world We readily confess that they whom God calls particularly to his service are happy that being free from the vexations to which men who live in the world are expos'd they enjoy a sweet peace and tranquility of Conscience which is the ordinary fruit of virtue How often do the greatest worldlings own that a Religious man is happy yet no sooner do's a young man design to quit the world and to embrace this happy state but he meets with a multitude of obstacles from his friends and Relations who suggest to him that he ought to spend some years in trying the truth of his vocation they make a lively description of what he must expect to suffer in the state of Life which he designs to follow and they exagerate all the difficulties of if One would think by their tears that he was going to make himselfe unhappy or at least to hazard his Life and his Soul too But if he has a mind to continue in the world they do not think so many precautions necessary nor do they require so much time to resolve they know this vocation is much more perilous yet they do not exact so long a tryall instead of aggravating the difficulties they study to disguise them and to palliate those real evils wâ—â—ch they can not hide with what pleasure do they see an onely son of great hopes engage himselfe in the world they never trouble themselves to enquire whether he has thought sufficiently of it on the contrary they fear nothing so much as his entertaining the design of leaving it what can be the cause of this can Salvation be better secur'd in the world no certainly but the true Reason is that Salvation is generally the last thing men think of when they are deliberating what course of Life to choose Of the false Idea's which men have of Holiness T is exceeding strange every man considers holiness with reference to the Station in which he is not and but few apply themselves to acquire that holiness which is proper to their own Station the Poor are taken up with thinking on the opportunities the Rich have to be sav'd and the rich are persuaded that it is an easy matter to sanctify ones selfe when one is free from the obstacles that proceed from wealth the young think no reason so proper to work for Salvation as old Age Youth say they is a time of pleasure we will think of Salvation another time And the Aged continually regret the means of Sanctification which they enjoy'd in theyr youth and find themselves incapable of many good works wich they could have done then Seculars place holiness in the austerity's peculiar to a Religious Life and from thence conclude their condition unfit for it and the Religious often loose courage in the way of perfection which they have chosen because they consider Sanctity only in hair shirts and sackcloth and in those heroique actions which we admire in the Lives of some great Saints And thus by framing a false Idea of Holiness the greatest part of Christians are disguisted with it and live as if there were no Sanctity proper for their Station My God! how many mischiefs proceed from this mistake Of the Sanctity proper for every Station Every man should examine what Sanctity is requir'd of him in the Station to which God hath called him Haec est voluntas Dei Sanctificatio vestra 1. Thesâ— 4.2 the will of God is that we should be Saints but we shall never be Saints if we are not exact in the discharge of those particular duty 's which belong to our condition The virtue requir'd of a General is not proper for a Tradesman the dutys of a magistrate or of a master of a Family are very different from those which God expects from an Hermite that virtue which is proper for Seculars will not suffice for Religious men even their perfection has different degrees the virtue of a beginner differs exceedingly from that which God exacts from the most perfect the surest most efficacious way to be a Saint is to seek perfection onely in our Station It is for this end that the Church sets before us the examples of great Saints of all ages and conditions The wise woman whom the Scripture celebrates with so much applause became a Saint in looking after her family Saint Louis upon the throne Saint Isidore at the plough Saint Elzear at Court and by the help of that grace which is never wanting to us every man may if he will arrive to the perfection of his state and Calling Of Small Faults He who despiseth little things shall fall by degrees Qui spernie modica paulatim decidet Eceles 19. â—â— saith the Author of Ecclesiasticus upon which an eminent servant of God remarks that the doctrine contain'd in those words is of great importance to all the world especially to those who aspire to perfection for great matters recommend themselves so that we are naturally more careful and exact in them but little things are easily neglected because we think them of no consequence but we deceive our selves the danger is greater than we imagine it is this negligence in those small things that has hindred so many from becoming eminently virtuous and perfect in their Station Saint Bernard observes that they who commit the most horrid impyety's begin at first with little faults A minimis incipiunt qui in maxima proruunt nemo repente fit summus no man is excessively wicked on a sudden the diseases of the Soul are like those of the body contracted by degrees if a little cold a light indisposition had been taken in time when it was so easy to cure it the dying man had been now in perfect health so when you see a servant of God fall into some scandalous Sin you may besure adds that great Saint that this is not his first fault it is rare to see a man whâ— has preserv'd the piety of an innocent Life for a great while together suddenly committ a grievous Sin if he had taken a little care at first he might exsily have prevented the progress of Sin but because men despis'd the danger while it is small be cause they slight and indulged themselves in little imperfections hence proceed the terrible falls of those who had liv'd so well before The consideration that so many souls are ruin'd by such small beginnings is sufficient to make us wonder and tremble would to God men were thorowly persuaded of this important Truth on which depends the Salvation or at least the perfection of the greatest part of mankind The Devil is too cunning to tempt a servant of God to a violation of essentiall dutys at first he would have but small success if he begun with solliciting a fearful Soul to commit a mortal Sin and therefore he insinuates himselfe by such small things till he hath got footing before the Soul perceives it these infidelity's in small things are alwayes punish'd with
