better the grievousness thereof SInce it is most certain that the best way to know a cause is to consider its effects doubtless the best means to discover the grievousness of Mortal Sin is to reflect on the Sad effects which followed from it We have said before that we could not perfectly know Sin in it self because it is the Supreme evil which is infinite no more then we can understand in it self the Supreme and Sovereign good which is God. But as by the effects which we see of his Power of his Wisdom of his Goodness we arrive at some knowledge of God So on the Contrary we may find out in some sort the heinousness of Sin if we do but consider attentively the Dreadful effects it causes and the horrible misfortunes which it carries with it And all these effects are as so many Powerfull motives of Contrition to make us detest and abhor Sin. To discover it the better we shall observe some order and search for it in several places viz. in our selves in Heaven in Hell in God himself and in his Son Jesus Christ ARTICLE I. Of the death of the Soul or the sad effects which Sin produceth in his Soul who commits it I Begin with the Death of the Soul because this is the first effect which Sin produceth as soon as ever is is committed Peccatum cum consummatum fuerit generat mortem Jac. 1. And I would to God it were as sensible as it is real and that those who are so unfortunate as to fall into Mortal Sin might exactly know the greatness of the evil which thereby they draw upon themselves as really in it self it is and resent it as it deserves It is for this reason that I desire to explicate it unto you and make you understand it Sin then saith the Scripture is no sooner finished but immediately it causeth Death It 's certain that it is not the death of the Body for a man doth not dye in the moment he hath committed it It is then the death of the Soul a thousand times more dreadfull then that of the Body for this doth but separate the Soul from the Body but the Death which is caused by Sin is a Separation of the Soul from God who is a Supernatural Life as St. Aug. saith vita corporis anima est vita animae Deus est And as this life which God gives the Soul is infinitely more estimable then that which the Soul confers upon the Body which it animates so the Death which causeth the loss of that Divine Life is infinitely more dreadfull and Lamentable then naturall Death To understand this well you must know what God hath reveal'd and we believe concerning a Soul which hath the Blessing to be in the State of the Grace of God And it is this when God receives a Soul into his Friendship he Cloathes her with the Robe of Sanctifying Grace a supernatural and Divine quality which cleanseth the Soul from all the spots of Sin and renders her agreeable to the eyes of God. And at the same moment he replenisheth her with Divine gifts as Faith Hope Charity and other Christian Virtues Then by the means of that Grace God dwells in that Soul after a particular manner he makes her his Temple and Habitation where he is pleased to be adored and loved by the Souls that possess him Lastly he interchangeably communicates himself unto her filling her with his holy Spirit and Divine Inspirations All these truths are drawn from the express words of the Sacred Scripture As from that where God promises That he will pour upon us a clean water which will cleanse us from all our stains Ezek. 36. This water is Sanctifying Grace From that where he saith That the Charity of God is poured into our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us Rom. 5. That we are the Temples of the Living God and that the Spirit of God doth dwell in us 1. Cor. 3. from those words where our Saviour saith If any one love me he will keep my word and my Father will love him and we will come to him and make our Dwelling with him Joh. 14. From those words of St. John. God is Charity and he who remains in Charity remains with God and God with him 1. Joh. 4. There are a great number of the like passages which clearly represent unto us the state of a Soul Sanctifyed by Grace and the great happiness she enjoys in that condition wherein she possesses God himself and is possessed by him Now all this felicity is constant and permanent as to what relates to God whose gifts are without repentance as the Scripture saith only the Soul can deprive her self of and destroy in her self this happiness This misfortune befalls us when forgetfull of the infinite blessing we possess and permitting our selves to be surprized by the allurements of Sin we break that happy League and Alliance which God had made with us And this we do by a criminal disobedience whereby we incur the displeasure of God and lose in a moment all those inestimable goods which before we happyly enjoyed O God Theotime who can worthily express the dreadfull misfortune which happens to a Soul by one mortal sin and paint to the life the deplorable state to which it is reduced in the moment she offends in which the Soul in that very instant is deprived of the grace of God and of one beautifull and as an Angel in his sight becomes as hideous and hatefull as a Devil Quomodo obscuratum est aurum mutatus est color optimus Thren 4. Is there any subject where we may more sitly apply those dolefull words of Jeremy how comes it to pass that this Soul should be so defaced what is