invites us to continue in our Sins or when we fancy they are common small ones we want resolution and vigorous purposes of amendment we content our selves with designing to committ the same sins no more but we will not avoid the occasions that have made us fall Which is a clear proof that our contrition is not sincere are we ignorant that the want of contrition is a grievous sin or if we do know it and pretend to strive to raise it in our Souls it is much to be fear'd that the Confessions of many are null for all that because the motive of this pretended Contrition is often onely the fear of being guilty of Sacriledge and hence it is that as soon as our Confession is over and we are no longer in danger of committing Sacriledge we relapse again into the same faults as if we had never confess'd them A man of sence who has seriously weigh'd the Reasons on both sides is not easily persuaded to change his design and can we imagine that our frequent falls were preceded by a sincere resolution to sin no more had we no motives to make that resolution If God was indeed our motive why did we so soon change our minds Did we take that generous resolution upon weak motives Since our motive subsists still why do we not continue in the same design We ought certainly to make but very little account of those confessions that are not followed with amendment My God! how will the remembrance of such confessions trouble and torment us when wâ— come to dye One visible marlâ— of true connrition is when we hate the occasions of Sin as much as Sin it selfe when we do indeed abhorr the smallest Sins Of Private Friendships Saint Basile teaches us that there should be a perfect union between all the Religious of the same Community Basil in Const Monast ca. 30. but no particular Friendships tho such private engagements may seem very innocent they are a for mall separation from all the rest of the body who loves one of his Brethren more than the rest shews by that preference that he do's not love the others perfectly and thereby he offends and wrongs the whole Community Serm. de instit Monach. These private unions adds the same Saint are a continual Seed of Discord of envy suspicions of distrust and hatred they give occasion to divisions to secret meetings cabals which are the ruine of Religion In those meetings one discovers his designs another vents his rash judgments a third complains a fourth reveals what he ought to keep secret hence proceed murmurings and backbitings uncharitable censures and undutifull reflections upon Superiours and by an unhappy contagion these ill dispositions communicate themselves from one to another and indeed the Devil has no temptation more dangerous and more capable of perverting the most fervent especially young men than these particular friendships As soon as one of these friends is vex'd and thinks himselfe ill us'd all the rest share in his discontent he gives his passion vent and they approve it either out of complaisance or a turbulent humour By this means they break their Rules to shew their friendship act contrary to their duty If such engagements were onely between the most virtuous yet they ought not to be suffer'd because they are particular But they are seldom found among the truly virtuous they are too opposite to real piety and are almost peculiar to the imperfect Observe a careless lazy Religious you will soon find him see king some particular Friendship contrary to the true spirit of charity and Religion Familiaritates aut colloquia ejusmodi haud exiguum detrimentum pariunt animae S. Ephr. to 1. Saint Ephrem tells us that those unions and private conferences are very prejudicial to the Soul are great obstacles to true Piety they destroy insensibly the spirit of Devotion and make the Soul weary of pious conversation they inspire a secret aversion for the fervent and render their very presence uneasy 't is in these particular friendships that the best resolutions miscarry in these the noblest sentiments which the Soul had entertain'd in prayer at the Communion at Mass are lost in these all the charitable remonstrances of superiours the saving counsells of Directors are rendred useless either by turning them into raillery or by advancing maxims directly contrary to the spirit of Jesus-Christ There are few virtues proof against these occasions Alas how many who had begun well have split upon this Rock and been at last miserably ruin'd by these dangerous engagements with their false Friends Therefore this Saint advises carefully to avoid such particular friendships to lay this down as a principle that in Religion we must have no such intimacy with any Our friendships must be only spiritual not built like those friendships upon flesh blood or any other humane considerations but founded only on God Of the happiness of a Religious Life How great is your Satisfaction O Religious Souls if you have given your selves without any reserve to Christ you must be very unhappy if you be not content with so good a master Every step you make in weaning your hearts from worldly objects that you may fix them more absolutely on him will be an addition to your happiness All you have to fear is least some part of your joy should proceed from that natural peace tranquility which a Life undisturb'd with cares and noise affords for then it would be a false joy you must seek the Cross you must choose and love that Cross which is most uneasy to you and most thwarts your inclinations you may easily find such a Cross every Day in your convent you will continually meet with something that contradicts your humour or displeases your fancy you ought to be watchful to make good use of these precious opportunitys of renouncing your own judment and will in all things without this submission your peace is imperfect and will soon be at an end 'T is a solid happiness to live in a Society where such perfect Piety and so much Virtue reigns tho the truly fervent soul who seeks onely God would not be the worse although there were less Piety in his Community because he is so taken up with watching over and correcting his own faults that he has no leisure to mind other mens every thing helps those who have a good intention the bad examples which corrupt the weak are so many incitements to increase his Love to his Redeemer that he may repair their negligence by his fervour and by an holy fear preserve himselfe from imitating them Yet it is a great advantage to be sorrounded with good examples to have alwayes those excellent models before our eyes to stirr us up to diligence and to make us a sham'd when we begin to languish We shall alwayes find such examples in numerous convents but if we have not living examples let us profit by
