the accomplishment of thy most just Will O forget not thy creature in his greatest necessity Thou art graciously pleas'd O compassionate Creator to take pity upon the fowls of the Air and beasts of the Earth and to succour them in time of their need O refuse not thy favours to a Soul stamp'd with thy sacred image and resemblance but pity me succour me comfort me and protect me from the hands and power of my Enemies Ah! my Jesu my glass is almost run out my senses fail me my strength decays my breath is almost spent O do not thou forsake me dear Jesu when all things els shall leave and abandon me The Fourth Consideration JESUS dying wept for my Sins and pray'd to his Father for their pardon O My Soul Shall thy Saviour alone be sensible of thy sinful condition and remainest thou insensible of thine own O Jesu I will surely weep as well as thou and O that my Heart could cleave in pieces with sorrow for all my impieties O my God! It grieves me to have offended thee thee being what thou art an infinit essential immense goodness Ah! wretch that I was were I again to begin my life how differently would I lead it from what I have done I have grievously sinned against thee my good God I humbly acknowledg it heartily crave thy pardon and hopefully offer up to thy Throne of Mercy the tears prayers and sufferings of thy beloved Son my sweet Saviour Jesus for a supply of my want of Sorrow and Contrition The Fifth Consideration JESUS dying pardon'd his Enemies lov'd them pray'd for them O Jesu my Saviour In honour of this thy fervent Charity I freely forgive all them who have ever offended me in my whole life time It now heartily grieves me that I ever hated them and were they here present how humbly would I embrace them and beg their pardon Give them O my God! thy Grace in this world and thy Glory in the next The Sixth Consideration JESUS amidst his cruel sufferings and in deaths Agonie conform'd himself absolutly to his Fathers Will. O Jesu I desire not to be freed from my pains but to be furnish'd with patience to endure them as long as thy Providence shall be pleas'd to prolong them I wish neither health nor sickness neither life nor death but all I aim at in time and eternity is the full accomplishment of thy most just and holy Will choosing rather to obey thee than to be exempt from suffering Is it thy divin pleasure I shall lie thus languishing till Dooms-day O my Lord it is also my will and pleasure Wilt thou that I die presently O my God! I most willingly accept it even at this instant O eternal Father ever blessed and praised be thy sweet Name and Providence for all the sufferings sicknesses calamities I ever endured since I had a being Receive them O Lord together with these afflictions I now feel and those I shall feel at the departing of my Soul out of my body which I humbly unite to them of my dear Saviour dying on the Cross for the expiation of my crimes and in satisfaction for all my impieties The seventh Consideration JESUS dying Look'd upon and discours'd with his sacred Mother and S. John O Incomparable Powerfull and Compassionate Virgin Mother of Jesus Mother of Mercy Mother of power Mother of all mankind and my Mother by my particular choice and election I now humbly and earnestly call and cry unto thee to deliver me by thy prayers and patronage from my dreadfull enemy to obtain for me pardon and Remission of my sins and to assist me in my last passage conflict and agonie O ye heavenly Spirits and holy Saints Noble Angels Glorious Apostles Triumphant Martyrs Sacred Doctors and Confessors Pious Widows and Pure Virgins who securely possess that happiness to which my heart and soul incessantly aspire Intercede for me that I may also be with you a happy sharer and partaker O Blessed Saint N. whose name I receiv'd at my Birth and in my Baptism Let me receive thy succour at my Death and in my Agony O my good Angel Guardian my honor'd Prince and Protector Be pleased to assist now thy poor feeble and fainting Pupil Stand by me O valiant Champion fight for me and defend me from the fury of my now most busie Enemy and conduct my departing soul to its eternally prepared habitation The Eighth Consideration JESUS dying with Head humbly inclined adored the Sacred Trinity O Adorable Father Son and Holy Ghost Sacred Deity Vndivided Trinity Thou art my Creator and I am thy creature Thou art my Lord and I thy servant thou art my dread Soveraign and I thy Victim and Sacrifice consecrated to thy only Majesty Thou hast all absolute power and dominion over me and I have no power of my self I humbly Adore thy divine Greatness Power and Soveraignty and heartily Confess my own Weakness Poverty Nothing Alas How strangely have I hitherto forgotten mistaken misunderstood the world my self and all sublunary things My eyes are now open'd and I perceive my self to be a poor wretched dying Creature The Ninth Consideration JESUS died in an Extasie of divine Love AH my God! Though I have not liv'd in thy Love yet let me at least die in it O that I might breathe out my Soul in an Extasie of sacred Love and that my last sigh in this world might be an ardent Act of pure perfect and extatical affection Live my Lord Jesus Ever happie ever triumphant ever glorious in thy own divin Essence Attributes Perfections O my God and my All Nothing more but thy self Ah when shall my languishing Soul see thee embrace thee enjoy thee When shall my whol employment be to praise thee love thee be united to thee uninterruptedly incessantly eternally The Tenth Consideration JESUS dying recommends and resigns his Soul into the hands of his heavenly Father INto thy hands O my Lord I also recommend my spirit Thou O heavenly Father art its first beginning and O let it sweetly return to thee as its final end and only felicity I am all thine O my merciful Creator by all manner of titles and behold I give my self to thee in all manner of ways O do not now reject me but receive me possess me and take me totally to thy self for evermore O how it now grieves me to have given my Soul to any other than thy self O my Soveraign Lord and Lover to whom it only appertains Oh! how earnestly doth my Soul desire to be dissolved that it may come to thee my sweet Saviour Yet not my Will but thine be done in this and all things whatsoever Let it be Lord Jesus how where and when thou shall be best pleased When the sick Person feels his strength begin to decay let him commend his Soul to his Creator in these following ancient Prayers of the Churh O My Soveraign Lord God whose mercy is infinit O glorious Trinity Father Son and Holy Ghost who art Goodness it self Have mercy on
