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A28621
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A journal of meditations for every day in the year gathered out of divers authors / written first in Latine by N.B. ; and newly translated into English by E.M. in ... 1669.
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N. B., 1598-1676.; Mico, Edward, 1628-1678.
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1669
(1669)
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Wing B352; ESTC R3108
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325,833
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556
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Mar. 4. Luc. 8. Luc. 8.5 4. Esdr 9.31 COnsider 1. The Sower went forth to sow his seed c. Ponder the Infinite Mercy of God he standeth not in need of any fruit that we can yield him and yet he vouchsafeth most graciously to go forth sundry ways by Preachers by Spiritual Books by Holy Inspirations by Superiours by Directors by Examples c. to sow in our hearts the Seed of Eternal Salvation Behold I sow my Law in you and it shall bring forth fruit in you Think what a precious Seed this is whose fruit is life Everlasting Consider 2. The Earth whereon this Seed is cast is Mans Heart But there are three sorts of Soil wherein this Seed bringeth forth no fruit 1. In the publick high way that is in an open heart exposed to all manner of distractive thoughts 2. In a stony soil that is in a hard heart without any moisture of Devotion 3. In a field full of thorns and bryars that is in a heart choaked up with the cares pleasures and riches of this life See whether the soil of your heart be not such in one kind or other and endeavour to rid it of all these impediments Consider 3. The property of a good soil or heart is to retain the seed and yield fruit in patience It is not enough to receive Holy Inspirations Luc. sup v. 15. unless you endeavour to retain them for whosoever retains not his meat saith S. Gregory his life is certainly desperate Moreover the field of your heart must be patient not only in suffering the Plough that is Afflictions but also expecting with patience the Heavenly Dew and showres of Divine Grace for Luc. 21.19 In your patience you shall possess your Souls Of the Cockle Mat. 13.24 c. THe Kingdom of Heaven is resembled to a man that sowed good Seed in his field c. Consider 1. By Christs own Exposition the Sower in this Patable is God the Field this World the good Seed the Just the Cockle the Wicked the Enemy the World the Harvest the end of the World and the Reapers the Angels God for his part would have all men good and for this only purpose affordeth his good Seed but while men sleep and are careless in the affairs of their Salvation the Devil oversoweth Cockle and of good makes them wicked The Cockle groweth together with the Wheat and is hardly distinguished from it in the Blade so the Wicked often times are scarcely discerned from the good in this Life See whether you be Wheat or Cockle and whether you do sleep in the main business of your Salvation lest you come to be overborn by the Enemy Mat. 5.45 Consider 2. The indiscreet Zeal sometimes of the Just that wish all the Wicked to be rooted up Wilt thou we go and gather them up But God doth not so who maketh his Sun to rise upon good and bad for he tollerates the bad expecting them to do Penance that so from being Cockle they may turn to be good Whâ—at and for that cause will not have them all rooted up Put on the like affection of longanimity towards your Brethren and Neighbours that are troublesome to you Consider 3. The great difference in the end of this common life which the good and the bad lead in this world Bind up the Cockle c. to burn but the Wheat gather ye into my Barn Who would not chuse rather to be in this Barn then in a Burning Furnace See therefore you be true Wheat and suffer your self to be thrashed and cleansed from Chaff by Penance and Mortification for you cannot be brought into the Heavenly Granary together with your Chaff Of the Mustard-Seed Mat. 13. Mar. 4. Luc. 13. Mat. 13.31 Ps 21.7 Colos 2.3 COnsider 1. The Kingdom of Heaven is like to a Mustard-seed c. Christ himself first was this Mustard-seed because as that Seed is the least and commendable neither for its smell nor outward shew yet it contains within it self a great natural heat and sends it forth also outwardly especially when it is bruised So Christ to the outward appearance was a worm and no man c. but within him were all the treasures of Wisdom and Science of God and being broken and bruised on the Cross he expressed the greatest heat of love that ever was inflaming the whole world with the Fire of his Charity Do you likewise suffer your self to be set on fire with the like heat Sap. 5.4 Consider 2. All the Just in this Life are also Mustard-seed simple and contemptible in the eyes of the world but in a high value with God and his Angels so that the wicked shall say in the day of Judgment We sensless esteemed their life madness and their end without honour behold how they are counted among the children of God Observe moreover that the Saints do then shew their virtue most when they are crushed with tribulations whence the Apostle When I am weak then I am mighty 2 Cor. 12 10. c. Consider 3. A grain of Mustard-seed cast into the earth groweth into a Tree Mat. sup So that the fowls of the air come and dwell in the branches thereof Such a grain was Christ perfectly mortified and dead upon the Cross in whose branches that is Doctrine and Example devout Souls dwell by contemplation Vnder his shadow whom I desired Cant. 2.3 I sate saith the Spouse in the Canticles and his fruit was sweet unto my throat Do you the like Of the Leaven Mat. 13. Mar. 4. Luc. 13. Mat. 13.33 COnsider 1. The Kingdom of Heaven is like to Leaven which a woman took and hid in three measures of Meal c. that is she wrought it into the whole Batch of Bread so to give it its relish This Leaven first was Christ who being hid in our flesh rendred the cursed mass of mankind acceptable to God Again he is after a special manner Leaven in the Eucharist whereby penetrating into our heart he leaveneth seasoneth and in a manner Deifieth the whole man giving Chastity to the body and the savour of all Virtue to the Soul Consider 2. Good Leaven likewise are the Good that live in Communities for an exemplar life hath a wonderful influence upon mens actions and after a secret manner provoking others to their imitation maketh them like to those in whom they behold it 1 Tim. 4.12 Leo Serm. 1 de S. Laurent whence the Apostle to Timothy Be as example of the faithful in word in conversation in charity c. because as S. Leo saith Examples are more powerful then words and it is a more perfect way of teaching by action then by word of mouth 1 Cor. 5.6 Consider 3. On the contrary the power of bad Leaven because it spoileth the whole Batch whence the Apostle saith That a little Leaven corrupteth the whole Paste Even so bad example infecteth them whom we live and converse withall