which many frame to themselves of Virtue There is certainly some virtue a-among the greatest part of Christians but it is very much degenerated from the virtue of the first Ages of the Church it is a pliable complaisant virtue it has so much of God as serves to gain a reputation to make its selfe esteemed it allway's finds out a medium between the maxims of Christ and those of the world and therefore it is positively condemn'd by Jesus-Christ and hath nothing but the name of virtue My God! these half Christians are very unhappy while they endeavour to please both God and the world they never please men and alwayes displease God Their maxim is that we must be well bred that we must have an easy indulgent virtue which agrees with what they call good sence as if the spirit and maxims of Christ were contrary to good sence My God! how directly opposite is this pretended virtue to the Gospel and what abundance of souls do's it ruine Who persuade themselves that they need not be so recollected so exact so modest that they are men and must live like men while they converse with them Yes you are men but remember you are Christians Church men or Religious Of the little progress we make in Virtue We should be very much asham'd to own our selves or to be thought as ignorant after ten twenty years study of the sciences as we were the first half year and much more asham'd to have it thought that we are contented to be so And yet how many who make profession of piety whose great business it is to be come perfect are not asham'd to confess to have it believed that they would think themselves happy if after as many years study in the sublime science of Salvation they were but as fervent as mortifyed and as near being Saints as when they were but six months converted they do indeed strive to banish those thoughts by giving themselves up to the insipid pleasures of a careless Life but sooner or later Death will come and what will their thoughts be then Of the proper Virtues for every condition It would be a great imprudence a dangerous error in Directors to exhort all the world alike to the same degree of Perfection and to conduct them by the same methods there are many mansions Mansiones multae sunt in regno Patris mei Joan. 12.4 many places divers orders in the Kingdom of God and tho all the inhabitants of the Heavenly Jerusalem are fully content and perfectly happy yet they possess different degrees of Glory There are Serâ—phims and Angels and they who are not worthy of the same Rank with the Apostles the Martyrs and the Virgins may have a blessed place among the Penitents Divisiones gratiarum sunt 1. Cor. 12.4 As all do not receive the same measure of grace in this Life so neither do they recive the same weight of glory in the next But it is no less dangerous under this pretence to confine our desires and designs within the narrow bounds of an ordinary virtue when perhaps we have been favourd with extraordinary graces and are called to a state which requires great perfection T is true all can not be equally perfect but all are called to be Saints he that would be a Saint must acquire practise every virtue proper to his Station the same perfection is not requir'd of all in the same Station but the more perfect our state is the greater perfection is requir'd of us that virtue which may be sufficient for a Layman is not sufficient for a Religious they who are called to Apostolical fonctions are indispensably oblig'd to a more sublime virtue and God requires a greater Sanctity in Priests than in those who are not ordain'd Of the world Worldly men render themselves objects of pity when they endeavour to persuade us that they are happy tho they should always dissemble their vexations and discontents yet no man who knows of what sort of people the world is compos'd and what it requires of those that serve it can believe a worldling happy It is compos'd of men who love nothing but themselves who think no Law so inviolable as their own interests pleasures 't is a confus'd medly of people of different caracters inclinations where each man full of himselfe is contented only with what he likes and likes onely what pleases him One says an holy man is pufft up with a vain title which he dishonours by his actions another is proud of his rich cloth's which are yet unpaid this man values himselfe upon anohers merit that man frets and pines away with vexation because the world has not as good an opinion of him as he has of himselfe others break their rest to heap up Riches of which they have no need of which afterwards they make no use When they have ruin'd their health to yet an Estate they spend this Estate to recover their health they must be always on the watch against envy and jealousy against the surprises of this Competitor the other Enemy they suspect all the world and indeed there are but few real friends to be found in it What abundance of pains are daily lost in serving the world when you have labour'd with all the earnestness and diligence imaginable in its service if you are unsuccessful it gives you no thanks you loose its favour you shall be whole years unfortunate without knowing it and upon the first appearance of a fault it decry's and disgraces you and values you no more It is not sufficient to serve diligently and well unless you have found the secret to please which frequently do's not depend on us nay which is yet more strange they who would not displease the world must not seem desirous to please if it once discovers that they have that design it thinks it selfe exempt from all obligation it neither rewards the services of those who are not zealous enough for it interest nor the care and pains of those who make it their whole business to gain its favour Do you rely upon your friends in the world while you are powerfull and in a capacity of obliging many you will never want a great number of friends but the moment you fall into disgrace the moment you are no longer capable of serving them those pretended friends all disapear and apply thsmselves onely to him that succeeds you and tho you were never so much a slave to a great man he thinks it a sufficient reward for all your services to send some footman to enquire how you do when you are on your Death-bed How desirous are we to be taken notice of but how can we expect to distinguish our selves among such a multitude of pretenders who all think themselves endow'd with some excellent quality with some extraordinary merit what is this admiration of which we are so fond saith the holy man before cited do you know that
they will certainly repent one day if they have not done it already and can they be affraid to spend eight days in the compass of every year in preparing for another Life in securing their Salvation CHAP II. Of the great importance of making one day's Retreat every Month. T is not very hard to make men sensible that a spiritual Retreat is an excellent means to amend our Lives and work out our salvation but the difficulty lyes in persuading them that they may find time for it if they will Eight days seem very long to them and indeed there are many who cannot spare so much time together Multitude of business the care of a family want of health the necessary duty 's of their callings are the reasons or pretences where by some excuse themselves from making a retreat of eight days but no man can pretend that he his not able to allow one day in a month to that holy Exercise Is any thing more reasonable then this He may choose what day he pleases which renders it as easy as it is useful You are desir'd tospend one day in a Month to take care of what concerns you more then all things in the world to apply your selves to the great business of your Life upon which Eternity depends that when you have spent a whole month in what you call business which is rather the business of others then your own you would give one day to the only business that regards your self that after having labour'd for the world you would labour one day for everlasting happiness Would any man refuse one day in a Month