correspond to this thy sacred design when shall we worthily perform and perfectly practise what thou so justly deservest desirest demandest and commandest 3. Of Devotion the chief Act of Religion and of Prayer the next unto it Devotion is the prime and proper act of Religion inclining our Wills to embrace actually and readily all that concerns Gods service and to avoid all that displeaseth him Prayer is an Act of Religion whereby we humbly ask of God such things as are fit to be asked O Sweet and sacred Devotion the dear and only minion of my Soul how tenderly do I love thee how ardently do I desire thee and yet how unworthy am I to enjoy thee Thou O my glorious Soveraign art the supream cause of all Devotion and thy grace is the original Source of all piety Thou art the only good which my way faring and thirsty Soul incessantly gapes after Thou art the solid support and solace of her weakness and weariness Thou art the dilater of all devout hearts by the infusion of good desires into them Take from me I beseech thee the love of the world clear my thoughts from curiosities and superfluities break the fetters which wrest my affection to vanities and fix them intirely upon thy self my only amiable and satisfying Object Behold O immense Deity O eternal infinit and essential goodness who deservest all perfect homage and honour all possible duty and devotion from me and all rational creatures who art in thy self so absolutly excellent and admirable to my Soul so highly bountiful and beneficial I here most humbly promptly cordially freely and resolutely Consecrate the whole residue of my life and actions to be totally imployed in thy true love and service O let me never swerve from this solid and substantial Devotion let me rest joyful and content in this my advised choice and be no more contristated troubled or dejected in the faithful prosecution of such works as belong to my duty and thy divine honour Dilate my heart O Lord with holy cheerfulness and I will run on swiftly sweetly perseverantly in the paths of thy Commandments I confess O glorious Creator my own Misery and that I stand in perpetual need of thy Mercy and therefore I will daily present my self before thy supream Majesty as a poor needy and naked Beggar as a weak wounded and wicked Sinner hoping that thou O pious Physician wilt heal and help pitty and pardon cure and comfort my sick sinful and sorrowful Soul O that my Heart and Mouth were absolutely purified from all undecent affections and superfluous expressions in my Prayer O that my spirit could always propose devoutly and my tongue pronounce distinctly such wholsome things in my petitions as are proper for me to expect from thy infinit Majesty O that I could thus piously and perseverantly present my Prayers to thy Throne of Grace with all the necessary Circumstances to obtain thy mercy My Resolution O heavenly Maker is to ask nothing henceforth of thy divine Majesty but the entire accomplishment of thy Holy Will or that which may in some manner serve and contribut to the encrease of thy honour and glory and if I fail of thy present answer to all other my pretentions I will humbly acknowledg my desires to have been Vndue and Vnreasonable and resting peaceably in thy presence I will adore the depths of thy inscrutable Prudence and relie securely upon the sweetness of thy secret and paternal Providence Teach me O Divine Master thus to pray with a resigned spirit and purified intention and encourage me to practice purely perfectly perseverantly thy heavenly instruction in demanding first thy eternal Kingdom and them not doubting the sufficient supply of all temporal conveniences 4. Of Adoration another Act of Religion Adoration as an Act of Religion wherby we testifie our submission to the divine Majesty acknowledging his supream excellency and our absolute dependancy upon him A perfect fâ—…rm of Oblation to the Divine Majesty O Great glorious admirable eternal Lord God! What creature can comprehend or conceive the least of thy purities and perfections What honors homages respects and reverences are due to thee O Dread Soveraign of heaven and earth on whom all things created depend in whom I have both breath and being O that I and all creatures could truly descend into our Nothing that thy only glorious and essential being might appear shine more brightly O increated and independent Entity without whose present and continual support all things would instantly cease to be what they are by thy bounty and slide away into their original nothing how can I place my self low enough in the presence of thy infinit Majesty Behold I humbly adore thy sublime Excellencies from the bottomless depth of my abyssal nothing I heartily worship thee my Soveraign Creatour in spirit and truth I lowly prostrate my poor Soul before the high Altar of thy immense greatness faithfully dutifully and devoutly acknowledging thy divine power and submitting my whol being to thy absolute supremacy Ay! how barren are my Affections How bare short and filly my Expressions How unproportionable my Adorations in respect of thy supereminent surpassing unexplicable and unconceivable Excellencies I therfore present thee O glorious Deity with all the interiour actions of the blessed humanity of thy Son my Saviour Jesus I offer unto thee with all possible submission and devotion in supply of my weakness the perfect acts of love praise adoration which proceeded from the pure Virgin Mother and from all the Saints with all the hearts and affections of Angels and Men all the mental excesses supernatural jubilations total abnegations and amorous unions of all blessed Souls in heaven and earth Ah! that my heart alone were capable of all the united affections and perfections of all creatures how willingly O my God! would I employ them all in thy service How sweetly should I melt away in thy love Receive gracious Lord all these and whatsoever may be offered unto thee as my ardent desires of honour adoration loyalty and gratitude due to thy infinit Majesty O that I could present them unto thee as frequently as I breath and as fervently as the highest Seraphins I invite and conjure you with heart and mouth O all ye celestiall Spirits and elevated Souls to supply my defects and desires and to sacrifice to my God holocausts of praise benediction adoration ardently incessantly eternally Accept these homages and oblations O soveraign Creator from thy meanest creature which accepts thee embraces thee and makes choyce of thee this day this hour this instant and for all Eternity for her God and refuses all other Lords for thy only love to thee be rendred all honour praise adoration and reverence from her and all things that have a being now and for evermore 5. Three Neighbour-Virtues to Justice are Piety Observance and Obedience Piety is a Moral Virtue whereby we render to our Parents Kindred Countrey and Friends the just duties of honour and
humble addresses to thee in behalf of this poor Soul suffering in the flames of Purgatory It burns with an ardent desire to enjoy God and to behold thee in thy heavenly Glory but the Decree of divine Justice detains it from this desired happiness be thou therefore pleased O Just man to interpose thy pious intercession for the cancelling or at least for the moderation of this severe Edict Thou formerly freedst Jesus and Mary from Herods cruelty free now this Child of Jesus and Mary from the pains of Purgatory and obtain for him a speedy deliverance that he may with thee and thy dear Spouse Mary praise honour and enjoy Jesus for all eternity The Sequens of Holy Church usually said in the Masses for the Dead Dies Irae dies illa c. 1. THat Day of Wrath that dreadful Day Shall all the World in Ashes lay As David and Sybilla say 2. How shall poor Mortals quake with fears When their impartial Judg appears Who all their Causes strictly hears 3. His Trumpet sounds a dreadful tone The noise through all the Graves is blown And calls the Dead before his Throne 4. Nature and Death shall stand at gaze When Creatures shall their Bodies raise And answer for their forespent Days 5. The fair-writ Book of Conscience shown Sins black Inditement shall be known And every Soul it's Guilt shall own 6. So when the Judg shall sit on high All hidden Sins shall open ly No Crime shall from due Vengeance fly 7. What