and ever will love afforde me at this houre thy powerfull hand for to depart securely I confesse before the whole world that my miserable life hath ben replenished with many great wickednesses of which I heartely repent my self and I do confide that thy infinit goodnes will pardon me and not permitt my soul to be lost for which thou gavest thyn on the Crosse No I can not beleeve that thou wilt repulse me o my dearest Iesus for I am flesh of thy flesh bone of thy bone sonn of thy Father thou also calst me thy Brother Therfore my Brother seing thou hast taken my humanity to give me thy divinity deliver me at this houre from the throat of the lyon I kisse this side from whence proceeded my happynes open it unto me and wash my ordures and impurities with the water and bloud which issued from thence I adore these hands which were nailed for me unto them I recommend my soul they have created me they will save me I honor these woundes in which I will hide my self untill the choler of my judg be passed O celestiall Father be unto we propitious and remember that my sinnes have ben chastised with al rigour in the person of thy most beloved Sonn O my lord Jesus Christ permitte not the the infinit price of thy bloud to be unprofitable unto my soul O holy Ghost fortefy me with thy grace that I do not faile or be subdued in this last conflict O Mother of God who hath ben most charitable and favorable unto me all my life time be so now in this moment I beseech thee on which depends all my felicity O S. Michael who has the commission to present Soules unto the divine Tribunall and to defend them from the enemy I recommend mine unto thee O good Angell guardian helpe me O all yee S. of Heaven come unto my succour that leaving this earth I may ascend into Heaven for to prayse eternally with yee our soveraigne Creator The Iudgment THe consideration of Judgment which followes Death is not lesse profitable then that of death if it be maturely pondered when I represent unto my self sayes Job the justice impartiality and rigour of the divine judgment and the exact account I must render I am so frightned with my sinns that I am enforced to resolue to shun them more then the greatst evil what so ever The Saints conducted by the Holy Ghost do exhort thee to thinke on it often place thy self before the eyes of this Soveraigne judge adviseth S. Gregorie feare him now to the end that abstaining from vice thou mayst not feare him when he shall judge thee remember the name of that king who seing the picture of the generall judgement entred into such a strong apprehēsion that he was almost dead Certes if thou rightly imagine what it will be thou wilt stifle all the imperfections of thy Soul St. Hierosme had not a better practice for to triumph ouer vice and to addict him unto all virtue whether I eate sayes he drinke sleepe or wake and in all I do it seemes to me that I heare this dreadfull and terrible voice Arise yee dead and come vnto judgment IN good earnest if thou knewest assuredly that within two or three hours thou wert to be summoned to answer before the Tribunal of God wouldst thou dare O! for the love of God mark what I ask thee wouldst thou dare yet once more I beseech thee think well on what thou wilt answer wouldst thou well dare to resolve to appear at the Judgment of God IN this fearful and terrible Judgment where thou shalt find assembled the great Councel of the King of Kings who hath ordained this hour for to decide wholly and justly the criminal process of thy Conscience Process in which will be examined exactly all the parts of thy life a Process where will be determined the final sentence of thy eternal felicity or misery VVhoudst thou dare I say to appear in the condition thou art for to plead thy cause Thou who art so bashsul and fearful when thou art taken in never to little a fault Thou wouldst thou dare to behold a Person of quality Thou who tremblest at the least apparent danger VVouldst thou dare appear in the presence of him before whom the most puissant Monarchies of the earth tremble the highest Seraphins hide themselves with their wings not being able to endure and behold the brightness of so great a Majesty Ah! for the sacred and bitter Passion of Jesus Christ Thinke well on it When I consider how thy soul leaving thy body is in danger to fall into the hands of the Apparitours of the Soveraign Judg who will lead thee directly before this dreadful Parliament I sweat I am in a trance with the imagination I have of seing thee at Barr for to answere being strongly accused BUt by whom by thy mortal enemies or rather immortal who out of the hatred which they bear thee vvil not omit the least thing they can reproach thee vvithal in this great and majestical assembly by whom by those vvho heretofore have been thy good Friends as the Blessed Virgin thy good Angel so many Saints who hath taken so great paines to save thee if thou vvouldst have harkened unto them by