Christ E. M. The Preface or INTRODUCTION Of the Method of the Work and of such things as are necessary for all Meditation OUr chief intent in this Journal is to suggest certain brief heads or points of Meditation for the benefit of such as being desirous to spend some short time daily in the exercise of Mental Prayer have not leasure to peruse nor convenience to have still about them larger Volumes We have assigned to every day in the year its peculiar Meditation wherefore if at any time there chance to be more Meditations than days that year As for example before Advent or Christmas or then there are weeks after Epiphany or Pentecost those that are over and above are to be omitted that year As to the Method we have for the most part followed the Abridgement of F. Lewis of Puente his Meditations Wherefore we have taken our beginning from the Purgative way employing the Month of November in the consideration of our End of Sin of Death of Judgement of Purgatory and of Hell yet so that it be free for every one either to assume these for this Month or to continue on according to the day and week after Pentecost which he is in till Advent Front Advent to Septuagesme Sunday to conform our selves what we can to the use and practice of the Church we treate of the Incarnation Nativity and Infancy of Christ which appertain to the Illuminative way From Septuagesme to Easter we comtemplate the Passion Thence again we treat of the several Apparitions of our Lord of Gods divine benefits and of other Mysteries proper to feasts which occur at that time All which appertain to the Unitive way And lastly from the third Sunday after Pentecost we prosecute the rest of our Saviours Life and Preaching till November Upon every Sunday and Solemne Feast that hath a determinate fixed place in this our distribution we have endeavored to comply with the general devotion towards the Blessed Sacrament and therefore have instituted on those days a Meditation of Holy Communion taking out of the Gospel of the day excepting the Sundays of November the which as such have no certain Gospel some consideration under which we may consider Christ in the Eucharist much after the manner wherein Antonius Molina Alvarez de Paez and others consider him now as a King now as a Guest Spouse Physitian c. To these Meditations we have prefixed a congruous Reflection that is some Versicle taken out of Scripture for every one to entertain his thoughts withall while he awaketh from sleep and clotheth himself that he may the better be disposed to entertain him whom he is to receive that day Although our intended brevity will not admit of any long discourse yet we cannot omit to say something briefly in this place concerning Meditation for the necessary information of those who are lesse conversant in this Exercise If any desire further instruction in this point they may receive full satisfaction by reading F. Puente his Introduction to Mental Prayer which is the enterance to his Book of Meditations Of Meditation Meditation is nothing else but an exercise of the Interiour Powers of our Soul viz. Memory Understanding and Will whereby we consider God and the Mysteries of our Faith entertaining our selves in affectuous discourses with his Divine Majesty begging of him his gifts and negotiating with him the main affair of our salvation and perfection In Meditation there are four principal parts The first is the exercise of our Memory wherby after we have placed our selves in the presence of God we set before us the Mystery whereon we intend to Meditate divided into points exercising our selves in lively acts of Faith concerning the same Mystery without which all our Meditation will be cold and languishing according to that saying of the Prophet If you will not believe Isai 7.9 Septuag you shall not understand The second is the exercise of our Understanding which goeth through the matter proposed bending its forces to penetrate and comprehend it with all its causes properties effects and circumstances and framing thence such discourses and reasons as may convince us of the truths we Meditate on which being represented to the Will may move it to congruous affections The third consisteth in the motion of the Will conformably to what the Understanding had suggested unto it so as to produce several acts and affections some in order to one self others in order to God as of Love Confidence Gratitude Sorrow Hatred Confusion Desire of our spiritual progress c. which are the proper effects and end of Meditation The fourth consisteth in demanding of God such things as by Meditation we understand to be necessary for us which we perform by presenting our request by some Colloquie to the Blessed Trinity either severally to one or more Person or generally to all as the present matter may require or our affection suggest In all Meditation are necessary certain Preambles which do help and as it were open the way and enterance into the matter we are about to contemplate We should have assigned proper Preambles to each Meditation but because that could not stand with our intended brevity we have thought fit to set down in this place something of them in general Of Preambles In all Meditation are necessary at least two Preambles The first is called Composition of place The second is the imploring of Divine Light or Grace Composition of Place is nothing but a certain imaginary representation of the Persons Places and other objects which we are to meditate on as if we did see them with our eyes For example If your Meditation be of our Lords Nativity for the first Preamble imagine your self to see the Cave or Stable lying open to the Winds the Crib or Manger wherein the Blessed Infant lyeth the Blessed Virgin and St. Joseph standing by and the like If your Meditation be of Death set before your eyes a sick man lying on his death bed given over by the Physitians oppressed with grief and pain if it be of Hell imagine some frightful and hideous dungeon dark stincking darting out fiery flames c. and so of others But if your Meditation be not of any corporeal thing or subject to sense As for example of the Attributes of God of the grievousness of Sin and the like and there occur not any fitter or more proper Preamble for a general Preamble in all such matters imagine your self before the Throne of the Divine Majesty as a poor beggar asking an almes to wit that by his grace you may employ that half hour or hour in the contemplation of things conducing to your salvation The second Preamble is generally every where the same to wit the imploring of Divine Light and grace that you may come to understand and love as you ought the good and detest and avoid the evil which you are to meditate on according to the diversity of the matter Entering therefore into Meditation place