become of that grace which made her more bright then gold how is that divine beauty changed into so hideous a form It is an effect of the divine Anger which hath justly fill'd that Soul with cloudy darkness which before had unjustly banisht the light of Grace But that which is most to be lamented is that that Soul which formerly had the honour to be employ'd as the Temple of God now sees her self rejected by him with horrour and detestation and the Holy Ghost retired from her having abandoned her to be the dwelling-place of the Devil according to that sentence of the same Prophet repulit Dominus Altare suum maledixit sanctificationi suae God hath rejected his Altar and laid a curse upon the place where he was adored and sanctified Thren 2. Is it possible Theotime that you can read these words without trembling if you are in the state of Mortal Sin It is this forsaking of God and this loss of his grace which properly causes the death of the Soul infinitely more to be feared then that of the Body forasmuch as by the death of the body we are only deprived of the presence of the Soul death being only a separation of the Soul from
observe well in this place that these different affections which the Scripture attributes to God in respect of Sin are not to be found in God in the same manner as in men for they cause in men a discomposure of the mind from whence they are call'd Passions or the sufferings of the Soul but they make no such change in God who being unchangeable cannot be moved or suffer by different affections When therefore in Scripture it is said that God for example is touched with Grief Hatred Anger and the like this is to be understood as Divines express it no further then as to what concerns the exteriour effects which appear to us and are such as are amongst us the usual effects of a sorrowfull angry mind and not as to any change of affection which in God is none Quantum ad effectum non quantum ad affectum But this is no hindrance but that we may draw from these passages of Scripture infallible consequences to prove the enormity of Mortal Sin. For it is reasonable to judge of the malice of a cause by the evil effects which of its own nature it is capable to produce although it happen that the effect may not follow by reason of some extrinsecal impediment Sin therefore of it self being capable to produce in God all those Passions we have spoken of tho' his Sovereign perfection renders him uncapable to receive them this doth not diminish in the least the malice of it which is always such that in as much as in it lies it produceth in God all those passions and excites in him Grief Sadness Hatred Anger Fury and Indignation O Sin how wicked and cruel art thou since thou hast no regard to God himself but endeavourest to attaque that Sovereign Majesty even in his Throne of Glory A Prophet once said let Samaria be destroy'd because it hath raised bitterness and sadness to his God. Pereat Samaria quia ad amaritudinem concitavit Deum suum Osea 14. But with how much greater reason ought we to say that Sin should for ever perish seeing it attaques even God himself and in as much as in it lies fills that infinite Ocean of Sweetness and Bounty with Gall and Bitterness Behold Theotime the reasons we have to detest and abhor Sin from whence we may form to our selves a motive of true Contrition Behold how we are to detest Sin not only by reason of the evils which it heaps upon us whereof we have spoken above but for the evils with which it affects even God himself for once it is capable to cause all those effects in God altho' it doth not effectually produce them for the reason above mentioned it follows of necessity that the injury which it offers to God is dreadfully beyond measure great Conclude then with a strong resolution to hate this enemy of God this if possible disturber of the Deity ARTICLE VI. Of the Effects of Sin in the Person of Jesus Christ THat which Sin could not effect in God it hath brought about in his only Son our Lord Jesus Christ and if the Divinity by reason of it's infinite perfections be raised above the attempts of the malice of this Infernal Monster the most sacred humanity of the Son of God hath suffer'd for all beyond all that which we can either speak or think Consider this well Theotime and observe once more the enormity of Mortal Sin by the number and greatness of those evils which it made him to suffer who undertook to satisfy for it and destroy it Consider first that it was Sin which made the Son of God descend from Heaven that is which obliged him to take our humanity upon him and stoop to that wonderfull abasement of his Person which St. Paul called annihilation or becoming nothing Phil. 2.6.9 as to make himself Man for us and our Salvation to take the habit and form of a Servant to put himself in a capacity to satisfy the Divine Justice for the infinite injury done him by Mortal Sin An injury never to be repaired but by one who should be God and Man. Secondly this adorable Mystery of the Incarnation was no sooner accomplished but the first thought of the Son of God made Man was to offer himself to his Eternal Father a Sacrifice to the Divine Justice in satisfaction for all the Sins of Men as he himself said by the Prophet Psal 39.7 The Sacrifices and all Holocausts which hitherto have been offered to appease thy wrath against