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Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
book_n	form_n	prayer_n	use_v	4,815	5	5.9954	4	true

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A01200	The chronicle and institution of the Order of the seraphicall father S. Francis conteyning his life, his death, and his miracles, and of all his holie disciples and companions / set foorth first in the Portugall, next in the Spanish, then in the Italian, lastlie in the French, and now in the English tongue.	Marcos, de Lisboa, Bishop of Porto, 1511-1591.; Cape, William.	1618 (1618)	STC 11314.2; ESTC S4305	734,345	826

a fatherlie affection embraced them very amourously and said Feare not for if till this day I haue and doe maintaine strangers how much more reason haue I to maintaine you you I say that are my most deere children And this affection will I shew to all those that henceforward shal be borne of your mother my deerly affected wife Applying which parabole he said Holy Father our rule and life is this poore woman by the mercy of the king of kinges accepted for his espouse of whome he hath begotten many children whome his diuine maiesty neither hath nor euer will faile to sustaine and as he hath a care to releeue strangers your holines need not doubt but he will also haue regard to maintaine and support his true and ligitimate children that the heires of the eternall king perish not by hunger who are borne according to his likenes by vertue of the holy Ghost of a poore mother to witt of the euangelicall pouerty and nourced with his proper milk And if the king of heauen promise the eternall kingdome to those that follow him with faith and verity how much rather will he giue them such thinges as he ordinarily with so bountifull liberality bestoueth indifferently on the good and the wicked The Pope hauing with carefull attention heard this similitude and so patheticall and strong argument of the S. he admired and sincerely acknowledged that our Lord IESVS CHRIST dwelled in S. Francis Without farther delay therfore and without admitting any other difficulty he approued his rule permitted him with the title of precher of pennance to preach ouer all the world and caused litle crounes to be made to all the lay Brethren that were with him And thervpon S. Francis with all his companions made his solemne profession vnder the handes of the Pope promising to obserue the euangelicall life and rule and he was by his holines established Minister generall of all his Order who offered and promised him his assistance when soeuer he should need it But because this confirmation of the rule was then only made Viuae vocis oraculo by the Popes worde of mouth the yeare of grace 1209. and the thirteenth of the Popedome of the said Pope Innocent the third nor hauing no Bulle of this confirmation therfore the beginning of the Order is not reckoned from that time but from the time that it was afterward confirmed by writing which was in the eight yeare of Pope Honorious with an authenticall Bulle fifteene veares after this first verball confirmation as in place and order shall hereafter be inserted How S. Francis retourned to Assisium and how God declared vnto him that his Order was instituted for the saluation of the soules of the faithfull THE XXIV CHAPTER SAinct Francis exceedingly encouraged by obtaining the so much desired confirmation departed from Rome towardes the vally of Spoletum there to beginne to preach the gospell of IESVS CHRIST discoursing alwayes with his companions by the way in what sort they might most perfectlie obserue the profession formerlie made In which discourse hauing spent a good part of their way and being wearied they rested themselues in a solitary place no lesse afflicted with hunger then with trauaile not hauing with them any prouision nor humanely cause to hope after any meanes of releife But our most mercifull God who is euer true and neuer faileth his faithfull of himselfe prouided for them causing in a moment a man to appeare loaden with bread who as soone as he had distributed it to those poore of IESVS CHRIST disappeared and was neuer by any of them seene againe These poore Religious therfore acknowledging this grace and fauour to be afforded them by the handes of God were exceedingly comforted and there purposed and irreuocablie confirmed neuer to breake that strict and rigorous vow of pouerty for any want of food or whatsoeuer other necessity or affliction that might befall them and with this feruour and good resolution they trauailed through the vally of Spoletum discoursing with themselues whither it were better for them to dwell in solitary places for their particuler repose or to conuerse in the world for edification of their neighbour Vpon which point S. Francis hauing long time conferred with his disciples not minding of himselfe to determine in such a case wherin he would not relie on his owne resolution he made his prayer vnto God that touching this point he would manifest vnto him his holy will which he knew by this meane He vnderstood that he was sent of God to endeauour to gaine many soules vnto him as Satan sought to robbe him of them to carrie them together with himselfe into hell He therfore resolued rather with his companions to conuerse in the world for the profitt of manie then to liue in an hermitage to benifitt only himselfe Hauing then setled himselfe with his Brethren in a desolate house neere to Assisium they there liued conformably to their rule in very simple pouertie seeming rather to sustaine themselues with the bread of teares then with temporall consolations They ordinarily employed themselues in prayer and especially mentall because they were not as then fournished with bookes nor brouiaryes to say their cannonicall houres and so in supplie therof they made their exercise in the excellent booke of the life of IESVS CHRIST meditating therō day night according to the instructiō that their blessed Father gaue thē for he cōtinuallie preached vnto thē the crosse of our Lord IESVS CHRIST And wheras the Brethrē most instantlie besought S. F. to teach thē some forme of prayer he vsed vnto thē the wordes of our Lord When you praye say Pater noster qui es in caelis c. and afterward Adoramus te Christe c. We adore thee our Lord IESVS CHRIST and we praise and honour thee here in all the churches of the world because by thy crosse thou hast redeemed the world He also taught them to praise and honour God in all creatures to reuerence preistes to beleeue simply and to confesse firmely the truth of the Faith as the holie Catholique and Romane Church beleeueth and confesseth and his disciples with admiration of his doctrine were attentiue vnto him They fell on their knees when they saw any Church a far of and there they made theyr prayer as the S. had instructed them Of the admirable vision of a fiery chariott wheron the glorious S. Francis appeared vnto his disciples THE XXV CHAPTER THe poore colledge of S. Francis was neere to a place called Riuotorto in an old house and so litle that they could hardly accōmodate themselues sitting one close by an other From thence went foorth the louer of pouerty to preach pennance and contempt of the world first by worckes and then by wordes But being one saterday in the euening gone thence he went with a Brother to Assisium there to preach the sunday as he was accustomed to doe And to this effect he