to serve his Friend Alas how many do men loose every Month in vain pleasure in play in trifling folly ' you are desir'd tospend but one for your soul you must surely be very indifferent for salvation and very careless of what becomes of you hereafter if you refuse it Especially since the following Chapters will render this practise so very easy that it seems impossible for any one reasonably to decline it How industrious are Merchants to improve every opportunity ofacquiring Riches How exact are they in stating their accounts from time to time and observing how they thrive what they have gain'd or lost Thus let us take one day at least to examine carefully the state of our Consciences and what progress we make in virtue The great benefit of this Christian practise is visible all sorts of men may find good by it 't is very efficacious to reclaim sinners from their disorders and make them return to God to confirm the virtuous and to elevate them to the highest degree of Christian perfection Besides the usefulness of meditating on the most important truths of Religion it is almost impossible that a man who sets aside his most serious business and retires from the world to employ one day every Month in the serious consideration of the state of his soul should not succeed God who seeks us with so much patience when we fly from him and who is not weary of offering us mercy not with standing our refusals but calls on us even when our earnestness after the world makes us deaf to his call will never hide himselfe from those who come so often to meet him in the midst of solitude he will never refuse to communicate himselfe abundantly to those who withdraw themselves from all things to hearken to him Neither our condition nor our employements require this of us nor do we do it out of custom or osstentation which is so inseparable from other acts of Piety none of all these lead us to Retreat nothing but a sincere desire to work out our salvation can bring us there and can a sincere desire be ineffectual Can it be attended with small profit 'T is hardly possible that a man who sets a part one day in a month to study the methods of living well should live disorderly Nor is he in danger of being surpriz'd by Death who so frequently and so exactly prepares for it But the importance of this Retreat will appear much greater if wee consider the necessity we lye under to reflect often on the great verity's of our Faith T is from the want of this Reflection that we see so few Christians live up to the purity of their Profession We see but few truly virtuous tho they are oblig'd to be so in a very high degree because men seldom reflect on the divine Truths they content themselves with submitting their Reason to Faith they think it enough to believe But tho we do not find many infidels in the Church yet Jam a fraid wee find fewer Christians who seriously consider what they believe And this is the Reason that what we believe of the End of our Creation of the small number of the elect of the pains of Hell and of everlasting misery make so slight an impression on us This want of Reflection has allway's been and still is the usual cause of our sins of our return to them after we have resolv'd to quit them and of our advancing no more in piety For as without reflecting on what we read we shall learn but little by our reading so we shall make small progress in virtue if wee do not frequently reflect on what we believe 'T is generally from serious Reflections that great Conversions spring and without it the most terrible Doctrines of Christianity the most amasing accidents and the most sensible Graces will have no great Effect on us Can a man who attentively considers the vanity of the world and all its allurements who reflects seriously on what he beleives of Hell judgment and Eternity who is affected with its rigours and who foresees its consequences Can such a man refuse to yield himselfe to the divine Grace which allways makes use of those happy moments T is these Reflections that have peopled the desarts that fill our Convents every Day and that recall so many sinners from their Evill ways If wee could once perswade men to reflect of ten we should find their lives reform'd we should see the ancient fervour of Religious houstes renew'd this would be a sure way to prevent the greatest disorders and to make saints This is what you are to do in your Retreat spend the day in reflecting seriously on the great Truths of our Religion in examining your life and meditating on the points of your Faith 'T is properly a Day Reflection which you may easily see must needs be useful and that it concerns you very much to do it well The Eight days retreat is for the same end but besides that the length of the Time is afalse Pretense to several for performing it very carelessly this must be more profitable because that is usually made but once a year this every month This is no new Devotion but the practise of the greatest saints of Latter ages T is to this divine art that Saint Ignatius Founder of the Society of Jesus confesses
God who has created us only to serve him is pleas'd by a singular goodness so to order it that we cannot serve him without saving our selves He did from the beginning design our Eternal happiness in creating us for his Glory seeing that Eternal happiness is no otherwise propos'd then as a reward our whole life is given us only that we may deserve it by obedience to those Laws and Commandments which he hath made for that End And the desire of happiness which is natural to every man do's as it were by instinct advertise us in the midst of our disorders that we are plac'd in the world only to work out our Eternal salvation in Heaven The Checks of our Consciences which are hardly ever quite stifled cry loud to us that we put our selves in danger of being lost when we forget our end never so little And are not the fears of hell and of the dreadful judgements of God which shake the most hardned sinners a sufficient monitor telling us incessantly that we are in the world only to be saved This is the only business of all the world this is our last End we are not here to obtain great Employments or dignity's to render out selves excellent in this or that profession nor to establish a reputation by our good qualities You are rais'd to that dignity you are put in that dignity you are put in that station God has given you those qualitys made you successful only that these may be helps to your salvation may be the means to bring you more easily to him your last End We are then created only that we may be saved that we may avoid an Eternity of woe in Hell and obtain an happiness in Paradise which shall never end We are made only for Heaven we are but banish'd men here or at best but travellers who should rejoice when they find themselves near the End of their journy and of their banishment But do we look upon our selves as such Have we these thoughts of Heaven would any one that examines our conduct think that we believe our salvation to be our last End Men easily find means to attain their ends surely there are but few who make heaven their great design since there are so few who take the right methods to obtain it The End of a Merchant in his Trade of a scholar in his study's of a Courtier in his carriage of a soldier in the midst of dangers is easily