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<DATE>2011-03-10</DATE>
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<NAME>Graham Hukill</NAME>
<RESP>MURP</RESP>
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<BIBNO T="oclc">53299222</BIBNO>
<VID>179960</VID>
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<TEXT LANG="eng">
<FRONT>
<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="1" MS="y">
<P>DEVOUT ENTERTAINMENTS OF A Chri&s;tian Soule.</P>
<P>Compo&s;ed in French by the R.F. <HI>I.H. Quarre,</HI> P. of the Ora|tory of JESUS, and D. D.</P>
<P>Tran&s;lated into Engli&s;h, by <HI>J. M. of W.</HI> Pri&s;oner in the Tower of <HI>London.</HI></P>
<P>Printed at <HI>Paris,</HI> Anno Domini MDCXLVIII.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="to the reader">
<PB REF="2">
<PB REF="2">
<HEAD>The Tran&s;lators Ad|dre&s;&s;e to the pious and Chri&s;tian Reader.</HEAD>
<P>_THe mo&s;t charitable and excellent title of this worke, is properly, me thinks, addre&s;&s;ed unto you, <HI>(good Reader,)</HI> &s;ince you are the likelie&s;t to reli&s;h and make true u&s;e of the admirable con|ceptions which are offered you in this little golden Treati&s;e. It came to my hands, as a <HI>Mi&s;&s;ive of Charity,</HI> &s;ent to entertaine me in my &s;ad impri&s;on|ment; and upon a &s;erious peru&s;all, the finding it of &s;o divine a &s;pirit, and of &s;o univer&s;all a concernment, was invitement enough to me to propo&s;e
<PB REF="3">the naturallizing the&s;e <HI>Meditations</HI> in our Countrey, by contributing &s;o much as I am able to them, namely, an Engli&s;h Tongue, in which though they lo&s;e &s;omething of their native grace, yet I have rea&s;on to believe that the charity of the Authour will be content to be &s;omewhat dimini&s;h'd him&s;elfe, to become more beneficiall to his neigh|bours; nor need I doubt, but that the force of his heavenly &s;pirit will break through, even my gro&s;&s;e language, and be not onely heard, but reverenced a|mid&s;t the noi&s;e of Drums and Trum|pets, &s;o frequent in the&s;e unhappy times, wherein we have more cau&s;e then ever, to remember the great <HI>Trumpet</HI> of the <HI>Angell;</HI> wherefore the voice of this <HI>Author</HI> (which &s;eemes Angeli|call) will come very &s;ea&s;onable, both to awake drow&s;ie, and to advance pious &s;oules in the ardors of their love to|wards God; for here is a loud <HI>Alarum</HI> for all &s;leepy and &s;lothfull Souldiers,
<PB REF="3">calling unto them to take up the <HI>Shield of Faith,</HI> and the <HI>Sword of the Spi|rit,</HI> to defend them&s;elves by the &s;upply of &s;o powerfull &s;uccours, as the&s;e holy <HI>Meditations,</HI> again&s;t the furious a&s;|&s;aults of our common enemy, who&s;e principall attempt is again&s;t (what the&s;e <HI>Entertainments</HI> &s;eeke the mo&s;t to fortifie, namely) the love of God.</P>
<P>The Authour &s;hewes you, that <HI>this love of God is the mo&s;t E&s;&s;en|tiall point of Chri&s;tianity.</HI> Be watch|full therefore, I be&s;eech you, and keep this fortre&s;&s;e &s;afe from the &s;urprize of our profe&s;&s;ed enemy, and then nothing can be feared; for God expects more at your hands, and in loving him you fulfill his whole Law, and &s;weeten to your &s;elves the rigour of all humane Lawes.</P>
<P>After he hath &s;et you in the way of applying continually tho&s;e duties, which appertaine to the pre&s;ervation of you in this happy &s;tate, he pre&s;ents you with
<PB REF="4">&s;ome Con&s;iderations upon the whole <HI>Pa&s;&s;ion</HI> of our <HI>ble&s;&s;ed Saviour,</HI> as a powerfull motive to invite you to this pure love, which he demands of you, and to render homage to this exce&s;&s;ive goodne&s;&s;e, for &s;o great and ine&s;timable a benefit, which it hath purcha&s;ed for you at &s;o dear a rate, as even the death of the onely Son of God.</P>
<P>And truly, when we looke upon the &s;ufferings which <HI>Je&s;us Chri&s;t</HI> hath in|dured for us, ought we not to reproach our &s;elves, for bearing impatiently a few cro&s;&s;es and contradictions in this &s;hort pilgrimage? for if &s;o &s;acred a per|&s;on &s;u&s;tained &s;uch violent pains for us, can we conceive our &s;elves exempt from them? No, no, let us rather be a&s;hamed at our cowardice and effemi|nate affections, in de&s;iring to find no oppo&s;ition in our way, but to tread &s;till upon ro&s;es, thornes &s;eeming too har&s;h for our dainty feet, which (if they be &s;o tender) cannot looke like
<PB REF="4">feet appertaining to a head &s;tuck full of thornes; and alas, we cannot expect a &s;hare in the glory of our head <HI>Chri&s;t Je&s;us,</HI> if we (as his mem|bers) beare not willingly a part in his combats.</P>
<P>When we are called into the Field of the <HI>Cro&s;&s;e,</HI> let us then con&s;ider, how happie we are, that may make to our &s;elves a Crowne of the&s;e thornes, whereof there are &s;tore at hand in the&s;e hard times; let us march joyfully, that we may triumphantly pa&s;&s;e through <HI>Mount Calvary, fa&s;tned</HI> (as <HI>S. Paul</HI> &s;aith) <HI>to the Cro&s;&s;e with Chri&s;t;</HI> and this is the neare&s;t way to the heavenly <HI>Jeru&s;alem,</HI> where we &s;hall be refre&s;hed after all our labours, with the &s;ight of that &s;overaigne object of our love, the <HI>increated Beauty and Verity,</HI> who&s;e fir&s;t &s;ight is no le&s;&s;e then eternall beatitude.</P>
<P>De&s;iring to pay &s;ome re&s;pect to the Authour, I &s;hall rather doe him in|jury,
<PB REF="5">if I keep you too long by any di&s;|cour&s;e of mine, from entering into his <HI>devout Entertainments,</HI> who&s;e pray|ers you have, and mine &s;hall pre&s;ume to attend on his, to implore an effica|cious operation of his holy labours, and my charitable de&s;igne.</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>J. W.</SIGNED></CLOSER>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="introduction">
<PB REF="5">
<HEAD>The Introduction.</HEAD>
<HEAD TYPE="sub"><HI>Concerning the nece&s;sity of the Love of God.</HI></HEAD>
<P>_ALL the favours which Hea|ven &s;howres downe upon us, are only to withdraw us out of the captivity of &s;in, and the world, and to place us in the liberty of the grace of <HI>Chri&s;tia|nity,</HI> to the end God may reigne in our hearts. It is for this rea&s;on wee are made <HI>Chri&s;tians,</HI> and receive the faith of <HI>Bapti&s;me: Je&s;us Chri&s;t</HI> died on the <HI>Cro&s;&s;e</HI> for this end, and when he de&s;cended from the bo&s;ome of his Father to be made Man, his de|&s;igne was only to e&s;tabli&s;h the King|dome of God among&s;t the children of men.</P>
<PB REF="6">
<P>And if we may be allowed to en|ter into con&s;ideration of the eternal thoughts of the eternall Father, we may ea&s;ily di&s;cern, that in the whole <HI>Incarnation</HI> and <HI>Pa&s;&s;ion</HI> of his Son, and in the whole di&s;po&s;ition of our &s;alvation, he hath no other aime, then to &s;eat the Kingdome of God in our &s;oules, and to procure that our heart (which is created only for God) may be really the Throne and re&s;idence of the Divinity: In effect, all the Sacraments, which <HI>Je&s;us Chri&s;t</HI> him&s;elfe hath in&s;tituted, and left unto his Church, as &s;o many &s;prings and fountains of graces and benedictions, are onely to di&s;po&s;e and place in us the Kingdome of <HI>Je|&s;us Chri&s;t,</HI> to produce the reigning of God in us, and to aboli&s;h the dominion of the world, the Divell and Sin.</P>
<P>When <HI>Je&s;us Chri&s;t</HI> taught his <HI>A|po&s;tles</HI> how they were to pray, he gave them the <HI>Pater No&s;ter,</HI> and
<PB REF="6">wills us to de&s;ire above all things, <HI>that his Kingdome come;</HI> that is (ac|cording to S. <HI>Gregory</HI>) to ask of God, that God may reigne in us. And <HI>Ie|&s;us Christ</HI> him&s;elfe &s;aid to his Apo|&s;tles, that the chiefe&s;t de&s;ire of a <HI>Chri&s;tian</HI> ought to be, that God may reigne in his heart; <HI>Seeke fir&s;t of all</HI> (&s;aith he) <HI>the Kingdome of God.</HI> It is certain then, that God ought to reigne in us, not &s;in, nor the world: And evident it is, that the grace of Chri&s;tianity cau&s;eth the Kingdome of God to pre&s;ide in our hearts.</P>
<P>Now God cannot reigne in us but by love and charity; for S. <HI>Iohn</HI> &s;aith, <HI>God is charity; and he that a|bides in charity, abides in God and God in him.</HI> His meaning is, that by love God makes his re&s;idence in the &s;oule, he placeth there his Throne, he reignes and commands there, and quickeneth the whole &s;oule. He is there, as the Sun to the Heavens,. which illuminates all of it; as a King
<PB REF="7">in his Kingdome, who commands all; as the Father of a family in his hou&s;e, who ruleth and directeth e|very thing. And even as wind di&s;|per&s;es &s;moake, and fire liquifies and melts waxe; &s;o Charity, which gives us God, and is even God him&s;elfe reigning in us, di&s;&s;ipates our imper|fections, con&s;umes our inordinate affections, and delivering us from &s;in, &s;ubjecteth us entirely to the power and direction of <HI>Ie&s;us Chri&s;t,</HI> who reignes in us.</P>
<P>Whence it followes, that who|ever is willing to become a true <HI>Chri&s;tian,</HI> of what condition &s;oever he may be in this world, ought to de&s;ire that God may reigne in him; he mu&s;t di&s;po&s;e him&s;elfe thereunto, and render his &s;oule and con&s;cience worthy to be the Kingdome and habitation of God; And to arrive to this ble&s;&s;ed condition, he ought to be in the &s;tate of love and chari|ty:
<PB REF="7">whence we are to inferre, That all the true exerci&s;es of a Chri&s;tian mu&s;t tend unto the obtaining of love; and all that he is to doe, all that he is to learne, and the very method which he is to ob&s;erve in order to a good life, con&s;i&s;ts onely in love and charity. Wherefore it were to be wi&s;hed, that we would learne no other le&s;&s;on in this world, nor imbrace other exerci&s;e, then that of Love and Charity.</P>
<P>And in effect God demands no|thing of us but love, for he that lo|veth, fulfills the whole Law of God. And <HI>Je&s;us Chri&s;t</HI> being ready to die, recommends nothing more to his Di&s;ciples, then love: vertue is not acceptable to God, and our whole life hath no merit, without Charity: Finally God gives not his Paradi&s;e but unto love. Is it not then very true, that the exerci&s;e and practi&s;e of love ought to be the &s;ole enter|tainment
<PB REF="8">and whole occupation of a &s;oule that intends her Salvation? In as much as it is mo&s;t certaine, that at the houre of death God re|&s;olving to judge us will re&s;pect no|thing but love; for he will receive us, if we expire in the &s;tate of love, and reejct us, in ca&s;e he finds us de&s;ti|tute thereof.</P>
<P>I pray tell me now, <HI>(you that read what I write)</HI> when you &s;hall come to the houre of death, and be in that moment, wherein you are to appeare before the Tribunall of God, to receive the definitive &s;en|tence of your Eternity, if you find your &s;elfe void of the love of God, what &s;orrow will you not feele for having pa&s;&s;ed away your life in toyes, for having &s;et your affection on trifles, and not loved God, who is only amiable, and the true happi|ne&s;&s;e of our &s;oules?</P>
<P>And at this la&s;t houre, which you
<PB REF="8">cannot avoid, wherein you &s;hall be con&s;trained to abandon both this life, and all that is in this world, what angui&s;h will you not &s;uffer, for having rendred your &s;elfe the &s;lave of vanity, and unto all inordinate motions of concupi&s;cence, for ha|ving violated and de&s;pi&s;ed all holy, and divine Lawes, to &s;atisfie your owne de&s;ires? Finally what di&s;plea|&s;ure will you feele, for having &s;hut your heart again&s;t the love of God, to lodge therein the love of &s;o ma|ny creatures? Surely at the time of your death, you will (as I may &s;ay) even die for &s;orrow, and this griefe will be that worme which &s;hall e|ternally gnaw your &s;oule, for ha|ving &s;o much &s;tudied to plea&s;e the creature, and for having been &s;o &s;trongly fa&s;tned thereunto, as to pro&s;trate your &s;elfe to vanity and plea&s;ures, and for having de&s;pi&s;ed the love of God, who is your hap|pine&s;&s;e,
<PB REF="9">and the true delight of your &s;oule.</P>
<P>But &s;uppo&s;e that you &s;hall be &s;a|ved, and that you are in the role of tho&s;e Elect, whom God intends to place in his Kingdome of glory, where there is no other God, but Love, no law, but that of Love, and where the life and entertainment of the Saints, is but a perfect and eter|nall Love: Though you be (I &s;ay) of this number, and if your name be written in the booke of life, yet God will not &s;ave you without Love and Charity; for you mu&s;t nece&s;&s;arily die in Charity, if you will be &s;aved. Let us &s;uppo&s;e then that you have Love, at this la&s;t houre, it will be &s;urely a true love of God; If then you can ever Love God with a true love, how much paine will you feele, for not having loved him &s;ooner. How much more bitterly will you dete&s;t the world, and all
<PB REF="9">the creatures which you have loved, and which have diverted you from loving a God, who loveth you &s;o much, as to give you his Paradi&s;e? It is then, yea, it is then, when you will under&s;tand the love, which God beares you, and that you will love God truly; then will it be that the more light you &s;hall receive, and the purer your &s;oule &s;hall be, the more will you dete&s;t the world, and deplore your owne ingratitude; and undoubtedly in this point, will con&s;i&s;t the &s;harpe&s;t: of your paines, and the mo&s;t in&s;upportable do|lours which you &s;hall &s;uffer in Pur|gatory,</P>
<P>I &s;ay all this, to recall your &s;oule and per&s;wade you, if you can, to pre|vent the mi&s;eries of this houre and moment, which you cannot e&s;cape, and that from this in&s;tant, prepa|ring your &s;elfe for death, you may begin to &s;eek and de&s;ire no other
<PB REF="10">thing but love. In all your devoti|ons learne to love God, and take courage to de&s;pi&s;e manfully all im|pediments unto true love.</P>
<P>Let all your Entertainments and Devotions be in order to love, and in all your exerci&s;es of mercy, &s;trive onely to root out of your heart, and remove from your life, all that di|&s;tanceth you from the love of God.</P>
<P>For your a&s;&s;i&s;tance herein, I thought fit to pre&s;ent unto you &s;ome few documents, which I con|ceive very profitable for all &s;uch, as have a de&s;ire to live well. I &s;tile them <HI>Devout Entertainments,</HI> be|cau&s;e indeed the &s;oule ought to en|tertain and bu&s;ie her &s;elfe onely in love and charity. And I call them <HI>Devout,</HI> in as much as true devotion con&s;i&s;ts only in this point, of loving God.</P>
<P>It is not my intention, to di&s;cre|dit other Exerci&s;es, which are re|commended
<PB REF="10">to &s;oules, becau&s;e they are good and profitable, if they di|rect unto <HI>Love</HI> and <HI>Charity:</HI> But I may well &s;ay with S. <HI>Paul,</HI> that <HI>all is nothing without Charity.</HI> Wherefore I could wi&s;h, that a true <HI>Chri&s;tian</HI> had no other object, or end in all his a|ctions, then love; that he would &s;tudie nothing but love, and &s;trive to correct all his defects, oppo&s;ite to the love of God; for all being well con&s;idered, whoever hath <HI>Charity,</HI> hath all things. And indeed we &s;ee &s;o many per&s;ons frequent the <HI>divine Sacraments,</HI> we &s;ee &s;o many who ex|erci&s;e them&s;elves in works of piety, and neverthele&s;&s;e little profit and change is ob&s;erved in the life of <HI>Chri&s;tians.</HI> If rea&s;ons may be given for it, there is no other in my opini|on, then their defectivene&s;&s;e in lo|ving God. This is the rea&s;on why in all this little Treati&s;e I &s;peak of no|thing, but <HI>Love</HI> and <HI>Charity.</HI></P>
<PB REF="11">
<P>It is true al&s;o, that I treat of the <HI>Pre&s;ence of God,</HI> and &s;hew the pra|ctice of it; but I have done it in con|&s;ideration of love, becau&s;e I conceive it to be an exerci&s;e ab&s;olutely ne|ce&s;&s;ary, e&s;pecially for &s;uch as live in the world, and de&s;ire to lead a vertuous life, in the mid&s;t of the turmoyles and di&s;tractions, which are frequent in our ordinary cour&s;e of life. We cannot doubt, but that the mo&s;t part of Chri&s;tians have their &s;pirits &s;till di&s;tracted, their thoughts wandring, their hearts di|vided; and if every one will con&s;i|der in what manner he liveth, he &s;hall perceive that the &s;oule is but &s;eldome within the body, wholly di&s;tracted, and as it were evapora|ted into exteriour things, which is a great misfortune to her. Now it is requi&s;ite to find out a meanes to recall her; &s;urely I &s;ee none better then that of the pre&s;ence of God, in
