deformities And so shalt thou be encouraged with more diligence to bestirre thée to worke according to this examplar and paterne showed vnto thée in this mount of most â—igh perfection as it was sayde vnto Moyses Because in this imitation conforming of thy life after the example of Christ consisteth the greatest merite thou canst haue in this life and the greatest rewarde prepared for thée in the life to come A declaration of the fyfth manner of meditation which is in thankesgeuing The fifth manner of meditation vpon the holy passion is by way of thankesgiuing whiche we are bounde often to do For if we ought of very duetie because we woulde not fall into the vice of ingratitude whiche so muche displeaseth God and no lesse hurteth vs to call ofâ—en times to our remembrance suche other benefites as we â—aue receyued at Gods hande â—nd to thanke his infinite goodnesse and liberalitie for the â—ame How muche more ought â—e so to do for the benefite of â—ur redemption the whiche so much more passeth all other beâ—efites as it hath by our redéeâ—er with more deare coste and â—rice and for our greater proâ—ite bene purchased A great matter it was that â—e gaue vs a soule and body with all our members and senâ—es and muche it is to be estéemed that for our conseruation and benefite he hath created the heauens and the earth with so many and diuers creatures as we sée in it But what should it haue profited vs to be borne into the world if we had not bene redéemed Of what estimation or valour might our creation haue bene thought if our redemption had lacked For by the first we receiued but our being by this seconde we haue receiued our wel béeing The first thing cost our creator but litle for that he created vs and al the world with his onely word and in a short time but as for the seconde who is able to declare how dearly and with how great expence our redéemer purchased and bought it Séeing that with the trauels and sweat of thrée and thirtie yeres finally with tormentes and death vpon the Crosse he gaue vs life and repaired the worlde which in sixe dayes he had made Nowe if it séeme to thée that thou art litle bound to him for that whiche cost him litle yet thou canst not denie but that thou art muche in his debt and very greatly bounde vnto him for that thing he payed so dearly for Thou shalt do then right as the wise man giueth thée counsell not to forget the grace and benefites thou haste receiued of such a benefactour that hath giuen his life for thée Consider if thou haddest receyued of anye man the like benefite how gretly shouldest thou haue remained bounde howe highly wouldest thou haue praysed him howe wouldest thou haue endeuoured thy selfe to haue serued him And therefore thou mayst perswade with thy selfe how greatly thou art bounde to God thy Creator and Redéemer for if thou mightest possibly be bound to any other man whiche had deliuered thée from a corporall death howe muche more oughtest thou to be bounde to him that hath deliuered thée from the spirituall death of the soule And if thou wouldest acknowledge thy selfe muche beholden to a man that had suffered a little for thée then remember howe muche more thou owest to him that is both God and man who hath suffered suche paynes and tormentes for thée and not onely tormentes but also moste bitter and shamefull death through which thy sinnes were cancelled and rased oute of remembraunce the might of the diuell was broken to péeces peace and reconciliation was made with God the gates of heauen opened besides other innumerable giftes giuen thée And séeing thou canst not better recompence this so great debte then to knowe to loue and to be thankfull to thy benefactour why then remember to offer to him the often sacrifice of prayse and thankesgiuing as the holy king prophet Dauid exhorteth and encourageth thée to do styrring vp thy soule with those words wherewith he lifted vp his owne hart and soule vnto God saying O my soule blesse the Lord and all the powers within me prayse ye his holy name O my soule blesse thy Lorde and forget not how great benefites he hath bestowed vpon thée But yet chiefly remember the greatest of all the rest which is to haue deliuered thy life froÌ„ eternal death and to crowne thée with mercy in his glory if the fault be not in thy selfe As verily it shal not be whensoeuer thou shalt declare thy selfe thankfull for his giftes receiued And that shalte thou do in exercising thy selfe to giue prayse and thankes to the giuer therof And think it therfore thy duetie as often as in this maner thou art disposed to meditate vpon the blessed passion to remember and endeuour by all meanes earnestly to giue thanks and prayse for that entier louing charitie of thy Sauiour that woulde redéeme thée with his owne blood and for that incomparable patience of his by the which he suffered all those sorrowes iniuries mockes and scornes as thou shalt call to thy minde béeing after this sorte occupied in thy meditation And albeit that the giuing of thanks which in this litle treatise is set in the ende of euery prayer may helpe and serue thée to that effect yet neuerthelesse it shal further thée muche that in thy discourse of meditation thou deuise of thy selfe newe prayses and thankes giuing sayinge sometimes Thanks be to thée O my God for thy excéeding charitie Blessed mayest thou be in thy patience that wouldest suffer suche tormentes for me O most innocent Lamb praysed and blessed be thy méekenesse Let thy Angels in my behalf blesse thée that wouldest so muche humble thy selfe And at an other time saye When shall I be able O my Lord to recompeÌ„ce these and other so great paynes and sorowes shames and reproches which thou hast suffred for me Let euery spirite and creature confesse thy mercies and be thankfull therefore And so vsing suche other lyke words of prayses according as thy deuotion shall moue thée A declaration of the sixt manner of meditation which is by way of admiration The sixt maner is according to our former diuision in order of admiration which thy soule shall féele to be very great if thou knowe once howe to exercise thy selfe well in that sort of consideration And séeing that the Prophet Dauid vsed as he affirmeth of him selfe to consider and meditate in his minde the maruellous works of God so is it good reason that thou do exercise thy selfe in the meditation of his most holy passion and death which is the moste marueilous worke amongst all that he hath wrought And who will not maruell when he considereth that suche a one did suffer who is the only refuge and protection of al those that do suffer And that he is sadde and heauy for sorowe who is the mirth and comforte of Angels And that he is despised and scorned who is