known but is it as visible that every man in his station and employment seeks onely God and the salvation of his soul as his last End Yet what do's it profit a man to raise a great fortune to gain the whole world and loose his soul What is there in all the world that can make him amends for the loss of that It would have been much better for him not to have been born then not to be saved Let us remember that if we do not make God our soveraign happiness he will be our soveraign misery we may be wiâ—hout every thing else but we cannot be without this good tho a man be poor forsaken despis'd or forgo ten if he save his soul he will be happy to all Eternity and want nothing but let him be never so rich happy and esteem'd in the woâ—ld if he be damn'd he is miserable for ever What are those great extraordinary men who fill'd the world with their brave actions what are they the better for all the honour they gâ—in'd if they are damn'd suppose you saw the richest man in the world on his Deaâ—hbed one who had enjoy'd all sorts of pleasures who had arriv'd to the highest pitch of Glory and greatness who had been successful in all his undertakings and had only neglectâ—d his soul ask him what do all your wealth your greatness and your pleasures avail you all these are pass'd and gone as if they had never been but your soul which you have lost those pains which are the sad consequences of that loss will never pass away Let us consider what thoughts we shall have in those last moments what shall we then think of every thing that is now an obstacle to our salvation How will all our great designs and projects which took us up entirely appear then We venture our souls ra her then disoblige a friend then loose an opportunity of enriching our Children or of distinguishing our selves in the world What will our opinion of all this be when Death comes will the remembrance of all past greatness comfort a man who knows he is falling into Hell Will those pretended friends be much oblig'd to us for having ruin'd our selves to please them shall we be much oblig'd to them who are the cause of our damnation and for whose sakes we are lost Wretched Father that labours and sweats that ruins his health and shortens his Life to get an Estate for his Children and is damn'd for his pains who will thank him for it Who would not be rich if an earnest desire to be so were sufficient we may be saints if we will by the help of grace which is never wanting yet we are unwilling to be so And indeed if we are not saints it is because we will not 'T is surprising that men who love themselves so much should reflect so little on a matter of this consequence that men who in all other things are wise and prudent should yet every day go out of the world without having once seriously considered why they were sent into it whence they came and whither they are to go after Death And yet cheat themselves at last with an appearance of conversion O Divine saviour where is that passionate desire of our salvation which mov'd thee to do such great things How long wilt thou suffer so many souls to be lost for whom thou hast paid so great a price Art not thou still our God and are not we thy people Canst thou ever forget that thou art my saviour I have not indeed made a right use of my happiness in being design'd only for thee I have forgot thee to place my affections upon the Creatures I have wander'd out of the way that leads to my last End and refus'd to obey the voyce of the good shepherd who call'd me But now I see and repent of my wandring however unfaithful I have been the sence thou hast given me of my unfaithfulness makes me hope that thou wilt have mercy on me thou lovedst me when I did not love thee and when I did all I could to make thee hate me thou sought'st even when I fled most from thee O my God! wilt thou refuse me now that I am resolv'd to love thee wilt thou hide thy selfe from me now that I seek thee I cannot fear this from so infinitely good and merciful a God I acknowledge that I was made only to love and serve thee and I am resolv'd O my God by the assistance of
Order and he who has embrac'd them can never hope to be a Saint by any other means then the observation of the Rules Don't pretend that they seem of small consequence that they do noâ— bind you under pain of fin remember there is nothing little in the service of God Did you enter into Religion to seek perfection only when you were forc'd to it How will you distinguish your selfe from other Religious if it be not by exactness in your particular dutys And how will you pretend to merit supply's of grace proportionable to your necessity's if it be not by this exact observation of your Rule We need not wonder that so many Communions so many helps have no effect on us and that after all those advantages we are more lukewarm and have more reason to fear tho we seem to have made great progress 't is because we neglect the particular meanes which we have in our own hands this renders all the rest ineffectual As the best Physick do's us more harm then good when we neglect the least precautions Let not a Religious man who is careless of observing his Rule expect any benefit by his Communions Let not a worldly person who hath no care of his family who neglects the Duty 's of his particular station expect to be the better for all his pretended good works How should we like a servant that meanes never so well that do's never so many good things if he do's not his Duty And how can he do his Duty who do's not do what his Master commands Let us now reflect seriously on our conduct what use have we made of the meanes of salvation have we improv'd the particular God will not only examine and severely punish the Evil we have done but the Good we have not done when it was in our power and the good we have not done well Are we ready to give an account of our Lives immediately all the actions of our Lives should have God for their End and can we find one among them all that was done only for him Let us inquire what can be the cause that the Sacraments and the spiritual Exercises have hitherto done us so little good Let us impartially examine what use we have made of the meanes of perfection that are in our hands If we be engag'd in the world how have we discharg'd the duty 's of our condition If we be Religious or Ecclesiastiques how have we acquited our selves of our obligations and observ'd our Rule By this examination we shall be able to excite an hearty sorrow for our past faults and to make such Resolutions as may be effectual for our future amendment THIRD MEDITATION OF THE SENTIMENTS We shall have at the hour of Death FIRST POINT The sentiments of a dying man who has lead a sinful and lukewarm Lfe SECOND POINT The sentiments of a dying man who has liv'd a fervent virtuous Life FOr the better fixing your imagination and to avoid distraction suppose your selfe upon your death-bed having but a few hours to live reduc'd as you will be one day to the last extremity of weakness almost motionless continually unquiet your soul disorder'd with fear your heart already seiz'd by Death's convulsions your breath failing a cold sweat spreading its selfe over your whole body which smells already like a dead Corps your cheeks hollow your colour chang'd your hair moist with a mortal damp your eyes sunck staring frightfully leaving