Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	good_a	lord_n	sin_n	3,005	5	4.4939	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A17282	The practice of meditating with profit The misteries of our Lord, the Blessed Vergin & saints. Gathered out of diuers good authors, and published by the very Reuerend Master Iohn Alberto Buronzo, chanon of the cathedral church of Verselles. Reuiued and augmented by the same author, & translated into English by a Father of the Societie of Iesus.	Berzetti, Nicolas.; Talbot, Thomas, 1572-1652.	1613 (1613)	STC 4125; ESTC S104826	77,217	308

which ys euill IN like manner when the light of the vnderstanding doth conclude that a synne ys to be avoided or any other imperfection whatsoeuer he shall withall propose vnto the will contrary motiues vnto the aforesaid that ys to witt First the foulnes of the vice Secondly the obligation we haue to fly yt Thirdly the damage losse we shall sustayn yf we doe not fly yt that both in this world and in the next Fourthly the disgust of mynd which followeth after such a synne euen in this life Fiftly the dishonour which ordinarily doth accompany such a vice although yt haue the appearance to be honourable Sixtly the greefe after our manner of speaking which the holy Angells take thereat Seuenthly the ioy that the diuels do take by our so doing Eightly the exāple of Christ our Lord of the blessed Virgin saints who with word did reprehēd yt in practise did fly yt as a most pestilent contagiō As for example After the shadowes they doe alwayes suppose some body from which they doe proceed So also these shadowes of synn haue for the most part theyr beginning frō some body of synne Againe when we seeme vnto others to be synners by the meanes of these shadowes we are thereby the lesse esteemed consequently as knowing thē to haue no great conceit of vs we doe the lesse regard to doe in theyr presence things that doe not beseeme vs. Let vs add herevnto that with such persons to whom we seeme to be synners by not flying the shadow of synne we cannot work that fruit which we should be able to doe yf they did esteeme vs as persons farr from any imperfections by the same meanes we are hindered from the metit of much grace in this life and much glory in the next because we doe not procure the good of our neighbour with such diligence as we ought And moreouer what disgust doth come to our selues by this likenes of synne although in deed yt ys but a shadow whē we see our selues by reason of them not to be esteemed such as in deed we are and that we are hindred in giuing that edification and help to our neighbours which otherwise we might Besides how dishonorable they be vnto vs causing vs to be esteemed for mē imperfect such as are litle answerable to the obligation of our estate to the helps we haue receaued from God Agayne how much we doe greeue the holy Angells in particuler our Angell keeper who being desyrous to see vs like himself in purity freenes from all synne ys greeued lamenteth according to our phrase of speach that he doth not see vs altogither cleere from this blemish and imperfection And how much contentmēt doe we giue to the diuell whom notwitstāding we should neuer please in any thing seeing that although we haue not synned we are not farr frō synne as yt appeareth in that we doe not fly this resemblance of synne at the least we surcease to doe that good which we might yf we did auoid yt with diligence For this cause Christ our Lord although he was contented to permit others to think him born in originall synne as children commonly were by submitting himself to the law of circumsion yet did he fly the doing of any thing which might giue occasion or foundation whereby to think him guilty of voluntary synne for which respect he did not omit to goe to Hierusalem at ordinary solemnityes to pay tribute vnto Caesar to eat the Paschall lamb and to performe diuers other thinges which yet he was not bound to doe thereby to auoid the least suspition of synne In like manner the B. Virgin would obey the edict of Augustus Casar and that in a tyme so dangerous as being so neere her childbirth she would also goe to the temple to be purified herself being most pure she would be present in the holy citty at the solemne feasts c. For this cause likewise the holy martyrs although perhaps they might haue yealded to doe some litle thinges of those which the tyrants required at theyr handes and that lawfully and without offence to God yet for the most part they would neuer yeald in the least thing whatsoeuer and this not to giue the least occasion of suspect that they yealded to synne c. After he hath with these the like motiues stirred vp these affections in his will which he desired or at least hath indeuoured to raise them he may then eyther delate them or moue them in some of the manners following as shall best like himself sometymes beginning with one and sometymes with an other as they haue more or lesse connexion with that light of his onderstanding Certaine motiues conioyned with the manners of raising the affections IT ys therefore here to be obserued that the foresaid motiues although they ought to be ordinarily propounded to the will as we haue declared before we come to the manners of amplyfying and continuing the affections yet may they notwithstanding sometymes be mingled with some of thē according as yt shall seeme best to the person that doth meditate For example yf after the second light of the first discourse before specifyed by which yt was gathered that man ought with a charitable eye to behold his neighbour and to consider yf peraduenture he stand in any necessity yf then he would vse the manner which we will afterwards call Admiratiō he may thē mixt therewith the foresaid motiues in this sort following And how ys yt possible that I being looked vppon by God himself with so great chari●y beyond all merit of myne doe yet cō●inue so hard harted towards such an one my neighbour And how ys yt possible that after so many great inspirations I should haue my hart shut vp frō all compassion towards him and yet yt ys true that there ys not in the world a more worthy thing then to be like that father of goodnes qui facit oriri solem suum super bonos malos that maketh his sunne to rise vppon the good and the bad And yt ys farther true that I being man aswell as he may also fall into the same necessity wherein he now ys and he may come to the state wherein I am so that I may then stand in need of his help as he doth of myne yt ys therefore necessary that I doe vse towards him all kind of mercy And how commeth yt to passe that I haue stayd so long before I vnderstand this verity and haue alwayes shewed my self so litle charitable I did perhaps suppose there should no good haue comed vnto me thereby yes great good both spirituall which I should haue merited in the sight of God and corporall also for so I should haue obtayned much more easely of his diuine maiesty whatsoeuer I should my self haue needed and my said neigbour would thereby haue beene more prompt to doe me any seruice Neither can I be ignorant that in so doing I