so this Host wēt so dextrously into the chāber of the nouice that he found him profoundly sleeping and halfe naked and perceauing the religious croune conformable to what was told him he would expect no farther proofe but esteeming himselfe dishonoured and deceaued drew out his dagger and cutt his throat which done retourning to the place where he left his pretended friend that had thus counsailed him he could not find him in all the house then goeing to seaze on the cloak bagge the armour and apparell of the dead man he could find nothing nor the horse in the stable and therfore presently suspected it to be a diabolicall illusion and with the most secresie he could buryed the body then went and made his consession to S. Antony who then preached in the same towne of Bourges who a litle after publikely diuulged the same to make appeare how dangerous it is to run out of the true way of the feare of God who permitteth them that wil be faithfull to the deuill and perseuer in their sinnes to the end thincking to deceaue his diuine Maiesty to end their dayes most miserably The 16. chap. is after the last of the first booke the 17. and 18. are after last chap. of the second booke Of the humility and deuotion of Brother Iames. THE XIX CHAPTER BRother Iames a gentleman and much honoured in the world becomming a Frere Minor was so deuout and spirituall that in his prayer he was often rapt in extasie wherin he was very frequently visited of God He perceauing what graces our Lord had endued him with all in prayer entreated his Guardian the better to exercise himselfe in this grace that he would please to dispense with him for affaires of the kitchen and other offices wherin being a lay Brother he was in that Couent employed which was graunted him to the end he might with more repose and liberty apply himselfe to contemplation Br. Iames being thus freed from the kitchen and other offices of the house lost all the graces which almighty God had giuen him in prayer Which hauing experienced he with abondance of teares besought his Guardian to retourne him to his former employments wherin our lord againe restored him his grace He thenceforward so profited in prayer ioyned with humility that on Christmas day to communicate timely and to continue all the morning in the Church to heare masse and the diuine seruice he prepared the dinner for the Religious in the night and left it ouer the fire Now the Guardian seeing him continue so long time in prayer seruing att masse went admiring to the kitchen to see if he had made any preparation for dinner But he found the pots ouertourned and broaken and saw that the cattes had eaten the meat then presently goeing to Brother Iames he willed him to hasten into the kitchen Which he did and finding the pots broken the pottage spilt the meat deuoured and euery thing ouerthrowne he was exceedingly grieued Neuertheles falling on both his knees he with abondance of reares besought the omnipotent bounty to assist in this his affliction The sequell was admirable for his prayer being ended the pots were reioyned and filled againe with pottage and meat like vnto that which he had prepared as if it neuer had bin att all touched Wherein almighty God would make appeare to this Religious how much humility and prayer ioyned together are gratefull vnto him The 20. chap. is after the last of the second booke Of a Guardian that had litle charity and how almighty God did chastice him THE XXI CHAPTER THer was a pious lay Religious that endured extreme torments in his feet by meanes of the gout that exceedingly afflicted him but in the winter time more then else and yet did he not omitt to labour in the garden in the coldest season of the yeare Notwithstanding his indiscreet Guardiāseeing him att night by the fire to annoynt his feet with an oyntment though the rigorous cold was cause sufficient without any other infirmity to warme himselfe he cōmanded him from the fire and not to burne so much wood Wherto the poore Religious answeared that he had no other meane to ease the extreme torments he endured procured him by the gout then to warme his feet and to annoynt them with that oyntment which was giuen him for very remedious therunto besought him for the loue of God and S. Francis not to take it ill But the Guardian would not heare him so that the Religious retyred doubly afflicted vnto his cell beseeching God to assist and ayd him with his grace But the omnipotent did not long deferre to doe vengeance For he sent the Guardiam the same torments which the poore Religious endured wherin finding no other remedy then to warme him by a great fire he began to acknowledge his litle charity and confessed his fault saying My God haue pitty on me if thou please and assist me with thy mercy for I acknowledge my desert of this torment sith I haue bin cruell towardes my simple Brother depriuing him of his assured remedy in his necessity And sending for him he sayd Brother warme your selfe both day and night according to the need you haue For I am assured the fire is a great helpe and ease vnto your torments This Guardian hauing done penance was in few dayes after cured by meanes of this charity The 22. and 23. chap. are after the last of the second booke Of the subt●l ty which two seuerall times the deuill vsed to reduce the Frere Minors from the strictnes of their pouerty THE XXIV CHAPTER THe Frere Minors of those primitiue dayes liued att Mont Alue●ne in the same spirituall tranquillity and pouerty as S. Francis had instituted and instructed them The deuil vnable to support such a vertue of prayer abstinence and austerity of life nor able to disquiett the Religious by desires of substance and temporal affaires inuented a new subtility to induce them to remitt and lessen the austerity and perfection of the spirituall life wherin they perseuered which was thus There was in those partes a very rich gentleman that had no deuotion to the Frere Minors nor euer gaue them any almose The deuil taking on him humane shape became his seruant and so diligently serued him that he shortly committed vnto him the gouernment of his house and the absolute disposition and management of his affaires following his counsaile in all his businesse Now as they one day discoursed together the deuil began to prayse the Frere Minors of Mont Aluerne saying that they were SS and that whosoeuer were charitable in almose towardes them did much merit with almighty God Then did he alleadge vnto him so many pregnant reasons that he wrought the gentleman to be so deuout and affected to those Religious as that he almost euery day sent them for almose bread flesh fish fruit and all this in such abōdance that the Religious who formerly liued austerely began to liue bountifully