also how after the other words which he spake in promising the thiefe Paradise which committed himselfe vnto him and giuing S. Iohn to his mother in stead of her sonne in him also vs and her to Iohn and likewise to vs to be as a mother and declaring the gret thirst whiche he had and that chiefly was for our saluation he then finally commended his spirite into the handes of his eternall father and so inclining downe his head he yelded vp the ghost Of whose tormentes and death the heauens declare they did in some part féele the griefe for the sunne was eclipsed the earth trembled the very stones sheuered in péeces the graues opened the veyle of the temple deuided 3 Consider also the cruel launce and thrusting in of the speare with the whiche Longinus opened a gappe into the syde of Christ out of the which issued blood and water And albeit to him it was no payne because he was already deade yet notwithstanding his most innocent mother felte it whose bowels and hart was in those most greuous sorowes and sighes perce◠and thrust through agreable to the prophesie of Simeon ¶ The prayer I Render vnto thée O Iesu Christ most high and eternall Bishop infinite thankes for that thou hast offred thy self to thy father in moste swéete sacrifice and brought vnto an ende the works of our redemption thou diddst take vpon thée neuer staying therein neither for moste bitter tormentes which they put thee too nor yet for the multitude of blasphemies they spake agaynst thee For the whiche I humblye besech thee that thou vouchsafe to open the eyes of my soule that I may beholde and see and diligently marke that whiche thou hast wrought and taught on the crosse and in thy death Bring low O Lord my hawtines and pride in séeing thy head inclined and brought lowe vnder a crowne of thorne Temper and moderate my gluttonie and intemperancie with the remembrance of thy most swete mouth tasting the bitter gawle and vineger Cause me to forsake the delites of the flesh in séeing thy flesh put to so great paynes vppon the crosse Mollifie the hardnes of my hart and suffer it not to be more hard then the stones which shiuered in péeces at thy death Make me O Lord to enter into thy open side where I may more safely saue my selfe in the great and perillous flood of this world then in the arke of Noe. Cause me for thy seruice willingly to endure beare all trouble and aduersitie seing that thou for my sake wouldest giue thy most blessed life and euen as thou diddest perseuer and continue vnto death in the obedience of thy father so graunt that I maye always perseuer in obedience towards thée Amen Ex cruce traiectos artus frigida membra Detrahit alta animi vis pietasque virum How our Redeemer was taken downe from the Crosse ¶ The poynts of meditation 1 How the rage of that vnhappie generation being partly mitigate quieted with the death of him that is the life of the world they returned into the citie but his most afflicted mother continued with him accompanied with the beloued disciple Iohn and other deuoute women tarying to sée if they might by any meanes burie him 2 Call to remembrance howe those honorable personages Ioseph and Nicodemus hauing leaue of Pilate to take Christe frō the crosse brought oyntmēts and other things necessarie for to embalme and burie him 3 Consider also with how great deuotion reuerence and tears they tooke him from the crosse and howe desirous his vncōfortable mother was to take him in hir armes to imbrace him ¶ The prayer I Adore and worship thée my most louing sauior I thāk thee and prayse thée with all my hart power for that through thy most holy crosse thou haste recouered and saued the world All thy workes O Lorde are most perfect and so it was thy will and pleasure perfectly to finishe this worke of so great importance of our redemption not leauing any thing that was to be done or suffered of that which of thine infinite wisdome was ordeined and of thy holy Prophetes forespoken which in those words thou diddest signifie It is iustified whiche thou spakest a litle before thou gauest vp the ghost Thanks be also to thy diuine power and might with which dying thou hast destroyed death after the maner of that strong Sampson with thy death thou hast ouercome thine enemies I beséeche thee therefore which art the giuer of life by the same thy deth that mortifying all my concupiscences and disorderly affections thou wilt reuiue my soule with the life of thy grace and so make me dye to the vayne pleasures honours and desires of the world of the fleshe that it may liue onely to thée onely confesse thée adore and worship thée dwel in thée seke for those things which belong to thy seruice as those thy deuoute seruants did in taking of thée from the crosse honoring thy moste blessed body in procuring to burie it being so greatly dishonored before 〈◊〉 Hic complexa sinu corpus miserabile nati Virgo parens lachrymis vulnera sacra vigat How our Sauiour beeing nowe taken frō the Crosse was layd in his moste sorowfull mothers lappe ¶ Poyntes to meditate 1 First consider with how gret tendernes the most blessed virgin mother receiued the dead body of her swéete sonne béeing nowe taken from the crosse beholding particulerly the signes of his soares and wounds with moste tender loue she kissed the same embraced bathed it with the teares which abundantly issued out of her pitifull eyes 2 Then cal to mind the lamentable words which his mother spake when she saw that blessed body of his so scourged wounded and ill handled the which she with so great loue and reuerence had brought vp whose words sighes were inough to breake with cōpassion the hart of any that heard them 3 Remember also the lamentable playnt which other deuoute men women made that were there present and chiefly of that welbeloued disciple Iohn and Magdalen which helde clipped fast the féete of her swéete master not satisfying her selfe ynough in kissing and washing them with her pitifull teares ¶ The prayer O My most merciful father and my god who shal giue water to my head and a fountayne of teares to mine eyes that I may bewayle the paynefull death of my swéet redéemer both day and night celebrate his holy exequies together with that deuout companie whiche with wofull playnt did celebrate the same Or who may giue me an hoate burning hart worthily to praise thée and thanke thée for the ineffable benefite which thou hast done for me in that thou haste vouchsafed that thine onely begotten sonne should léese his life to giue me life Whom would it not amase to sée this thy vnspeakable charity that for to redeme a vile slaue wouldest giue to death thy dearly beloued son All the Angelicall spirites