Plea shall wretched I pretend What Patron move to stand my Friend When scarce the Just themselves defend 8. O dreadful God and glorious King Who dost the saved freely bring To Bliss save me O Mercies Spring 9. Pious Jesu call to minde Thy Travels for my good design'd Grant I may that day Mercy find 10. Thou sat'st down weary seeking me Thou climbd'st the Cross my Soul to free Let not such Labours fruitless be 11. Dread Judg whose Justice is severe My long black score of Sin make cleer E're the accounting Day appear 12. I as a guilty Person groan My faults are in my Blushes known Pity dear Lord thy Suppliants moan 13. Thy granting Magdalen relief And opening Heaven to the Thief Hath with sweet Hopes allay'd my grief 14. My worthless Pray'rs deserve no hire But thou mild Lord thy Grace inspire And save me from eternal Fire 15. Amongst thy Sheep grant I may stand Far from the Goats accursed band Securely plac'd at thy Right Hand 16. The taitif Troop being put to shame And pent in Hells n'ere dying flame Amongst the Blest enrol my Name 17. With bended Knee I make my Prayer And Heart contrite as Ashes are Of my last End dear Lord take care 18. That Day of Doom that Day of Tears When guilty Man awakes in Fears From Dust and fore his Judg appears 19. Jesu whose Breast our woes condoles Preserve him from Hells burning Coaks Give rest to all departed Souls Amen ¶ XII A most devout Exercise of Confession and Communion applied to the Souls suffering in Purgatory When your Charity towards your departed Brethren and Friends shall invite you O pious Christian to apply the fruit of your Communion in their favour You may do well to entertain your self during that whole day set apart for that holy purpose in such acts exercises and thoughts as are proper for that subject As for example At your awaking in the Morning IMagin you hear those poor restless and afflicted Souls making their moan to you and exciting you with their ordinary complaints Miseremini miseremini saltem vos Amici O Friends take compassion upon us And do you answer them with a Requiem aeternam dona eis Domine lux perpetua luceat eis O my God! who hast mercifully given me rest this night and light this morning give eternal rest and eternal light to these poor souls Being cloathed and placed on your knees to Adore the Divine Majesty you may thus pour forth your heart before him O Sacred Trinity I here most humbly prostrate my self and these poor Souls in thy presence Offering up for them to the Throne of thy mercy all my this days Actions and Devotions and particularly my Confession Communion and the Indulgence which through thy Mercy I hope to obtain uniting them to the merits of my dear Redeemer of his blessed Mother and of all the glorious Saints of Heaven And beseeching thy infinit goodness to accept of these my weak and unworthy endeavours for satisfaction of their punishments for solace of their sufferings and for their speedy admission to thy beatifying presence Going to Confession IMagin 1. That the Sacrament of Penance is the Purgatory of this world where thou art to cleanse thy Soul by the Fire of Contrition and Flames of Charity not only from its Sins but also in some measure from the Punishments which by its Sins it hath deserved that being thus pardoned and purified it may be more capable to assist those Souls which suffer in the Purgatory of the other world 2. That if it so pleased the Divine goodness as to lend one hour of time to the Souls in Purgatory wherein they might merit and do Penance how zealously would they make use of this blessed Remedy how sincerely would they Confess their Sins how faithfully would they perform their Duty 3. That many poor Souls suffer now most severe punishments in Purgatory and even in Hell it self for one only Sin and what doth thy self deserve for so many or what must thou expect unless thou endeavourest to make some timely satisfaction during this life Returning from Confession 1. ADmire the Divine favour mercy and goodness in your behalf which is so great that had he don the like to the damned before their departure out of this world they had been all Saints in Paradise 2. Perform your enjoyned Penance humbly punctually and with an ardent desire to satisfie the divine Justice for your offences Hearing Mass 1. AT the Entrance of the Priest to the Altar Think how all Purgatory begins to rejoyce in expectation of the fruits of this great Sacrifice Joyn your Heart Affection and Intention with his Offering up with him the same Sacrifice in memory of Christs Passion in Thanksgiving for his favour conferr'd upon the Souls of Purgatory in that they departed this life in his Grace and Love and in satisfaction for the punishment due to their sins At the Confiteor FOrm an Act of hearty Contrition and weigh how highly it grieves the faithful Souls departed that they ever offended the divin Goodness At the Kyrie-eleison CRy out for Mercy in their behalf by the same repeated petitions to the sacred Trinity At Gloria in excelsis O My God! That these poor Souls were now also conforted with thy Angelical Quires to chaunt forth with them these happy Canticles of thy eternal Glory At Credo MAke a profession of your Faith protesting you will never swerve one tittle from that belief wherein all
Fundamental practises of sublime and solid Piety may be always ready at hand for the daily use of devout Christians both before and after Communion and in which they may also according to each ones fervor and opportunity very profitably employ themselves after their Morning Exercise as it were in the way of a Canonical Office for which reason they are distinguished like the precedent Exercises of Christian Vertues which may be practised in the same manner into Seven Points correspondent to the Seven Hours of the Church-Service The First Exercise Which is the Ground work of all Prayer and Introversion and which alone being performed with requisite diligence discretion and perseverance will speedily and infallibly afford unspeakable Comfort and spiritual Profit to the pious Practicer thereof As being indeed the end of all other external Exercises and the short sure simple and Regia via leading to a Devout and Divine life THis Exercise consists of Three parts in general and Nine points in particular 1. Preparation of three acts 1. An affective and lively apprehension of Gods presence 2. A cordial and profound act of humility 3. A pure intention to please and praise God only 2. Consideration of 1. Our Wounds both internal and external 2. Our Wants which are many in every degree 3. Our Wishes and humble desires 3. Conclusion also of three acts 1. Contrition for our Sins 2. Resignation in our wants 3. Complacence in God and Confidence in his Goodness A practical description of this Exercise The first part is Preparation of three Acts. 1. A lively apprehension of Gods presence not only in all places and in all creatures by his Power and Essence but in our Souls by his Mercy Love Care and Providence O My Soul Where are we who sees us What is he that is with us and within us By whose light we see by whose fire we burn and by whose love we live Live my most glorious and gracious Lord in whose presence I kneel in whose arms I rest and after whose love I breath O that thou wert as dear to my soul as thou art near it Alas why doth she not care as much for her God as he doth for her good Why do I not love thy presence O my amiable Lord since thou art present by love Thou art my