sin were not able to give thee satisfaction wherefore I am come and knowing that it was thy will that I should satisfy I am content O my God! and embrace with all my heart this thy good pleasure and decree From that first moment even untill the time of the Passion of the Son of God his life was a continual Sacrifice which he offered to his Father the divine love always burning never permitting him any repose untill he had accomplished the work he came for untill by his death he had conquer'd and destroy'd that cruel Enemy he came to fight with which was sin This is that which he himself testified when he said I have a Baptism wherewith I am to be Baptized and how am I streightned interiourly untill it be dispatcht Luk. 12.5 He who could recount the pains and travels of the life of the Son of God his fast his preaching his watchings his prayers and all that which he hath done and suffered as well in Soul as body during the 33 years of his mortal Life would easily perceive how all that tended to the destruction of sin for which he principally came into the world The time at length approaching wherein he was to enter into that last Combat of that so great and signal War which he was come to wage to free us all from sin and the captivity of the Devil its first Author what was he not obliged to do and suffer that he might conquer so potent an enemy it is true that he gained a glorious victory but it was with the loss of his precious life and at the price of his own death But what death Theotime A death full both of sorrows and reproaches the death of the Cross A death accompanied with all imaginable affronts and executed by those that he had in the highest degree obliged betrayed and delivered by one of his Disciples to his mortal enemies abandoned also and denied by his own Disciples arrained before a Judge accused as a Criminal Sentenced and condemned as a Malefactor exposed to the scoffs and derisions of the Multitude Before his execution he was Scourged with no less cruelty then shame and disgrace delivered over to the insolence of Soldiers who Crowned him with Thorns as a mock-King in derision and scorn In fine led to execution nailed to the Cross exposed to the view of all the world between two Thieves as if he had been an Impostor a Cheat and the worst of men Amidst these excessive pains
but a weakness of mind or to say better a folly For Theotime can there be a greater folly then not to desire to cure a great evil by another which is much less then to chuse rather to damn ones soul for ever then to save it by a shame or confusion which lasts but for a moment What would you say of a Criminall who having deserved death should refuse the pardon offer'd him by the King upon this Condition that he would discover his Crime in secret to a Judge appointed by him would not all cry out that this man had lost his Wits yet this is his case who conceals any thing in Confession Blind that you are who chuse rather to dye and be lost Eternally then confess your sins to the Judge whom God hath appointed to take cognizance of them who will rather hide the wound that will cause your death then shew it to the Chirurgion who will cure it without fail who chuse rather to blush one day before God in the presence of Angels Men and the whole Court of Heaven then now to be ashamed and blush but for one moment before your Ghostly Father When you conceal your Sins from Men do you think by that means to hide them from the sight of God you fear the sight of Man and apprehend not at all that God should know them Is not this to disesteem the Divinity and scoff at God. In reality this shame is not so great a punishment if we do but make a true Judgment of it But suppose it were a thousand times greater consider that it is but a punishment for your sins and that you have deserved it yea and a far greater confusion and an eternal disgrace why then will you not suffer it Behold the great advantages it will bring you the remission of your Sins the quiet of your Conscience the friendship of God and Eternal Salvation O happy confusion It is this of which the wise man speaks Eccl. 4.25 There is a confusion that brings grace and Glory as there is another which brings Sin which is that mischievous shame of which we speak in this place But in fine consider one thing to which there is no reply viz. That it is impossible you should ever be saved without confessing that sin which you are troubled to declare Perform all the good work you please of Prayers Austerity or Alms-deeds as long as you retain any one mortal Sin in your heart without declaring it in Confession there is no Salvation for you and if you dye in that State you are lost for ever Do not tell me that you will confess it some day or other hereafter but for the present that you cannot do it Remember that the longer you defer it the greater will your shame and confusion be and you will have more trouble to declare it But in expectation of that day I ask whether in the interim you will go to Confession or no if you will then you will commit so many sacrileges as will make you a thousand times more Criminal in the sight of God and which will draw upon your head the divine anger and vengeance If you do not go to Confession in what a disorder and confusion do you put your conscience and to what danger do you expose your Salvation who