you only sight to disover your pitiful condition just ready to close themselves for ever Suppose your selfe abandon'd by all you lov'd in the World and upon the point of expiring in the Arms of some Domestick and unknown person Then for a second Prelude beg of God 'to assist you with his grace that you may be throwly affected with the consequences of that important moment where on Eternity depends so penetrated by it that it may make the same impression on you now as it will do when you see it approach that you may be there by incited to take the surest methods of Salvation FIRST POINT Consider how strangely a dying man is chang'd he who a few days ago was strong and in perfect health enjoying his Riches and honours and contriving great projects is all on a sudden confin'd to his bed reduc'd to extremity unable to help himselfe incapable of pleasure forc'd to abandon all to be abandon'd by all My God! what is man tho never so Rich and great since a few hours sickness are able to make him useless to all the world and render all the world of no use to him We think our selves happy when we have Riches enough to serve us many years but alas what are we the better for many years riches if we have not many years to enjoy them What is able to comfort a sinner in this miserable condition when the remembrance of past pleasures leave only a mortal regret behind them the fear of future pains makes him already begin to feel them When God and man when every thing in the world conspire to terrify and affright him How do the tears of Friends cut him to the heart and the Assistants encrease his apprehensions how sensible must the grief of his wife the tears of his Children and the hurry of his servants be to him with what fear has he recourse to desperate remedies and what a terror is it to find those remedies ineffectual And when to calm his frights his Confessor approaches can we think that the sight of him allay's his trouble he sweats is quite confounded and in this agony he is to prepare for death but is this a fit time is he in a condition to prepare when fear and trouble has weakned and clouded his Reason how can he go about it He speaks not his own thoughts or sentiments he onely repeats what he hears his Confessor say he neither knows what he says nor what he ought to say Even Jesus Christ himselfe whose presence in this last hour is the great consolation of a dying Saint visites the dying sinner only to upbraid him make him more sensible of his impiety's And indeed what benefit can he expect from the last Sacraments being so ill prepar'd to receive them With whom shall he find ease For as soon as he has receiv'd the rights of the Church his friends and Relations retire Let us now consider what his thoughts will be when the Priest only stays to present him the Crucifix inform him that there is no farther hopes of recovery that now being bereft of all Creatures Jesus Christ alone must be his refuge and consolation Jesus Christ crucifyed must be now your only hope you must seek strength in those sacred wounds against the fear of Death for they are able to soften all its rigours to swee ten its bitterness receive then Dear Brother this comfortable Object in whose Arms I leave you This is the End of all the vain
have but cause to doubt positively that I am not In this extremity all that he hath heard of judgment of Hell Eternity come afresh in his mind affright him in a terrible manner 'T is wonderful that he who some few days ago was full of doubts and uncertaintys is now fully convinc'd of the truths which he was then so unwilling to believe Behold his fears see how he trembles and quakes at the thoughts of Death judgment We sometimes meet with men who turn the most serious exercises of Piety into Rallery and call the exactness of those fervent souls who are punctual in performing the smallest dutys of their station preciseness and weakness Let these men who imagine they have reason to censure and act thus continue to think so at this hour and mantain their character of wits to the last if they can If they were in the right let them please themselves now with calling exactness and devotion preciseness and scrupulosity They have made a false conscience to themselves under its shadow they lull themselves in a false security let rhem now maintain that imaginary systeme Alas 't is the remembrance of these very things that now drives them to despair While we are in health our passions blind us ill examples seduce us we are charm'd with present objets the hurry of business takes us up and we industriously avoid serious Reflections on the Truths of Religion even our Faith is halfe dead stifled by the corruption of our manners but at the approach of Death it revives to terrify distract us like the Faith of the Devils it makes us tremble but do's not convert us Every body is convinc'd that when Death comes we shall repent our neglect of mortification our worldly voluptuous Lives our having done so very few good works and having liv'd no better and yet which is exceeding strange after all these reflections after being fully convinc'd of them how few take pains to amend their Lives My God! how long shall we make these useful rections and yet live so unlike Christians Death makes us see clearly then our prejudices and prepossessions vanish formerly we saw but were not sensible of the vanity emptiness of every thing in the world but now we both see and feel it and wonder at our stupidity in finding it no sooner and in not discovering our double want We find we were deceiv'd and at the same time find to our unspeakable an speakable anguish that we are ruin'd by that Error and that we cannot recover what it has made us loose A Dead man is indeed a mournful but an useful sight very proper to disabuse us and to alienate our affections from the pleasures of this Life the most accomplish'd man in the World inspires horror when he is dead immediately all is silent the Corps is cover'd the Curtains drawn and every body retires where is now his beauty and good miene where is his agreeable humour what is become of all his projects great fortune you see what is the end of all But what is become of his soul what must be done with this corrupted body which begins already to grow offensive Not withstanding all its greatness notwithstanding all its charms though the most Lovely in the world every body fly's it Husband wife Children Relations Friends neighbours servants are all striving to be rid of it those who lov'd it best are most desirous to have it carried away and most uneasy to hear it spoken of It s nearest and best friends hire men to throw it to the worms they make hast to nail it up they hide it in the ground and we cannot without horrour think of its condition a few days after You are forgot as soon as bury'd every one returns to his business your Friends seek other Friends take new measures and hardly think any more of you They concern themselves no more about you then if you had never liv'd no body fears your anger nor desires your favour they often undo all you had done within a little time you are not so much as talk'd of At your Death indeed some teares may possibly be shed by your Relations and Friends for the loss of some pleasure or advantage which they expected from you teares are common but the greatest part of those teares are only