The godly garden of GETHSEMANI furnished with holsome fruites of Meditation and prayer vpon the blessed passion of Christ our Redéemer SVRSVM CANT I. Fasciculus Myrrhae dilectus meus mihi inter vbera mea commorabitur A nosegay of myrrh is my true loue to me Betvvene my brestes his dvvelling shal be ¶ To the Reader BY chaunce happeninge vppon this litle Treatise written in the Italian by a deuoute person as it appeareth and one specially professed by rules of Christian life to the glorious name of Iesu for my small vnderstanding in that tongue and further exercise therein I put on it an English habite of suche course weauing as skil serued me And finding therein suche swéetenes as is alwayes proper to so good matter I thought good to bestowe my simple trauayle though with more charges in presenting onely the same to a speciall good friend or two as a winter flowre to weare in their bosome or red Rose nowe at Christmas by my tenure or seruice due whiche they might at their pleasure ioyne with other posies of their accustomed deuotions If thou good Reader chaunce vpon any one booke thorough the liberalitie of the printer or otherwise by more number printed then I purposed I haue therefore to desire thée to accept it with good will as I know they do to whom of purpose I vowed my trauels also that thou wilt excuse and beare with all the faultes committed by the Printer or me for this time which are not so great to frustrate thée or me of the fruite of thy exercise or expectation herein which is encrease of pietie and deuotion Of which thou mayst assure thy self to reape as much fruit to thy comfort as is possible of so litle a treatise I haue called it by the name of the garden of Gethsemani alluding in my fansie to the Garden where Christe prayed and shed both water and blood for mankinde which name for néede may put thée sometime in mind oftner to resorte to this garden of exercise and to haue Christes wordes to his Disciples there alwayes sounding in thy eares slumbring minde Can ye not watch with me a litle while c. Also our heauēly Salomon and Sauiour Christe inuiteth his spouse the Church in these words Come into my garden my sister and wife And she our mother founde no flowre or fruite in this paradise of god more to hir liking than this trée of life the blessed crosse of Christ as may wel appeare by hir own words A nosegay of myrrhe is my true loue to me and within my brest his habitation shal be Meaning by the myrrhe whiche for the bitternesse thereof was geuen Christ to drinke in his extreme thirst and which for the swéete smell agayne serued amongest other thinges to annoynt his body in the sepulchre That she reioyced in nothing more then to gather hir selfe a posie of the bitter paynes and sorowes that Christe suffered for hir and hir faythfull children Then according to hir example as children rightly nurtured in hir lappe let vs not thinke it tedious to followe hir course and steppes and say with her In the sweete sent of thy oyntmentes Gracious Lord I do runne after thee And let vs holde alwaies in our breast and kéepe in memory by continuall meditation all the grieuous tormentes and troubles which our sauiour suffered for the redemption of the worlde that therby we may learne and knowe the length the breadth the height depth of that moste healthfull trée and Crosse of Christ which of his great mercy I beséeche him graunt both thée me good Reader Of the fruite of suche deuout meditation and of the maner and order of this litle Treatise AMongst all exercises of deuotiō that a Christian man can haue one of the most fruitefull and most acceptable to God is to be often and deuoutely occupied in calling to remembrance and well to consider in minde which otherwise we terme to meditate the passion of Christ our redéemer The which all the Doctours that write thereof affirme and also reason and experience do playnely declare the same For by such holy meditation the soule is inflamed in the loue of Christ considering howe tenderly he loued it how muche he suffered to saue and beautifie it and moreouer it feareth and is ashamed of his sinfulnesse knowing séeing how grieuously it was punished in the sonne of God who as the Prophet Esay saith was stroken of the father for the sinnes of his people Yea the soule thereby receiueth in hir selfe and increaseth newe and freshe desires to amende the life séeing the liuely and marueilous examples which particularly do shine in the holy passion of Christ And likewise it is thereby styrred and pricked forwarde to geue thankes prayse for his infinite goodnesse and mercy that it hath pleased him with so tender loue to be made a sacrifice and to suffer so bitter death that he might geue vs miserable and wretched wretches life and saluation And thus finally the soule may séeme in some parte to pay the great debt it is bounde in féeling in it selfe the great benefite it hath receiued when it calleth to remembraunce and bethinketh particularly the manyfolde sorrowes iniuries and tormentes which the sauiour of the worlde suffred in his death and passion and doth know that this seruice is most acceptable to him and also is sory for them who do not the like but forget the great kindnes of their Redéemer So then for this and many other fruits gathered of this blessed meditation certayne Doctours affirme that those gayne more which euery day do meditate with deuotion some little part of the passion of Christ than if they should exercise manye prayers fastings disciplins and chastenings of the body otherwise And therefore albeit many haue copiously at large written hereof yet notwithstanding for the better commoditie and helpe of them that haue not such bookes specially for suche our Christian brothers and sisters sakes that haue a desire to exercise them selues in the meditation of the passion of our Lorde we are moued to finde out some meanes howe they maye with more facilitie and taste godlily occupie them selues therein Whiche I doubt not my good brother but thou shalte well proue if thou be willing with attention diligently to marke what shall in this little Treatise be layde before thée wherein thou shalt finde great swéetenesse in applying thy selfe to so heauenly an exercise both necessary and highly commended For here thou shalte sée in figures set foorth the Images of those mysteries thou hast to call to thy remembrance and mind in beholding wherof thou maist be holpen to be more setled and stayed in memorie and minde of that imagination which is so imprinted within thée Herein also are declared the poyntes to discourse on and so to procéede with more deuotion in thy meditation Or if thou knowe not howe of thy selfe to make these or the like talkes or spéeches with God then
disciples there maye be these poyntes following to meditate vpon 1 With howe great méekenes and humilitie the sauiour of the world rising from supper washed the féete of his Disciples and also of Iudas and wyped them with the towell wherewith he was gyrt 2 Secondarily consider of the entier loue which moued him to institute that high Sacrament in the which he gaue his Disciples to eate his most sacred body and precious blood to drinke and willed it shoulde remayne in his Church as the foode and consolation of our soules 3 Thirdly call to minde that heauenly lesson which he preached to his Disciples comforting and exhorting them and vs also to humilitie charitie and patience of the whiche vertues he gaue vs so liuely examples in the latter ende of his life here The prayer I Geue thée thanks most swéete Iesu with all my hart for thy marueilous humilitie in abasing thy selfe to become as a seruaunt to washe the féete of thy seruants And also I prayse and worship thée for the inestimable benefite that thou diddest work for vs in willing to continue with vs in thy most holy sacrament in the whiche thy blessed body is verily conteined for the foode