power vertue al the heauēly Hosts the while humbly inclining before his Throne did him most prosound honour and reuerence Now let vs come to the feast of Corpus Christi or the B. Sacrament in which al the others are comprised and consequently more then al the others we are to reuerence it And is not this continually celebrated each day and in each place almost throughout the world do we not behold a world of Masses sayd and people dayly communicating throughout al Christendome do we not see in euery kingdome almost euery litle village the B. Sacrament kept and adored with vnspeakeable reuerence where our Sauiour Christ is as really present as he is in heauen where Angels and Saints are incessantly adoring him Wherefore we are neuer to enter into any Church or passe by any Altar where the B. Sacrament is kept but we are humbly on our knees to reuerence it And happy are those who performe this deuotion not perfunctoriously or for custome as many do but with gust of deuotion and from their harts relishing the sweetnes of the exercise they do perhaps they may deliuer some soule out of Purgatory by it with such deuotion it may be done which arriuing vnto heauen wil there become perpetual intercessors for them to Alm. God than which a greater benefitt cannot be imagined But alas I cannot speake it without teares we see Christians the while scarce vouchsafe to vncouer their heade or bend a knee before this B. Sacrament so vnreuerent and weak they are in their faith of it Impudent and irreligious as they are not to know how this mystery surpasses al discourse and al humane capacity and that faith heer is al the light we haue Let faith Commend to vs what we can neither see nor comprehend sayes the holy Church in one of its Hymnes and in another place Ad firmandum Cor sincerum sola fides sufficit For to Confirme a hart sincere only faith sufficient were And yet how many cleare testimonies haue we had of the verity of this by euident miracle sometimes it hath appeared in the forme of a litle child in the Preists hands at the Eleuation some times the very beasts themselues lesse beasts then some men therein haue acknowledged their Lord and Creatour in it as witnesse those Miracles which I shal here recount Al Paris in the yeare 1258. a certaine Preist saying Masse in a Chappel adioyning to the Pallace as he eleuated the sacred Host a litle child of incredible beauty appeared in the place of it Which Miracle being reported to S. Lewis King of France and some soliciting him to goe and see it amongst the rest he made answer worthy of so pious a Prince Let those goe who doubt of the reality of his being there says it for my part I behold him daily with the eyes of faith The other Miracle happened at Tholouse in Frāce recorded in the Chronicles of the Minims as also by Surius and diuers others and it is this S. Anthony of Padua being there had a fearce dispute one day with an obstinat heretike denying the reality of our Sauiours body in the B. Sacrament who being vanquish't by the reasons of the Saints Yet not willing to Confesse it sayd vnto him What need al these words and disputations by which although by Sophismes I Confesse I am ouercome yet my reason remaines vn-conuinced If then you wil do any good with me let me see a miracle in confirmation of what you say and I promise you I wil turne to your opiniion the Saint accepted of the condition and confident that the Authour of the verity would not be wanting to the confimation thereof he bid the Heretick to conuince him the more euidently name himselfe what miracle he desired should be done and he answered him he had a mule at home which he would keepe fasting three whole dayes and then procure him in the publick market place where let one of your Preists be sayd he with your God in the Sacrament and if the mule refuse to eate of the oates I shal offer him to adore him there I wil promise you I wil be ready to adore him also This was done and at the fame of this there being a mighty confluence of people from al parts to behold what the issue of it would bee The day assigned being come al things ordered as was agreed vpon the mule at sight of the oates euen wild with famine running towards them and hauing taken some of them in his mouth was in this manner coniured by the Saint with the Blessed Sacrament in his hand In the name of God sayd he whom I although vnworthy hold heer betwixt my hands I command thee to leaue that provinder and come presently hither to adore and reuerence him When behold a most stupendious miracle the beast not only forbore to eate any more but euen let fal out of his mouth that prouinder it had and ran presently bowing downe the head and on his knees adored the holy and blessed Sacrament to the vnspeakeable ioy and alacrity of al the Catholicks the Hereticks confusion and the conuersion of the man Now Friday being the day dedicated to the memory of our Sauiour in particular by reason of his death and