of former Confessions chiefly to excite a true contrition in our hearts wherein in all sorts of people and even the best Christians are too often faulty We must hear Mass and receive as if were to be our last Communion and we must perform all the other exercises in the same disposition Priests should examin themselves particularly whether their Lives are suitable to the Holiness of their Character whether they celebrate with such affection as become men who are really penetrated with what they profess to believe Let them offer that adorable Sacrifice with such a fervent Devotion that this Days Mass may be an atonement for the faults they have been guilty of in all the rest and be a model of those they shall say for the future making it their great business to profit by this more than they have yet done We must be very careful to keep ourselves retir'd and to avoid every thing that can possibly distract us there us no danger of thinking the time long we shall find employment for every moment and one day so fill'd up is soon pass'd it is but a day let us make it indeed a day of retreat all the time we are not in the Church we should keep our selves shut up in our Chamber and indeed it would be well to do most of our spiritual Exercises in the Chamber unless we have conveniency of being as much retir'd before the blessed Sacrament Because this Exercise is very usefull to all sorts of men and the great est part cannot meditate I have calculated these Meditations for the greater number to that end I have made them long that they may find matter enough to take them up for an hour together that the very reading of them may be truly à Meditation and that they may be profitable Such as can meditate may make use of what part of them they find most for their purpose but these as well as the others must be very careful to avoid a fault to which most who meditate on the truths of our Religion are too subject They must not content themselves with believing them and think their work done when they are once convinced It is not enough to believe those important Truths the Devils believe as much perhaps more then we and tremble We must not stop at speculation we must reduce them to practise Our Meditations must all tend to reform us 'T is not sufficient to read and believe the Truth of what we read we must attentively consider every point and apply it to our selves We must examine its consequences and make those reflexions on them as we would do if we were on our death bed when we know we shall have little or no time left to profit by them Let this be your way of Meditation if you read do it with attention pause upon each passage that affects you most Put the question to your selfe is this true have I liv'd up to these Rules what is it they require of me for the future And then reflect seriously on the dismall consequences attending your negligence if this double discovery do not produce more fruit then your former Meditations have yet done You need not trouble your self to read the whole Meditation if one single reflection take up all the hour provided you receive good by it you have spent that hour well And the rest of the Meditation may serve you to read some other time of the day which is not absolutely allotted to some particular exercise A right consideration is very useful and therefore to be carefully perform'd It consists in reading with application the Reflections at the end of the Book you may pass lightly over those which are less suitable to you and dwell longer on such heads as you find affect you most and which are most proper for you Besides the hour usually spent after dinner in consideration it would be well to allott half an hour in the morning for Religious men to reflect on the observation of their Rules and others on the duty 's of their particular callings observing exactly wherein they have fail'd and prescribing to themselves such methods as may be most efficacious for their amendment if we cannot spate half an hour we may divide the hour of consideration one half for general reflections and the second for those that concern our particular Rules and the duty 's of our Callings And here we are always to remember that we must not content our selves in these spiritual exercises to form good designs and take strong resolutions of changing our Lives it is to no purpose to resolve though we seem to do it never so sincerely unless we likewise fix the particular means and methods by which we may effectually practise what we have resolv'd It is not our business to read much let uâ— read less and profit more we should choose to read only what is useful to us 'T is not sufficient to be able to say that we have read some spiritual discourse we must read with a design to grow better by what we read We have already observ'd that Religious persons are not hereby dispens'd from the exercises of their Community's nor even from their usual recreations but having discover'd by their Examinations the faults they are subject to in those Exercises and recreations they should begin that very Day to reap the benefit of their Retreat by beginning to correct themselves and reform those faults carrying themselves in every occasion â—s men who are already chang'd And being careful now more then ever to lift up their hearts fervently to God and beg him to preserve thâ—m from that distraction and dissipation of mind which generally accompany'is conversation The great design of this spiritual Retreat being to prepare us for Death I have compos'd a third Meditation on the sentiments we shall have in that last hour to be read in every Retreat And it being the most proper subject for the End I propos'd to my selfe I judg'd the same Meditation might be renew'd every Month. The chief benefit we are to receive by this pious Exercises being a reformation of all the faults we have discover'd in our selves since the last Retreat a more earnest longing for perfection the getting the Victory over our favourite Passion a more ardent Love to our Redeemer particularly in the adorable Sacrament and a greater exactness in all our Duty 's we are at the begining of each Retreat to propose these things to our selves as the end for which we make it And seeing it is a direct preparation for Death we are to come out of it in such a state as we would desire to be in if we were immediately to dye And we must be careful to keep our selves in the same disposition General resolutions are commonly useless and to no purpose our best way is to pitch upon some particular fault which may be the subject of our daily Examination and to regulate the means which we will every day
employ to reform it till the next Retreat And the better to preserve those Good dispositions we should first render thanks to God for the Graces he has bestow'd on us during the Retreat We should then offer up all our Resolutions to him and renew them with more earnestness beseeching the Blessed Virgin to intercede for us with her son that he would give us his Grace where by we way be render'd faithful to the End and begging that she would undertake for our fidelity which she can obtain for us But after all these Resolutions we must not rely so much upon them as to forget our weakness for nothing is more dangerous then too much security It very much concerns us to be exact in our watch the first three or four Days after this we shall find the difficulty'is lessen so that we shall execute our resolutions with Ease The greatest difficulties are in the beginning and the surest way to maintain our fervour is without any delay to declare our selves for virtue A MEDITATION to prepare for Retreat THe subject of this Meditation is taken out of the Parable in the thirteenth of Saint Luke Luâ—e 23.6 7. c. of the man who sought fruit on a Fig-tree planted in his Vineyard and finding none said to the dresser of the Vineyard It is now three years that I come seeking fruit on this Fig-tree and find none out it down why cumbreth it the Ground But his servant desir'd him to wait one year more that he might dig about it and dung it and if after all his care it should be still