Selected quad for the lemma: death_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
death_n	good_a	life_n	time_n	10,018	5	3.6095	3	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A45924	The institutions of the Congregation of the Oratory, at St. Maries in Vallicella, within the city of Rome. Founded by St. Philip Nerius	Congregation of the Oratory. Santa Maria in Vallicella (Church : Rome, Italy)	1687 (1687)	Wing I233A; ESTC R215995	48,632	109

afflictions and temptations out of a presumption of our own ability to conquer them but well may we request of him with an humble and confident affection grace and strength with chearfulness to undergo whatsoever he shall please to inflict 7. When a man is afflicted by any infirmity or indisposition of Body he ought to bethink himself seriously and say God hath laid this weakness on me because of something he would have to be done by or amended in me Therefore I resolve to change my course of life but this by his assistance and become a better man. 8. Fasting using of disciplines and such like other penances ought to be done by advice of one's Confessor For whosoever do them of their own head may either wrong their complexion or may by doing them become proud thinking themselves to have done some great matter We must seek after knowledge but without curiosity or anxiety and that which we learn ought to be kept secret making no ostentation of it but using it to better our life 9. A mans heart is arrived to great perfection when it is discreet and passeth not the limits of what is convenient Therefore many especially of those who begin to serve God for want of this discretion apply themselves suddenly to a most austere life and undertake most tiresome penances by rigorous fastings putting on the roughest sackcloth lying on boards watching and praying whole nights when such things are disproportional to and much exceeding their strength so that in some time they remain confounded and indisposed both in respect of body and mind 10. We may not so apply our selves wholly to the means as to forget the end for which the means were used Therefore they err exceedingly who are only intent on mortifying the body with abstinences whippings pilgrimages hair cloth or such like and there stay imagining now they have done all And know not that all this is nothing if these means do not promote us to fear God to keep with a love to them his Commandments and to humble us and to wean us wholly from the world that with our whole heart we may serve him 11. Some there be who by little and little much over-charge themselves tasking themselves to say every day their Beads several times the hours of the blessed Virgin the office of the Dead and divers Prayers some for one man some for another and the like all which may haply be good but altogether are too much and straining themselves to perform them in the end through tediousness they give them over Besides that so many things to be done hinder mental prayer Therefore 't is best to choose some good course of devotion and so continue to practice it and not afterward to leave it off 12. We must not do all things in a moment nor become Saints in three or four days but by little and little and from one degree to another 13. There is more difficulty to remedy those who will do too much than to incite others who do too little 14. It is very profitable to intermit sometimes one 's usual devotions when his Confessor adviseth it If it so fall out that his Confessor adviseth him not to communicate on his accustomed days but defer it to another time and the person thus advised will not obey but is resolute still to communicate and is displeased with what is commanded him this is not devotion but a sign of hard-heartedness of little mortification and of pride by which he is rendred most unworthy of that Sacrament 15. When one knows how to countermand his own will and to deny to his soul it s own desires he is in a good degree of vertue But not to know and not to study to do this is to carry about one the seminary of a thousand temptations and such a one will be apt to take offence and to break friendship and will seldome be chearful but for the most part Melancholy and troubled for the things that will befall him 16. External devotion is no certain sign that one is truly devout neither are tears themselves always a true sign of devotion because ill women easily weep yet are no Saints for it 17. If from any person one receives a repulse he ought by no means to take it ill or shew sign of discontent but continue towards them the same chearful countenance as formerly and to take from them all suspition of his small satisfaction 18. When it is needful to admonish any person of quality of some notable defect the best way is to let the reprehension fall on some third person for so they will more easily and gently take it to themselves and not be angry that one should dare to play the Master over them 19. Who would be much obeyed let him not command too much 20. Then the obedience is good when one obeys without arguing and holds it for a rule that what is commanded is fittest to be done And whoso enters into a Society ought to be most ready to obey and to leave all private for the common affairs 21 It is not enough only to honor our Superiors but we ought also to honor our equals and our inferiors and to strive to be the first in giving honor 22. It is a thing appertaining to virtue to fly all manner of singularity and not to make shew to be or to do any thing more than others 23. Raptures Extasies and tears in publick and in the sight of people are suspicious because Grace loves the recess and privacy of the heart except so far as it is necessary to manifest it for the good of our neighbour and Nature seeks her own and loves to make an outward shew and appearance 24. We ought not to delay to do well for death delays not to approach and happy is the young man to whom God gives time to be able to do good 25. Idleness is a pestilence to a Christian and therefore must we always be doing something especially when alone in our chamber either reading some book of Devotion or the lives of Saints or the H. Scripture or saying our Prayers or ordering our books or making our bed or some such thing that the Devil never find us idle 26. To go on in the way of virtue it is a good motive to consider that in this world there is no Purgatory for us but either Paradise or ●ell because he who serves God as he ought all labour and infirmity turns to his consolation and he hath within himself a Paradise but he who doth the contrary and giveth himself to sensuality hath Hell in this world and in the next 27. The frequent Confession of sins brings great good to our soul for it purifies and heals and confirms it in Gods service Therefore our set time to perform it must not be deferred for any busines whatsoever which may then occur but first we ought to go to confession and afterward about our affairs in which we may hope for the