whom by the complices and confederates of thy vvickedness vvho are enraged against thee and by thy ovvn Conscience vvhich vvill say open unto all the vvorld all thy imperfections But of vvhat shalt thou be accused of all in vvhich thou hast not kept the Commandements God gave thee the holy inspirations vvhich he most lovingly suggested unto thee of all vvhich thou vvast oblieged to do according to the estate unto vvhich God hath called thee of all vvhich thou hast done to satisfy thy unruly passions of all vvhich thou hast neglected to doe for the glory of God But hovv accused vvith so much assurance of thy adverse Party that nobody vvill dare to reply or speak one vvord in thy behalf and defence vvith so much evidence of all thy imperfections that not one of them can be hid or disguised vvith so great remorse of thy Conscience that thou vvilt acknovvledg all vvith so much shame that thou vvilt desire the mountaines to fall on thee Is not this dreadful Think well on it Having thought on it seriously if thou dost not conceave a great fear if thou tremblest not vvith terrour pardon me I beseech thee if I doubt and mistrust the verity of thy faith for hovv can I be assured that thou beleevest rightly if thou makes no reckoning and esteem of things so important and concernes thee so much vvhat meanes to be persvvaded that thou regardes it if vvhen it is presented unto thee thy Heart remaines colder then marble and more hard then steel Wherefore earnestly endeavour to knovv thy self seeing that thou shalt be most rigorously judged O Great affair is it to appear for to ansvver before so great a Court it is exceeding misfortune to
to smell them never the lesse as favorably as may be this being sayed the damned opened his cloke with which he seemed to be covered from whence issued so horrible stinke that all the Religious were constrained to leave the Monastery without ever being able to inhabite there againe if one damne soul caused so great infection what shall J pray thee so many millions of Souls and bodies burning in Hell cause Thinke well on it ADde unto all these evils the comble and chiefe of all these miseries which is that all these cruell torments shal never have an end my deare Friēd at this word Never thy Heart though never so couragious doth it not faile thee yes never the miserable damned shal shal have an end of their paine after an hundred yeares torment a thousand of yeares begin and they being ended an hundred thousand are beginning and after them succeeds as many millions as there are drops of water in the Sea and Athomes in the aire and after all this ther will remaine an eternity intire O eternity thou art exceeding O eternity thou art most horrible O eternity thou art badly considered Eternity Eternity O the weighty word Eternity If one were for tenn yeares to lye on a soft bed and strewed with roses what a great torment this would be if one were constrained for twenty yeares to have his eyes fixed on the most agreable object of the world what anguish and wearisomnes vvould it cause if thy eares during fifty yeares vvere inforced to heare the most ravishing musick on earth vvould it not be insupportable Alas O my God what will be the eternall paine which with out any mitigation or solace will continue for ever to be couched for ever on most ardent coales to swallow alwaycs most bitter gall and wormwood mingled with the foame of Serpents to see for ever the hideous and inexplicable shapes of the divels to heare alwayes the enraged musick of horrid blasphemies which the damned shall utter against God to smell the stinkes and the intollerable infections of Hell for all eternity For ever Alas my God! alas how long is this for ever that shall never have an end nor rest it is exceeding long to suffer for ever it is a miserie without a second if it were for a thousand yeares one might hope that it would have an end but for ever my soul likes it not O! For ever a great for ever which never can be comprehended this eternall ever frights my Soul considering this ever what Heart doth not fayle and tremble Heaven THe consideration of Heaven must-needes be a very efficacious meanes for to withdraw us from vice and to leade us unto virtue seeing that the Prince of the Apostles made use of it for to excite Prelats to justly performe their duty firmely believe yee sayes he unto them that in recompense of your fidelity and labours which yee have taken in the government of souls yee shall receceave a Crowne of Glorie which shall shine on your heads all eternity St. Paul imployed no other reason for to persuade the Collossians to cast off the old man which carryes with him many infirmities and to revest themselves with the new man who hath for his portion the greatest virtues if yee do this sayes he the celestiall inheritance shall be the high prize and avantageous reward of your paynes Jesus Christ himself after having declared unto his Disciples the many wayes