<PB REF="11">the &s;ame manner, as I explicate it; Make u&s;e of it, if you plea&s;e, and you &s;hall find by experience, that there is nothing more profitable and ad|vantagious.</P>
<P>I recommend it as much as I can po&s;&s;ibly; for if every one would but con&s;ider at lei&s;ure, the di&s;po&s;i|tion of his own &s;oule, he &s;hould di&s;|cerne, that it will be almo&s;t impo&s;&s;i|ble for him to performe any exer|ci&s;e of piety, as one ought, if he place not him&s;elfe in the pre&s;ence of God; for this po&s;ture is ab&s;o|lutely nece&s;&s;ary, to recall our &s;oule, which is &s;traying, and to render her attentive to what &s;he is doing; and moreover this is nece&s;&s;ary, in re&s;pect we cannot performe any good work without the grace of God. And when the &s;oule is thus pre&s;ented un|to God, &s;he craves a&s;&s;i&s;tance and grace of him, without which &s;he is unable to act any thing.</P>
<PB REF="12">
<P>This is what I de&s;ire to offer un|to you; I be&s;eech our Lord to af|fect you with it, and to favour u<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter"> all with his grace, to prepare ou<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter"> hearts for him, and to render us wor|thy of his love.</P>
<PB REF="12">
<PB REF="13">
<P>THe&s;e, or what other <HI>Erraeta's</HI> the Printer (through his un|skilfulne&s;&s;e in this Language) hath committed, the courteous Reader may plea&s;e to pardon, and correct thus.</P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="errata">
<HEAD>Errata.</HEAD>
<P>Pag. 33. l. 10. read require <HI>you.</HI> p. 107. l. 8. r. into <HI>the</HI> &s;tate. p. 111. l. 6, &amp; 7. r. I know <HI>and</HI> you have &s;aid it. p. 114. l. 14. r. <HI>expecting.</HI></P>
</DIV1>
</FRONT>
<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="text">
<PB N="1" REF="13" MS="y">
<HEAD>DEVOUT ENTERTAINMENTS OF A CHRISTIAN SOULE.</HEAD>
<DIV2 TYPE="section">
<HEAD>Of the love of GOD, <HI>The fir&s;t Entertainment.</HI></HEAD>
<DIV3 TYPE="part">
<HEAD>&sect;. <HI>1.</HI> Of the Excellency and Nece&s;sity of Love.</HEAD>
<P N="1">1. THe fir&s;t thing I de&s;ire to propo&s;e unto you upon this &s;ubject, and which I would gladly engrave in
<PB N="2" REF="14">your heart, is the acknowledg|ing that the rea&s;onable creature was created by God, for no other end, then to love and &s;erve him. This is a verity which I be&s;eech you often to con&s;ider, and if you can, call it often every day into your thoughts.</P>
<P N="2">2. In order to this principle, remember that you have no right to live on earth, but to love and &s;erve God; for all that you have in the world, whereof God hath given you the u&s;e, he hath put it into your hands, onely to te&s;tifie his love, and to oblige you to love him: &s;o that all things ought to &s;erve you, as motives to love him, who hath be&s;towed them on you: For as God hath created nothing,
<PB N="3" REF="14">which doth not rai&s;e you to the knowledge of him, if you will con&s;ider it: &s;o hath he made no|thing, which doth not attract you unto his love, and fa&s;tens you to him, if you bring no op|po&s;ition thereunto.</P>
<P N="3">3. You know very well, that we are obliged <HI>to love God above all things, with our whole heart and &s;oule, &amp;c.</HI> It is a Comman|dement which <HI>Je&s;us Chri&s;t</HI> calls <HI>Maximum,</HI> the greate&s;t, in as much as it compri&s;eth all the duties of a &s;oule towards God; and if you can accompli&s;h this, you will doubtle&s;&s;e fulfill all the re&s;t. Wherefore e&s;teeme princi|pally this Commandment: exa|mine your &s;elfe &s;eriou&s;ly upon this point, and omit not to ac|cu&s;e
<PB N="4" REF="15">your &s;elfe of it in Confe&s;&s;i|on, when&s;oever you faile there|in.</P>
<P N="4">4. As God doth nothing but to oblige us to love him, &s;o he demands nothing of us but love. This moved the <HI>Apo&s;tle</HI> to &s;ay, that <HI>the whole law of God is ac|compli&s;hed in loving God.</HI> Wher|fore all your exerci&s;es ought to tend onely unto love: I meane, that all the practices of piety, all your de&s;ires, all your prayers, and even the u&s;e of the Sacra|ments, ought to aime onely at the placing you in the love of God, to e&s;tabli&s;h, con&s;erve, and advance you therein. Finally, you are to act nothing but by love, or for the obtaining the love of God.</P>
<PB N="5" REF="15">
<P N="5">5. Con&s;ider this vertue, as the onely happine&s;&s;e of your &s;oule: for by charity we adhere unto God, and are united and conjoy|ned unto him: Nor can you be ignorant, that all the good, and happine&s;&s;e of the &s;oule, con&s;i&s;ts onely in her being uni|ted unto God, and adhering in|&s;eparably to him, becau&s;e he that adheres unto God, (&s;aith the <HI>Apo&s;tle</HI>) becomes one &s;pirit. His meaning is, that Charity in|ve&s;ts us with divine proper|ties, and makes us little Gods.</P>
<P N="6">6. We &s;hould be very unfor|tunate, if God did not love us: Now he loveth us onely, to the end we &s;hould love him, and in loving us, he can give us nothing of greater value then love. For
<PB N="6" REF="16">it is love onely, which renders is&punc; happy: It is love onely which gives us God, and unites us to him: Love onely guides us unto God. Briefly, it is by love one|ly, that we become acceptable to God; and nothing is agreeable to him, but what is done in love. See then what that &s;oule lo&s;eth, which wants this love, and of how little account all exerci&s;es are without this act of love.</P>
<P N="7">7. All other vertues may be found among&s;t the good and bad, but <HI>Charity</HI> only is the cha|racter and &s;tamp of Gods chil|dren; Finally, &s;he is the <HI>Queen,</HI> which commands all the powers of the &s;oule, and every thing o|beyes her: And to &s;peak it in a word, &s;he is the true vertue; for
<PB N="7" REF="16">take away <HI>Love,</HI> and <HI>Charity,</HI> all that is tearmed <HI>Vertue,</HI> is &s;o but &s;uperficially and in appea|rance.</P>
<P N="8">8. This is enough to affect you with the de&s;ire of acquiring <HI>Charity</HI> and Divine <HI>Love.</HI> But to know how one may obtaine it, and by what meanes we may attaine unto the po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of this happine&s;&s;e, is the &s;ubject wherewith I intend to entertain you.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="part">
<PB N="8" REF="17">
<HEAD>&sect;. <HI>II.</HI> Of the meanes to attaine unto the love of God.</HEAD>
<P N="1">1. TO acquire Charity which we call Love, we mu&s;t earne&s;tly de|mand it of God; be&s;ides, wee ought frequently to de&s;ire it: Finally, we mu&s;t labour &s;eriou&s;|ly therein, and act on our part what wee are able. The&s;e are three points which I am to ex|plicate,</P>
<P N="2">2. To affect God with a &s;u|pernaturall Love, is a pure gift of God: Wherefore I advi&s;e
<PB N="9" REF="17">you to beg it of him continually. And the fir&s;t thing you are to aske of him, is, that you may love him, as he would have you, conformable to your obliga|tion.</P>
<P N="3">3. When I &s;ay continually, I meane that the mo&s;t u&s;ual Pray|er you are to make, and the grace which you ought to de|mand &s;till of God, is to have Charity and Love: for if you po&s;&s;e&s;&s;e this love, you have all, and if you want it, what&s;oever el&s;e you may have, is of no va|lue, &s;aith the <HI>Apo&s;tle.</HI></P>
<P N="4">4. When you heare it &s;o often mentioned, that we ought to per|forme acts of the love of God, let not that produce a beliefe in
<PB N="10" REF="18">you, that it is in our own power, without grace, to love God with &s;uch a love as we owe him: For it is &s;o &s;ublime a thing to love God, as it tran&s;cends all the po|wer of Nature. It is requi&s;ite, that God by his grace unite his power unto our whole faculties; to inable us, to forme one &s;in|gle act of the love of God. And indeed there is a nece&s;&s;ity of <HI>Gods</HI> giving us his grace, &amp; love, for our loving him, becau&s;e of our &s;elves we are unable to doe it, without his a&s;&s;i&s;tance, and we render our &s;elves unworthy of it by our &s;ins.</P>
<P N="5">5. I will not then enjoyn you to make often acts of the love of God; but &s;ay onely, that you
<PB N="11" REF="18">mu&s;t often reque&s;t this love, and di&s;po&s;e your &s;elfe to receive it. And above all you are to annihi|late in your &s;oule, as much as you can po&s;&s;ibly, all that may divert God from giving you this love, or hinder the love of God from raigning in your heart. This is the mo&s;t impor|tant point; for to implore the love of <HI>God,</HI> and to live quite contrary, is but to mock, and deride him.</P>
<P N="6">6. It is not enough to aske it of God, but you mu&s;t likewi&s;e de&s;ire it fervently: And &s;urely I wi&s;h, that this de&s;ire may be great in your &s;oule, that it may be the powerfulle&s;t of all your inclinations, and the mo&s;t lively affection which raignes in you:
<PB N="12" REF="19">For to de&s;ire love is a &s;trong di&s;po&s;ition unto love. And truly one can hardly de&s;ire the love of <HI>God,</HI> without a pre&s;ent conce&s;&s;ion of it.</P>
<P N="7">7. Nay, I could wi&s;h for the benefit of your &s;oule, that you had no other de&s;ire, then to love <HI>God,</HI> and plea&s;e him in all things, and that every moment you did awaken in your &s;elf this de&s;ire of loving <HI>God.</HI> O what great things would he operate in you! Surely your life would be plea&s;ing, and all things out of <HI>God</HI> indifferent to you. Endea|vour that your exerci&s;es of piety and the mo&s;t u&s;uall occupations of your &s;oule, even when you are di&s;tributing Almes, be with
<PB N="13" REF="19">an intention to increa&s;e this de|&s;ire, to nouri&s;h and practice it. I meane that all your employ|ments, and exerci&s;es of vertue, &s;hould be either fruits of love, or meanes to attaine unto the love of God. Above all in the u&s;e of the <HI>Sacraments</HI> I wi&s;h you to retaine this pure intention; for if at any time you are to &s;eek the means of acquiring the love of God, it is by receiving the holy <HI>Sacraments,</HI> principally that of <HI>Confe&s;sion</HI> and <HI>Communion.</HI> Wherefore when you Confe&s;&s;e, and Communicate, endeavour that it may be alwayes with this love, and with an intention there|by to introduce the love of God.</P>
<PB N="14" REF="20">
<P N="8">8. It imports you very much, to have a good and pure intenti|on in all that you &s;hal doe. Now the Intention which I wi&s;h you alwayes to have, is to act and &s;uf|fer all for the pure love of God; for God ought to be the object and end of your life and actions. There are &s;ome who regard their proper intere&s;t, and doe every thing to the end they may merit. I doe not condemne them, but I advi&s;e not you to proceed in this manner; for it is a mercena|ry intention: I contrariwi&s;e con|jure you to doe nothing, but for the pure love of God. If you doe all for God, God will doe all for you; if you give all unto God, he will give him&s;elfe entirely un|to
<PB N="15" REF="20">you, and that ought to &s;uffice you.</P>
<P N="9">9. In few words, I de&s;ire that <HI>Charity</HI> and <HI>Love</HI> may be the object of all your actions, the &s;ubject of your imployments, &amp; the mo&s;t ordinary exerci&s;e of your life and piety. Surely if you have a fervent de&s;ire to love God, all this will be ea&s;ie to you, and by the &s;ame degrees as this de&s;ire &s;hall increa&s;e, by the &s;ame you will advance in the love of God and Vertue.</P>
<P N="10">10. It is not enough to de|mand &amp; de&s;ire the love of God, you mu&s;t cooperate al&s;o in this point. I will recommend onely two things unto you, and in my opinion they will &s;uffice.</P>
<PB N="16" REF="21">
<P N="11">11. The fir&s;t is, that you be ve|ry carefull to keep your con&s;ci|ence pure and free from &s;in, and above all ingrave in your &s;oule this di&s;po&s;ition, which ought to remaine alwayes in the centre of your heart, to wit, that for no worldly re&s;pect you offend God, and that neither the goods nor evils of this life procure you to doe any thing again&s;t the Com|mandments of God: My mea|ning is, that neither the love nor feare of men, nor the world or mutuall complacency draw you to offend God, how little &s;oever it be.</P>
<P N="12">12. The other point which I would recommend unto you, is, the giving your heart wholly un|to
<PB N="17" REF="21">God; for it is created onely for him. By your heart I under|&s;tand your love, and I meane that you beware of fixing your &s;elfe unto the Creature by love and affection: And I intend by this Creature, the world, tem|porall goods, and all earthly things.</P>
<P N="13">13. I know very wel, that you cannot live without love; but that which I recommend unto you, is the remaining in the world, and in the u&s;e of crea|tures, without placing your heart and affection on them: But &s;ince you ought to love God, who is infinitely amiable, and co~mands you to love him above all things, there is nothing difficult in this,
<PB N="18" REF="22">which I propo&s;e to you; for there is nothing &s;weeter or more facile then Love, and I only beg of you to prefer God above all creatures: is there any thing more rea&s;onable?</P>
<P N="14">14. Remember this principle, which is alwayes veritable, that a foule by the &s;ame degrees &s;he fa&s;tens her &s;elfe by love unto the creature, by the &s;ame doth &s;he loo&s;en and &s;eperate her &s;elf from God; and as much as &s;he &s;ever's her &s;elf from the creature, &s;o much doth &s;he unite her &s;elf, and approach unto God. Con&s;ider well this maxime, to reap pro|fit by it; for if you will love God with your heart, and if the de&s;ire which you have to love
<PB N="19" REF="22">God, be &s;incere, you will be ve|ry carefull not to adhere unto any creature; which is all I re|commend unto you.</P>
<P N="15">15. But in this point of the love of God, beware of being like unto the <HI>Jewes</HI> and <HI>Phari|&s;ees,</HI> who Fa&s;ted, Prayed, gave Almes, and bare on their fore|heads, the written Law of <HI>Mo&s;es;</HI> and yet their hearts were wholy alienated from God you mu&s;t needs under&s;tand my meaning without farther explanation.</P>
<P N="19">19. Take heed al&s;o, that you re&s;emble not tho&s;e who &s;peak much, and do little: Fi|nally, be not like unto the <HI>Sa|maritans,</HI> who adored <HI>Idols</HI> and the true God in one and t<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="2+ letters">
<PB N="20" REF="23">&s;ame <HI>Temple.</HI> To love God and the Creature both together, are things incompatible; for true love is neither partiall nor divi|ded; but intire, cordiall, and perfect. Still call to mind, that the heart of man is created who|ly for God, And he ought to love God alone, or if he love any other thing, let it be for? God, and in order to God.</P>
<P N="17">17. I do not doubt, but that you will meet at fir&s;t with &s;ome difficulties in the&s;e practices, but do not think, that before the Judgment. of Almighty God, you can be exempt from paine and labour: On the contrary you ought to animate your &s;elf; for love and charity, which gives
<PB N="21" REF="23">us God, and opens Paradi&s;e to us, de&s;erves well, that we labour &s;eriou&s;ly to acquire it, and that we be very careful to con&s;erve it, if God vouch&s;afe to be&s;tow it on us.</P>
<P N="18">18. To a&s;&s;i&s;t you in the ac|qui&s;ition of charity, or rather to di&s;po&s;e you to receive it from the hand of God, I conceive it fit for you to practice the three en&s;uing Acts, which I am going to &s;et before you.</P>
<P N="19">19. The fir&s;t is, that you enter into the poor &amp; &s;imple thought of that love and charity which <HI>Je&s;us Chri&s;t</HI> hath for you, or el&s;e con&s;ider, how the Son of God is all love: Then &s;tay as little as you plea&s;e upon this
<PB N="22" REF="24">thought, adore in your heart this love of <HI>Je&s;us</HI> with an hum|ble re&s;pect. After this, you of|fer your &s;elf unto <HI>Chri&s;t Je&s;us,</HI> and give your &s;elf intire to Him; open your heart to Him, to the end he may infu&s;e into it, the &s;pirit of love, even as he po&s;&s;e&s;|&s;eth the plenitude thereof, and according to the intention he hath, that you &s;hould love God.</P>
<P N="20">20. The &s;econd is, that you renounce cheerfully all that di|verts you from loving God, and be&s;eech <HI>Chri&s;t Je&s;u&s;</HI> to indue you with a hatred, again&s;t all that is oppo&s;ite unto this love, or which may &s;eparate you from God.</P>
<P N="21">21. The third is, that you
<PB N="23" REF="24">re&s;olve to be very circum&s;pect, to avoide all that hinders you from loving God. Now, no|thing is a greater ob&s;tacle to it, then mortall &s;inne, and the love of Creatures. And to aide you herein, entertain your &s;elf &s;ome|times in thoughts which may produce love in you: At lea&s;t, endeavour as much as you may, that no day pa&s;&s;e away without &s;ome &s;pirituall Lecture, which may incourage you in the&s;e pra|ctices of love and charity. You may perform the&s;e three acts in the form which I am going to pre&s;cribe you.</P>