Father my Physician and my Food hear me heal me help me I am wicked I am wounded I am wretched Out of thee there is no place of rest without thee there is no hope of happiness remain therefore with me and reign within me Let me be thine all thine ever thine 2. Profound and cordial Humility acknowledging unfainedly before God and his Angels our wickedness weakness and wretchedness what we are and what we deserve and so resting quiet in the Center of our own Nothing O My Soul What have we been What are we What have we What can we do What do we deserve What do we desire What hath our loving Father and liberal Lord that he hath not given us What have we proud and prodigal Children that we have not received from his merciful hand and heart What have we received that we have not abused by self-love or self-delight O sweet Jesu Give tears to my eyes words to my tongue sighs to my heart and love to my spirit for I need them all to deplore my misery and implore thy mercy to admire thy beauty and adore thy bounty to sigh after thee and suffer for thee What I have been it grieves me to remember What I am after so many signal benefits on thy part and serious promises on mine I am ashamed to think What I deserve I am afraid to call to mind What I desire I am ignorant how to ask Lord for thy Mercies sake for thy Mothers sake by thy Bowels of mercy and her Breasts of meekness by all that thou hast suffer'd for me and she for thee by all that is dear to thee in Heaven and Earth Forget and forgive what I have been my past folly and wickedness Pity and protect what I am my present frailty and weakness Be satisfi'd for what I deserve supply what I desire and be mindfull of me in life and death How much O my God! do I wish to leave all and lose my self to find thee to humble my self to please thee and to hate my self to love thee But these hard and high matters I dare scarcely promise how then and when shall I practise them Yet without thee O Sacred Humility there is no solid center to rest in no true sweetness to take gust in therefore O my God! I come to thy School to learn this necessary Lesson teach me touch me wound me and win me unto thy self 3. Pure intention to please and praise God only to be all his ever his in what manner and measure he best liketh both in this Prayer and all things whatsoever BEhold therefore O my Lord how out of pure Obedience to thy Will and confidence in thy Mercy I now approach to please and praise thy divine Majesty Not to receive great matters from thee for I am unworthy nor to conceive great matters of thee for I am uncapable but to leave all for thee to be humble of heart beyond all and to love thee more than all this is conform both to my Condition and Obligation I come to Prayer O my only Lord and love not to have much but to give up all to be thine all thine ever thine in life and death for time and eternity as thy self best pleaseth I come O my center and sweetness to seek thee and sigh after thee yet I am content neither to find thee nor feel thee but only to see thee by faith and to suffer for thee with fidelity I am satisfied and content that thou art so good great glorious rich and happy in thy self and I am confident that thou in thy good time wilt make me rich in thy mercy and happy in thy love for in this Pilgrimage I desire no other happiness than true humility nor greater riches than naked Charity The second part is Consideration shewing three things first to our selves and then to our Soveraign Lord and Maker 1. Our Wounds both internal and external to wit our Sins Ingratitudes Daily failings strong Passions c. AH my sick and sinful soul How weak and Wounded are we in every degree in all parts in each member of body and faculty of mind 1. All is out of order all is pride and self-love how impenitent are we in sorrowing how impatient in suffering how unconstant in persevering and yet how importunate in sinning 2. My Vnderstanding is blind to good clear-sighted to evil My Will is perverse peevish cold sensual My Memory is weak full of idle images subject to distractions 3. My Affections are vain my Passions violent my Inclinations vitious 4. My Faith is little my Hope less my Charity least of all 5. So forward to extroversion and dissolution so backward
dive into my own baseness weakness misery nothing that knowing what I truly am I may really loath hate distrust despise and deny my self and all my own proceedings sincerely love thee only trust and hope in thee and rely wholly upon thy divine Providence and Protection I am not only content O my Lord God! but even willing and desirous that all thy creatures should take me and treat me according to my true condition and unworthiness And I am resolved by thy grace to humble my self not only under thy mighty hand but also under all their feet as their servant and slave to be troden on abhorred avoided and detested by them all as a sink of sin and filthiness I will be desirous to be esteemed and used as Dross among Metals Chaff among Grain a Wolf among Sheep and as Satan amongst the Children of God I acknowledg my self unworthy of all grace and comfort from God or man and worthy of all pain punishment crosses contradiction confusion desolation death damnation I will be henceforth ashamed to complain of any aggrievances and be content to suffer whatsoever the World the Devil and Hell it self can inflict upon me 2. A rational consideration of what we are were and shall be ANd to strengthen this my resolution I will rationally consider before thee O my Lord what I really am what I was and what will become of me both touching my body my soul and my whole being Ay me I have a body all clay a soul all sin a life all frailty a substance all nothing And this is all I have to vaunt of in thy presence O my Lord and my Maker My material part is but slime of the earth the very worst part of the unworthiest Element Ah poor man and canst thou look so big who cam'st from so base an extraction Be asham'd to lift up thy head vile mud and dirt since thy pedigree is so well known and the ingredients of thy being are so mean and contemptible And when I consider what this my body was in the womb how it was conceiv'd in concupiscence nourish'd with filthiness and brought up in darkness I am asham'd to own my own beginning which is so horrid and loathsome and who then can justly boast of state strength beauty or nobility since the groundwork of all is but a little dung and corruption Ah poor worm what a dismal prison wert thou detained in for nine months space of thy time What nasty and poysonous food was thy diet how wretched was thy birth how weak and woful thy infancy and what art thou in thy best and most flourishing condition in the world but a clog and cage to thy inthrall'd soul a painted sack or pargetted sepulcher full of filth froth and ordure O my Lord give me grace to frame an impartial judgment of what I am and then how soon shall I check all risings of pride and presumption 3. We deplore our own misery and implore Gods mercy I Came into this world O my Lord with groans and tears I live in it with griefs cares I shall go out of it with pangs and fears and lastly I must become a horrour to the eyes of my dearest friends a prey of vermin and a companion of rottenness Ah! how canst thou be proud of thy perfections poor clay ashes why should'st thou look to be so highly priz'd and so daintily pamper'd thou stinking puddle Dust thou art and to dust thou must return Hast thou not