Selected quad for the lemma: prayer_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
prayer_n	altar_n	angel_n	saint_n	3,007	5	6.9210	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
B04460	[The] manner of performing the Novena, or, The nine days devotion to St. Francis Xaverius: of the Society of Jesus, and apostle of India. As also the devotion of the ten Fridays to the same saint.	Brown, Levinius, 1671-1764.; Scarisbrike, Edward, 1639-1709.	1690 (1690)	Wing M459B; ESTC R229394	36,323	117

●Manner of Performing THE NOVENA OR The NINE DAYS DEVOTION TO St. Francis Xaverius Of the Society of JESVS And Apostle of India As also the Devotion of the Ten Fridays To the same SAINT THE Manner of Performing the NOVENA OR The Nine Days Devotion THis Novena commences on the 4th of March and continues Nine Days that is till the 12th of March upon which Day in the Year 1622. Pope Gregory the XV. Canonized St. Francis Xaverius The Persons who perform this Novena are to be employed upon each of the Nine Days in Prayer and Good Works to the Glory of Almighty God and in Honour of his Servant St. Francis Xaverius always endeavouring to repose an entire Confidence in the Merits of this Apostle and hoping through his means to obtain from God whatsoever they shall ask provided it shall be conducing to their Salvation and the Good of their Souls or that otherwise instead of that Blessing which they beg and which is not for their Benefit this Saint will obtain for them of God some other Grace they do not ask and which tends more to their Eternal Felicity For the exact Performance of this Novena they are to take for their Advocates the Nine Quires of Heavenly Spirits making particular mention of the Principal Vertues of St. Francis Xaverius and they are to observe other Directions which shall be given hereafter It will be convenient to Confess and Communicate the first Day that so the Soul being cleansed from Sin and honoured with the Sacred Eucharist all the Works we perform in the State of Grace may be meritorious of Eternal Life and the more efficacious towards obtaining the Benefit we ask Those who do not Confess must at least begin every Day with an Act of Contrition to cleanse their Souls from Sin and to secure themselves of obtaining their Petition In Barcelona Valencia and other Cities of Spain this Novena is performed in the Church with great Solemnity great Concourse of People and daily Sermons upon the Vertues of St. Francis Xaverius And this is the better way not only because God in the Church as being the House of Prayer is more enclin'd to grant our requests but also because the Prayer of many together is more acceptable to God and when all beg for all every individual the more easily obtains his desire by reason that Charity adds Force to Prayer and God is more ready to hear us when we are united in him for Christ himself assured us that wheresoever two or three are gathered together in his Name he is in the midst of them When this Novena is not performed in the Church with the General Concourse of the People it were convenient that if it be done in a private House all the Family should joyn in performing it altogether begging that of God for every one which each apart begs for himself For the Conveniency of such as stand in need of farther Direction we will here set down those Prayers that are proper to be said every Day nevertheless such as are more Devout may beg the same thing of this Saint in such Terms and Language as their Devotion shall dictate and may direct their Prayer as they think fit When many together perform the Novena one of them may read the Prayers changing the Singular Number into the Plural and saying we desire we beg c. The others may repeat the Prayer after him or else only hear it with Attention inwardly desiring and begging that which is asked in it INSTRUCTIONS For the exact Performing of the NOVENA THose who perform the Novena are to observe these Instructions upon all and each of the Nine Days First They are to endeavour to imitate some one of this Saint's Virtues by practising some exterior Act or Acts thereof as for instance his Zeal Humility Patience c. Secondly they are to do some Work of Mercy either Spiritual or Corporal for the Benefit of their Neighbour as giving of Alms visiting the Sick or those that are in Prison comforting the Afflicted praying for the Souls in Purgatory or for those that are in the State of Mortal Sin c. Thirdly They are to offer up to this Saint some particular Mortification as Fasting wearing of Hair-Cloth Disciplining using themselves with less Tenderness c. Fourthly They are to curb their Senses their Eyes and Ears and their Tongue endeavouring to avoid even the least of Sins Fifthly They are to read some Chapter or Passage of the Life of this Saint or meditate a while upon some one of his Vertues of which you will find many in the Devotoin of the Ten Fridays with an earnest desire to imitate them Sixthly They are to endeavour for the Glory of God to excite some Person to bear Devotion to this Saint 7thly It will be convenient