passion I would aduise the deuout Christian besides his ordinary deuotions in honour of his fiue precious wounds to make fiue reuerences which can not but be very meritorious and acceptable to the Maiesty of Alm. God Of the Feasts of Saints CHAP. X. HAVING spoken of the adoration of our B. Sauiour and his holy Mother it wil not be out of the way of my purpose to say somewhat also of the adoration of Saints since the holy Church celebrates them for no other end but to incite vs vnto their reuerence This article of faith is confirmed and ratified by many Councels and lastly by the Councel of Trent in the 25. Section where Angels and Saints are declared honourable with the reuerence of Dulia proper and appropriated vnto them On the dayes then when any Saints are to be honoured especialy the more principally sort of them we are to do it with the foresaid reuerēces On simple feasts and those of lesser obligation it may suffice before we go to bed to incline only once or twice in their reuerence and when 't is the feast of those to whom we haue any particular deuotion or whom we haue chosen for Patron or Aduocate we ought with more particular Adoratiōs to honour them more or lesse according to the deuotion affection of euery one Let al those then who desire with due reuerence to honour those Saints to whom they are deuoted accustome themselues before they goe to bed to make profound reuerence vnto them imagining the while them really present and beholding what they do for so although corporally they be not there yet spiritually they are and both wel know and vnderstand what is done in their honour there and haue a
she did so it was reuealed vnto her that his name was Venance here-vpon the Guardian dispatcht an Expresse to Paris to informe him of those who were lately dead in that Cōuent whose nūber being giuen him vpp he found them exactly to agree with that of the Vision and that this Venance was only a simple lay Brother amōgst the rest whose Office was to haue care of the Friars habits and mend them when they were torne which it seemes he had executed with such charity as he had merited by it that highe place in heauen Now if this good Religious man in exercising this slight and manual Office could merit so high a degree of glory those who are exercesed in this Angelical deuotion which we treat of if they do it with that attention as they ought how farr more high an one must they needs merit by it And for our encouragemenr it were good to consider how farr more profitably we may be exercised in it then the blessed Angels whose continual imployment it is for they with al that they can do can never aduāce higher by it an Angel can neuer become an Archangel an Archāgel can never sitt equal with the Thrones nor a Cherubin in fine be embraced with the fire of a Seraphin whereas we may not only accumulat merits so to rayse vs from men to Angels but euen surpasse them themselues and being eleuated higher then Principalities and Thrones become euen equal with the Seraphins and by this only exercise may al this be effected So likewise may we apply this deuotion to the honour of Dulia proper to the Saints by the only turning of the minds intention and this more particularly on the dayes wheron they are honoured and their feasts are celebrated when besides these external reuerences we are to procure to honour them from our hearts by elicit acts from thence of congratulaion for their felicities and thanksgiuing vnto Alm. God for hauing predestinated thē from al eternity to that high dignitie to which he hath promoted them to which they haue arriued by so many vertuous and meritorious wayes leauing to vs their Imitation to trace their glorious foot steps after them That day likewise we are to ascend in mind to the particular actions of their liues considering the ardent charity of this one this others profound humility and the like according as their liues shal giue occasion In conclusion this aduertisement I wil giue out of that holy Cardinal Bellarmine touching these exteriour reuerēces to wit that they are only to be distinguished whether don in the honour of Alm. God of his B. Mother of Angels or of Saints by the internal intētion of the mind and the merit and excellency of those they are directed to As for example we adore and reuerence Alm. God for the immensenes of his gratnes and Maisty for his infinit goodnes and for being both our beginning and final end We honour the Saints as those who participat of his diuine grace and celestial glory and the B. Virgin as Mother of Alm. God and surpassing in excellency of title al Creatures both in heauen and earth Conformable to this we see in holy scripture how Abraham with the same sort of veneration bowed downe both to God Angels and men indifferently honouring them according to their dignities and in this manner we are to vnderstand the holy Scripture when it occurrs to speake in any other passage of these venerations How these