mercy on me or the verse of the Psalm O God make speed to save me O Lord make hast to help me or this Create in me a clean heart O God and renew a right spirit within me and let him kiss the earth and say to the tempter I will accuse thee to my spiritual Father if thou temptest me any more 522. Obedience against our inclinations is to be practised in small matters and which seem of no consequence because thus we attain a facility to yeild it in greater 523. The mortification of the will and understanding in matter of obedience to Superiors is much more beneficial and attains sooner to perfection than great corporal Penances 524. It is not sufficient to consider if God will have such good done as is attempted but if he will have it done by our means in such a manner at such a time which appearing not to be God's will we ought contentedly to desist from any such enterprise 53. There is nothing better for man than Prayer and without it he cannot endure long in the way of the Spirit therefore every moment must he have recourse to this most powerful means of Salvation 54. The enemy of our salvation fears nothing more nothing makes him sadder nothing he seeks more to hinder than Prayer 5● When one is praying let not his bodily eyes be so fixed on an Image that he never removes them from it for this will hurt the Head but let him make use of an Image for the help of his memory as for example to reduce into his mind the benefit of the Incarnation of Christ or his Nativity or his death on the Cross or if it be the Image of a holy man or a holy woman let him make use of it to put him in mind of their virtues that he may imitate them and pray them to intercede to God for him 56. To know how to pray well it is a very great help to read the Lives of Saints and when the Spirit inclines him then to meditate on them and so when it inclines to think on the passion of Christ then to follow that attraction and not to pray or meditate differently from that to which the Spirit moves 57. Fancies which intervene are a great disturbance to prayer and many troubled with such by-thoughts give it over but they do not well for notwithstanding any such fancies one ought to persevere still as much as may be in prayer and God often gives in a moment that which could not be obtained in a long time 58. Amongst other things we are to ask of God a chief is perseverance in well-doing and well-serving of God because if any hath patience and perseverance in well doing in a good life after once begun he will acquire an exceeding great measure of Spirit 59. In the beginning of the conversion of a soul to God the Spirit useth to come sometimes strongly upon him but afterward it seems as it were to go away and the Lord shews thereby as if he had forsaken him but stand he firm and it will return again 60. God useth almost never to send death to one who much serves him but that he first notifies it to him by some sign or by giving him the Spirit extraordinarily 61. There are three degrees in a Spiritual life the first is called an animal life the second the life of a man the third the life of an Angel that is to say the Lord useth in the beginning for the drawing of souls to himself to entice them with sweetnes and with a certain spirit and gusts extraordinary and then afterward he makes a shew to go far from them witholding his most holy hand from these sweet treatments to see if they stand firm in the Spirit leaving them to fight it out for a little time and then when they have made resistance for a while and have overcome those tribulations and temptations he restores afterward their heavenly gusts and consolations doubled and this is a life Angelical void of all pain or offence 621. It is no pride to desire to exceed in sancity any Saint whatsoever because to desire to be Saint is to desire we may have the will to love and to honour God above all things and this desire if it were possible ought to be extended to infinity because God is worthy of infinite love and because his greatness is infinite 622. No man ever ought to trust his own prudence but in all things to ask counsel of God consult his Confessor and beg the prayers of others 63. To maintain our selves in a good life and the holy service of God frequent Confession and the holy Communion are most necessary for the right practising of these is a very great help 64. For Graces obtained by the way of prayer we must continue so long our prayer till the grace be perfected and if prayer be intermitted God doth sometimes suspend the grace Therefore if a sick man for whom prayer is made begin to mend upon the prayers made for him these then must not be ceased but as such recovery was begun by prayer even so by the strength of prayer must it be perfected 65. When he who prayeth feels in the continuation of his prayer great quietness of spirit it is a good sign that God either hath or will grant the grace he sues for 66. Many feeling within themselves carnal temptations or the like doubt sometimes whether they have consented or no but if the person tempted feel in himself still a love toward that vertue against which he was tempted and an hatred against that vice it is a sign he hath not consented Likewise if he would not swear that he hath consented it is a sign that he hath not consented because when there is a deliberate consent the soul easily perceives it 67. After the temptation past we must not reason if we have consented or not for such reasonings cause a return of carnal temptations 68. Carnal temptations ought to be feared and fled even in sickness and in old age it self so long as we are able to shut and open our eyes for the spirit of fornication spares neither time nor person 69. The servant of God if with more security he will walk amongst so many snares spread abroad in all places let him have for an intercessor for him to her Son the Bl. Virgin. 70. Church-goods must be employed sparingly and not be spent but upon necessity because they are goods which belong to God. 71. Chearfulness and mirth is good in him who serves God but he must file dissolutenes and be careful not to fall into a spirit of jesting for they who delight in jesting render themselves incapable of ever receiving the Spirit of God and if they have any thing that is good in them they lose it suddenly 72. When the Priest visits the sick let him not play the Prophet saying that the sick person will not recover because sometimes having prophesied death if