<P N="22">22. My Lord, and my God! I adore you as the increated love; I give my &s;elf unto your
<PB N="24" REF="25">love, to bear the effects thereof, in what manner you &s;hall plea&s;e, and I renounce all that is repug|nant in me to the love which I owe you. Be plea&s;ed, to gives me only the grace, that I may di|ve&s;t my &s;elf of all that is oppo|&s;ite unto your love; and that henceforward, I may accept of nothing which is aver&s;e unto it.</P>
<P N="23">23. I particularly recommend unto you this la&s;t exerci&s;e, in as much as the eternall Father be&s;tows nothing on us, but by his Sonne, e&s;pecially no Graces and Vertues; And becau&s;e our works have no other merit before God, then what they receive from <HI>Je&s;us Chri&s;t,</HI> I &s;ay that in this ex|erci&s;e, you &s;hould give and offer
<PB N="25" REF="25">your &s;elfe unto <HI>Chri&s;t Je&s;us,</HI> to the end he may be&s;tow on you what is nece&s;&s;ary, and &s;et on your workes and good intenti|ons, the price and value which they are to beare in the &s;ight of God: finally, that you may re|duce into act the de&s;ire you have of loving God.</P>
<P N="24">24 Moreover when God is plea&s;ed to confer any grace on us, he would have us to coope|rate with it; &amp; without this co|operation his gifts arc fruitle&s;&s;e. Now we begin to cooperate, when we give our &s;elves unto <HI>Je&s;us Chri&s;t,</HI> to beare the effects of the vertue which we de&s;ire of him, and when we renounce all that is repugnant to it, The&s;e are the rea&s;ons which invite mee
<PB N="26" REF="26">&s;o earne&s;tly to recommend unto you this exerci&s;e.</P>
<P>The&s;e are the few entertain|ments which I purpo&s;e to pre|&s;ent unto you, concerning the acqui&s;ition &amp; practice of Cha|rity. Let us treat now of <HI>Prayer.</HI></P>
</DIV3>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="section">
<PB N="27" REF="26">
<HEAD>OF PRAYER, <HI>AND</HI> Of the Pre&s;ence of God. <HI>The &s;econd Entertainment.</HI></HEAD>
<DIV3 TYPE="part">
<HEAD>&sect;. <HI>I.</HI> Concerning the Excellency of Prayer.</HEAD>
<P N="1">1. WE are all bound to pray; it is the duty of the Soule, it is a le&s;&s;on which <HI>Ie&s;us Chri&s;t</HI> gave unto his <HI>Apo&s;tles</HI> and <HI>Di&s;ciples:</HI> it is the practice
<PB N="28" REF="27">of the <HI>Church,</HI> and the cu&s;toms of all <HI>Chri&s;tians:</HI> And God will have us to be &s;en&s;ible o<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter"> our infirmities and mi&s;eries, and acknowledge our poverty, to the end wee may re&s;ort unto him, and that he may be honou|red by our prayers.</P>
<P N="2">2. <HI>Prayer</HI> is an entertainment &amp; communication of the &s;oule with God, and of God with the &s;oule: And in Prayer the &s;oule elevates her &s;elf unto God and God vouch&s;afes to de&s;cen<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter"> unto the &s;oule.</P>
<P N="3">3. <HI>Prayer</HI> well made, is a mir|rour wherein the &s;oule behold her &s;elfe, and where &s;hee finde what &s;hee is; and &s;omtimes &s;he learnes thereby to know God and begins to reli&s;h him.</P>
<PB N="29" REF="27">
<P N="4">4. <HI>Prayer</HI> obtaines all things for us; <HI>Prayer</HI> teacheth all: It is finally the food and aliment of the &s;oule and &s;o nece&s;&s;ary, that as without naturall meat the bo|dy langui&s;heth, &s;o doth the &s;oule without <HI>Prayer.</HI></P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="part">
<HEAD>&sect;. <HI>II.</HI> Of the Pre&s;ence of God in Prayer.</HEAD>
<P N="1">1. I Advi&s;e you then to &s;et your affection upon <HI>Pray|er.</HI> There are two &s;orts there|of, the one <HI>vocall,</HI> the other <HI>men|tall:</HI> I will not take from you vocall Prayer, becau&s;e it is very good, but indeed I coun&s;ell you not to charge and oblige your &s;elfe unto many vocall Prayers.</P>
<PB N="30" REF="28">
<P N="2">2 Nor will I oblige you un|to mentall Prayer, for few per|&s;ons are capable of entertaining the in&s;elves with it: Neverthe|lesse I conceive it u&s;efull, nay nece&s;&s;ary for you, to make choice every day of &s;ome point or verity of faith, to meditate on it as long as you plea&s;e.</P>
<P N="3">3 It is an exerci&s;e which I propo&s;e to you as nece&s;&s;ary: for, mo&s;t certaine it is, that every one hath need of recalling his &s;pirit; and evidently your mind is the more &s;traying and di&s;tra|cted, the more you remaine in the world. Wherefore if you have any care of your &s;alvation, you mu&s;t &s;trive to recollect your &s;oule, which is &s;o much ingaged in exteriour things, as it may be
<PB N="31" REF="28">&s;aid to be &s;carce in your body.</P>
<P N="4">4 Now the true meanes for recalling your &s;oule, is to place your &s;elfe every day in the pre|&s;ence of God, and to remaine &s;ome time in &s;ilence, taking &s;ome good thought for your en|tertainment.</P>
<P N="5">5 What time you &s;hall make choice of, I leave unto your own conveniency; at lea&s;t I ad|vi&s;e you to take part of the holy Ma&s;&s;e for your meditation, and to imploy it in this exerci&s;e; but do it with affection. As for the &s;aying of your Beads, or other vocall Prayers, you may finde time enough. If I may be cre|dited, you will preferre this lit|tle recollection before all the re&s;t; for it is more important
<PB N="32" REF="29">then it &s;eemeth, and experience will teach it you if you plea&s;e.</P>
<P N="6">6. What proportion of time you will imploy therein, I leave unto your own zeale and devo|tion; I be&s;eech you onely not to faile in taking every day &s;ome good thought , and &s;eri|ou&s;ly to &s;tay upon it, though it be but for &s;ome &s;mall time, and if it be po&s;&s;ible doe this every morning. Affectionate your &s;elfe unto this exerci&s;e which is briefe, and will prove more fa|cile then you imagine; howe|ver it is profitable for you, and I dare &s;ay in a manner nece&s;&s;ary.</P>
<P N="7">7. The &s;ubject which you are to take for your entertain|ment, &s;hall be the <HI>Pa&s;sion</HI> of the Son of God, or the foure finall
<PB N="33" REF="29">ends of man; &s;ometimes Gods love towards you , &s;ometimes the vanity of all things; finally take &s;ome point of Faith or of the Creed for your appli|cation.</P>
<P N="8">8. The manner and method which you are to ob&s;erve here|in mu&s;t be very naturall. I doe not require to make u&s;e of rea&s;on or di&s;cour&s;e, but of your affection and will. Apply your whole heart unto it, and that &s;ufficeth, procure al&s;o that your attention therein bee entire.</P>
<P N="9">9. The fir&s;t thing you mu&s;t doe, is to place your &s;elfe in the pre&s;ence of God, becau&s;e in all your prayers you &s;peak with God, and treat of things of
<PB N="34" REF="30">great con&s;equence; for you &s;peak to him of the honour and love you owe him, &amp; you treat concerning your owne &s;alvati|on, and the benefits of your &s;oule.</P>
<P N="10">10 This exerci&s;e or practice of the pre&s;ence of God is ab&s;o|lutely nece&s;&s;ary for you; for if you have a care of your &s;alvati|on, and de&s;ire to live in the feare of God, &s;urely you ought to know how to keepe your &s;elfe continually in the pre&s;ence of God, remembring &s;till, that in what place &s;<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">eve<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter"> you are, God &s;ees and con&s;iders you, not ex|ter<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="2 letters">lly onely, but even into the center of your heart. The pre&s;ence of God is an exerci&s;e which detaines the &s;oule, and
<PB N="35" REF="30">obligeth her to act nothing which may bee unworthy of God.</P>
<P N="11">11. Moreover when you will pray, and what Prayer &s;oe|ver you make, were it but &s;ay|ing the <HI>Pater no&s;ter,</HI> or your <HI>Beads,</HI> you &s;till ought to doe it with re&s;pect and attention; for &s;ure you cannot performe the&s;e Devotions as you ought, if your &s;pirit be not recollected. Now the means of recollecting your minde, is to place your &s;elfe in the pre&s;ence of God: Where|fore I advi&s;e you to habituate your &s;elfe in this exerci&s;e, I meane, to place and keepe your &s;elfe often in the pre&s;ence of Almighty God.</P>
<P N="12">12. You will &s;ay peradven|ture,
<PB N="36" REF="31">that you are not able to fix your &s;pirit: to which I an&s;wer, that it is no good &s;igne and for this rea&s;on you ought to pity your &s;elf; For how can you hear well the holy <HI>Ma&s;&s;e,</HI> &s;ay well your ordinary prayers, u&s;e the Sacrament of <HI>Penance,</HI> or com|municate as you ought, if you know not how to &s;etle your co|gitation? &s;ee you not that this is to be &s;ick indeed, without di&s;|cerning it? Now the practice of the pre&s;ence of God (as I will explicate it to you) is the true &amp; only remedy for your di&s;ea&s;e.</P>
<P N="13">13. It is a practice which is common &amp; nece&s;&s;ary for all good Chri&s;tians, who are willing to avoid &s;in, &amp; pre&s;erve them&s;elves in grace, or de&s;ire to treat with
<PB N="37" REF="31">God with that re&s;pect as becoms them, &amp; this is what I de&s;ire, that in the beginning of your pray|er, you place your &s;elf attentive|ly in the pre&s;ence of God.</P>
<P N="14">14. You may do it in two man|ners. The fir&s;t by imagination, when you recall your mind and all the powers of your &s;oul, and when you repre&s;ent God unto your &s;elf with a Maje&s;ty worthy God, and figuring to your &s;elfe that you are pro&s;trated before the Throne of his infinite great|ne&s;&s;e, and that you remain there to treat with him about the af|faires of your &s;oule, and what concerneth the &s;ervice and wor|&s;hip which you owe him.</P>
<P N="15">15. The other manner is by faith, &amp; then you make no u&s;e of
<PB N="38" REF="32">your imagination, but having &s;weetly called back your &s;oule into it &s;elfe, you conceive your &s;elfe to be before God, who&s;e greatne&s;&s;e and Maje&s;tie is infi|nite and incomprehen&s;ible; that this is the &s;ame God, whom the <HI>Angells</HI> and <HI>Saints</HI> do &s;erve and adore. You con&s;ider how faith teacheth you, that this &s;elf &s;ame God is every where; and he pre&s;ides in the bottome and center of your &s;oule with the &s;ame Maje&s;ty, Power and Love, as he doth in Heaven. Re&s;t &s;omtime upon this thought, and if you can, procure to enter in|to your owne heart, to adore God as you conceive him to be there.</P>
<P N="16">16. This la&s;t manner of con|&s;idering
<PB N="39" REF="32">the Pre&s;ence of God, &s;eems to me more beneficiall then any other, and hath more force to recall our &s;pirit, and to bring back our &s;oule into her &s;elfe: it teacheth us to &s;eeke God, not as farre di&s;tant from us, or in Heaven, but in our &s;elves, and in the center of our heart. And for this rea&s;on I ad|vi&s;e you, to make often u&s;e of this exerci&s;e; for I promi&s;e that you &s;hall derive from it great advantages: And if you &s;hall per&s;evere, you will make a little Paradi&s;e of your heart, and your &s;oule will performe on earth, what the Angells doe in Heaven.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="part">
<PB N="40" REF="33">
<HEAD>&sect;. <HI>III.</HI> A manner how to recollect ones &s;elfe for mentall Prayer.</HEAD>
<P N="1">1. AT the fir&s;t entrance then into <HI>Prayer,</HI> place your &s;elf in the pre&s;ence of God conformably to the manner I have newly exhibited to you. And if this thought of Gods pre&s;ence po&s;&s;e&s;&s;eth your &s;oule, and retaines you in great atten|tion, keep your &s;elfe therein as long as you can, were it during the whole Ma&s;&s;e; and omit without &s;cruple the re&s;t of your devotions; for you enter not into the Church, and apply not your &s;elfe unto Prayer, but to remaine before God, to adore him with re&s;pect and humility,
<PB N="41" REF="33">and to keepe your &s;elfe in his pre&s;ence as his devout &s;ervant. When you have attained unto this, re&s;t content, &s;ince God &s;eems to be &s;o with you : And in this ca&s;e, you are to de&s;ire no|thing more, becau&s;e you have all when God is &s;atisfied.</P>
<P N="2">2. And if this thought of Gods pre&s;ence will not &s;erve to entertaine you any long time, in that ca&s;e, take pre&s;ently &s;ome verity or my&s;tery for your me|ditation: For example, con&s;ider how <HI>Ie&s;u Chri&s;t</HI> hath loved you &s;o much, as to &s;uffer death for you. Then paw&s;e a while, how little &s;oever you plea&s;e, to con&s;i|der this benefit, &s;trive onely to ponder it with attention. And out of this consideration
<PB N="42" REF="34">endeavour to extract &s;ome little affection, or frame &s;ome confe|rence with God upon that which you considered. Now to the end it may prove more facile to you, I pre&s;cribe at the end of this Booke &s;ome Medi|tations upon the principall points of the Pa&s;&s;ion of our Lord <HI>Ie&s;us Chri&s;t,</HI> which will &s;erve you for a Modell.</P>
<P N="3">3. During the little time you &s;hall employ in this manner of Prayer, if God gives you &s;ome good in&s;piration or pious de|&s;ire, do not neglect it, but hear|ken unto God, and receive his grace and in&s;piration with re|&s;pect and love. Re&s;olve to put in practice what God propo&s;eth to you, and give your &s;elfe unto
<PB N="43" REF="34"><HI>Chri&s;t Ie&s;us,</HI> and his holy Mo|ther the <HI>Virgin Mary,</HI> to the end they may be plea&s;ed to pre&s;erve in your &s;oule the good de&s;ires which you feele; and &s;upplicate them to give you the grace to put them in practice, conforma|ble to that manner which God requires of you.</P>
<P N="4">4. The profit which I would have you to make of this exer|ci&s;e, which I call <HI>recollection of &s;pirit,</HI> is, to e&s;tabli&s;h and pre|&s;erve your &s;elfe in the feare of God; to excite and advance your &s;elfe in his love, and to in|duce in you a hatred unto the vanity of the world. The vertues which you ought mo&s;t to put in practice, are humility of &s;pi|rit, unadherence unto creaures,
<PB N="44" REF="35">and the mortification of the cu|pidities &amp; pa&s;&s;ions of your &s;oul.</P>
<P N="5">5. Now what I have di&s;|cour&s;ed to you concerning the pre&s;ence of God, in that <HI>Prayer</HI> which we cal <HI>Mentall,</HI> you ought to practice in all your <HI>Vocall Prayers;</HI> when you will begin to &s;ay your Beads, or the office of our ble&s;&s;ed Lady, or els when you prepare your &s;elfe for Con|fe&s;&s;ion or Communion: Briefly, in all your Devotions let the fir&s;t thing you do, be the recal|ling of your minde, the with|drawing it from all &s;orts of ob|jects, and place your &s;elfe in the pre&s;ence of God, in &s;uch a man|ner as I have propo&s;ed to you.</P>
<P N="6">6. Chiefly when you come before God, be it in the <HI>Church</HI>
<PB N="45" REF="35">or in your <HI>Oratory,</HI> pre&s;ent your &s;elf alwaies with a comportment full of re&s;pect, &amp; &s;trive to place your &s;elfe in an humble and Chri&s;tian reverence; for you are in the pre&s;ence of God, before whom all the Grandeurs of hea|ven &amp; earth are but du&s;t. Princi|pally I recommend unto you the dete&s;tation of all petty wanton|ne&s;&s;es &amp; levities, and all &s;uch ef|feminate fa&s;hions In a word, a|void all affectation in the pre|&s;ence of God, before whom the Angels tremble, &amp; live only in a profound re&s;pect and reverence. You may now well judge how much rea&s;on I have to condemn tho&s;e complements which are u&s;ed in the Church, tho&s;e curi|o&s;ities and vain di&s;cour&s;es. God
<PB N="46" REF="36">pre&s;erve you from &s;uch di&s;or|ders, which oblige God to withdraw him&s;elfe from the &s;oule.</P>
<P N="7">7. At the end of all your Prayers, and even out of Pray|ers as often as you may, at the in|&s;tant of your waking in the morning, I wi&s;h and de&s;ire you to performe two things, which are very facile.</P>
<P N="8">8. The one is to offer your &s;elf unto God, and to give your &s;elfe to him, to remaine wholly his, in conformity to his holy will: The other is, to renounce your &s;elfe, and all that leads you unto evill, or diverts you from doing that good which God re|quires of you: is for example, you may &s;ay or mediate on
<PB N="47" REF="36">the&s;e words; <HI>My God &amp; my Ie&s;us, I offer my &s;elf unto you as my Lord, on whom I will depend all my life time; and I renounce all that &s;e|vereth me from you, and may di|vert me from following and ful|filling your holy will.</HI></P>
