the aspirations of his heart we may note that very frequently if not as often as 't is sayd any one hath cryed-out in prayer to God the sacred text does add that he was hear'd and God promises it expressly He shal cry out to me and I will heare him What is it to cryout to God in prayer Is it to raise the Psal 90. Voice No for Moses moved not his lipps and God sayd to him you cry-out to me When you pray an ardent desire is a great cry in the eares of God sayd S. Bérnard 6. Why thinke you God deferrs a long time the grant of our requests also when we aske vertues and spiritual favours It is says S. Austin to increase and inflame our desire that we may learn to esteem much and to have a great desire of great S. Ang. tr 1. in Io and ser 5. de Verbis Domini things We are accustomed to say that a thing is little worth that is not worth the asking It is then worth the asking so much the more fervently how much it is more noble and more precious and what is more pretious then the love of God his grace and the Salvation of our soules when we pray coldly or tepidly we make no great account of the graces that we aske if we make no great account of them we render our selves unworthy of them 7. The reason why we pray negligently and that we have not a great desire to be heard is that we ponder not the extream need we have of Gods mercy we consider this affair as a thing indifferent or of little consequence We ought to believe firmly that if God hath not pity on us we shal be most miserable and unhapy creatures we know not that God hath pardoned the sins of our youth that we have had a supernatural and legitimate repentance of them and if we should know this we know not what will becom of us for we are more fragil than glass more weak then reeds and more unconstant then the winds what will then becōm of us if God hath not pity on us 7. He that knows not how to pray let him go to sea and see how they pray in a great strom and in danger of death and let him pray so always and He will be saved infallibly We are in a greater danger of damnation then they are of death they are not so endanger'd but by two or three winds we are by more then six by pride avarice envy luxury and other passions betwixt them and death there is but a planke betwixt me and hell there is but my will which is more fragil than that planke if that planke were left alone it would last a longtime but if my will were left to it self but a little while it would fall into horrible precipices and lose it self we are more uncapable to govern our selves and obtain salvation without a particular grace of God than a man who hath never-been at sea is to govern a ship in a tempest in the midst of rocks and sands Now I make your selves judges if we ought not to pray with all the force of our hearts 8. But let us not go to sea let us stay on land there is no need to go so far to learn to pray I find here a great number of excellent Teachers but I am a bad scholler and learn not my lesson well these are the poor that ask alms they givê us not thinking of it fine instructions if we reflect upon them If they know where early in the morning is a great concours of people they rise not flowly but hasten to the place Rise you so early to have opportunity to pray half an houre or an houre the Spirit is then more fresh less incombred with affaires and more vigorous to pray They range about the streets and Churches where they know are rich and charitable persons make you recours to the friends of God to the Saints who are rich in merits and powerfull with the Son of God The Poor discover their wounds they shew their ulcers and half rotten members and if they have none they counterfeit some to move men to compassion we have no need to counterfeit we have but too many in our souls we must acknowledg them in the presence of God and expose them to the Compassionat aspects of his mercy and say my God! you see I am but darkness weakness poverty and misery I have nothing of my self but ignorance and sin Though many of these Poor are Idiots and ignorant yet they find words reasons and arguments to move us to compassion to perswade us to mercy and to draw from us an Alms Madame have pity on me bestow one penny upon me you will not be the poorer and I will pray for you I am a poor orphan a stranger and far from my friends and country where I was ruined by fire shew your charity to me I ask it for the love of God for the Passion of our Saviour why find they so many words to beg an alms and we find them not to pray God It is becaus they have a great desire to receive an alms from men and we desire but little to receive one that is more necessary from God T is necessary that the feeling of our wants do suggest to us words and one half houre of prayer made with such a feeling wil be better then three houres of prayer without it 9. Salomon made a prayer accompanied with the two first conditions he asked of God continence with humility and fervour he asked it humbly for he acknowledged that he could not have it of himself and that it pertain'd to God only to give it Wisdom 8. 21. to him he asked it fervently for with all the force of his heart and yet he was not heard he obtain'd not chastity whence was this It was becaus his prayer failed of the third condition which is perseverance he prayed once or twice and this was not enough he should have continued it It is the counsell which the true Salomon our Saviour gives us who having preached the
objection which the Catholicks de Ieiunio C. 1. 3. 13. cont Psychicos made against him who would have had them to keep three Lents the Apostles sayd they imposed no other Lent common to all then that in the time when CHRIST was taken from the Church his spouse by his death and Passion S. Hierome in Europe speaking of the Novelty of the Montanists says they observ'd three lents as if three Saviours had suffered but we observe but one of them according to the Tradition of the Apostles And the same holy Father writing to Marcella tels her the Ember dayes as well as the Lent were instituted by the Apostles In Asia S. Gregory of Nazianzen reprehending a Perfect named Epist 74 Celusius sayd to him you dispensing with your self from fasting do injury to the Lawes how will you keep humane lawes since you contemne divine 4. You wiâ—l not thinke the precept of fasting too severe if you consider the reasons which moved the Apostles to institute the Lent It was first to commemorate and honor the retreat and the penance of our Saviour in the desert to honor it I Rom. 8. 26. say by imitation according to our power For S. Paul says his servants must follow and imitate him to be one day with him In what must they follow and imitate him Not in preaching and in working miracles but in fasting or suffering for the love of him his Apostle declares it in these express words Let us shew that we are the Ministers or servants of God by our fasts our watchings our labors and other practises of 2. Cor. 6. 6. vertue Note in Fasts not in fasting once or twice a year as many do when they form some designe but many dayes as our Saviour hath given us example In the second place the Lent was instituted for the conversion of souls to purify our consciences from the ordure of sin by the practise of penance and by this sanctification to dispose us to receive worthily the Eucharist For the Prophet Ioel says fasting conduces much to a true conversion that it is one of the parts of penance convert your selves to me in fasting Ioel. 2. 14. The Lent is moreover fasted to make the anniversary funerall of our Saviours death But sorrow and funeralls are incompatible with good cheer for the holy Ghost distinguishes and opposes them to one another It is better says He to go to the house of mourning then to the house of banqueting 4. S. Paul tels us that many have their Belly for their God for this reason they are very eloquent and zealous to plead its cause they fight for their God with many arguments With some they would shew fasting to be superfluous or superstitious with others hurtfull or pernicious If you are predestinated will you not be saved say they without your fasting do you thinke God did expect your fasting to predestinate you Answer God did not expect our fasts but He foresaw them and other good workes for which He predestinated us to glory or this He did predestinate and this He does decree that by these means we shal obtaine that end not otherwise CHRIST fasted for you to deliver uou from this labor Why do you then afflict your selves in vain by fasting as if Christs fast did not suffice for your salvation without your little fasts Answer CHRIST also would be baptised and indeed for us not for himself and yet it follows not that I ought not to be baptized so though He fasted for me yet I ought to fast by his Example He suffered for us says S. Peter leaving us an example S. Peter 1. 2. Rom. 8. 17. that we may follow his footsteps and S. Paul if we suffer with Him we shal be also glorifyd with him Since you are resolv'd to fast why do you not chose rather to fast voluntarily than necessarily Have you not read in the Psalmist I will Sacrifice to you voluntarily Answer a fast commanded by the Church is better than that we take up by our own election for this proceeds out of one vertue to wit Temperance that from two Temperance and Obedience And if a commanded fast should proceed from obedience obly yet it would be so much better and more Excellent than the other how much the vertue of obedience is better than that of Temperance Obedience is I. Kings 15. 22. better than Victimes sayd Samuel to Saul And obedient Souls fast not as you suppose unvoluntarily with regret and sorrow but voluntarily with alacrity and gladness 5. The Epicurians and the Advocats of self love urge as they imagin yet more forcibly and to justify themselves make this remonstrance We must love our bodys as well as our souls for God created both and loves both and wills that we do love them But fasting and other austerities hinder sleep punish the body and weaken it prejudice health and shorten life and consequently by fasts and other austerities we act against the will of God the law of nature and are injurious to our selves Answer a fool according to his folly lest he seem to himself wise God Would have us to love our Body True but He wills us to love it truly and to love it truly is to procure it by the means of fasting prayer and other exercises of vertue true perfect and everlasting health What does it profit the flesh that You nourish it delicately if you nourish it for hell If you feed it so that it becoms the fuel of eternal fire would you not love it better if you curb it and afflict it here a little with hunger and with thirst to have it sound and glorious for all Eternity This is that which our Saviour says Qui amat animam suam perdet eam et qui odit in hoc mundo animam suam in vitam Eternam 1. Iohn 12. custodit eam He that loves this temporal life and therefore permits not his flesh to be molested nor afflicts it with fasting watching and other vertuous labors does not keep it to everlasting life Fasting hinders sleep I believe it and it was also instituted to hinder too much sleep that so you may have more time for prayer spiritual reading and other exercises of a Christian Fasting punishes and afflicts the body I doubt not of it if well practised And do you thinke it was instituted for other purpose than to punish it you will not then go to heaven if the way be not easy and pleasing to the flesh if it be not strew'd with flowers and sweet herbs And where then is the law of christianisme which is a law of mortification and of the Cross And what will becom of these words of our Saviour Strive to enter by the narrow gate You say fasting does prejudice health and shorten life The Church the Canon law good Phisitians and experience Quicqd Etc. legimus de Consecra dist 5. say quite the contrary the Church in the Collect of
the same Word also we may learn that scandal is not a word or action which gives occasion of dishonour infamy or confusion that to scandalize another is not to discover his Vice to publish and make it known to the world this is not to scandalize him properly speaking 't is to diffame and dishonour him Scandal is a word or an action that is not so right as it should be which gives occasion to our neihgbor to commit a sin So S. Thomas and after him all the school Dictum vel factum minus rectum praebens alicui occasionem ruinae To have a perfect knowledg of this Definition we must weigh all the words of it the defect whereof makes men to be deceived often and to remain in ignorance 2. Dictum scandal is sometimes a word for the body is poysoned by the mouth and the soul by the eares sayd Plato and S. Paul who cites but seldom profane Authours alledges to this purpose the saying of the greek Poet corrumpunt bonos 1. Cor. 15 33. Psal 118 more 's colloquia prava evill discourses corrupt good manners David seem'd to fear the contagion of them when he prayed Lord deliver my soul from vniust lipps and from the deceitfull tongue and we have greater reason to do the like you will find many who will not speak openly against the faith lest they should be accounted impious or Atheists But they will say one might object such a thing against our beliefe or Infidells propose to us this argument Deceitfull tongue They move not manifestly their neighbour to dissention but slyly and secretly I wonder say they how you endure that you are too patient he will tread upon you one sayd such a thing of you Deceitfull tongue They speake not words openly impure but cover'd equivocal and of a double meaning Deceitfull tongue such words are usually more hurtfull than the other these are sharp arrows which enter more deeply into the mark and the wit and subtility which is in these cover'd words makes them enter more easily into the imagination and to remain there longer These are the burning coales which desolate and ruine the purity charity and simplicity of Christian soules 3. Dictum vel factum Scandal is a word or worke and action which may be the cause of sin and workes or actions are more scandalous than words these move indeed but those draw 't is enough to draw another to what is naught if others do it if it be the mode if but one only considerable persone do it if it be the custome so inclin'd are men to what is naught they are like goates or Sheep if one pass a place the rest follow not regarding the danger of it What do I say follow Men do not only follow others in what is naught but they will with tooth and naile endeavour to justify the following of them They say we must accommodate our selves to the place in which we are and live according to the world since we are in the world To which I oppose this of the S. Paul Be ye not conform'd to this wordl and this of S. Iohn Love not the world nor the things which are in the world and this of the Rom. 12. 2. 1. Iohd 2. 15. S. Iohn 17. Rom. 1. 7. Thess 1. 4. And 7. S. Pet. 1. 3. And 9. Acts. 10 15. 1. Cor. 6. 2. Son of God speaking of his disciples to his Father they are in the world but they are not of the world Christians Disciples of Christ have been sanctifyd in Baptisme and in the other Sacraments they are oblig'd to be holy 't is their vocation and profession they are called to be Saints says S. Paul to the Romans and to the Thessaâ—onians God hath called us into Sanctification And S. Peter But you are an elect Generation a holy people To be holy and to be common are two opposite Termes what God hath Sanctifyd do not thou call common Christians shal judg the world says S. Paul in his 1. Epistle to the Corinthians they must nor then be Complices or Companions in the actions customs and proceedings of the world Reason it self forbids us to follow them We know that there is nothing so erroneous as the opinion of the world nothing so corrupted and perverted as the judgement of men there are but few that know in what true vertue does consist and amongst those that know it there are but few that live according to this knowledg because their Passions oversway their judgments and corrupt their actions and therefore a wise man ought to steere a quite contrary cours But ought we not to avoyd singularity yes that which you affect of your own head and by the spirit of Vanity but not that which you accept from the will of God and by the spirit of sanctity Are not the high and common wayes the more sure yes to go to a place on earth but not to go to heaven our Saviour tells us so in express termes Enter by the narrow gate becaus broad is the gate and large is the way that leads to perdition and many there bes that enter by it How narrow is the gate and strait is the way that lead Matt. 7. 13. to life and few there are that find it But if I leave the usuall way of men what will they say I shal pass for a scrupulous a melancholy person or a hypocrite and they will laugh at me And who will laugh at you Libertines Impious and Atheists but God Angells and vertuous Persons will esteem and praise you Will it not be much honor to you to be blam'd by those that are worthy of blame and to be esteem'd by those who merit to be esteem'd The conscience also of Libertines themselves will be forced to admire what their mouth condemnes for vertue sends forth such bright rayes that they strike a holy terrour into the soules of her greatest enemies and she receives praises from those who at the first sight of her did burden her with reproaches But suppose that you are really laught at and derided What vertuous Person hath not passed this tryal Tobias and Iob were they not mocked as Idiots and simple men S. Charles did he not pass amongst worldly souleâ— for a man too stiff and obstinate in his way S. Chrysostome for too austere Granado and Avila for scrupulous and what is most considerable the Saint of Saints IESVS-CHRIST hath he not passed for a foole or madman for a friend of good cheer for a hlasphemer and for a magitian We must then have the courage sayes great S. Francis Sales to make the world know by our manner of living that we are not of this world but the servants of God that the lights of the Gospell and not the maximes and the customs of the world are the rules of our life so we shal tye the tongues of the impudent and draw many to the same manner of living by the examples of our vertues Let
affairs or will leave suits not goods to his heires if my Father had left me a house and you would contest with me saying 't is a paper or painted house he means what Judg would hear you what impartial Arbiter would not condemn you would you not injure me and yet more my father if he had meant a paper house would he not have declared his intention IESUS our celestial Father makes his Testament He declares his last Will He says that He leaves me his precious Body and you say 't is not his true Body 't is a figure of his Body goe you are a mocker if it was not but his figure would He not have sayd so as well as you would He have sayd This is my Body instead of saying this is my figure He is upon his departure in his last supper He goes to death and afterward to the imperial heaven when a loving husband is vpon his deathbed or bids farwell to his dear spouse for a journey somewhat long is it not then that he opens his heart to her and discovers to her his secrets is it not then that he speaks to her without ambiguitie that he gives her testimonyes of his greatest affection and leaves her the more precious presents And JESUS being in the vigill of his death giving his farwell to the Church his Spouse and depriving her of his Visible presence shal He have spoken obscurely and equivocally to her shal He shal He have deceived her in a matter of so great importance and for all nuptial presents for the gage of his amity for the testimonie of his tender affections for a supplement of his absence shal He have left her only a morcell of bread The manner also in which He accomplishes this Mistery ought to be considered if this be but a morcel of bread Why promises He it so long before why speaks He of it with so much pomp Why prayses He the effects and necessitie of it so much Why prefers He it before the Manna the bread which I will give you is my flesh he that shal eate of this bread hath everlasting life If you eate not my flesh you shal not have life in in you This is not as the manna your fathers have eaten If that which He gives is but a mite of bread the manna was to be prefer'd before it It was the figure of the Body of IESUS CHRIST as well as Calvins bread and much more express for it was mouldedâ— by hands of Angells the bread of Calvinists by the hands of men that came from heaven and their bread from a bakers oven that had all sorts of tasts their bread hath but one After He had promised it so long time and so solemnly He gives it but washes first the feet of his Disciples He makes them a long and sublime sermon He recommends to them puritie and charitie He makes to his Father a very long prayer and if all this tended but to give them a piece of bread I make you judg 5. Let us consult moreover the practise and the Pietie of the primitive Christians and we shal see that their faith and the religious S. Ambr. lib. 3. de Spirit Sto. c. 12 S. Crysos hom 24. in 1. ad Cor. Et in orat de Philogonio Ceremonies which they practised in respect of the Eucharist were-very contrarie to the error of the Calvinists they adored the holy Sacrament upon the Altar with the worship of Latria which cannot be given but to God only we adore the flesh of CHRIST yet this day in the sacred Mysteries says S. Ambrose S. Augustine upon these words of the Psalme Adore his footstool sayd Christ hath given us his flesh to eate but nobody eates this flesh but after that he hath adored it S. Chrysostome Let us imitate at least the Mages who seeing Christ but in a manger adored Him with great fear and you see Him not in a manger but upon an altar 6. They feared extreamly to let fall upon the ground the least S. Aug. lib. 50. hom hom 26. Origen hom 13. in Exod. particle of the Eucharist or one drop of the chalice as S. Austin and Origen do testify They required not only purity of body and sanctitie of soul to touch or receive this Sacrament but they demanded sanctiâ—ie to see it and to look upon it as appears in the first epistle S. Chrysostome wrote â—o Pope Innocent where he complains that soldiers sent by his enemies had entred in a tumultuous manner into the Church and he exagerats as a bold attempt that many of them who were not yet baptized had seen the holy Hosts They exposed not also to the Catechumens the secret of this Sacrament it was the secret of the Church which was not revealed but to her Children and it was a crime to speak of it in the presence of Catechumens or of Infidells this is seen in the epistle which the Synod of Allexandria wrote to the Catholick Bishops where the Council complains that the Arians were not asham'd to speak of the Mysteries in the presence of Catechumens and what is wors before infidells 7. Now I appeal to your consciences if the Christians of the primitive Church did believe that the Eucharist is but a morcel of bread which minds us of the body of IESUS would they have adored it with supream worship would they have thought it so great an incongruitie to let fall the least crum of it would they have required such puritie of body and soul to receive it to touch it or to hear or speak of it 8. All the Articles of our faith are equally true but there are none of them so express in scripture none taught so clearly by the holy Fathers less opposed in primitive times confirmed by so many miracles received so unversally in Europe in Asia and in Africa as this For amongst all Catholicks Hereticks Schismaticks amongst Grecians Latines Hebrews Abyssins or Ethiopians which have been and which are at present Calvin only with his Partie hath obstinately denyed it I leave you to thinke with whom you should chuse to rise and appear at the day of judgment either with S. Cyprian S. Ambrose S. Augustine S. Chrysostom and all the other holy Doctors of the east west south and north who florished in the time when the Church was in her greatest puritie and vigour or with Calvin who came fifteen hundred years after the institution of this Sacrament 9. Follow the counsell which the holy Ghost gives you by the Wiseman Ne transgrediaris terminos antiquos quos posuerunt Patres tui Passe not the bounds which your Ancesters have put hold the beliefe of those primitive Christians and the doctrine of these holy Fathers who were taught by the Apostles or by their Successours who read the holy Scripture day and night who meditated upon it seriously who were particularly assisted by the holy Ghost to understand it well who were desinteressed and free from passion for