genuflexions may deuoutly be exercised before any Image of our B. Lady CHAP. XV. IT is an ancient Custome of the church to honour Images both of our Sauiour his B. Mother and his holy Saints nay an article of faith from Apostolical Tradition receiued as we are taught by diuers Concels This only is to be noted that while we honour them we direct not our reuerences vnto them as they are materially what they are of wood or stone c. but as they represent them whose Images they are it represents according to that ancient axiome the honour of the Image is referred to those whom it represents And this the Councel of Trent inferts where it sayes In the Images which we honour and fal downe before we adore Iesus Christ and reuerence his Saints And so the 7. Synod sayes Who adore the Images adores the soueraigne king it represents the like we may say by the Image of the Queene of heauen and it is confirmed by Origen where he sayes Who beholds any mans Image sayes he may be said to behold him whom it represents This verity then so Catholike for the better performing this holy exercise we should do wel to procure som Picture both deuout and faire before which we are to do our reuerences although of this there be no necessity I say faire for faire obiects do soonest stirr vp the affections of the mind as appeares by that example of S. Bernardine who while he was but very yong was so taken with deuotion to a certaine picture of our B. Lady more comly then the rest that he was neuer wel but when he was on his knees before it and heer it was where he layd the foundation of his sanctity which afterwards he built so high vpon as it was an admiration to the world Which manner of adoring the B. Virgin in her Images is a forcible remedy against the temptations of our infernal Enemie as this following example doth declare taken out of S. Iohn Damascen by F. Suarez of the Society of Iesus There was a deuout Religious man sayes he accustomed to worship the Mother of God in a certaine Image of hers who being one day fiercely assalted by the Enemy with a greeuous temptation as he was carefully imploying al his force for the repelling it the diuel appearing to him promised him if he would forbeare to honour that Image he would not only free him from that present temptation but neuer molest him with the like againe But the good Religious man in defiance of him fel a fresh to honour it before his face and the diuel and temptation both vanished away And a great help it would be to this deuotion to imagine the B. Virgin the while beholding vs from heauen as without al doubt she doth taking complacence in our honouring her to make the Imagination worke the liuelyer let vs frame a conceipt that if an earthly Queene should take such delight in being honoured in picture as she should place her selfe where she might behold with what alacrity and affection it were done and bountiously reward those whom she sawe most forward in their honouring it what concourse would there be by al who desired to ingratiat themselues and indeare their seruices to her Maiesty and if this for an earthly Queene would be don with such forward greedy desire how much more prompt and ready ought we to be to doe it to please gratify the Queen of heauen which while we doe deuoutly we may suppose her
for these yong louers in the heat of their poursuite the easier to attaine to their desires dissemble their natural inclinations and appeare more mild and gentle then they are but those once attayn'd off goes the maske of their dissimulation and then you shal see how iealous they can be how harsh and crosse in their dispositions how iniurious to you in words and not seldone also in deeds But suppose them of a more temperat humour and more gently inclin'd what priuiledge enioy they by it If you shal giue me leaue I wil tel you what To beare a painful burthen in the wombe nine moneths together to waxe leane and pale with it to be subiect to a thousand languors and disguifts the while if you haue no Children Lord what discontents what repinning at it If you haue with what danger and how often in giuing their life do Mothers loose their owne what care and trouble in their education What feares least al their labours should be lost and death make his haruest of what they had sowne with paine then what disconforts do they bring their parents with their lewdnes and vntowardnes some liuing so as they wish they had neuerben borne others dying so as they wish-they had neuer lived so as both a liue and dead they seeme only borne for their Parents affliction At this Nereus crossing his armes and lifting vpp his eys like one in extasie concluded thus O happy then the state of virginity which exempts vs from al these miseries and vnites the soule that is honored with it to Alm. God O most riche and incomparable treasure whose possession exceeds al esteeme and repaires al losse and O Diuine loue and more then humane fortitude by which a weake woman