of thee O Son of Justice dissolve with a beam of thy brightness the frost of my heart and resolve it into tears of affection 5. We declare our Weariness of all things and our desire of divin Vnion O Beautiful and best-beloved of my Soul I am weary of this wretched world and I breath thirst and sigh after thee the sweet fountain of life-giving and soul-saving waters O true rest and refresher of my faint and feeble heart out of whom there is neither comfort nor content Let me shroud my self under the shadow of thy wings until iniquity and infirmity have an end Come Lord Jesu Speak thy sweet words of love to my languishing soul for thy servant hears thee Give me courage alacrity fervour and fidelity in thy service during the few remaining moments of my wretched and wearisom pilgrimage O rest long expected and much sighed after where shall I seek thee and when shall I find thee where sleepest thou O dear Spouse at Mid-day in the heat of love Where is thy secret cabinet of Contemplation which thou hidest from the wisdom of Worldlings and revealest to little ones and humble of heart O shew me the bed of divin Union wherein thou reposest with the simple solitary and mortified soul O let my poor heart have the honour and happiness to rest in thee to remain with thee and to be united to thee O God of love wound my soul with thy sweet wounds of love which nothing can cure but death wean it from the worlds vanity and wed it to thy increated verity that treading all creatures under me I may be rapt into thee my Creator above my self and there like the happy dove in the secure Ark repose my weary and faint limbs in thy bosome my Soveraign Lord and lover 6. We humbly beg that One thing which is only necessary O Divin Wisdom Lead me into the solitude speak unto my heart teach me thy holy will in all occurrences My deep sighs secret desires are not hid from thee And thou knowest nothing can fully cure comfort and content me but thy self the one and only necessary thing O then take my self and all and give me that one thing in whom are all things O sweet waters of divin Love which flow from the blessed bosom of the Divinity and from the open side of my Saviors Humanity Run into my bowels and like pure oyl penetrate and possess every parcel of my spirit Irrigate and inebriate it overflow and absorp it that it may be transformed conformed to the divin Spirit so that all my actions cogitations and affections may be spiritual divin Deiform O let my ravish'd Soul full of life and fire break forth into these flames of joy and jubilation I have found him whom my soul loves I have him and I will hold him This is it which by reading I sought by meditation I found by prayer I desired and by contemplation I enjoy O how the earth stinks how loathsom are all creatures to me O tast O sweetness O true and solid pleasure O how great is the difference between this spiritual and all fleshly delights O the multitude of thy sweetnesses which thou hast laid up O Lord for them that fear and love thee O Lights O Delights O Extasies of spirit Wound me O sweet God! burn me consume me crucifie me Let me cry out with that Lover Retain O Lord the floods of thy grace or inlarge my heart for I can old no longer I thirst Lord give me this water O when how long how much 7. Our enamoured Souls rest sweetly in this secure home and harbour O My Soul how good is it for us to be here O sweet and secure home and harbour Let us remain and rejoice here for ever I will keep thee O my dearly beloved and I will kiss thee I will conjure thee to remain with me I will rather lose my self than leave thy presence My beloved is mine his honour is mine his heart is mine his heaven is mine And I am his behold the key the keeper the soul the body the lord the whol O my God! is thine Behold my liberty my life my love all is thine O my Jesu and thine alone Repose therefore as a sweet posie between my breasts sleep like a bridegroom in my heart and reign like a King in the closet of my Soul Come Lord Jesu come quickly take full possession of thy own Come and please thy self love thy self and serve thy self in me as thou desirest and deservest to be pleased loved served Let thy love O King of love be the life of my Soul and the lease of my life that when I cease to love I may cease to live In thy love O Jesu I end this act of love though my desire actually to love thee is endless Oh! let me live and die in thy love and for thy love that by love I may for ever reign and remain with thee in thy Kingdom of love Amen ¶ 8. Devotions Exercises and Elevations for Communion 1 What is to be done before Communion THe due Preparation to this divin Banquet requires Two things 1. Purity from all Mortal sin and from all affection to it This purity is obtained by an humble Confession a hearty Contrition fervent Prayer a careful custody of heart and a right intention in Communicating 2. An actual Recollection and Devotion which is gotten by pious and affective Considerations by Faith and Confidence in Gods Mercy by a thirsty desire to See Enjoy and be united to God who is our sweet and Soveraign Good our Father Friend and Food our Guest our Master and our Meat Several Considerations before Communion To move our Souls to Affections and to excite them to an ardent Thirst and Desire of JESUS 's presence 1. WHat is the blessed Sacrament But a pure Fountain flowing out of Paradise watering the whol Church refreshing all the Pilgrims of this world and quenching all their passions temptations I desire O my Lord to drink of this water Dispose my heart Dear Jesu thou who art Author of the desire Let me not bring a heart of paper to this Fountain which after a little received dew of childish devotion will presently fleet away for want of care and custodie Nor let me bring a heart like a Sieve which will retain no moisture But let my heart be like a Sponge to receive and retain the dews of thy divin Graces and Blessings and to be totally imbru'd inebriated satiated with thy heavenly sweetnesses 2. What is in this Sacrament My God and all that is good My Saviour and with him his Body Blood Soul Humanity Divinity My Jesus and with him all his mercies and merits Who would not desire an Union with so great a God so good a Saviour so gracious a Jesus 3. How did the poor Magdalen lament the loss of her Master at the Monument Ah my sweet Lord where art thou what can I do but sigh and sob
to introversion and compunction so full of imperfections and immortifications 6. So little confidence in my Saviours mercy so little patience in my misery and almost no performance of my good purposes 7. So curious to censure others so careless to keep my self and curb my own senses Finally all is self-love self-will self-conceit self-seeking pride propriety partiality which are my daily and dangerous diseases O Father of Mercies and only Phisician of my Soul Thou art Almighty and All-bounty these are my wounds and impurities and if thou wilt thou canst both cure and cleanse me and if thou wilt not I will remain content as I am I am willing to continue weak so I be not wicked to be wearied and wounded so I be not utterly tired overturned defeated lose the victory Cut kill crucifie O Lord only spare me for eternity 2. Our Wants for we are not only needy but naked not only poor but beggers who neither know how to deserve an alms nor how to desire it O My poor Soul What do we want nay what do we not want 1. True light true liberty true love true life 2. A setled attention a simple intention a serious introversion a sincere conversion 3. Humility of heart conformity of will purity of soul indifferency of spirit 4. Wisdom to know Gods Will strength to execute it patience to persevere in it 5. Resolution to suffer for our Saviour devotion to sigh after him diligence to find him constancy to remain with him 6. Courage to endure all Faith to forgo all Hope to expect all Charity to give all and Confidence to gain all Finally we want all we should have Yet our loving Lord is ready to bestow on us all that he hath O my God and all Thou art all that I want give me thy self and all my wants and wishes will be at an end Thou art all my safety and my only security all my refuge and my only center until I can return unto thee or wholly turn into thee let thy Cross be my Purgatory and thy Will my Paradise for other heaven upon earth I can never hope to find Until then I must be content to sweat and sigh under the burden of this mortal life to sit like Job upon a dunghil forlorn and forsaken by all full of sores and sorrows to remain a perpetual and pitiful patient scarcely feeling patience in my self and finding no compassion in others 3. Our Wishes and desires What can a wounded wretch wish but to be cared for and cured What can a naked begger desire but to be cloathed and comforted with some few rags and crums What can a blind and cold person ask but light and love THis O my Soveraign and sweet Lord is the sum and substance of all my wishes and requests O that I could go out of my self and get into thee O that I were dissolv'd from my loathed body to the end I might dilate my heart in thy love contemplate thy divine face in perfect liberty and please and praise thee eternally for in this prison of flesh and vale of tears I faint under the weight of temptations I fall under the burden of my troubles and I continually fail in the prosecution of my pious purposes Oh! that thy Will did so rule me and reign over me that it were a torment to decline never so little from it O that thy Love did so freely and fully possess my heart that there were no room at all remaining for any bastard or base love of things created Good Jesu how truly happy and holy should I be if I could clearly behold my own nothing in thy All If I could embrace crosses as Crowns and swallow down all contempts and confusions as milk and hony O when shall I be so elevated in spirit above my self by extasie of love as to be able and willing to humble my self under all creatures without repugnancy Alas Shall I never be content to forsake all and be forsaken by all Yea having lost and left all for One to be left by that One who is my All and so remain quiet in my own nothing How long shall I lie wallowing in flesh and bloud how long shall I delay and dally in false loves How long shall I sigh and not enjoy Seek and not find live and not love Come my Lord and Love Lord Jesu come quickly Let the fire of thy sweet love so consume in me all dross of self-love and so transform my spirit into thee that I may take all from thee indifferently give all to thee liberally and rest and repose in thee eternally Lord Let me be thine or nothing Love or not live The third Part is the Conclusion which consists also of three Acts. 1. Contrition which is a hearty and humble Sorrow for our Sins Ingratitudes Disloyalties Tepidities c. O My God! How little did I love thee when I so carelesly offended thy divine Majesty Oh! that I had never sinned mortally though it had cost me my life immediatly O that I were sure never more to swerve from thy Sacred Will and Commandments Let me henceforth endure dear Jesu a thousand deaths of my body rather than admit one deadly sin again into my soul O pity and pardon my past follies and frailties and prevent me with thy gracious blessings against future failings How great O Lord is my obligation to serve and please thee were it but for thy favours conferred thy benefits bestowed and thy love powred out upon me and yet ungrateful wretch that I am how poorly have I corresponded Oh! that I had so deep a sense of my Sins that my Heart might break with sorrow Hide not O Lord thy face from me shut not up thy Mercy gates against me for though I have most grievously gone astray yet I am resolved upon an entire amendment correction reformation of my whole man this strong Resolution which is thy gracious gift grounds my hope in thy goodness emboldens my confidence in thy mercy and gives me courage and comfort in thy love 2. Resignation in all our Wants Wishes Desolations and Distresses to the divine Will and pleasure I Am indifferent O my dear Lord to sickness and health to light and darkness to delight and desolation I am thine sweet Jesu put me where thou wilt do with me as thou wilt send me what thou wilt I am content not only to have nothing but to be nothing so thou O my Lord be all things unto me I acknowledg my self unworthy to beg and less worthy to obtain and therefore I resign my self still to beg and yet still to want even that which I most wish which is all Light all Liberty all Love all Comfort all Content yea even all Virtue Peace Perfection so long as it shall please thee O Father I am thine ever thine all thine body and soul for time and eternity Live Jesus only 3. Complacence and Confidence the first that our God is what he is the next