good will for us that He desires nothing more than to fill us with goods to embrace us and to unite himself to us for ever we must cast our selves into his armes as an infant into his mothers put into his hand with great confidence our affaires afflictions salvation and our family ô God! I trust in you you are infinitely good you give your self to me you will give surely that which is much less 7. The third conformitie of the Eucharist with milk is in the manner of their operation First this is proper to milk amongst other nourishments that it is the whole feast and the entire refection of the infant it Satisfys hunger and thirst and serves him for meat and drink And this is also proper to the Eucharist that in one only Species of it is contain'd the whole refection of the Soul you are as well communicated and spiritually fed in taking the Host alone as in receiving both Host and Chalice 8. Here Dissenters think that they have a great advantage of us declaming against our communion in one kind But I see not how they can except against it For whatsoever the protestant people do in receiving of this Sacrament Catholicks do or may do too and what more ought to be don the Catholick Church does it and the Protestants do it not must one feed upon Christ Crucified by Faith Catholicks do it must the Eucharist be taken in remembrance of Him and his Death and Passion they do it must the people drink wine out of a Cup Catholick people do the like and over and above this they communicate the very Body of their Redeemer animated with his Soul full of blood and hypostatically united to his Deity this ought to be don to the end we may have life in us and Dissenters do it not But since they desist not to cry out and say that we deprive our people of the necessary means which Christ hath left them for their Salvation I must make you see that the holy Scripture the Fathers and Antiquity do authorize our practise 9. What pretend you in communicating Is it not to have eternall life you will acquire right to it in receiving but the Host for IESUS CHRIST sayd in most clear words He that eates Iohn 6. 51. and 58. Aug. tr 27. in Ioan of this bread shal live for ever And before the murmuration of the Capharnaits He spoke not of drinking his Blood but of eating his Body only He spoke not then of drinking his Blood but to answer to the gross thought of the Capharnaits and to tell them that they were not to eate his flesh separated from his blood dead cut and mangled as S. Austin says they thought but to eate his living Body full of blood Nor did He command all men to drink of the chalice or cup when He sayd in S. Matthew Drink ye all of this For these words were not spoken to all men nor to all the Faithfull But to all the Apostles and to them all only which is manifest out of the text it self for what S. Matthew says was commanded to all S. Marke relates to have been answerably perform'd by all they drank all thereof the second all is restrain'd to all the Apostles to whom only He spoke these words as also the other before and after and who were then made Priests what reason then is there to extend the former words farther then the Apostles Christ himself gave most S. Luke 24. probably the Eucharist under one only species to the Disciples that went to Emaus for He vanished says S. Luke as soone as they knew Him in breaking of the bread which S. Hierome S. Austin 5. Hier. in Fp. Paulae ad Eusto S. Aug. lib. 3. de consen Evang. c. 25. Et Ep. 59. ad Paulinum S. Paulinus V. Bede and other Doctors do understand and also prove to have been the holy Eucharist And 't is evident in S. Ambrose in Eusebius in S. Cyprian and in Tertullian that the primitive Church which would do nothing against the express command of Christ did give it often to the faithfull did carry it in journeys did send it to the absent and to the sick in one only kind or species and therefore they also held it to be as milk a whole and entire refection 9. Milk is given to an infant to nourish and make him grow and the Eucharist was instituted to make the children of the Church to increase and thrive in Christian perfection and therefore t is institituted under the species of bread which nourishes fortifys and causes groweth S. Ambr. orat de fratre suo Satyro Euseb lib. 6. c. 36. S. Cyprian de lapsis Tertull. lib. 2. ad uxor 10. Milk hath this property that it communicates often to infants the humours and the complexion of the Nource when the Poets describe a cruel man they are not content to say a rock hath brought him forth but they add that Tygars have given him suck And the holy Canons counsell mothers to nourse their own Children as much as may be for fear that giving them to vicious persons they suck with milk the ill humours of the nources The Son of God is not content to bring us forth in Baptisme He himself gives the brest He nourishes us with his own flesh that He may communicate his own inclinations to us He after communion sayd to his Disciples That the world may know I love my Father rise let us go to suffer for his glory So after communion we must examin our selves what service can I render to God what can I do that may conduce to his honor what is that in me or mine that displeases him and which I may correct if we use so this precious milk it will make us grow in perfection it will make us like to Him who nourishes us with his own substance it will give us his complexion and resemblance and if we resemble Him on earth in the life of grace we shal resemble Him in heaven in the life of glory Amen DISCOURS XLVI Of the Eucharist as a Sacrifice SAcrifice is a worship so noble and so proper to the Almighty as none either in heaven or in earth may partake with him in it So due to him and so necessary for men that every Law and Religion hath been stil anexed with a correspondent Sacrifice and Christians have all the reasons to honour God by it the Iews and those of the Law of nature ever had We are an externe and visible Congregation as they were We have the passion of the Messias to be represented before our eyes now with us past as with them it was to come we have the same God with the same worship to be honoured for received benefits to be praised for our sins to be appeased for favours to be invocated 2. Wherefore God promised us a Sacrifice by his Prophet Malachias Malac. 1. 10. where rejecting the ancient Sacrifices and
46. 16. and should burn in Sacrifice all the beasts that feed on it in acknowledgment of Gods Benefits all that would not be enough He sayd true but he sayd not all for we may add if we should make a fire with all the fewell in the world and all men and Angells should be therein consum'd for the honor of God all that would not suffice to acknowledg worthily the favours He hath don us But when we offer to God the precious Body of his Son we render him that which doth counterpoise all Benefits He hath don not only to poor sinners upon Earth but moreover to Saints in Heaven 8. This Host of praise being presented to God in thanksgiving for favours obtaines other If you shal aske says our Saviour any Iohn 16 23. thing of my Father in my name He will give it you We cannot better ask of God any favour in the name of IESUS then having Him with us upon our Altars in our hands and within us The Clemency of God will have regard to the love He hath for Him to the sacred Oblation you present to him and harken to the petitions you make by him Have you much offended God deserv'd his justice and his anger Do you fear the effects of his vengeance Dare you not appear in his presence by reason of the enormity of your crimes Take into your company the Heire of heaven the beloved of the eternal Father assist at Mass devoutly offer to the Father the precious Body which is there Sacrificed the blood which there is poured forth the Passion which there is represented and you will appease his anger and He will harken to your requests For it was for this chiefly that Christ instituted this Sacrifice to be the sacred Victime which appeases the wrath of God as he declares in Saint Luke when you are in the state of sin if mass be sayd S. Luke 22. 20. for you or if you assist at it this obtaines of God actuall graces lights and good motions to enter into your selves to quit the sin and to convert your selves to God if you resist not the Summons of his graces when you are in the state of grace Part of the merits sufferances and satisfactions of IESUS CHRIST are applyed to you to acquit your debts and to deminish the pains due to your sins 9 But suppose you are not indebred to the Iustice of God the poor souls in Puâ—gatory are and you may help them much by making a mass to be sayd or by hearing one for them For 't is not in vaine says S. Chrysostome that the Apostles ordain'd that in the dreadfull Misteries we make a memory of the dead for they knew that by it arriv'd to them great benefit And S. Cyrill of Hierusalem S. Chry. tom 3 in Ep ad Philip. S. Cyrill Catech. Mystag 5 Paulo ante medium Aug. lib. 9. Confes C 35. we beseech God for the dead believing the obsecration of that holy and dreadfull sacrifice which is put upon the Altar to be a great kelp to the soules for which 't is offered Wherefore S. Augustine in his Confessions prayes God to inspite the Bishops and the Priests of his acquaintance to remember his Father and Mother at the Altar 10 Having then seen how acceptable and glorious this Sacrifice is to God how beneficial both to the living and the dead fail not to assist at as many masses as you may hear them as devoutly as you can Offer them in the first place to God to do homage to your Soveraign to render him your respects and humble submissions to pay him the tribute of honour and service which you owe him Secondly to thanke him for an infinity of most great and inestimable benefits you have received from him benefits in soul benefits in body benefits of nature grace spiritual and temporal Thirdly to appease Him and to ask pardon of Him for jnnumerable sins you have committed and to gaine his favour represent to Him the love which his Son had for Him the zeal which He had for his glory the service He hath don Him offer and lay before Him the Mysteries of his Incarnation Nativity Circumcision his life labors and Passion this is that which S. Paul calls obsecrations Fourthy beg light and guidance in your actions succour and assistance in temptations love and grace to keep his commandements and all that is necessary as well for the spiritual as the temporal and you should do all these dutyes not only for your family but also for others If you assist at mass so you will not receive only the many and great advantages of it in this life but moreover reap the fruits of the Mysteries which the Mass represents to you and which glory discovers to the Blessed in the other Amen DISCOURS XLVII OF THE THREE PARTS OF PENANCE 1. AMongst many expressions which the holy Ghost vses in the scripture to make us conceive the maligne and monstrous nature of sin one of the most natural is the comparison of an impostume An impostume is a corruption of flesh and blood in our bodys which makes a stinking smell sin is a corruption of reason and of vertue in our souls which cause a stink unsupportable to God and his Angells They are corrupted and made abominable says the Royal Prophet All Surgeons will tell you and daily experience Psal 13. 1. shews it that to cuâ—e an impostume three things are necessary First it must be cut with a lancet secondly the corruption must be forced out in the third place it must be bound up oyls and unguents being applyed to it Such like are the three parts of penance so often repeated and so ill practised Contrition is the cut of the lancet Confession is that which brings out the corruption Satisfaction is the application of the unguents and binders These are the 3. Acts necessary to cure the spiritual but horrible impostume of sin of which I shal treat in this Discours In which omitting the Questions of Scholasticks I propose only Verities drawn out of Scripture and Councills of the Church 2. First then it is certain that 't is absolutely necessary to repent after sin that without repentance there is no pardon no grace of God no hope of salvation whatsoever Confession or Satisfaction you do make whatever absolution is given you Whatsoever indulgence or Iubily is granted you If you want this repentance also without your fault though also you think you have it if you have it not in effect there is no Sacrament nor absolution profitable And certainly Absolution is not more efficacious and requires not less disposition than Baptisme But to receive profitably Baptisme if we be in mortal sin we must have sorrow for it for in the second and third chapter of the Acts S. Peter having made a powerfull predication and his Auditours being moved inquired of him what ought we to do to obtain pardon of our sins He answered do Penance and
depart out of this world they will remember your courtesie will returne you the like and receive you into the eternal Tabernacles Amen DISCOURS XLIX of Extreme Vnction AN Ancient being asked what is the touchstone of perfect amity He answered wisely that it is adversity a true friend does as the heart inclines always to the left side and places more affection where he sees more affliction IESUS then loves us with a sincere and cordial love since He instituted a Sacrament expressly to comfort us and to strengthen us in our last infirmity when honors dignities offices and riches fail us Though this Verity be assured us both by the greek and Latine Church as appears by the general Councel of Florence in the Instruction of the Armenians which was without contradiction admitted by the Grecians Nevertheless Dissenters endeavour to take from us this signal demonstration of Christs Providence and love and to deprive us of this powerfull help in time of our greatest need Wherefore in the first place I will shew yet farther that 't is a true and proper Sacrament in the second the effects of it and in the third the dispositions we ought to have to receive it 2. To evince the first I need no other proof then the clear words of S. Iames If any one be sick amongst you let him bring in the Priests of the Church and let them pray over him anoiling him Iames. 5. 4. with oyle in the name of our Lord. And the prayer of Faith shal save the sick and our Lord will alleviate him and if he be in sins they shal be remitted him Here we have all that Dissenters themselves require to the essence of a Sacrament to wit an exteriour signe or symbole a promise of Grace and divine institution The exteriour signe or Symbole is Vnction with oyle and the prayer of Faith the promise is Alleviation of the sick and remission of sins and the institution thereof is gathered from the constant and firme promise of the Apostle for he would not have promised so confidently and absolutely had not our Lord instituted and commanded it Innoc â—p ad Decentium c. 8. Hence S. Innocent says expressy and clearly that this Vnction is a Sacrament declared by S. Iames and therefore not given to them that are yet in penance since the other Sacraments are refused them This Testimony of antiquity shal suffice since the Epistle is certaine He an ancient learned holy man wonderfully commended by S. Austin S. Hierome and S. Chrysostome and never reprehended by any of the Ancient for teaching the Vnction of sick to be a Sacrament Wherefore the Magdeburgenses prove by this Testimony that Christians of the fift age had a custome to annoynt their Magdâ—bur Cent. 5. c. 6 S. Aug. in speculo et ser 215 Cyrysost lib. 3. de sacerd Origen hom Z. â—n Levit. sick But they did not hold it as a pious custome only but as a necessary duty for S. Austine S. Chysostome Origen and other Fathers expressly tell us that the words of S. Iames appertaine to us rhat Christians ought to do now and in all times what this Apostle writes concerning the infirme And you will avow they had grear reason if you consider with me the admirable and saving effects of this Sacrament which are naturally represented by the effects of olive oyle and exprest by the words of the Apostle 3. First he Says the Prayer of Faith shal save the sick This Sacrament saves his soul by giving grace and force to withstand the terrours and temptations of the ennemie in the hour of death For 't is then he plays his planks and applyes all his forces to tempr us more furiously as the holy Fathers tell us becaus he sees his time is short and that we are least able to resist when through the greatness of paines we can hardly lift up our minds to God Somtimes he sets upon us as a Lyon with violence Othertimes as a Dragon laying snares to entrap us he tempts us to infidelity suggesting apparent reasons against Faith to Presumption and to confidence in our selves or to despaire and diffidence in the mercy of God exagerating the rigour of his justice the grievousness and great number of our sins the little or no penance we have don he tempts us to impatience in the rigour or length of the disease to murmuration against God to fear and diffidence in his Providence T is then that Friends should ayde you powerfully by servent prayers T is then that Confessors should assist and especially the Poor for their souls are at least as dear and precious to JESUS as those of the Rich the rich have generally Domesticks or friends that can exhort them and that have leasure to help them to dye well the Poor have them not nor such provision of good thoughts instructions and spiritual arms as the Rich by the advantage of their education and their 1. Pet. 5. reading The infernal woolf who roves about seeking whom he may devour sleeps not in this occasion the Pastor then ought to be vigilant and present in a time of so great importance the gift of gifts the grace of graces the most precious and desirable is final perseverance with out this grace all the other benefits serve for nothing In effect what will it profit me to have been created redeemed and justifyed if I die not in the state of grace and this Sacrament disposes me to persever in it 4 In the second place the Apostle says that God will alleviate the sick persone or raise him up For this Sacrament restores health of body to those who otherwise should dye if it be necessary or profitable to the salvation of the soul as the holy Councel of Trent and before it that of Florence assembled from all parts of the world declare This makes many Catholicks subject to this reproach which the Scripture made to Asa king of Iuda Neither in his infirmity did he seek our Lord but rather trusted in the art of Phisicians There was not then in the Church a remedy instituted for the cure of infirmities as there is now nevertheless the Scripture complains that he made recours to Phisicians rather than to God how much more will He complain of them who recurr not to the Sacrament which JESUS hath left us a remedy so easy and so commodious but in the utmost extremity when they can do no more And when you expect the Agony to receive or make this Sacrament to be received you put your selves in danger to be prâ—vented by death which happens too often and the fault is irreparable moreover when you receive it so late having not the use of reason and knowing not what is don to you you receive it less fruitfully since you have not actual devotion which would dispose you to receive it more worthily answering to the prayers of the Priost ioyning yours with his exercising acts of Faith Hope Charity and of other vertues
prosperities he invites them to penance by summons and inspirations which would reclaim tygers and if they return to him he receives them he pardons them he embraces them with inconceivable Clemency and sweetness 14. Nevertheless He is so great and terrible in Iusticè that though the death and Passion of JESUS-CHRIST is capable to redeem a hundred thousand worlds He sees notwithstanding an infinity of Iews of Pagans of Turcks Hereticks of bad Catholicks in the mass of corruption in the way of perdition He draws them not powerfully out of it through a most profound and incomprehensible but most just judgement and he accomplisheth the verity of this word of this tunder-clap many are Mat. 20. 16 called but few elect 15. He is great and admirable in his independence and in the plenitude of his Being He is naturally sufficient to himself most content with himself most happy in himself and has no need of any thing without himself He had from all eternity power to produce creatures heaven earth and all that is in them and he hath not created them but in time for to shew that he had no need of them for to make known that since he hath been perfectly happy without them from eternity he created them not for any S. Austin◠12. de Civit. c. 17. sub fin want he had of them but by a free goodness and by a pure and disinteressed charity Let us make an end of speaking of Him whose greatness has no end who is infinite in his Essence and infinite in Perfections for 't is to mafle as infants 't is to obscure his perfections to speak of them so imperfectly and if He were not infinitely mercifull and condescendent it would be a punishable temerity to speak so lowly so grossly and so unworthily of Him Yet this is enough to make us see what a Majesty we offend and whom we make our enemy when we commit a mortal sin And after this shal we not endeavour to conceive a lively repentance of our sins shal we content our selves with a little sorrow and which regards nothing but our own interests if we detest our sins because they rob us of our merits subject us to the tyranny of the devill engage us to Eternal damnation if we have no other motive 't is to feel and resent a scratch of a pin which we have received and not a great stroake of a sword which we have given The injuries that sin does to the Creatour are without comparison greater then those which it does to the Creature 16. For to avoyd them then Let us remember that God is infinitely noble If a Prince tho' a stranger that appertains not at all to us were in this Country we would not abuse or injure him but would honor him and treat him with respect and shal we dare to offend our God our Sovereign the King of Kings This King who is so great that all the Kings of the earth in respect of Him are but slaves and wormes of the earth Let us consider that He is infinitely powerfull We fear to offend the Powers of this world because they can punish us deprive us of our liberty estates or temporal life and shal we dare to offend the omnipotent God who by one word one act of his Will can reduce us to dust who after He has killed the body will cast our soules into Eternal flames Let us consider that He is infinitely Wise that all things ly open to his sight that he can not forget any thing that whatsoever excuse we forge for to flatter our conscience and to diminish the greatness of our offenses He sees the greatness of them He knows all the circumstances of them and pierceth the bottome of our hearts He knows that 't is neither violence nor poverty nor necessity that makes us to commit sin but that 't is because we have not the fear of God nor the due love of him Let us consider that He is good and that He has always been so to us T is a great injustice a very unnatural malice to offend a person that has never given us any cause who has never disoblig'd us all his life We know that 't is God who created us who conserves us at present and hath preserved us from a thousand dangers He who hath given us more than we have desir'd more than we should dare to desire and what is above all desire who has given his own life and died upon the Cross by pure charity towards us After all these graces shal wee have the malice to commit a mortal sin which infinitely displeases Him Let us remember that He is infinitely just and that his justice ought to have its cours His Prophet sayd I feared all my Iob. 9. 82. works knowing that thou wouldest not spare the offender He leaves not unpunished the least failings what will he do then to mortal sins to great Crimes We must hold it then as most certaine that if we commit these sins we shal suffer soon or late most bitter and grievous torments in this world or in the other Let us in fine consider that He is independent that He depends not of any one in his Being nor in his designs nor in his operations that if He associate sometimes his creatures in the Execution of his designs 't is by an Excess of goodness and not out of indigence If He could have need of us we might thinke that He would be obliged to pardon us and to seek our amitie But he needs us not He has been well without us from all Eternity he will be well without us for all Eternity and if we honour not his mercy in heaven we shal honor his justice by our sufferances in hell from which I pray God to keep us by his mercy Amen DISCOURS II. OF THE FIRST ARTICLE The Father Almighty Creatour Of Heaven and Earth THe first verity expressed in these words requires as much vertue and strength of Faith as any other Verity revealed It obliges us to believe and adore a pluralitie of divine Persons in a most perfect Unitie of nature and to Confess that in the Diety there is a Person who intellectually produces a coeternal and consubstantial Son Hence the Apostles truly call Him Father and his Paternity or fatherhood is so proper to Him that 't is not an Attribute or Quality but that which enters the intrinsecal and individual constitution of Him Father also of us because he created us conserveth us at present and nourisheth us Father again because he redeemed us by his own Son makes us his Children by adoption governs and directs us and conducts us to the inheritance of eternal life 2. Almighty or Omnipotent This signifies a perfection not so proper to him as is that of Fathêr Omnipotence also is not his particular Attribute or Quality but to him appropriated and attributed You know that the faith of the church adores three Persons subsisting in the