they every Day invoke the Intercession of some one Rank of the Saints as they do of the Quires of Angels to the end that their Advocates and Intercessors being multiplyed as the Church expresses it they may the more readily obtain what they ask The Classes of Saints may be divided into Patriarchs Prophets Apostles Martyrs Bishops Doctors Priests Religious Confessors Virgins and other Saints in Heaven For the more effectual prevailing with St. Francis Xaverius it will be convenient every Day to make a special Commemoration of St. Ignatius of Loyola whom St. Francis Xaverius honoured respected and loved as his Father Master and Superior Upon one of the Nine Days the Person performing this Devotion must Confess and Communicate making a most diligent Preparation to please God and St. Francis Xaverius for the more ready obtaining of the thing desired Such as cannot read may cause another to read these Prayers to them they giving great Attention to them and offering them up to St. Francis or instead thereof they may say Ten Pater Nosters and Ten Ave Maria's with Ten Gloria Patri's in Honour of the Ten Years that St. Francis Xaverius spent in Preaching in the Indies begging of the Saint whatsosoever they desire and praying as he did for the Conversion of Infidels Tho' the properest time for performing this Novena be from the 4th of March to the 12th which is the Day of the Canonization of St. Francis Xaverius yet it may be performed at any other time of the Year Pope Alexander the VII granted many Indulgences to those that Celebrate this Novena in the Church of St. Roch of the Society of Jesus in Lisbon which is a tacite Approbation of this Devotion How much the Devotion of this Novena daily spreads is well known On this account St. Francis has obtained Favours for several Persons as they themselves testify In the Year 1688 it was perform'd at Madrid with extraordinary Solemnity in the Royal Chappel of the Palace their Catholick Majesties being every Day there present THE First Day of the NOVENA THE Person performing this Devotion kneeling before an Altar or the Image of St. Francis Xaverius

shall lift up his Heart to God and profoundly humbling himself in Spirit and offering up all his Prayers Thoughts and Words to his Glory in Honour of the Blessed Virgin Mary St. Francis Xaverius and to all the Angels and Saints of Heaven he shall make the Sign of the Cross and say the following Prayer O Lord Jesus Christ true God and Man my Creator and Redeemer for thy sake alone and because I love thee above all things I am sorry from the Bottom of my Heart for having offended thee and I do firmly purpose never to fall into Sin again to shun all Occasions of offending thee to Confess my Sins and perform the Penance that shall be enjoyn'd me and to make Restitution and Satisfaction wherever it shall be due from me For the Love of thee I forgive all my Enemies to thee I offer up my Life Actions and Sufferings in Satisfaction for my Sins and since I humbly beg it of thee I trust in thy Goodness and infinite Mercy that thou wilt forgive me them through the Merits of thy precious Blood and Passion and wilt give me Grace to amend my Life and to persever in thy Service unto my Death Amen MOst Glorious St. Francis Xaverius Apostle of the Indies if it be for the Glory of God and to thy Honour that I obtain what I desire and beg by performing this Novena do thou obtain me this Grace of our Lord if not do thou guide my Petition and beg of our Lord for me that which is most proper for his Glory and the benefit of my Soul O God and Lord of the Angels whom thou dost intrust with the Guardianship of Men I make thee an Offering of all the Merits of these Heavenly Spirits and of those of thy Servant St. Francis Xaverius who was call'd an Angel for his Purity and because he preserved Men from many Spiritual and Corporal Dangers I beseech thee grant me that Purity of Soul and Body which thou didst confer on this thy holy Apostle and that particular Grace which I beg in this Novena to thy greater Honour and Glory Amen Here say three Pater Nosters and three Ave Maries and then the following Prayer to St. Francis Xaverius MOst Holy Father Francis Xaverius who receivedst thy Praises from the Mouth of innocent Children I most humbly implore thy bountiful Charity for the Sake of the most precious Blood of Jesus and of the Immaculate Conception of our Blessed Lady Mother of God to the end thou may'st obtain of God's infinite Goodness that at the Approach of my last Hour my Heart may be separated and withdrawn from all wordly Thoughts and Distractions and be fixed in the most ardent Love of him and a vehement Desire of an happy Eternity so that laying aside the multiplicity of earthly things which hitherto have perplexed me I may most diligently seek and perfectly find that one thing which is necessary which is to Die and rest in Peace under the Protection of the most Holy Virgin Mary in the Wounds of Jesus her most Blessed Son in the sweet Embraces of my God and in thy Presence Holy Saint through whose Intercession I hope to obtain this