themselves according to Gods Spirit Therefore every one must strive to know his own natural inclinations and then imploy all his forces and apply all his prayers and spiritual exercises to quell them O that I could tame these cruel beasts my natural passions how soon should I be Master of all moral Virtues O that I could so till this Vineyard so delve this Garden so purge it from all ill weeds of affection and prune all superfluous surgeons and shoots of passions that the seed of thy Grace O heavenly Husbandman might only there take root increase and fructifie 5. The same Resolution of mortifying our interiour man I Will also mortifie my Superiour and Rational part with all the curious and fruitless speculations of my Vnderstanding all conceits of self-wisdome natural prudence proper judgment and good liking of my own proceedings All vain and foolish reflexions of my Memory and all petty desires and affections of my Will which relate not to thee the only object and Lord of my love I am resolved O my Lord to nip off each budding Passion as soon as it peeps up in my Soul to trouble it in its true repose and to hinder its liberty and tendency to thy love I will by thy gracious assistance proceed faithfully and sincerely in the hatred denial and mortification of my self and in the prosecution of thy divin love And in order to this only end aim I make in thy presence and from the very bottom of my Heart and Soul these particular acts following I renounce O my Lord for the pure love of thee all affection to worldly things Give them unto me O gracious God! or take them from me as best liketh thy divine Majesty I resign up all my interest in any thing though never so near and dear unto me Behold O my Lord and Lover I uncloath my Soul from all affections whatsoever to creatures and desire nothing but thy self alone O happy nakedness O rich poverty of Spirit O pure obedience to the divin Will in all things Be you my hearts delight my whole pleasure and patrimony 6. An absolute Renunciation of all Selfishness I Renounce all self-seeking Ah! my corrupt nature I abhor thee Adien all private interest profit praise and preferment I will henceforth perform all my actions and exercises O my Lord God! for thy only pure and perfect love I will seek to please and praise thee with an inward ardent and amorous affection for thy self only and not for thy gifts or graces I renounce all Sensuality whether it be in Meat Drink Sleep Apparel curiosity of my five Senses or any thing els whatsoever O my Lord I will make no other use of any thy Creatures than I am absolutly compell'd to by necessity of Nature I look for no solace but from thee alone my only comfort and content I renounce all disordered love to any worldly person No favour or friendship O my only amiable Lord God! no greatness or goodness of any one shall make me swerve from my exact duty to thee-wards No carnal affection to kindred No tenderness of amity No private or publick respect No connivency or correspondency shall make me partial in the reproof of Vice or praise of Virtue O take up my whol Heart with thy holy Love that thy image and perpetual memory may blot out all species of forreign objects I renounce all vain vicious idle and unprofitable thoughts fancies and imaginations O let my mind not only yield no consent but no entrance unto them O let me never more contristate thy holy Spirit with these Vanities nor hinder my souls advancement and union with thee by these divertisements I will henceforth compel my heart to some good employment I will no longer permit it to wander and waste it self in any idle and superfluous Curiosities No my Lord and Saviour thy bitter and blessed Passion thy blessings and benefits shall be the continual occupation of my interior O what have I to do with transitory things who am made for Eternity I renounce all care and solicitude which necessity obedience charity do not oblige me to No natural passions of joy sorrow hope fear love hatred anger or shamefastness shall make any impression in this heart of mine which is pre-ingag'd in thy affection sealed up and setled in thy contemplation No pretext of lawfulness nor shew of fittingness nor conceit of compassion nor excuse of necessity shall procure the admittance of such Passions into my Soul as may any way distract darken or dull the point of my affection and devotion towards thee my only Lord and Love I renounce all bitterness of heart against any one Is he good be thou eternally praised in him and by him O bountiful bestower of all blessings Is he wicked Correct him O merciful Creator comfort encourage and raise him to amendment Hath he offended affronted injured or sleighted me I deserve O great God! to be trodden on by all creatures and therefore I freely forgive him for the past and give him free leave to add stripes to his injuries for the future Am I denied the grant of my most lawful and just demands Thou best knowest O eternal Wisdom what is best for my state and condition O deny not thy love to my Soul and let me be refused in all other my requests whatsoever I renounce all vain-glory all self-liking and pride which may arise from worldly prayses all delight springing from any gift of nature or grace which is in me Not unto me Lord but to thy holy Name be given all honour and glory Alas what am I what have I what can I All is thine O bountiful Lord God! Nothing is mine but sin and therefore I deserve only shame and confusion 7. More Acts of Renunciation of our own Wills even in the most spiritual matters I Renounce all desire of delight in my devotions all sensible gusts of grace and all sweetnesses and solaces in the inferiour faculties of my Soul Ah my heart what is this to thee follow thou thy Saviour Thou seekest thy crucified Jesus This is not he but his gifts O my Lord it is thy self I seek and sigh after If thou sendest me comforts for the encouragemnnt of my weakness be thou ever praised for thou dost like a most benign and bountiful God If thou withdrawest them still blessed be thy providence whch hath secret and several ways of conducting souls to thy self and if thou wilt make trial of my fidelity by permitting me to be dull dry and desolate in my devotions be thou equally and eternally blessed I renounce all scrupulosity of Conscience which reflects any way upon the least diffidence or distrust in thy mercy I am a Sinner O Jesu but thou art a Saviour I have great reason to dread thy Justice but greater to hope in thy Goodness Heaven and Earth shall sooner fail than my confidence in thee my merciful Maker If thou killest me I will trust in thee And
Supply of all my spiritual and temporal Necessities for my Friends and Enemies Lord Conserve thy Church Convert the Infidels Extirpate all Heresies unite Christian Princes and give solace to the poor Souls suffering in Purgatory At the beginning of Mass The Priest's bowing down before the Altar at his Confiteor represents our Saviour prostrate at his Prayers before his Eternal Father in the Garden for the Remission of your Sins Make you also a general Confession of your Sins with the Priest and humble your self before the divin Majesty saying I Humbly cast my self O my sweet Redeemer at thy sacred Feet desiring to wash them with my tears in acknowledgment of my wickedness O Jesu take compassion upon thy poor creature redeem'd with thy precious Blood who repents him heartily of all his past Sins and purposes seriously by the assistance of thy Grace to serve thee more faithfully seek thee more diligently and love thee more fervently for the future At the Introite Reflect upon Gods immense Greatness Charity and Mercie I Rejoyce O Eternal Lord God! in that thou art what thou art and that there is no Being but by thee only Thou well knowest O infinit Goodness what thy self is and what I am Thou art All and I am Nothing And yet thou seekest after me At Kyrie eleison Demand pardon for the Sins of the whole World HAve mercy O Lord upon all them who are in mortal Sin reclaim their perverse Wills to thy love and give them the grace of true and perfect Repentance that thy Name may be magnified thy goodness extoll'd and thy praises celebrated by them and all thy creatures At Gloria in Excelsis Desire and endeavour the promotion of Gods Honour and Glory to the utmost of your power O My God! how joyfully affectionatly incessantly do the Angels adore thee and sing forth thy divin Praises And how slack are men in serving honouring and loving thee O how highly doth the fervour and diligence of those blessed Spirits delight me and how much doth mens negligence and forgetfulness displease me Lord I humbly adore thee with those holy Quires and heartily desire that the whol World would render thee all due honour homage and adoration Lift up my Heart O my Lord and lodg my affections in the place where my Treasure lies Let all that I think say or do intend thy honour and let my Soul and Tongue resound always Glory be to God on high At Dominus vobiscum BE thou always with me O my God! let thy Grace never depart from me At the Prayers or Collects Humbly joyn your Prayers with them of the Priest saying O Eternal Lord God! look mercifully upon thy well-beloved Spouse the Catholick Church and graciously receive the Petitions which she humbly presents to the Throne of thy Sacred Majestie by this Priests mediation and Ministery Hear us O Lord and help us for thy dear Sons sake our only Saviour and Redeemer Christ Jesus At the Epistle Entertain your self in considering how our Blessed Saviour was hurried from Annas to Caiphas from Pilate to Herod from one place to another in the time of his Passion How he was questioned accused buffeted abused Then pray for patience in your sufferings O Sweet Saviour I most humbly beseech thee by the Merits of al thy unjust Sufferings to give me courage constancie and patience in all such occasions of injuries crosses and contradictions as thy Divin Providence shall permit to befal me during this my lives Pilgrimage Grant that I may equally adore thy Eternal Will in prosperity and adversitie and resignedly submit my self and all that any way concerns me to thy most just and sacred disposition At the Gospel Rise up to shew your readiness to obey the Evangelical Doctrin stand attentively hearkning to your Saviours own sweet words But if you understand not their meaning reflect upon some other point or passage of your Redeemers life instruction or counsel Imploring his Grace for the effectual execution of what he there teaches you advises you inspires you ILluminate my interiour Eyes O God of my heart Unveil my Understanding and Inflame my Affections that I may clearly see and know thy holy Will and chearfully accomplish thy sacred Precepts Counsels and Inspirations At the Creed You may make a profession of your Faith by a mental or vocal recital of your Creed together with the Priest Or say briefly thus O Soveraign Deity I firmly believe thee to be one God in three Persons who madst all things of nothing I believe that the Second Person became Man in blessed Maries womb by the Holy Ghosts operation and that he died for me and all mankind on the Cross I believe that he arose from Death that he ascended into Heaven and that he shall judg the whole World in the last Day I believe the holy Catholick Church and whatsoever she teaches and defines And in this Faith I will live and die Offer up your Prayers also for the Illumination and Conversion of all Vnbelievers TAke pity O Lord upon all Infidels Hereticks and Schismaticks And remember O most compassionate Creator that thy powerful hand did not bring these perfect products out of their eternal Nothing and stamp their Rational Souls with thy own sacred Image in order to destroy and abandon them since thou hast been graciously pleased to send down thy only Son my dear Saviour to Redeem and Ransom them aswel as my unworthy self with the price of his most precious Bloud Dart therefore O Soveraign Lord and sincere Lover of all Souls some efficacious beams of thy heavenly light into their dark and deceived Understandings that they may see the Truths of thy sacred Mysteries and give them Grace to submit their Necks to the sweet and easie yoke of thy Precepts and thy Churches Prescripts Ah! my dear Lord what have I done for thee or what have I deserv'd of thee that I should be called to thy saving Faith and be made a Member of thy sacred Church Impart I beseech thee the like favour to these your missed mistaken and unbelieving Creatures that they may with me faithfully acknowledg adore and love thee their glorious Maker and Redeemer admiringly praise and magnifie thy Goodness and joyfully celebrate thy Mercies with Canticles of eternal gratitude and thanksgiving At the Offertorie or Oblation of the Bread and Wine Make also an humble and hearty Oblation of your Body Soul Goods Friends to the divin Majestie O Eternal Father In union of that ineffable Love wherewith my dear Saviour offered up himself on the Cross to thy divin Majestie I also offer up my self with him humbly beseeching thee to direct all my thoughts words and works to thy Honour to my own good to my neighbours edification I offer up this divin Sacrifice to the glory of thy Name to the honor of thy Angels and Saints to satisfie for my sins to thank thee for thy benefits to obtain a supply of my temporal and spiritual
necessities I particularly offer it up to obtain this Virtue conquer this Temptation amend this Imperfection surmount this Passion And for all them who have desired my Prayers or to whom I have promis'd them At Lavabo Humbly beg to have your Soul wash'd from all its filth and wickedness reciting the Psalm Miserere or some Verses of it as AMplius lava me c. Dew down O merciful Creator one small drop of thy divin Grace into my sinful Soul or rather showr down an abundance of thy sweet waters upon me to cleanse me from my enormous crimes and impurities Asperges me Hysopo c. Be sprinkle my Soul O Soveraign Lord God! with the Hysop of thy Grace that I may serve thee more purely Wash me with thy sacred waters till I become whiter than the driven Snow c. At the Preface Lift up your heart to contemplate the Beauties Glories and Greatnesses of Heaven whither you tend and which is your only home aim and end HOw desirable are thy Tabernacles O Lord God of Hosts My Soul sighs pants and thirsts after you more than the wearied Stag breaths after the refreshing Fountains Draw me after thee O divin source of all sweetness and I shall run chearfully after the odours of thy perfumes for what do I seek but thee or what can satisfie me but thy self in Heaven or in Earth O that the memory of thy eternal good things remain'd always deeply ingrav'd in my Soul how easily should I then disdain all temporal perishable and worldly trifles O my God and my All when shall I be so happy as to behold thee clearly in thy heavenly Glory At Sanctus Keep your Heart raised up to your Creator praising adoring admiring the infinit Majesty of the Sacred Trinity as if you were amidst the blessed Quires of Angels and Saints in Heaven intoning with them HOly Holy Holy Lord God of Sabbath Heaven and Earth are full of your Glorie Hosanna in the highest O Holy of Holies give me a glimps of thy glorious self that my illuminated Soul may praise thee more purely and love thee more perfectly O celestial Seraphins who incessantly praise my God with the sweet Eccho's of your eternally repeated Holy descend from Heaven to help my desirous heart in singing forth his praises that I may also become holy pure and perfect in the presence of my Lord and Maker At the first Memento INto thy sacred Hands O sweet Saviour I recommend my Soul with all its faculties my Body with all its senses my whole Interiour and Exteriour man with all its affections and actions Preserve me O all-powerful Redeemer from all Sin and Impuritie and give me perseverance in thy love and service Let thy undrainable fountain of mercy O Lord Jesu extend also it self towards my Kindred Friends Enemies particularly towards such and such and all them for whom I ought to offer up my Prayers to thy divin Majestie Whilst the Priest pursues the rest of the Canon in silence do you also recollect your Senses in expectation of your Saviours presence upon the Altar which will be assoon as the words of Consecration are ended Your Heart burning in the mean while with these like desires of S. Augustin O My Comforter appear unto me O only light of my Souls eyes let me see thee O only Joy of my Spirit Come and glad me with thy presence O only Jubily of my Heart Let me contemplate thee O my Lord my Life my Love my All Shew me thy self and I shall be safe c. At the Elevation of the sacred Host and Chalice represent to your self