grimace they will soon be comforted especially if they gain by your Death any part of your Estate falls to them We may guess what others will do for us by what we have done for others after their Death Our grief for a friend and Relation has been soon appeas'd and though they were so wretched as to have ruin'd their souls for our sakes have we thought our selves much oblig'd to them After all this can we make any great account of the world and its pleasures 'T is indeed very surprising that we think so seldom of Death but t is much more surprizing that we can think once of it and not be converted How many live as if they were sure they should never dye were to dye more then once as if they should lose nothing by dying ill or as if they could recover that loss after Death Is not this our case And what will our thought be on a Death Bed when we call to mind the reflections we now make if we reape no benefit by them SECOND POINT Consider how happy a thing it is to dye when one has liv'd well Death is the punishment of sin it can therefore be a real trouble only to those who are defil'd with sin It must needs be a subject of great joy and pleasure to those who have led a virtuous Life How can they dye unhappily since they dye saints The Death of a Righteous man saith the Prophet is precious before God consequently dear to him for one alwayes esteemes and takes care of what is precious 'T is no matter to a good man to dye destitute of all humane aid tho he dye suddenly he never dyes unprepared God takes a peculiar care of him he dyes happily because his Death is precious in the sight of his God Every thing ought to contribute to his consolation how great must his joy then be when he reflects that he has liv'd like a Christian led a penitential Life The sight of what is to come will most certainly alleviate the pains of his present condition He is now got over all the difficulties in the way to heaven fasting mortification labours austerity pennance all is over What a satisfaction is it in Death to know that the hath done all the good that was required of him and avoided the ill which he might have done especially when he thinks on the remorse of Conscience which would have tormented him if he had done otherwise The longest Life seems then but a moment from the Cradle to the Tomb what a satisfaction must it be to a dying Christian that instead of omitting he has done
an hour on Death on what we shall suffer feel and think then let us endeavour to become sensible that it is not farr off and to put on such dispositions as we shall have at its approach Let us reflect seriously on the rigour of Death how without any exception it deprives us of all things on the condition of our body 's in the grave and how soon we shall be forgotten in the world how little our Relations our Friends and acquaintance will think of us as if we had never liv'd Let us affect our selves with the vanity of all that charms us here with the folly of placing our happiness or our hopes on the Creatures Riches honors pleasures all vanish are as nothing at the sight of Death but above all let us press home the importance of dying well the danger of dying ill if we do not prepare for it betimes and that it will be to little purpose for us to put off our preparation to a Death-Bed This Meditation should produce sincere resolutions that we will immediately begin to do what when Death comes we shall wish we had done sooner and what we shall not be able to de if we deferr it till then And because external objects very much contribute to render us more recollected we may follow their Examples who make their Chambers as obscure as they can who have the representation of Death before them leaving onely just light enough to discern it Others suppose themselves ready to expire and with a Crucifix in their hands seek all their consolation from that amiable object Others hang their Chamber with mourning and endeavour by the sight of their winding sheets to represent Death approching These funeral objects have a certain mournful air which is capable of making agreat impression Our Confession must bu such as we would make if we were dying we must omitt nothing we must disguise nothing that may give us any trouble we must lay our souls entirely open that our Confessor may be as well acquainted with our interior as we are our selves We must shew him all that passes in our hearts all that God sees there and which he will one day expose to all the World if we do not prevent that terrible discovery by a full and entire Confession Hove all we must be truly contrite which is the point wherein we are oftenest deficient Say to your soul that you are working for Eternity t is not a Ceremony you are about you are now to blot out all your past fins to do this work in such a manner that you may be in no need of doing it again were you immediately to dye Examine your selfe carefully on these Articles the restitution of your neighbours goods the reparation of his honour blasted by your censures the example you have given the repidity and slothfulness of your Life your Enmity's and hatreds your want of godly sorrow of sincerity and of resolutions of amendment in your Confessions the sins of your youth those which your interest hath made you commit the ill habits in wich you have indulg'd your selfe the dangerous engagements you would not break the next accafions of sin which you would not avoid the darling passion the beloved sin which men hardly ever mortify which is the source of all their disorders your inordinate Love of pleasure your wilful ignorance of the duty 's of your station your abusive and scandalous railleries the ill use of the Sacraments of time of Grace If you be Religious search into the violation of your vows your carelessness indischarging the particular duty 's of your Calling These are the things which do generally disturb us on a Death-bed and make our Salvation doubtful when restitution reparation of honour to those we have aspers'd when quitting the occasions of sin reconciling our selves to our Ennemies precede our Confession it is the best sign that our sorrow and resolutions are sincere We should look upon this days communion as the Viaticum and imagine that we hear the Priest when he puts the blessed Host into our Mouths says Accipe viaticum Frater corpus Domini nostri Jesu Christi c. Receive Dear Brether the precious body and blood of Jesus Christ your Saviour to be your viaticum in your passage to Eternity The Acts following the Communion must be suitable to the condition of a dying Christian which we shall not be able to make when we are indeed expiring Having regulated our Consciences let us then put our temporal affairs in order as if we were going to dye Fac Testamentum tuuÌ„ dum sanus es dum sapiens es dum tuus es Make your will saith Saint Augustin while you are yet in health while you have your sences free while you are Master of your Time of your selfe In your last sickness continues the same Father you will be exposed to so many flatteries â— In inâ—mitat blanditiis minis duceris ubi tu non vis importunities and surprises that it will not be your will but the will of those about you Besides your time will then be too precious and too short to spend any of it in worldly matters but you must be careful not to forget your selfe while you provide for others