Mercy But yet whilst it shall please the Divine Providence to preserve my Life I beseech thee my most loving Protector and most affectionate Father to obtain for me of his Divine Majesty that I may Live ●s one that is to Die and as I would wish to have lived at the Hour of my Death ever imitating thy Virtues and fulfilling the most Holy Will of God that so my temporal Death may be to me a Passage into Life Everlasting I also beseech thee to obtain for me that which I ask in this Novena if it be for the Glory of God and Good of my Soul Amen In the next Place you are to ask of St. Francis Xaverius the particular Favour you desire to obtain heightning as much as in you is your Confidence in him with such Words as your affectionate Thoughts shall suggest or with such Aspirations as your Devotions shall dictate Then the more to please this Holy Apostle in Imitation of him say that Prayer which he himself composed and used to say every Day for the Conversion of Infidels which is as follows ETernal God Creator of all things remember that thou alone didst create the Souls of Infidels framing them to thy own Image and Likeness Behold O Lord how to thy Dishonour Hell daily is replenished with them Remember O Lord thy only Son Jesus Christ who suffered for them most bountifully shedding his precious Blood Suffer not O Lord thy Son and our Lord to be any longer despised by the Infidels but rather being appeased by the Intreaties and Prayers of thy Elect the Saints and of the Church the most Blessed Spouse of thy Son vouchsafe to be mindful of thy Mercy and forgeting their Idolatry and Infidelity cause them also to know him thou didst send Jesus Christ thy Son and our Lord who is our Health Life and Resurrection through whom we are made free and saved to whom be all Glory forever ●●en Then conclude with the Prayer proper to this Saint Antiph Well fare thee good and faithful Servant because thou hast been faithful over a few things I will place the over many things Enter into the Joy of thy Lord. Vers Our Lord hath guided the just Man by right Ways Resp And hath shewed him the Kingdom of God The Prayer O God who wert pleased to reduce to the Bosom of thy Church the Nations of the Indies thro' the Preaching and Miracles of S. Francis Xaverius mercifully grant us that we may imitate his Vertues whose glorious Merits we hold in Veneration Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen A Commemoration of St. Ignatius de Loyola Antiph This man despising the World and triumphing over Earthly things heaped up Riches in Heaven by Word and Work Vers Our Lord hath guided the just Man by right Ways Resp And hath shewn him the Kingdom of God The Prayer O God who for the Propagation of the greater Glory of thy Name hast by Blessed Ignatius strengthen'd the Church Militant with new Auxiliaries graciously vouchsafe that we by his Assistance and Imitation solicitously combating upon Earth may obtain with him an everlasting Crown in Heaven A Commemoration of St. Gregory the Great Apostle of England Antiph O most excellent Doctor Light of the Holy Church Blessed Gregory Lover of God's Law supplicate the Son of God for us Vers Our Lord hath as above The Prayer O God who hast bestowed the Rewards of Eternal Blessedness on the Soul of thy Servant Gregory Grant mercifully that we who are deprest with the Weight of our Sins may by his Prayers be delivered Through our Lord. The Second Day Lord Jesus Christ true God and Man c. as before on the First Day Most Glorious St. Francis Xaverius c. as the First Day and so on all the following Days A Prayer for this

Altar or Picture of the Saint or where else most convenient must also say Ten Pater Nosters and Ten Ave Maria's and Ten Gloria Patri's c. offering to God the Merits of this Saint to obtain the Favour he desires In this two things are to be observed The First is That before one applies himself to this Devotion he must purifie his Intention concerning the Favour he petitions be it Temporal or Spiritual pretending nothing else but the Glory of God and the Salvation of his own Soul for seeing this was the only Aim of this Saint whilst he lived in this World so it will be a more efficacious means now in Heaven to move him to favour us with his Intercession to his Divine Majesty to obtain us our Request The Second is That none of these Devotions omitted either in part or whole have any Obligation even of a venial Sin so that you may continue them or no when begun without any scruple and if Business permits you not to perform Ten Fridays in order go on with them at your leisure Friday is assigned in Memory of the Saint's dying on that Day in the Island of Sanciano The Number is in Honour of the Ten Years he laboured in the Indies for God's greater Honour and the Good of Souls and the same is to be understood of the ten Pater's and Aves and Gloria Patri's To the end this Devotion may have more Fruit and promote the Exercise of some Vertue some Considerations are here set down taken out of the Life of the Saint one for every Friday which is to be read on that Day by those