unfruitful then he would cut it down FIRST POINT Consider with what care God hath hitherto cultivated us that we might bring forth fruit We came into the world not only a barren tree but corrupted and spoil'd by original Sin fit for nothing but to be cast into Hell Fire The singular Mercy of God has preferr'd us to many others has planted us in his Church by making us Christians or in the fertile field of a Religious Life if by a greater effect of his Love he has call'd us to that state Have we ever truly known the advantage of being planted in this holy ground cultivated by the labours and water'd by the sweat and blood of him who is both God and man This ground in which we are hath produc'd those Hero's of Christianity and bears every day a multitude of saints of all sexes ages conditions Those excellent fouls with the same manuring that is with the same assistance that is given us have and do every day bring forth fruit worthy of Eternal Life They had no other Gospel no other Sacraments then we have The Grace of God abounds at all times ther Rules were not different from ours only they were more faithful to those Rules by the exact observation of which alone they are become great saints We have the benefit of their Examples and many proper helps which they wanted Add to these advantages the particular favours we have receiv'd from God call to mind all the pains he hath taken to make us fruitful all the good thoughts he hath inspir'd us with all the pious Resolutions he hath excited in us since we had the use of Reason his favours have been innumerable since we have been in his service how often hath he nourish'd us with the food of Angels his owne flesh how often have we heard him speaking to our hearts how often has he enlightned us how many Graces have we receiv'd from him in our Retreats and â—ommunions and and how many other favours hath he heap'd on us Half these are sufficient to make a great saint nay there are many blessed spirits now in heaven who never had all these advantages and yet they bare much fruit They made admirable use of their talents their Lives were full of good works which have adorn'd them with merits whereby they now possess everlasting happiness a just reward of their Fidelity Let us now consider seriously and impartially whether the same manuring the spinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ have made us like bear much fruit SECOND POINT Consider that the fruits God requires of us are not dry and barren devotions and appearances of virtue which serve for the most part onely to amuse the imperfect who with all their pretended good works pass their whole Lives in sloth tepidity without growing better in any one point Their specious virtues are but leaves but gaudy out sides which deceive men and themselves too making them take the effects of passion or humane respect of Education or of their natural temper for real virtues The Fruits which Saint Iohn calls Fruits worthy of pennance Matt. 3.8 Gal. 5.22.23 c. and Saint Paul the Fruits of the spirit are the effects of a true love to God and a perfect charity towards our neighbour They are such as a solid Piety produces an extreme horrour for the smallest sin a violent hunger after Righteousness an universall coâ—stant and continual Mortification a profound humility a great exactness in all the duty 's of our Calling they are an exceeding a version for every thing our Saviour hates and an high esteem for every thing he loves The Victory over our passions the reformation of our Lives and conduct are the Fruits that he expects from us This is the meaning of those words Matt. 3.8 Bringforth fruits worthy of pennance shew by your works by the whole course of your Life that you are really converted Here let us examine our selves Have we brought forâ—h many of these Fruits God hath been careful to cultivate us these three these ten years that we might be fruitful many would have been saints with much less Graces and yet all have not perhaps made one good Religious or one good Christian 'T is not the fault of the ground in which Jam planted it is holy ground and yields an hundred fold even many of my accquaintance with less advantages bring forth much more fruit then I. What benefit have I receiv'd by so many Masses what am I the better for so many Communions One single Communion is able to elevate a soul to a sublime perfection yet I who have receiv'd it may be one or two hundred times have not yet reform'd any one fault After so many Devotions am I more humble more exact more mortifyed Do I love my God and Saviour more What is become of all the good thoughts I have formerly had where is all my fervour what is become of that inward peace and true pleasure which I have sometimes experien'cd in my Devotions what is become of all my holy Resolutions and all my fair promises alas perhaps we find no traces of them all but a sad remembrance which serves only to shew us how far we are from the state in which we ought to be Has not our ingratitude towards God augmented proportionably to the increase of his blessings And do's it
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
disposing our selves to fall in to mortal Sin of indulging our selves in those irregularity's which are often the ginning of the Reprobation of many who appear'd eminent for Piety Consider what are our thoughts of venial Sins have we fully resolv'd in all our confessions to mend them for it is much to be feard that by frequent confessing the same venial Sins we too oftenrender our confessions at best useless for want of contrition Let us no longer look upon them as little things there are but few things that we ought to fear so much Let us examine our selves strictly accordingly regulate our practise THIRD MEDITATION OF THE SENTIMENTS We shall have at the hour of Death SEE THE THIRD MEDITATION For the month of January APRIL OCTOBER FIRST MEDITATION THAT WE OVGHT NOT to delay our Conversion FIRST POINT If we delay our Conversion we thereby put our selves into an evident danger of being never converted SECOND POINT If we delay our Conversion we thereby put our our selves under a kind of necessity of being never converted FIRST POINT COnsider that there is no Christian who has not some time or other desir'd to turn sincerely to God there are certain happy moments wherein by an inward light we discover on a sudden so many faults in Creatures we find so little solidity in every thing on the earrh and are so disgusted with what seem'd most charming that we cannot avoid confessing that to neglect the service of God is the highest degree of madness Our Reason is convinc'd but our passions are too strong and wehave not resolution enough to oppose them there fore self-Love finds an expedient to flatter both it satisfy's our Reason by persuading us to resolve on Conversion and pleases our sloth by engaging us to deferr it and to retain our former habits but here it apparentiy deceives us for this delay puts us in to an evident danger of never being convetted Time Grace and a willing mind are necessary to Conversiow if we put it off but for one day how can we promise our selves that one day if we have that Day are we sure that we shall be more willing to improve it And who hath told us that we shall then be assisted with amore efficacious graee than that which we have hitherto resisted Is any thing more uncertain than Time how many have been