and comfort of our soules I humbly beséeche thy infinite clemencie pitie to graunt me grace to folowe this example of so great humilitie and that my vile condition neuer become proude when I shall consider and sée thy maiestie so humbled And vouchsafe also my gracious Lorde and Redéemer to washe my féete that is to say the affectes and naughtie passions of my soule And giue me that loue and charitie which thou diddest so greatlye commende to thy Disciples that with purenesse of hart and with suche inwarde cleannesse of minde as I am bounde and as is acceptable to God I may draw neare to this moste swéete Sacrament and participate aboundauntlye of those effectes which it worketh in deuoute soules Graunt me also O celestiall Scholemaster and euerlasting wisdome of the father that thy most blessed words may be imprinted in me which thou didst preach in this worlde chiefly those words of thy latter talke neare thy death béeing full of so great charitie coÌ„solation with the which thou didst coÌ„fort the sorowful minds of thy beloued Disciples And séeing thou hast the word of euerlasting life more swete then the hony or hony combe make my soule to tast it chiefly to delight in it and alwayes to obay it that by it as by a most lightsome lanterne I may sée how to guide my selfe in all my wayes and works Amen Ter prece sollicitat patrem sudatque pauetque Innocuas stringunt impia vincâ—a manus Of the prayer in the garden and apprehending of our Sauiour ¶ Poyntes to meditate therevpon 1 How our sauiour going into the garden to which place he knew his enemies should come for to apprehend him with that inward sorow and feare which for our saluatioÌ„ fréely his soule would féele he fel downe flat on the grounde with most great reuerence he made his prayers thrée times to his father praying him that the bitter cup which was prepared for him myght passe away yet notwithstaÌ„ding submitted himselfe alwayes to his fathers most godly will 2 Howe that his affliction and anguishe increasing which willingly he receaued caused hym at the last to sweate droppes of blood that fell vppon the earth And beyng in this agony there came downe an Angell from heauen to comfort him 3 How that being moued with the burnyng desyre of our redemption he went and met his enemyes in the face and was content to be kissed of that traitour Iudas and of the other to be taken and cruelly bounde to be forsaken of his disciples and brought to the house of Annas the Bishop ¶ The prayer BLessed be thou my Lorde and God O Iesu Christ for that thine infinit mercy that it pleased thée for to harten and comfort vs to be assaulted thy selfe wyth suche extréeme feare and sadnes And thou being the gladnesse and comforte of Angels diddest take well in worth to be comforted of an Angell I blesse and prayse thée also for that thy feruent loue that for to loose the bondes of our sinnes and to set vs at true libertie sufferedst thy selfe to bée taken and bounde of thy enemyes shamefully like a théefe I beséeche thy infinite goodnesse therefore that in mine afflictions feare and sadnesse I may haue the grace alwayes to run vnto thée with most humble and deuout praier submitting my selfe wholly into thy blessed handes and that so to doe may be my onely comfort and helpe séeing that without thée vaine is the health and helpe that any worldly creature can giue me I beséeche thée also most méeke Lambe by that thy patience and gentlenesse which with hard cordes and ropes diddest suffer thy selfe to be bounde when thou wast taken that thou wilte vouchsafe to bynde my soule with the chaynes of thy loue that I being loosed by thée from my sinnes and from my disorderly affections suffer not my selfe to bée anye more bound with them And that neither the diuell the worlde nor the fleshe may at any time separate me from thy loue seruice and most blessed will and pleasure Amen Ad sedes Annae rapitur Caifaeque tribunal Hic tota insultat nocte proterua oohors How Christ was lèd to the house of Annas and Caiphas ¶ The poyntes to meditate 1 The blasphemies and villanies which were spoken against our redéemer by those wicked ministers the outrages buffetinges and beatinges which he suffered when he was led from the garden to Annas house where he was first presented 2 Consider the great méekenes humilitie and modestie which shyned in our Sauiour whiles he stoode before the presence of that proude byshoppe and aunswered to the demaundes of his doctrine and of his Disciples tooke so patiently those reprochfull strokes and buffets 3 And after that howe wyth like spite cruell handeling and shame he was ledde to the house of Chaiphas where they vsed muche scornings iniuries towards him as in couering and blindfolding his blessed and reuerend face spitting in it and striking it so that he passed all that night without any rest at all ¶ The prayer I Render thankes and prayses to thée moste louing Iesu for thy inuincible patience with which it pleased thée for vs most vyle sinners to beare and suffer so greate trauelles paynes and iniuries submitting thy most blessed bodye to them that did beate it and thy most reuerend bearde and heare to them that dyd teare it bespit it and soyle it and diddest not turne thine amiable face from them that did spitte in in I do humbly beséech thy goodnes for that thy insuperable patience sake with which thou sufferedst so many strokes and beatinges without grudge or anger towardes thyne enemies that thou wilt graunt me strength and patience to suffer all persecutions and iniuries which in this worlde are wrought against me knowing that my
hiâ— standing before the Iudges anâ— his accusers and in the maner of his answering to their questions and in that peaceable calmnesse of minde whcih he alwayes expressed not once being troubled in his countenance or chaunging moode although he â—ere neuer so muche iniuried and wrongfully slaundered He â—eclared also his perfect obedience not onely béeing obedient â—o his eternall Father in the â—ommandement of death which â—e gaue him but also declared â—he same in euery thing euen â—owardes his wicked enemies whiche crucified him in dooing whatsoeuer they willed as in suffering him selfe to be spoyled of his clothes and agayne to be clothed and that as often as pleased them to commaunde him Nowe going to one iudge and now vnto an other as they woulde haue him and finally when he was appoynted thereto he bare the Crosse whereon he should be crucified What shal we then say of the softnesse and of the silence he obserued and kept in all that pitifull pageant of his passion He was not desirous to multiply words nor to answere so many iniuries and blasphemies they spake agaynst him neither to defende him selfe agaynst the false witnesse they brought foorth ne to excuse him selfe of that they vniustly accused him and layde to his charge But he suffered patiently all things without aunswering of any thing euen as though he had bene domme So that he therin well fulfilled that whiche was written of him I as a deafe man did not heare and as a domme creature which openeth not his