that practise this Devotion stirring themselves up to a lively Imitation of the Saint To every Consideration there is annexed a Colloquy in form of a Prayer begging of the Saint some Spiritual Grace suitable to the foregoing Consideration and profitable for the good of their Souls wherein with a little Labour they may spend their time with much Profit The CONSIDERATION For the First FRIDAY Upon the singular Purity of Mind and Body of St. Francis Xaverius BY Purity of Mind is not only understood Innocency of Life but also a right Intention of doing all our Actions purely for the Glory of God and for no other end How great was this Purity in St. Francis The sole Aim of his immense Labours was the Glory of God not seeking any thing else either in his Voyages by the most dangerous Seas of Europe Asia and Africa or Journeys by Land I may say through both Worlds or in his most troublesome Preaching but that God should be known praised and glorified In a word all he suffered which as Francis Mansilla a great while Companion to the aint said is not to be conceived how much it was was only for the Glory of God never regarding any the least private Interest The Reward of his Labours was a most sublime degree of Sanctity which he arrived unto whereby afterwards he deserved such a Glory in Heaven and received so many Favours here on Earth And our Saviour to shew how pleasing his Labours were to him wrought that continual Miracle that in his Father's House a Crucifix sweat Blood every time the Saint was in any difficult Enterprize or Suffering Examin your self Devout Soul and see what Intention you have in all your Actions if to please God only or else for some other private Interest If the first give God thanks and stir your self up to Perseverance If the second be sorry and purpose an Amendment But by Purity of Body is chiefly understood the Vertue of Chastity which retrenches all sensual unlawful Pleasures He excelled so much in this Vertue that as long as he lived he preserved the Lilly of his Virginity unstained and therefore is generally painted with one And which is yet more to be admired he preserved it most pure even living in the World amongst the Delights and Enticements of his own House in the Heat of his young blood and Liberty of the Students of the University of Paris where he lived and even in the most licentious and loose Manners of the Mahometans and Gentils with whom he conversed so many Years God rewarded this his Angelical Purity with the Incorruption of his Body after his Death and with infinite other Miracles For George Alvarez having buried it in quick Lime that he might the easier carry his Bones from Sanciano the Island where he died to God after three Months found it as entire as if newly buried and which is more the body being cut bled as fresh as if alive This Miracle extended it self also to his Cloaths which were preserved from receiving any Harm from the Lime which naturally would have consumed both The Body also sent out a most fragrant Odour far surpassing any in this World The carrying the body through Malaca freed it from a most desperate and infectious Plague And when it was brought to God the Miracle of its Incorruption did no less continue for several times it bled afresh and even to this day being now above a hundred Years ceases not the Body being as incorrupt as ever Every one may easily see how he behaveth himself in this Vertue according to his State and Condition The COLLOQUY To St. Francis Xaverius To obtain Purity of Body and Soul MOst Glorious Apostle of the East most pure in Body and Soul I a most miserable Creature with all Humility have recourse to you begging you would by your Intercession obtain for me such a pure Intention in all my Actions that I may never aim therein at any thing else but the greater Glory of God and such a pure Chastity that neither in Thought much less in Word or Deed I may ever displease the most pure Eyes of our good God Amen Through the Intercession of St. Francis Xaverius God grant me Purity of Mind and Body The CONSIDERATION For the Second FRIDAY Upon the profound Humility of St. Francis Xaverius ACcording to St. Bernard Humility is a Contempt of ones own Worth according to St. Thomas it is a Vertue whereby a man knowing his own Defects and Imperfections keeps himself within his own Bounds in a low Degree St. Francis pracrtised this Vertue in a most perfect manner towards all sorts of Persons For tho' he was born of the Race of the Kings of Navarre by Office Nuncius Apostolicus and besides endowed with most rare Talents of Nature and Learning yet he humbled himself below all whenever it was for the greater Glory of God He writ to St. Ignatius his Superior always upon his Knees He answered a Friend of his who examined him concerning a dead Child he had raised in the Coast of Comorino with all Humility as it were confounded I raise the Dead to Life And can you believe such a thing of me such a great Sinner as I am In a word all his Life is full of Examples of his most profound Humility and was held for such over all Spain Italy