<P N="9">9 But &s;till remember, that God is not content with words, he will have the heart, and re|quires effects: Wherefore en|deavour to put in practice all that I have propo&s;ed to you, in the&s;e few entertainments, and a|bove all, exerci&s;e your &s;elfe in the practice of &s;uch vertues as God &s;hall in&s;pire you; for he will exact an account of all the graces which he conferres on you, and of all the occa&s;ions which he pre&s;ents unto you of doing good.</P>
</DIV3>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="section">
<PB N="48" REF="37">
<HEAD>OF CONFESSION, AND COMMUNION. <HI>The third Entertainment.</HI></HEAD>
<DIV3 TYPE="part">
<HEAD>&sect;. I.</HEAD>
<P N="1">I. THere remaines one thing to tell you, but it is of con&s;e|quence; and I wi&s;h that I were able to fix it in the bottome and center of your heart. It relates unto <HI>Confe&s;ion</HI> &amp; <HI>Communion.</HI> I
<PB N="49" REF="37">will entertaine you with it, be|cau&s;e I verie much apprehend, that there are great abu&s;es com|mitted therein and I feare that in &s;o holy and divine a thing we are often too prophane.</P>
<P N="2">2. By the Sacrament of <HI>Con|fe&s;sion,</HI> it is certaine, that we de|&s;ire to return into Gods favour; we &s;eek to bee re-e&s;tabli&s;hed in the charity which we have lo&s;t by mortall &s;inne, and which we cannot repo&s;&s;e&s;&s;e but by <HI>Pe|nance.</HI> And though we be free from mortall &s;in, we yet de&s;ire by Penance to remove the other &s;ins, which freeze charity, breed a langui&s;hing in the &s;oule, debi|litate and expo&s;e her unto grea|ter danger. And then wee goe unto <HI>Confe&s;sion,</HI> to renew our
<PB N="50" REF="38">&s;elves in love, and to remove the&s;e &s;ins, and all that may be oppo&s;ite unto love and charity.</P>
<P N="3">3. In the holy <HI>Communion</HI> we receive <HI>Ie&s;us Chri&s;t</HI> as ours; for hee appertaines to us, and the &s;ame <HI>Ie&s;us</HI> gives him&s;elfe unto us in this divine and adorable <HI>Sacrament,</HI> to honour us with his pre&s;ence, to inrich us with his gifts, and above all to conferre on us his love. In fine, it is a Sacrament all of love; it is a pledge of the love which <HI>Ie&s;us Chri&s;t</HI> beareth us, and a commerce of love between <HI>Ie|&s;u Chri&s;t</HI> and men.</P>
<P N="4">4. Now if you con&s;ider in this order the&s;e two great Sa|craments, doth it not &s;eeme ju&s;t and rea&s;onable, that we receive
<PB N="51" REF="38">them with e&s;timation, holily, and with a &s;pirit of love, &s;ince both of them are holy, both of them conferre charity and the love of God upon us; both of them unite us unto God, when we come to them, as we ought, with fitting and congruous di&s;|po&s;itions.</P>
<P N="5">5. For this rea&s;on I could wi&s;h, that when you goe unto <HI>Confe&s;sion</HI> or <HI>Communion,</HI> it may bee &s;till accompanied with a &s;en&s;e of love, and a &s;erious re|collection of your &s;oule. Be|ware of going to them by cu|&s;tome, and of performing &s;o holy and divine actions indiffe|rently, I meane without a good and fitting di&s;po&s;ition, for it would turn to your prejudice.</P>
<PB N="52" REF="39">
<P N="6">6. That which I require of you is to retaine alwayes a pure intention of &s;eeking God one|ly, and demanding nothing but love. Let it be your de&s;ire to for&s;ake tho&s;e vices and &s;innes, whereof you &s;eek to obtaine re|mi&s;&s;ion by Penance. Bee you &s;orrowfull for having commit|ted, becau&s;e &s;in is di&s;plea&s;ing to God, and oppo&s;ite unto him, whom we de&s;ire to love. Finally, I wi&s;h that all the mo|tives which you &s;hall have in receiving the Sacraments, may bee alwaies with re&s;pect to the love which God hath to|wards you, and of the love which you owe unto God; for let men &s;ay what they plea&s;e, &s;ince in the receiving the Sacra|ments
<PB N="53" REF="39">of Penance and of the Euchari&s;t, you &s;eeke nothing but the love of God and chari|ty, &s;urely it is rea&s;onable, that you go to them with as much love as you can po&s;&s;ibly: This is that whereunto I invite you.</P>
<P N="7">7. I doe not &s;ay that feare is not good, u&s;efull and often ne|ce&s;&s;ary but I &s;ay that feare ought to &s;erve here onely for the recalling of your &s;oule, and directing her unto love. It ought to be like the &s;ervant which opens the gate unto charity, to introduce it into your heart. Take then the motives of feare, if you have need of them; but &s;tay not upon this feare, but pa&s;&s;e unto love, &s;till
<PB N="54" REF="40">calling to minde, that in the&s;e two Sacraments you &s;eeke the friendship of Almighty God: Thus much touching <HI>Penance:</HI> and in the <HI>Euchari&s;t</HI> you ask and receive God onely, who is love and charity.</P>
<P N="8">8. In the <HI>Communion</HI> it is re|qui&s;ite to have feare, accompa|nied with a profound reverence, and humble re&s;pect. An Ange|licall devotion and attention is required therein; for this my|&s;tery is full of Maje&s;ty, &s;ince God is there pre&s;ent, whom we intend to receive. But much more love is required therein; for what&s;oever wee con&s;ider, there nothing but objects of love appeare to us, and nothing is to be found there, that is not
<PB N="55" REF="40">as a band, which ought to fa&s;ten and unite us unto God.</P>
<P N="9">9 It is not my de&s;igne to en|tertaine you with pre&s;cribing you in&s;tructions for the recepti|on of the&s;e two Sacraments, &s;ince you have &s;o many Bookes which treat of it: I will onely &s;ay, that if ever you &s;tand in need, of all the Entertainments which I have newly given you, it ought to be in the recepti|on of the&s;e two <HI>Sacraments,</HI> which are two fountaines of love and mercy: For love and recollection by the pre&s;ence of God (as I have explicated) &s;erve us for a di&s;po&s;ition to prepare us to receive worthily the Sa|crament of <HI>Penance</HI> and the <HI>Euchari&s;t.</HI></P>
<PB N="56" REF="41">
<P><HI>I be&s;eech our</HI> Lord Je&s;us Chri&s;t, <HI>who came into this world, to e&s;tabli&s;h therein the Kingdome of charity, and to bring thither the fire of his love, and who died on the Cro&s;&s;e to draw us unto God, and withdrawn from death, the world and &s;in, that he will vouch|&s;afe to give us the grace to feele and he are the effects of his Cro&s;&s;e; I be&s;eech him to con&s;ume us in the flames of his love, and to fa&s;ten us &s;o indi&s;&s;olubly unto him&s;elf, as wee may never more &s;ever our &s;elves from him, but that he would place us rather in a happy inability of offending him, and in a more ble&s;&s;ed &s;ervitude, never more to e&s;trange and &s;eparate our &s;elves from him, nor to act any thing but for his fake.</HI> Amen.</P>
</DIV3>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="section">
<PB N="57" REF="41">
<HEAD>MEDITATIONS Upon the Principall My&s;teries of the Pa&s;sion of JESUS CHRIST.</HEAD>
<DIV3 TYPE="preface">
<HEAD>PREFACE.</HEAD>
<P>IT is a great happine&s;&s;e for a man to be able to entertain him&s;elfe with God, and to &s;peak to him as often as he de&s;ireth. He may do it by vocall and mentall Prayer, wherein he treats with his God. It is a favour which <HI>Je&s;us Chri&s;t</HI> hath acquired for him; for it is by him (&s;aith the <HI>Apo&s;tle</HI>) that we have ac|ce&s;&s;e
<PB N="58" REF="42">unto God: I call it a favour, in as much as man having &s;evered him&s;elfe from God by &s;inne, and be|ing expelled out of his pre&s;ence and bani&s;hed from his amiable company, the Sonne of God came into the world to expiate &s;inne, and to e&s;ta|bli&s;h both in heaven and earth, a new alliance between God and Man.</P>
<P>One of the meanes which <HI>Je&s;us Chri&s;t</HI> him&s;elfe hath left us to pre|&s;erve our &s;elves in this happy alli|ance, and the way which he hath pointed out to bring us neer unto God is <HI>Prayer:</HI> for by Prayer we enter into &s;ociety with God, we entertain our &s;elves with him, we elevate and unite our &s;elves unto him, and treat with him of the in|effable Grandeurs of his Divinity, of che effects of his incomprehen&s;i|ble goodne&s;&s;e, of the nece&s;&s;ities and mi&s;eries of our life; finally, by a holy commerce we &s;peak to God,
<PB N="59" REF="42">and God vouch&s;afes to &s;peak to us.</P>
<P>There are an infinity of objects, upon which the &s;oule may entertain her &s;elfe with God, and forme her meditations; for as God is an in|exhau&s;tible &s;ea of greatne&s;&s;e, &s;o is he the object of an infinite entertain|ment unto a <HI>Chri&s;tian &s;oule:</HI> But the mo&s;t rea&s;onable, mo&s;t profita|ble, and ea&s;ie&s;t &s;ubject, wherein our Spirit may imploy it &s;elfe, is the life, and death, the depre&s;&s;ions, and hu|miliations, the torments, and &s;uffer|ances of <HI>Je&s;us Chri&s;t.</HI></P>
<P>For as much as in the mi&s;teries of the Pa&s;&s;ion, and in all the moments of the life and death of <HI>Ie&s;us,</HI> the &s;oule di&s;cerns therein the exce&s;&s;ive love which God beareth us: In the &s;ufferings and ignominies of the <HI>Cro&s;&s;e,</HI> &s;he conceives the weight of &s;inne, and the puni&s;hments which our crimes doe merit: And con&s;i|dering what <HI>Ie&s;us Chri&s;t</HI> hath done,
<PB N="60" REF="43">what he hath &s;aid, and his holy and adorable Vertues in all the mi&s;teries of his death, &s;he learns thereby the Vertues which &s;he ought to prac|tice, and the way which &s;he is to follow, to attaine unto the glory which <HI>Ie&s;us Chri&s;t</HI> him&s;elf hath ac|quired for her, at the price of life and precious bloud.</P>
<P>It is for this rea&s;on, <HI>devout Rea|der,</HI> that having undertaken to pre|&s;ent you with <HI>Entertainments</HI> con|formable to the common life of all <HI>Chri&s;tians,</HI> I have added the <HI>Medi|tations</HI> upon the principall mi&s;teries of the death of the Sonne of God, to the end you may make u&s;e of them for your advancement in the love and feare of God, and that by often con&s;idering them, you may learne to imitate his Vertues, and place your glory and affiance in the death of <HI>Christ Ie&s;us.</HI> Would to God you could &s;ay with <HI>S. Paul, I
<PB N="61" REF="43">will no longer glory, but in the Cro&s;&s;e of my Ie&s;us,</HI> I will place my content and love therein; I will follow him in the Cro&s;&s;e, that I may po&s;&s;e&s;&s;e him in glory. This is that which I de&s;ire of you with my whole heart; and I wi&s;h that the death of the Sonne of God, may be the Spirit and life of your &s;oule.</P>
</DIV3>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="section">
<PB N="62" REF="44">
<HEAD>The Prayer of IESUS in the Garden.</HEAD>
<DIV3 TYPE="part">
<HEAD>Point I.</HEAD>
<P>COn&s;ider the love which God the Father beareth you, de|priv<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">ng his Sonne of joy and glo|ry, to inve&s;t him with &s;orrow, and load him with paines and reproa|ches, expo&s;ing him unto the rigors of tin divine Iu&s;tice for the expi|ation of your offences. De&s;ire ar|dently, that this &s;elfe &s;ame &s;pirit of love may dive&s;t you of all va|nity, &s;elfe-love, and your own pri|vate intere&s;t.</P>
<DIV4 TYPE="prayer">
<PB N="63" REF="44">
<HEAD>A Prayer to the eternall Father.</HEAD>
<P>I Adore your goodne&s;&s;e, O <HI>e|ternall Father,</HI> and the love which invited you to give me your Sonne, to &s;et him in the opprobriou&s;ne&s;&s;e of the <HI>Cro&s;&s;e,</HI> and to victimate him in the &s;uf|ferances of an ignominious death, that he might be my <HI>Sa|viour,</HI> and my <HI>Je&s;us.</HI> The love which you beare me hath beene the cau&s;e that you have not &s;pa|red your own Sonne, but have cloathed him with our infir|mities, and loaden him with the confu&s;ion and paines which I have merited to undergoe for my offences. After &s;o great a benefit, is it not ju&s;t for mee to
<PB N="64" REF="45">love you? How happy &s;hould I be <HI>(O God of mercy)</HI> if you would fill my heart with this love! how happy &s;hould I be, if you would con&s;ume mee in the flames of this divine fire! It is all that I de&s;ire, and a grace which I aske of you above all the graces which you can give me. Grant then, <HI>O God of good|ne&s;&s;e,</HI> that I unloofe my &s;elfe from all other love, to love you alone; grant that the power of your love may &s;trip mee of all vanity, and annihilate my &s;elfe-love; to the end, loving no|thing but you, I may live onely for you.</P>
</DIV4>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="part">
<PB N="65" REF="45">
<HEAD>Point II.</HEAD>
<P>BEhold how the Sonne of God lies pro&s;trated on the ground, bearing the weight and confu&s;ion of the &s;ins of the whole world, and in this &s;ort he is made the object of the anger of God. You have your part therein by rea&s;on of your &s;ins, beg then of him the engraving in your &s;oule, a de&s;ire and ability to &s;atisfie for your offences, and the granting you a true contrition for your &s;innes.</P>
<DIV4 TYPE="prayer">
<HEAD>PRAYER.</HEAD>
<P>ALas what &s;hall I doe! for if my <HI>Ie&s;us,</HI> who is the Power of Heaven, if my <HI>Ie&s;us,</HI>
<PB N="66" REF="46">who is the vertue of God, falls and remaines under the weight of my offences, what will be|come of me? and how &s;hall I beare them, when dying I &s;hall be pre&s;ented before the Tribu|nall of the ju&s;tice of a God, whom I have &s;o often irri|tated? What &s;hall I doe (O God of mercy) but endeavour to prevent the day of your Ju&s;tice, and from henceforth begin to &s;atisfie by a holy Pe|nance, for all the &s;innes which I have committed, ungratefull, and m&s;erable wretch that I am! I heartily de&s;ire it, but am unable to effect it without your grace: A&s;&s;i&s;t me then (O God of love and goodne&s;&s;e) be&s;tow on me a true contrition for my offences;
<PB N="67" REF="46">Breake my heart with griefe, melt my heart in your love, li|quifie my &s;oule in Charitie, fill my will with a hatred of &s;inne, and grant me the grace never more to offend you. It is what I de&s;ire with my whole heart, to the end I may give my &s;elfe en|tirely to you, and renounce my &s;elfe and all creatures, which &s;e|ver me from you.</P>
</DIV4>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="part">
<HEAD>Point III.</HEAD>
<P>BEhold in this my&s;tery the love of <HI>Je&s;us,</HI> who exerci|&s;eth the power and rigours of it upon his own per&s;on: this love a|ba&s;eth him even unto our &s;orrowes, and oppre&s;&s;eth him with paines and attri&s;tations &s;o violently, as he enters into an agonie, even to
<PB N="68" REF="47">&s;weat blood in ahundance; he &s;uf|fers all this, to inve&s;t you with his vertue, and clean&s;e you with his Bloud. This love is what you ought to ask often of him, and with great humility.</P>
<DIV4 TYPE="prayer">
<HEAD>PRAYER.</HEAD>
<P>CAn it po&s;&s;ibly be, O my <HI>Ie&s;us,</HI> that you &s;hould love me even to &s;uch a degree, as I con&s;ider you in this mi&s;terie, and I not love you? Can I be &s;o in|&s;en&s;ible as to &s;ee you lan|gui&s;hing and &s;uffering for my &s;innes, and not abandon them? Alas my Saviour, can I in|dure to &s;ee you bathed in your owne bloud, and cove|red over with &s;o painefull a
<PB N="69" REF="47">&s;weat, by the horrour which you conceive of my offences? Can I have the heart to behold you in the rigours which the Ju&s;tice of your Father exerci&s;eth on you for my &s;innes; and that con&s;idering you in &s;o pitifull a &s;tate, I &s;hould not conceive a horrour of my pravitie, and a dete&s;tation of my offences? No, no, <HI>Lord,</HI> I will hate my &s;elfe to love you, I will dete&s;t all vice for your &s;ake, and never more will I offend you: and for a marke of my de&s;ire, I give you my heart, I offer you my &s;oule, I dedicate to you my life, and renounce all that is di&s;plea&s;ing to you to the end I may no lon|ger offend you, but live in all things conformable to your ho|ly
<PB N="70" REF="48">will. This is the intention and de&s;ire of my &s;oule, but it will be fruitle&s;&s;e if you &s;tretch not out your arme, and give me not your grace to accompli&s;h them. This is what I begge of you, pro&s;trated in your pre&s;ence, humbly imploring your divine Mercy.</P>
</DIV4>
</DIV3>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="section">
<PB N="71" REF="48">
<HEAD>The taking of IESUS in the Garden.</HEAD>
<DIV3 TYPE="part">
<HEAD>Point I.</HEAD>
<P>JESUS &s;uffereth him&s;elfe to be taken, and deprives him&s;elf of his power, who was able to an|nihilate his enemies, to the end that being made captive for us, hee might have right to place us in the freedome of grace. In imita|tion of <HI>Je&s;us,</HI> who &s;uffered him|&s;elfe to be made a captive for you, re&s;olve never to make u&s;e of your owne power, when there &s;hall be a|ny occa&s;ion of &s;uffering for the glory of God.</P>
<DIV4 TYPE="prayer">
<PB N="72" REF="49">
<HEAD>PRAYER.</HEAD>