the Iews for to oblige them to be faithfull in his service and obedient to his Laws I am the Lord thy God who have brought thee out of the land of Egipt I am your Lord and Sovereign you are my Vassalls and Slaves ' not only as other people by reason of the benefit of creation but by a new right and a special obligation becaus I made wâ—â—r against Pharao for you and you are my Captives and prisoners of warr JESUS hath much more reason to make the like plea to us and to oblige us to his service for he hath fought in his own person for us He hath been wounded in the combat He hath delivered us from the deplorable servitude of Sin freed us from the most cruel tyranny of Satan and drawn us from his oppression are we not then his slaves Add to this that He hath bought us 1. Cor. 6. 20. with his blood you are bought with a great price Says the Apostle You are then no more your own your Being your soul your body and your actions are not yours if you employ them then for your selves you are usurpers of anothers goods since IESUS hath bought you you belong more to him than a slave unto is Lord than a horse unto his Master 9. Nevertheless what is most uniust and most deplorable Many acknowledge not JESUS-CHRIST to be their Lord He receives no homage from them For what honor what service and what obedience do they render him If they are in a chamber of an earthly King or Lord t is with great respect with a profound silence and with fear to commit the least incivility But if they are in a church in the house of God in his presence they commit irreverences insolences and insupportable impudences What service do they render him In the morning as soon as they are up they fall upon their employments or upon fooleries or trifles and pastimes if they go to Church they give to God their lipps and their hearts to their affaires to vanities and often to worse in the Evening they pray in bed or half a sleep or with so little respect that they would not speak in that manner to a Civil man In the rest of the day they think not of him they speak of him no more than if there were no God unless perhaps pronouncing his holy name or calling upon him irreverently and offending him 10. What Obedience do they yield to his divine laws What little King is there in the world or Lord of a Village that they would disoblige as they do this great Lord If He were a King of cards they would not transgress his commandements with greater impudence than they do If He were a God of straw they would hardly offend him with more temerity and lesse regard to Him They sweare by his holy Name transgress his Commandements commit sins which displeas him infinitely and after this they laugh play and sleep as boldly as if they had done nothing 11. No He is not their Lord they say with the Iews we will not have this man reign over us they deny by their works what they profess by these words I believe in JESUS-CHRIST Luke 19. â—4 our Lord. Who is then their Master to whom do they appertain to whom do they homage and service To the most barbarous Cruel and infamous tyrants imaginable thô they know by serving such Masters they gain but hell that they have not one day of true repose not one hour of solide content that they are tortured by the furies of their conscience by apprehension of death by fear of damnation and by the sight of the inconstancy and mortality of Creatures which they love The world cries I fail you in time of need the flesh cries I defile and cover you with ordures the Devill cries I deceive them that trust in me and many goe after these Masters JESUS our Lord cries come to me all and I will refresh you I will discharg you of the heavy burden of the world I will deliver you from the Tyrannie of your passions I Matt. 11. 28. will free you from the servitude of the Devill And yet few do go to him Ah! few of them also who cry out to him Lord Lord and do seem to honour him for many of these desire to goe but stand still they cannot abide to take paines in the way they will not labour to practise the vertues which He commands tho' He hath given so excellent and heroycal Example of obedience having made himself obedient to death and to the death of the Cross and tho' they know that since He hath redeemed us by his Obedience to the Commandements of his Father He will apply to us the fruit of his Redemption by our Obedience to his Commandements He is made says the Apo-stle the cause of eternal salvation to all them that doe obey him 12. Let us say then with S. Austin Command what you will Heb. 5. 9. give what you Command you may Command what so ever you please for you are Lord You cannot command any thing that is not just for you are a most equitable Iudge You command nothing but what is sweet profitable and facile with your grace for you are our Father Give what you Command There is much repugnance in our corrupted nature much opposition to the observance of your divine Laws But you are Omnipotent and can easily overcome it by your Grace You promised by your Prophets that you would write your Commandements in our hearts they are as hard as stones But you wrote them upon stones Engrave them then we beseech you in the center of our hearts that you comming to Judge may not find transgressions to be punished But good works which are your gifts to be rewarded in the happy Eternity Amen DISCOURS V. OF THE THIRD ARTICLE Who was conceived by the holy Ghost born of the Virgin Marie SPirituall and devout soules who meditate upon the Misteries of this Article are transported with joy and admiration at the sight of the great wonders divinely wrought in the wombe of the B. Virgin in the Conception of JESUS-CHRIST For if in this Conception there is one thing natural there are many that surpass all nature That our Redeemers Body was formed of the Blood of a woman is a natural thing But that it was formed not by mans operation but by the operation of the holy Ghost That his Body was made in an instant without the imperfections in which ours are made That in this instant it receives a reasonable soule without the ignoâ—ance where in we are conceived without the stayne of original sin which Adam put upon us But on the contrary with perfect knowledg of all things and with plenitude of Grace That this Body and soul are united to the second Person of the B. Trinity That that which arises by this Vnion is perfect God and perfect man That He was such in a womans wombe That she remaining
holy SACRAMENT Who is the Father of this coloured Ray 'T is the Sun But the Sun produced not the colour But it produced the Ray which is joyned with the colour and who is the mother of this coloured Ray 't is the glass but it made not the ray but it produced the radiant colour it cloathed the ray with this Robe of colour Who is the Father of IESUS MAN-GOD It is the eternal Father He begot not of his substance the Humanity of JESUS But He begot of his Substance the Person of his Son who is Man Who is the Mother of this MAN-GOD It is Mary she begot not the Divinity But she conceived the Man who is God the cloathed the Person of the Son of God with our humanity Which is the more ancient this coloured Ray or the glass The Ray as a Ray as the offspring of the Sun is a long time before the glass it is from the beginning of the world it is as ancient as the Sun But the Ray as coloured is younger than the Sun Who is the more ancient IESUS or Mary IESUS as God or as Son of God is long before Mary He is from eternity as the Father and the holy Ghost But JESUS as man is younger than his Mother This Ray being in the sun is so bright and resplendent that i◠dazells the eyes of them that look upon it but the same ray being descended here below and cloathed with a red colour is easily beheld so the son of God in the bosome of his Father is invisible ineffable inaccessible and incomprehensible But the same Son of God being cloathed with our humanity is made visible palpable and sensible to the end He might illuminate and instruct us that He might be the Director of souls and the Doctor of justice as He is called by the Prophets And He begins betimes to perform the charge He exercices the office from the beginning of his life 4. This insant newly born does preach his pulpit is the cradle his Auditory the univers his Doctrine is the contempt of the world He preaches not by word for He cannot speak but by example He preaches not to the eares But to the eyes He says that voluntary poverty is better than riches And the world on the contrary says that money is to be procured in the first place that a man must have it tho' he hazard his soul for it This divine infant says the humble simple innocent and mortifyd life is that which pleases God The World says a man must greaten himself appear glorious Machevalize subtily Circumvent and diceive craftily and live in delights and pleasures 5. Behold two Masters quite contrary two doctrines diametrically opposite It is necessary the one or the other be deceiv'd To say this infant is deceiv'd is horrible blasphemy He is the eternal Wisdom the increated Wisdom the Angel of the great Council It must then be confest that the Avaricious Ambitions Voluptuous and Machiavilians are grossly deceived 6. Let us then Conforme our selves to IESUS who is established by the eternal Father as our modell Let our life resemble his as an Image the Prototipe or original Let it be a copie an expression and a representation of his that we paticipating his vertues Spirit and graces in this life may be partakers of his glory in the other Amen DISCOURS VI. OF THE FOVRTH ARTICLE Suffered under Pontius Pilate was crucified dead and buried THe Apostles who made in their Creed an abridgement of the principall Mysteries of our Faith having spoken of the Conception and of the Nativity of our Saviour pass his Life in silence and treat immediatly of His death to teach us the chiefe reason of his comming was to suffer and to redeem us by his Passion 2. He saw by the light of glory the abyss of sin and the Eternal damnation to which men were doom'd for the fault of their first Parents and for their own sins He had pity on them and prayed his Father to pardon them for the Love of Him What man on earth What Angel in Heaven knowing that the only Son of God a Son so amiable and so beloved demands pardon of his Father for men to whom He is like in nature What man or Angel say I knowing this would not have sayd surely surely the eternal Father will pardon mankind for the love of his Son who is a man and that also freely without any satisfaction No the Father does it not But He says Isaiah 53. 10. my Justice must have its cours my Son I will pardon men if you will answer for them and undergoe death for them The Son hath a great apprehension and horror of a death so cruell and ignominious we see it in the Prayer He made in the Garden which was an expression of that which He acted in the womb of his Mother after the instant of his Conception 3. Nevertheless He accepted not only with patience and resignation but also with pleasure and satisfaction the decrees of Gods Justice concerning him He offered himself most willingly and with an ineffable love not only to be nayled to the Cross but also to remaine and languish thereupon ' til the end of the world if it should so please his Father Ecce venio ut faciam voluntatem Heb. 10. 9. tuam He that should have seen this submission might with probability have sayd the eternal Father will content himself with his good will as He was satisfyd with the good will of Abraham and of Isaac at least the Justice of God will be contented that he suffer but one prick of a thorn or one stroke of a whip that He shed one drop of his Blood which is sufficient to sanctify the whole world No He wills that He suffer actually all the punishments humiliations and afflictions we sinners did deserve 4. A Sinner deserves to be depriv'd of the use of creatures since he abused them to be humbled and confounded becaus he would not be subject to the laws and will of God To be punished both in body and soul becaus he offended the infinitely high Majesty of the Creator And JESUS hath taken upon himself to satisfy for all these pains and punishments 5. He was depriv'd of the use of Creatures for what privation more rigorous than to be spoiled of his very cloathes to be as naked as a worme of the earth not to have so much as a poor shift to cover him not a drop of water to refresh his tongue in the agony of death One of his Apostles betrays him another denys him all forsake him and thô some holy Women followed him yet they were not permitted to assist him 6. He was humbled and confounded What greater humiliation than to be exposed to derision and rudeness of the rable and to insolence of soldiers Who treat him as the very scum of men who salute him in mocherie blindfold him buffet him pull off his beard who put a reed in his hand
not been redeem'd by IESUS-CHRIST sayd to them Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart with all thy foul and with all thy forces what ought Christians to do after the Incarnation Redemption and Passion of our Saviour Ought they not to burn with love should they not if it were possible love JESUS above all their forces thoughts and activity of their hearts If I owe my self wholy to him for making me what shal I add now for repairing me and repairing me in such a manner 14. Let us love him then since He so loved us let 's not love him only in words and compliments let us not content our selves to say I honour much my Saviour I love him with all my heart But let us love him in worke and Verity in doing in giving and in suffering for him for so He loved us And since his goodness is so infinite and his love to us so excessive that He preferred us not only before Angells but also before himself it would be a horrible blindeness to preferr any other good before him it would be a strange folly to offend him to disoblige his goodness to lose his amity and his favour for honour pleasure profit or satisfaction of a Passion Do not so if you be wise Say rather with S. Austin all abundance all honour all felicity that is not you my God is but poverty vanity and misery say as S. Francis did my God You are my All Love him with all your heart since He his all your good love him with a sovereign love since He is sovereignly good love adore bless prayse glorify him now and ever Amen DISCOURS VII OF THE FIFTH ARTICLE He descended into Hell the third day He rose again from the dead IESUS appli'd himself so earnestly to our Salvation that whilst He was on earth He let not a moment pass without labouring for it And for this effect whilst his Body lay'd in grave He descended into Hell This world Hell signify's an inferiour and low place And therefore the holy Church makes use of it in divers occasions to signify divers inferiour places By this word she most often understands the place of everlasting damnation And so our Saviour called it in 1. Luke 36. S. Luk. where speaking of the unfortunate rich man says he was buried in hell Other times she uses this terme to signify Purgatory where they are who died in the grace of God but having not fully satisfyed the divine Iustice are further to be punished so in the Mass of the dead she prayes free ô Lord the souls of the faithfull departed from the paines of hell She makes use of it also to signify the place whither the souls of holy and just persons who were not subject to purgation or had duely satisfyd for their offences went before the death of the Saviour of the world expecting He should open them the gates of Heaven by his Passion 2. He descended not only by effect into these two last places making his power and goodness to appear by delivering the soules in them detained But in substance He descended into them his soul was really in those places and He honoured the soules that were in them and made them happy by his presence The third day he rose again from the dead He rose no sooner for to testify that He was truly dead and to fulfill the figure of Matt. 12. 40. him As Ionas was three days and three nights in the belly of a whale so shal be the Son of man in the bowells of the earth He would be three days subject to the law of death to teach us mystically that by his death and Passion He had satisfyd the three Persons of the B. Trinity for the sins committed in the three states of the world in the Law of nature in the Law of Moses and in the Law of grace And to shew us that his Passion was the cause of the delivery of the ancient Fathers out of hell of the Redemption of men on earth and of the reparation of the Angelical thrones in Heaven He rose again By which words the Apostles teach us that He S. Iohn 10. return'd to life by his own power He sayd also in the Gospell I have power to lay down my life and to take it up againe and in another place I will raise up my Body in three daies after death 3. I know well that S. Peter and S. Paul teach in many places that his Father raised Him up to life because this miracle S. Pater is an effâ—ct of the omnipotency of God which thô common Ast. c. 3. 26. and c. 5. 30. S. Paul in the 4. 8. and 10. to the Rom. Phil. 28. and 9. to all the 3. Persons of the B. Trinity yet is attributed commonly to the Father 'T is true then that He rose up by his own Power and 't is true also that the eternal Father raised him to the end He might shew his goodness both ro him and us 4. First to him that his Body might receive the Glory which He merited by his labors humiliations and sufferances For He humhled himself says the Apostle being obedient unto death for the which thing God hath exalted him Note exalted him for his Resurrection was not a simple return from death to life but an entrance into a glorious life That Body which He layd down passible and mortall He receives impassible and immortal that which was inglorious now is glorious which was infirm now is powerfull which was a natural Body now is becom a spiritual These are the excellent qualities which S. Paul attributes to every 1. cor 15. matt 13 43. glorifyd Body But that of Glory or clarity delights me most for the body of every saint shal shine by it as the sun fulgebunt justi sicut sol and nevertheless one shal differ from another in this Quality as much as he exceeded him here in good works or as S. Paul says as one starr differs in glory from another What glory then what admirable splendor what ravishing beauty was given to the adorable Body of JSUS in recompence of his merits And what satisfaction and felicity will it be to see it when our eyes shal be able to behold it as hereafter they shall be by their impassibility These four qualities belong to the Body of the Son of God as a body glorifyd But as a Body Deifyd as subsisting in the Divinity it hath yet a farr other Glory Jt hath a supereminent ineffable and incomprehensible Glory as we may see in the next Discours 5. Wherfore the Son of God thanks his Father for that He brought his soul out of hell and his Body out of the sepulcher and that He raised him up again Exaltabo te Domine quoniam suscepisti psal 29. me Eduxisti ab inferno animam meam And He esteems so much this favour that He exhorts us to thanke God to praise and glorify
having taught Christs Victorious Resurrection teach us in this Article his tryumphant Ascension By his Nativity He went forth into the field to fight by his Passion and death He fought the battle By his Resurrection He overcame his enemies and by his Ascension He tryumphs His tryumphant chariot was a thousand thousand of celestial spirits Psal 67. 18. and according to the translation of S. Hierom innumerable thousands He tryumphed not only over enemies of flesh and blood but also over devills sin and death The spoils He carried with him were not flocks of sheep and troops of other beasts but innumerable multitudes of souls which He redeem'd out of Prison and rescued out of the jawes of Hell Thou art ascended high thou hast taken Captivity says the Rayal Prophet to him Psal 67. 10. With all this glorious traine He ascended not carried in a chariot as Elias nor by Angells as Abacuc the Prophet and S. Philip nor did He ascend only by the force and agility He recived in his resurrection but moreover by the power and vertue He had as God 2. He Ascended into heaven There are three Heavens according to the scripture Airy Statry and Emperial and He mounted above all heavens as his Apostle says so passing the Air Sun and all â—phes 4. the heavens He mounted to the most high and sublime place of the world 3. He sits at the right hand of God the Father God is a spirit a pure and incorporeal Being who hath neither side nor hand noâ— part How does He sit then at his right hand And if He sits in a seat or Throne of what matter is it made is it of wood marble gold silver or Diamant I know well 't is answered the Apostles accommodate themselves to our low manner of understanding and of speaking and that by this session at the right hand of the Father they express the equality and consubstantiality of the Father and the Son When we see one speak to the king on knee we conclude he is a Vassall But if we see one sit upon a throne neer the king and at his right hand we say he is a Prince or Sovereign The Apostles say JESUS sits at the right hand of the Father this is to say He is Sovereign Omnipotent and infinite as the Father equal coessential and coeternal with the Father 4. Yes But JESUS as man is not consubstantial nor coeternal with the Father and yet He is at the right hand of the Father not only as God but also as man as S. Leo expresly teaches in his first sermon of the Ascension You will say the humane nature of JESUS is in the Throne of God and at the right hand of the Father becaus being as it were ingraffted and inserted in the Being of God in the subsistance of the Word and making but one Person with him 't is served and reverenced as God 5. You say true but this solues not the difficulty For this holy Humanity is united to the Word and subsisting in his Personality from the first instant of Christs Conception and nevertheless to speak properly it is not but since the day of his Ascension that the Humanity is elevated to the glory of the Father and seated at his right hand as the church says in the Canon of the Mass that day 6. For to clear then these difficulties we must remember that in the Mistery of the incarnation the Son of God communicating his subsistance to the holy Humanity should have made it at the same time participant of all the perfections and Attributes of which a created Nature may be capable For if in a perfect marriage the Woman espouses not only the Person of her husband but also his nobility prerogatives and Honours shal not the sacred Humanity which is married much more perfectly and inseparebly to the Word receive from him the Perfections that are communicable to It A Vegetative soul penetrating the stock of a little tree makes it live with a Vegetative life A sensitive soul informing the body of a Lamb makes it live with a sensitive life An intellectual soul animating the body of a man makes it live with a reasonable life and the divine Word actuating filling and possessing the holy Humanity shal He not make it live with a divine life Ought He not to communicate to it his proprieties and his Attributes since He is united to it more strictly perfectly and nobly than any soul is to her Body or form to its matter 7. Nevettheless the divine Word to procure our salvation and to accomplish the work of our Redempion suspended in his Incarnation the communication of divers of his perfections For if JESUS had been immortall how should he have dyed for us If He had been impassible how would He have suffered for us If He had been independent and sovereign how would have he given us an example of obedience subjecting himself to his holy Mother But in the day of his Ascension He made an entire effusion of himself and of all his excellencies and perfections that were communicable to Humanity 8 This is that which He asked of his Father in the Vigil of his death when He sayd Now glorify me o Father with thy self with the glory which I had with thee before all ages Vpon which S. Iohn 17. 5. Lib. 11. in Io. C. 17. Colloss 2. 9. S. Cyrill of Alexandria says The Saviour asks to be glorifyd not with an accidental glory but with a natural glory and a little after The glory which He always had as God He asks now as man This is moreover that which S. Paul teaches us when he says the plenitude or fullness of the Divinity inhabits corporally in him that is in his Humanity says the same S. Cyrill And this is that wich ought to rejoyce us in this Mistery This is that which renders this Mistery dear and precious to JESUS to the Virgin and to all the Church 'T is in the Ascension properly that JESUS Man God sits at the right hand of the Omnipotent 't is in the Ascension that He was receiv'd into the Throne of God and that He entred into the Glory of his Father 9. He sits that is to say He is no more subject to labours tributary to wearines lyable to humane miseries and infirmities 10. He is at the right hand of the Omnipotent that is He hath the superintendence and the administration of Heaven and earth of men and Angells of spiritualls and temporalls What honor what happiness for us to know and to be assured that a persone of the same nature with us hath the keyes of life and death of Heaven and hell that He governs all and does whatsoever He sees good 11. He is in the Throne of God that is He entred into the real actual and eternal enjoyance of his Empire 12. He is in Glory of the Father that is He is received into a full entire and perfect possession of all the