always before thine eyes these ashes for thy glass and death for thy mistress why then dost thou suffer so many sparkles of vanity to arise from this thy caitiff condition And thou my poor soul the spiritual part of my composition O what shall I say of thee to thy great Lord and Maker What thou hast hitherto been I well know wretched wicked sinful What thou now art I know not being uncertain of Gods grace love What thou shalt be hereafter I am altogether ignorant because doubtful of thy correspondency with grace and fearful of thy perseverance in goodness Ah sad condition I came O my Lord into this world in original sin I am bred up in actual sin and if death and deadly sin meet together I shall feel the smart of them both eternally O how much need have I then of thy grace O merciful Lord God! to avoid Sin since I cannot eschew Death O let me rather admit a deadly wound than commit a deadly Sin 4. A deep Consideration of our own Nothing WHat art thou then O my whole man consisting of body and soul What wert thou O. N. from all eternity before thy conception in the womb and birth into the world Nothing Ah poor no thing what is less than nothing where dwels this nothing who can describe a nothing which more differs from the least atome in the Sun than Gods infinit greatness from the least of his creatures O proud nothing What hast thou that thou hast not receiv'd Nothing Why then art thou puffed up with it as if thou hadst not received it I acknowledg my whole being to be from thy only bounty O my great good and glorious Maker and since I possess nothing but what I have from thee since I shall also necessarily fade away into my first nothing if thou withdrawest from me thy conserving hand but a moment I will no longer glory in that which is none of mine but I will here lay the foundation of my spiritual edifice upon this sure and solid ground of thy All and my own nothing I will endeavour to frame a true conceit of my own misery frailty insufficiency and nothing that so I may fully speedily and solidly come to this desired self-knowledg and humility I will run over my lesson repeat my questions learn my answers and strive to grow skilful in this necessary and sacred science What have I received that I have not abused Nothing Body Soul Will Judgment Memory Understanding Affection Senses Meat Drink Company Habit books Prayer Sacraments all Creatures Can I then be proud of Sin Filthiness rottenness labour grief infirmity blindness obstinacy corruption death and damnation which are worse than nothing Shall I boast of thy gifts O my God! which are not mine or of my own abuses and ingratitudes The one is to rob thee of thy honour the other is to be honoured for thy dishonour 5. A serious Reflection upon Gods gifts and graces and our strange Ingratitude WHat creature ever sinned so grievously as I have done and yet sorrowed so little and suffered less Who ever forsook so great and good a God for so little and vain a toy as I have done What sinful soul is there now in hell that would not have been a glorious Saint in Heaven if it had had the helps favours feelings and visits which I have both had and abused Who ever received so many mercies so sweet comforts and so great graces from thee O bountiful Lord God! and made so
little and bad use of them as I have done If I deny all this my conscience witnesseth against me If I confess it Oh! why am I not more humble Finally If such great troubles temptations and tribulations had hapned to me as have done to others I should by consenting have ere now burn'd in Hell fire but thou O meek and merciful Creator hast spared me because thou knowest my weakness sent me smal crosses because I can't bear greater c. Wherefore Not unto me O Lord but to thee be all honour for time and eternity O that I could know thee and know my self O that I could truly see my own nothing and total dependency on thee my misery and malice and thy perfection and total goodness Ay me weak and wretched N What are my forces that I should rely on them I have nothing O my Lord but what is thine my merits are thy mercies my goods thy graces yet I never have been thankful for receiving them nor faithful in using them O! when did I trust in my own strength and was not foiled and confounded Grant therefore O my Lord O my only hope and help O my sole safety and security that I may totally trust to thee and distrust my self truly acknowledg thee and deny my self entirely love thee and bate my self 6. A further Confession of our own poorness unprofitableness unworthiness I Confess O my Lord that I am the poorest ungratefullest unprofitablest and unworthiest worm of the earth a thing altogether useless to the world only active to offend thee and to do wickedly in thy sight and is it possible that I can harbour any thought of self-love or self-liking O God of infinite glory greatness and Majesty before whom the powers of heaven do tremble what are all creatures in thy sight and what am I the meanest of them all O what proportion is there Great God! between me and thee between thy All and my Nothing and yet have I infring'd thy laws disobey'd thy commands contemn'd thy Counsels resisted thy callings and contradicted thy Will to prefer my own O monstrous impiety and ingratitude And shall not I willingly submit to all pain punishment contradiction contempt which thou O my highly offended Creator shalt suffer thy creatures to inflict upon me Behold O my Lord I debase humble and annihilate my self under all things that have a being I will henceforth utterly hate distrust and detest my self and wholy love thee and rely upon thy mercy O holy self-knowledg O sacred humility thou art the key of all perfection the door of all solid virtue piety and devotion 7. Resolutions to practise Humility Self-denial and Abnegation I Now clearly see by the light of thy divine goodness O gracious Lord God! what hath hitherto been the cause of my non-proficiency in the way of the Spirit and why the path of virtue seemed so unpleasant thornie tedious and troublesome to my deceived soul It was because I had not learn'd to leave loath deny and distrust my self and rely wholy on thee O my only comfort and support I will therefore henceforth faithfully practise what I perceive so necessary I will profoundly humble my Soul both inwardly in thy presence O my Lord and outwardly to the whole world I will joyfully and voluntarily embrace all injury indignity contempt correction and confusion which can befal me with as much pleasure as I have formerly any worldly cherishings and kindnesses I will utterly destroy ruine and root out all Self-love self-liking self-seeking self-praise and self-complacency I will cast my self under the feet of the vilest creatures take pleasure in the meanest employments and obey them most willingly whom my nature most distasts and dislikes I will walk before thee O my Creator as thy needy naked desolate and destitute Vassal acknowledging my self void of all Virtue attributing to my self nothing but sin ingratitude defects failings imperfections I will fully perswade my self that no one can contemn confound persecute and punish me as I deserve I will not regard whether I am honoured or hated but imagine my self as a thing dead and forgotten or as that which never had a being and is now truly nothing I will be contented to be accounted an Hypocrite in my sincerest actions and to be thought full of inward impatience secret grudgings and desires of revenge