surpris'd by Death while they were deliberating And would it not be a dismall thing to dye full of designs for a future Conversion We think it is not now a fit Time to quit our dangerous conversations to avoid the occasions of sin to reform our Lives and to live more retir'd more like Christians alas what time would we have we are for staying till the heat of youth is past till age and experience have disabus'd us ' as to those triffles which take us up now and then every thing will contribute to our conversion Thus the greatest part of mankind argue about their projects of conversion for no man pretends to dye unconverted but do they reason well do we find many of these Resolvers converted before they dye We accept saith S. Augustin their pennance who deferr their conversion to the end of their Lives but we make no great account of such conversions No my Brethren adds that great Saint I dare not deceive you and therefore must declare that we make no great account of them We refuse to be converted now what grounds have we to believe that we shall be more willing here after If we find difficulties now we shall meet with greater then they increase with our passions which will then be stronger and instead of youthful amusements which take up our Time now we shall then find that multitude of business will be a greater hindrance Do not flatter your selves that you may be converted at any time who has told you that you shall at all times be capable of conversion If we refuse to be converted when God invites us now when our ill habits are but weak few can we reasonably expect to be able to do it here after when they are multiply'd and grown inveterate God will be weary of waiting his sollicitations will diminish as our resistance of his Grace encreases so that we are forc'd to own that we run the greatest hazard in the woild by delaying and yet we are not a fraid to venture Was it ever heard that a condemne'd malefactor was unwilling to receive his pardon desir'd it might be deferr'd to another Time God offers us his Friendship he tenders his pardon to us and we are unwilling to have it yet we desire him to stay till we are in humour to receive it He sollicites us and we bid him keep his Love for another Time would we treat the last of men thus and how should we resent this usage our selves Every man promises him selfe Time for Conversion if Jesus-Christ had promis'd us with an Oath that we should have notice of his coming we could not live in greater security than we do thô we know that he hath sworn the direct contrary Did ever any Merchand when he had found an opportunty of recovering all his losses put it off to another Time and deferr the securing his fortune till the next day Would not we think a man distracted who being dangerously sick should desire his Physician not to visit him till five ot six Day hence Am not I with all my pretensions to wisdom this distracted man when I delay my Conversion one Day I am out of favour with God my soul is dangerously ill the most efficacious remedy's do me no Good my sickness encreases God sollicites and beseeches me to be cur'd he desires onely my consent and I refuse his offer Has not the Son of God prevented all our excuses and all our false pretences by declaring that he will come when we are not aware of him this is not only the Counsell of a wise and knowing friend it is the decision of the Lord of Life and Death who knows the time in which he designs to call us Let our designs and projects be never so well laid Death will come when we least expect it Did we ever see a man dye were we ever dangerously ill our selves without resolving to turn to God and yet we are still unconverted Our last sickness will put us on the same resolutions but how can we be sure they will be more sincere than the former and why should we think that God will accept them Men tremble when they find themselves in danger of losing their Lives or Estates is it nothing to loose our souls by remaining unconverted If the loss of a soul be so small a matter why did Jesus-Christ do and suffer so much to redeem it My God! thou desirest not the Death of a sinner thou desirest his Conversion so that it is my own fault if I be not converted Am I unwilling and how can I pretend to be
when we desire to succeed in any worldly business What a difference is there between a man following his business or his study and the same man working out his Salvation Were we as earnest for heaven as we are for honours and Riches we should soon be great Saints for we cannot be rich if we will but we may be be Saints if we will We are not contented to make use of all necessary means to obtain our temporal ends we employ even those that are not necessary and we justify all this care and pains by saying that we would not have any neglect to reproach our selves do we observe this maxim in the business of our soul shall we have nothing to reproach our selves on a Death bed If we do not design to be saved why do we make use of any means if we de design it why do we not make use of all is it not because some are more difficult than others but to what purpose do we practise onely those that are easy since they are all necessary Are we ignorant that he who do's not do all he ought to be saved is no more advanc'd than of he had done nothing Do we think some few and doubt ful means sufficient in a business of consequence And would we venture its success upon such means as common experience has found very improper for a business of that nature certainly the business of Salvation is a business of consequence Jesus-Christ hath declar'ed that he will have all or nothing that he will accept no divided heart there is no medium they who are not absolutely for him are against him Yet notwithstanding we all know this lukewarmness tepidity this divided heart is the cararacter of most Christians at this day Thus we live but did any of the Saints sanctify himselfe by such a Life Do not we our selves doubt of the Salvation of those who dye in such a State What shall we think of our condition if we don't take other measures after all these Reflections can we reasonably expect to be saved And that which makes our danger yet more visible is that our Lives are a manifest contradiction to our Faith and yet we do not mind it we are convinc'd that it is necessary to Salvation to believe the mistery of the Trinity and of the Eucharist notwithslanding all the difficulties that sence reason suggest because God hath reveal'd them but hath not the same God declared that he who will be saved must abhorr the maxims of the world that he mâ—st bear the cross daily ad must make use of those very means which I neglect wedurst not pretend a desire of Salvation if we refus'd to believe the least tittle of what Christ requires us to believe in order to be saved how then can I pretend that I desire to be saved if I practise onely some part of the means which he hath clearly told were absolutely necessary to Salvation But our Religion is too sincere not to condemn this contradiction between our Faith and manners it teaches us that God requires all or nothing surely he deserves very little if he do's not deserve all it would be better for us to give him none than not to give him all such a division is exceeding injurious to him for infine we carry our selves thus only to those whom we neither respect nor fear God abhorrs this conduct he hates tepidity