how your Redeemer offers up himself there to the Eternal Father and conforming your Devotion to the Spirit of Christ Jesus you may say with heart or mouth O Adorable Majestie In Union of this affectionate Reverence which my Redeemer now renders thee In memory of his dolorous Passion And in acknowledgment of my own Nothing and thy infinit Greatness I humbly offer unto thee a perpetual submission of all my Being all my Powers all my Faculties Be thou eternally exalted admired and glorified O Holy Holy Holy Trinity My Lord my God my All. Or thus by way of Ejaculations Affections Extasies O Goodness O Mercy O Love O Liberality O immense infinit incomprehensible excessive Charity O Eternal Father behold thy beloved Son and my blessed Saviour whom I humbly offer up to thy divin Majestie in satisfaction for all my offences negligences ingratitudes I offer thee his purity innocency perfection to satisfie for my impuritie malice impietie his Humilitie for my Pride his Zeal for my Tepiditie all the Sanctity of his life for all the imperfections of my life O merciful and compassionate Father Look upon thy own Sons Charitie Behold how he once offer'd himself a Bloody Sacrifice on the Cross for my salvation and how he now offers himself an unbloody Sacrifice on this Altar for the same end O holy Father receive this his holy Sacrifice in lieu of all the honors homages gratitudes which are due to thy sacred and soveraign goodness from me and all thy creatures Keeping your mind still fix'd upon your dear Saviour now present on the Altar speak unto him with the most tender affections which your Heart can possibly produce either by Acts of Praise as O Son of God! what can be compar'd to thy Charitie O my Lord who is like thee in Goodness in Love in Liberality O sweet Jesu thou art my Rest my Refuge my Riches my Center my Hope my Happiness my All. Or by Acts of Complacencie as O King of Heaven and Earth Thou art here the Joy of my Soul as thou art there the Jubily of thy Saints Thou art here on the Altar and thou art there in thy eternal glorie and beatitude O Amiable Sacrifice O Admirable Invention of the divin Power Wisdom and Charitie Or by Acts of Thanksgiving O Dear Saviour How much hast thou done for an unworthy wretch O the excess of thy goodness who can sufficiently acknowledg it O Great Monarch of both worlds That thou shouldst thus humble thy self for a meer worm upon this Altar O ye Angels Saints and all Creatures Come help me to honour praise bless and love my liberal Lord God who hath as it were employ'd his Omnipotencie in order to my benefit and profit Or by Acts of Thanksgiving O Dear Saviour How much hast thou done for an unworthy wretch O the excess of thy goodness who can sufficiently acknowledg it O great Monarch of both Worlds That thou shouldst thus humble thy self for a meer worm upon this Altar O ye Angels Saints and all Creatures Come help me to honour praise bless and love my liberal Lord God who hath as it were employ'd his Omnipotencie in order to my benefit and profit Or by Acts of Resignation O Jesu Since thou art pleas'd to render thy self here present for my sake I here promise a readiness to perform any thing for thy service O my
of my Soul I most heartily confess and acknowledg that thou hast provided for me in so convenient a manner both in prosperity and adversity in health and sickness in body and soul as no other wisdom but thou only my sweet Lord and Maker the increated Goodness and wise Disposer of all things could have effected To thee therefore O my God and my All I commit my self and all to be disposed of now and ever as shall be most agreeable to thy own honour and glory and most conformable to thy eternal just and equal will and providence I hope O my Soveraign Lord God! that this moment of pains and sufferings will be soon changed into an Eternity of happiness and comfort I trust that my now languishing and dying body shall be one day raised to glory impassibility immortality I cheerfully expect to have this poor imprisoned soul of mine called up to see enjoy and contemplate thy amiable and beautifying countenance for evermore 4. Acts of Love O Eternal Father thou hast given thy Son to me and behold I give him again to thee together with my whol self and all that I have am and can my Love my Life my Liberty my Heart my Soul to please and honour thee for all future time and Eternity O my Lord I love thee heartily and during the short remainder of my life in this world I will serve thee faithfully not so much of obligation as of Election not so much for my own comfort and profit as for thy will and pleasure not for the delight I take in thy loving service but for the desire I have to please thee not as a servant bondslave or hireling but as a Freeman loves his Friend as a Child his Father as a Spouse her Bridegroom not only out of gratitude for received benefits but also and chiefly because thou art my God of infinit perfection in thy self and of infinit affection towards me O God of Love and Love of my Soul what do I desire in Heaven or expect from Heaven and what do I long for upon Earth but thee the only object of my affections the only aim of my pretensions the only desire of my heart the only delight of my spirit Come O my blessed Lord and Lover and take full possession of my Heart and Soul transform me into thy love and conform me to thy Will Let thy Will be the only desire of my heart and let thy Love be the only life of my Soul and lease of my life that when I leave to love I may cease to live c. 5. Acts of Resignation Take examples from CHRIST in his Agony O My All powerful Father If I must needs drink of this bitter chalice endure this long and tedious Sickness suffer these sharp and severe torments thy holy Will be done From Job on his Dunghil 'T Is thou O Soveraign Lord who art the bountiful bestower of all blessings and thou maist justly withdraw revoke and retake them at thy own will and pleasure be thou blessed and praised for evermore From S. Paul prostrate on the ground LOrd What wilt thou have me to do what is thy holy pleasure behold thy Servant ready to accomplish it Aspire frequently to God and Resign up all willingly to him in this or the like sort WEre I master of all Bodies and Souls I would presently give up to thee Great Lord of Heaven and Earth all my right and title and were it in my power I would make of each body an instrument to please and praise thee and of all souls as many Paradises to lodge and love thee Come what will O my Creator I will place my hopes in thy infinit mercy and in thy Sons abundant Redemption And my perpetual Song shall be O Lord be merciful to me a Sinner Blessed be my God for all and in all Live Jesus by whose death I live and for whose love I am willing to die c. O when shall I take as much pleasure in suffering as I have done in sinning O that I could entirely resign my whol self Body and Soul in Life or Death for time and eternity to be disposed of according to thy divin Will and Pleasure O that I could in every moment of time pronounce with heart and tongue Live Jesus only whose Will be accomplished whose name be sanctified whose praise be published in all by all above all c. 6. An Act of Purity of Intention O Eternal Lord God! Thou hast created me to serve thee only redeemed me to love thee only and now inspir'd me with a will and desire to please thee only during all the remaining days of my life And behold my hearty and humble desire is to serve thee love thee and please thee purely perfectly perseverantly Reform therefore I beseech thee my sinful life conform my stubborn will Deiform my sinister intention change and transform my spirit into thine that all my thoughts words actions pretensions and these my present pains sufferings and sickness may be presented to thy sacred Majesty with such purity perfection and perseverance as thy Love deserves from me and mine desires for thee 7. An Heroick Act of highest efficacy containing a Contract between the Soul and her Creator Which being made devoutly at the beginning of any dangerous Sickness and frequently iterated during the intervals therof must needs afford exceeding great comfort in Deaths last hour and Agony O My God my Lord my Creator from whom by whom and in whom I and all things live move and have a being I rejoice at what thou art as if it were all mine and I offer what I and all creatures have and are as being all thine Behold O Heavenly Father I thy poor Child and unworthy Creature do here with all possible sincerity submission and devotion make this present Contract with thy Sacred Majesty to be thy faithful servant and bondslave for evermore intending hereby that each remaining moment of my life and all that is within me without me about me may henceforth incessantly bless and praise thy holy Name and accomplish thy most just and holy Will in all things whatsoever And for this end I do now enrol this Oblation Donation and Resignation of my whol self to thy divin Majesty in the very Center of my Heart Soul with such Intention Force and Efficacy as thou O my all-knowing Lord God! canst comprehend to be the very best which I thy poor creature am capable to perform without any reservation restriction or contradiction whatsoever I desire also O my Creator to make this Contract with thy sacred Majesty in the best manner with most proper words in the fittest terms and with such significant clauses and conditions as it ought and may be performed In Confirmation whereof I produce as witnesses the sacred Virgin Queen Mary my Angel Guardian my particular Patrons and all the celestial Citizens humbly imploring the assistance of their Prayers for the performance of this my hearty
acknowledgment Observance is a Moral Virtue whereby we treat with them who excell us in Dignity with due reverence and respect Obedience is a Moral Virtue whereby our Wills are carried on to accomplish the things commanded because they are commanded O Saviour the most exact pattern of all perfection who so highly honouredst thy heavenly Father and wert so humbly subject to thy earthly Parents not forgetting thy dear Mother in the very dreadful agony of they death Give me natural meekness benignity and bowels melting away with Piety and Compassion that I may not fail in the least tittle of my duty towards my distressed Neighbour or them to whom I stand any way ingaged All thy Actions O dear Redeemer are my instructions grant therfore that I may in this Virtue of Observance also become thy perfect Imitator who willingly gavest honour to the Priests Scribes Doctors and all people placed in Authority O let me be ever ready to bow to my Betters submit to my Superiors and reverence all persons eminent in power signal in piety and excellent in virtue as nearer Images to thy Divinity whence all Authority and goodness is derived O Divine Obedience that the world would embrace thee in their several Callings and Conditions how much more justly discreetly and easily would it be regulated and governed Infuse it O supream Commander of all Creatures into the hearts of all thy Children drive out from amongst them aâ—… rebellions murmurings and mutinies That Christians obeying their Pastors Children their Parent Servants their Masters Subjects their Princes Religious persons their Prelates Thou O great and glorious Lord God! mayst be perfectly pleased with them all in this world and eternally praised by them in the world to come 6. Three other Virtues annexed to Justice Gratitude Truth Affability Gratitude is a Moral Virtue inclining us to render good to them who have done us courtesies not being obliged thereto Truth is a Moral Virtue whereby we shew in our words what we are in our lives without either feigning adding or diminishing Affability is a Moral Virtue wherby we carry our selves sweetly both in words and actions towards them we converse with WHat shall I render thee O my gracious Lord God! for all the good things thou hast given me Thou most freely liberally and unconstrainedly chargest me with thy mercies inchainest me with thy benefits and loadest me wi hy thy love I thank thee O bountiful bestower of all blessings for them all both natural and supernatural for all the good actions which by thy help I have effected the good words I have uttered the good thoughts I have conceived I thank thee for expecting me to Penance calling me to thy Service preserving me from deserved Damnation by the death of thy dear Son And in acknowledgment of these and all other thy innumerable favours O great Benefactor I gratefully give thee my heart soul and all that by thy grace I have and am for perfect sacrifices of thy perpetual praise O hypocrisie duplicity and falshood the dangerous and universal Diseases of this deceitful world how sincerely doth my Soul abhor you Give me thy powerful grace O God of truth to eschew these great evils O guide and govern my tongue not only from forging false testimonies against my Neighbour and uttering irreligious expressions against thy Honour but even from the least Lie in my words Infidelity in my promises Hypocrisie in my behaviour or Dissimulation in any of my doings upon any pretension of humane prudence or intention of piety whatsoever O let my Heart walk simply singly sincerely innocently and unfeignedly in thy presence and let my Tongue Hands and Behaviour be conformable to my heart that Truth making up a holy harmony in my whol man I may perfectly please thee here O increated Verity and joyfully praise thee in thy blessed Eternity Purifie O meek and merciful Redeemer my whol life and actions my carriage and conversation and give me grace to look always upon the perfect pattern of thy lovely comportment amongst all men so full of Mildness Mercy Affability and Curtisie O that I could behave my self temperatly discreetly lovingly gently quietly contentedly sweetly and saintly towards all sorts of people upon earth till it shall please thy goodness O my gracious God! to translate my peaceable spirit to the more amiable company of thy eternally blessed Saints and heavenly Inhabitants 7. Three other companions of Justice Friendship Liberality Equity Friendship is a Moral Virtue whereby two or more persons profess reciprocal love to each other for their mutual help and support in the pursuit of Virtue Liberallity is a Moral Virtue whereby we make moderate use of our temporal means and impart them freely to others Equity is a Moral Virtue inclining us rather to follow the intention of Law makers or Superiors upon good grounds than the precise Letter of their Laws O Eternal Creator who art the first Origen and shouldst be the only End of all Friendship who producedst all this worlds perfections to induce our Souls by these gracious benefits to the love of thy great bounty Imprint I humbly pray thee first thine own holy love with indelible characters in my heart Then impart unto me also this virtuous comfortable and innocent Amity which is the legitimat child of Charity and undivided companion of Justice of some spiritual person capable to counsel me willing to direct me couragious to correct me and desirous to perfect me in thy love and service O my Lord God! all Love all Liberality who showrest down Benefits and profusest Mercies without measure upon all thy creatures Elevate my poverty to imitate in some manner proportionable to the means thou hast graciously lent me thy infinit Bounty Give me O my glorious maker a noble and generous Mind disengaged from base and earthly thoughts and disposed to high and heroick actions aiming at my own Souls Perfection my Neighbours Profit thy divine Praise and Honour O let my Eyes be ever open to consider seriously my Heart ever willing to compassionate tenderly and my Hands ever ready to contribute liberally to the just necessities of thy creatures That making the right use of the temporal goods which thou hast here graciously given me I may finally attain to the eternal glory which thou my good God! hast elswhere bountifully prepared for me How needful is thy infused Prudence O Sacred Spirit the sweet and only light of my Soul and how necessary is thy special gift of Counsel that I mistake not in managing of this Virtue Equity so either out of Temerity misinterpret my Superiours meaning or out of Timidity unduly execute his command Clear my Darkness O all knowing Lord God! with a ray of thy divine splendour conduct my Reason in the right way and keep my Understanding from errour amidst the millions of labyrinths many by-paths and dangerous obscurities which occur in cases of Conscience and Moral Resolutions Conform my will and works to thy sacred