against them who shall any way mortifie or misuse me though my Heart be never so free from it Finally I will have these and the like thoughts and words always in my heart and mouth I am nothing I have nothing I do no good I am an unprofitable servant I utterly hate and distrust my self and totally rely upon thee O my Lord my Love and my All. The Fourth Exercise To obtain Remission of our Sins 1. We excite our dull and drowsie Souls to arise speedily and lament seriously our former sinfulness WHO will give water to my Head and fountains of tears to my Eyes And I will weep day and night for my Sins which cover me all over like an incurable ulcer from the sole of the Foot to the crown of the Head Where art thou O my wretched and wicked Soul In what labyrinths dost thou walk In what sinks of Sin and puddles of uncleanness dost thou wallow Awake arise lament repent how long wilt thou sleep Why wilt thou die when wilt thou shake off thy fetters Ah return filly sheep to thy good Pastor return poor Prodigal to thy pious Father whose goodness so lovingly invites thee whose mercy hath so long expected thee O great and glorious God the mighty Monarch of heaven and earth King of Kings and Lord of Lords behold a poor and penitent Publican who is asham'd to lift up his eyes to Heaven and unworthy to take your Sacred Name into his sinful mouth humbly knocking at your gate of mercy clipping your holy feet and craving your accustomed pitty and compassion O merciful Lord Hide not your self from me shut not the door against me Oh! one crum of comfort one dram of devotion to my sad and sick Soul to my dry and desolate Spirit 2. Our God is all to us and in us and the Authour of all our goodness I Am conscious of my ingratitude against thee O supreme Majesty and my sin is always before me and confounding me But whether should I retire my self from thee To whom should I have recourse but unto thee Art not thou my Father my Father of mercies which have neither limits nor measure Art not thou my Maker my Preserver my Governor my Deliverer my King my Pastor my Physician my Priest my Sacrifice If thou art not all this and more to me and if I am nothing to thee refuse me reject me and relinquish me a prey to be swallowed up by thine enemies But it is time O Lord that Heaven and Earth take notice of what thou art to me and what I am to thee It is time thou shouldest enter into thy
sorry from the bottom of my heart and Soul that ever I offended thee who deservest from me all possible love honour and obedience beseeching thee as a guilty Criminal to take compassion upon thy poor and penitent Creature and to forgive me the great and grievous transgressions and offences which I have committed against thy divin bounty as I do for the love of thee my Lord and Maker most freely forgive all those that have any way offended distasted contristated or scandalized me sincerely knowing that I deserve no comfort from any creature but all contempt and confusion and not only to be troubled and trampled on by all on earth temporally but even to be tormented by the Devils in Hell eternally Ah Crucified Jesu take pity on my Soul for which thou pouredst forth thy Sacred Blood and gavest up thy dearest life on the Cross Alas How ungrateful a Child have I been to offend so frequently so hainously so disloyally so loving and liberal a Father so meek and merciful a Redeemer and so sweet and soveraign a Majesty who hath always shew'd himself to me so benign and bountiful sparing me in my Sins and expecting me to Repentance wooing me to his love and calling me to his service by a thousand means all which I have either rejected or neglected and still nevertheless continuing unto me my life time and means to do Penance Oh my poor Soul How hast thou been blinded and bewitched to leave the bread of Angels and to feed on the husks of Swine to abandon God and all solid goodness upon whom depends all thy hope and happiness all thy quiet content and comfort in time and eternity for trifling vanities empty shadows meer nothings O strange folly and phrensy would I had never Sinned and Oh that I might never Sin more O my God! What have I done and not done would I had suffered on the Cross with thee my sweet Saviour and for thy love pains of body pangs of soul and even death it self when I thus grievously Sinned And what can I say or do more I abhor and detest whatsoever I have done said thought or desired contrary to thy divine will and liking I renounce all company and occasions which may induce me to offend thee I cast my self at thy sacred feet to be thy faithful Bond-slave for ever I firmly resolve to take up my Cross and carry it after thee Dear Jesu till death and to do penance and satisfaction for my past pride pleasure and impiety desiring no more in this world but to linger out my pilgrimage at the foot of the Cross like the Penitent Magdalen in perpetual solitude silence and submission Good Jesu for thy infinite mercies sake suffer not thy poor creature to be separated from thee eternally O amiable Eternity O Eternal amity of God! Shall I leave and lose thee for filthy pleasures frail creatures fond friendships fading honours No my dear Lord Be pleased rather to take my soul out of my body than thy love out of my soul Let me rather Die miserably than Sin mortally Let me pass on the rest of my pilgrimage in thy grace and fear that I may finish it in thy friendship and favour Grant me this I beseech thee O meek and merciful Saviour by the merits of thy bitter death and passion by the intercession of thy most blessed Mother by the suffrages of all thy holy Saints in heaven and happy Souls upon earth Upon all which relying as upon the Anchors of my hope I absolutely commit and resign my self to thy sacred disposition and providence for time and Eternitie fully trusting that thou wilt mercifully pardon all my Sins carefully assist me in all my Wants and Weaknesses and in the end happily bring me to thy Eternal Bliss and Beatitude by such means as thy divin Wisdom knows most expedient for me The Fifth Exercise Of subduing Sensuality to Reason 1. We deplore our proneness to Evil. MY Spirit is willing O most glorious and gracious Lord God! to serve thee love thee honour thee and follow thee but my flesh is weak frail and refractory I do not what I desire O my God! nor what thou demandest But I act that which I hate and what thou forbiddest I feel O my Lord a law of sensuality contradicting the law of my mind captivating my reason clouding my judgment and continually striving to cast me down headlong into sin and perdition Vnhappy man that I am Who will free me from this body of death Ah! my brutish body ah my burdensome flesh Thou art my dangerous and deadly enemy 'T is thy weight that depresseth my Soul thy earth that clogs and corrupts my air thy contagion and perversity which infects and debaseth my better part and heavenly portion thy sensuality which draws on endangers and almost destroys my reason 2. A detestation of our Sensuality AH Sensuality the source of all my misery how justly do I now hate thee and how willingly would I leave thee At my first acquaintance with thee thou defiledst me with Original Sin In my Infancy thou mad'st a beast of me And now in my riper years thou still pursuest me proclaimest open war with me blindest my Understanding with darkness ignorance and errours make my Will refractory to good and ready to all evil distractest my Memory with vain and vile fancies and perpetually