which leades unto Heaven found nothing more efficacious for to incourage them thē to say unto them my Friends among the difficulties with which yee shall incounter in these separated wayes from the commun and publike way Confide couragiously on the assurances which I give yee that they will conduct yee unto infinite rewards The greatest Saints made use of this consideration for to practice the highest virtues Heare David who speakes for all O my Soverign Lord I confesse that I had an exceedingly proud Heart and very hard to yeeld unto thy favorable inspirations but by the consideration of thy infinit recompences I have humbled it and made it to performe all thy pleasures and commands Deare Friend tell me art not thou able to do the same Thinke well on it BEcause the true recompance which God gives unto his good servants is found in Heaven it is necessary to know what this Heaven is St. John Apoc 21. affirmes that it is a great City of which the walls are of precious stones raised on a fundation of pure gold with twelve gates most magnificent which serves but for shew for they are never shutt for the light which produceth there a continuall faire day banisheth all darknes and night St. Matthew sayes it is a great Kingdome St. Luke addes that it is eternal St. Peter calls it divine divine indeed since that God is ther King the Virgin Mother is ther Queene the Angels are the Courtiers and all the Saints are there Inhabitatants A Kingdome where all the discourse is of Ioy and contentment All griefe vexation anger and disquiet being banished thence wher is not to be seen any Plebeyan or mean Person all there being most Noble wher all that is good is found in aboundance without any want the Divines teache that it is an Estate composed of all the good imaginable and yet more then can be imagined and exempt from all evils Dispute no more of it sayes St. Paul for I who have ben there can not declare the things I have seen ther so great and admirable they are No truly addes St. Augustine for though all the tongues of men yea of all the Angels should be imployed in it they could not declare them J will not omit notwithstanding to say a word or two of this place of the company and of the glorie of this beautifull Heaven whilst I shall speake Think thou well on it THe place wher Heaven is seated is very high infinite in its extension most pure and most fertile and full of all goodnes the Philosophers and reason teach us that the place ought to answer the qualitie of him that ther is lodged even so we see the Palaces of Princes do surpasse and excell in beautie and richesse the Cottages of Peasantes and clownes I will leave thee to think what must be the mansion and habitation of a God and of all his Favorits compared with all the Howses of this world One must be ignorant that the Firmament so admirable in beauty so shining with stars is but the pavement of this divine Howse for not to conclude evidently that with in there are other rarietyes farr beyond our imagination O Lord God of Power sayes David how charming is the place of thy habitation my Soul can not think on a more agreable and delectable thing because thinking on it presently it is ravished Great King thou hast greater occasion to do this then the Queene of Saba had considering the wonders of the Palace of thy Sonn Salomon Jt is this that caused St.
mind without doubt from his good Angell it proceeded Thou art here in a good and easy bed environed with filken curtaynes and finds the night so long and tedions and vnable to take any repose Oh what can the soules so many yevres in purgatory doe not mentioning those which burnes in hell for all eternity This thought well pondered made him to resolue to quitt these Fopperyes to apply him the more seriously vnto the obtayning celestiall and eternall happynes What ravishing speech or mouing discourse persuaided a yong and vaine lady to fortefy her courage and to resolue to do penance for her sinns which she did detest as she ought A strong imagination ceased on her Heart She goes with her Neighbours to confesse as much for company sake as for devotion by good fortune she mett with a discreet Confessarious who having heard her confession and sweetly having advertised her of the injury she did her self in living so vainly and wickedly he gave her for penance to weare a haire cloth for certayne howres O Father sayed she what say you to vveare a haire cloth Alas I can not do it I have great difficulty to weare a smocke if it be not very fine well answered the confessarius in lieu of Heircloth you shall fast three dayes how fast replyed she J who can not rise forth of my bed before I have eaten a good caudell O Father this is impossible for me to performe Well then sayed the Confessarius you shall heare three Masses on your knees without turning your head it will be very hard for me not to turne my head replyed she a gaine but impossible for me to kneel so long without