intention and confirm me in my present purpose which is to observe perfectly thy most just and and holy Ordinances and all theirs whom thou hast placed over my head in that very manner both in substance and circumstance as thou O supream Law-maker demandest and commandest The Seventh Exercise Of Fortitude the third Cardinal Virtue 1. The Essence of Fortitude Fortitude is a Moral Virtue enabling our Wills to do good and avoid evil in great and dreadful difficulties and dangers So that we either expect them or suffer them or shun them or set upon them without excessive Fear or over rash Boldness MY Life O my Lord is a perpetual warfare my Soul is beset during this her pilgrimage with innumerable enormous powerful and implacable enemies so that I am forced either to fight and conquer or to fall and be conquered O how greatly then do I stand in need of this glorious armour of Fortitude to animate my fearfulness to shelter my feebleness temper my rashness and to accompany me in all my dangerous skirmishes Give this vertuous strength to thy weak yet willing servant O my God who art incomparable in power invincible in might the great Lord of Hosts the glorious overcomer in the day of battel the shield and salvation of all them that combat under thy banner and I shall not fear thousands of foes encompassing me for I can do all things in thee my comforter 2. The chief degrees of Fortitude are three 1. Not to be affrighted at the great difficulties wherewith we must necessarily encounter in our spiritual course but to be resolute in suffering them manful in setting on them yea and confident to conquer them through Gods assisting grace 2. To rejoyce cordially in such sufferings for so good a cause 3. To expose our selves couragiously to all calamities for the promotion of Gods glory and our Neighbours spiritual good O Thrice happy those Souls which are thus valiant Ah! shall I for want of a little courage be an eternal slave to Sin Satan Sensuality Arise to my aid O invincible King of Glory under whose feet Death Devils and Hell it self do groan And thou my Soul what dreadest thou advance thy self undauntedly into the field of battel Thou fightest under thy Saviours Ensigns who hath already conquer'd thy foes for thee upon his sacred Cross Reflect upon what thou art his Soldier his Servant his Son Lose not heart nor hope in thy just quarrel since thy Lord looks upon thy just combats invites thee to courage assists thee to conquer and expects to crown thee Eternity is at stake and Heaven thy reward 3. Martyrdom the most heroick act Fortitude is a voluntary acceptation enduring of a violent Death for the testimony and defence of the true Faith or of Virtue ALL hail O ye valiant Champions of my heavenly King how highly doth my heart prize your courage how humbly doth my soul honour and emulate your constancy were not your Bodies passible as mine is and your Material parts molded out of the same mass of Clay by the same merciful and powerful Artificer Whence is it then that you appeared so faithful in your hottest trials I prove so fearful in my least temptations O I am utterly ashamed of my own former baseness and I resolutly and readily offer up my self to die here for thy sake O my sweet Saviour that I may live in thy love eternally 4. Three Virtues allied to Fortitude Magnanimity Patience Perseverance Magnanimity or greatness of courage is a Moral Virtue and inclining our Wills to heroick and honourable actions in the prosecution of Virtue in as much as such actions are hard and worthy of an high Courage THou hast made me O glorious Creator for great matters for thy Heaven for thy self and shall I rest any longer in petty trifles and aim only at inglorious objects No my worthy Soul form'd to thy Lords lovely likeness Child of the most high and Heir apparent to his kingdom It becoms not thee to content thy self with common Perfection We will henceforth have higher thoughts and aspire to more sublime generous and noble enterprizes We will couragiously climb up the several degrees of the most seraphical Virtues and set upon holy and honourable works tending to our own greater good and our Gods eternal glory Yes Lord we desire to be as truly patient as thy servant Job as zealous of thine honour as thy Apostle Paul as penitent for our sins as the pious Magdalen as pure in our life as the holy Angels and as ardent in thy love as the highest Seraphins O my Soul that we could reach these glorious Perfections 5. Patience is a Moral Virtue which moderates our Sadness proceeding from the resentment of some present evil and hinders us from acting thereupon any thing misbecoming our Reason O My Soul what joy what peace what holiness what happiness do still accompany any this divine Virtue when wilt thou truly possess thy self and perfectly please thy Saviour by the exact practise of Patience amidst all thy pressures troubles and tribulations O why shouldst thou only expect to be a delicate member under Christ thy head crowned with cruel thorns Lord Jesu I must suffer as a Christian I deserve to suffer as a Sinner I desire to suffer as thy Servant O let not my suffrances become lost to my soul by my impatience in induring them Let no torment or trouble of my life tire my setled resolution of suffering willingly for thy love O my crucified Saviour and persevering constantly in thy service Let Hell Death and Devil arm their whol fury against me Let all creatures conspire to annoy me Let all sickness seize on my body all sadness on my Soul and all sorts of damages disgraces and dismal chances be pour'd forth upon my only head I will remain quiet in thee O meek and patient Jesu and submissive to thy sweet providence disposition 6. Perseverance is a Moral Virtue whereby we go on in our well begun enterprises till they are fully accomplished THis is the Virtue O my Soul and this only which gives thee true rest from all thy sufferings This rewards all thy laborious endeavours and this puts a happy period to thy painful life Without Perseverance how vain are all thy Virtues and how useless thy past labours and diligence Ah! my Soul be no longer like a Fool changeable with the Moon like a Reed shaken with every Blast like the Sensualists who begin in the spirit but end in the flesh No my dear Lord I will never leave to love thee till I leave to live I will not cease to persecute my passions and pursue the enemies of my perfection till they be all dead and utterly destroyed I will keep the years of Eternity ever fresh in my memory that no temporary sufferings may seem long tedious or troublesome Thou O Jesu my Redeemer O most constant lover of my poor Soul for whose sake thou patiently remainedst on thy cruel Cross
that he will heal our Wounds supply our Wants satisfie our Wishes and turn all to our good I Am glad O my gracious Lord God! that thou art so worthy of all love though I of all others am not worthy to love thee I am as joyful for what thou art O great God! as if all thou hast were all mine and I will love thee in all I am and have as being all thine Thy Cross is my comfort thy Will my wel-fare and thy Love my life so that if I can but suffer for thee do thy will follow thy love I shall do all that is necessary I am indeed dry dark and desolate but since it is thy will I am sure it is my good therefore sufficient for me satisfactory to thee I hope thou wilt one day compleat thy own heavenly design in my soul healing my Wounds supplying my Wants fulfilling my desires and filling my yet empty heart with thy sweet presence and perfect love In the mean space I will say and sing Live Jesus Live my Lord my love my life my all whose name be blessed by all whose will be accomplished in all whose honour be advanced above all An Advertisement touching the precedent exercise 1. WE must perform it daily diligently discreetly and with great confidence and courage 2. Yet without propriety that it may neither hinder the operation of the Holy Ghost within nor Works of due obligation and obedience without 3. If in the practise of this Introversion we find dryness and feel little devotion we may sometimes fitly resume in lieu of the second part or consideration our wonted exercises whereto our minds are more addicted ending the same with the Conclusion here prescribed being ever duly disposed to follow the holy Spirits invitation to higher matters The Second Exercise Of the knowledg of God and Confidence in Him 1. Our Chief Happiness consists in knowing God TO know thee O divine Fountain of goodness is to be truly happy and yet none can know thee O boundless and bottomless Sea of all perfection but through thy own manifestation and mercy Vouchsafe therefore I beseech thee O most loving and liberal Lord to enter into this poor and empty heart of thy meanest servant to inform my ignorant soul with a glimps of this necessary Science and to enflame my cold affection with a small spark of thy holy love O Omnipotent Creator of Heaven and Earth both which thou fillest with thy greatness glory O God of infinite power excellent wisdom unmeasurable goodness and incomprehensible Love my soul thirsts after thee the essential source of all felicity my heart seeks thee the proper place of its repose it sighs to thee the natural center of all its hope and happiness In thy blessed mind O my God! it first rested in its eternal possibility and similitude thither it must again return and there it must either rest eternally or perish for evermore O let it now find thee that it may ever love thee 2. Extasies Admirations and Adorations of the Divinity O Lord most good glorious and gracious most blessed and bountiful most high and holy most excellent and ineffable What words or thoughts can express thy purity and perfection Let me know thee O amiable life of my soul Let me see thee O true light of my eyes Let me seek thee O only solace of my spirit Let me find thee O desired of my heart Let me embrace thee O my heavenly Spouse Let me possess thee O Soveraign sweetness and full satiety of all my inward and outward senses O that my heart could alwaies think on thee my Will ever love thee my mind still remember thee my understanding continually conceive thee my reason perpetually adhere to thee and my whole man incessantly praise thee O hide not thy face from me my joy my light and my life If I may not see thee and live O let me die that I may see thee I desire to die here and be dissolved that I may see thee know thee come to thee live with thee and love thee eternally O ever blessed and glorious Divinity O Father who of thine own substance bringest forth an ineffable goodness coequal consubstantial and coeternal with thy self which is thy Son O Father and Son who loving each other with infinite charity and content are united together in one Holy Ghost equally and unspeakably proceeding from you both I admire you adore you and worship yon with all the powers of my body and soul 3. An absolute Oblation of all to the divine Majesty O Sacred Deity O Tri-unity and Vni-trinity O Father Son and Holy Ghost Holy holy holy Lord God of Hosts who wert art and shalt be for ever Almighty I thy poor creature prostrate before the Throne of thy divine Majesty from the abyss of my own nothing invoke adore and acknowledg thee the abyss of all perfections I present thee with all thy own gifts goods and excellencies which thou hast plentifully poured out upon all thy creatures I offer up to thy praise the affections of Angels and Men the properties of the Elements the beauty and motion of the whole Universe and the essence of all being O that my soul were capable to comprise unitedly all their several affections and perfections how joyfully would it employ them in thy praise how sweetly would it melt away in thy presence Behold O my God I make an entire Oblation of them all I acknowledg and adore thee with them all and desire to do it as frequently as I take breath as often as there are minutes in time stars in the firmameat stands in the Ocean numbers in all nature O my Lord whose love is the life of my Soul increase my knowledg of thee that I may enlarge my love to thee Alas I love thee not O amiable Lord God! because I know thee not I know thee not because darkness and sin hath covered and incompassed my understanding Wherefore O bright light who illuminatest all things expel this darkness from my Soul drive off those clouds from my Understanding and draw the curtain from off the face of the abyss of my Mind that I may see and know thee and then I shall not choose but love thee O my dear Jesu shew me thy divin Father dart a beam of thy heavenly splendor into my dull heart that I may have some degree of that holy science which may help me in thy love make me obedient to thy will and resolute in thy service To know all things of this world O Jesu and not to know thee is but ignorance and folly let me therefore know thy eternal Father and thy Self whom he hath sent for my Salvation and it sufficeth me O give me this knowledg that I may give thee my love and I ask no more Let me be unknowing ignorant and a fool in all other things so I may wisely know thee only O my God and my All. 4. An humble acknowledgment