<P>I Do not doubt <HI>(my Saviour)</HI> of your power, but I admire your love, which triumpheth o|ver you, and worketh &s;o great a miracle on your &s;elfe; for love captivates your &s;trength, re|&s;traines your power, and redu|ceth you into a &s;tate of impo|tency and weakne&s;&s;e, to the end you may be capable of &s;uffering for mee, poore and wretched creature that I am. Who will not be ravi&s;hed in the thought of this love? And who will not remaine a&s;toni&s;hed that God &s;uffers for man, the ju&s;t for the &s;inner. And thus you doe, be|nigne <HI>Ie&s;us,</HI> in this mi&s;tery
<PB N="73" REF="49">which I contemplate. Now for this love, which you expre&s;&s;e towards me, and which renders you captive, to &s;et me at liber|ty, what el&s;e can I doe, but ca&s;t my &s;elfe with heart and &s;pirit at your feet, and become an hum|ble &s;uitor that your love may render mee his captive; that it may triumph over my heart, to the end being denuded of all things, I may become for ever the &s;lave of your love. Grant that it may be &s;o, my <HI>Ie&s;us,</HI> &s;ince it is both my duty and de&s;ire.</P>
</DIV4>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="part">
<HEAD>Point II.</HEAD>
<P>JESUS per&s;everes in the hu|miliations and &s;ufferances of his captivity, remaining in the
<PB N="74" REF="50">mid&s;t of executioners in &s;ilence, without plaints, without &s;trength or power. In imitation of him affect &s;uch things as humble you, and admini&s;ter occa&s;ion of &s;uffe|rance, and propo&s;e to your &s;elfe never to reject them.</P>
<DIV4 TYPE="prayer">
<HEAD>PRAYER.</HEAD>
<P>SInce I &s;ee you (O &s;weet <HI>Je|&s;us</HI>) in the mid&s;t of executi|oners, expo&s;ed unto their ma|lice, and that in this my&s;terie you abandon your &s;elfe unto all &s;orts of confu&s;ions, and to the fal&s;e accu&s;ations of &s;inners, ap|pearing as criminall in the mid&s;t of the&s;e mi&s;creants: what le&s;&s;e can I doe, Lord, then annihilate my &s;elfe in your pre&s;ence, and
<PB N="75" REF="50">humble my &s;elfe in imitation of you in the view of all creatures. And if in the various &s;tates of your life you embraced humili|ty onely, and made choice of nothing but confu&s;ions, if you who are alone worthy of ho|nour and re&s;pect, de&s;pi&s;ed the Grandeurs of the earth, and the vaine contentments of this world, to live and die onely in depre&s;&s;ions and &s;ufferances. Fi|nally, if you (O benigne <HI>Ie&s;us</HI>) who are the onely Son of God, were plea&s;ed to become an ob|ject of &s;corne and contempt of men; alas what do I, mi&s;erable wretch, de&s;erve to be, and what rank &s;hall I hold in the world, I who am a &s;inner, criminall and unworthy of all things? Surely
<PB N="76" REF="51">(my &s;weet <HI>Ie&s;us</HI>) I heartily con|demne my pride, and doe pro|te&s;t that with my whole affecti|on a&s;&s;i&s;ted by your holy grace, which I implore, I re&s;olve from henceforth to affect lowline&s;&s;e, and indure for your &s;ake, all the humiliations, and Cro&s;&s;es of this life: And why &s;hall I refu&s;e humbly to &s;uffer them for your &s;ake, &s;ince you have indured them &s;o holily for mine. I offer my &s;elfe then unto you for that effect, and I abandon my &s;elfe with my whole heart unto your divine conduct; grant only that I may be &s;uch as you require me to be.</P>
</DIV4>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="part">
<PB N="77" REF="51">
<HEAD>Point III</HEAD>
<P>ACknowledge the &s;trange a|ba&s;ement of <HI>Je&s;us,</HI> who permits men to binde and lead him captive, and to touch him with their prophane hands, who is the <HI>Holy of Holies:</HI> Hee offers his &s;acred mouth to receive the ki&s;&s;e of <HI>Judas</HI> his greate&s;t enemy. Offer your &s;elfe unto him, to beare all the contradictions of men, and the con|tempt of all creatures, and de|mand of him even love for your enemies, if you have any.</P>
<DIV4 TYPE="prayer">
<PB N="78" REF="52">
<HEAD>PRAYER.</HEAD>
<P>YOur life and the divers my|&s;teries of your pa&s;&s;ion, your labours and &s;ufferances, O my Saviour, give me a le&s;&s;on, and teach me what I am to doe; but how &s;hall I doe it, and how can I imitate you, if you lend me not your hand, if you prevent and affi&s;t me not with your grace? For my perverted heart, and my proud nature oppo&s;e them&s;elves wholly to you, and conte&s;t again&s;t all that you pro|po&s;e unto me. I &s;ee, <HI>my Lord,</HI> I &s;ee how you offer your &s;acred mouth to receive of <HI>Judas</HI> the ki&s;&s;e of Trea&s;on; how you pre|&s;ent your hands, and abandon
<PB N="79" REF="52">your adorable body to the rage of Devills, and to the malice of men and &s;inners, to di&s;po&s;e of you and your life in what&s;o|ever cruelty could &s;ugge&s;t unto them. Alas! who is able (O my &s;weet <HI>Ie&s;us</HI>) to imitate you? I fervently de&s;ire it, but ac|knowledge my owne impoten|cy; for I feele contradiction in my &s;elfe, and tremble at this thought: However leave me not (<HI>O Saviour of my &s;oule</HI>) in ca&s;e I am not able to imitate you in all things, at lea&s;t let me doe it in what I may, and I can doe much if you give me your grace. Open then my eyes, that I may di&s;cerne what I am, change my heart, that it may affect what you love, and animate my &s;pi|rit
<PB N="80" REF="53">humbly to indure all con|tempts and confu&s;ions. All that I am now able to doe in the pre|&s;ence of your Soveraigne Ma|je&s;ty, is to accu&s;e my malice, to condemne my pride, and to of|fer unto you my will, my heart and &s;oule, to order them as you plea&s;e. Succour my infirmity, fortifie my weakne&s;&s;e, breake my ob&s;tinacy, and by the fire of your love, be plea&s;ed to con|&s;ume all my iniquity.</P>
</DIV4>
</DIV3>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="section">
<PB N="81" REF="53">
<HEAD>IESUS is fa&s;tned, and &s;courged at the Pillar.</HEAD>
<DIV3 TYPE="part">
<HEAD>Point I.</HEAD>
<P>SHead you not tears of love and compa&s;&s;ion, beholding <HI>Je&s;us</HI> the Beauty of Heaven, and the Glory of Paradi&s;e, expo&s;ed to the cruelty of barbarous men, fa&s;tned all naked to a Pillar, to make you a bath of his bloud, and to clean&s;e the &s;taines of your &s;oule? Give him thanks, and render him teares of love &amp; contrition, for the bloud which he hath given you in this my&s;tery.</P>
<DIV4 TYPE="prayer">
<PB N="82" REF="54">
<HEAD>PRAYER.</HEAD>
<P>MY <HI>Ie&s;us,</HI> Grant that my heart may break with griefe, and my &s;oule di&s;&s;olve in your love; for you oblige me to it by your benefits. And to &s;ay truly, who can choo&s;e but love you, &s;eeing that by the ex|ce&s;&s;e of the love which you beare us, you have expos'd your &s;elfe to the rage of Devills, and to the malice of &s;inners? And why &s;hall I not break my heart a&s;under with &s;orrow and con|trition, &s;ince by my offences I am the occa&s;ion of the pains which you &s;uffer? How farre more ju&s;t were it <HI>(O Saviour of the world)</HI> that you &s;hould remaine
<PB N="83" REF="54">in your Glory, in the Throne of your greatne&s;&s;e, and that I (who have rendred my &s;elfe the &s;lave of &s;inne, and of my pa&s;&s;ions) &s;hould be fa&s;tned to this Pillar, and torn with the &s;courges of your ju&s;tice! But &s;ince your love is content to make paiment for mee, grant that I may love you as I ought, and no longer offend you. This is my inten|tion I de&s;ire it with my whole heart, and I beg it of you with an entire affection.</P>
</DIV4>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="part">
<HEAD>Point II.</HEAD>
<P><HI>CHri&s;t Je&s;us</HI> upon the Pillar, put on the condition of a &s;lave and criminall, to beare the ef|fects of the rage of Devills and
<PB N="84" REF="55">men. He remaines there, in the mid&s;t of them, like a Lamb victi|mated and abandoned of his <HI>Fa|ther,</HI> de&s;erted by his <HI>Apo&s;tles,</HI> and afflicted by all creatures. Com|pa&s;&s;ionate this &s;tate of <HI>Je&s;us,</HI> and beg of him, that from henceforth you may remaine abandoned, and re&s;igned unto all that he &s;hall or|daine.</P>
<DIV4 TYPE="prayer">
<HEAD>PRAYER.</HEAD>
<P>A Las! my <HI>Je&s;us,</HI> I have made the debt, and you have paid it, it is I, it is I who am guilty, and you are puni&s;hed; it is I, unhappy that I am; who have irritated Heaven, and rendred my &s;elfe unworthy of all your favours. I both know
<PB N="85" REF="55">and confe&s;&s;e, that I de&s;erve no|thing but hell, and for my &s;ins to be &s;acrificed unto the divine Ju&s;tice which I have &s;o often contemned: but your goodne&s;&s;e which &s;eekes nothing but my Salvation, by a prodigy of love, makes an admirable exchange: For you enter <HI>(O Saviour of my Soul)</HI> into my condition, and loading your &s;elfe with my of|fences, you are now victimated like an innocent Lambe, and left to the Ju&s;tice of God, abando|ned on all &s;ides, and plunged in|to to all &s;orts of &s;ufferances. What le&s;&s;e can I doe (O my <HI>Ie&s;us</HI>) in recognition of this love, then adore your goodne&s;&s;e, and a|bandon my &s;elfe entirely to you, to be what you plea&s;e.
<PB N="86" REF="56">I give my &s;elfe then unto this my&s;tery, and offer my &s;elfe unto you to beare the effects thereof in &s;uch a manner as you de&s;ire.</P>
</DIV4>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="part">
<HEAD>Point III.</HEAD>
<P>THe Body of <HI>Je&s;us</HI> is covered all over with wounds from the very head to the feet, and ex|hau&s;ted of bloud and &s;trength. Con&s;ider that the wounds &amp; drops of bloud you &s;ee on it, are as &s;o many tongues which enunciate to you his love, and teach you how you ought to love him in humiliations and &s;ufferances. Offer unto him your life, your body and bloud, ne|ver to imploy them, but for his glory.</P>
<DIV4 TYPE="prayer">
<PB N="87" REF="56">
<HEAD>PRAYER.</HEAD>
<P>I Am yours, O good <HI>Ie&s;us:</HI> my &s;oule, my life, my body and bloud are no longer mine, but yours: in re&s;pect that for my &s;ake you make a profu&s;ion of your owne bloud, you abandon your body unto wounds and &s;ufferances, your &s;oule and life you give to me upon the Cro&s;&s;e: After all the&s;e graces and fa|vours &s;hall I not be yours? No, no, <HI>Lord,</HI> all the&s;e drops of bloud which you &s;hed, and all the wounds of your body, are &s;o many tongues which condemne my ingratitude, and invite me to your love. I am willing to love, and from this very in&s;tant
<PB N="88" REF="57">and for ever I de&s;ire to be whol|ly yours, and re&s;olve to love nothing but you alone. Brui&s;e, bend, breake and oppre&s;&s;e my &s;oule, if you plea&s;e, combat my life with a thou&s;and afflicti|ons, make me &s;uffer as long as you plea&s;e, yet will I never ut|ter any other words, then that <HI>I am yours,</HI> and that I love you a|lone.</P>
</DIV4>
</DIV3>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="section">
<PB N="89" REF="57">
<HEAD>IESUS is crowned with Thornes.</HEAD>
<DIV3 TYPE="part">
<HEAD>Point I.</HEAD>
<P> THe love which <HI>Je&s;us</HI> beares us, exerci&s;eth on him the power and rigours thereof: love placeth him among&s;t thornes, and even death it &s;elfe: love expo|&s;eth him unto mockeries, &s;pittings, buffets, and the contempt of his e|nemies. Con&s;ider all this, and beg of <HI>Je&s;us,</HI> that the &s;elfe-&s;ame love may exerci&s;e on you the power thereof. Offer your &s;elfe unto all the effects which he &s;hall vouch|&s;afe to produce in your &s;oule, bee
<PB N="90" REF="58">it in the thornes of Penance, or in the death of your vices and earthly affections.</P>
<DIV4 TYPE="prayer">
<HEAD>PRAYER.</HEAD>
<P>O How happy &s;hould I be, if your love would once take Empire over my heart! Let not the fault be mine; for I de|&s;ire it, I &s;eeke it, and offer my &s;elfe wholly to you to beare the effects thereof. Grant then, Lord, grant &s;peedily, that the power of your love may deeply wound my &s;oule. In loving you nothing will be difficult, for me, in this world; for if love hath cloathed you (O good <HI>Ie|&s;us</HI>) with our mi&s;eries, and loa|den you with our &s;innes; if love
<PB N="91" REF="58">hath fa&s;tned you on the Cro&s;&s;e, what will it not worke on me, if it raigne there and exerci&s;e his power? Then would it be that I &s;hould truly die unto my &s;elfe, to live in you, that I &s;hould de&s;pi&s;e all things to love you alone, and that &s;timulated by this love, I &s;hould &s;atisfie for my pa&s;t crimes never more to com|mit the like. But when will that ble&s;&s;ed houre arrive, that I &s;hall love nothing but you? It is high time, and I implore it of you; Be plea&s;ed then not to deny me this grace, (my good <HI>Ie&s;us</HI>) &s;ince you refu&s;e me not your owne life: deprive me of all things if you plea&s;e, pro|vided that I love you.</P>
</DIV4>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="part">
<PB N="92" REF="59">
<HEAD>Point II.</HEAD>
<P>IN this my&s;tery <HI>Je&s;us</HI> covers his greatne&s;&s;e, and veiles his Maje&s;ty, in contempts and mocke|ries; and by a miracle of love, he renders him&s;elfe capable of &s;uffer|ing the &s;harpe&s;t points of thornes, filthy and unclean &s;pittings; blowes and buffets, which brui&s;e his body and face; and by this holy artifice, which love hath contrived, he tri|umpheth over the Devill and &s;in. Open your heart unto this <HI>Je&s;us,</HI> that he may place there the throne of his love, and triumph over your malice , and all the impure love which may re&s;ide in you.</P>
<DIV4 TYPE="prayer">
<PB N="93" REF="59">
<HEAD>PRAYER.</HEAD>
<P>CAn I po&s;&s;ibly behold you my <HI>Ie&s;us</HI>) covered with &s;pittings, brui&s;ed with blowes, crowned with thornes, and your body pierced with all &s;orts of do|lors, and not di&s;&s;olve into teares, but remaine in&s;en&s;ible at the &s;ight of &s;o &s;ad a &s;pectacle! Per|mit it not, <HI>O God of love,</HI> rather pierce my heart with griefe, and give me the grace to have a &s;en&s;e of what you &s;uffer for me. Grant me this favour, that I may beare the effects thereof; for it is not ju&s;t that your &s;acred body &s;hould be immer&s;ed in &s;orrow, and your adorable head crowned with thorns, while&s;t
<PB N="94" REF="60">I bathe my &s;elfe in plea&s;ures, or crowne my &s;elfe with Ro&s;es, li|ving alwayes among&s;t delights: I rather wi&s;h, and would gladly implore, if I had love enough, that I might no longer affect a|ny creature, and that nothing might afford me contentment, but that I might finde worme|wood every where, and every thing prove di&s;ta&s;tfull to me, to the end I may take no delight, but in you alone. This is what I a&s;pire to, but I have not force enough to practice it, nor &s;uffi|cient love to aske it. There re|maines one onely de&s;ire on my part, that I may give my &s;elfe entirely to you, to &s;uffer what|&s;oever &s;hall &s;uit with your good plea&s;ure.</P>
</DIV4>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="part">
<PB N="95" REF="60">
<HEAD>Point III.</HEAD>
<P><HI>JESUS</HI> in his Pa&s;&s;ion pra|cticeth all &s;orts of vertues, to merit them for us, by the actuall exerci&s;e of them, to leave them unto us by way of te&s;tament, and to bring them into e&s;teeme with the world, which contemns and rejects humility, patience, poverty, and all &s;ufferances. Addre&s;&s;e your &s;elfe unto <HI>Je&s;us Chri&s;t,</HI> to de&s;ire of him the love of his vertues, and the grace to bee able to practice them in &s;uch a degree as hee re|quires of you.</P>
<DIV4 TYPE="prayer">
<PB N="96" REF="61">
<HEAD>PRAYER.</HEAD>
<P>YOu have promi&s;ed me <HI>(O my God)</HI> by your <HI>Prophet,</HI> to engrave your love in the mid&s;t of my heart, and to im|print it in the center of my &s;oule: I &s;ummon you in order to your promi&s;e, for I offer unto you my heart opened, and commit into your hands my &s;oule and &s;pi|rit, to receive of you the motions of grace, and the impre&s;&s;ions of your law: But what is this law which you give me, but the i|mitation of your life, and of the vertues which you have been plea&s;ed to practi&s;e on earth? For you had no need , <HI>my Lord,</HI> of this great poverty which I
<PB N="97" REF="61">di&s;cern in your birth, of the pa|tience which you &s;hew in your torments, of the obedience which &s;ets you on the Cro&s;&s;e, of meekne&s;&s;e in the mid&s;t of your enemies, nor of the humi|lity and contempt of the world which is manife&s;ted in all your life: But you have &s;ubjected your &s;elfe unto all this, not on|ly for my &s;alvation, but al&s;o to teach me both by words and actions, the vertues which you affect, the way which I am to follow to obtain &s;alvation, and the life which I ought to lead, to become the mo&s;t acceptable to you. In this &s;ort, your life and vertues, <HI>O Je&s;us,</HI> are the &s;quare of my actions, and the rules which I am to follow.