you forget your selfe if you give nothing to the Poor Let the remainder of the Day be employed in good works in a profound solitude and recollection and in reading some spiritual Book that treats of Death Father Colombiere's three discourses on that subject are admirable and may be very useful if we peruse them carefully Or else we may read the foregoing Meditation on the sentiments which we shall have at the hour of Death Let us pass one hour in consideration on the duty 's of our private station especially on those particulars which may trouble us on a Death hed and we may reap great benefit by being attentive to the prayers of the Church for dying persons either in the administration of the Sacrament of extreme unction or in the Recommendation of the soul to God It is evident that we ought to debarr our selves all manner of conversation during the whole Day we must speak only to our Director unless we visit some poor sick or dying person not only to comfort and assist them but also to raise in our selves a more lively image of what we shall be one day We must close the Day with a Meditation on Judgment on the different conditions of a fervent and alukewarm soul going to appear befor God The chief fruits of this Christian practise are these we must be perfectly wean'd from every thing of which we know Death will deprivus to which we must add an exceeding horror of all mortal sin Reformation of our Lives and a sincere desire to lay up a treasure of merits by the practise of virtue and Good works SECT III. PRAYERS AND Ejaculations to help us to dye well THe time of our last sickness
and do we stand in need of his Example to excite us seriously to work out our Salvation Is nor all that thou hast done sufficient must we search for new arguments to convince us of the worth of a soul for which thou hast paid so so great a price Thou hast redeemed me o Divine Saviour I am thine by a double title and am resolv'd that nothing in the world shall hinder my giving my selfe wholly to thee without reserve SECOND POINT Consider how much Gods peculiar care of us obliges us to concurr with him to secure our Salvation shall God himselfe act for us as if he had nothing else to do as if he could not be happy without us And shall we stand in need of a more powerful motive to excite us to diligence How do's his infinite wisdom improve every moment from our births to make us love him How admirarable is the conduct of his Providence in bringing about our Salvation Do we count it a small Grace that we are born of Christian Parents when so many are born of Infidels Is it a small Grace to be educated in the bosom of the Church out of which perhaps we should have still continued if we had been bted in Error How great a mercy was it to have a good instructor in my youth a companon who set me a good example a good Friend to advise me We look on these things as common Accidents but we shall one day see that the hand of Providence dispos'd them all We afflict our selves for the loss of a friend for the death of a Relation we are quite dejected with Poverty our want of capacity disturbs us and we are troubled to find our selves so little considered in the world while perhaps these very things are the cause of our conversion and we shall one day find that we owne our Salvation to these seeming misfortunes Most men have been in some dangers or sick perhaps to extremity God who saw we should certainly be lost if we dyed then being desirous to save us hath given us more time we have read some pious discourse only to pass away the time and have found our hearts touch'd by it how many happy occasion have we met with which tho wholly unforeseen were very proper to promote Gods designs in our conversion One inspiration one sudden thought one word spoken without design is frequently the first occasion of great Conversions If we have the honour to be consecrated to the immediate service of God let us call to mind all the circumstances of our vocation and we shall find them so many miracles of Providence that we should come to such a place at such a time and in such company that when we thought our selves most wedded to the world we found our selves on a sudden weaned from it that the numerous examples of worldings did not allure us nor the love of our Friends retain us that we were not discourag'd by the austerity's of a life which appeard so terrible but that we had resolution enough to surmount all rhese obstacles Nothing but grace could inspire this generous resolution to a person weary of the world tir'd out with Crosse and terrify'd with the thoughts of approaching Death but in the heat of youth when the world appears most charming when we are most eager in the pursuit of pleasures when the hopes of a long Life and the prospect of making a great fortune suggest other thoughts what is a miracle if such a conversion be not But whence proceed these pious sentiments at a time when I deserve them so little whence is it that among so many who would have been better then I God hath inspir'd me only with this thought And if others have entertain'd the same sincere desires have had much greater merits whence is it that they are not chosen how comes it that if they were chosen they did not persevere that God perhaps hath suffer'd them to fall back that I might take their place Add to these distinguishing favours all the inspirations and powerful assistances with which he prevents us daily and if all these visible proofs of his singular care of us do not prevail with us to love and serve him without any reserve we must be certainly the most ungrateful wretches living and deserve the severest and most immediate vengeance These are great subjects of meditation which require frequent and serious reflexions they are the sensible effects of Gods particular Providence which continually watches over us They are the visible marks of his singular Love in preferring us to so many others and nothing is so capable of exciting in us a lively faith a firm confidence an invincible resolution and ardent Love to him And yet perhaps there are some who never thought of it My God! how do we employ our thoughts How can we neglect these comfortable important Truths surely it would be impossible to delay setting about the great work of Salvation if we did seriously reflect on what God hath done and continues to do every day for us No wonder the Devil employs all his cunning to prevent our meditating on these things he knows how very proper they are to inspire a sincere desire of serving God but we are inexcusable to pass so slightly over and be so little affected with these pressing motives to endeavour after perfection in our several stations Let us examine whether we have faithfully concurr'd with the Grace of God and whether we have comply'd with his designs in taking so much care of our Salvation Let us examine wherein we have been negligent and penetrated with this wonderful goodness of God who is so desirous to make us Saints let us deferr no longer let us immediately correspond with his will who seeks our good and resolve on such measures as will make our Resolutions effectual Then we shall reap the fruit of this meditation and of this Day 's retreat if we be careful to pursue our Resolutions and not suffer them to be as so many have already been without effect THIRD MEDITATION OF THE SENTIMENTS we shall have at the hour of Death SEE THE THIRD MEDITATION For the month of January MARCH SEPTEMBER FIRST MEDITATION OF THE SMALL NVMBER of those that are saved FIRST PONINT Our Faith teacheth us that but few shall be saved SECOND POINT Our Reason convinces us that hut few shall be saved FIRST POINT COnsider that then umber of those who shall be saved is very small not only in comparison of above two thirds of mankind who live in infidelity but even in comparison of that vast multitude who are lost in the true Religion There are few doctrines of our Faith more clearly reveal'd than this Strive to enter in at the strait Gate saith our Saviour for wide is the Gate and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction and many there be that go in thereat but strait is the Gate narrow is the way that leadeth to Life