right And I must must now either give my self to thee or thou must take me unto thy self Not that I aspire to those excellent prerogatives of thy dearest servants No my Lord it sufficeth me to be in the out-rank of thy meanest slaves to be stamp'd with thy mark and link'd fast in thy chains that I may never more have the power to fly from thee O grant me this favour most merciful Father Which thy dear Son hath purchased for me by the price of his death and Passion 3. We Sin of our selves but cannot arise from it without the Divin assistance I Am fall'n without thee by my own frailty but can never hope to rise but by thy mercy O my Lord and only support I am sick without thee but cannot be cured without thee O my heavenly Physician I am dead without thee but can never be reviv'd but by thee O Life of my Soul So true it is that to make me come to thee thou O most gracious Lord God! must first come to me O the admirable goodness of my loving Lord Even this little I am doing is rather thine own work than mine 'T is thou O my Lord who puttest Repentance into my soul Desires into my heart Sighs into my breast Confession into my mouth Prayer into my lips Remorse into my memory Resolution of amendment into my will 'T is thou O gracious God! who chiefly actest all this good in me by me and for me O my All do then all in me what thou desirest And particularly overwhelm I beseech thee my whol interiour with perfect Contrition not coming from a slavish and servil fear but from a faithful and filial love Grant me a true and intire grief for having offended thee not because of thy Promises or Threats but because thou art in thy self good amiable adorable and worthy all love and honour 4. How great an Evil it is to destroy Gods Grace in our Souls by Sin OR if mercenary interest do yet more move thee as surely it seems to bear the greatest sway with thee my sensual and sinful Soul For how hainously dost thou take a small injury how deeply dost thou resent a little disgrace the loss of a dear friend of health of honour or the like temporal and perishable commodities O whence is it then that thou so little apprehendest thy loss of Grace and thy eminent imminent danger of eternal Damnation Is it a small matter to be Gods Enemy To lose the good will of Heaven To destroy Gods Image To cut up life root branch To side with the accursed Devils thy Creators sworn Enemies To hatch Treason and enter Conspiracie with the damned Yea and to kill as much as in thee lies him who by his own death gave thee life O brutal and unnatural ingratitude Surely the annihilating of Heaven Earth Angels Men and all Nature cannot be compar'd with this malicious evil and wilfull destruction of thy grace O Lord in my Soul Since the least degree of a higher order surpasses the highest degree of the lower order O eternal God! What a Monster have I been in Grace what a prodigie in Nature who have so little car'd to commit such enormous Crimes But O my Lord I will even now change my life I here detest all Sin I make a firm purpose of amendment I have a full confidence in thee my Creator a good will to do satisfaction and a total resignation to thy Divine pleasure 5. The root and source of all our Sins is our perverted Will. I Am the woful Criminal O just Judg of my Soul and I will be also the accuser and witness the Advocate and Executioner in this Tribunal I summon you therefore O detestable Pride O abominable Envy O execrable Avarice O beastly Lubricity and all you accursed crew of Sins how long will you reign on earth how long will ye dispeople Gods inheritance who brought you in amongst Gods Children 'T is the perverted Will of man O dread Soveraign which hath don all these mischiefs Rectifie O my Lord I beseech thee this my crooked Will and murther these horrible monsters in me and grant that I may henceforth rather expose my body to a thousand Deaths than my Soul to deadly Sin Thy Saints will rejoice O God! at my amendment and thy Angels will make a Feast but thy own resentment of joy will be infinite because thy love is infinite which goes hand in hand with thy Essence and comprehends all Love in supream eminency I will therefore expect from thee O heavenly Father the exact remembrance from thee my Redeemer the perfect knowledg from thee O holy Spirit a true repentance and from thee O Sacred Trininity an intire Absolution and plenary Indulgence from all my Iniquities 6. Our greatest Sorrow is not equivalent to the greatness of our Sins THe grief I feel for my past Offences the hatred I have against each Sin at this present and the resolution I make to avoid all iniquity for the future are not equivalent in me to their enormity and hainousness I therefore humbly crave O holy Lord God! that thou wilt accept thy own hatred against Sin for that which I should and would have and instead of the Sorrow I want I offer that of thy Son my sweet Redeemer with the Sacrifice of his immaculate Life and innocent death And since I cannot be impeccable by Nature O my Lord nor dare presume to ask to be so by Grace give me leave to prostrate my self before thy infinite bounty and clemency and to beg by the merits of Jesus Christ thy dear Son and by the desires of thy essential love the blessed holy Ghost that though I may not be impeccable yet I may never sin more and if I must somtimes Sin through my frailty yet I may never Sin mortally This I desire O Lord this thou demandest this thou commandest O give me what thou commandest and command me what thou pleasest 7. An Act of perfect Contrition which is elsewhere repeated as being of great efficacy O My good Lord Jesu who art the Lord of my Life and shouldst be the love of my Soul did I not like an ungracious and ungrateful wretch give my heart sell my affection to fond frail filthy and fading Creatures and comforts which are so far from affording me either quiet of Mind peace of Conscience purity of Soul or perfection of Spirit which my obligation and vocation require of me that they leave me nothing but trouble confusion and remorse with a world of dismal and desperate thoughts violent passions and vicious inclinations Amidst all which disorders I find no other refuge nor remedy than to return to thee my true Center to convert my self to thee my Soverain Creator To cast my self at thy sacred feet my sweet Lord Jesu and there with an humble and contrite spirit to sue for Mercy Remission Reconciliation O Heavenly Father I confess and acknowledg my ingratitude treachery rebellion And I am
sorry from the bottom of my heart and Soul that ever I offended thee who deservest from me all possible love honour and obedience beseeching thee as a guilty Criminal to take compassion upon thy poor and penitent Creature and to forgive me the great and grievous transgressions and offences which I have committed against thy divin bounty as I do for the love of thee my Lord and Maker most freely forgive all those that have any way offended distasted contristated or scandalized me sincerely knowing that I deserve no comfort from any creature but all contempt and confusion and not only to be troubled and trampled on by all on earth temporally but even to be tormented by the Devils in Hell eternally Ah Crucified Jesu take pity on my Soul for which thou pouredst forth thy Sacred Blood and gavest up thy dearest life on the Cross Alas How ungrateful a Child have I been to offend so frequently so hainously so disloyally so loving and liberal a Father so meek and merciful a Redeemer and so sweet and soveraign a Majesty who hath always shew'd himself to me so benign and bountiful sparing me in my Sins and expecting me to Repentance wooing me to his love and calling me to his service by a thousand means all which I have either rejected or neglected and still nevertheless continuing unto me my life time and means to do Penance Oh my poor Soul How hast thou been blinded and bewitched to leave the bread of Angels and to feed on the husks of Swine to abandon God and all solid goodness upon whom depends all thy hope and happiness all thy quiet content and comfort in time and eternity for trifling vanities empty shadows meer nothings O strange folly and phrensy would I had never Sinned and Oh that I might never Sin more O my God! What have I done and not done would I had suffered on the Cross with thee my sweet Saviour and for thy love pains of body pangs of soul and even death it self when I thus grievously Sinned And what can I say or do more I abhor and detest whatsoever I have done said thought or desired contrary to thy divine will and liking I renounce all company and occasions which may induce me to offend thee I cast my self at thy sacred feet to be thy faithful Bond-slave for ever I firmly resolve to take up my Cross and carry it after thee Dear Jesu till death and to do penance and satisfaction for my past pride pleasure and impiety desiring no more in this world but to linger out my pilgrimage at the foot of the Cross like the Penitent Magdalen in perpetual solitude silence and submission Good Jesu for thy infinite mercies sake suffer not thy poor creature to be separated from thee eternally O amiable Eternity O Eternal amity of God! Shall I leave and lose thee for filthy pleasures frail creatures fond friendships fading honours No my dear Lord Be pleased rather to take my soul out of my body than thy love out of my soul Let me rather Die miserably than Sin mortally Let me pass on the rest of my pilgrimage in thy grace and fear that I may finish it in thy friendship and favour Grant me this I beseech thee O meek and merciful Saviour by the merits of thy bitter death and passion by the intercession of thy most blessed Mother by the suffrages of all thy holy Saints in heaven and happy Souls upon earth Upon all which relying as upon the Anchors of my hope I absolutely commit and resign my self to thy sacred disposition and providence for time and Eternitie fully trusting that thou wilt mercifully pardon all my Sins carefully assist me in all my Wants and Weaknesses and in the end happily bring me to thy Eternal Bliss and Beatitude by such means as thy divin Wisdom knows most expedient for me The Fifth Exercise Of subduing Sensuality to Reason 1. We deplore our proneness to Evil. MY Spirit is willing O most glorious and gracious Lord God! to serve thee love thee honour thee and follow thee but my flesh is weak frail and refractory I do not what I desire O my God! nor what thou demandest But I act that which I hate and what thou forbiddest I feel O my Lord a law of sensuality contradicting the law of my mind captivating my reason clouding my judgment and continually striving to cast me down headlong into sin and perdition Vnhappy man that I am Who will free me from this body of death Ah! my brutish body ah my burdensome flesh Thou art my dangerous and deadly enemy 'T is thy weight that depresseth my Soul thy earth that clogs and corrupts my air thy contagion and perversity which infects and debaseth my better part and heavenly portion thy sensuality which draws on endangers and almost destroys my reason 2. A detestation of our Sensuality AH Sensuality the source of all my misery how justly do I now hate thee and how willingly would I leave thee At my first acquaintance with thee thou defiledst me with Original Sin In my Infancy thou mad'st a beast of me And now in my riper years thou still pursuest me proclaimest open war with me blindest my Understanding with darkness ignorance and errours make my Will refractory to good and ready to all evil distractest my Memory with vain and vile fancies and perpetually tossest me to and fro between love and hatred joy and grief hope and fear and the rest of thy numerous and enormous irascible and concupiscible powers and passions Ay me how sad is my state how deplorable my condition Oh! how long Lord must I dwell with these devils how long must I endure the violence of these Passions O my Lord my strength and my salvation break these fetters for me Command a calm O thou powerful Ruler of Sea and Winds and appease the surges of these my unmortified appetites Oh! restore me to my self again reduce Reason to her lost dominion in my Soul and bring back me thy poor Creature to thee her powerful Creator O let not this passenger perish amidst those boysterous billows nor suffer utter shipwrack in these fearful tempests I suffer violence O my Lord answer for me the companion which thou hast given me hath deceived me Sence hath corrupted and conquer'd my Judgment Oh! how am I dragg'd up and down by my all-mastering appetites commanded by my servants and fetter'd by my slaves O Tyranny O indignity Ah my soul O noble spirit fair as the Angels formed to thy Creators lovely resemblance stampt with his divine Character and Heir apparent to his glorious Kingdom To be thus subject to the base and brutal desires of flesh and blood O intolerable bondage O unworthy servitude 3. An humble acknowledgment and confession of our frailty and misery O Father of Mercies and only Physitian of my soul Thou art Almighty and All mercy and I am all weakness and all misery There is no part left in my whole body and soul