tossest me to and fro between love and hatred joy and grief hope and fear and the rest of thy numerous and enormous irascible and concupiscible powers and passions Ay me how sad is my state how deplorable my condition Oh! how long Lord must I dwell with these devils how long must I endure the violence of these Passions O my Lord my strength and my salvation break these fetters for me Command a calm O thou powerful Ruler of Sea and Winds and appease the surges of these my unmortified appetites Oh! restore me to my self again reduce Reason to her lost dominion in my Soul and bring back me thy poor Creature to thee her powerful Creator O let not this passenger perish amidst those boysterous billows nor suffer utter shipwrack in these fearful tempests I suffer violence O my Lord answer for me the companion which thou hast given me hath deceived me Sence hath corrupted and conquer'd my Judgment Oh! how am I dragg'd up and down by my all-mastering appetites commanded by my servants and fetter'd by my slaves O Tyranny O indignity Ah my soul O noble spirit fair as the Angels formed to thy Creators lovely resemblance stampt with his divine Character and Heir apparent to his glorious Kingdom To be thus subject to the base and brutal desires of flesh and blood O intolerable bondage O unworthy servitude 3. An humble acknowledgment and confession of our frailty and misery O Father of Mercies and only Physitian of my soul Thou art Almighty and All mercy and I am all weakness and all misery There is no part left in my whole body and soul
Supply of all my spiritual and temporal Necessities for my Friends and Enemies Lord Conserve thy Church Convert the Infidels Extirpate all Heresies unite Christian Princes and give solace to the poor Souls suffering in Purgatory At the beginning of Mass The Priest's bowing down before the Altar at his Confiteor represents our Saviour prostrate at his Prayers before his Eternal Father in the Garden for the Remission of your Sins Make you also a general Confession of your Sins with the Priest and humble your self before the divin Majesty saying I Humbly cast my self O my sweet Redeemer at thy sacred Feet desiring to wash them with my tears in acknowledgment of my wickedness O Jesu take compassion upon thy poor creature redeem'd with thy precious Blood who repents him heartily of all his past Sins and purposes seriously by the assistance of thy Grace to serve thee more faithfully seek thee more diligently and love thee more fervently for the future At the Introite Reflect upon Gods immense Greatness Charity and Mercie I Rejoyce O Eternal Lord God! in that thou art what thou art and that there is no Being but by thee only Thou well knowest O infinit Goodness what thy self is and what I am Thou art All and I am Nothing And yet thou seekest after me At Kyrie eleison Demand pardon for the Sins of the whole World HAve mercy O Lord upon all them who are in mortal Sin reclaim their perverse Wills to thy love and give them the grace of true and perfect Repentance that thy Name may be magnified thy goodness extoll'd and thy praises celebrated by them and all thy creatures At Gloria in Excelsis Desire and endeavour the promotion of Gods Honour and Glory to the utmost of your power O My God! how joyfully affectionatly incessantly do the Angels adore thee and sing forth thy divin Praises And how slack are men in serving honouring and loving thee O how highly doth the fervour and diligence of those blessed Spirits delight me and how much doth mens negligence and forgetfulness displease me Lord I humbly adore thee with those holy Quires and heartily desire that the whol World would render thee all due honour homage and adoration Lift up my Heart O my Lord and lodg my affections in the place where my Treasure lies Let all that I think say or do intend thy honour and let my Soul and Tongue resound always Glory be to God on high At Dominus vobiscum BE thou always with me O my God! let thy Grace never depart from me At the Prayers or Collects Humbly joyn your Prayers with them of the Priest saying O Eternal Lord God! look mercifully upon thy well-beloved Spouse the Catholick Church and graciously receive the Petitions which she humbly presents to the Throne of thy Sacred Majestie by this Priests mediation and Ministery Hear us O Lord and help us for thy dear Sons sake our only Saviour and Redeemer Christ Jesus At the Epistle Entertain your self in considering how our Blessed Saviour was hurried from Annas to Caiphas from Pilate to Herod from one place to another in the time of his Passion How he was questioned accused buffeted abused Then pray for patience in your sufferings O Sweet Saviour I most humbly beseech thee by the Merits of al thy unjust Sufferings to give me courage constancie and patience in all such occasions of injuries crosses and contradictions as thy Divin Providence shall permit to befal me during this my lives Pilgrimage Grant that I may equally adore thy Eternal Will in prosperity and adversitie and resignedly submit my self and all that any way concerns me to thy most just and sacred disposition At the Gospel Rise up to shew your readiness to obey the Evangelical Doctrin stand attentively hearkning to your Saviours own sweet words But if you understand not their meaning reflect upon some other point or passage of your Redeemers life instruction or counsel Imploring his Grace for the effectual execution of what he there teaches you advises you inspires you ILluminate my interiour Eyes O God of my heart Unveil my Understanding and Inflame my Affections that I may clearly see and know thy holy Will and chearfully accomplish thy sacred Precepts Counsels and Inspirations At the Creed You may make a profession of your Faith by a mental or vocal recital of your Creed together with the Priest Or say briefly thus O Soveraign Deity I firmly believe thee to be one God in three Persons who madst all things of nothing I believe that the Second Person became Man in blessed Maries womb by the Holy Ghosts operation and that he died for me and all mankind on the Cross I believe that he arose from Death that he ascended into Heaven and that he shall judg the whole World in the last Day I believe the holy Catholick Church and whatsoever she teaches and defines And in this Faith I will live and die Offer up your Prayers also for the Illumination and Conversion of all Vnbelievers TAke pity O Lord upon all Infidels Hereticks and Schismaticks And remember O most compassionate Creator that thy powerful hand did not bring these perfect products out of their eternal Nothing and stamp their Rational Souls with thy own sacred Image in order to destroy and abandon them since thou hast been graciously pleased to send down thy only Son my dear Saviour to Redeem and Ransom them aswel as my unworthy self with the price of his most precious Bloud Dart therefore O Soveraign Lord and sincere Lover of all Souls some efficacious beams of thy heavenly light into their dark and deceived Understandings that they may see the Truths of thy sacred Mysteries and give them Grace to submit their Necks to the sweet and easie yoke of thy Precepts and thy Churches Prescripts Ah! my dear Lord what have I done for thee or what have I deserv'd of thee that I should be called to thy saving Faith and be made a Member of thy sacred Church Impart I beseech thee the like favour to these your missed mistaken and unbelieving Creatures that they may with me faithfully acknowledg adore and love thee their glorious Maker and Redeemer admiringly praise and magnifie thy Goodness and joyfully celebrate thy Mercies with Canticles of eternal gratitude and thanksgiving At the Offertorie or Oblation of the Bread and Wine Make also an humble and hearty Oblation of your Body Soul Goods Friends to the divin Majestie O Eternal Father In union of that ineffable Love wherewith my dear Saviour offered up himself on the Cross to thy divin Majestie I also offer up my self with him humbly beseeching thee to direct all my thoughts words and works to thy Honour to my own good to my neighbours edification I offer up this divin Sacrifice to the glory of thy Name to the honor of thy Angels and Saints to satisfie for my sins to thank thee for thy benefits to obtain a supply of my temporal and spiritual