with consent of his free will with his cooperation and endeauour did much of his part to attayn vnto that degree of sanctity yt notwithstanding Christ our Lord was he who after a particular manner like vnto some most exquisite master continued to labour so gratiously in that soul that he wrought in yt both sanctity and perfection Secondly acknowledging him to be the meritorious cause for that whatsoeuer beauty or goodnes ys found in the blessed saints although yt hath his proportion and proper dignity as the partiall meanes towards grace glory notwithstanding yt proceeds from the merits of Christ as being the head of the vniuersall church all the dignity which the workes of holy saints haue ys foūded in the self same merits of him who making himself man for mans sake and continually labouring for the space of thirty three yeares and some moneths besides euen vnto the ignominious death of the crosse opened an euerflowing foūtayn of liuely merits for his holy church which should be sufficient to giue life to all thw workes of men be they neuer so many Thirdly considering him as a most excellent master who whilst he liued by word of mouth and after his ascending into heauen by internall instruction gaue such precepts of all vertue to all men and inparticular to the saints that from remembrance of that doctrine hath proceeded that diligent care to exercise vertue in which the saints haue beene so eminent Fourthly behoulding him not only as a master teaching by words but as the paterne example in deeds for that he hauing beene the true and first parterne of all sanctity by inspiration from his heauenly father who ceaseth not to exhort all men to imitate him with these wordes Behould and doe according to the Patren the holy saints with good reason haue beheld him after such a manner that they haue copied out his liuely image in theyr soul diuerse after a different sort according to the variety of theyr actions yt none with out some laudable degree of perfection Fiftly behoulding him as the finall cause the crown and glory of his saints after the triumphant victory obteyned of the world the flesh and the diuell for that he was proposed vnto them for a soueraigne reward most great and high aboue all comparison as the garland of triumph which might sustaine theyr hopes vphould theyr weaknes from dangerous falles vnder the troublesome burthen and oppositions of theyr enemyes who aymed at nothing els but to bereaue them of the glorious palme prepared for the victory This done to the end the meditation may be so much more fruitfull let him endeauour to see yf our Lord Iesus doe deale with him also after the fiue foresaid manners and how he doth dispose himself to obtayne so much fauour at his hands After that let him stirr vp in himself a desyre to be so fauoured and let him seeke out the reasons and causes which may hinder him from receiuing such graces let him reprehend and blame himself for not answering to the gratious helps receiued frō God as the saynts haue done before him and let him serue himself of other māners which will come after helping to moue the will and more to kindle the affection The third manner of meditation for feasts AN other manner no lesse profitable thē the former may be that he take the gospell occurring in that feast and deuiding the matter into three or more principall parts procure to apply eyther in proper or misticall sense all those things which the gospell referrs vnto the vertuous actions of that glorious saint and lastly making reflexion vnto himself aswell in the first as in this second manner procuring to see if in his manner of life he discouer conformity or contrariety to the doctrine of the gospell to the life of the saint whether Christ Iesus haue not so dealt with him in all these fiue meanes before named for the gayning of vertue as he hath with the saints whose feasts he celebrats And after this let him reprehend himself for that he giueth not correspōdence vnto the helps giuen him from our Lord nor to the vertuous exāples of his saints The manner how to meditate the text of scripture LASTLY yt ys good also to know how to imploy our selues profitably when we meditate eyther one only word of the holy scripture or els some sentence of the same or els some particuler parables which are things full of doctrine both holy and profitable for all mē And this altgough yt be here spoken principally to serue for the meditation of misteryes when by occasion of some cōditions which concerne eyther the persons vvords or workes vve are to meditate vppon some passage of the text as before hath beene declared yt shall serue notvvithstanding in like manner for him that vvill meditate all by himself and cheesly for those that vvill first meditate vppon the Psalmes that he may aftervvards say them vvith more deuotion eyther in his canonicall houres or in the office of our B. Lady c. He may therefore first examine yt in the literall sēse vvhich ys no other then that vvhich ys agreable vnto the signification of that vvord sentence or parable and to the intention of him that spake yt or els agreable to the intention of the holy ghost vvho caused him to speake yt Thē let him cōsider yt eyther in the tropologicall or morall sense vvhich consisteth in accommodating the thing signifyed by that vvord sentence or parable vvith misticall conceits seruing to the amending of his owne life and manners or those of others or els let him consider yt in the sense called allegoricall in which the things signifyed in that word sentece or parable are taken as shadowes and figures of things to come eyther in respect of the Messias and of the church his spouse yf we speake of the old testament or els accordingly towards others things appertayning also to the church or to some other mistery yf we speake of the new or lastly in the anagogicall sense whereby the signification of the wordes sentences or parables are applyed to a more high vnderstāding of celestiall and supernaturall things of the life to come As for example when there occurs one only word as Hierusalem you shall interpret yt literally according to Cassian that so often named city of the Iewes tropologically the soul of man allegorically to the holy church of Christ Anagogically for the blessed city of Paradise Then meditating that sentence of our Sauiour Nisi granum frumenti cadens in terram mortuum fuerit c. Vnlesse the graine of wheat falling into the ground dye c. he shall vnderstand by the word seed first literally the wheat corns or other seed which to bring forth yoūg buds must first be corrupted yt self in the earth Then tropologically spirituall persons who that they may bring forth the fruit of vertuous actions like corne must also first be mortefied and so dye