Enter freely possess all fully dispose universally and command absolutly Put me where thou wilt give me what thou wilt treat me as thou wilt thine I am O my Lord my Love and my All for time and Eternity The Sixth Exercise Of Mortification and perfect Abnegation 1. If we will be Christ's true Disciples we must renounce all deny our selves take up our crosses and follow him O Eternal and ever blessed Lord God! thou hast framed me of soul and body and fitted me with faculties proportionable to attain the end of my creation which is to love thee intirely and to live with thee eternally But alas how far am I from observing this thy blessed and beautiful order Thou O Lord gavest me a Soul to bear all the sway in my body Reason to have the chief regency in my Soul thy Law to be the guide of my Reason and thy self to be the sole mover and governour of my whole man But oh how have I wilfully cross'd thy sacred design contradicted thy intention and swarv'd from this perfection My body is all brutish my soul all animal and my reason all sensual I am all blindness self-love and immortification Yet I know well and thou O eternal verity hast expresly told me that unless I renounce all deny my self take up my Cross and follow thee I can never become thy true Disciple Ah harsh words to my carnal ears If thou wilt be my Disciple deny thy self If thou wilt be perfect sell all give away all reform all renounce all relinquish all If thou wilt possess life eternal contemn this life temporal If thou wilt be exalted in Heaven humble thy self in the world If thou wilt wear a Crown with me bear thy Cross with me But O my soul how wilt thou brook that more dismal sentence Depart from me thou accursed into eternal fire Wherefore O my Lord my Love and my All Since thou hast taught me these things by thy Sacred Word and shewed them by thy holy Example and thou art The Way the Truth and the life Grant O infallible Truth that I may couragiously walk in this perfect Way that so I may happily come to thee the only true and eternal life and love of my Soul 2. We must leave all things to finde one thing which is all in all WHat dreadest thou O my fearful and faithless Heart Behold Christ thy King and Captain is marched on before thee take up thy Cross and travel after him he leads thee to a Kingdem Heaven is worth thy pains O take courage to mortifie thy self deny thy self and dy to thy self that thou mayst live to Jesus and with Jesus eternally Learn O my soul this short and securing lesson Leave all things and thou shalt find one thing which is all in all Take courage and fight valiantly against thy own bad nature pray suffer stoop bear repugnances swallow down contradictions digest injuries The Kingdom of Heaven suffers violence The end thou aimest at is Perfection the reward of thy Conquest is Eternal Love eternal Life eternal Happiness Behold O my Lord my strength and my Salvation I am fully resolved to lay the ax to the root of this wicked tree Help me I beseech thee with thy Grace from above that I may hew my self out of my self that I may kill crucifie and mortifie my inveigling sensuality cut off my evil inclinations rectifie my disorder'd passions and root out each thought or desire which tends not directly to thy honour will and love O my Lord and my God! 3. We can never love God unless we hate our Selves I Know Lord that it is bootless to study Perfection without the practice of Mortification I confess I can never love thee truly but in as much as I hate my self really such is the Antipathy between self-love and thy holy affection Ah! how can a spirit distracted with contrary inclinations be freely and fully vacant to thy divine contemplation Put therefore I beseech thee a sluce to my unmortified Passions put a bound to my distraught heart and powerfully keep back those innumerous concupiscences and corrupt imaginations violently succeding each other that my united affections may intend thee only the only object of all happiness Gather O my Lord the dispersed forces of my Soul from all multiplicity of worldly affections to the union of thy only love Keep I beseech thee my Understanding Will Memory Imagination and all my inward and outward Senses from roaming abroad that carefully attending and entertaining thy divine presence in my Soul I may attain true introversion simplification and union of my Spirit with thine Reform O my Lord all the natural corruptions of my outward man and redress all the spiritual infirmities of my inward man destroy and disperse all internal and external enemies and opposers of thy holy love possess me perfectly and dispose of me entirely according to thy Divin will and pleasure 4. A firm Resolution of mortifying our exteriour Sensuality TO this end O bless my weak endeavours al mighty and al-merciful Lord God! I will subtract all superfluities from my body and accustom it to all sorts of sufferings that so I may fit it up for thee O holy Spirit who dwellest not with them that are sensual and subject to Sin Alas I have not yet resisted to the effusion of my blood and should I spill each drop of blood in my body in this holy quarrel how little ought I to regard it in respect of the great good I expect I will therefore crucifie thee O my flesh with all thy concupiscences I will mortifie my outward Senses the windows by which death steals into my Soul the hinderers of my hearts tranquillity the destroyers of true devotion the dispersers of inward recollection and the utter ruiners of all the good desires which I conceive and kindle in my prayers Ah how soon is this divin fire cooled and quenched not only by Sin but also by the distracting images of outward Objects I will keep a special and strict watch over my Tongue on which depends my spiritual life or death and cherish thee O beloved Silence which art the key of piety the keeper of innocency and the preserver of purity I will trample down my inferiour Nature with all its evil affections and motions of love hatred joy sadness desire fear hope anger c. I will order dispose and direct it according to the Laws of reason and thy divine inspirations O my Lord and my God! Grant me courage I beseech thee to quell and curb this most dangerous my greatest enemy which is the source of all my miseries the Citadel from whence Sin assails me and Satan fetches his forces to fight against me Grant Good Lord that I may never yield to this wicked Eve perswading Adam my Superior Will to eat the forbidden fruit to consent to unlawful pleasures This is the chief exercise of Gods children not to be carried away with affections of flesh and blood but to conduct
Tepidity Sluggishness Cowardise and Pusillanimity all my my Covetous desires all Impurity and all Intemperance Purge me O my powerful Lord purifie me O my merciful Saviour Give strength comfort and courage to my feeble and frail nature that I may pass undauntedly through all difficulties and dangers to come to thee and to repose in thee the only center of my desires Grant me O my Lord Chastity of body and Cleanness of heart Temperance in my appetites and Sobriety in my senses Gravity in my deportment and Moderation in all my proceedings that nothing may dislike thee in my soul nor dissolve the sacred knot wherewith thou hast fastned me unto thee Give me also O Jesu my Lord perfect Poverty of spirit O permit not my soul designed to enjoy thee her only solid and satiating object to be intangled with the least affection to the poor and perishable trifles of this world Behold I cast my self uncloathed from all creatures into thy naked embraces O crucified Saviour I desire to clip nothing in my folded arms but a breast burning with desires to please thee my Redeemer and a heart melting away in thy love I make choice of thy baâ—e Cross O Christ for my best inheritance I stretch out my opened folds to meet thy holy and heavenly huggings O let me never more be unclasp'd from thy blessed bosom Be thou O my great-little naked-Jesu my rest during the short time of my life and my refuge at the dreadful hour of my death 6. More humble Petitions before the Sacred Head and Face of our Crucifi'd Saviour ANd now O merciful Saviour I humbly convert my eyes and contemplation to thy sacred Head crowned with thorns and thy divin Face all besmeared with gore and spittle for my sake Here I implore strength O Jesu for the weaknesses of my head and pardon for the wickednesses of my five Wits and Senses O my Lord I desire to bury in these thy innumerous Wounds the enormous number of my iniquities and I beseech thee for these thy sufferings sake to adorn my weak capacity with so much solid Wisdom as may fitly suit with my condition O let me never think speak or act any thing which is not season'd with the salt of Discretion Let me seriously weigh each circumstance and patiently wait thy leave and leasure before I leap into any work Enlighten me to see cleerly thy will and pleasure and impower me exactly to fulfil and follow it Open the eyes of my Understanding to behold my own baseness and wickedness and give me thy gracious assistance to reform it Help me to frame a right judgment of the real vileness and vanity of all transitory things and indue my heart with courage to contemn them Inebriate my affection O amiable Jesu with the sweetness of thy love and let all worldly solaces savour of bitterness to my soul Let me be deaf blind and dumb to all things which are not thy self O my crucified Saviour Let me prudently discern and piously perform each parcel of my duty in its due circumstance of time place order measure and manner Let that holy and innocent Simplicity which is the Virtue of thy Saints shine in all my actions Let me not be curious to know much but careful to practise much and cordial to love thee much O my only Lord and love Cleanse my Will from all self-seeking Keep my Memory from all superfluities Close up my Senses from all vanities that my happy soul seperated from all sensible images may quietly tend to thee only sweetly repose in thee and continually enjoy thy blessed presence O let thy pure and perfect love Dear Lord Jesu be the faithful Scout-watch over all my proceedings that no forreign affection no sinister intention no self liking or self seeking may steal into my heart and defraud or disturb its happy enjoyment of thee and holy unity with thy divin Spirit Grant O my Lord that I may prudently turn all good events and all bad accidents to my spiritual profit by reflecting wherefore they befall me of what they warn me and how far they concern me Let me learn thereby gratitude to thy Goodness fervour in Prayer contempt of my self humility of spirit care of my actions resignation to thy will amendment of my life or what else thy holy Spirit shall please to intimate by these fatherly visitations O sacred Head of my crucified Saviour be thou my certain succour during my lives conflict and my sure place of retreat in my last agony of Death 7. And finally Ardent Petitions before the Heart of JESVS wounded with a Launce ANd Lastly I reverently approach to thy dear Heart O amiable Lord Jesu opened with a cruel Launce in the sight of thy blessed Mother and thy beloved Disciple for the love of my Soul O my Jesu I here implore thy pardon for all my perverss affections and irregular appetites Give me thy leave O my loving Lord to creep into this sweet hole of the rock this sacred cleft of the wall this unlock'd closet of heavenly treasures this saving Ark of the New Testament and shut you O Jesu the door from without that free from the deluges of all wickedness and dangers of the World Flesh and Devil I may sit solitarily silently and sweetly hearkning to thy divin whispers in my elevated Soul Purge all my impurities O my dear Saviour in the precious Blood streaming from thy patent side and replenish my heart with thy perfect love Oh! drown me wound me burn me and consume me in thy divine flames of affection that I may love thee strongly purely perfectly perseverantly O grant that I may leave all things with alacrity for thee my beloved Jesu though never so great to loath all things joyfully for thy love though never so good to do all things contentedly for thy honour though never so hard to suffer all things patiently for thy sake though never so painful and to persever constantly in my pious practices for the sole satisfaction of thy holy Will and the accomplishment of thy blessed pleasure O let me be incessantly calling and knocking at this sacred gate of Mercy Let me be still sighing and seeking after thee my Jesus my Saviour my Lord and my Love Let me be always thinking ever talking and perpetually tending to unite my heart to thine to conform it unto thine to transform it into thine that so I may be all thine and thou all mine for time and eternity Grant also dear Jesu that I may truly love all others in thee and for thee O inflame my Charity quicken my Faith rectifie my intentions strengthen my confidence in thee destroy all complacency in my self establish me in all these my good purposes and let me be as often minded of my now-promis'd duty and encouraged to proceed forwards in the path of perfection as I shall eye the sacred image of thy crucified humanity Elevate my desirous Soul unto thy self O Jesu my Lord above all chances changes
and creatures Oh! let it be so totally attentive to thy presence so intirely taken up in thy contemplation and so wholy absorpt in thy love that no outward objects may touch or trouble it no inferiour cares or cogitations may intangle it nothing may impede the free intercourse of thy heavenly friendship nothing may stop the sweet influence of thy divin graces or any way interrupt its happy quiet and holy tranquillity O dear and open'd Heart of my dying Lord Jesus be thou my sweet comfort during this lives Pilgrimage and my sure Sanctuary in its last period Tâ—…â—…ghth Exercise Of 〈…〉 with GOD. 1. Our Soul seeks nothing but Gods lovely presence and desires nothing but the presence of his Love O Infinit immense and unmeasurable abyss of all bounty O ever-flowing Fountain of mercy O undrainable Sea of love O my Lord my Soveraign my Saviour and my Sanctifier Behold I return into thee the sweet source of my beginning I run into thee the gracious Preserver of my being and I desire to rest in thee the only hope of my Souls happiness Be thou henceforth O my Creator the sole subject of my thoughts and the only object of my love Be thou O God of my heart Heart of my life Life of my soul and Soul of my Love my part and my inheritance for ever I choose thee only I offer up my self wholly I consecrate my self heartily and dedicate my self eternally to thy love honour and service Ah good God! where dwellest thou which is the pleasant place of thy abode O King of glory and Comforter of my Soul I seek nothing but thy lovely presence I desire nothing but the presence of thy love My soul sighs to see thee my heart covets to have thee my love longs to enjoy thee and I can expect no perfect content until I am totally united unto thee If I now beg a glimps of thy divin face O my glorious Lord then a drop of thy heavenly grace and afterwards a dram of thy dear affection Yet in all this it is thy self O sweet God! which I demand thy whole self is the only satiating object of my boundless desires and unlimited affections 2. Fervent Acts of Love and Affection I Desire to love thee O only amiable Lord God! by all means and beyond all measure until I am totally transform'd into thee by love O do thou freely and fully possess my spirit guide it govern it enlighten it inflame it elevate it inform it and transport it how and when thou pleasest Oh! Let all adulterate love be quite banished all multiplicity vanish away and all impurity and self-seeking swallowed up Let thy love be my light my liberty my life Lord I desire but two things in this world To love see taste and enjoy thee My best beloved and to be humbled despised rejected and esteemed a reprobate for thy love O sweet life O loving Jesu what a heaven what a happiness is it to love thee O how lovely how loving and yet how little loved is my God O source of all goodness and center of all good souls What is the greatest love of mother friend life or