<PB N="98" REF="62">Grant me then the grace, that I may know them to e&s;teeme them, that I e&s;teem them to love them, and that I love them to practi&s;e them, in &s;uch &s;ort as you require of me: For I am well a&s;&s;ured that I &s;hall have no &s;hare in your glory, if I doe not imi|tate your vertues, and &s;hall not partake of your triumphs, if I beare not a part in your com|bats.</P>
</DIV4>
</DIV3>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="section">
<PB N="99" REF="62">
<HEAD>Ecce Homo.</HEAD>
<DIV3 TYPE="part">
<HEAD>Point I.</HEAD>
<P> SEe the extreme confu&s;ion and contempt unto which <HI>Je&s;us</HI> is expo&s;ed, &s;ince his owne peo|ple preferre a notorious Robber be|fore him, condemne him to the Cro&s;&s;e, and demand his death, to give life to a Malefactor. O blind|ne&s;&s;e of humane Spirit, which makes more account of Terrene, then Heavenly things, which ho|nours <HI>Barabas</HI> to reject <HI>Je&s;us.</HI> De|plore this unhappine&s;&s;e; and be&s;eech the &s;ame <HI>Je&s;us</HI> never to permit that humane re&s;pects or compla|cency,
<PB N="100" REF="63">may ever cau&s;e you to pre|fer men before God, or the Creature before the Creator.</P>
<DIV4 TYPE="prayer">
<HEAD>PRAYER.</HEAD>
<P><HI>LOrd,</HI> I blu&s;h for &s;hame and confu&s;ion, &s;eeing the little account is made of you; that they condemne you unto the Cro&s;&s;e to give life to a Thiefe, and reject you to receive <HI>Barab|bas.</HI> Neverthele&s;&s;e, this is done in your Pa&s;&s;ion: and at pre&s;ent (O unhappy &s;oule) I find even that in my &s;elfe, which I con|demne in the Jewes; for alas! God of goodne&s;&s;e, how often in my life have I rejected your grace, to obey the cupidities of my heart? How often through
<PB N="101" REF="63">a damnable blindne&s;&s;e have I endeavoured to &s;atisfie my &s;elfe, and plea&s;e the Creature again&s;t your intentions? Finally how often have I preferred the Earth before Heaven, men before God&punc; and my owne private contentment, before your ho|ly will? It is high time <HI>(O Sa|viour of my &s;oule)</HI> that I acknow|ledge my fault, that I change my life, and open my eyes, to di&s;cerne how the world is no|thing to me and that you are my <HI>All.</HI> I confe&s;&s;e my crime, I accu&s;e my infidelity, and condemn both my life and all my actions pa&s;t: Be plea&s;ed (O good <HI>Je&s;us</HI>) to give me a true repentance of them, and grant that my heart may breake with &s;orrow, and
<PB N="102" REF="64">my eyes di&s;till fountaines of teares to expiate all my offences; for I de&s;ire (my <HI>Ie&s;us</HI>) to &s;atis|fie your love, and to live under your Lawes.</P>
</DIV4>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="part">
<HEAD>Point II.</HEAD>
<P> THe Sonne of God aba&s;eth his holy and adorable humanity, to become the reproach of men, the refu&s;e of his people, and the ob|ject of their &s;corne and deri&s;ion; And he truly &s;aith, <HI>I am a worme of the earth.</HI> At the &s;ight of your <HI>Je&s;us</HI> di&s;&s;olve into humility, and affect rather to be low and humble with the humble <HI>Je&s;us,</HI> then great and honour'd with <HI>Pilate.</HI></P>
<DIV4 TYPE="prayer">
<PB N="103" REF="64">
<HEAD>PRAYER.</HEAD>
<P>IF you &s;ay that you are but a worme of the earth, the re|proach of men, and the refu&s;e of the people, what mu&s;t I be, my <HI>Ie&s;us?</HI> For it is ju&s;t, that I &s;hould be much le&s;&s;e then your &s;elfe? If you hold &s;o low a rank among&s;t men, who are the Sonne of God, what place &s;hall I find, who am but a &s;inner, a child of <HI>Adam,</HI> and un|worthy of your grace? O how much con&s;trained do I now find my &s;elfe to confe&s;&s;e, that I am nothing, and worthy of con|tempt and confu&s;ion? I con|fe&s;&s;e that I am too blame, and e|levate my &s;elfe above rea&s;on,
<PB N="104" REF="65">when I de&s;ire to be e&s;teemed and honoured by men. Where|fore in view of the contempt, which you indure, I pur|po&s;e to alter my cour&s;e of life, and to imitate you if I can, and with this re&s;olution I ca&s;t my &s;elfe at your feet, O my <HI>Ie&s;us!</HI> I adore your profound humility; I implore the pow|er of this vertue to come upon me, and I give my &s;elfe intire|ly to you, to beare the effects thereof, in &s;uch &s;ort as to you &s;hall &s;eem good. I know very well that I ought to affect hu|miliations, confu&s;ions, and con|tempts; I know that they are my portion; they are the mo&s;t conformable to my &s;tate, &s;ince I am a &s;inner. But my perverted
<PB N="105" REF="65">&s;pirit and quite corrupted na|ture is aver&s;e thereunto: Ne|verthele&s;&s;e Lord, I will love you; &s;uccour only my weak|ne&s;&s;e, annihilate my aver&s;ions, and fortifie my will, that I may put in practi&s;e the good re&s;olu|tion which I have taken in your pre&s;ence.</P>
</DIV4>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="part">
<HEAD>Point III.</HEAD>
<P><HI>IESUS</HI> beares the Rigours, Dolours, and Humiliations, which our &s;innes have merited. It is for this cau&s;e, he pre&s;ents him&s;elfe unto the people, to &s;uf|fer, and unto his Father, to &s;a|tisfie his ju&s;tice. Ca&s;t your &s;elfe at his feet (O my &s;oule) and &s;ay
<PB N="106" REF="66">affectionately, <HI>Behold the man,</HI> whom I &s;eeke; for he is my <HI>Je&s;us,</HI> my Saviour, and my All; I &s;ee him, I embrace him, and I re&s;olve, that he &s;hall be my King, and reigne alone in my heart.</P>
<DIV4 TYPE="prayer">
<HEAD>PRAYER.</HEAD>
<P>AT the &s;ight of what you act and &s;uffer for me, O my <HI>Ie&s;us,</HI> I remaine di&s;tracted, and fall into a kind of rapture; for what am I Lord? And what need have you of me, that you &s;hould &s;eeke my &s;alvation at the co&s;t of &s;o many labours? What is there in my &s;oule capable of inviting you to offer your &s;elfe unto your Father, to appea&s;e by your torments his Ju&s;tice which
<PB N="107" REF="66">I have irritated by my offences? Surely is is nothing but love, which (exerci&s;ing the power and rigour thereof) made you become man, and &s;uffer death for me. O Love, how power|full art thou, &s;ince thou ha&s;t re|duced my <HI>Ie&s;us</HI> into &s;tate where|in I contemplate him, in his life and death! O Love how &s;trong is thine arme, &s;ince thou ha&s;t drawne my <HI>Ie&s;us</HI> from the Throne of his glory, to place him in humiliations, and to &s;ub|ject him to &s;o many paines? Love, if thou ha&s;t power over my God, mu&s;t not thou have it over my heart? No, there is no meanes to with&s;tand it; what&s;oever it co&s;ts, I mu&s;t love him, who hath loved us more
<PB N="108" REF="67">then his own life, who in giving him&s;elfe, requires nothing but our love. I re&s;igne my &s;elf then unto you <HI>(&ocirc; Love of my Soule)</HI> to love you with my whole heart: Grant onely, if you plea&s;e, that I may love nothing but you; for you both com|mand and oblige me to love you: I am content, but unable to do it, without your grace. Ef|fect then this work in me, of lo|ving you, and loo&s;en my heart from all earthly affections, to the end I may entirely unite my &s;elfe to you: And be plea&s;ed to give mee a holy inability, which may render me uncapa|ble of &s;evering my &s;elfe from you, and of loving any other.</P>
</DIV4>
</DIV3>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="section">
<PB N="109" REF="67">
<HEAD>IESUS carrieth his Cro&s;&s;e.</HEAD>
<DIV3 TYPE="part">
<HEAD>Point I.</HEAD>
<P> COn&s;ider the hunger and in&s;a|tiable thir&s;t, the extreme love and de&s;ire, which <HI>Je&s;us</HI> hath to &s;uffer for us, having never &s;aid, <HI>It is enough,</HI> nor refu&s;ing any torments which are inflicted on him, allowing all per&s;ons to torture him. Ask of <HI>Je&s;us,</HI> that he would vouch&s;afe to e&s;trange you from the plea&s;ures of the world, and admit no longer any repugnancy in your &s;elfe, to indure for his &s;ake.</P>
<DIV4 TYPE="prayer">
<PB N="110" REF="68">
<HEAD>PRAYER.</HEAD>
<P>O Amiable <HI>Ie&s;us!</HI> How ju&s;t is it that I now con|fe&s;&s;e the exce&s;&s;e of your love, and acknowledge the mercies which you &s;hew me; for you are not &s;atisfied in purcha&s;ing me, by the profu&s;ion of your bloud, and appea&s;ing the divine Ju&s;tice by your death, but exci|ted by the love which you beare me, and by a de&s;ire of my &s;alvation, you expo&s;e your &s;elfe to all &s;orts of confu&s;ions; and by a divine patience, you refu&s;e no tortures, and &s;hun no paines, which impiety invents to make you &s;uffer. At the &s;ight of &s;o much goodne&s;&s;e, and at the ob|ject
<PB N="111" REF="68">of your vertues, what can I do le&s;&s;e, whereby I may become the mo&s;t acceptable to you, then imitate your life, and imbrace with you, all cro&s;&s;es and &s;uffe|rances? For I know you have &s;aid of it, that <HI>he is unworthy of you, who beares not his cro&s;&s;e with you, and refu&s;es to follow you.</HI> I purpo&s;e then <HI>(O Saviour of my &s;oule)</HI> I purpo&s;e willingly to follow you, and (renouncing my owne plea&s;ures) &s;ufferance &s;hall be my onely love and de|light. I cannot effect it without your grace; be plea&s;ed therefore to be&s;tow it on me; for without you I can do nothing, and with you I am inabled to doe all things.</P>
</DIV4>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="part">
<PB N="112" REF="69">
<HEAD>Point II.</HEAD>
<P><HI>IESUS</HI> loaden with his Cro&s;&s;e, &s;inkes under the burthen, not of the heavine&s;&s;e of the wood, but under the weight of our offences, wherewith he charged him&s;elfe before the Iu&s;tice of his Father; And in view of the whole world, he carrieth the confu&s;ion and con|tempt which our crimes have me|rited. Beg of him the &s;pirit and gift of Penance, to the end taking part in the &s;atisfactions of <HI>Chri&s;t Je&s;us,</HI> you may endeavour in &s;ome mea&s;ure by your &s;elf to &s;atisfy God, whom you have &s;o often offended.</P>
<DIV4 TYPE="prayer">
<PB N="113" REF="69">
<HEAD>PRAYER.</HEAD>
<P>MY <HI>Ie&s;us,</HI> give me light to di&s;cerne the weight of &s;inne; the grace to dete&s;t it, as it de&s;erveth, and love to become repentant as I ought; for I in|tend, Lord, to doe Penance. I know that you have &s;uffered for me, and that you died to give me life, and to a&s;&s;ociate me to the number of your children: And true it is, that all that you have done was only to obtaine pardon for my offences, and to &s;atisfie for the paine due un|to my crimes; finally it is true, Lord, that your merits are infinite: But yet, it is likewi&s;e ju&s;t, and you give
<PB N="114" REF="70">it me in command, that I alter my cour&s;e of life, and doe Pe|nance to &s;ati fie your divine Ju|&s;tice; for otherwi&s;e I cannot partake of the &s;atisfaction of your Cro&s;&s;e, nor of the merits of your &s;ufferings. Be plea&s;ed then to be&s;tow on me the &s;pirit of Penance, and the zeale of your Ju&s;tice, that I may exerci&s;e it on my &s;elfe. But vouch&s;afe to give it me from this in&s;tant, for feare le&s;t I be &s;urprized, and (excepting the houre of death, and the day of vengeance) I find my &s;elfe unworthy of mercy. I de&s;ire to prevent, le&s;t I be pre|vented. It is a ble&s;&s;ing which depends on you, and which I beg of you with my whole heart.</P>
</DIV4>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="part">
<PB N="115" REF="70">
<HEAD>Point III.</HEAD>
<P>COn&s;ider the humiliation which <HI>Je&s;us</HI> hath borne in the thoughts and judgements of men, who e&s;teemed him &s;trucken and reproved, condemned and aban|doned even of God him&s;elfe, judg|ing him worthy of all the tor|ments which he indured. Render him thanks for &s;upporting all this, in &s;atisfaction for the pride of men, and from henceforth &s;trive to affect humility, and learn to de&s;pi&s;e the vaine judgements which may be made of you.</P>
<DIV4 TYPE="prayer">
<PB N="116" REF="71">
<HEAD>PRAYER.</HEAD>
<P>ALl the &s;innes of men (O a|miable <HI>Ie&s;us</HI>) are the cau&s;e of your death; but pride, which is the mother of all &s;innes, is the principall occa&s;ion thereof. For if you came into the world to ruine and annihilate the King|dome of death, and the empire of &s;inne, much more did you come, to combate the pomp of the world, and to de&s;troy the pride of men. It was to this end you were borne, and lived &s;o poore and abject: It was for this end, that you died in the mid&s;t of &s;o many confu&s;ions, loaden with &s;o many reproa|ches; it was to condemne
<PB N="117" REF="71">pride, that your whole life, your &s;ufferings and death were onely in humiliations: Since them (O <HI>Lord</HI>) you neither liv'd nor dy'd but to condemne pride, which is the &s;pring of all mi&s;eries, I condemne it with you, and de|te&s;t it for your &s;ake. Be plea&s;ed to root out of my heart, and to ingrave in my &s;oule the love of humility. And as in this my&s;te|ry you abandon your &s;elfe to the fal&s;e judgments of men, who e&s;teem you worthy all the tor|tures which you indure; &s;o vouch&s;afe to give me the grace, that for the combating my pride, I may affect contempt, &amp; de&s;pi&s;e the fal&s;e judgments of men. And for the completement of my ble&s;&s;ing, I beg of you,
<PB N="118" REF="72">that I may partake of the grace and &s;pirit of your Pa&s;&s;ion, and that you will be plea&s;ed to form in me your di&s;po&s;itions, your actions and &s;ufferings: for I &s;hall a&s;&s;uredly raigne with you, if I become like unto you.</P>
</DIV4>
</DIV3>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="section">
<PB N="119" REF="72">
<HEAD>IESUS is nailed unto the Cro&s;&s;e</HEAD>
<DIV3 TYPE="part">
<HEAD>Point I.</HEAD>
<P><HI>PIlate</HI> abandoneth <HI>Je&s;us</HI> to the will and malice of &s;inners, and <HI>Je&s;us</HI> him&s;elfe became <HI>obedient</HI> in every thing, <HI>even to the death of the Cro&s;&s;e.</HI> He is delivered up to the <HI>Jewes,</HI> and <HI>Gentiles,</HI> to be nailed and fa&s;tned to this ignomi|nious piece of wood, in &s;uch &s;ort as they &s;hall ordaine. Adore <HI>Je&s;us,</HI> who &s;atisfieth by his obedience for the di&s;obedience of &s;inners, and learne to love obedience, and to preferre the will of God before all
<PB N="120" REF="73">things, of this world, even before your owne life.</P>
<DIV4 TYPE="prayer">
<HEAD>PRAYER.</HEAD>
<P>O My Saviour and my God! I remaine not in this world, but to fulfill your holy will; all my happine&s;&s;e depends on this point, and the perfection of my &s;oule con&s;i&s;ts in this vertue; hitherto both Heaven, Earth, the Elements, and all Creatures, in obeying you, teach me what I ought to doe: But the death of my <HI>Ie&s;us (&ocirc; Eternall Father)</HI> and his o|bedience in all the my&s;teries of his Pa&s;&s;ion, evidenceth to me that I ought to preferre your holy will, before my own con|tentments,
<PB N="121" REF="73">my private intere&s;t, and even life it &s;elfe; that I mu&s;t feare neither contempts nor &s;uf|ferances, nor even labours in all occa&s;ions, which concerne that obedience, which I owe your Soveraigne Maje&s;ty; for if your Sonne hath abandoned him&s;elfe to an ignominious death, if he hath given his adorable feet and hands to be cruelly nailed unto a Cro&s;&s;e, and if he &s;ubjected him&s;elfe to the will of &s;inners, and executioners, what can I doe le&s;&s;e from henceforward, then learne of my <HI>Ie&s;us,</HI> the o|bedience, which I owe to all that you require of me? In ho|nour then of the obedience of your Sonne, and in homage to this vertue which he hath pra|cti&s;ed,
<PB N="122" REF="74">rendering him&s;elf <HI>obedi|ent even to the death of the Cro&s;&s;e,</HI> I give my &s;elfe unto you, <HI>(O Fa|ther of mercy!)</HI> and acknowledge my &s;elfe your Creature and Va&s;|&s;all, and I purpo&s;e faithfully to obey you, and to live under the lawes of your Empire. Do not permit Lord, if you plea&s;e, that I ever prove rebellious to you, or that to fulfill my owne will I for&s;ake yours; but by an effect of the My&s;terie which I con|template, grant that I preferre your holy will before all earth|ly things, and even my owne life; for &s;uch is my de&s;ire.</P>
</DIV4>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="part">
<PB N="123" REF="74">
<HEAD>Point II.</HEAD>
<P>BEhold the &s;ubmi&s;&s;ion where|in <HI>Je&s;us</HI> the King of glory, vouch&s;afeth to place him&s;elfe, for our &s;innes; when as with a pro|found &s;ilence he &s;ubmits to the Iud|ges, to the Executioners and his Enemies: And he even abando|neth him&s;elfe to the power of Di|vels, obeying &s;o humbly and readi|ly when they go about to uncloath him, to naile and fa&s;ten him to the Cro&s;&s;e. Subject your &s;elfe for his &s;ake, as much as you may, chiefly when there &s;hall be occa&s;ion of be|ing humbled, or &s;uffering any thing for the honour of God.</P>
<DIV4 TYPE="prayer">
<PB N="124" REF="75">
<HEAD>PRAYER.</HEAD>
<P>GIve me the grace, <HI>O God of love and goodne&s;&s;e!</HI> to know you, and under|&s;tand my &s;elfe; for if you im|part unto me this light, and af|fect me with a &s;en&s;e of this ve|rity, it will be ea&s;ie for me to annihilate my &s;elfe in the pre|&s;ence of your Soveraigne Ma|je&s;ty: it will be no longer un|ea&s;ie for me to condemne and confound my &s;elfe, con&s;ider|ing the little love I beare you, and it will be facile for me to &s;uffer contempts, humiliations, and the Cro&s;&s;es of this pre&s;ent life: For (O benigne <HI>Ie&s;us</HI>) I &s;ee you all naked in the mid&s;t
<PB N="125" REF="75">of mo&s;t cruell Executioners, &s;tretched out upon this ignomi|nious wood of the Cro&s;&s;e; and if you, who are the onely Son of my God, have been plea&s;ed to endure for my &s;ake the &s;cour|ges, the nailes, and the Cro&s;&s;e, why &s;hall I refu&s;e for the love of you, the pains and contempts of this life? No, no, Lord, I dete&s;t my pride, I accu&s;e my re|mi&s;&s;ene&s;&s;e, and renounce the de|licacies and effeminacies of this world, to the end I may imitate you, and partake of the &s;pirit, grace, and merits of your death and pa&s;&s;ion.</P>
</DIV4>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="part">
<PB N="126" REF="76">
<HEAD>Point III.</HEAD>
<P>COn&s;ider <HI>Je&s;us</HI> &s;uffering in all things which may bring him pain, humiliation, and confu&s;ion, to expiate the abu&s;e we make of every thing, which we imploy in offending the Divine Maje&s;ty; and to condemne the inordinate love wherein we preferre the creature before the Creator. Implore his grace to make good u&s;e of all things and take an aver&s;ion to the wanton|ne&s;&s;e of the fle&s;h.</P>
<DIV4 TYPE="prayer">
<HEAD>PRAYER.</HEAD>
<P>O Amiable <HI>Ie&s;us,</HI> you have created me to love you, and have loved me to oblige me
<PB N="127" REF="76">to your love, nay, all that you have done and &s;uffered, was but to draw me to you, and to in|gage me in your &s;ervice. I ren|der you thanks with my whole heart, and I be&s;eech you to give me the grace that I may love you above all things, and love nothing but your &s;elfe in all things. Be plea&s;ed to annihi|late in me, what&s;oever is oppo|&s;ite to your love, con&s;ume in my heart &s;elfe-love, and all af|fections to creatures, to the end I may unite my &s;elfe to you, and live wholly for you. I know very well that my crimes and offences have rendred me un|worthy of this grace; But (O <HI>God of love and goodne&s;&s;e!</HI>) you have &s;uffered death on the
<PB N="128" REF="77">Cro&s;&s;e, to obtaine for us this grace, and to attract us to your love. Fix then if you plea&s;e, (O benigne <HI>Ie&s;us</HI>) fix I &s;ay your love in my heart, and your feare in my &s;oule, and grant that I may love you with all my pow|er, and with all my forces in or|der to your command.</P>
</DIV4>
</DIV3>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="section">
<PB N="129" REF="77">
<HEAD>Ie&s;us upon the Cro&s;&s;e.</HEAD>
<DIV3 TYPE="part">
<HEAD>Point I.</HEAD>
<P><HI>IE&s;us</HI> &s;uffers in all the parts of his body, who hath nothing whole from the feet to the head; for he is covered all over with wounds, brui&s;ed with blowes, and his bloud quite exhau&s;ted. He in|dures all the&s;e &s;everall paines, to expiate the abu&s;e which we make of our bodies, &amp; to condemne the plea|&s;ures and volupties of the world. Offer your Soule, your body and life to <HI>Je&s;us,</HI> and de&s;ire &s;trength of him to de&s;pi&s;e the delights of this life, and grace to &s;uffer what&s;oever &s;hall happen to you.</P>
<DIV4 TYPE="prayer">
<PB N="130" REF="78">
<HEAD>PRAYER.</HEAD>
<P>BEnigne <HI>Ie&s;us,</HI> what compa|ri&s;on can there be between the grandeurs of your Sove|raigne Maje&s;ty, and the aba&s;e|ment of the Cro&s;&s;e? You are life in your divine E&s;&s;ence, and you are life and glory to every rationall creature. Why doe you then aba&s;e your &s;elfe (O <HI>ineffable greatne&s;&s;e</HI>) even to the torment of an ignominious death? You undergoe it for me, poor and mi&s;erable &s;inner, and your love reduces you to a death on the Cro&s;&s;e, to give life to me, who am dead by &s;in. This &s;tate is too unworthy of your greatne&s;&s;e, remaine rather
<PB N="131" REF="78">on the Throne of your glory, and leave me in the mi&s;eries and misfortunes which I have ac|quired by my demerits: And if your goodne&s;&s;e excite and in|vite you to &s;hew me favour, let it be at lea&s;t without concerne|ment of your greatne&s;&s;e, or a|ba&s;ement of your incomprehen|&s;ible Maje&s;ty. But I clearly di&s;|cerne (O my <HI>Ie&s;us</HI>) that it is your infinite goodne&s;&s;e that invites you to love us with an infinite love, and hath procured the communication of your &s;elfe to our &s;oules, in an unconceivable manner; for you exhau&s;t your owne per&s;on, to give your &s;elfe unto men, and you even con|&s;ume your &s;elfe in the flames of Charity, to &s;hew me your
<PB N="132" REF="79">love and oblige me to love you. You &s;uffer and die, to the end, that having purcha&s;ed me at the price of your bloud, and life, I may be no longer mine, and live no more to my &s;elfe, but remain wholly yours, and live only for you. Alas Lord! when will this happine&s;&s;e befall me? it is what I de&s;ire; for I am yours, my &s;oulde, my body, and actions are yours. I offer and &s;ubmit them entirely, and eternally to your holy will, that you may do in, and by me what you plea&s;e; for I am wholly yours, as you are all mine.</P>
</DIV4>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="part">
<PB N="133" REF="79">
<HEAD>Point II.</HEAD>
<P><HI>JE&s;us</HI> thus covered over with wounds, and &s;uffering in all the members of his body, is on the Al|tar of the Cro&s;&s;e, as a victime for all &s;inners, offering him&s;elf to his Father, to heale them of the wounds made by their &s;innes, and he gives even to the la&s;t drop of his bloud, for expiation of their offences. Compa&s;&s;ionate his Dolous, render him thankes for the love he beares you, and prote&s;t never more to offend him.</P>
<DIV4 TYPE="prayer">
<PB N="134" REF="80">
<HEAD>PRAYER.</HEAD>
<P>ALl that you &s;uffer on the Cro&s;&s;e (O amiable <HI>Ie&s;us</HI>) and the paines which have con|&s;ummated your Pa&s;&s;ion, are but the ran&s;ome of my offences, and the &s;atisfaction of all my crimes; for they are my &s;innes which have deprived you of life, it is my pride which hath humbled you; my &s;elfe-love, and the plea|&s;ures of my life, have &s;courged you; my perver&s;e inclinations and vaine de&s;ires have crowned you with thornes: in fine you die upon the ignominious Tree of the Cro&s;&s;e to deliver me from the capiivity of the Divell and &s;inne, and to &s;atisfie the divine
<PB N="135" REF="80">Ju&s;tice, ju&s;tly irritated again&s;t me; &s;o that I con&s;ider you on the Altar of the Cro&s;&s;e, as an holy victime, which you offer unto your Father to appea&s;e him; and your death is a &s;acri|fice, which you make to him of your &s;elfe, to merit life for mee, and to obtaine pardon for my offences. After &s;o great a beni|fit, can I be &s;o unhappy, as &s;eeke to revive &s;inne in my &s;oul, and render my &s;elfe &s;till a &s;lave to it? Can I de&s;ire to enter in|to a new commerce with vice, and obey my own concupi&s;cen|ces, which have crucified you? No, no, <HI>(&s;uccour of my Soule)</HI> I dete&s;t them with my whole heart, and hate them with all my force, for the love of you.