though we deserve it not who hast given us a Being when we were not 12. A Prayer for the Conversion of Hereticks and Infidels ALmighty and all merciful God! who seekest and desirest the salvation of all Souls Take pity we beseech thee upon such as are seduced with pestiferous Errors and segregated from the unity of thy sacred Church Pardon them O Lord for they perceive not what they do Illuminate the Eyes of their understanding O true Light of all Spirits that they may see their own Blindness and seeing it may speedily abandon it And that so becomming sincerely reconciled to thee the Supreme Shepherd and to thy Church the only safe Sheepfold they may joyfully praise and magnify thy Mercies together with us thy faithful Children for evermore 13. A Prayer for a sick person O Soveraign Lord God the Author of our Health and our Comforter in Sickness in the Watch of whose Divine Providence run all the Moments of our lives earthly Pilgrimage Hear we beseech thee the humble Petitions which we present to thy throne of mercy for N. thy infirm but faithful Servant and mercifully restore him to his former welfare that he may henceforth walk more worthy his Calling and make greater progress in vertue and Piety But if it is thy pleasure O Supream Lord of Life and Death to call him hence to Eternity let thy most just Will O Heavenly Father be accomplished in this and in all things whatsoever only let Death find him well prepared and rightly disposed Let him humbly kiss thy Paternal Rod which chastiseth him and patiently submit to the Cross which thy loving Hand hath layd upon his Shoulders Let him behave himself during the remaining time of his Infirmity as befits a faithful and devout Christian free from Pusillanimity and Despair full of Hope and filial confidence And finally being strengthned with the Sacraments reconciled to his Enemies and setled in thy Grace and Favour let him cheerfully expect and joyfully embrace Deaths summons and quietly pass from this place of Banishment to his happy home in thy Heavenly Paradise 14. Prayers in Time of the Plague 1. The Anthem Remember thy Covenant O Merciful Creator and say to the smiting Angel Now hold thy Hand that the Earth may not become desolate and every living Soul destroyed Ver. Lord let thy Anger cease from thy People Ans And from thy City Let us Pray HEar we most humbly beseech thee O Compassionate Lord God! the Prayers of thy distressed people and as we acknowledg our selves to be justly punished for our offences so be thou pleased in mercy to free us for the glory of thy own sacred Name 2. O God! who well know'st that our human frailty cannot subsist amidst so many and so great Dangers without the support of thy Divine favour and assistance Give us we most humbly beseech thee Health of mind and body and grant that we may overcome by thy help and mercy what we deservedly suffer for our own Sins and Impieties 3. Lord lend a gracious Eare to the petitions of thy poor Servants grant us the desired effect of our faithful Supplications and avert from us the fury of the raging Pestilence that we may humbly and gratefully acknowledg these Scourges to proceed from thy just Anger and Indignation and to cease through thy boundless Mercy and Goodness 4. A Prayer to the sacred Virgin-Mother call'd the Myraculous Prayer against the Plague THe Star of Heaven whose snowy Breast Did suckle our sweet Lord supprest The Plague of Death whose Origen Was from the very first of Men May that clear Star at present daign Those Constellations to restrain Whose Wars deprive men of their Breath By the destructive wounds of Death Repeat thrice these four ensuing Verses Bright Star o' th' Sea ' gainst Plague thy help afford Nothing 's deny'd thee by thy Son our Lord Who honours thee Blest-Maid Sweet Jesu save Them by thy power for whom she daigns to crave Let us Pray O God of Mercy God of Compassion God of Pardon who in time past taking pity upon thy afflicted people commandedst the striking Angel to with-hold his Hand from further punishing them We most humbly beseech thee for the love of that glorious Star whose sacred Breasts gave thee suck to preserve us from all Plaguy Infection to deliver us from an unprovided Death and to defend us from all destructive Accidents and Incursions 15. Prayers for a happy Death 1. O Dear Lord Jesu I most humbly beseech thee by those bitter Pains and Pangs which thou suffredst for me in thy bitter Passion and particularly in the hour wherein thy Divine Soul passed forth of thy blessed Body take pity upon my poor and sinful Soul in her last Agony and in her passage to Eternity 2. T is thou O Soveraign Goodness who art the prime Source and dayly Preserver of my Life and 't is from thee alone that I can expect the Grace of a happy Death Thou O Lord didst not make this Death which separates Soul and Body 't was Sin which brought it into the World had not man strayed from thy sacred Precept he had not been subject to this severe Punishment But yet thy Divine Son by enduring the Sting of Death hath chang'd its harsh Nature and through his means and merits it may now be made a Sacrifice most pleasing to thy Majesty For precious in thy sight is the just mans Death which is only a glorious passage from Time to Eternity This is the Death I here most humbly demand of thy Divine bounty as the Crown of all thy Mercies for thou O Lord lookest not so much upon the first beginnings of thy Children as upon their final End and Consummation and the Eternity of their Glory or Misery depend's upon the last moment of their Life Then it is that the Tempter tries all wayes to prevaile over the weakness of our spirit when 't is beaten down by the Bodies sickness either to swell it up into a dangerous Presumption or deject it into a more dangerous Despair Then it is that all the sinful passages of our life come swarming into our Memories to strike us with a sad resentment of what 't is too late to remedy Then it is that the poor Soul overwhelmed with a flood of sorrow cannot without thy strengthing Grace exercise the functions of her Reason and Religion Give me therefore O my gracious Lord God! in this passage which is so full of peril and of so great importance all those Christian dispositions which thy wonted Clemency give 's to thy elected and beloved Children that I may well perform this last duty of life Let me consider Death as the just punishment of Sin and so most willingly receive it to obey the Law which comprehend's all his race by whom it was introduced into the World Let me look upon my Body as a parcel of old Adam deserving to return into dust and only fit for corruption Let me render to thy Majesty