any thing els Art not thou my God! all this to me and all in all Ah my Soul what didst thou ever best love And didst thou love thy Lord God as much I blush O my dear Lord I sigh and am ashamed to answer I will henceforth do any thing suffer any thing and leave all things for thy love I will not live but languish not breath but burn by an extasie and excess of love 3. Further Acts and Extasies of divin Love and Affection O Fire O flames Burn Consume Annihilate Alas Beauty of Angels how late and how little do I love thee O come into my Soul behold a poor lodging yet such as it is it is all thine I conceal nothing I reserve nothing heart soul spirit all is thine own compose all dispose all depose all unruly passions impose what Penance thou pleasest I accept it O my Lord only repose peaceably in my soul and let no foul or false affection interpose it self to disturb this blessed union O that I could please and praise thee purely perfectly perpetually Oh that I could love thee faithfully freely and fully in all above all things O my all and only love I acknowledg my self bound O Lord in thy chains of Charity I am burn'd in thy fire I am wounded and won to thy love But what shall I say What can I give All I have is not worthy of thee and yet is thine already Ask my sweet Lord and have choose and take make me such as thou desirest and then take me to thy desire Give thy self O great God! to my soul and then take my soul with thy self in it My life liberty love all is thy own My last Will is already made in which I bequeath all to thee thy own Death and Passion all thy Mercies and Merits all the praises and perfections of thy dear Mother and the blessed Saints and Angels and all the goods glories and splendors of all thy creatures All that I am have and can both spirituals and temporals kindred friends riches health honors estates offices devotion all is at thy disposal I am resolute O my Lord I am resign'd and indifferent to have them increased or diminished to use them to thy glory or to lose them altogether 4. We return back to our Creator all that we have are and can I Give thee back O merciful Maker my whole being either to be what thou wilt or to be nothing at all to love thee or not to live at all I offer to thee O pious Redeemer my sins to pardon my works to perfect my will to purifie I offer thee my wounds to cure my soul to cleanse and my spirit to comfort I offer to thee O holy Spirit my intentions to rectifie my inclinations to sanctifie my affections to deifie Finally I offer all for one I give all to one and all I desire is to be all one with thee my all and only Lord and love Thou hast given me O my bountiful Creator the whole world in freehold for one penny of Rent saying Child give me thy heart O Lord Let this penny never want the superscription of thy grace and let me never want thy grace to pay this rent O my Lord all that I have is but two small mites I cast them into thy hands and had I more I would give more Dispose of them both dear Lord of my Body and Soul as best pleaseth thee that thy will may be perfectly performed and thy name purely sanctified in both O sweet God of my heart Let me embrace thee in the two arms of profound Humility and perfect Charity O let my Heart faint and melt away in the fire of thy Divin love let me lose my self to find thee be out of my self to live in thee and be empty of my self to be full
in thy absence Who will pity my Case who will plead my Cause who will pardon my Crimes who will save my Soul Thou only art all my comfort come therefore to me or take me to thee 4. The holy Baptist esteem'd himself unworthy to loose the latchet of thy Sandals St. Peter to be in the same Bark with thee The Centurion to admit thee under his Roof And what art thou my poor Soul compar'd to these great Saints Lord I am not worthy of this honour and happiness which I much desire Depart therefore from me a sinner or rather come to me and cause that I may sin no more 5. Who is the Guest I mean to lodg One who infinitly surpasses all created perfections One whose power fram'd all whose providence governs all whose beck can in a moment bring all back to their Original Nothing And is it possible he will descend to dwell in houses of Earth If the Heavens cannot contain thee Dread Soveraign how shall my soul Whence O Lord is this thy goodness to me Who am I to deserve it No 't is thy Love that brings thee to me and 't is my Confidence that leads me to thee O that I were as clean as thy Empyreal Heaven to entertain thee as Pure as the Virgin MARY to receive thee 6. What need I other Motives of Humility than to see thee O Jesu so humble in this Sacrament Thou annihilatest thy glory to become my food who am the food of worms I am saist thou the bread of life take me eat me digest me nourish thy self with me have as much power over me as much possession of me as of a morsel of bread which thou swallowest Come then O my Lord and Lover take full and free possession of me establish thy government adorn thy lodging command control correct all be thou all in all in my Soul c. 7. With desire sayst thou my sweet Saviour I have desired to eat this Pasche with you before I suffer Why O Lord dost thou so much desire it and I so little What good will come to thee by it and what good will not come to me by it Dost thou so heartily desire my good and shall I not desire my own good and thy glory 8. At what time was this pledg of the divin love and comfort of our life instituted Just in the night of our dear Saviours Passion immediatly before he was hurried away to Death O Love without limits O mercy without measure When men seek out the means to bereave thee of life Thou inventest this Banquet to give them life How well O Loving Jesu dost thou teach me to repay good for evil and to give my life and blood for my Enemies but much more for thee who hast shew'd me such large tokens of thy tender affection 9. In what place In a Chamber on high well swept well prepar'd freely profer'd wherein our Redeemer wrought strange things both before and after his Resurrection What Lodging O Lord shall I offer thy sacred Majesty Child give me thy heart Lord take it behold I neither lend it nor sell it but I freely and fully give it unto thee for Nothing And yet I give thee nothing but thine own O Lord It is not clean purifie it with thy Blood It is not adorned Beautifie it with thy Grace Love and Favour It is not High but base mean terrene Elevate it with thy ennobling Presence touch it draw near it and draw it near thy self And then work in it thy holy will and pleasure 10. Who were the Receivers The twelve Apostles whereof one was a Traitor Is it I Lord Alas If there be any one I am most likely yet my comfort is that I come not with any such treacherous intention but to lodg and love thee to obtain pardon for my Sins and to implore thy Grace that I may sin no more 11. O my Soul how mercifully hath thy Lord and Maker provided for thee nourished thee cherished thee All living creatures stand in need of such sustenance as is conformable to their nature without which they cannot live and subsist Some of them are Corporal Others are Spiritual Man partakes of both as consisting of Body and Soul which are two different things wedded together by the divin Wisdom and in a most wondrous manner not to be understood by our weak capacity Mark now O man admire and weep in the extasie of thy joy and love how God provides meat for thy twofold Nature For thy bodies food physick and support He provides preserves and sustains all sublunary Creatures and for thy Souls food physick and support He provides the bread of Angels and himself in person the Baker being the Holy Ghost the Oven the Virgin Mary the Fire Charity the Matter Human Nature united to the Divinity O prodigies of Affection 12. Thy other Sacraments O my Lord and my God! contain and give Grace but this contains and gives the Author of Grace the Fire of Love the Sun of Justice the Fountain of Mercy This therefore surpasses them as far as the Sun doth its Beam the Fire its Flame and the Fountain its Rivulet O how excessive is thy Love Dear Lord to my poor Soul in that thou art pleas'd to visit it in thy proper person to cure cleanse comfort it with thy own divin hand and heart to nourish it with thy own blessed Body and Blood O what thanks honour love and gratitude are due to thy infinite bounty and liberality O my Soul where are thy exclamations admirations extasies of affection Remainest thou alone insensible dry and undevout amongst these miracles of Gods goodness towards thee Hast thou no heart no feeling no fervour amidst these flames of his Charity Enkindle new fires O Lord in my heart burn it consume it annihilate it in the furnace of thy Love 13. O the admirable power of my God which works so many Miracles at one Word of his servants mouth Bread becomes Flesh Wine Blood the Creature our Creator Speak also a Word sweet Jesu to my Soul say This Soul is mine Take it Lord transform it change it into thy self Let it be no longer mine but thine for all future time and eternity 14 Why was this divin Sacrament instituted under the forms of Bread and Wine 1. To shew the necessity of it Can our bodies live without bread and drink And can our Souls live without thee O loving Jesu 2. To teach us what Union our Lord desires to make with our Souls Is not meat and drink incorporated into our substance And is not this the effect of thy Sacramental presence O Saviour in humble and holy Souls O what alterations what alienations what extasies do they feel in and after Communion They do not breath but burn not live but languish their life is all Love their Spirit all Fire O Lord let fall one drop of this dew upon my dry Soul Give it good Jesu one Spark of this Fire one Beam
God! what wilt thou have me do thy Will is the Desire of my heart the Delight of my soul the Design of my intentions the Drist of my whol life and being O when shall I have no Will but thine no life but for thy Love no being but to be what thou wouldst have me Or by Acts of Self-Oblation O My Lord and my Lover since thou givest thy self wholly to me I give my self entirely to thee O Saviour Receive me take me possess me totally entirely eternally Or by Acts of Desire to please him O What shall I do Dear Lord in order to please thee What do I covet in this world but to give thee content Were there no Heaven no Hell no Reward no Punishment It were yet for me a sufficient honour and happiness to be agreeable to thy Divin Majesty O my God and my All Or by Acts of Grief that He is offended AH my Saviour whence is it then that so many Souls forsake thy love since thou art so lovely and so loving Ah! my Dear Jesu Why did I ever offend thee since thy ineffable Charity deserved my reciprocal affection O wretched wicked miserable all they who love not Jesus Or by Acts of Desire to Love him O Most pure and perfect Lover who lovedst me from all Eternity When shall I begin to pay my love which is so long since due to thy divin Goodness O when shall I truly hate the World Sin and my self for thy love and service Or by Acts of Desire to see him in his Glory O King of Glory When shall I clearly contemplate thy amiable Countenance in thy happy Kingdom O Life of my life and Love of my Soul when shall I leave this loathsom and imprisoning Earth and be admitted into thy lovely Paradise At the second Memento O Compassionate Creator take pity upon the poor Souls in Purgatory particularly such and such And let the same Mercy which hath been graciously pleas'd to pardon their impieties mitigate also their punishments that by the merits of thy dear Sons death and Passion which are here in this holy Sacrifice most humbly presented to thy Sacred Majesty in their behalf they may speedily be translated to that state of glory for which thou eternally designedst them At the Pater Noster Humbly crave such things as are contained in these Seven Petitions 1. O Heavenly Father I most heartily congratulate thy infinite Glory and Greatness Give I beseech thee the light of thy Faith to all Infidels and the grace of thy Love and Charity to all Christians That thy sacred Name may be sanctified by all men upon Earth as it is by all the blessed in Heaven 2. O Holy holy holy Trinity enter remain reign in our hearts souls affections that we may serve thee love thee honour thee upon earth as thy Saints do in Heaven 3. Teach me O Lord to perform thy Will 1. Perfectly 2. Purely 3. Promptly 4. Perseverantly 4. O Bread of Life which descendest from Heaven to give life to the world give thy self to my Soul that I may live by thee in thee for thee by thy grace in thy favour for thy honour 5. O liberal Father For the love of thee I freely forgive all such as have any way offended me and for the love of thy dear Son I beg forgiveness of all my own offences against thy divin Majesty 6. Behold O my blessed Creator how I am on all sides encompassed with cruel enemies Lord I refuse not the combat since 't is thy Will but I beg thy gracious assistance that I may get the victory and that thou mayst have the glory 7. Deliver me O All-powerful Lord God! from all Evil from all corporal spiritual temporal eternal miseries From Sin from my self and from whatsoever displeases thy divin infinite amiable adorable Majesty At the first Agnus Dei. O Sweet Lamb of God pardon all my Sins and particularly such and such an one wherein I have most grievously and frequently offended At the second Agnus Dei. O Innocent Lamb of God! Implant all Virtues in my Soul and especially this and this which I seem most to stand in need of At the third Agnus Dei. O Peaceable pure and perfect Lamb of God Give me peace of Conscience purity of heart perfection of Spirit c. and whatsoever will render me most agreable to thy divin Majesty At Domine non sum dignus HUmbling my self in the presence of thy sacred Majesty O Soveraign Lord Jesu I adore thy Goodness Greatness and Glory and acknowledg my own Unworthiness Baseness and Nothing Whilst the Priest Communicates If you are to communicate Sacramentally these Prayers and Devotions may serve you for a sufficient Preparation Howsoever you may communicate Spiritually to your great profit and merit in all the Masses at which you assist This Spiritual Communion consists in these two Points 1. A Lively Faith of your Saviours Real Presenee in the Sacrament 2. An Ardent Desire to Receive Him into your Soul and to be perfectly united to Him O my sweet Savior the Soveraign Lord of my Heart and the beloved Object of my affections I adore thy sacred Body Blood Soul Divinity cover'd under these Sacramental forms O that I had all the necessary dispositions of a worthy Communicant Do thou only speak the word O all-powerful Lord God! and my Soul shall be saved Enter O my beloved Bridegroom into this poor lodging enrich it with thy infinite perfections fit it up as thy self best knows and pleases for thy own entertainment At the last Prayers Render your hearty Thanks to the divin Majesty for all his Gifts and Benefits O My God! my desire is always to praise thee for thy always continued favours But ah my Frailty Tepiditie and Weakness interrupt my desires wishes and affections Make use therefore of thy own goodness O my gracious Redeemer in supplying my present Defects pardoning my past negligences preserving me from future failings and praising thy self in me and all thy Creatures At the Priests final Benediction O Sweet Jesu bestow on me this day thy Blessing with this of thy Minister preserve me from all sin and give me perseverance in thy service That at the last day of thy dreadful Judgment I may receive that happy Benediction amongst thy Elected and Predestinated Children of Venite Benedicti Come ye Blessed of my Father and take possession of the Kingdom which was prepared for you from all Eternity At the last Gospel of St. John This Gospel is alwayes recited in the end of Mass as containing the sublimest mysteries of our Faith and being an abridgment of the mervails hidden in the holy Trinity And as those words Verbum caro factum est The Word was made flesh Words never enough to be reverenced the Priest and People fall down upon their Knees And at the end thereof The last word is Deo gratias Thanks be to God for the aocomplishment of these holy Mysteries I Render thee all possible praise and