account they do ill in believing that they being sinners can by Baptisme wash away the sins of others and do injury to the Son of God by going themselves or by carrying their children to their Ministers to have their sins remitted by this Sacrament since it belongs to the Son of God to wash away sins by Baptisme Heaven declar'd this Verity to S. Iohn Baptist Vpon whom thou shalt see the holy Ghost Iohn 1. 33. descending He it is that Baptizes But who is so weak that does not answer easily that they baptize on the part of God in his Name and by his Command that they go not to their Ministers as men but as God's Deputies and Vicegerents to be baptized I say the same of Absolution we absolve from sins not of our own selves but in the Name of God as his Deputies and Ministers by the Power Authority and Commission which He hath given us 3. Behold the Commissions and Patents of it Whatsoever You shal Matt. 18. unbind on earth shal he unbound in heaven and in Saint Iohn Whose sins you shal forgive they are forgiven them And whose You Iohn 20. shal retain they are retained These words of our Saviour are as clear as the Sun but let us suppose they have need of interpretation To whom shal we recurr for the interpretation of them To one that came a 100 or sixscore years ago or to the ancient Fathers of the first ages when according to Reformers themselves the Church was in her purity S. Chrysostom speaks great things vpon this subject Lib. 3 de Sacerdotio and seems to have foreseen all the evasions of Reformers First he says that the Son of God communicated to his Apostles the same power that He received from his Father and this great Saint speaks so after our Savior himself For in the same time He sayd to his Disciples whose sins you shal remit they are remitted He sayd to them I send you as my Father sent me But our Savior had not only power to declare that sins are remitted by faith but He had power also to remit them In the second place S. Chrysostom says If a king should give to a favourit power to imprison and to deliver prisoners what favour would this be Yet this would be nothing if compar'd with the power of Priests there is as much difference 'twixt these powers as between heaven and earth Thirdly he says that the Priests of the old Law had not power but to judg the leaprosie of the body and to judg of it only not to cure it ours have power to judg of sin which is the leaprosie of the soul and also to cure her of it Aug. hom 49. ex 50. S. Amb. Lib. 1. de Penit. c. 7. S. Austin says let no body flatter himself saying I confess in my heart I confess to God this is not enough and on this account in vain the Son of God would have sayd to Priests All that you shal unbind on earth And S. Ambrose speaking to the Novatians who sayd that men have not power to remit sins says Why baptize you if men have not power to remit sins for Baptisme is the remission of sins and what if Priests attribute to themselves the power that is given them either by Baptisme or by Penance Let us leave Dissenters and consider the wonders of this Power that we may with those in the Gospell glorify God who gave such power to men I confess that there are not many Misteryes in our Matt. 9. Religion which I more admire than this and you will admire it with me if you consider with me the circumstances of it 4. The first is that this Power is Divine it pertains not properly but to him who receiv'd an injury to remit and pardon it It belongs then to God to remit offences against him Wherfore the Pharisees hearing our Savior say to the Paralitick thy sins are forgiven thee and not believing that He was God thought that He blasphem'd What would they have then thought what wouâ—d they have sayd if they had known as we know that JESUS CHRIST would give to men and to sinful men this Power 5. A Power in the second place so soveraign that 't is definitive without appeal The sentences which Priests pronounce and all that they justly ordain on earth is ratifyd infallibly in heaven When you have confest with necessary dispositions if the Priest say to you I absolve thee c. fear not that God will condemn you He cannot fail in his promise and He promised to absolve you if the Priest absolve you legitimatly 6. And this is don with so much Authority and Majesty that this Power is perfectly Royal for the Priest absolves not praying If he should say over you the misereatur only or should pray God to absolve you you would not be absolv'd JESUS-CHRIST wills that he say I absolve thee and heaven and earth shal melt rather than you shal fail of absolution how ever great and enormous your sins may be 7. This is a fourth Circumstance of this Power that it is most ample absolute and general without exception restriction or modification For there is no sin which the Church cannot remit since the Son of God hath sayd absolutely and without reserve Whose sins you shal remit shal be remitted 8. But that which is to be admired most in this Power is the facility and convenience we have to vse it 'T is true that having committed a sin it is not so easy as some think to have a true repentance of it We must ask it instantly of God and indeavour to obtain it of him by good works But when we have obtain'd it what is more easy than to find a Priest who may absolve us Have we not great cause to be astonished and to cry out my God! How have you been so liberal as to give this Power to your Church and to so many Priests If you had given it but to the Pope or to Patriarks or to Bishops or for one only time of the life of each one the excess of liberality would not have seem'd so great but for always for so many times and to so many Priests What excess of love of grace and mercy ô how will a soul that considers well thiâ— Benefit melt with dilection how will she burn with the love of such a Benefactor How often will she kiss those sacred wounds How often will she bless that adorable Blood which purchased her so great a good How often will she say my soul bless thou our Lord. On the contrary What regretts shal we have in hell if we are damn'd for having neglected contemn'd or prophan'd so great a Benefit The devout Rupertus was wont to say he had no pity on Christians that were damn'd and when one sayd to him why have you not if a dog should be so afflicted we should be moved to compassion I have none sayd he for 't is
he not who is Wisdom 3. 5. worthy of God Invenit illos dignos se Blessed a thousand times his holy and vertuous life which disposes him to such a glory blessed his happy death which will be to him as a door to enter into an immortall life Blessed his understanding which shal see one day openly and face to face the divine Essence his Will that will love God and enjoy him for all Eternity Blessed a thousand times his head upon which the holy Trinity will put a Crown of Glory in the presence of the Vnivers Blessed and happie his hands which shal carry always palmes as the ensignes of his Victories Blessed his feet and his steps since he shal walk upon the celestial Glob in the company of Angells Blessed and happy a thousand times all the members of his body and the powers of his soul which shal be filled and satiated with all sorts of delights joys glory happiness and with eternall Beatitude What I say of this elect Soule I say to every one that shal do violence to himself to rise out of the state of sin to overcom his passions to keep the commandements and to live according to the maxims of the Gospell Violenti rapiunt illud the Matthew 11. 12. Violent beare heaven away they that do violence to themselves to their vices and their passions obtain Heaven God grant us the grace to whom be honour glory praise and benediction for ever Amen DISCOURS XV. OF THE TWELFTH ARTICLE Life Everlasting Amen IN this last Article is declar'd to us the End for which we were created for which we were made Christians and to which all Laws Sacraments Vertues and other things are directed we ought then to believe firmly and to ruminate often that after the Resurrection there shal be in the Vnivers two conditions the one most happy the other most miserable and that neither of them shal ever end that every one of us shal be either of the one or of the other of the right hand or of the left of the number of the good or of the bad of them that go to heaven or of those that go to hell And that 't is now the time to look to our affairs fitting our selves to be of the happy side for after this there shal be no more time for us This doubtless we shal do if we consider and ponder well What is Eternal Life and how great are the goods of it 2. S. John in the Apocalyps speaking of sinners says their Apoc. 28. 8. part shal be in the pool burning with fire and brimstone which is the second death The second or everlasting death then is when the soul and the body are depriv'd of their Beatitude and confind to the fire of hell And on the contrary eternal life is when they are freed from those and all other evills and do enjoy the eternal Goods of heaven 3. These are so great that the Apostle who was rapt up into heaven would not describe the Greatness of them he speaks not of them but with astonishment neither eye hath seen says he nor eare hath heard nor hath the heart of man conceiv'd what God â—ath prepar'd for them that love him Nevertheless for to attain to some knowledg or rather to some slender conjecture of their greatness fourt hings shal be considered 4. First the liberality of God towards all men in this life cast the eyes of your consideration with S Austin upon the extent of the Vnivers see what stately buildings there are what chambers richly furnished what beauteous gardens what pleasant medows what odoriferous and coloured Flowers what sorts of savory fruits what delicious meats what delicate wines what sweet odours what melodious voices what sumptuous garments what dogs for chase what birds of prey for recreation It is God that gives all these things to men But to what men And who are they that more usually enioy them Atheists Infidells and others that forget him and incessantly offend him Now if He do so much good to his enemies what will he reserve for his friends If He be so liberal to give how much more to recompence if He be so charitable to those that offend him how much more to those who love him if He be so magnificent to those He owes but punishments how much more to those to whome He hath made so many promises Run through in your mind all that you have ever seen heard or imagin'd all that is great rich magnificent precious pleasant and desirable all that is nothing if compar'd with that which God hath prepar'd for you if you love him for all that may be seen recounted or desired and it is impossible to see decipher or desire the great goods which God hath promiss'd and prepar'd for those that love him 5. To have a second conjecture of them you need not but weigh and consider the iourneys and toyles of Apostles the torments of Martyrs the watchings and austerities of confessors the temptations combats and Victories of Virgins the alms and charities of Widdows the heroical vertues of other Saints and that after so many toyles so many sufferances penances mortifications good works services merits the Apostle says that Rom. 8. 18. the very sufferances and afflictions themselves of this life are little in comparison with the glory of heaven And again the tribulation which at present is momentary and light works above measure exceedingly an eternal weight of glory in us note above measure exceedingly 2. Ior. 4. 17. 6. Nevertheless a third consideration will make this weight of glory to surpass yet much more all value and esteem of it For Heaven is not only the Salary of the Saints but also the recompence of the merits of JESUS Consider what He is in his divine Person what He is with God his Father the ardent love He had for him the Zeal which He had for his Glory the great services He did him what He suffered for his honour what his pretious Blood is worth the Glory of Heaven is the Salary of all that given by a King most liberal in his gifts and most magnificent in his recompences 7. Hell also though very low may serve us for a footstool and a step to mount up to Heaven by contemplation and to make a guesse at the felicities of it What is hell 't is an abyss a Collection a Rendevow of the most excessive sorrows bitternesses and afflictions imaginable What is it to be damn'd 'T is to be eternally in a prison most deep most obscure and most incommodious to be eternally in captivity under a Tyrant most insolent most cruell and most barbarous not to have one mite of bread in an eternal and most ravenous hunger not a drop of water in a most burning thirst not a ray of light in the greatest darkness not a moment of rest in an unsuportable and eternal weariness to be eternally afflicted with all the miseries a humane body is
ascertain'd testimony of God who cannot deceive or be deceived Habitual faith is when 't is permanent as a habit and remains in us ' til we lose it by infidelity Actual faith is when we exercise formally and expresly an act of beliefe upon a revealed Verity Implicite is when we believe not the Articles of Religion but confusedly in general and in gros as when we say I believe all that the Church believes Explicit is when we believe distinctly and in particular that there is one God in three Persons that the Son of God was made man and the like important verities Interior faith is when we believe in heart without making known by any signe whether we believe or no. Exteriour is when we make profession of our belief by words or by external and visible actions dead faith is when it is depriv'd of the love of God and of other vertues Living faith is when it is animated by charity and the practise of good works 6. Humane faith conduces not to justification nor consequently to salvation this the Apostle expressly teaches when he says By Ephes 2. 8. 2. Cor. 5. 2. grace you are saved through faith and that not of your selves for it is the gift of God And again we are not sufficient to think any thing of our selves but our sufficiency is of God 7. Habitual faith suffices not for an Adult or one that hath sufficient use of reason but he must believe actually the Mysteries of faith For he that coms to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of them that seek him says S. Paul And S. Heb. 11. Iohn .. 3. 18. Iohn He that does not believe is already judged He says not he that hath not faith but he that does not believe which expresses a formal act I sayd habitual faith suffices not one that hath sufficient use of reason for infants and such as have not the use of reason may be saved by habitual faith which they receive when they are spiritually regenerated by Baptisme For this habitual gift of faith and the other habitual and supernatural gifts of Hope and Charity which they then by the merits of CHRIST receive justify them makes them adoptive children of God heires of his kingdom and remains in them for these effects and to be the sources of correspondent acts when they shal com to the use of reason 8. Implicit faith suffices not to be saved It is not enough to say I believe all that the Church believes you are oblig'd to know and believe explicitly that there is one God in three Persons Father Son and holy Ghost Creatour Saviour Sanctifier the Incarnation of JESUS-CHRIST his Nativity Death Resurrection Ascension his comming to Judgment if any one committed to your care should be ignorant of these Misteries you would be more culpable then if you should permit them to work on Christmas day this being only against a precept of the Church that against a Commandement of God And for the same reason if others who do not particularly pertain to you should be ignorant of those mysteries you would offend against charity if you instruct them not more then if you should leave them in ignorance of their obligation to hear Mass on Easter day 9. Interior faith suffices not It is not enough to have a firm faith in our heart we must make a profession of it by our words Rom. 10. 10. and actions For with the heart we believe vnto justice but with the mouth Confession is made to sâlvation says S. Paul We receive body and soul and all from God we must acknowledg and honour him as He commands us though with the loss of all 1. Cor. 13. Galat. 5. 6. S. Iames. 2. 14. Matth. 7. 21 S. Matt. 25. 41. Aug. Lib. de Fide Oper. C. 15. Tom. 4. ◠med 10. Dead faith in fine suffices not for if a man hath all faith and have not charity he is nothing says S. Paul And in another place he assures us that the faith only which works by charity is that which profits and conduces to salvation S. Iames confutes largly dead faith and thus concludes You see then Brethren how that by works a man is justifyd and not by faith only Our Saviour himself declares it insufficient to salvation when He says Not every one that says Lord Lord which is not sayd without Faith but he that does the will of my Father shal enter into the kingdom of Heaven And in the same Gospell He blames those He sends into everlasting fire not becaus they believ'd not in him but becaus they did not good Works and this passage S. Austin also urges much against the Solifideans 11. Catholicks believe this but many among them fail in the practise of it What Christian works what supernatural works conformable to their faith and what works more perfect than those of Pagans do they Tbey labour to maintain themselves to nourish and provide for children and the Pagans did so They honor their Parents the Pagans respected also theirs they injure none and honest Pagans did not They love their Benefactors I will not say what Pagan but what Tyger does not They love their friends and such as do love them the Publicans or Pagans do they not the same and what reward shal you have sayd our Saviour You must do works conformable to your faith supernatural Matth. 5. 46. heroical and worthy of the recompence we pretend to 12. A good Christian acts not by natural inclination nor by humane reason nor by maxims of policie nor by temporal interest but hath faith for the Principle of his actions and for the Rule of his life He labours and gains money not for the love of it nor of any honour or pleasure he may get by it but for a necessary entertainment of himself in the service of God and to give Alms because faith teaches him to use it for these ends He nourishes and provides for children not because they are his but because they are Gods creatures his Images and the Members of JESUS-CHRIST He abstains from sensual delights and carnal pleasures not because a man is too noble and born to higher things than to be a slave to his body but because JESUS-CHRIST recommended it He does no injury to any not because he would have the repute of an honest man but becaus JESUS hath forbidden him He suffers injuries and affronts and pardons them not because it is the property of a great courage to contemne and look upon them as unworthy of his anger as a Lyon or an Elephant slights the cries of little dogs but because CHRIST commands us to pardon injuries to do good to those that hate and persecute us He serves faithfully his Master not becaus his Master nourishes him well and gives good wages but becaus God sayd by the mouth of S. Paul Servants render obedience to your Masters as to JESUS-CHRIST He gives alms to
say that God does not require of us all the good that He enables us to do and this is the ground of works of superero gation and doing more then is commanded Now if God do not require all but only thus much to do well then the doing better then well is a stock which God gives us to offer Him liberal services beyond the band of duty And what pride is it for man to acknowledg this sweet providence of his Creatour and to pâ—aise his mercifull indulgence in not exacting so much as He might and giving him a way and meanes to shew his voluntary and unexacted love to him We give surely by this more honor and glory to God then they who say that God requires of us all that He enables us to do yea and more commanding things impossible and then punishes us for not doing them Far be such a thought of God from a Christian heart God commands nothing but what is honourable profitable and also easy with his grace That which He demands to save us is that we do good workes conformable to our supernatural Being and to the high end to which we are designed that we do them in a competent and convenient Quantity and that we do not abuse or lose the Talents which He lends us but use these well in the practise of them as shal be seen God Matt. 3. 10. aiding in this Discours 6. Now the axe is put to the root of the tree every tree therefore that brings not forth good fruit shal be cut down and cast into the Matt. 7. 19. Matt. 20. fire says S. Iohn Baptist And our Saviour himself in the Gospell confirms the Sermon of his Precursor and repeats his words Every tree that beares not good fruit shal be cut down and shal be cast into the fire It is not then enough for to be saved to have only the Psal 61. 13. Matt. 16. 27. Rom. 2. 6. 2. Cor 5. 10. Apoc. 2. 23. leaves of Saintlike words or only the flowers of holy and good desires or only the rinds and the exteriour of good fruit but we must have good and perfect fruit which are the workes of Vertues And in S. Matthew He calls the Elect not Speakers not designers not complementers but Workemen Voca operarios So in divers other places of holy Writ it is sayd God will render unto every one not according to his designes or fine discourses but according to his workes He that made you without you will not save you without you sayd S. Augustine And explicating these words of David I sought God with Aug. Ep. 21. ad Prob. c. 13. Psal 76. 2. my hands since God hath no body sayes he how can one seek him with the hands he answers that is to say with good workes And this is not that God is hard to bestow his gifts and to do good to his creatures but 't is that He would do it reasonably and decently according to the rules of his providence and infinite Wisdom He hath united his glory and our interests in procuring our Salvation He will exercise and make seen his adorable perfections his Power Wisdom and incomprehensible Goodnesse The glory of his power shin'd more when he overcame Egipt by an army of flies when he defeated Holofernes by the hand of a woman than when He made use of powerfull armies Erit memoriale nominis tui cum manus feminae dejecerit eum And this same power shines yet more gloriously when He ruines the empire of Satan beates down the reigne of sin and of the world conquers heaven and beares away the Crown of glory by feeble instruments He shews his Wisdome which demands that his goods and gifts be not undervalued that one give them not to the unworthy who contemne them 't is to have little esteem of them and dispise them if we will not labor to obtaine them He makes his goodness seen in that he vouchsafes to make use of his creatures in an employment so honourable and so glorious We hold it a great honor to be employed by a King in the regency and the government of a Kingdom how much more honor is it to be associated with a God in his more great and noble actions to conquer the kingdom of heaven to sanctify our soules and to enrich our selves with christian Vertues 7. The Scripture speaking of the glory of heaven sayes it is a salarie a harvest a crown for to teach us that if we will be saved we must necessarily labor sow fight Each one shal receave his reward according to his labor says S. Paul to the Corinthians 1. cor 3. 8. Gal. 6 7 2. Tem. 2. 5. and to the Galatians a man shal not reap but what he hath sown And to Timothy No man shal be crown'd but he that hath fought legitimatly A servant that should not have don any evill but should have held his armes closed all the day and year would he have the impudence to demand a salary a labourer that shouâ—d neither have sown nor planted would he hope to gather or reape any thing A Soldier that hath play'd whilst that others fought would he have the boldness to desire to be crown'd The Son of God who is our modell was not contented to desire our Salvation and to demand it of his Father He laboured for it and to succeed in it we must apply our selves to vertuous workes efficaciously and seriously and in the second place as good trees we must produce these good fruits plentifully 7. The Son of God saies in S. Iohn I am the Vine you the Iohn 15. 5. branches He that abides in me and I in him he brings forth much fruit He sayes not simply fruit but much fruit then He adds if any abide not in me he shal he cast forth as the branch and shal wither and shal be thrown into the fire He was so much concern'd for the fecundity of his branches that He suffered death to merit grace for them to produce an abundance of good fruit He delivered himself sayes S. Paul that He might redeem us from all iniquity and might cleanse to himself a people acceptable a pursuer of good workes Wherefore the Apostle ceased not to pray for the Collossians Ep. ad Tit. 2. 14. Colloss 1. 10. 2. Thess 2. 17. that they might walke whorthy of God in althings pleasing fructifying in all good workes And in like manner prays God to exhort comfort and confirme the Thessalonians in every good worke and word But he makes us see yet more the necessity of this fecundity or abundance of good workes in the second Epistle to S. Timothy for behold how he deciphers there an elect soule who aspires seriously to the happy life and who shal obtaine it she is sayes he a Vessel unto honor sanctifyd and profitable to our Lord ready and disposed to every good worke He sayes ready or prepared 2. Tim. 2 21. because every