more than coldness and therefore cannot endure to be serv'd by halves Absolute perfection is not necessary but our Saviour commands every one efficaciously to seek perfection in his station do not object that the number of these men of good will is so very small that if this be true there will be but few saved who can doubt of it after what Christ hath told us of the small number of the Elect Do we see many who love God with all their hearts how can we pretend that we are sinceeely desirous of Salvation while we do not obsewe this first and great Commandment while we make use onely of some meanes and neglect the rest while we satisfy our selves with some pretended good works of our own choosing and indulge our selves in our belov'd passion which is a continual Source of Sin I see now my God that I have not been truly willing that I have hitherto deceiv'd my selfe with a false desire which hath kept me in ignorance of the greatness of my danger but I am now resolv'd sincerly to be saved at anyrate And I have some grounds to believe that I am truly willing but it is thy grace my Dear Saviour that must render my desire efficacious I hope for it through thy mercy I am convinc'd of the necessity of using all the means this conviction hath dispos'd me to do whatever thou commandest Paratum cor meum Deus paraâ—um cor meum Ps 56.9 command now whatever thou pleasest 〈◊〉 will make no difficulty I will obey without any reserve SECOND MEDITATION OF LVKEWARMNESS FIRST POINT There is no state more dangerous than a Lukewarm state SECOND POINT It is harder to recover out of a Lukewarm state than from any other FIRST POINT COnsider that by a lukewarm State is meant a certain disposition of the Soul in which it contents its selfe with avoiding heinous sins but takes little care to avoid small faults it is negligent in spiritual duty 's its prayers are distracted its confessions without amendment its communions without fervour and without fruit it is unfaithful to the divine grace and sins without fear or remorse Such a soul grows indifferent to the greatest virtues and soon after disgusted with them its affections languish in the service of God so that the yoak of Christ seems heavy insupportable its thoughts are distracted so very little taken up with God or its selfe that it fuffers them to rove after every object it dares not retire in to its selfe because it can find no peace there In this condition it makes no scruple of exposing its selfe to the occasions of Sin if it do's any good 't is only by fiâ—s if it performs any duty 's 'tis only out of custom and provided is keeps some measures and avoids the reproaches of those of whom it stand in awe it is not at all sollicitous to please God whom it offends almost by every action It makes no difficulty of committing all sorts of venial Sins with deliberation it performs with reluctancy and uneasiness those devotions which it cannot avoid it enterrains an aversion for pious Christians because their vertue is an uneasy reproach to it it takes pleasures onely in the imperfect because their actions countenance its carelessness Hence proceed those pernicious friendehips to which so many pretended Friends ow their ruine those insipid rallerys on Christian exactness whereby they stiffle the small remainders of their fervour they are no sooner in this wreched state of Lukewarmness but they frame to themselves a false Conscience
under the shelter of which they frequent the Sacrements and do some good wocks yet still indulge themselves in secret aversions in envious jealousies in criminal and dangerous engagements in uneasiness murmuring against their Superiors in selfe Love and in pride which influence almost all their actions and in an hundred other faults of the same nature in the midst of which they live unconcern'd they persuade themselves that there is no great crime in all this and seek for excuses to palliate those faults which God condemns as heinous sins and which they themselves will condemn as such when they come to dye for then their passions will be no longer able to hinder them from seeing things as they are in themselves surely it is no hard matter to discover that the Salvation of a man in such a state as this is in great danger The State of a Soul in mortal sin is very dangerous but our Saviour judges a lukewarm state to be yet worse for he tells the Angel or Bishop of the Church of Laodicea I would ' thou wert either cold or hot for because thou art lukewarm and neither col nor hot I will cast thee out of my mouth as tainted offensive Do's Jesus-Christ who bears with the greatest Sinners who is alwayes ready to pardon them who did not abhorr even Judas himselfe do's he abhorr a lukewarm Soul hath he who is so tender towards Sinners no tenderness no love for a Soul that is neither cold nor hot What hopes then can such a Soul have of being saved We ought not to despair of the Salvation of the most notorious Sinner though his disorders and crimes have renderd his Conversion difficult we ought still to hope for he knows his Sins is therefore more capable of being made sensible of them and of hating them Tell the grearest Sinner of the severe judgments of God of Death and of the rigourf and duration of Eternal Torments the foree of these terrible verity's may alarm and convert him but all this makes no impression on a luke-warm Soul his condition is without remedy because it abstains from crying and scandalous Sins which startle a Soul that hath any fear left ' it do's not mind Spiritual and interior faults it mingles them with some actions of Piety so that they easily pass unregarded by a Conscience that is not exceeding tender and thus not knowing the greatness of its danger it do's noting to prevent it Nothing do's a Soul Good in this condition Prayers exhortations reading masses meditations Sacrements are all fructless whether it be that the little benefit it hath hithertho receiv'd by them gives it a disgust and takes away its desire to make use of them or that being accustom'd to them they have less effect that having heard these terrible truths discours'd of an hundred times and having as often discours'd of them its selfe to no purpose they make no impression on it It receives but few graces because of its unfaithfulness in those which it do's receive its faults are alwayes great because they are attended with an higher contempt a greater malice a blacker ingratitude than the faults of others this odious mixture of good and bad which composes the caracter of a lukewdarm Soul discovers clearly how injurious such a conduct is to God the seeming good works that it do's are a convincing proof that it hath not forgotten God but its careless and imperfect way of doing them shews how little it stands in awe of that God whom it serves with so much indifference and disgust And indeed this disgust is mutual it has an aversion to Christ and Christ hath an aversion to it no wonder that such men immediately after their communions are ready to return again to and renew their Sins as if they had not receiv'd the Opinion of their pretended good works tenders them proof against all wholesome advice they can hear it with all the coldness in the world and 't is this that makes so many good thoughts and holy inspirattons useless Hence proceeds the strange blindnefs of a lukewarm Souls and that horrible insensibility which is the heaviest of judgments and the