Oblation of my whol self purely and entirely to thy divin Majesty which I beseech thy infinit goodness and mercy to receive from my Hands and Heart and to seal it in Heaven that it may be there warranted and confirmed for evermore And because the necessities frailties and infirmities which accompany this my Pilgrimage and which will probably most of all overwhelm me in deaths Agony permit me not according to my desire to be always employed in thy praises therefore I now prostrating my self before thy Throne of Majesty whom I reverently Adore with the greatest Affection that thou O my Lord God! know'st may be given by any creature and to whom I Offer in supply of my own unworthiness all the ardent affections mental excesses supernatural jubilations and amorous unions of all devout Souls in Heaven and Earth as though I felt them all in my own heart humbly express this my present Covenant Contract and Agreement with thee my Soveraign Creator Father Son and Holy Ghost in this manner That as often as I shall either Interiourly or Exteriourly either in Heart silently or with my Tongue verbally think or say any of these things following I Adore I Thank I Offer I Resolve I am Sorry I Desire I Resign I Believe I Hope I Love O my Lord O my Jesu And so passing no further shall there end My intention is to make as perfect an Act of Adoration Thanksgiving Oblation Resolution Contrition Petition Resignation Faith Hope and Charity as is possible for any creature to make And I do now for then declare denounce and testifie that my will and desire is whensoever I shall think or pronounce any of the words aforesaid to make exercise and perform all the Acts contain'd in this Book in all the devout Books that ever were or shall be written and which the blessed Virgin Angels and Saints do and shall do in Heaven for all eternity Receive and ratifie most gracious Soveraign this my humble Act Contract and Covenant as to all and each one of its branches and members and whatsoever is therein explicitly and implicitly included receive it as a pledg of my hearty desire to serve praise and honour thy divin Majesty purely perfectly eternally Receive it once for all which I wish to present unto thee every moment and minute to produce as often as I breath and to iterate as frequently as any Act can possibly be repeated and multiplied And I invite and conjure all the celestial Spirits and faithful Souls to sacrifice unto thy sacred Majesty more perfect holocausts of praise and benediction for evermore In this manner a pious Soul may incessantly praise and please God and with little labour acquire much merit For having once sincerely made and daily weekly or monthly repeating this Act according as it is here largly described it may hourly be practised with great ease and comfort by the meer direction of the mind and simple reflection of the spirit towards God upon all occasions and in whatsoever company and employment OF all other Devotions the use of a Crucifix is chiefly to be recommended to a Sick Person Kissing it Embracing it speaking somtimes to the Crucifix somtimes to his own Soul Nothing is more easie nothing more pious nothing more profitable For in the contemplation of that Sacred object you may with great facility adore praise bless thank invoke the divin Majesty and admire his infinite mercy love and liberality in this or the like manner as his Holy Spirit shall suggest unto you O holy Cross O deep Wounds O sacred Blood O cruel Sorrow Dear Lord at how dear a rate hast thou bought me O sweet Jesu be unto me a Jesus Let not the Soul perish which cost thee so great a price Destroy not thy own workmanship Lose not thy own labour pains and passion O Jesu Thou art my Friend and my Physician my Lord and my Love my Portion and my Possession my Peace and my Patience my Light in Darkness my Health in Sickness my Comfort in Sadness my Plenty in Want my Life in Death my Heaven in Purgatory my God and my All for Time and Eternity A larger Exercise in Contemplation of the Crucifix Fixing your Eyes upon the Crucifix or taking it reverently into your hands and humbly embracing it with an ardent desire to honour imitate and conform your self as far forth as God shall enable you to the last thoughts words and affections of your dying Saviour Read or cause to be read this following Exercise leisurely distinctly and devoutly ruminating upon each point and relishing every aspiration and affection The first Consideration ALl Christs Actions are our Instructions and as his Life is the prime exemplar of holy living so his Death is the perfect pattern of happy dying which he exhorts all Christians to imitate saying Take up your Cross and follow me O My Soul how ill have we imitated our sweet Saviour in our life manners and conversation Let 's at least strive to imitate him in his death by taking patiently this present Cross which he layes upon our shoulders and following him cheerfully to Mount Calvary O Jesu my Redeemer and the worlds Saviour how happy are they who are enabled by thy Grace to imitate thy Virtues who desire to live only for thee and are ready to die with thee who live in thy friendship and die in thy favour O glorious Son of God! Thou wert Incarnated and Crucifi'd for my ungrateful Soul O that I might be martâ—r'd and crucifi'd for thy sake to the end I might be conform-able to thee in dying though I have been so unlike to thee in living O my dear Saviour though my Soul is not forc'd out of my body by such a violent death as thine yet imprint in it I beseech thee such sweet thoughts and affections as thou felt'st when thou diedst for my sake The Second Consideration JESUS dy'd willingly patiently resignedly O My God! Give me health or sickness give me life or death give me whatsoever thou pleasest not my will but thine be done O Jesu By vertue of thy perfect Resignation to the divin Will strengthen mine in Deaths Agony Behold I bind my self to that blessed conformity of thine to thy heavenly Father and in union thereof I most willingly embrace the design thou hast over me be it for life or for death O my Saviour Thou being Gods innocent Son diedst in the flower of thine age and shall I desire long life who am a sinner a rebel a criminal I yield Lord I yield and submit to Deaths summons Farewel Earth farewel world farewel this Vale of tears and miseries Heaven is my happier home Paradise is much more pleasant and agreeable and Death is my way to it The Third Consideration JESUS pray'd for strength succour and courage in his Deaths Agony O My Eternal Lord and Lover Behold thy poor child encompass'd with miseries and calamities on every side knowing not what to choose or desire but only
excessive Folly and wilt thou not yet perceive how thy own errour brings with it a self-punishment Alas what is it that thou lovest what is that which seems to content and comfort thee What is it that pretends to secure thy Soul in this shameful servitude On the contrary what troubles what torments what solicitudes what horrours doth not each moment of time suggest to thy trembling spirit Shake off then with a manly courage this sad and heavy yoak of Sin and Satan and submit cheerfully to that which thy Lord Jesus this day presents unto thee A yoak which is sweet and easie and which he himself will carry together with thee Yes O immortal invisible omnipotent King Jesu I change Master even at this instant and I make choice of thee to be henceforth my sole Lord and Soveraign Behold not I beseech thee how long I have staid in rebellion but look upon the Wounds thy self endured to win me to thy Obedience Reign in Heaven and earth O Adorable Monarch and rule particularly in my heart and Soul and let all rational creatures unanimously confess and acknowledg it their highest honour and happiness to be Servants to the crucified King Jesus 2. A Prayer to be said by one who is upon making choice of a condition of life begging light from above to discern Gods Will and his own Good T Is the order of thy divine Providence O dread Soveraign of Heaven and Earth that there should be in this great world several sorts of states and conditions to which thou designest men by a choice known only to thy all-knowing Wisdom Thou also assurest us by thy sacred Word that each one ought to remain in the condition to which he is called And there is no lawful calling which exclude's from thy Kingdom This moves me to prostrate my self at thy feet and pour forth my heart here in thy presence hoping to receive some glimpse of light from thee O true light which illuminatest every one coming into this World To direct me in this matter which is to me of highest importance not only as to my temporal but my eternal happiness O my Lord I humbly acknowledg my own ignorance and simplicity for alas I neither can foresee the future nor dive so far into my own dark interiour as to distinguish whether the motions I there feel are Rational or Sensual and whether my perverse Nature opposing thy Grace incline's me not to an Election which may endanger my Salvation The World and the Flesh furnish me with plenty of fair and specious Reasons but I well consider they are dangerous Counsellors and damnable are their Maxims Lord lead me out of this labyrinth of irresolutions since I resolve to leave my self absolutly to the conduct of thy holy Spirit renouncing all my own ratiocinations affections inclinations and interests and willing nothing at all but only what thou wilt for me Behold I am thy Servant and the childe of thy handmaid say only the word O my loving Master and thy holy will shall be obey'd lift me up or cast me down it shall equally please me so I may perceive 't is thy divine Conduct which disposeth thus of me thy poor Creature I beg of thou this only blessing O my compassionate Father that thou wilt please to prosper and sanctifie me in that particular State I shall settle in giving me strength and courage to wade through all the difficulties I shall there meet with and rewarding my Perseverance in thy love and service in this world with a crown of glory and with immortality in the next 3. A Prayer to be said by one who is fall'n into some great Necessity Calamity or Misery THy infallible truth assures me O Soveraign Lord God! there 's not a Hair of my Head fal's off without thy order How then can I doubt but this sad Accident befal's me by the particular permission of thy all-penetrating Providence I will not know the reason of this thy proceeding since I acknowledg thee O my Omnipotent Creator to possess an absolute Empire not only over my goods but over my life and that my person is in thy power as Clay is in the hands of the Potter to imprint upon me what form and put me to what use thy self best pleaseth Thou O my Lord gavest me health wealth peace fame friends children prosperity c. Which was a favour I humbly confess I did not deserve thou hast now depriv'd me of them which I humbly acknowledg to be an effect of thy Justice since I made not use of them as I ought to thy only glory and my own eternal good Thy blessed will be done in me and all creatures is all the Complaint I will make begging thy Grace to imprint as well in my Hear the meaning of these sacred words as I have the sound of them in my Mouth that I may joyfully resignedly and without reserve submit to thy sacred disposal all that concern's me and make use of thy Fatherly Visitations to the increase of my Filial obedience and affection Let me forget what I have been in my former Prosperity and not fear what I may be in any future Adversity cheerfully embracing my present Condition incessantly praising thy sweet Providence and peaceably expecting the eternal Recompence thou hast promised to such as suffer for thy sake 4. A Prayer humbly imploring the continuance of Health and that we may make good use of it in order to our eternal Happiness MAn born of a Woman as your sacred Word O eternal Truth teaches us live's but a short time And during this his short stay upon earth is subject unto many Miseries His life is a Flower which drie's up and dwindles away upon the same day it is displayed 't is a Blast soon past and dissipated 't is a stream of Water which nimbly slides by disappears and never more returns 't is a Shadow flying away assoon as formed 't is Smoak which as it riseth vanisheth in summe 't is a meer Vapour having no solid consistence and permanency This is the short fickle uncertain nature of man's life and I ask thee not O great Lord of life and death to change it for me I only begg that thou wilt be pleas'd in giving me Health to grant me also Grace to make the right use of it to thy glory and my own salvation for alas I shall be little able to act for the one or the other when the rigour of a sharp Disease seizes on the functions of my inward and outward faculties Grant O my God! that the curb of thy holy fear may keep my body always in good order least it being high in flesh should shake off it's subordination to the spirit that so I may employ it's strength to acquit my self of my Christian obligations and perform the several duties of my place and condition Take from me O Lord all desire of superfluities which serve only to satisfie the senses and let me rest fully contented with