at once he throws him off by degrees that he may not see it the unhappy Soul is rejected and his reprobation sealed and he do's not perceive it nor is he in the least sensible of his wretched condition And what hope can he have to be cur'd how is it possible for him to recover out of this dismall state The advice of his true Friends the pious counselli of his wise director and of his zealous Superior and the best examples are all ill received by his insensibility and hardness of heart he seems to be enchanted all his actions bear the visible marks of certain reprobation and that God hath left him Saint Bonaventure observes that it is no extraordinary thing to see notorious sinners quit their sins and become truly penitent but that it is very extraordinary to see a lukewarm Soul recover And to this we may apply the words of S. Paul in that terrible passage at which all thosé who grow cold after having been fervent in the service of God should tremble it is impossible that is extremely difficult for them who were once enlightned and have tasted of the heavenly gift and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost preferably to many others and of the swetneess of a Spititual Life and of saving Truths if they fall away if they grow weary of serving God and return to theyr Sins it is impossible to renew them again unto Repentance But my God what is all this to a lukewarm Soul unless by a miracle of mercy thou art pleas'd to open his eyes and to make him see his dangers he do's not suspect himselfe of being fallen away nor will he suspect it till thou discover it to him by an inward light and what will it avail him to be convinced of it unlesse thou givest an extraordinary supply of grace to recover him from that wreched State Let us now examine if we have no reason to fear The Lukewarm are exceeding curious they will try all Sorts of devotions and therefore may possibly read this meditation but let them not deceive themselves this day of retreat may be profitable if we examine impartially and diligently whether this dangerous tepidity do's not influence all our actions whether the Sacraments are usefull to us and whether we grow daily less imperfect by the Exercises of Virtue THIRD MEDITATION OF THE SENTIMENTS we shall have at the hour of Death SEE THE THIRD MEDITATION For the month of January JUNE DECEMBER FIRST MEDITATION OF HELL FIRST POINT The damn'd in Hell suffer all the torments that can possibly be suffer'd SECOND POINT The Damn'd suffer to Eternity FIRST POINT COnsider ther is an Hell that is a place of torments prepar'd for those Souls who dye in their Sins we are so us'd to hear of Hell that we are very little affected with the thoughts of it but if we were truly sensible what Hell is we should never think of it without more more horrour Imagine that you see in the center of the Earth a vast and bottomless lake of fire and flames the damn'd plung'd and rowling in it all cover'd and transperc'd with fire which they suck in with their breath and which enters at their eyes and ears their mouths and nostrils casting forth dreadful flames their skin scorch'd their flesh blood humours and brains boyling and bubling up with the violence of the burning their bones and marrow all on fire like a piece of iron taken red hott out of the furnace all the parts of their body on fire and the fire in every part of it How glad would these wretches be to suffer only from our fire notwithstanding the horrour of being thrown into a burning gulph but alas there is no comparaison between it and the fire of Hell my God! what tourments Ours is lightsome their 's dark Ours is an effect of the goodness and bounty of God theirs is the product of his incens'd Omnipotence and of the infinite hatred he bears to Sin t is a fire which the Almighly do's all he can to render furious raging and alas it is not their onely torment this fire makes them feel at the same time all sorts of pains Represent ro your selfe a man tormented with the gout or a violent colique what pains do's he feel how do's he cry out how willingly would he dye to put an end ' to his torture and yet he suffers onely in one part of his body he hath the Liberty of complaining the satisfaction of seeing himselfe pityed what would it be if every member suffer'd the same torment if instead of helping him the standers by abus'd him without suffering him to complain In hell the damn'd do not onely suffer the pains to which we are subject in this Life they suffer all these and infinitely more their torments are universal violent complicated and all excessive in one instant they feel them all and in the midst of all they cannot receive or so much as hope for any ease what would one drop of water be against a whole Sea of flames And yet that poor refreshment that nothing is deny'd them The sick find some ease in tumbling and removing from one place to another but the damn'd shall be eternally in the fire unmovable as a rock Yet all these dreadful torments are nothing to their despair when they look back on the time that is lost and the ill use they have made of it The thoughts of the damn'd will be employ'd to all Eternity in calling to mind the vanity of those objects which made them forget God I have plung'd my selfe into this abyss of darkness and everlasting flames for the love of a trifling pleasure of an imaginary honour which I could possess but a moment and of which I have scarce any Idea left where are now all those fantomes of glory greatness and reputation which took up all my Time and made me forget Eternity Where is that fortune to which I sacrific'd my all Where are all those whom I lov'd so well Where are those of whose vain opinion censures and power I stood so much in awe Yet these I preferr'd to the favour love of God and for these I have lost my Soul The opportunitys of Salvation which he hath abus'd and the reward that he hath lost will take up the thoughts of a damn'd soul to all Eternity How easyly might I have confess'd such a Sin God offer'd me his Love he gave me warning he press'd and sollicited me so long gave me so many years of health since my fall I pass'd for a wise man in the world Oh! how came I to deferr my conversion to the hour of Death How often have I trembled at the thought of my danger at the apprehension of damnation And yet am damn'd at last I needed onely have done those good worke which such a friend such a companion such a Relation have done I began well it would have cost me little to persevere and if it