can subdue the flesh with a generosity aboue the weaknes of her sexe wage warr with the world ouercome her appetites and vanquish the forces both of death and hel itself for which they shal one day enioy a Crowne with which none in heauen shal be honoured but they With these speeches of her deuout seruants but much more with those which heauen spoke to her inward hart the Lady was so moued as she presently consecrated her Virginity to God for whose loue vnto the palme of Virginity she after added that of Martyrdome Now we are to note there are three sorts of Chastitys in the Church by either of which the B. Virgins deuout seruants may become grateful vnto her The first is Matrimonial Chastity when man and wife loyally obserue their Coniugal faith to one another The second is Vidual Chastity when Widowes free from the obseruance of man liue afterwards in perpetual continency this excels in excellēcy the first degree as S. Paul saies speaking of widowes Yet they are more happy so sayes he If you wil Credit me The third is Virginal Chastity more excellent then both the other more perfect and more meritorious and this is when we cōserue our selues in our integrity of body mind dedicating our virginities to Alm. God which oh how grateful how acceptable it is to the B. Virgin who preferrs it before al other oblatiōs Seing then al these three sorts of Chastity are with proportion both good and laudable and with the B. Virgin of pretious esteeme let those that are deuoted to her be they maid widow or wife endeauour in their seueral degrees to present her with this grateful offering to which end they are to resolue to fight manfully for the Enemies that oppugne it are both many and powerful their Arts ful of al ambushes and their endeauours incessāt for the ouercoming of vs so as S. Augustine considering the difficulty of the fight and rarenes of the victory with good reason sayd Amongst al the warrs the Christians had that of Chastity was the most sharpe and pressed vs most where the Combat lasted alwayes and an entire victory was neuer gott attayned vnto and those that naturely ponder it find it true For but consider how few they are that fight it manfully indeed in compare with those who cowardly yeild vnto the Enemy and we may truely saye the diuel gaines by nothing more then this for how many of al ages and conditions of either sexe doth the Enemy precipitate into this vice who for the rest stood firme enough To which purpose S. Augustin hath a feareful saying Excepting Infants saies he this only sinne is the occasion that so few of the rest are saued Who at hearing of this is not astonished conceiues not a pitty of our miserable estate to see how headlong al runne vnto this vice And as for the seruants of the B. Virgin what excuse can they pretend for their excesses herein what wayes they to please her whilst they displease her heere Do they thinke that saying their beads frequently wil do it or their fastings on Saturdayes and the like Alas no they doe but deceiue themselues and the vsurpīg such an honourable title as to be her seruants whilst they are such Doth but more encrease their damnation whilst they abuse that name to the dishonour of Chastity by which ought to be cheefly honoured and while they put on the face of wearing her liuery but weare the badge of her Enemy in their harts Alas how many may we imagine now in hel who were once deuoted to the B. Virgin as wel as we till with a foolish presumption of their saluation they with a deafe eare past ouer her saving and diuine suggestions fel to which if wee desire to be saued indeed we must lend an attentiue eare banishing from our harts al motions of sensuality and entertaining al chast ones in their place or else we leese her fauour and it wil be wo with vs. But aboue al for conseruation of our Chastity it is necessary to flie al occasions and inducements to the contrary for this is such a kinde of victory as is best gained by flight and they that frequently expose themselues to daunger in it are ouercome at last Wherefore let none enter into an ouer-wening of thēselues or their forces for any former victory for they may easily leese in a moment what they haue been in an age a getting and slight occasion may rauish from them that which many difficult ones went to the obtaining of and let no humane or nice respect make them be wanting heer to the care they ought to haue of their chastity for many out of punctillios of honour haue stood so long vpon it till they haue falne and many by daungerous familiarities haue been deceiued Rather let them flie carefully the aspect and haunt of those whose companies may endanger them following the Counsel of our Sauiour in it If thy hand or feet scandalize the cut them off c. or if thine eye pluck it out which counsel some Saints haue followed so neer as S. Bridget in particular not only auoided in her self al occasions of sinning in this particular but to auoid it also in