<PB N="136" REF="81">I will no longer offend you by the a&s;&s;i&s;tance of your holy grace, which I beg of you by the me|rits of your pa&s;&s;ion. Since you die onely to extirpate &s;inne in my &s;oule, and to bani&s;h vice out of my con&s;cience: Effect Lord, effect what you de&s;ire, and give me a holy inabilitie of offend|ing you.</P>
</DIV4>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="part">
<HEAD>Point III.</HEAD>
<P><HI>IE&s;us</HI> &s;heds his bloud in &s;uffer|ing, and expires by the effu&s;ion thereof; But the nailes and Exe|cutioners being unable to extin|gui&s;h the ardor of his love, which even in death it &s;elfe cannot die, he con&s;erves what remaines of it in his heart and body, to poure out
<PB N="137" REF="81">upon the Cro&s;&s;e, even to the la&s;t drop, that he may evidence to us the profu&s;ion, which he intends to make of his &s;pirit, of his graces and love. Sacrifice unto him your heart, and offer your &s;elfe to him to beare the effects of the Cro&s;&s;e, as he &s;hall plea&s;e to imprint them in your Soule.</P>
<DIV4 TYPE="prayer">
<HEAD>PRAYER.</HEAD>
<P>I Adore you (O my <HI>Ie&s;us</HI>) cru|cified, as the beginning of all happine&s;&s;e, and as the Spring of all graces and benedictions, which either have been, or &s;hall ever be communicated to men: I adore all the thoughts and de|&s;ires, which you have had upon the Cro&s;&s;e, of giving your grace
<PB N="138" REF="82">&amp; love to your elect; finally <HI>(my Saviour)</HI> I adore the profu&s;ion you make of your bloud, even to the la&s;t drop, and the exce&s;&s;e of love, which you expre&s;&s;e in all the &s;tates of your life, and death. Grant me the grace to beare the effects thereof, and faithfully to co-operate with the merits of your Pa&s;&s;ion: for what will it availe me <HI>(O God, of love)</HI> that you are dead upon the Cro&s;&s;e, and bountifull in communicating your Spirit, and grace, if I render my &s;elfe un|worthy of it, and oppo&s;e my &s;elfe again&s;t it by my iniquitie? Neverthele&s;&s;e it is what I feare, for I am too mi&s;erable, and &s;hall &s;urely remaine obdurate in my &s;inne, if you prevent me not with
<PB N="139" REF="82">your grace, if you guard me not with your &s;uccour, and if you continue not your favour to me. Wherefore (O <HI><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="2 letters">exhau&s;ti|ble goodne&s;&s;e</HI>) be plea&s;ed not to thinke it enough to have given your bloud and life; but be&s;tow on me over and above, I b<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;eech you, your &s;pi<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">it, your grace and love. And I make a gift to you of my heart, my &s;pirit and life, and remit into your hands, the libertie wherein you have created me, to the end I may become from henceforth a &s;lave to your love, and that my &s;oule may live no longer, then to re|ceive the effects of your death, and the life of your Cro&s;&s;e.</P>
</DIV4>
</DIV3>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="section">
<PB N="140" REF="83">
<HEAD>IESUS lying dead betweene the armes of his holy Mother.</HEAD>
<DIV3 TYPE="part">
<HEAD>Point I.</HEAD>
<P> IT is an unheard of thing to &s;ee God upon the Cro&s;&s;e, and life in death; yet you behold Je&s;us &s;tretched out between the armes of his holy Mother. He is dead, but by this meanes he becomes the life of our Soules. This manner of death is infinitely di&s;tant from the greatne&s;&s;e of God; but love hath wrought this wonder to convey life to your &s;oule, and death to your &s;ins.
<PB N="141" REF="83">Give your &s;elfe to <HI>Je&s;us</HI> and <HI>Ma|ry,</HI> to be are in you the&s;e two effects of life and death.</P>
<DIV4 TYPE="prayer">
<HEAD>PRAYER.</HEAD>
<P>IF I de&s;ire to live in God, and in order to what he requires of a <HI>Chri&s;tian,</HI> I mu&s;t needs die to &s;inne, alter my depraved cu|&s;tomes, and withdraw my heart from &s;elfe-love and all affe|ction to creatures. But how &s;hall I doe it, <HI>O ble&s;&s;ed Virgin,</HI> if I receive not powerfull a&s;&s;i|&s;tance? for I am able to act no|thing, if I want efficacious grace which operates in and with me, what God de&s;ires of me. Now from whence may I have it, but from and by you, <HI>O Mother</HI> of
<PB N="142" REF="84">grace and mercy, &s;ince God hath put into your hands, the price of my Salvation, and &s;ince you hold in your armes, the fountaine of all graces? I re|paire then to you <HI>(O benigne Virgin)</HI> and I give my &s;elfe to you, to the end by the power which you have in quality of my Saviours mother, you may produce in my &s;oule the effects of life and death; my meaning is, that you operate in &s;uch &s;ort by your favour, that I may real|ly die to my vices and &s;innes, that I may dete&s;t and hate them, and lead &s;uch a life as God ex|pects of me, and to which I ob|liged my &s;elfe, when by <HI>Bap|ti&s;me</HI> I was incorporated, and made a member of <HI>Ie&s;us Chri&s;t,</HI> your Sonne.</P>
</DIV4>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="part">
<PB N="143" REF="84">
<HEAD>Point II.</HEAD>
<P>THe Son of God vouch&s;afed to unite pains, &s;orrows, af|flictions, and cro&s;&s;es to him&s;elfe, and his holy Mother, with de&s;igne to render them from thenceforth plea&s;ing, &s;weet, and worthy to be e&s;teemed and de&s;ired on earth. Be|gin to e&s;teem them becau&s;e they are deified in <HI>Je&s;us,</HI> and honoured in his holy Mother. And if you are unable to aske them of God, at lea&s;t re&s;olve to be are them with humili|ty and patience, when they &s;hall happen to you.</P>
<DIV4 TYPE="prayer">
<PB N="144" REF="85">
<HEAD>PRAYER.</HEAD>
<P>YOu have ever been <HI>(O holy Virgin)</HI> the wel-beloved of the eternall Father: You are a|mong&s;t all the pure creatures, the worthie&s;t object of his love; You are his &s;pou&s;e, and the true Mother of <HI>Ie&s;us,</HI> as he is his Fa|ther; and he gives you his Son, &amp; with him hath put into your hands the trea&s;ures of Heaven, and earth, and all the riches of Divinitie. For this rea&s;on you are the worthie&s;t of all pure creatures, and with my <HI>Ie&s;us</HI> you are the happine&s;&s;e of the whole world; Neverthele&s;&s;e <HI>(O Mother of God)</HI> I &s;ee you in the mid&s;t of mount <HI>Calvary,</HI> and at the foot
<PB N="145" REF="85">of the Cro&s;&s;e, holding your Son dead between your armes: You take off the Crowne of thornes, you wipe his wounds, you wa&s;h his body with teares, and ki&s;&s;e a thou&s;and times the brui&s;es of his fle&s;h: You &s;uffer likewi&s;e with him the ignominies, and dolors of the Cro&s;&s;e; &s;o that hu|miliations, cro&s;&s;es &amp; afflictions are both in you and in <HI>Je&s;us.</HI> In him and you they are become divine, &s;anctified and rendred acceptable; And for this cau&s;e they are worthie of being e&s;tee|med, and de&s;ired by <HI>Chri&s;tians.</HI> What mu&s;t I then doe <HI>(O holy Virgin)</HI> if I will love you? what other thing can I doe, but affect Cro&s;&s;es and humiliations with you, and humble my &s;elfe like
<PB N="146" REF="86">you. I de&s;ine and purpo&s;e it thus in my &s;oule, procure me only the grace that in all occa|&s;ions I may beare every thing with fidelity and patience, in &s;uch &s;ort as God requires of me, and you de&s;ire I &s;hould.</P>
</DIV4>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="part">
<HEAD>Point III.</HEAD>
<P> THe holy. Virgin holding her Son between her armes, offers him to God and the divine Iu&s;tice, for &s;atisfaction of our offences; And as the Father hath given his Son to the world, and the Son deli|vered him&s;elfe up to the Cro&s;&s;e to &s;ave us; So the holy Virgin both with heart and will, &s;acrificeth her owne Son, that &s;he may in this &s;ort mini&s;ter unto our Salvation.
<PB N="147" REF="86">Give her thanks for this extraor|dinary Charity, and be&s;eech her to render you faithfull to all the gra|ces, which the death of the Son of God hath acquired.</P>
<DIV4 TYPE="prayer">
<HEAD>PRAYER.</HEAD>
<P>YOu have been cho&s;en <HI>(&ocirc; Mo|ther of grace and mercy!)</HI> to be the repairer of the world, and to co-operate in a mo&s;t peculiar manner to the &s;alvation of all mankind. You did when you gave your Sonne <HI>Chri&s;t Je&s;us</HI> to be delivered up to the death of the Cro&s;&s;e, and you do it when, holding him dead between your armes, you offer him to the di|vine Ju&s;tice, as a Victime and Sacrifice of propitiation, which
<PB N="148" REF="87">&s;atisfies God for the &s;innes of the world: And in this re&s;pect you are our Repairer; for <HI>Je&s;us</HI> who is the Saviour of men is yours, he is your Sonne, and you are his Mother. And in this quality, you have right to his life, his pre&s;ervation, and all his condition?. Neverthele&s;&s;e, <HI>(O Mother of our Soules)</HI> you con&s;ent to his death, you incou|rage him to torments, you con|duct him to the Cro&s;&s;e, and like another <HI>Abraham</HI> you &s;acrifice in will and affection your only Sonne, and you &s;acrifice him for my &s;innes, &s;o great is your cha|rity and love towards me. But what can I doe in recognition of &s;o &s;ublime a benefit? Where|in am I able to acknowledge,
<PB N="149" REF="87">(O <HI>benigne Virgin</HI>) &s;o ardent a Charity? At lea&s;t &s;ince you give your Sonne for me, procure that I may be your &s;lave, and &s;ince you re&s;igne him to efface the &s;innes of the world, and that hee may merit for us &s;uch graces, as are nece&s;&s;ary for our &s;alvation, be plea&s;ed to mediate, that I may be faithfull to all the graces, which he hath purcha|&s;ed for me by his death, and that I may live no longer, but for his honour and yours, as you give him to the Cro&s;&s;e and de|liver him up to death for me.</P>
</DIV4>
</DIV3>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="section">
<PB N="150" REF="88">
<HEAD>Our LADIE of Compa&s;&s;ion.</HEAD>
<DIV3 TYPE="part">
<HEAD>Point I.</HEAD>
<P> Since the Eternall Father can have no compatency in the do|lours of his Son, he &s;ub&s;tituted the holy Virgin, imprinting in her heart, and Spirit, the vertue of the Cro&s;&s;e, and the Spirit of his &s;ufferings; and, piercing her heart with the &s;word of &s;orrow, he made her &s;uffer with her Sonne, that in &s;ome manner &s;he might co-operate to our Salvation. Con&s;ider what <HI>Je&s;us</HI> and the holy Virgin &s;uffer for you, and from henceforth take
<PB N="151" REF="88">delight in the thought of their &s;uf|ferings, and in the love of the Cro&s;&s;e.</P>
<DIV4 TYPE="prayer">
<HEAD>PRAYER.</HEAD>
<P>O Virgin and mother of my <HI>Ie&s;us!</HI> I render you thanks for having contributed to our &s;alvation, not only by giving your Sonne, but al&s;o in taking your &s;hare in his Pa&s;&s;ions; for if he indure, you &s;uffer with him; The &s;courges, the thornes, the nailes and the lance, have pierced his body; but love and &s;orrow have tran&s;pierced your heart, and gauled your &s;oule. Wherefore <HI>(holy Virgin,</HI> the true refuge of &s;inners!) I adore <HI>Ie&s;us</HI> for my Saviour; but I re|verence
<PB N="152" REF="89">you as his Mother, and acknowledge you for the Repai|rer of the Univer&s;e; &s;ince you co|operate doubly in the good of our &s;oules; For you give us your Sonne, and &s;uffer with him for us. Be plea&s;ed al&s;o to mediate (<HI>O Virgin,</HI> &s;pring of life and grace) that I may be from hence|forward the object of your com|mi&s;erations. And &s;ince you have loved me &s;o much, as to give me your Sonne, and to give him e|ven for the Cro&s;&s;e: &s;ince your love and charity fa&s;tens you to my intere&s;ts, and makes you &s;uf|fer for mee, procure that I may &s;uffer all for you; but chiefly engrave in my heart &s;uch a ha|tred of &s;inne, as I may rather in|dure a thou&s;and deaths, then
<PB N="153" REF="89">&s;o much as once offend my <HI>Je|&s;us,</HI> your Sonne, who died for my &s;innes.</P>
</DIV4>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="part">
<HEAD>Point II.</HEAD>
<P> THe great love of the holy Vir|gin, hath made her &s;uffer ex|tremely; her life is no other but a Martyrdome; her thoughts are fixed only upon the Cro&s;&s;e, and her eyes have no other object, then death, and the death of her Sonne: Her love is now but langui&s;hing, and her langui&s;hments cau&s;e her ince&s;|&s;antly to &s;igh after her God and her Sonne. O my &s;oule! how hap|py &s;hould you be, if you could live no longer, but to love and &s;uffer.</P>
<DIV4 TYPE="prayer">
<PB N="154" REF="90">
<HEAD>PRAYER.</HEAD>
<P><HI>Holy Virgin!</HI> how &s;hall I attaine so light enough to conceive your greatne&s;&s;e, and grace to imitate the &s;everall di&s;|po&s;itions of your &s;oule? I know and faith teacheth me, that you are the Mother of God, that your &s;oule is full of grace; and I confe&s;&s;e that you are the worthie&s;t object of love, and the mo&s;t capable of favours from the <HI>ble&s;&s;ed Trinity;</HI> yet I &s;ee your &s;oule all immer&s;ed in the bitterne&s;&s;e of the Cro&s;&s;e, Your life is no longer but a Martyrdome, your love is lan|gui&s;hing, and the object of your &s;ighs are fixed onely on the
<PB N="155" REF="90">death of your Sonne. O how content &s;hould I be (<HI>O Virgin,</HI> life of my &s;oule!) if I could lead &s;uch a life as yours, How happy &s;hould I be, if in imita|tion of you, I had no other re|po&s;e then in afflictions, no other delight but in the Cro&s;&s;e, nor other life but in the death of your Sonne! I de&s;erve not this favour, I have not grace enough to live in &s;o holy a manner; ne|verthele&s;&s;e I de&s;ire to live no longer, but to love, and no lon|ger to love, but to &s;uffer. I offer my &s;elfe unto you, for all this, di&s;po&s;e now wholly of me, as you &s;hall plea&s;e.</P>
</DIV4>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="part">
<PB N="156" REF="91">
<HEAD>Point III.</HEAD>
<P>IF Love makes our Soule live, in what &s;he mo&s;t affects; &s;ure|ly the holy Virgin lives no longer but in <HI>Je&s;us</HI> &s;uffering and dying, &s;ince (he loves nothing but <HI>Je&s;us:</HI> And as <HI>Je&s;us</HI> is crucified in his bo|dy, &s;o the Virgin is in her &s;oule: The Sonne dies on the Cro&s;&s;e; The Mother &s;wounds at his feet; The &s;ide of the Sonne is pierced with a Lance, the heart of the Mother is tran&s;pierced with the &s;word of &s;or|row; thus both of them live and die together. What will you doe (O my Soule) at the &s;ight of this &s;ad &s;pectacle, &s;ince all this is done and accompli&s;hed for you? Be|&s;eech
<PB N="157" REF="91">the Sonne and the Mother to in&s;pire you with true love, and to render you worthy of bearing faith|fully, the grace and effects of the Cro&s;&s;e and Pa&s;sion.</P>
<DIV4 TYPE="prayer">
<HEAD>PRAYER.</HEAD>
<P>WEre I unwilling <HI>(O be|nigne Mother of my &s;oul)</HI> yet the affection, which you beare me, obligeth me to love you. I am content, nay I de&s;ire it with my whole heart; but I am unable to effect it with|out a favour from heaven: But as it is a great mercy, that you vouch&s;afe to love, and co-operate to my &s;alvation;
<PB N="158" REF="92">&s;o is it a great grace, that I may be able to love you, and live in your &s;ervice. I beg then this favour of you (<HI>O Virgin,</HI> Mo|ther of my &s;oule) and I be&s;eech you to change my heart, that from henceforward I may bee yours, and entirely dedicated to your &s;ervice. Put me in a &s;tate of perpetuall &s;ervitude towards you, e&s;tabli&s;h me in the true love of <HI>Je&s;us,</HI> and procure that I may both live and die, per&s;e|vering in that love and &s;ervice which I owe you. I remit my life <HI>(O holy Virgin)</HI> into your hands; I remit into your hands the houre of my death, becau&s;e I will be wholly yours, and depend on you in &s;uch &s;ort as my God and my <HI>Ie&s;us</HI> de&s;ires