utmost degree of misery And there fore S. Bernard and S. Bonavente declare that it is much easier to convert a worldling tho never so wicked than a Lukewarm Religious What hope is left for such a Soul there is no remedy for it it will not be cur'd because it is not sensible of its illness It is a sick Creature whose condition is the more desperate because it laughs at those who think its sick so that there is need of a greater miracle to convert a lukewarm Soul than to make the blind to see or to raise the dead to Life None but thou my God canst do it thou art able to cure the most inveterate diseases but thou hatest Lukewarmness and this makes me fear I cannot pray with that confidence as I would for the most scandalous sinner I acknowledge that I have been hirher to in a lukewarm State But since thou hast made me sensible of it I am persuaded thou desirest to draw me our of it Oh! let not this renewed grace which perhaps will be last thou wilt ever Offer me be ineffectual thou wouldst have me be saved I am resolv'd to be saved what then can hinder my Salvation SECOND POINT Consider that a lukewarm state is not only very dangerous but which is more strange it is almost impossible to recover a Soul out of it because he that would recover must be sensible of his being in danger which a tepid Soul is not An heinous Sinner easily knows his danger there are eertain favourable moments where in by the help of grace he discovers so much deformity in his Soul that he presently laments his misery which knowledge and confession render his conversion much less difficult But a lukewarm soul do's not believe that ke is lukewarm he that believes himselfe tepid ceases to be so for we are rarely sensible of our condition till we begâ—n to be fervent this renders the conversion of the lukewarm almost impossible for which way shall one go about to persuade them that they are in such a State Blindness is the first effect of Tepidity It s unfaithfulness being gradual it is less sensible of them then its faults grow habitual and at last it takes pleasures in them nothing toucheth it when it is in this condition and it suspectes nothing it is not sensible of any new fault it grows lukewarm without omitting one of its devotions 't is the imperfections of these very devotions that give birth to its tepidity and help it to deceive its selfe by covering its reall faults with a false appearance of vertue God himselfe who so loudly a larms the Sinner is now silent and will not awake him but leaves him to dye in this mortal Lethargy I will begin says he to cast thee out he do's not do it all
wise men admire no thing that weak men don't admire what deserves it most because it is above their reach and they are incapable of judging those qualitys which you think deserve most admiration seem very indifferent to others they have as great an opinion of their own wisdom virtue and capacity as we have of ours we think they are partial to themselves and they judge the same of us Yet the world is some rimes very free of its praises because it sees every body desirous of them but if we reflect a little we shall find that those great marks of esteem those extraordinary praises are the very same words of course which we use every day to those whom we esteem least have we not observ'd that they who are most lavish of their praises to a mans face are the first that speak ill of him when they are at Liberty to vent their thoughts Can we have so little sence as to imagine that we are the only persons to whom men speak sincerely and that altho they praise all the rest of the world either out of rallery or at best out of civiliry custom yet they are in earnest when they praise us Many believe that all the world admires them when indeed all the world pitys them They persuade themselves that all their actions are taken notice of to their advantage because they do not consider that every mans thoughts are taken up with himselfe that he whom they think their admirer fancy 's that they admire him Add to these the many cruel troubles and vexations which men feell continually but are forc'd to dissemble how often in order to keep up their reputation are they oblig'd to spend more than their revenue how often do they find their fortunes decaying yer dare not moderate their expence They are forc'd to laugh when their hearts are ready to break the whole world is nothing but outside and grimace and he passes for the happiest man who can dissemble his griefs best 'T is the desire of Liberty that ordinarily engages men in the world but can men be in a greater subjection a more absolute dependance not only in the army but in business in every profession we are continually subject to the humours will of others Certainly a worldling is the uneasiest man living but it is his own fault he may render his troubles meritorious if he will he need not suffer so much to be a great Saint if he would but suffer for God Yes my God! the greatest part of Christians would think thy yoak insupportable if they were bound to do half so much to please thee as the world exacts of them they are certainly in the wrong not to make use of those plentiful means of sanctification which they all have they need not go out of their own Station to find opportunity 's of meriting very much They are incessantly complaining of the Vanity of the world yet they are every moment engaging themselves farther among those vanity's and grow every hour fonder of them Of the Confidence we ought to have in the merits of Christ The consideration that the merits and satisfaction of Christ belong to us is a solid ground of Confidence Let our wounds be never so dangerous we have a certain cure for them tho we were more in debt to the Divine justice than we are tho our debts be never so great we are in a condition to pay them all for we find in the merits of Christ in his precious blood a treasure that infinitely surpasses them he had no need of them for himselfe he hath bestow'd them on us so that though we should have been so unhappy as to have committed the most heinous crimes tho we saw the most terrible effects of the divine wrath ready to fall on us if we can but make one single act of true relyance on the satisfaction of Jesus offer it up to thee my God we shall no longer need to fear our own sins nor thy wrath being shelter'd from them by our Saviours Cross wash'd with his precious blood the merits of which he is pleas'd to apply to us Of our indifference to please God When we value any ones friend ship we endeavour says an eminent Servant of God to acquire preserve our selves in his favour by a thousand Services by shewing all the respect and zeal imaginable even in things to which our duty do's not absolutely oblige us by avoiding every thing which may in the least displease him The fear of punishment keeps us from attempting the Life of the man we hate we do neither good nor harm to those whom we think below our notice but when we deliberately frequently affront a man 't is an evident sign that we neither value his Love nor fear his hatred and if we do not offer him the highest injury's t is not because we care for his aversion but because we fear his power They who abstain only from great sins and allow themselves a Liberty in every thing else have reason to fear that charity is absolutely extinguish'd in their hearts and if they will examine themselves they shall find that it is only the