mouth I made no aunswere And the Euangelist affirmeth that euen the very iudge Pilate him selfe dyd much maruel at his gret silence But much more his inuincible patience may cause vs to maruell with the which he suffered and bare not only the innumerable scornes skoffes and mockings with other outrages deuised agaynst him but also the gréeuous sorowes and paynes the most bitter tormentes they coulde inuent to punishe him withall whiche were so many and so cruell that they might suffice to breake any hard stone Verifying in this that whiche Ezechiel prophesied of him wheÌ„ he likened his face to the Diamond and hard flint because of the hardnes wherewith he bare so many blowes and buffettes with their fists and hard gauntlets and all with suche an inuincible patience without making resistance at all ne yet so muche as any show of murmuring or grudging And likewise consider howe that his most feruent and burning charitie was not able to be quenched or diminished with all the waters of those his afflictions and sorows which entred into him and perced euen through the very middest of his most blessed soule but rather the more they doubled his torments the more increased the flame of loue by the which in his most excessiue sorows he prayed for them that crucified him and excused them before his father who accused and condemned him Furthermore remember that intier deare mercy of his that where he saw our great miseries and calamities he had compassion vpon vs and wéeped for our sakes he prayed for vs and shedde his most precious blood thereby to heale and cure our gréeuous diseases and daungerous woundes Call also to minde and consider that fortitude and magnanimitie of his who knowing as noteth the Euangelist Saint Iohn all things that should be done vnto him that is to saye the great battayle which was prepared agaynst him and in the whiche he shoulde dye with so many gréeuous tormentes and deadly woundes yet feared he nothing at all to marche forwarde to méete his enemies in the face and offer him selfe into their hands to execute what crueltie they would vpon him Consider also his constante perseuerance which is a vertue that crowneth and rewardeth all our good workes Because who so euer shall perseuer and continue in well dooing to the ende he shall be saued Which vertue is in none better séene then in Christ who in such sorte perseuered continued â—â—â—tly went forward with that worâ—e of our redemption he had begoâ—â— that neither the feare of paineâ— nor strokes nor iniuries nor scornes nor threatnings foule wordes nor fayre promises nor men nor diuels could be able to make him come down from the Crosse or leaue vndone any one iote of that was to be done for finishing of the worke of our redemption which his Father had commaunded him Nor yet leaue thou here vnremembred both for thy consolation and example to folow his blessed stepps that contempt of the world and that his extreme pouertie whereof he giueth vs notable examples both in his blessed passion death and also in his life and conuersation which was full of pouertie and contempt of honour and worldly fauour But specially it is to be séene in his passion and ende of his life because he dyed in that straite bedde of the Crosse hauing nothing at all to leane his head vpon standing spoyled and naked with so great shame and ignominie in that multitude of people beholding and gasing vppon him And in the thirst and drinesse which he suffred they gaue him not so much as a cup of water but only bitter gal and vineger There was not one that mighte helpe or comfort him with any ease or reliefe but rather those his enemies studied by all deuises and inuentions they could new kindes of paynes and wayes how to vexe and disgrace him O my God what is that man but if he will remember this and marke it well may be ashamed to murmure grudge and lament him selfe of any griefe or aduersity that he doth suffer What pouerty or barennesse in the worlde may be compared to thine what abstinence what austeritie of life or straitnesse of penance was euer so harde and sharpe which may be compared to that thou diddest suffer on the Crosse what man was euer in the world so despised so mocked and so persecuted as thou waste in thy passion and death Truely O Lorde he that can well remember and consider thée maye shutte his mouth shame to lament him self at al either of pouerty hunger thirst nakednesse vnkindnesse or of any other lacke or griefe that he suffereth He may be ashamed to sée howe fayntly and coldly he traueleth to folow thée O Lord being set before vs as an example and rule of our life Thou seest now good brother what order thou muste obserue béeing after this sort occupied in thy meditation vpon the passion Beholde the pure and cleare glasse in the whiche thou mayst looke and learne to knowe and sée in thy selfe thy faults deformities and defects and then compare them together with his vertues and perfections because thou shalte so vnderstand how great thy pride is if thou beholde and haue respect to his lowlynesse méekenesse and humilitie how great is thy coldnesse in comparison to his tender and burning charitie and the like of other vertues aforesaid and many more that may be coÌ„sidered of which shal discouer and open vnto thée thy lackes and imperfections thy foulenesse and
that Lorde before whose sighte the powers of heauen feare and tremble Who can but wonder when he remembreth that he dyed who is the lyfe of all thinges liuing O howe aptly to this did the Prophete Abacuc vnderstanding in the spirite of prophesie say Lorde I considered thy works and I was afrayde And truely the causes of wonder be so greate to make a man muse thereat that it is more maruell to sée one not maruel and muse then one that dothe muse and maruell at it For howe can it be deare brother but thou must maruell and wonder if thou consider the greatnes the mightinesse the highnesse and the eternall maiestie of him that suffered so many kindes of paynes of iniuries of tormentes and of so shamefull a death And contrariwise the basenes the vilenesse and the vnthankfulnes of men for whom he suffered And if any of these things being by itselfe considered haue cause sufficient to make thée maruell what shal it be if thou ioyne all together that his high maiestie hath suffred suche and so great tormentes for so base and vile creatures That is to say that the iudge of the liuing and the dead was crucified betwéene two théeues that the king of glory which is adored of Angels was blasphemed of most vile men who woulde not maruell who would not be afrayd who would not be astonnied to thinke vpon it This is one thing that shall giue thée copious matter to woÌ„der and maruell to consider the infinite loue bountie and mercy of God in this worke of thy redemption declared And thou shalt no lesse maruell if thou consider the great wisedome he sheweth in the same his passion and crosse in that he found out so conuenient and apt meane to vanquish and ouercome our aduersarie euen as it were with the same weapon wherwith he ouercame vs. And this is it that the