<PB N="159" REF="92">it of me. Be plea&s;ed then (O <HI>Mother of mercy!</HI>) to receive me into your protection, and to looke on mee as the object of your goodne&s;&s;e, and the &s;ubject of your commi&s;eration. Accept of my good will, fortifie my weakne&s;&s;e, and give mee the grace to put in practice the good purpo&s;es which God hath &s;ugge&s;ted to me by your inter|ce&s;&s;ion, and no longer permit that I act any thing, which may annihilate in my &s;oule the ef|fects of grace: but obtaine for me a capacity of receiving in my heart &s;uch effects of the Cro&s;&s;e, as my <HI>Ie&s;us</HI> &s;hall infu&s;e into it, and fidelity to co-ope|rate therewith in &s;uch &s;ort, as my God and my <HI>Ie&s;us</HI> requires of me.</P>
</DIV4>
</DIV3>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="section">
<PB REF="93">
<PB N="161" REF="93">
<HEAD>ASPIRATIONS OF The Soule unto God, in forme of PRAYER.</HEAD>
<DIV3 TYPE="prayer">
<HEAD>The oblation of ones &s;elfe unto God.</HEAD>
<P><HI>Lord Ie&s;us!</HI> of my &s;elfe I can doe nothing, for I am a mi&s;erable creature; but with you nothing is impo&s;&s;ible to me. Abide then in me, (O <HI>happine&s;&s;e of my &s;oule</HI>) live and raigne over me to effect in me what is acceptable to you. You
<PB N="162" REF="94">have all power, and I offer it you a fre&s;h over my life, and actions, even from the bottome of my &s;oule: I remit into your hands, the &s;ame liberty, will, and life which you have given me. Be plea&s;ed to accept and keepe them as yours; for I am wholly yours, and will depend on you.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="prayer">
<HEAD>Another Oblation.</HEAD>
<P>MY <HI>Ie&s;us,</HI> by the nature of your being, by the emi|nency of your greatne&s;&s;e, and by the &s;tate of your mi&s;eries, you have been plea&s;ed to be, both my Father, my Lord, and my Judge; I implore all the&s;e a|dorable
<PB N="163" REF="94">qualities, and I invoke the power which you have over me, by the&s;e holy properties which are in you, and I be&s;eech you by the &s;ame mercy and goodne&s;&s;e, which hath made you take on you tho&s;e &s;tates, that you would vouch&s;afe to in&s;pire me with that fidelity, which I owe you, that I may be by my life your Sonne, as you are my Father by grace, that I may be your &s;lave by a true &s;ub|jection, &s;ince you are my Lord. And as I acknowledge and a|dore you as my Saviour, &s;o let me be your captive, being wholly yours, and acting no|thing but for you. And &s;ince you are my Judge, and that I confe&s;&s;e my &s;elfe criminall, be
<PB N="164" REF="95">plea&s;ed to di&s;till into my &s;oule, the zeale of your Ju&s;tice, to the end by your Grace, and with vour Ju&s;tice, I may exe|cute Ju&s;tice on my &s;elfe, and &s;atisfie your ju&s;t indignation, occa&s;ioned by the multitude of offences, which I have pre&s;u|med to commit again&s;t your di|vine goodne&s;&s;e. Thus I de&s;ire it, thus doe I give my &s;elfe up unto you <HI>(O Ie&s;us, Saviour and Iudge of my Soule)</HI> to become the victime of your will, and to bear the effects of your grace, Spirit, and my&s;teries, in &s;uch &s;ort as you &s;hall plea&s;e. In this manner I renounce my &s;elfe, to enter into all the di&s;po&s;itions, and &s;tates, which the eternall Father will have me beare in
<PB N="165" REF="95">you, and for your &s;ake <HI>O Ie&s;us.</HI></P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="prayer">
<HEAD>A Re&s;ignation to the will of God.</HEAD>
<P>O <HI>Ie&s;us!</HI> Father and begin|ning of all light, illumi|nate my &s;oule with your &s;plen|dor, that I may di&s;cerne what is di&s;agreeable to you, and give mee the grace to avoid it. Grant that I may both know your will, and accompli&s;h it, in every point; for I de&s;ire to be wholly yours, and to live no longer but for you.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="prayer">
<PB N="166" REF="96">
<HEAD>To put ones &s;elf into the protection of Almighty God.</HEAD>
<P><HI>SAviour</HI> of my &s;oule, Author of my &s;alvation! &s;ee the dangers wherein I am remaining in this life, &s;u&s;taine mee with your hand, that I may not fall, and governe me by your Spi|rit, that I wander not in the nations of my perver&s;e incli|nations. Defend me (good <HI>Ie|&s;us</HI>) and deliver me from my &s;elfe, and permit me not to ad|here to my affections, nor to fol|low my owne appetites: I re|nounce them all, &s;ince they &s;e|parate me from you; and I con|jure your goodne&s;&s; to annihi|late them, to the end, that ad|hering
<PB N="167" REF="96">wholly unto you, I may be for nothing but your &s;elfe; for &s;uch is my de&s;ire, you know it, <HI>O love of my &s;oule!</HI></P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="prayer">
<HEAD>To ask the love of God.</HEAD>
<P><HI>OBject of all Love, perfect Beauty, ineffable Goodne&s;&s;e!</HI> who can choo&s;e but love you? I purpo&s;e it, but am unable. I will love to death, and will die, but in loving you. Tran&s;pierce my heart with your love, and my body with your feare, effect <HI>(O powerfull God!)</HI> effect pow|erfully, that your Spirit may con&s;ume in me, all that is of my &s;elfe, that I may bee wholly yours, and love none but you,
<PB N="168" REF="97">and that living in you; I may die to all other things.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="prayer">
<HEAD>A prote&s;tation of Love.</HEAD>
<P>Shall I be alwaies overlight|ned in my &s;elfe, di&s;tracted in my thoughts, incon&s;tant in my motions? How long will you permit me <HI>(Lord)</HI> to fol|low my owne inclinations, and to be violently affected with the Creature? Recall my &s;pi|rit, withdraw it from all things, to retaine it for your &s;elfe. Let not your ju&s;t conduct (O <HI>mo&s;t amiable goodne&s;&s;e</HI>) abandon me, for leaving me to my &s;elf, blind that I am, I &s;hould lo&s;e my &s;elfe in my Cupidities, and &s;eparate
<PB N="169" REF="97">my &s;elfe from you, to live no longer but for my &s;elfe. Let death rather force me away, yea, fill <HI>(O God of love)</HI> fill rather my life with bitterne&s;&s;e, my heart with feare, and my &s;oule with continuall di&s;plea&s;ure, then per|mit, that to plea&s;e the Creature, or to &s;atisfie my &s;elfe, I may di&s;|plea&s;e your divine Maje&s;ty.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="prayer">
<HEAD>An Act of Love.</HEAD>
<P>WHy &s;hall I not love you <HI>(O mo&s;t amiable good|ne&s;&s;e?)</HI> You oblige me there|unto by your love, you attract me by your benefits, and you command it by your goodne&s;&s;e; I will then love you becau&s;e I
<PB N="170" REF="98">ought, and I de&s;ire that my heart may love you with all his pow|er, becau&s;e nothing is amiable but your &s;elfe: But I cannot love, if you in&s;pire me not with love. Abide then in me (O <HI>de|&s;irable love!</HI>) live in me, to the end that following the lawes of your love, I may live, and con|&s;ummate my &s;elfe in you.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="prayer">
<HEAD>A&s;pirations of Love.</HEAD>
<P>VVhether are you gone <HI>(&s;weet Spou&s;e of my &s;oule?)</HI> Alas! I carry a heart repleni&s;hed with bitterne&s;&s;e, when I have no &s;en&s;e of you. I keep my &s;elf aloofe from you, loft in my thoughts, I perceive my &s;elfe wandring in various objects, &amp; for a heighth of mi|&s;erie,
<PB N="171" REF="98">I walke in the night of a heart, darkened with &s;elfe-love. My life is all humane, and (as a child of <HI>Adam</HI>) my life is in the old man. I know not whether I have a being or no, only I know that I am mi&s;erable: but to live in this &s;ort is a cruell death; it is not to live at all, to live without you; it is too long a Martirdome. Take pitty on my &s;oule, returne and po&s;&s;e&s;&s;e me entirely. Re&s;tore me your &s;pirit, give me your life and change my whole heart. Why can I not like a <HI>Phoenix,</HI> con&s;ume my &s;elfe in the ardors of your eternall love, and alter my cour&s;e of life &amp; being, to be no longer but in you, &amp; to live no longer but for you? You can effect this <HI>(O God)</HI> who can do all things.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="prayer">
<PB N="172" REF="99">
<HEAD>Sighes of Love.</HEAD>
<P>MY eyes are bathed in teares, and my voice is broken with &s;ighes, my life is but a death, and all things are but a Martirdome to me, when I thinke where my God is. A|las! this thought makes me powr out all my &s;oule, and I langui&s;h both day and night, when I know that I mu&s;t remain in this abode of mi&s;erie. I cry out from, the bottome of my heart, <HI>How long Lord, how long?</HI> And mu&s;t I yet live for a long time in the land of the dead and (ab&s;ent from your face) remain among the perills of this mi&s;erable life? Mu&s;t I, being oppre&s;&s;ed with my
<PB N="173" REF="99">body, feele my &s;elfe removed from the &s;weet attractives of your Care&s;&s;es; I am content with it, &s;ince it is your Plea&s;ure. <HI>Great God, Ma&s;ter of my &s;oule!</HI> your will is my delight, your love my di|rection: But effect (<HI>O God,</HI> who can do all things) effect by your mercy, that as your Son, and my <HI>Ie&s;us</HI> lives only in love, and this love makes him die; &s;o I may live no longer then in loving you, and that love may make me &s;uffer.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="prayer">
<HEAD>To &s;ue for the contempt of all things.</HEAD>
<P>TOo long <HI>(O my &s;oule)</HI> doe&s;t thou &s;eeke vanity and af|fect lies: This world hath no|thing
<PB N="174" REF="100">in it &s;table &amp; permanent, all is peri&s;hable therein; Good|ne&s;&s;e, truth, peace and repo&s;e are found only in God; thou lo&s;e&s;t thy &s;elfe, in &s;elfe-loving and &s;ee|king thy &s;elfe, thou art e&s;tranged from God; Come then to my &s;uccour (O <HI>Saviour of my &s;oule!</HI>) and reach me your hand, di&s;&s;i|pate all the&s;e allurements, which detaine me captive: Open to me your heart (O my &s;o amiable <HI>Ie&s;us!</HI>) to &s;helter me in the mid&s;t of &s;o many &s;urprizes: &s;ee, Lord, &s;ee how from all &s;ides &s;nares are laid for me, to make roe fall in love with this world : Doe not permit it (O <HI>love of my &s;oule</HI>) my heart is for you alone, pre&s;erve it then as yours.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="prayer">
<PB N="175" REF="100">
<HEAD>Another.</HEAD>
<P>MY eyes di&s;cerne not (O <HI>Adorable verity!</HI>) the er|rour of vanity, and my heart feels not the horrour of all vices: But come (O <HI>Sun of Iu&s;tice!</HI>) come and &s;hine upon my &s;oule, con&s;ume with your beames all that is di&s;plea&s;ing to you; give me your &s;pirit, which opens my eyes to di&s;cerne verity, which in&s;pires me with love to adhere unto it, which redre&s;&s;eth my will and teacheth it to dete&s;t the world, and gives me the grace to &s;eek you alone, and to live only for the love of you.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="prayer">
<PB N="176" REF="101">
<HEAD>To demand light and di|rection for your &s;oul.</HEAD>
<P><HI>SUnne of Iu&s;tice!</HI> illuminate the darkne&s;&s;e of my &s;pirit; <HI>Com|forter of &s;oules!</HI> draw me out of the ignorance wherein I live. I walke in the &s;hadow of death, a|mid&s;t the perils of this life, and (&s;evering my &s;elfe from you, who are the way and life of my &s;oule) I run like a vagabond into the curious re&s;earch of the ob|jects of my &s;en&s;es: Do you not &s;ee it <HI>(O my God)</HI> who &s;ee all things: Come then to my &s;uc|cour, <HI>(light of my &s;oule)</HI> I aske no|thing but your &s;elfe; my heart fighes after you, and my eyes &s;eeke you every where. Dart
<PB N="177" REF="101">therefore <HI>(O Ie&s;us!)</HI> a glance of your face, infu&s;e a ray of your beauty in|to the bottome of my Soule, to call me back to you, and make me know who you are, and what I am; to the end I may be wholly yours, and that being no longer mine, I may love you alone.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="prayer">
<HEAD>To invoke Grace.</HEAD>
<P><HI>GReat God!</HI> your Trea&s;ures are unexhau&s;tible, and your hands full of gifts. You are rich only in goodne&s;&s;e, and in &s;hewing mercy you evidence what you are. Mercy then <HI>Lord,</HI> mercy, for I am a &s;inner, one glance of your eye, one word of your mouth can deliver me from evils; for while you look on me, I &s;hall love you, while you &s;peake to me, I &s;hall follow and run after you, in the odour of the &s;weet perfumes of your heavenly grace.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="prayer">
<PB N="178" REF="102">
<HEAD>To call for Contrition.</HEAD>
<P>FRom the depth of my mi&s;ery I elevate my heart unto you, <HI>O God of goodne&s;&s;e!</HI> my &s;oule &s;ighes after you, <HI>God of mercy!</HI> And now that I am &s;en&s;ible of my misfortune, &amp; that the weight of my &s;ins oppre&s;&s;e me within, I cry aloud unto you, lend me your eares, and fix on me your benigne eyes, to withdraw me from the evill whereunto I find my &s;elfe fa&s;tned. Give me your arme <HI>(Father of mercy)</HI> to &s;u&s;taine the yoke of my offences, light to know them, teares to bewaile them, and the zeale of your ju&s;tice to &s;atisfy for them; I can no longer endure the foulene&s;&s;e of my life, nor to live any longer di|&s;tant from you ; <HI>(O happine&s;&s;e of my &s;oule!)</HI> I pant after you, you know it, but I cannot e&s;cape out of the place which captivates me, nor breake the bands which fa&s;ten me, if the pow|er
<PB N="179" REF="102">of your Spirit, and the Spirit of your love, doe not di&s;&s;olve and break them in pieces: loo&s;en them then <HI>(O Lord)</HI> and render me the liberty, which you have purcha&s;ed for your children at the price of your life.</P>
</DIV3>
<DIV3 TYPE="prayer">
<HEAD>Affection to accompli&s;h our good purpo&s;es.</HEAD>
<P>I Feel my &s;elfe &s;eized with a flame of love, which makes me prote&s;t never more to for&s;ake you <HI>(O Je&s;us, the love of my &s;oule!)</HI> I am weary to &s;ee my &s;elfe in the mid&s;t of &s;o many incon&s;tancies; I de&s;ire to be entirely yours, you know it very well, <HI>Lord;</HI> for it is of you, as of a &s;pring of goodne&s;&s;e, that my &s;oule is full of de&s;ires, and my will of good affecti|ons; it is a gift of your hand, pre|&s;erve it by your grace, and give me your arme and benediction to up|hold
<PB N="180" REF="103">me in my good purpo&s;es, and that I may punctually accompli&s;h what I have promi&s;ed you, &s;timula|ted and incited by the motions of your Spirit, alwayes holy; to the end you may fini&s;h and perfect in me, what you have begun by your infinite mercy; for without you I can doe nothing, and by you am en|abled to doe all things.</P>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
</DIV3>
</DIV2>
</DIV1>
</BODY>
<BACK>
<DIV1 LANG="lat" TYPE="prayer">
<HEAD>A PRAYER, which the Church u&s;eth to in|voke the love of God.</HEAD>
<P>DE&V;S qui diligentibus te fa|cis cuncta prode&s;&s;e: da cordibus no&s;tris inviolabilem tuae charitatis af|fectum: ut de&s;ideria de tua in&s;pirati|one concept, null&acirc; po&s;&s;int tentatione mutari: Per Dominum no&s;trum Je|&s;um Chri&s;tum, <HI>&amp;c. Amen.</HI></P>
<PB REF="103">
</DIV1>
</BACK>
</TEXT>
</EEBO>
</ETS>