mercies and his favours Amen DISCOURS XXII OF NOT DEFERRING GOOD WORKES THat which learned Hypocrates sayd in a certain occasion we may apply to penance and the practise of other good Workes Life is short Art is long occasion flyes away swiftly the experience is dangerous Life is short it is but seventy or eighty years infancy and chilhood cuts off a good part of it another part is made unprofitable by extream old age sleep and other necessities of the body take up at least a third part of it all which being deducted the remainder will be found to be but short Art is long 't is a trade full of difficulty a high and hard enterprize for such as accustome themselves to the wayes of the world to do penance and satisfy an infinite Justice for many and great sins and after that to acquire vertue and perfâ—ction Occasion flyes away swiftly It slides away insensibly it is bald behind having escaped it cannot be retaken when the conveniency to do penance to acquire perfection is past we shal not recover it again The Experiment is dangerous for the dignity of a mans body sayes the Interpreter of Hypocrates and I 'le say to my purpose for the dignity of the reasonable soul It is an Experience very dangerous to try whether or no we have don true penance and practised solid vertue there is nothing less at stake than our soul than our eternal salvation if we experience in the hour of our death that our penance hath been fals that our vertues have been wanting or defective it is an irreparable fault we commit it but once but it is for all Eternity Whence comes it then that we lose so easily the fair occasions which God presents us to labor in a worke of so great consequence delaying our conversion to old age or to the time to com which perhaps will never be for us I desire to destroy utterly so penicious an abuse by three powerfull reasons First that the Conversion which you pretend to make hereafter is uncertaine Secondly harder and thirdly less fruitfull 2. It is a maxime in Divinity that God is absolute Master of his goods independent in his gifts and that He gives them as He pleases You say you will convert your self hereafter that nothing presses and you have leasure enough Know that you will never do it without a particular favour of God Know that He owes it not to any He hath refused it to many and when you delay to leave your evill and negligent life adding sin to sin you give him cause to refuse it to you also Consider the workes of God Amos 1. 2. sayes the holy Ghost by the mouth of the Wise man and see that none can correct whom He hath despised of this Predicament were those of Damascus Tyre Moab and others of whome the Creator sayes non convertam I will not Convert them of this number were the Iewes to whom the Son of God did say I go S. Iohn 8. S. Iohn 12. 33. and you will seek me and you will die in your sin and those of whom the Evangelist sayd that they could not believe bécause God had blinded them and hardned their hearts that they might not be converted It is rhen a strange folly It is to build upon quick sands it is to establish a designe of the greatest importance upon an uncertaine event to defer your conversion to old age or to future time You let the time slide away the occasions and inspirations which God gives you to do penance and advance in piety who hath ascertain'd you that He will give you them hereafter You dispose of your self and make the appointement of your life as if you were the Master of it you speak of your conversion as if it depended on you only you say I will now take my pleasure content my passion satisfy my inclination afterward I will convert myself will apply my self seriously to the affaires of my salvation Poor man you imagin that God will take your measures that He will accommodate himself to your little projects and regulate his thoughts designes and conduct according to the levell of your rash thoughts You deceive you self You imagin that you have leasure enough to convert your self But if God call you out of this world suddenly will you convert your self in old age if you dye in the flower of your age will you becom vertuous in declining years if you dye this year how will you do it The evill spirit deals with men as the Phisitian or Apothecarie with his Patient when he sees the sick cannot swallow a whole pill he devides it and makes him swallow it by piecemeal Satan to seduce our first parents and o make them fall boldly into sin sayd to them You shal not dye at present seeing it impossible to perswade you that you shal not dye because you see daily the contrary before your eyes he devides the pill to make you swallow it he says to you you shal not die so soon he makes you believe that you will not die this year afterward he perswades you that you will not dye in the following year nor in the year after that so by little and little he perswades you what you would not believe in general that you shal not dye ' til it happens to you as to our first parents that sad experience makes you see the contrary when on a sudden you will be surprized when you think least of it 3. But if you should not be surprized by sudden death and your life should be a hundred years 't is a folly to believe that you will convert your self more easily in the latter season of your age then in the present The word of God tells you so expressly Adolescens juxta viam suam etiam cum senuerit non recedet Prou. 22. 6. ab ea it rarely happens that a man withdraws himself in old age from the way he followed in his youth And by Hieremie He says if the Ethiopian can change his skin and the Leopard his spots you may Hierem. 13. 23. Iob. 20. 11. becom vertuous when you are accustomed to vice And therefore the holy Ghost sayes by the mouth of Iob of one that had not mortifyd but given himself to vices in his youth his bones shal be filled with the vices of his youth and shal accompany him to his grave for the infirmities of the soul the inclinations and vicious customs which we quit not in good time remain commonly with us until old age now old age being feeble weak impotent not able to do violence to it self and thinking of little els then of maintaining the short life that rests seldom purges it self from evill customs the old are as much inclin'd to ambition detraction anger as they were at the age of 30 years so that the first part of the maxime of the holy Ghost is verifyd in them that the infirmities of their youth have
rigour and the severity of the last judgement concludes watch therefore praying at all times He speakes not to Religious or to Priests only but to all Christians He knew the impediments we should have the importance of our affaires and He says pray at all times It was by perseverance that the Cananean woman obtain'd of the Son of God the deliverance of her daughter as Saint Chrysostome hath noted she prayed with interior humility since she sayd whelps also eate of the crummes Chrysost hom 5. in Mart. S. Mrk. 7. 29. and with exterior for she prostrated at the feet of our Saviour with fervour of Spirit which she shewed by crying-out clamavit Nevertheless the Son of God rejected her and would not hear her But she strugled with him and got the Victory by her importunity so must you to have success stand obstinate in a holy obstinacy and pray unto the end And therefore our Saviour himself sayes to you in S. Luke It behoves you to pray always and not to be weary S. Luke 18. 1. 10. And what hinders you from praying Is it that you have not leasure that you have many affaires and affaires of importance this is that which should oblige you to pray for the more serious your affaires are the more it concerns you to have success in them and prayer is the means to obtain it You have not-leasure to pray Why not You find time for dinner supper and other necessities of the body notwithstanding your great affaires and why find you not time for the refection of your Soul it is as necessary to pray God well for to work your Salvation as to take your refection to preserve your life You have not time to pray Believe me you have enough if you manage it well Cut off superfluous visits idle words unproâ—â—table workes and conversations and unnecessary divertisements and there will remaine time to be employ'd in prayer But are you so prest with business that you cannot find now and then a quarter of an hour to spend in prayer At least then in working elevate often your heart to God by jaculatory prayers adore him from time to time and beg of him his love grace and guidance put a pin upon your sleeve that seeing it you may be minded of it ' til you are accustom'd to it for it behoves you to pray always What is that which hinders you Is it that you have offended grievously This is as if you should say I am too much wounded I must not go to the Surgeon On the contrary this should incline you more to go to him Com to me all ye who areburdened Says our Saviour He says not receive me communicate so much the more often and the more boldly the more you are burdened with sins but com to me to pray me and to ask help and succour of me however great and numerous may be your sins if you have a lively resentment of them if you desire to be deliver'd from them it is a good motive to shew God to obtain his mercy It is that which David did when he sayd I am poor and needy 'T is that which the Publican did saying God be mercifull to me a sinner 'T is that which the Church puts into your mouth we sinners do beseech thee to hear us What is that in fine that hinders you Is it that God heares you not that He rejects you and withdraws himself from you and that it is long since you beg'd of Him not temporal goods but spiritual and you obtain not This gives you cause to persever and to pray more fervently since He defers so long to hear you 't is a signe that what He will bestow upon you is most excellent and precious though He seems to refuse what you ask He is pleased with your devotions and if He delays to hear you it is for good reasons 'T is to exercise your patience to heat your desire to try your perseverance to augment your merit And if you have patience and persever importuning him Sooner or later He will accomplish your desires and give you grace in this World and glory in the other Amen DISCOURS XXV OF FASTING And the Institution of Lent 1. IF the Apostle S. Paul were now on earth he would bewaile extreamly the horrible blindness of those who prefer the pleasure of their mouthes before the precept of the Church and the Salvation of their soules He would say to us what he sayd to the Philippians there are many amongst you of whom I weeping tell you that are enemies Philip. 3. 18. of the Cross of Christ that abhoâ—r all mortification of the flesh that have the belly for their God and shal have eternal damnation for their end for our fasts are not things indifferent or workes of supererogation they are workes of precept and obligation Some will say to me your fasts are not prescrib'd in Scripture they are commandements of men and therefore obâ—ige not other in Conscience But if a Dissenter should command his child a thing very profitable or necessary for his family and his child should say to him Father you are a man the Commandements of men oblige not in conscience I find not In the Scripture that God commands me to go to such a place or to do such a thing No he wiâ—l say to him But he commands thee to obey thy Father and thy Mother So I say to you It is not in Scripture that you must fast such a day that you keep suâ—h a holy day But God commands you in many Ephes. 6. Coloss 3. 20. Heb. 13. 17. places of the Scripture to obey the Church your Mother For the Apostle that sayd in the behalfe of God Children obey your Parents the same sayd also Obey your Prelates If men have not power to command other men nor to oblige them in Conscience whence comes it that JESUS-CHRIST sayd to his Apostles and Luke 10. 16. Matth. 23. 2. Matt. 18 17. Rom. 13. 2 to their successours who heares you heares me and who despises you despises me And to the people do all that they shal say to you whence is it that JESUS-CHRIST hath sayd He that heares not the Church esteeme him as a Pagan or a Publican Whence is it that S. Paul said He that resisteth Superiour power resists the ordinance of God and they that resist it purchase to themselves damnation But 't is to resist Superior power and to disobey the Church not to observe the fasts which She commands 't is to transgress an Apostolical command not to fast the Lent when you have not a legitimate excuse I say Apostolical command 2. And to prove this Verity I might alledg many testimonies of the ancient Fathers but becaus JEUS-CHRIST does say that we ought to give credit to two or three good Witnesses I will alledge the depositions of three or four of three parts of the world Africa Europe and Asia In Affrica Tertullian reports an
the first saturday in lent says this solemn fast was holily instituted for the health both of soul and body And in the Decretalls of Gratian we read that many who had infirmities their goods being confiscated and they reduced to poverty so that they could not make good cheer were cured by this forced dyet All good Phisitians will tell you that for one hurt by fasting fifty are killed by eating and drinking And Experience shews that the more abstemious usually enjoy better health and longer life It is true that Fasting macerates and weakens bodys that are not well accustomed and hardned by it But it strengthens souls and makes them reign they are disposed by it to prayer and contemplation they please God by it satisfy his justice merit and impetrate of Him Benefits temporal and eternal The servant body then must indure theses paines and labours by which accrew so many and so great advantages to the lady soul nor does the Soul do injury to the body making it to fast but much obliges it She exempts it from punishments which it merited by rebellions for nothing appeases more the anger of God nothing averts better the thunderbolts of his justice then fasting and other macerations of the body which proceed out of true conversion and compunction of heart Witness the Ninivites It is doplorable that they who glory in the name of Christians have not so much sight and judgment as those poor Pagans the Son of God hath reason to say that they shal rise in judgment and condemn them Ionas sayd not to the Ninivites fast put on hair-cloth do pennance but only fourty days and Ninive shal be subverted and yet Pagans as they were had the light to know that to appease God it was necessary to fast and to do penance they published a fast so general and severe that all from the greatest to the least from the eldest to the youngest also bruit beasts fasted three days and nights without any meat or drink Should the Church command such a fast how would they cry-out against her but he Creatour approv'd this Edict and pardoned the sins of those that had so fasted 6. To be short if austerities be unlawfull and forbidden we must condemn all the ancient Anchorets and a great part of the primitive Christians who fasted almost daily in bread and water through the Spirit of penance and mortification we must condemn the Religious of the present Church who weaken their bodys by the exercises of penance We must condemn our Savior who fasted and spent whole nights in prayer upon mount olivet to give us example we must condemn the holy Ghost who exhorts us by the Apostle earnestly to shew that we are the Ministers or servants of God by Patience by Watchings 2. Cor. 6. 6. and fastings by longanimity and sweetness by the sincerity of our words by chastity and by cordial charity 7. These are the vertues and dispositions which ought to accompany our fasts They who have not health or strength for the one ought to addict themselves with more zeal to the practise of the other shewing that they are the faithfull servants of God and true Children of the Church By much patience You say you cannot fast because you are big with child or you are a nource And well says S. Chrysostome God excuses you from this fast But He requires another of you S. Chryâ— hom 22. ad pop which is that you abstain from anger this abstinence will do no hurt to the fruit you bear on the contrary the too ardent Passion by which you are transported may hurt it much and make it to dye without Baptisme By longanimity and sweetness If God say to you in judgment why have you not fasted if you answer I had a great weakness of stomake a continual and great giddiness of my head when I fasted And well if you say true God will admit of this excuse But what will you answer when He will reply why have you not pardoned your ennemie Why have you not thrown that hatred out of your heart which filled you with gall and betterness One sweet word sayd to salute your neighbor and to gain his heart would it have burnt your mouth or caused dizziness in your head By sincerity of words you are sick they command you to eate flesh obey your Phisitian and Confessor but eate not that flesh which is forbidden you I fear I shal see one day that many eate flesh in the Lent not boyled but raw and also humane flesh by calumny and detraction it is the Scripture that speaks so the harmfull approach upon me and eate my flesh sayd the Royal Prophet And holy Iob why do you persecute me Psal 26. 2. and are filled with my flesh They make a conscience to put their teeth into a piece of dead flesh and they make no scrupule to tear with their tongue the living flesh of their neighbor by calumnies and murmurations which is wors By Chastity fast not only with the mouth for it is not the mouth only that offends God make all the members of your body to fast Impure looks touches lacivious thoughts and delectations are carnal meats these are prohibited in all times and chiefly in the Lent he that fasts not commits but one or two sins a day but he that consents to dishonest thoughts commits sometimes more than ten By cordial Charity The holy Fathers say fasting is not only instituted to punish the body but also that we may have more means and leasure to give alms to viset sick and to practise other workes of charity fiat refectio pauperis abstinentia jejunantis Either you fast or not if you fast you should give to the poor what you would spend in a supper if you do not fast seeing you honor not God by abstinence honour him by mercy corporal or spiritual We ought to fast so in charity towards our neigbor We must fast in charity also towards God and not for terrene and temporal Ends. 8. The Son of God says to us When you fast wash your face Matt 6. 18. that is to say purify your intention Make not a fast of Gallen to be well and in good health nor the fast of the Avaricious to spare the purse but the fast of a Christian to obey the Church to have more means to give alms more leasure to practise good works the spirit more free to pray to satisfy the justice of God to make the funerall of our Saviours death to dispose our selves to communion to honor and imitate the fast of JESUS in the desert so having accompanied Him in his penance and fast on earth we may merit to be satiated by the torrent of pleasure with him in heaven Amen DISCOURS XXVI OF ALMS BLessed is the man that considers the necessities of the poor to have pity on him God will treat him sweetly and mildly in the day of judgement Psal in the day which the Royal Prophet