apprehension of the severity with which God punishes heinous sins that keeps them from committing them they would willingly displease him if the sight of Hell did not stop them they wish with all their hearts they might sin without punishment This is a fearfull disposition yet it is the disposition of those who indulge themselves in deliberate Venial Sins God hath no share in the motives that make them abstain from great Crimes and therefore he is not obliged to assist them which renders it exceeding difficult for a man who desires to avoid only mortal Sins to be long free from them Of Confession Tho Sacrament of Penance is an easy and efficacious remedy for all the diseases of the Soul and a certain means to obtain the pardon of all our Sins nothing is more easy than to declare all our Sins to a Priest who represents Christ with a true and sincere sorrow for having offended our good gracious God who has lov'd us so well To what purpose do we confess our Sins if we are not sorry for them and resolv'd to Sin no more As it is easy so it is efficacious because all the merits of the Son of God are apply'd to us by this Sacrament But whence is it that we receive no more benefit by this Divine remedy Never were confessions more frequent never was there less amendment custom brings us to Confession and custom makes us return to the Sins we have confess'd as if we had no other design in frequenting the Sacrament but to grow familiar with our Sins If our coufessions be insincere we seem to have a design of rendriug our selves more criminal by our confessions we want contrition we content our selves with a slight superficial Sorrow especially when our interest
or scrupulous for being very earnest in pursuing our interests exceeding careful in our wordly affaires allway's up on the watch to make use of every thing to let slip no occasion of making our fortunes on the contrary it is the way to be esteemed men of sence able wise and prudent but if we apply our selves seriously to the of Salvation if we carefully lay hold one very little opportunity of pleasing God and of growing in virtue If we be exact in discharging all the dutys of our Station and faithfull in the smallest matters the world calls us weak scrupulous it laughs at our care and blames our conduct They who are most desirous to please God are often less able to support this than any other difficulty in the practise of virtue they are better proof against any other persecution My God! if the earnest desire to please thee were condemn'd by the Infidels 't is no more than we might exspect but to meet with this difficulty among Christians among men who profess to be thy servants this is one can hardly imagine Of the Artifices of Self Love My God! how much pains would a little sincerity truth spare those who serve thee we do not seek God with simplicity enough we are not entirely willing to please him and we alwayes seek our selves nay too often we seek only our selves even when we pretend to seek him My God! where is the danger of giving our selves wholly and entirely to thee that we take so much time to resolve T is selfe love that spoils all it is too true that the greatest part of mankind is govern'd only by it All the difference between ipiritual men and those that are not so is that self Love is barefac'd in the latter and less visible more distinguish'd in the former and if we would take the pains to reflect on the true motive of the greatest part of those actions which seem least imperfect we should find an hundred windings and turnings of self Love which renders them all unfruitful Of the tender Love of God to those who serve him All the Sanctity and perfection of a Christian Life consists according to S. Basil in Looking upon God as the cause of all things in conforming our selves entirely to his holy Will If we were thorowly convinc'd of this important truth what a real sweetness should we find in a spiritual Life And what perfect tranquility should we enjoy being assureed that all that happens in the World except Sin proceeds from a particular Providence of God who loves us tenderly All the world ought to have this Confidence in God but much more Religious men whom he hath adopted in a peculiar manner whom he hath inspir'd with the Sentiments which dutiful Chilldren should have for their Father Ps 26.10 My Father and my Mother have forsaken me but the Lord hath receiv'd me saith the Psalmist Rodri. Tr. 3. c. 10. 't is an advantageous exchange to choose so good a Father in the room of him we have left so that now we have a right to say with confidence Ps 22.1 the Lord taketh care of me therefore I shall not want J am poor and needy but the Lord provideth for me Ps 69.6 who can reflect that God himselfe provides for him that his eternal Providence watches over him with the same goodness and care as if he had no other creatures to preserve in the whole world who can think of this without feeling himselfe transported with joy love to God We shall find reason enough to love him and to abandon our selves entirely to him if we do but reflect on the obligations we have to his fatherly Providence and on the tender Love he bears us You believe that sickness is the effect of chance You thought that that humiliation that mortification proceeded from the passions of men They may indeed act out of Passion but do you know that God makes these very passions serve to bring about his designs for your advantage Men perhaps seek to satisfy their revenge by using you ill but God permits it only for your good When Josephs Brethren sold him into Egypt they follow'd the dictates of their vengeance and design'd his ruine but God made their barbarous action a means of Joseph's Glory Since we have such powerfull motives to excite us to put all our trust in God why do we rely no more upon him it is because we are not hearty towards him we give him what he requires only by halves imperfectly and unwillingly we continually refuse him some part of what he demands and this is the true reason that our request are accompanyed with so many fears so little Faith How far we are to imitate Virtuous men Good examples are a great help to us we may easily be Saints if we converse with Saiuts the exercise of virtue is much less difficult in the company of those who truly practise it but we must have a care of taking any man for our pattern tho he seem never so virtuous we must imitate his virtue but we must still remember that he who is eminently virtuous now may be perverted and that the most perfect is he that has fewest faults When we propose to our selves to imitate any man we are in danger of imitating his very imperfections Our opinion of his virtue makes us copy every thing he do's we follow blindly all his examples very often we imitate his faults more than his virtues Of insensibility proceeding from carelessness How can a Religious man who lives carelessly or a Priest who is indevout and who dishonours his sacred Character by his manners think without trembling on the account they must give to God of all the graces they have abus'd of all the good which they should have done of which they have render'd themselves incapable of all the meanes of sanctification of which they would make no use These unhappy men are like those who after having serv'd God fervently for some time grow careless and weary of his service God usually punishes their infidelity in this Life some times without delay by an insensibility which often degenerates into hardness of heart we have a terrible example of this insensibility in Judas who had without doubt receiv'd singulars favours from Jesus-Christ no sooner was he grown careless and had perverted himselfe but he fell into a strange insensibility which became incurable he could hear his Saviour say the most touching things in the world without being at all affected when the blessed Jesus press'd his Conversion in the tenderest and most loving as well as most forcible manner Unus ex vobis trader me Mare 14.18 when the son of God discover'd the wicked intentions of that Traitor without naming him all the rest of the Apostles trembled for themselves Judas only to whom he spake is unconcern'd when a soul is insensible it soon grows impudent Judas has the face