fainting I know not what then to do with you replyed the Father seeing you refuse so easie penances having commit'ed so many great sinns Perhaps you can as often as you wash your hands thinke that those white hands shall become filth and wormes meate she accepts of this pen̄ance receaves absolution goes home washing her hands before she sitts to eate she thinks on what was enioyned her for the first and second time she made but smal reflexion but on the third time this thought made so deep impression in her Heart that she resolues to give a fare well vnto all delicacie and vanity for to do pennance proportionable vnto her sinns and to give herself wholy vnto God and to become a Saint Lett these particulare examples suffice for it is a most assured truth that ther have ben million of Persons who have heard most eminent Preacheurs and yett have not ben moved who have had religious Confesseurs able to make Saints and have not gained any thing who have read most spirituall bookes and have nothing profited And yett two or three words well considered a speech spoken without disigne but well pondered and digested hath made them to know themselves and hath reduced them into an happy condition I was Confessarius vnto a Lady of quality who assured me rhat she for 7. years had wepp for the death of her Husband in the beginning very often in the day and afterwards twise every day she never failed to weep I know not how many Religious of divers ordres and other able and discreet people were imployed to make her know the injury she did vnto the holines reputation and virtue of her deceased Husband but all to no effect one day as she was weepeing in her chamber passing throught a gallery she meets with one of her Maydes sweeping who mildly sayed vnto her I know not Madam vnto what purpose your Lá so long time opposeth the will of God This speech proceeding from a chambre mayde glided so deeply in to her soul and she considered it so well that she resolued to make an end of these teares the which so many premeditated dis courses could not effect because they were not well considered on one word by chance spoken and well considered gained and eonquered her Ther fore being it is most true that one sole word well meditated on is capable to convert a person and to profitt more then long exhortations even as as one only graine well buried in the earth will yeeld more increase then a hundred others cast on the high way or on stones I am resolued having a most ardent desire to aide ye Towards your saluation not to propose vnto ye above two or three words at a time but I conjure you by what is most deare vnto you after that I have spoken Thinke well on it ANd because the great secreat consist in giving you the meanes of well thinking on it J find not a better then a strong representation a lively imagination of the hovvre of death This is the secreat which those that would live holy made vse of For this reason the Emperor Maximilian had his Coffin caried allwayes with him S. Iohn Elimosinarius twise or thrise every day visited his sepulcher The Anchoritts have allwayes in their Cels a Deaths head on which they alwayes looked Ther are so many good Religious vvho hardly meditate on any thing then on death Believe me that amongst the infidels those that have desired to live the better have made vse of this meanes I vvill not give you any other example then that of Philip King of Macedony Father of Alexander the great vvho had one of his Pages vvitth him for to come and tell him every Morning Sir remember that you are a Man and therfore must dye Go too my deare friend tell me seriously and from the heart if God should send you an angell to assure you that you were to dye whithin two or three dayes in earnest what would you thinke then what would you say hasten not to answere but before Thinke well on it I read on your countenance what lyes hidd in your Heart you thinke that you are in health young and strong and therfore you can not imagine death to be so necre O for the love of God my deare friend J befeech you confide not on your youth on your health and strenght nor any quality you can have No no you must be deceaved by those who have no other designe then to ruine you believe me rather who am your faithful friend having no other interest then your good I tell you then and assure you desireing you to believe me More younge beter in health and stronger then you more rich and abler then you shall dye this weeke who not witshstanding believes to live as long as you And although I am not a Prophet for to foretell that you shall be of the number yet I can with as great assurance advertise you as if I were one that death to day is neerer vnto you then it was yesterday and that to morrow it will be neerer then it is to day and it will never rest vnt ill it hath over taken tript vp your heils and sent you into the other world Consider therfore seriously on your affaires Thinke well on it THat