cals the evill day The Sentence of the Iudg will be favourable to him He will say to him with an Encomium I have been hungrie and you have given me meat ad that it may prove so He forewarns and says to us make your selves friends give alms do good to the Poore that they and the alms which you put into their bosomes may plead and intercede for you Let us then consider who must give alms To whom they must be given and how men ought to give them 1. Who is he that must give Alms All Christians that pretend to obtaine one day the kingdom of Heaven we need no other proof then the word of IESUS and the definitive sentence which He will pronounce in favour of the elect and against the reprobate Com ye blessed of my Father possess the kingdom for you have given Get ye gon from me ye cursed into everlasting fire for you have not given All either are saved for giving or damned for not giving alms every one then is obliged to give them And in the same chapter He compares the whole Church to an assembly of Virgins whereof some are admitted to a nuptial feast for having furnished their lamps with oyle the others are excluded for having none 9. Hence S. Chrysostome concludes if those that were Virgins Hom. 22. in Io. that is to say that had no other great sins were banished from heaven for not giving alms with more reason those who have committed sins and have not redeemed them by alms shal be condemn'd He adds let us have then this oyle of mercy if we will enter with the Espouse for what ever we shal do t is impossible without alms I say again 't is impossible to approach to the door of the Kingdom of heaven 2 Can we be saved without Charity without loving God and being beloved of God no surely Now his beloved Disciple says If any one having the goods of this world and seeing his brother in 1. Iohn 3. 17. necessity shuts up his bowells of charity from him how does the Love of God remain in him He says not seeing his brother in extream necessity but simply in necessity T is then an error to believe the commandement of giving alms obliges not but when our neigbor is in extream necessity Yes it obliges when he is in a great and notable poverty as are so many in these deplorable times For as Vasquez reasons very well the precept of charity obliges all as well poor as rich to succour their neigbor when he is in extrem necessity nature it self teaches it without other positive command and 't is principally to the rich that the holy Scripture makes this commandement of alms T is not then only in extream necessity the rich are oblig'd to give but also in a considerable and important need command the rich of this 1. Tim. c. 17. 1. Cor. 22. 26. world to give easily says S. Paul And he gives in another place the reason of it we are parts and members of the Mystical Body of IESUS But when one member hath receiv'd any hurt all the other suffer with it all contribute to the help of it if a thorn hath entred into the foot the back bends the eyes open and seek it the hand pulls it out and if they should do otherwise it would be irregular monstrous and unnatural with much more reason in the body of the Church which hath JESUS for its head and the holy Ghost for its soul the members are oblig'd to solace and serve each other with a sincere and cordial charity S. Peter Confirms the saying of S. Paul and adds another reason that we are not independent Proprietors and Masters of the riches Epist 1. c. 4. 10. talents gifts and graces which we receiv'd from God He obliges us to be good Economists and Dispensers of them to assist and serve the necessities of our neighbors with them if then we employ them not but only keep them we do against the intention of the Master that lends them and on the contrary if we employ them in dissolutions and other Superfluities we do contrary to the will of him who intrusts us with them If an Economist of a great house should reserve to himself all the bread and wine and other provisions and refuse to give them to the children and servants according to the order of his Master would he not merit to be punished if on the contrary he distributes them faithfully would he not gaine the salary promised to him The power and authority you have God hath given you to protect this Widow and this Orphan that are oppressed the understanding Science industry which are in you you receiv'd from God to assist and instruct the ignorant and these goods you possess God made you the steward of them to Communicate them to the Poor after you have had the honor and the prerogative to take of them what is necessary for your person and your family if you do not He will say to you as to the naughty servant in the Gospell Why have you not employ'd well my money If you do as you ought He will say to you Com faithfull Servant enter into the joy of thy Matth. 5. Lord. Let us see then to whom we ought to give 3. Charity obliges us to give to all that are in necessity but especially to the faithfull to others we must give alms as to the creatures and the images of God but to the faithfull moreover as to the members of IESUS CHRIST and for the love of Him and so to IESUS CHRIST in them for He will say in iudgment I have been hungrie I have been thursty I have been sick IESUS then is sick and suffers in his members and IESUS receives our help and assistance in them if we bestow our alms so our charity will be more acceptable to him and more meritorious to us than if we did give them to his own person if you had lived in that golden age when IESUS was visible to the world would you not have been ravished with joy to have lodged Him served and entertain'd Him you merit more if you do it to a poor man says S. Chrysostom for the charmes of his pleasing Countenance and his Comportment would allure your hearts and force them by a sweet attraction to will him good but when you do it to him in the person of the Poor who are so disagreable your faith is more lively your charity more generous and your piety more disinteressed since self love finds not there her reckning It seems IESUS should say in the last iugdment to S. Matthew you made me a banket in your Conversion to Zacheus you receiv'd me into your house to S. Martha you log'd me in your Castle you serv'd me with great diligence No He will not praise them principally for these good offices But He will say to them That which you have don to the least of mine you have
to drunkenness or to gluttony S. Paul says to us that our belly is our God if we are avaricious he declares to us that Philip. 3. 19. Colloss 3. 5. Ephes 5. gold and silver are our Idolls if we are unchast we adore an Idoll of flesh If it be our designe to greaten our selves and to make our fortune at what rate soever our idolls are the world and its vanities or our children If we cloath our selves excessively our Idolls are our bodys in a word all that weighs most in the ballance of our affections is our God says S. Austin Banish then all such inordinate affections honor and adore the true God only give your selves to him without reserve love him bless him fear him serve him with all your heart refer to him all that you do all that you say all that you are He only is your treasure your refreshment your life and your glory He alone is your honour prosperity and felicity in soul and body in time and in eternity upon earth and in Heaven where He will satiate and make you perfectly happy by the enjoyment of his eternal glory Amen DISCOURS XXIX OF THE FIRST COMMANDEMENT Thou shalt not have strange Gods before me c. AS by this commandement God excludes vnjust worship and adoration of fals Gods So by the same He demands just honor and homage which we owe to the only true God It is by the Vertue of Religion that we acquit our selves of this obligation For this vertue moves us to give to God the honour worship and adoration due to him by reason of the infinite Excellence of his nature and sovereignity over althings It teaches us to honor him by our Vnderstanding and our Will with our Body and ouâ— goods and moreover to honour althings that are specially referr'd to him And this is that which is exacted of us by this Commandement and which we shal shew in this Discours 1. The Vertue of Religion hath this Excellency amongst other moral Vertues that we may practise it in all occasions and in all times We have always the object of it great reason and Power to do it The object God is always near us we are in his presence He is always great and worthy of honor Great reason He obliges us incessantly we receive from him continually Being Preservation Motion we should think of him as often as we breath if we could and He did require it of us we have always Power to exercise this Vertue for there is no need of riches strength of body fine words It is practised by the motion of the heart by the affection of the soul by the acts of the understanding and the Will 2. By the understanding we must conceive a high and great esteem of his Greatness and Excellence of his Power Wisdom Goodness Iustice and other Perfections apprhend lively believe firmly profess humbly that He is infinitely Powerfull Wise Good that whatsoever He does He does it most wisely justly holily that all that we can think all that the Angells can conceive of his Greatness is nothing to that He is We must acknowledg before God that he is our Creator Beginning last End soveraign Good true Treasure only Beatitude that He is our legal Lord soveraign King that He can dispose of us more justly and absolutely then a King of his Vassal then a Master of his slave then a Potter of his earthen Vessel that if He should take our Children from us our goods honor life without having given Him any occasion of offence He would not do us injury would use his right would be in so doing most just amiable and adorable By our will we must resolve to do promptly all that we know conduces to the service of God and to the advancement of his glory and to avoyd all things which displeas Him To desire and beg frequently the things that are convenient to be asked of him that so we may honour and reverence Him by submitting our selves to him and by acknowledging that we have need of him and totally rely on him To adore him often professing subjection to his divine Will in acknowledgment of his excellency and infinite Majesty and our subjection and dependance on Him 3. And becaus we are composed of soulw and body and receive them and all other goods from him we owe him not only the interiour but also the exteriour acts of Religion such is Sacrifice by which we honour him as our God and Soveraign professing his supream Dominion and a dependency of all things on him we thanke him for Benefits satisfy his justice and implore succour of our necessities such is the use of Sacraments by which we tacitely protest that God is the Sanctifier and the Authour of grace which subjects to him more and more our Souls Such are genuflections prostrations to testify by these signes the high esteem we have of his Greatness and our submission to him Such in fine are thankes Vocal prayers prayses and other like tributes of honor and homage which we pay to him We ought more over to employ our labour and to use our goods for the service of him Yea to contemne our honor and sacrifice our lives in a just occasion 4. And since all that is in God is God and consequently amiable honourable and adorable we ought also to honor and adore all his divine Attributes and Perfections cheifly in occasions when it pleases him to practise them When he sends prosperities to vertuous people or to their children adore his fidelity who promised to favour the vertuous when He gives goods to ill men adore his Goodness who does good to his Enemies when He calls a just man out of this life who seem'd necessary in this world adore his Independence who hath not need of his creatures when He preserves in life the Vicious adore his Patience and Longanimitie When He sends afflictions adore his justice 5. In fine the Vertue of Religion obliges us to reverence God not only in himself and in his divine Perfections But also in his Friends and Servants in the Times and Places which are particularly consecrated to his service and in all that hath a special respect and relation to his Majesty It was by this disposition that Iosuah 5. Gen. 48. 16. Psal 138. Or. 139. Apoc. 1. 4. Iosuah honoured the Angel that appeared to him That Iacob prayed an Angel to bless his Children That David honoured very much the friends of God And that S. Iohn Evangelist implores the assistance of Angells to obtain grace and peace from God It was by the same Vertue that great S. Antony honoured Priests as Ministers of Christs Inheritance Officers of his Crown and Dispensers of his treasures and that meeting even the least of them he fell upon his knees and demanded his Benediction By this Vertue S. Charles the Great entred into Rome and visited a foote the Churches of it embrased and kissed with devotion the Pillars of them By
this Vertue another Saint Charles the Cardinal Boromeus honoured so much the holy scripture that also studying it he read it always kneeling and uncover'd The seraphical Saint Francis commanded that papers which had the name of God written in them should not be Prophan'd but plac'd in decent and convenient places S. Lewis forbid painting and graving of the Cross upon the pavement for fear the people should tread upon it On Festivalls and Vigills in honor of the Saint celebrated or of the Mistery solemnized he gave dinner to two hundred Poore and serv'd them at the table He fasted all fridays of the yeare and in those of Advent and Lent he eate neither fish nor fruit becaus these two Times are consecrated to God 6. If these great Saints were now on earth what would they say what would they do seeing the comportment of men What thinke they now in heaven seeing the irreligion of those who will not allow them any honor though God does honor them and honor be a due salary of their Vertue who count it superstition Luke 15. 6. Luke 16. Apoc. 5. 8. and 8. 4. Matth. 18. 10 to implore their intercession though they have credit and favour in the sight of God do hear our prayers do know our necessities have experienced our miseries and have Charity and affection for us as the scriptures tell us What thinke they seeing the indevotion of others who rise in the morning and go to bed at night as beasts who sit down to table at noon as Epicurians and pass over the day as if there were no God who even fear to assist often at the Sacrifice to frequent the Sacraments to adore God and pray him as they ought lest men laugh at them and call them devotes or hypocrites though they are not ashamed to do ill in open street What do they think in fine seeing such irreverences of men towards holy things They employ the time of holy days in playing in visits and drunkenness if they discours for pleasure and recreation it seems not well seasoned if it clash not upon Priests or Religious Persons if they com to the Church it is not to appease God but to offend him to see and to be seen They prophane the holy scripture and use it in their jests meriments and Scurrilities 7. Si Ego Pater ubi est honor meus If I am the Father where is my honour He might have sayd if I am King If I am Iudg. If nature teaches the most barbarous to honour their father who is more worthy of honor than He from whom we have received not Body only but also Soul and All 8. If we honor the King and also the Courtiers for his sake should we not honor the King of kings so great powerfull and Soveraign that all the Kings of the world are his Uassalls and are but wormes in respect of Him 9. If we honor Iudges becaus they have some Power in this world ought we not to honor him who is infinitely powerfull and from whom all power is dereiv'd And give also an inferiour honour to the Saints whom God does so much honor that He makes them our Iudges You shal sit says our great Iudg upon S. Matth 19. 28. 1. Kings 2. 30. seats judging the twelue Tribes of Israel Let us remember then what God says to Samuel whosoever shal glorify me I will glorify him and they that contemne me shal be base If we neglect the service of God if we respect not his friends and althings that specially appertain to him sooner or later we shal be contemn'd coâ—â—r'd with shame dishonour and infamy But if we honour him as we ought we shal be replenished with glory either in this world by the good odour of our reputation or in the other by the crown of justice which God reserves for us in Heaven Amen DISCOURS XXX OF THE SECOND COMMANDEMENT Thou shalt not take the Name of the Lord thy God in Vaine For the Lord will not hold him innocent that shal take the name of the Lord his God in Vaine Exod. 20. THe royal Prophet representing to us the name of God as holy represents it at the same time as terrible and dreadfull Holy and terrible is his name Let us confess to thy great name becaus it is terrible and holy And he joy ns Majesty and power with Sanctity to imprint in our hearts reverence and to stricke terrour into us lest we should at any Psal 110 Psal 98. time dishonour him And God assures us in this Commendement that he will punish us for it that we may not pretend ignorance to be any caus of it The Lord will not hold him Innocent that shal take the name of the Lord his God in vaine In other sins the mercy of God pleads in favour of sinners demands pardon strives S. Iames. 2. 13. with justice and sometimes overcoms it and mercy exalteth it self above iudgment says S. Iames But in this sin the Verity of God joyns it self to justice and obliges God to punish the prophaner lest his word do fail Is it not then a misery which de serves to be deplor'd with teares of blood to see that there is nothing so licenciously and frequently prophan'd and abus'd by Christians as the name of God by pronouncing his holy name irreverently violating Vowes unworthily swearing falsly or prophanely Cursing or blaspheming detestably 2. But some will say Oathes are they essentially naught Is it not permitted to swear sometimes Yes 't is lawfull since the Scripture permits and approves it Saints have practised it and God himself vouchsafes to sweare The Prophet Hieremy permits us Hierem 4. 2. Psal 62. 12. Apoc. 10. 6. Gen. 14. 22. 3. kings 17. 1. Rom. 19. 2. Cor. 1. 23. Gal. 1. 20 Gen. 22. 16. Hier. 22. 24. Luke 1. 73. Psal 109 to sweare in the name of God provided it be with all necessary circumstances David praises those that sweare by the true God not by fals Deities as Pagans did Angells Patriarks Prophets and Apostles have sometimes sworn An Angel in the Apocalyps lifts up his hand to heaven and sweares by him that lives for ever and ever that after judgment there will be no more time In the book of Genesis the Patriarke Abraham says to the King of Sodom I lift up my hand to the most high Majesty of God who possesses heaven and Earth In the third book of kings the Prophet Elias sayd by the living God in whose sight I stand S. Paul in his Epistle to the Romans God is my witness that without intermission I make a memory of you In the second to the Corinthians I call God to witness upon my soul that sparing you I came not any more to Corinth And in the Epistle to the Galatians Behold before God that I ly not God himself whose least word is more firm then heaven and earth having nothing greater then himself vouchsafes to sweare by himself and by
Geraseens to precipitate them into the lake of a thousand brutal actions and after into the pool of fire and brimstone of everlasting death It is certible to hear Isaye 1. 14. Malac. 2. 3. with what execration God speaks of holy days so Prophaned my soul hateth your Solemnityes I will cast upon your faces the dung of them 6. Let us say then with the Psalmist Turn ô my Soul into thy rest becaus our Lord hath don good to thee Psal 114. 7. Turn ô my Soul convert your self entirely to God on the sunday at least It is instituted for this end and it is called the day of our Lord becaus if we have been turned to our selves and to our affaires the other dayes we must at least turn to God and to his service this day which He hath reserv'd to himself It seems an usurpation of anothers goods and a sort of sacriledg to rob him of this day and to employ it prophanly against his will Turn ô my Soul into thy rest It is a great crime to refuse Obedience to a commandement so sweet other Masters urge their servants and cry out to them worke work ha God says to his my children I will not that you weary out your selves give some respit to your selves from labours rest in me who am the Center of your hearts and the true rest of your soules He calls this day by his Prophet The delicate or delicious Sabbath His Isaiah 58. 13. delights are to be and to convers with us why should we not then make it our delights to be and convers with Him Turne into thy rest becaus our Lord hath don well to thee The Sunday was instituted that we might have opertunity to serve God and more leasure to thanke Him for our Creation Preservation Redemption Sanctification and Vocation to his Service for all graces and good workes which He gives us for preserving us from a thousand infirmities miseries deaths and from so many occasions of sin He hath delivered says the Prophet my soul from death my eyes from teares my feet from sliding if we are grateful for benefits receiv'd we shal give him occasion to give us new if we employ weâ—l the time design'd for the service of God He will bless the time granted us to make provision for our selves and families do then the workes of God on holy dayes and He will do yours on other days and moreover make you pass from the figure to the Verity from the shadow to the light from the symbole to the reality and from the temporal rest of this life to the eternal repose of glory Amen DISCOVRS XXXII OF THE FOURTH COMMANDEMENT Honour thy Father and thy Mother AS the Commandements written in the first Table tend immediately to the honour and glory of the Creatour recommending ro us Piety and devotion towards Him So these of the second Table tend immediately to the salvation and the utility of men and recommend to us charity and justice towards all our neighbours that each one doing his duty in his state and condition the families and communites of Christians may be well ordered and disposed The most important of these dutyes is that of children towards their Parents and therefore it is exacted by the first commandement of the second Table and to move them more to it recompence is herein promised to those that shal honour their Parents with the triple honour of Reverence Obedience and Assistance 2. First with the honor of Reverence for our Parents are the images of God whose authority is a Ray of his Paternity they are Sources and Causes of our life after Him Organs and Instruments which He uses to give and preserve our Being Hence it comes that we ought to honor them be they whatsoever though your Father be vicious and deboist he is stil your Father a cause of your life an instrument of God and an image of his Paternity And becaus the chief part of this honour consists in the interiour you must esteem your Parents in your heart acknowledg them your Superiours respect and reverence their Authority And becaus they know not your interiour you are oblig'd to testify by exterior signes the honor which you have for them to speak to them humbly of them to others honourably to give them respect and reverence and to do nothing that savours of neglect or contempt The Queen Bethsabee was not of the Royal blood but of mean extraction and nevertheless the wise Salomon her Son though a great and powerfull Monark and sitting in the Throne of Iustice rose out of it to meet and reverence her and placed her in a Throne at the right hand of his Majesty This wise King was the figure of our Saviour who being King of kings and God of infinite Majesty disdained not on earth to be subject to his holy Mother and who elevated and placed her in heaven at Psal 44. his right hand Astitit Regina a dextris tuis 3. To honour your Parents you must moreover consult them before you undertake any thinge of consequence when you would marry commence a suit undertake a far journey or engage your self in any other thing of importance aske their counsell and follow it this shews you esteem their prudence and God blesses this proceeding the young Tobias had a great blessing was assisted by an Angel deliver'd from all danger replenished with riches and prosperity in his journey becaus he undertook it by the advice and direction of his Father 4 The second honour of our Parents exacted by this Commandement is that of Obedience This honor S. Paul often recommends to us and in the Epistle to the Ephesians he proves it by this commandement to be their due Obey your Parents in our Ephes. 6. Lord For this is just Honour thy Father and thy Mother He adds In our Lord For if they command you any thing against the commandements of God or of his Church or if they would avert you from Religion and his service S. Bernard tells you that Epist 104. 't is Piety to neglect them for the love of IESUS-CHRIST for He that sayd Honor your Father and your Mother says to you also He that loves his father or his mother more than me is not worthy of me But when they command just and lawfull things you must obey them they are your Superiours and the Causes of your Being they then as Superiours ought to move you and as Causes of your Being to be also the Authours of your operations And if a servant be oblig'd to obey his Master for a little nourishment and a smal salary he receives how much more a child his Mother who nourished him with her own substance and his Father who laboured so much to bring him up and endeavours to provide for him 5. I find in the holy scripture that your obedience to be perfect ought to have three conditions at the least it ought to be blind cordial and