to ask if his Master means him Tu dixisti Matt. 6.64 Christ conceals it no longer but this answer which should have fill'd him with confusion makes no impression on his hardned heart he hears coldly that terrible threatning from his Saviours Vae homini illi per quem Filius hominis tradetur Matt. 26.24 mouth Woe to that mâ—â— by whom the Son of man shall be betrayed remains insensible Jesus condescends to wash his feet to give himselfe to him in the communion to exhort and threaten him yet nothing moves him nothing can stop him he goes out and puts his impious design in execution and accomplishes his black and malicious ingratitude by a treacherous kiss How should we tremble at the thought of this insensibility It is the most dreadful of judgments and so much the more dreadful in that it is not perceiv'd by those who lye under it The surest mark that we are not in that state is a fear least we should be in it nothing is so difficult as to convert those who are not sensible of their want of Conversion Of the thoughts of Death The thought of death is a most powerful argument to convince us of the vanitys of this Life we shall easily be disgusted with the empty pleasures of the would its imaginary honors and its false Riches for which we weary our selves if we seriously reflect where they all end in a winding sheet in a Coffin in a grave in worms and dust there are the end of all humane Pride and greatness Form as many vast projects as you please rely upon your wisdom friends and Riches you must quit them all whether you will or no and they will all abandon you Only thou o God! dost never forsake those who serve thee I will therefore love and serve thee none but thee Of our condescention to the Imperfect It is surprizing that men have so little consideration for fervent Christians while they have all the condescention in the world for the careless imperfect But we do not see the special hand of providence who herein favours those whom he loves most is a man truly virtuous we make no scruple of excercising his patience his desires are frequently cross'd and he is often forc'd to do what he do's not like yet at the same time we refuse nothing to the imperfect whether it be that we use them like sick men that are past recovery whom we let have what they please or that God by a terrible judgment lets them alone in this Life and leaves them to their own imaginations However hard this distinction seems it is much for the advantage of those who serve God faithfully and renders them much more esteem'd by all who judge wisely and who are animated by the Spirit of Jesus-Christ Of natural inclinations to Virtue Men of soft and peacable tempers who seem born with a natural propensity to virtue are in great danger of being but indifferently virtuous and of making no progress in the way of perfection if they do not heep a strict watch over all the motions of their hearts else their natural tranquility will degenerate in to an indolence which is very a greable to self Love so that they wil take no pains to acquire great virtues and will content themselves with an obscure Life with a seeming moderation not founded upon humility but the pure effect of self Love which is unwilling to take pains and chooses a moderate virtue for fear of meeting with oppositions and sufferings in the pursuit of a more sublime But alas they who satisfy themselves with an ordinary virtue will in all probability live and dye destitute of all true virtue Of true Zeal It is a dangerous fault to be uneasy when others do as many or more good works than we would to God that all Preachers were eminent and successful would to God that every Director of souls had the gift of wisdom and discerning of spirits the zeal and solid piety which are so necessary for all Directors so God be glorifyed what matter it whether I or another be the instrument when the good success of others in the exercise of their Ministry is a real satisfaction to us it is a sure sign that we seek only his Glory Of sincerity in the Service of God Many desire to be perfect and from time to time endeavour after it yet how few attain it That which hinders the greatest part from advancing in the way of virtue is a want of sincerity in Gods service some little affections which they do not and will not renounce 't is selfe Love disguis'd under thes specious names of moderation good sence prudence and civility in fine it is a certain secret pride which corrupts the greatest part of their best actions God will be serv'd with a dove like simplicity with an uprighteness of soul that cannot stoop to those little arts of selfe Love which are so prevalent every where we seek an easy Director we torment our brains to forge something like Reasons to excuse our selves from some duty 's which we know in our Consciences God requires of us but which we sind unpleasant and are unwilling to perform Do we think to deceive God by these artifices The number of those who seck God in spirit is very small who serve him with that true simplicity which is necessary to Perfection how many instead of endeavouring to pleasa God Study to persuade themselves that they may please their own Appetites in every thing without displeasing him If they make him any little Sacrifice They presently find out some way to make themselves amends How come so many Professors of Piety to be so very sensible in the imaginary points of Honour The tone of a voice a disobliging word disturbs them Let them make as much use as they please of the words Modest and humble true humility is inseparable from Patience and sweetness Many think that they are truly humble because they have a mean opinion of themselves but they deceive themselves if they are not willing that others should have the same thoughts of them It is not sufficient to know that we have no true virtue or merit we must be wiliing to have others believe it too Of submission of our wills It is generally said and perhaps not without appearance of Reason that devout men are fond of their own opinions but it is an error to think that men who will always follow their own Wills and are obstinately conceited of their own sentiments can be truly devout This submission of our Wills is that renouncing of our selves which Jesus-Christ requires so positively and commands so often in the Gospell and without which we cannot be his Disciples And indeed we can never be truly virtuous without this submission both of our Understanding and Will Of the Love of Christ. If any thing says agreat servant of God could shake my faith in the Mistery of the Eucharist it