Catholike Churche singeth That he ordeined the trée of the crosse to be the instrument and meane of our saluation because the diuell like as he wanne the victorie ouer vs by one trée so likewise he might be vanquished and troden vnder foote by an other trée Also his crosse and passion was a most present remedie for all our infirmities For he humbling himselfe euen to the death of the crosse did pay sufficiently the price of our disobedience and pride Geuing vs the greatest example that might be of his humilitie which is so necessarie a vertue for vs besides diuerse examples els as of despising the worlde and of many other vertues spoken of before By meanes whereof we maye knowe our owne vices and amende them and chiefly renounce and forsake our selfe-love which is the roote of all vice Also the remembraunce of his Crosse and passion may encourage vs to suffer and patiently beare the manyfolde trauels miseries and griefes whereof our life is full For what greater comforte can there be had then to beholde Christ nayled on the Crosse whose woundes are sufficient to heale our woundes whose paynes and griefe if we well consider them may cause vs not so impatiently to take our troubles whatsoeuer they be And likewise to inflame and kindle our loue towardes him there can not be founde a better meane then to lay before our eyes how gretly and entierly he loued vs in suffering so much for vs and that he hath left vs so great ryches of his mercies of Sacraments of examples of coÌ„forts of satisfactions of fayth of hope of deuotion of consolation Beholde Christ with diligent eyes vpon the Crosse and thou shalt finde hid therein so great and so wonderfull treasures that they will cause thée to crye out say with Saint Paule O the depâ—nesse of the ryches of the wisedome and knowledge of God Thou shalt finde also good cause to maruell if thou consider his great power and might whiche he shewed in his passion for so muche as thereby he ouercame the diuell and being exalted on the Crosse he drew all things to him as he saide before dying he destroyed death triumphing ouer the world and hell Thou shalt likewise finde good cause to wonder if thou marke well the iustice he obserued in his passion and death in that he would not our sinnes and offences should remayne without recompence and satisfaction and by it giue remission and pardon of them and that more fréely and fully then of our part was due or deserued And by howe much more thou art willing to consider search out the secrets of the Crosse so muche the more high mysteries shall be reuealed vnto thée and cause thée not only to maruell but also to be greatly amased And then shalte thou knowe that Saint Paule the Apostle spake not without great cause when he sayde He would preache none other nor would learne to knowe any other thing but Iesus Christ and him crucified By this then hitherto said thou mayst gather and perceiue how copious matter thou haste to maruell and wonder at when thou art in this maner disposed to meditate vpon the death and passion of thy Redéemer All whiche the better to retayne in memorye thou mayest reduce and bring them to these poyntes The first is to consider the infinite highnesse and maiestie of thy Lorde that suffered for thée The seconde is the seruile and base estate of them for whom he suffered Thirdly the wonderfull tormentes and iniuries which he suffered Fourthly the wisedome power and iustice which he declared in his blessed passion and death These things in maner before specified and others that may happen to come into thy remembraunce whiles thou art in thy meditation if thou consider them as thou oughtest attentiuely shall minister occasion vnto thée greatly to maruell and wonder at this diuine mysterie A declaration of the seuenth manner of meditation which is by way of hope and reioysing The seuenth manner of meditation we sayde was by waye of reioysing and hope Whiche kinde of meditation is very necessarie also sometime to vse For when a man shal with him selfe consider howe great the wickednesse and euill of sinne is howe odious it is and howe muche it displeaseth God séeing for the due punishment thereof and for to repaye and repayre the great losses it had caused in the worlde our Lorde him self came downe from heauen and after so great trauels and paynefull life at the laste he would suffer so bitter passion and death And when he shall likewise call to minde that he hath runne and fallen into his haynous euill and sinfulnesse not only once but many times and in diuerse sortes he shall then rest so sad and dismayed that he shall néede of some speciall helpe for to comfort him that he dispayre not in him selfe when he remembreth that he shall appeare before the iudgement seate of the fearfull iudge to yéelde the account of all his life To remember this it hath made not onely many sinners to feare and tremble but also iuste men and persons of holy life as
it is written that the whip shal not come neare to his tabernacle diddest willingly consent to be bounde naked to a piller and so sharply to be whipped and beaten as if thou haddst bene some vile slaue and vagabound willing to pay with so sharp stripes of thy virgin fleshe for the vayne and superfluous delightes that I thy vile slaue haue pampered my fleshe withall agaynst thy will and pleasure And séeing thou hast vouchsafed to defende me with thy shoulders suffring them to be sharply whipped I beséech thy infinit clemencie to kéepe far from me the scourge of thy wrath the which I know to haue deserued for the multitude of my sinnes And let this thy discipline teach me hereafter and cause me to shake off all delicatenesse and pleasures in pampering of my fleshe by chastening and mortifying of it by due penaunce because it may not rebel any more agaynst thée and hinder me to attende vpon thy seruice as I am bound Amen Spinea serta caput pangunt illudit amictus Purpureus turbis ecce homo praetor ait Of the crowning of Christ with thornes Matter for meditation 1 Howe those tormentors béeing wéerie of beating that blessed body did loose him from the piller and howe our most patient Lorde did humbly gather vp his garmentes whiche they had caste and scattered on the grounde with the whiche he couered agayne his moste sacred body béeing all bloody sore and full of payne 2 Consider howe that hauing yet scantly put on his clothes the souldiers of Pilat were busie to honor him in scorne with royall ensignes because they sayde he had made him selfe a king they clothed him with a red purple cape or mantell and crowned his head with a garlande of moste sharpe pricking thornes and they put a réede in his hande in stead of a scepter with which they strake him and kneling before him in mocking they saluted him 3 Then also beholde howe Pilate brought foorth in the sight of all the people the king of heauen euen as he was so mocked and yll handled thinking that their obstinate furie might be so pacified when they should sée him in that case worthy of pitie and compassion But it nothing suffised them but rather they cried the more crucifie him ¶ The prayer WHat thanks may I render to thée O my God that thou being the true king of heauen of earth and so worshipped and reuerenced of the Angels them selues diddest not refuse to beare that shamefull and painfull ensignes of a faygned King with which thou waste scorned and mocked of moste vile men neither yet diddest grudge to appeare openlye in the sight of all the people with that painefull sharpe pricking crowne of thorne wherewith thou wast crowned of thē whom thou contrariwise desiredst to crowne with glory And who would not maruell at their obstinate malice in that they could finde out so many inuentions the more to put thée to shame paine and torment but more cause of maruell is in thy burning charitie Lord which the waters of so great tribulations and persecutions were not able to quenche no nor in one poynt to coole And euen as thou wast neuer satisfyed nor couldest thinke in thy self to haue loued vs inough so thou couldest neuer fully satisfye thy selfe in suffering for them whom thou louedst Let thy bountifull goodnesse therefore bée honoured and thanked of the Angels of all creatures the which I doe also adore and worship and desire that I maye alwayes so doe with all reuerence humbly beséeching thée that thou wylte cause mée to knowe thy highnesse almyghtie maiestie that I maye with truth and vnfaynedly continually honour that same to giue me grace that I may wyth the eyes of my soule beholde that lamentable spectacle and sight whiche Pilate shewed to the Iewes in saying beholde the man That my hart being therby made tender and mollyfied I maye haue the more compassion and pitie of thée and wyth more earnest desire loue thée embrace thée And also to reioyce in my selfe to be reuiled and dispised in the world for thy sake according to thine example hoping afterwardes through thy mercye to be crowned of thée in heauen Amen Insons damnatur tandem portare iubetur Proh dolor ipse suae pondera saeua crucis Howe Christ caried the Crosse to be crucified and the poynts to meditate thereon 1 Howe Pilate beyng weryed with the importune calling and cryinges on of the Iewes did iudge Christ the author and giuer of life to death whose iudgement he willingly accepted for the great desire he had to worke our saluation 2 Consyder with howe great humilitie he did beare that heauye trée of the Crosse vppon his shoulders Which for that it was so huge and great made hym often tymes to fall to the grounde and so to renewe his gréeuous paines 3 Consider also that being not well able to goe for his weakenesse and mightie burthen they tooke the crosse of his shoulders and caused Cirineus to beare it And howe hée turned himselfe to comfort and admonishe the deuout women who with great compassion followed hym wéeping Where you maye call to mynde what sorrowe his blessed mother suffered when shée sawe this lamentable sight ¶ The prayer WHo woulde not bée amased O moste swéete Iesu of the bottomlesse fountain of thy passing humilitie that beeing the iudge of the liuing and the dead to whome by thy heauenlye father all iudgement was committed wouldest submitte thy selfe to bée iudged of a mortall man being an vniust and prophane person thou being most innocent and cleare from al sin and to accepte with great obedience méekenes the sentence of death which malefactours deserue that by death they might obtaine life I render vnto thée infinite thankes as wel for this incomparable charitie as also for that good will and readinesse with the which as it were an other Isaac thou cariedst on thy backe the wood wherewith thou shouldest be sacrificed in the fire of thy most burning charity willing thereby to make satisfaction to the iustice of thine eternal father for our sinnes which thou barest on the crosse And séeyng that in accepting the sentence of death which Pylate pronounced against thée thou deseruedst that the sentence of eternall death shoulde be reuoked whiche was pronounced against me therfore I humbly beséech thée of thy mercie to defend kéepe mée that I deserue not to léese this so great priuiledge of grace to incurre by my sinfulnes into the same sentence of damnation from the which for thy part thou hast deliuered mée Geue mée also the grace and strength to bée alwayes able to followe thée in bearing of my crosse according as thou haste commaunded vs that is to say the trauels tribulation which it shall please thée to lay vppon me in this life The which for good cause maye be easie and light vnto me considering the paine and trouble thou diddest féele in bearing so willingly for my loue thy crosse Amen
do laude prayse thée so that I nor all men in the world know nor yet are able to thanke thée nor yet vnderstand thy so gret mercy And because I haue no tong able to do it as it ought to be I pray thée of thine infinite goodnes to graunt me an heart that may take compassion and féele in part that which thy most blessed mother felt when she beheld and saw those gréeuous woūds and scourgings of her and thy most louing sonne Geue me therfore O Lorde teares in abundance that I may bewayle with her his death also wéepe for that which was the occasion therof and that was my sinnes the which I pray thée for the same thy sonnes sake that thou wilt pardon me and for the time to come to preserue me that I offend not in the same agayne but alwayes hate and abhorre my sinnes and wickednesse Amen Et florum nimbo fusisque lignoribus vngunt Vnctaque candenti sindone membra tegunt How the blessed body of Christ was anoynted and dressed to the buriall Meditations thereof 1 When night drew neare S. Iohn Ioseph and Nicodemus as it maye be godly thought prayed our Lady to geue them leaue to annoynt the most blessed body of her sonne who agréed to their godly request albeit that she vnderstoode that there was an other principall annointing that is that he was annointed of his diuinitie with the which he was vnited 2 Consider with what great deuotion and reuerence that most diuine body was anoynted and how many sighes teares they shed euery one that were present thereat in séeing him so wounded and pitifully handled and specially beholding those fiue principall wounds worthy of so great compassion 3 Consider that when the blessed body was annoynted they decently wounde it in a white shéete they brought with them and couering his said body with a fine launde so shrowde it vp to be buried according to the maner of the Iewes ¶ The prayer MY soule blesseth thée O most louing Iesu and all the powers within me geue thankes prayse to thy most holy name for all thy works which I confesse to be most worthy of all prayse and blessings But specially I prayse and magnifie thée for that thou hast accomplished and finished that so highe and heauenly worke of our redemption on whiche my saluation and life dependeth I also adore and worship thy precious body with the which it hath pleased thée to suffer most gréeuous torments and seing thou my Lord and God wast content to accept that deuotion and pietie of thy friēds that came to do thée their seruices and wast cōtent being dead that thy body should be