increased the child then that is gratefull for the life he hath receiv'd from his Parents deserves that it be polong'd and preserv'd If then we see good natured and obedient children dye young it is that the providence of God foresaw that temptation would chang them and put them in danger of damnation and in recompence of their obedience he gives them eternal life in lieu of temporal He was taken away says the holy Wisd 4. 11. Ghost lest malice should change his understanding or lest any guile might deceive his soul or God calls them to himself that they may not see and feel the publick afflictions and calamities of the times Isay 57. 1. The â—ust is taken away from the face of evill sayd the Prophet Isaiah 12. S. Paul says that Piety serves not only to merit a long life but to obtain all other grace and favour of God the salvation of the soul health of body a happy posterity with an abundance also of temporalls if they are profitable to the Spiritual Tim. 2. 4. and 8. The Wiseman had taught this long before assuring us He heaps up treasure that honours his Mother and he that honours his Father shal joy in children and in the day of his prayer shal be heard Ecclus. 3. 13. Honor them then as Ecclesiasticus there bids you by words by actions and by patience Speak to them and of them ro others always with respect do nothing to offend them with your workes and if they give you yet occasion of sufferance or discontent endure and bear it patiently so you wil be the children of God fruits of benediction and coheires of IESUS-CHRIST in the possession of the kingdom of heaven Amen DISCOVRS XXXIII of the Duty of Parents IT is a Question in Divinity Why God hath not in the Decalogue recommended to Parents their Duty in respect of children S. Chrysostom answers that it was not necessary since nature does teach it clearly and the great love they have for their children does sufficiently incline Parents to have a care of them Whence S. Paul takes occasion to draw this consequence He who hath not care of his own and especially of his domesticks is wors then an infidell becaus he does not violate only the lawes of Christianity but transgresses also the law of nature so deeply imprinted in the hearts of all men And if according to the Gospell they that are not more vertuous than Pagans shal not enter into the kingdom of heaven what salvation may they hope Nay what damnation should they not expect who as the Apostle says are wors than Infidells To avoyd this then Parents must pay exactly four debts they owe to children Nourishment Instruction good Example and Correction 2. First Nourishment For Parents that deny them this debt are not only wors then Infidells but more unnatural and cruel than savage beasts It is God himself that complains of it by Hieremiah Lamiae nudaverunt mammam lactaverunt catulos suos filia populi mei crudelis ut struthio instead of lamiae there is in the hebrew Thren 4. 3. Tanim dragons wild doggs There is no beast so cruel but hath care to nourish its young the dragons themselves and the wild doggs do it and there are many amongst my people who are cruel as the ostritch the ostritch you know is a very greedy and devouring foule cast to it iron peuter silver it swallows all it degests all to nourish its own self but towards its young it is most cruel for as holy Iob says she Iob. 39. 13. is content to lay her eggs she does not cover or sit upon them and if any one by the heat of the Sun does bring forth a young one and it cryout to the mother for a little nourishment she is deaf to this mournfull voice she is hardened against her young as if it were not her own Many fathers do the same they are as revenous and cruel as this bird they consume silver peuter iron linnen which they sell to defray the charges of theyr disorders they content themselves to people the world to have children and take no care to breed them up Whilst they make good cheer in Taverns these poor innocents cry for hunger they lament and say as Micheas we make mourning as it were of ostritches Mich 1. 8 3. There are others who fail in this first duty by a disposition quite contrary to profusion by a spirit of avarice and unsatiable covetousnes they love so much their money that they will not employ a little for the good education and salvation of their children they choose rather to see them ignorant rude and vicious then to disburse money for a good Instructor to send them to school to buy them spiritual books and to make them learn something in which they may profitably employ the time of their life and improve the Talents God hath given them in defect whereof they are miserable both in regard of this life and the other they fear says S. Austin to lose the image of the King engraven on the money in their purs and they fear not at all to lose the Image of God imprinted in the souls of children of whom He hath given them charge 4. They ought not also to do as the Ape which often kills its young by hugging them too much they ought not to do as Agrippa who being told that her Son should be Emperour imperious and take away her life I care not said she so that he do reign occidat modo imperet Say in like manner to another you are ill advised to accustome your daughter to go so richly cloathed to kill your self in body and soul to marry her so richly what need is there that she should be better then you when she shall be elevated she will laugh at you despise you look upon you as below herself be ashamed to accompany you and to shew that you are her mother this will make you dye with regret occidat modo imperet I care not so that she be great say to this father after S. Austin that it is not to have care of your children but to stifle them to burden them so with riches gotten by the ruine of the Poore to make them swim thus in the teares of widdows and orphans whose goods you hold this will draw downe the malediction of God upon them and upon you eternal damnation I care not provided that he be great Say to him your elder Son is ignorant he hath neither judgement nor vertue and is uncapable of that office if you resigne it to him or obtain it for him he will do therein a thousand injustices your younger Son is not called to an Ecclesiastical state he hath not the gift of continence nor any devotion if you obtaine for him that Benefice he will damne himself therein and will damne many other and you will be responsible for all occidat modo imperet I care not provided that
us after this not unprofitable digression return to the definition 5. Dictum vel factum a word or action In this word Action is couched Omission when you can do an action which would hinder the offence of God and you do it not IESVS being required to pay tribute declares himself not oblig'd and nevertheless he pay'd it lest He should scandalize the farmers So the Virgin circumcised her Son and submitted herself to the law of purification for fear of giving ill example So S. Paul says the Ancient Philosophers having known the true God by the light of nature and having not communicated this knowledg to the rest of men to draw them from Idolatry incurr'd the anger of God and were guilty of all sins the people committed for want of that knowledg We are then culpable when we ought to correct reprehend or punish the defects of others and do not we scandalise them for they say there is no ill in this my Parents Confessor Superior say nothing to me of it 6. Minus rectum This word teaches us that if an action be good and laudable commanded by God or his Church we ought not to omit it though our neighbor be scandalized by it if one is scandalized when you say the truth 't is better to permit scandal then to oppose Verity says S. Gregory T is a Pharisaical scandal a S. Greg. hom 7. in Ezec. passive scandal not an active a scandal taken not given 7. And if the action be good and laudable but not of obligation ought we to omit it if one will be scandalized by it S. Thomas answers learnedly with a distinction either our neighbour is scandalized maliciously and out of a spirit of contradiction 2. 2. q. 43. ar 7. or is scandalised through ignorance or infirmity if he be scandalised maliciously we ought not to omit our good worke for 't is his own fault and not ours He does as the Pharesees who were scandalized maliciously by the predications of IESUS But IESUS contemn'd their scandal and left not off his preaching If he be scandalized through ignorance or through weakness 't is better to do your good worke in private or to omit it for a time than to give an occasion to your neighbor to fall into any sin And with much more reason if the action be of it self indifferent neither good nor evill charity obliges us to omit it when it would be an occasion of sin or temptation to our neighbor If you offend your neighbor giving him occasion of sin through his weakness you offend our Lord and therefore If I know my brother is scandalized to see me eate flesh I will never eate it lest I scandalize my hrother says S. Paul 1. Cor. 8. 12. Rom. 14. 15. 20. And again do not with thy meat destroy him for whom CHRIST dyed Destroy not the worke of God for meat Though then an action be permitted if it be not commanded we must abstain from it if it be a snare or stumblingblock to infirme and weak soules 8. Prebens alicui giving occasion to our neighbor Some may imagin that 't is not to be scandalous if they do not a publick action which is manifest to many But our Saviour says if you move Matt. 18. to sin but one only you are scandalous You say they are simple and weak people that are tempted by such an action or such a word the wise and well grounded in vertue are not moved by it IESUS says you must not scandalize one of the lesser ones unum de pusillis and S. Paul tells us that in scan dalizing the weak ones we sin against IESUS-CHRIST And the Son of God adds Voe mundo a scandalis Woe to the world for scandalls He Speakes so becaus the world is full of them and becaus they destroy so many souls so dear and precious to him 9. It seems that soules are more dear to IESUS than his innocent blood He willed it should be prophan'd and trod under feet for the ransome of these beloved soules I leave you to think what punishment and what reproches we shal receive from him if by our bad exemple or by our negligence we let any one of these soules fall into sin and damnation Believe that in the houre of your death nothing will cause you more regret nor afflict you more than the sight of the soules which by your fault are lost You will acknowledg this truth and feel the weight of these dreadfull words Vae homini illi per quem scandalum venit woe to the persone by whom Matt. 18. 7. Scandal coms You will see all the graces God had given to soules through your fault lost all the merits they had gotten all that our Saviour did and suffered for their salvation and you will with sorrow and sighing say Ha! I have destroy'd soules for which JESUS CHRIST dyed how shal I restore to him the blood which He hath shed vae homini illi wo be to that person It were better for you one had tyed a milstone about your neck and thrown you into the Sea You will see the excellency and the value of the soules you have cast away and this will oppress you with griefe as if you had a milstone upon your heart You will see that those who learnt of you the vanities of the world will teach their children them these will derive them to their descendents unto the third or fourth generation all which will be imputed to you this sight will cast you even into despaire Will you avoyd this miserable condition Do not by bad examples indiscreet words or negligence destroy a soul for whom IESUS CHRIST dyed But if you have been so unhappy do judgment and justice punish your fault by true penance repair the loss as much as lies in you bring back the lost sheep to IESUS or if you cannot gain another in his stead by prayers instructions aâ—d good examples so you may be confident of pardon God hath promised it Amen DISCOVRS XXXVI OF THE SIXTH AND NINTH COMMANDEMENTS thou shalt not commit Adultery Thou shalt not couet thy neighbours Wife Amongst all the irregular motions of a man there is none more contrary to his nature nor more abominable to the Creatour than the unhappy vice of carnality It is contrary to mans nature becaus it is beastly terrestrial and unworthy of a man In anger envy pride ambition there is some kind of spirit But luxury clouds the understanding depresses the faculties of the soul renders her unable to elevate her self above the objects of sense and impaires all that is manly in us 2. This vice is abominable to God who repented to have made man and sent a deluge to drowne the earth who consuin'd by fire four of the most florishing cityes of the world and slautered 24 thousand of his people at one time and 60 thousand at another in punishment of this sin Though this vice be so contrary to a man and
body The spiritual is the union of grace with the soul And the civil is the union of a man with his neighbors and a good repute amongst them Now the detractor sometimes takes away the first life often the second and very frequently the third The first sometimes either by creating mortal enemies against the poor absent person or by representing him as dishonest and unfaithfull whereby he loses those employments without which he cannot nourish himself nor his The second often for soon or late the detracted person heares of the Detractor he conceives a hatred of him and resolves upon reveng ah he sometimes dyes in this disposition and with the Devills is damn'd for ever The third frequently for generally speaking detraction takes effect and deprives the detracted of the good opinion others have of him which is the cement of the commerce that is between them so the detractor takes away his civil life and obliges himself to restitutions and reparations both of the honor and good name and of all the expences dammages and interects caused by his detraction which will be very hardly made 8 To avoyd a vice so pernicious both to you and others follow the counsell of the holy Ghost Weigh your words in a just Eccl. 28. 29. ballance before you utter them Remembet that in the judgment of God they shall be all exactly weighed examined judged punished or recompenced we must render an account in judgment of a word which hurts not how much more of those which blacken our neighbor rob him of his honour and are the caus of so many enmities and dissentions Remember when you are in passion and quarelling with your neighbor That you utter not the Prov. 25. 8. things which your eyes have seen lest afterward you cannot amend it when you have dishonoured him says the sacred text And in effect a detractive word is soon let forth but not so soon recalled words have not handells to be pulled back again when they have eschaped but they have wings which makes them fly away irrevocably if you would repair the honor of your neighbor whither will you go to seek all those to whom you have spoken and all those who have spoken of it after you and if you find them how will you raze out of their minds the bad opinion of their neighbor which you have imprinted in them And yet 't is a thing absolutely necessary unless you go to the person whom you detracted and pray him to pardon you and to free you from the obligation of restoring But if he does not 't is a verity avowed by all Doctors that you stand oblig'd to repair his honor in defect whereof the Pope himself cannot absolve you Calumniate not nor detract then any person but have charity which as the Apostle says Covers a multitude of sins so you will enjoy quiet in your self and peace with others you will obtain the grace and favour of God in this world and glory in the other Amen DISCOURS XL. OF THE SACRAMENTS IN GENERAL AS Creation is attributed to the Father Redemption to the Son So sanctifieation of souls is attributed to the holy Ghost becaus 't is an effect of particular love and goodness The more usuall way He takes for this work is the administration of Sacraments which are the instrumental causes of his graces chanells and conduits of his benedictions Before we speak of each one in particular 't is good to treat of them in general and to consider what is common to all the Sacraments of the Law of Grace Wherefore I will put before your eyes their causes the nature and effects of them 1. Tâ—e Efficient Caus who instituted the Sacraments is IESVS lib. 4. c. 4. de SacrameÌ„t Trid. ss 7. can 1. CHRIST Who is the Authour of the Sacraments but IESVS our Lord these Sacraments came from heaven says S. Ambrose And the holy Ghost by the mouth of his Spouse assembled in the Councel of Trent If any one shal say that all the Sacraments of the new Law were not instituted by CHRIST our Lord let him be anathema IESVS hath given his Apostles and his Church commission to institute Feasts Fasts and the Ceremonies of the Office but the institution of Sacraments He reserv'd to himself 't is He alone that bâ—queathed them to the faithfull as the magasins of his merits chanells of his graces and authentick proofs of his Divinity Yes of his Divinity 2. For in the institution and administration of Sacraments IESUS shews that he is God since He exercises and makes appear divine perfections His Power Wisdom Goodness Mercy Iustice and Providence 3. His Power They say usually in Philosophy that no creature however noble and eminent it may be can serve the Creator as an instrument to draw out of nothing another creature that a Seraphin cannot create no not instrumentally a drop of water or one only grain of sand Let them change now their tone and praise the power of IESVS CHRIST who makes use of common creatures to produce so excellent of material to to produce Spiritual of dead and inanimate creatures to create a divine life who makes use elements which are in the lowest order of nature to produce that which is most high and more excellent than all that is in nature who makes use of a little water to produce grace which is a participation of the life of God himself 4. He shews in this his Wisdom disposing of all things sweetly leading his creatures to their last End by means convenient and fitted to their nature If you had not bodys if you were as Angells S. Chryhom 60. ad Pop. Antioch separated from all corporeall matter God would give you his gifts purely spiritually and invisibly but becaus your souls are cloathed with terrestrial and materiall bodys God gives you his graces in material elements and in sensible signes 5. He exercises his Goodness for by the malediction thundred against the first man and his posterity corporeal creatures are Wisdom 4. becom to us temptations stumblingblocks and snares But by the Benediction of IESUS they are the matter of Sacraments conduits of his graces organs of our sanctification and instruments of our salvation 6. And whereas He is both mercifull and just in shewing us mercy he exercises his justice for man being by sin unjustly elevated against God who is infinitely above him he is justly punished and humbled seeing himself oblig'd to receive his salvation by corporal creatures which are so much below him 7. His Providence in sine herein does shine He foresaw that men are naturally inclin'd to an exterior worship and He provided Sacraments and Sacrifice which consist in exterior actions lest they should employ themselves in superstitions He sees that Vnity is necessary amongst his faithfull and to make them uniform in the exercise of Piety and divine service to unite them togeather in thâ— same Religion and the same Church He institutes exteriour actions
common to all Christians by which they may pay to God their Duties and receive from him his favours 8. But IESUS is not only the Authour and Institutor of Sacraments He is moreover the Dispencer of them who vouchsafes to confer and administer them to you to confer them I say not only as an universall and general caus but also as a special and particular 9. The Nature and the Essence of a Sacrament is to be a visible and effective signe of divine and invisible grace And they have very great resemblance with the Authour of grace with the subject of grace and with the effect of grace The Authour of grace is IESUS CHRIST Man God and the Sacraments represent him very naturally For as IESUS CHRIST if one may speak so is but a holy and wonderfull Compositum of the divine Word and humane nature so a Sacrament is but a compositum of the word of the Priest and of the material Element The subject of grace is the person that receives it he is composed of body and soul And the matter of the Sacrament is applyed to his body and the form which consists in words teaches excites and animates the faith and the devotion of his soul The effects of grace are different and very well represented by the exteriour signes or Sacraments The effect of Baptismal grace is to cleanse the soul from original sin and to temper the ardours of concupiscence and what is more proper to represent these effects than water The effect of Eucharistical grace is to feed nourish and cherish our souls and what is more proper to signify this nourishment than the species of bread we may say the same of the other Saments as we shal see God ayding when we treat of each one In particular let us content our selves at present to see that the Sacraments are practical and effective signes of the grace they signify of which only it now remains to speak 10. This word Grace in the Scripture and in the language of the Faithfull is taken in divers senses First it is taken sometimes for all favours that God does us also in the order of nature other times for free gifts of God term'd graces gratis given becaus they are not given for the deserts not for the benefit of the Receiver but for the good of the Church as the gifts of prophecie preaching and working miracles 11. 'T is not in any of these senses that 't is taken treating of the Sacraments 'T is taken for habitual and sanctifying grace which is a most excellent quality that Sanctifys us and renders us holy and just before God that makes us children of the eternal Father Brothers and Coheires with IESUS CHRIST living Temples of the holy Ghost Kings of heaven and Partakers of the Divine nature says S. Peter 2. Ep. 1. ss 7. can 6. 13. 'T is an article of Faith declar'd by the councell of Trent that all sacraments of the christian Church give Sanctifying grace to all that receive them worthyly If there were a Confessor so rich and liberal that he would give five or six Guinnies to all that should com and confess to him and as often as they should com who would not go would he not be opprest with people We are not Christians if we believe not firmly that as often as we confess or receive other sacrament as we ought we acquire a greater treasure than if one should give us a thousand guinnys yes in the ballance of Gods judgment and in the esteem of wisemen one only degree of grace is more precious and more worth than all the riches of the Indies becaus grace is of a superior order to all the goods of nature 14. But by the sacraments you receive not only one degree of grace but many In Isaiah it is sayd You shal draw waters in joy out of the Saviours fountaines 'T is not sayd you shal receive they shal be given you But you shal draw t is not sayd out of cisterns But out of fountaines if it were sayd you shal receive grace you might think that you should receive but as much as one would give you But since t is sayd that you may draw and also out of fountaines which cannot be drain'd you may take as much of it as you will The measure of the greater or lesser quantity of water that you draw out of a fountaine is not in the fountaine it self but in the greatness or littleness of the vessell wherein you draw it so the measure of the greater or lesser grace you receive in sacraments is not in the sacraments themselves but in the greater or lesser disposition which you bring it you com to them with much of faith attention contrition humility devotion fervour and love of God you will receive in them much grace if you go to them with little disposition you will receive but little and consequently 't is more profitable to confess and to communicate one only time with-great devotion than 5. or 6 times with little disposition 14. Moreover the sacraments give not only habitual and sanctifying grace but also actual and auxiliary graces which ayd us to obtain the end for which each Sacrament was instituted I explicate my self when you receive holy Orders in a good state and with the disposition that you ought in the sanctifying grace which you receive is included a promise which God makes you to give you actual graces to perform well the divine office to instruct the people to administer the Sacraments and to do other ecclesiastical functions to which you are apply'd and consecrated by holy Orders If you marry in a good state and as a christian in the sanctifying grace which you receive is containd a promise that God makes you to give you in occasions actual and auxiliary graces to live peaceably with your husband to breed up well your children to resist temptations against conjugal chastity and to practise other vertues to which marriage obliges you By which you see the great prejudice you do your selves when either you neglect or receive unworthily the Sacraments you deprive your selves of innumerable graces which God would oblige himself to give you in the rest of your life as the appurtenances and attendants of the grace which you should have receiv'd 16. This will render you extreamly culpable in the judgment of God and you will dye with great regret seeing you had so souveraigne remedies and helps and that you neglected so much to profit by them know that the Sacraments are talents of inestimable value but which are given us with an obligatioâ— to gain by them In S. Matthew IESUS compares himself to a Lord who gave Talents to his servants and finding that he who had receiv'd Mat. 25. but one had not gaind with it sayd cast the unprofitable servant out into exteriout darkness there shal be weeping and gnashing of teeth What then would He have don to him if he had lost his talent what