annoynted with those materiall oyntments which they brought of the which thou hadst no néede at all because thou wast preserued from all corruption with the swéete balme of thy diuinitie I beséeche thy clemencie that thou vouchsafe to graunt me that pietie that charitie and those teares of deuotion that I may be able to annoynt thee spirituallye whiche is the vnction that is wonte to bée most acceptable to thy maiestie Vouchsafe also my Sauiour to imprint in myne heart those fiue most holy woundes whiche maye bée at all tymes my comfort my medicine the tower of my fortresse my refuge sanctuarie more sure and safe then those Cityes whiche in the olde lawe were appoynted for offenders to runne vnto and saue them selues And that by meanes of them I maye escape what tyme it shall please thy diuine iustice to punish me for my sinnes Amen Conditur ah tumulo mundi mihi conditor in quo Vnicaspes hominum conditur vnasalus Howe Christ was put into the graue Matters of meditation 1 Howe that most sacred body was caried put with due reuerence of Ioseph in a newe sepulchre or graue the which was nere to the place where he was crucified And here you may call to minde also the multitude of sighes and abundance of teares of his most sorrowfull mother and of those holy persons that were there present 2 Consider the extreme pouertie of the king of heauen and of earth who when he was dead had not any place where to rest his head but after death was buried in the sepulchre or buriall of an other 3 Then finally consider howe loth and gréeuous that sorrowfull mother was to depart from the sepulchre where her tresure was left and layde and the dolefull desolate sadnesse she felt seing her selfe depriued from his ioyful company vntil his rising agayne whiche she looked for with a stedfast fayth ¶ The prayer AL thy works O my God and lord Christ Iesu be holy perfect wrought by infinite wisedome for the which without ende I laude giue thankes prayses to thée and specially for thy holy passion death and buryall For euen as when the worke of the creation of the worlde was finished the scripture saith thou diddest rest and ceasse from creating anye more thinges so also now the great worke of the redemption of man béeyng also finished thou tookest thy rest and dyddest ceasse from suffering any more and wouldest that thy blessed body vnited with thy diuinitie shoulde remayne closed within the sepulcher thy moste blessed soule vnited with the same Diuinitie in meane time discending to visite and comfort with thy presence glory those holy fathers thy great friendes the which with vnspeakable desire looked for that day Blessed and praysed for euer be thyne infinite mercie power and wisedome the which stretcheth ouer all and disposeth all thinges swéetely For the which I praye thee to open the eyes of my soule that I may learne to know loue and reuerence thée Geue mée also my redéemer plentie of teares of compassion with the which I maye accompanie thy moste sorrowfull mother who at this tyme remayned sole and desolate bewayling with great affection which shée felte for thy death and absence vnto the time that thou camest agayne to wype awaye those pitifull teares which ran downe her reuerende face I desyre also and praye thée to graunt me a cleane harte voide of all corruption of sinne where as in the lyke Sepulcher not of harde stone but of tender fleshe and louynge it may delight thée to rest vntyll the time thou vouchsafe of thy mercie to bring mée eternall rest Amen Mortis victor adest animis comitatus ab orco Ne tumulo hanc matres quaerite vinus abit The glorious resurrection of Christ our Sauiour ¶ Poyntes to meditate vpon 1 First consider how that when the most blessed soule of Christe had béen in Lymbo comforted those holy fathers and brought them frō thence the sonday morning it did returne againe and vnite it selfe with his most blessed bodye caused it to become glorious resplendent immortal and impassible and so with the diuine power those glorious indowmēts which it communicated to the body it rose vp out of the place where it lay the sepulcher or graue remaining fast shut and closed 2 Ye may also thinke that the first thing he did being raised from death was to visite his beloued mother which with so many teares sighes sorowes missed him and looked for him All which griefes were turned into incomparable ioyes gladnes with the glorious sight of her sonne raised agayne from death to life 3 Ye may also meditate howe he firste appeared vnto Magdalen before the other who when she knew him she was greatly comforted and likewise vppon his other apparitions as vpon this daye as when he shewed himselfe and appeared to the deuoute women which went to the sepulcher and after to his Disciples goyng towardes the castle of Emans ¶ The prayer THy name be blessed without end most swéete Iesu my redéemer for that after the tempest of thy passion there is come the faire bright day of thy glory to the night of sorrowes and teares for thy death the festiuall ioyful day of thy resurrection doth succéede For the one for the other I giue prayse and thanks to thée as for the one and for the other I am debtour to thée bicause thou wouldest dy for my sinnes rise again for our iustification And therefore it is iust that they which do suffer wepe with thée in thy sorowfull passion and death should also in thy gloryous resurrection reioyce with thée thy most blessed mother Who according to the measure of hir anguishe sorrowes passed hath receiued the ioyes consolatiōs of this day present And what tongue may suffice to expresse that vnspeakeable gladnesse which hir hart felt when she sawe thy glorious risyng againe and the darknesse of thy passion turned into such beautifull clerenesse thy shames reproches into glory thy wounds into such beautie brightnesse When she did consider that now the stormy winter of thy persecutions was past the waters of the fludde of thy sorows ceassed that there should be nowe no more Pharisies to accuse thée nor Iudasses to betray thée nor Pilates to iudge or condemne thée nor death to haue might power ouer thée If Iacob did so muche reioyce when hée vnderstood that his sonne Ioseph whō he beleued to be dead was a liue and did rule ouer all Egipt how great may we thinke the ioy of thy glorious mother to be when hauing sene thée dead yea and of such a death did sée thée alyue againe a vanquisher of death triumphing ouer the diuell hell Lorde of heauen and of earth wherefore I beséech thée my heauenly king that I calling to remembrance this great triumph gladnes of thy blessed mother thou wilt giue me grace to hate all other vaine pleasures and worldly consolations whiche may separate me frō thée Graūt me Lord I pray thée by thy holy resurrection that my soule may rise againe with thée by the life grace and that I dye no more by the death of sinne so that I may by thy mercy hereafter rise agayne glorious in body and soule and come to reigne with thée eternally in glory Amen FINIS Laude Honour and Glory be for euer to Iesu Christ our Redéemer which suffered dyed and rose agayne Amen