and suffers those torments voluntarily she knows how disagreable she is to the Sanctity and Purity of God that she is a debtour to his justice and that she deserves those torments she desires the justice of God should have its cours and as she loves God more than her own self she is glad the injury don to his Majesty is revenged also at her own cost she will remaine in that prison untill her debt be entirely payd either by her own sufferances or by the satisfactions and suffrages of others 4. For we may ayde those poor afflicted soules they are in communion of spiritual goods with us they are members of the same mystical Body children of the same Church Citizens of the same City and there is such an union such a simpathy and communication betwixt members of the same Body children of the same family inhabitants of the same City that we cauterize a member that is well to cure that which is ill that the labour of a child of a family profits his brother who labours not that one citizen ss 25. in Decret de purg can pay debts and satisfy for another We can then help these souls especially in three manners First by Prayers as the Councel of Trent declares For a good and devout praier is not only meritorious to him that makes it but also impetratory and satisfactory for others Secondly by the Sacrifice of Mass for this is the most See Dis XLVI n. 9. Tobie 4. 18. profitable suffrage that can be offered to God for the help of the dead as not only the aforesayd Councel but also the Fathers of the primitive Church declare Thirdly by Alms. Venerable Toby sayd to his son Put your bread and wine upon the Tomb of the just becaus in that time the Poor assembled in Cemeterys or Churchyards and alms of bread and wine were given them for the souls departed He sais upon the Tomb of the just becaus alms gâ—ven for souls that are in hell avail them not but those that departed out of this world in the state of grace they profit much wherefore S. Austin reproved the avaricious who excused themselves from such alms by the great Aug. lib de decem cordis c. 12. number of their children when we sayd he reprehend you for your auarice you say that if you give not so much as you desire 't is becaus you have many children It is a fals pretence wherewith you maske your avarice For if one of your children dye are you more charitable than you were if you keep your goods for them you would send a part to him he hath now more need of it then ever But if you have not means to give alms for the poor souls succour them by other workes 5. All vertuous actions don in the state of grace and especially the painfull if Offered for the dead give them great refreshment But those confort them most of which they are the Cause either by their instructions or by their good examples For Divinity â—eaches us that if we are the cause of any good as often as 't is don after our death our accidentall glory in heaven is increased and if we are in purgatory our torments are diminished as on the contrary our paines there are augmented if any sin be committed by our bad example 6. Let us give eare then to the dolefull lamentations of those poor souls who implore our help Meseremini mei Miseremini mei Saltem vos amici mei Have pity on me have pity on me at least you who are my friends she says twice Have pity on me Have pity on me Lest you increas my paines Have pity on me to ease me in my sufferances Have pity Be touched with compassion of so great miseries For judgment without mercy shal be don to him who shal not S. Iames 2. 13. have don mercy But on what will you exercise mercy but on misery and what greater misery then that of a poor creature who owes very much and is pursued and pressed by a rigorous Iustice and hath not wherewith to pay What greater misery then that of a poor soul upon whom the revenging hand of the Omnipotent is layed then of a poor soul in torments so Excessive that if a dog should be so tormented it would move you to compassion Of me a soul created to the image of God redeemed by the precious blood of IESUS marked with his character embellished with his graces designed to his glory He will say in iudgment I have been thirsty and you have given me drink I have been Matt 25 35. in prison and you have visited me I have been naked and you have clothed me I have been a stranger and you have received me into your house You do all these good workes of charity if you deliver a poor Soul out of Purgatory you are the caus that she is satiated with a torrent of pleasute you redeem her out of a very obscure and painfull prison you cloth her with the stole of glory and you make her to be received and lodg'd in heaven At least you who are the caus or occasion that this soul is in pain have pity on her you have made her to offend God by your impure words by your bad examples or by your sollicitations having so great part in the debt will you not contribute to the satifaction At least you friends what is becom of the affection you testifyd to your friend where are the offers of service where are the protestations so often made that you would never abandon her forget you her becaus she is seperated from you and turne you your back to her when she hath the greatest need of Succour It appears now that you were a friend of fortune only and the afliction of your friend is the touchstone which shews the falness of your friendship At least you my friends your Ancestours have made themselves debtours to the justice God by the sins which they committed to leave you goods will you be so ungratefull and so cruell as to refuse them a little part of them you swimme in delights and they are in torments you rest in feathers and they lie in flames You complain not of a large refection you give to J know not whom and you refuse your afflicted mother a little dinner which you might send her by the poore In fine if you be so mercenary as to seek your interest in all your actions remember that these poot Souls are in the gtace of God must go to heaven and you must one day succeed in their present place and if you shal deliver them they will not be ungratefull Blessed are the mercifull for they shal obtaine mercy If you give an amls for a soul in Purgatory you do at once two workes of mercy corporal mercy to the poor in want and Spiritual to the soul in paines you make the poor man your friend and the poor soul your debtour when you
which the Sacrament excites And it would restore also health of body more effectually for when you are in or neere your agony and dispaired of by Phisicians if the Sacrament should repaire your force and strength this would be a miracle which God who disposes althings sweetly does not usually or without necessity But if you receive it sooner He would dispose second causes by the secrets of his providence to renew your health in case He should judg it necessary for your salvation 6. The third effect which the Apostle atributes to this Sacrament is the remission of sins And if he be in sins they shal be remitted him He says expressy If he be in sins becaus he supposes the Sicke hath already received Penance and that by absolution his sins have been remitted But if he hath not rightly accomplished Confession and Communion and knows it not or if by humane frailty he hath committed a mortal sin after his Confession and is ignorant of it such remainders with all venial sins would be remitted and a good part of the temporal punishment due to them relaxed by this Sacrament If then we are depriv'd of it by our fault or if we receive the Sacrament unfruitfully or if by our negligence a Soul depart out of this world without receiving the grace of it 't is a great fault and God does make this complaint of it The wound is not sured nor mollifyd with oyle 7. S. Bernard writes that S. Malachy was intreated to visit and Vitâ S. Malach. carry the holy oyles to a Gentlewoman dying near his monastery who so reioyced in the presence of the holy Prelate that she seem'd to be quite reviv'd she demanded the Sacrament but the Assisstant seeing her so changed desired the Prelate to forbeare The Saint condescended to their request and returned with the holy oyles No sooner he arrived at the Monastery but he heard the Cryes of divers who sayd that she was dead he runns and coms to her and finds her dead Behold him in the greatest sorrow in lamentations tears groans and complaints of himself for a fault whereof he was not guilty T is my fault Lord 't is my fault since she desired it I should not have defer'd it he protests to all the Assistants that he will weep in consolably that is Soul should never rest til he had restored to the dead the grace which she had lost he remains by the corps and instead of holy Oyle waters it all night with his precious tears This holy water frightens and puts death to flight for the next morning the dead opened her eyes as if she had been wakened out of sleep then sits up and making a low inclination to the Bishop says The prayer of faith hath saved the infirme By which you see how soliciâ—ous we should be to receive the effects and reap the fruits of this Sacrament 8. And to reap them with full hands and in abundance we must receive it with necessary dispositions and 't is certaine that Sacramental Confession must if possible precede it becaus this Sacrament is one of those which Divines call Sacramenta Vivorum that is which ought not to be received but by the faithfull who are already in the life of grace I say if possible for if one should be so depriv'd by a sudden accident that he cannot Confess we must neuertheless administer to him this Sacrament But there are three other dispositions which a devout soul should have in receiving it One in respect of God another in respect of himself and the third in respect of his neighbor 9. First you must offer to God a sacrifice of your life accepting death with resignation to his holy Will with great submission to the Orders of his Providence and to render honor and homage to his divine Perfections and say my God I submit with all my heart to the sentence of death you have pronounced against me from the beginning of the world I offer my life to you to do homage to your Souveraintie and Justice I acknowledg and protest that I have most justly deserv'd it not only by teason of original sin but as often as I have sinned in all my life 10. He that is in this disposition of a Victime and a Holocaust in the sight of God will have also the necessary spirit of humility He will renounce all pride ambition vain glory and ostentation he will abhorr the spirit of those vain souls who disire passionately to be praised in gazetts celebrated in histories that their hearts or bodys be emâ—auâ—med put into ledden coffins carried to the grave with pomp with famous and magnificent obsequies and funeral discourses who build for themselves or make to be built high and glorious tombes who fix their names and armes upon the walls of Churches and cause Epitaphes to be composed Aug. lib. 9. confess c. 13. in their praises S. Austin praises his Mother for that she had not the least thought of such a Vanity And the Scripture blames the ambition wherewith they buried the king Asa They buried him in his sepulcher which he digged for himself in the City of David and they layd him upon his bed full of Spices and odoriferous 2. Paral. 16. 14. oyntments and they burnt it upon him with exceeding ambition says the sacred Text. 12. In fine the holy oyle minds you of the Parable of the Virgins that they who had kept Virginity were not saved becaus they wanted the oyle of mercy with much more reason they cannot be saved who having committed impurities and other sins shal be presented to their Judg not having redeem'd their crimes by the workes of Charity You ought to do it all your life but if you have failed if you have not made the lamp to be carried before you make it at least to follow after you that you may not be wholy in darkness when you go into the other world JESUS having given us his sweat blood and life deserves well that you give him a good part of your goods also during your life when they are more necessary for you But since you have omitted it give him a little part of them at least in the houre of your death when your goods are useless to you 't is He who gave them to you who is the Proprietor of them and nevertheless desires for your good to receive of them in the persone of the Poor 13. I conclude with these words of S. Salvian You are avaricious But you are not enough I exhort you to be yet more you love Lib. 2. con Av. a ritiam in fine riches love them at your death as well as in your life you fear the poverty of this life fear also that of the other carry your riches with you into the other world they will be more necessary there than here to avoyd the paines of Purgatory in the way to redeem you in case you are cast in to that Prison and to make
friends who may receive you into the eternal Tabernacles Amen DISCOURS L. Of Holy Orders HItherto we have treated of Sacraments which were instituted to sanctify men in particular now we speak of the Sacrament of Order instituted for the General good publick Order Government and Ministery of the Church And becaus Dissenters deny it to be a Sacrament we will shew in the first place that 't is a true one Secondly we will consider what this sacred Signe does signify and in the third place the Documents we ought to draw from thence for the glory of God the Salvation of our Souls and the guidance of our lives 1. A Sacrament is an exteriour and sensible signe by which grace of the holy Ghost is given him that receives it worthily Now the Apostle S. Paul and after him the general Councell of Calcedon say expressly that grace of the holy Ghost is conferr'd in Ordination by imposition of hands Neglect not the grace that is in 1. Tim. 4. 14. 2. Tim. 1. 6. Concil calced an 451. Act. 1 5. can 2 thee which is given thee by Prophecie with imposition of the hands of Priesthood I admonish thee that thou resussitate the grace of God which is in thee by the imposition of my hands Hence the Councells and ancient Fathers have always acknowledged Ordination for a true and proper Sacrament and therefore in the general Councell of Florence this is numbred with them both Grecians and Latins approving it I might Fill pages with Citations of the holy Fathers But this of great S Austine will suffice He in his second book against the Epistle of Parmenean proves against the Donatists that the Sacrament of Order cannot be lost becaus Baptisme cannot Let them Explicate says He how the Sacrament of the the Baptized cannot be lost and the Sacrament of the Orderer may be For if both of them be Sacraments of which nobody doubts why cannot that be lost if this may be Here he calls Orders a Sacrament He shews it to be a proper and true one by comparing it whith Baptisme He assures us that nobody doubted of this Verity and if S. Austin may be credited not only all the Writers of his time but also all the Faithfull did believe the same 2. This external and sacred signe expresses two singular favours which Ecclesiasticks receive from God in their consecration The first is the highest dignity in the World For to a Priest is given Power over the natural Body of IESUS CHRIST to consectate and offer and distribute it and over his myistical Body which is the Church to remit sins administer Sacraments and to do the sacred functions of the characters imprinted in him A Power so much more excellent eminent and higher than other Dignities as the Spirit than the Body Heaven than Earth Divine things than humane and as Eternal than temporal S. Paul says 't is certaine by the consent of all the world Heb. 7. 4. that he who hath right to give his Benediction to another is more noble and high than he sine ulla contradictione quod minus est a meliore benedicitur But a Priest gives his Benediction to Princes Kings and Emperours his Dignity then is more high S. Chrysostome exhorting Priests to refuse Absolution and Communion S. Chry. Hom. 3. in Matt. Hom. ad 60. pop Antioch to all that are unworthy though they be Princes or Kings says to them you ought to do it and you can do it you ought to do it otherwise IESUS CHRIST will exact of you an account of his Blood and will punish you most terribly You can do it for your Power is greater than that of Princes of this world If you suspect the Testimony of this Saint becaus he was a Prelate of the Church hear the Prince of the world The Emperor Basil in an oration he made to his people in the eighth general Baron An 869. nn 55. Councell It belongs not to us Laymen to medle with the things of the Church it belongs to Priests and Prelats who have power to sanctify us to open heaven to us and shut it against us to bind us or els to to absolve us Our condition is to be fed as sheep to be sanctifyd conducted and unbound You will not thinke the words of these Great men strange or that they exagerate the Greatness of Priestly Power if you consider that it surpasses the spiritual Power as well as the temporal divine as well as humane For popes who excell in Authority and Grandeure if considered not as as Priests are less in Power than these For the Power of Priests extends upon the natural Body of IESUS CHRIST and that of Popes upon his mystical Body only which is his Church and therefore as much as his natural Body exceeds his mystical so much the Priestly Power surmounts the Papal S. John Baptist who surpassed all men who was the greatest that had risen among the sons of women for his sanctity Yet was less in Power than the least Priest of the Church He shewed with his fingar IESUS CHRIST But Priests produce Him in their hands and give Him for nourishment to others He only diposed the people to penance and Priests absolve them from their sins The Angells who though they can do great things upon creatures of the world they cannot put Christ at their Will upon the Altar but are content to adore love and admire Him there And Priests by vertue of their character have this Power and can offer Him in an unbloody Sacrifice for the salvation of the Living and the Dead 3. This Power of Priests being so great God out of his goodness adds in their ordination another favour to it He whose workes are perfect giving power gives likewise those things that are requisite for the legitimate and convenient use of it He replenishes Priests with abundant grace to make them worthy of their Character to exercise well the functions of it and to rendet them capable to sanctify the faithfull Noli negligere gratiam quae data est tibi per impositionem manuum Presbiterij Idoneos nos fecit Ministros 4. These particular favours which IESUS does to Priests admonish us of the Honour we are oblig'd to render them Honour God with all thy soul and honour Priests says Ecclesiasticus And S. Paul Priests that do well their duty deserve double honor 'T is by them says S. Hierome that we are converted and made Christians by them we are received into the Church by them we are delivered from our sins we reenter into the grace and favour of God by them we receive his blessings enjoy the precious Body of IESUS and offer to God the dreadfull sacrifice by them in fine the Sacraments are administred and the imperial heaven is opened to us We must not neglect them who are the Judges of Kings in the process of eternity them who the Prophet Malachy says are the Angells of our Lord. Malac 2.
7. Exod. 22. 28. Them whom God himself calls Gods becaus they are his Vice-Roys Officers of his Crown His Ministers of state Secretaries of his commandements Iudges of his people Embassadors of his Majesty Mediators between God and men who announce the will of God to men and who present the desires of men to God We respect Embassadors also those of barbarous and infidell Kings with much more reason those which the king of Kings does send to us sayd S. Chrysostome 5. To create in our hearts a great respect to Priests Some alleadg the example of wise Salomon who sayd to Abiather the Priest you are guilty of death but I will not condemne you becaus you have carried the Arke Or the Example of Constantine the Great who in the Councel of Nice would not sit down but after all the Bishops and upon a little seat below them all And when one presented to him papers of complaints against some Priests he burnt them without reading them and being angry with the persone that gave them to him sayd it belongs to Priests to judg Emperours and not to Emperours to judg and condemn Priests and should I see a Priest commit a sin I would cover him with my Royal cloak for fear that any one should see him Other propose the example of S. Antony This great Saint this Patriarke of so many thousands of Anchorets that lived like Angells This great Antony of whose amity Emperours made so great account This Antony whome wild beasts obeyed at whose Name Devills trembled whose life converted so many Souls to God This great S. Antony I say honoured so much Priests that if he met the least of them he fell upon his knees and rose not up till he had received his benediction Or of the Seraphicall Father S. Francis who sayd that if he should meet an Angel and a Priest he would rather kiss the hands of the Priest than of the Angel Or of S. Catherine of Sienna who kissed the wayes and paths in which Priests had past 6. Is it not pity to see now that some Christians neglect them or contemne them under pretence that some of them are vicious If it be so does it pertain to them to speak of their vices are they judges of their Judges are they wiser than Salomon greater than Constantine more devout than S. Antony more fervent than S. Francis more innocent than S. Catherine and more zealous of the honor of God than God himself Who sayd by his Prophet Touch not my annointed Psal 104. 15. 7. Let us take heed Venerable Priests and honourable Fathers that we be not the cause or at least the occasion of this temerity that by our indevotions and immodesties by our irreverence in the Chruch and our conversations with the world we be not the cause of the little respect now given to our character and vocation How is the gold darkned and the best coulour changed says the Prophet Hieremie What 's becom of that splendour that luster Thren 4. and glory which heretofore shin'd in Clergiemen of that honor respect reverence and filial fear which they had for Ptiests in the primitive Church How is all this so decayed and obscured T is becaus then they saw not Priests but at the Altar in the Confessional or in the pulpit and now they are seen in Taverns in playhouses and in worldly companies IESUS says to us you are the light of the world we must shine so then that men may see our good workes and may be moved to glorify our Father which is in heaven But if our light be darkness if we falsify by our actions Christs Doctrine and maxims this ill example of one of us will ruine more the piety of the Faithfull than many other by their doctrine and good examples will be able to repair You are the salt of the earth salt is drawn out of water but if it be reunited to it it disolves and loses the propriety it had to prevent corruption a Priest is seperated from the people by his consecration if he rejoyn himself to them by a worldly conversation he loses the authority which he had to preserve them from the corruption of sin We are judges of others we must not be criminall God will examin us more axactly judg us more severely and punish us more rigorously SAVIOR IESUS high Priest and Pastor of our sols permit not that we give you caus to do it permit not that it may be truly sayd as the people so the Priest you are our inheritance our Lot and our Portion permit not that our inheritance pertain to others more than to us Make that our mouthes be not employed but to resound your praises that our comportment and our manners do express and represent your actions that our hearts be not enflam'd but in your love Amen DISCOVRS LI. of Matrimony 1. THe Mistery of the Incarnation is an alliance so advantagious and pleasing to the holy Humanity of IESUS that He would have not only in Churches but also in particular houses a continual image and a lively representation of it This is the legitimate alliance of man and woman of which I have three things to shew First that 't is a true and a great Sacrament secondly the Dutys to which it does oblige you Thirdly the honour you owe to it 2. If we weigh holy things not by the ballance of the opinion of Dissenters But By the weight of the sanctuary and by the judgment of the Church We shal avow that the legitimate Edhes 5. 32. S. Ambr. c. 7. S. Aug. de bono conjug c. 18. c. 24. alliance of man and woman is one of the most holy great and mysterious Sacraments of the Church 'T is a true Sacrament For besydes that the Apostle says in the Epistle to the Ephesians This is a great Sacrament the Fathers of the Church teach it S. Ambrose speaking of an Adulterer says he loses the grace of the heavenly Sacrament S. Austin tels us in the marriages of Christians the sanctity of the Sacrament is of more value than the fâ—cundity of the womb And againe amongst infidells marriage hath for its end propagation and fidelity but amongst Christians it hath moreover the sanctity of the Sacrament Not only these but other holy Fathers the Councills and the Tradition of the Vniversal Church ever taught the same hence it was that in the Instruction of the Armenians given in the Council of Florence it is numbred with the other Sacraments Trid. ss 24. can 1. hoth Grecians and Latins consenting to it And that the Councill of Trent pronounces anathema against those that shal say marriage is not a proper Sacrament instituted by IESVS CHRIST 3. Let us say then that 't is a true Sacrament nay let us say that 't is a Great one Great in its Caus Great in its Mater and Great in its Effects S. Austin very indiciously did say that as in the primitive Church the holy