hath told you that that day or time will come which you propose to your self and that you shall not dye before and without Confession being you would not confess when you had both time and means to do it For Conclusion my dear Theotime if you be in that miserable State I conjure you to look to your self open your eyes and awake from that Lethargy Consider how it is the Devil that deceives you and raises in you that wicked shame or that foolish fear by which he would work your eternall Damnation as he hath done to many others of your age and condition Call to mind that poor possessed person in the Gospell whom the Devil had render'd both deaf and dumb His misery did in such a manner move the Son of God that he wept Mark 7. Suspiciens in Caelum ingemuit ait Ephpheta quod est adaperire statim solutum est vinculum linguae ejus loquebatur recte Raising up his eyes to Heaven saith the Gospell he wept and said be open and presently his tongue was untyed and he spake plain The miseries which we consider in the body of that possess'd man are found dayly in the Soul which the Devil hath possess'd by Sin only with this difference that the condition of this Second is far more dangerous then the first They were the spiritual miseries represented in the body of the deaf and dumb man which drew tears and sighs from the Son of God. Take pitty on your self and render not your self unworthy of the compassion he hath for you Be no longer deaf to the commands he hath given you to declare your Sins in Confession nor to all those reasons which oblige you to it Courage make a strong resolution and execute it readily and have a care you be not remiss The Son of God will assist you in it with his grace he will open your mouth freely to confess your Sins you will receive a thousand Consolations from him and praising his holy name you will sing forth bene omnia fecit surdos fecit audire mutos loqui He hath done all things well he hath made the deaf to hear and the dumb to speak CHAP. IX Of the preparation for Confession or Examen of Conscience THere is no doubt but we ought to prepare our selves for Confession and being our memory ordinarily speaking is not so tenacious as to keep in mind things past except we apply our selves to call them back it follows that the same authority which obligeth us to an entire Confession of our sins doth oblige us also to make before-hand an examen of Conscience that so we may remember the three things above-mentioned viz. The Species the Number and the most notorious Circumstances This made the Council of Trent say that one is obliged to declare all their sins which they remember after a diligent examen It is certain that no general rule can be prescribed for this preparation which doth not depend upon the circumstances of the Person of his capacity of time of necessity and such like for there is more time required to prepare ones self for an Annual then for a Monthly Confession Those who have an ill memory or who observe not their daily actions or seldom examen their Consciences have need of a longer preparation then others We must follow herein that most judicious method which the Catechism of the Council prescribes In confessione summa illa eura diligentia ad hibenda est quam in rebus gravissimis ponere solemus Catechis ad Parac de Poenit. Sacram. n. 62. That is to use the same diligence in this preparation we are wont to employ
to the performance of the Penance it ought to be exact and faithfully complied with there is an obligation to discharge ones self of this Duty First because it is a part and belongs to the perfection of the Sacrament 2ly because it is enjoyn'd by an authority which hath power to oblige since God hath declared that to be bound in Heaven which the Priest binds upon Earth 3ly because it is in vertue of that acceptance one receives absolution There is then an obligation of complying with that penance which one hath accepted and he who on set purpose or by willfull negligence fails to perform it commits a Sin and an offence against God and this more or less greivously according as the omission is more or less considerable for if it be but a slight omission it is but a venial Sin but if it be a notorious omission as of the whole penance or the greatest part of it it may be a mortal Sin which is to be understood if the Penance was enjoyn'd in satisfaction for a Mortal Sin. Acquit your self then faithfully Theotime of your Penance as obeying God in the person of your Confessour discharge your self of the promise you have made him and compleat the Sacrament But remember to perform it willingly devoutly and secretly Willingly to avoid the fault which those commit who never perform it but with pain and trouble whereby they loose the greatest part of the merit they might otherwise have It is a strange thing that men should run after Sin with so much earnestness and pleasure and should have such an Aversion and Horrour against Penance which is a remedy against it And this is the complaint which Tertullian makes of his time Nauseabit ad antidotum qui hiavit ad venenum We nauseate the Remedy and love the Poyson Perform it also devoutly but especially with a true Spirit of repentance and an acknowledgment that it is a certain satisfaction you make to God for the injury you have done him by your Sins Place them always before your eyes deplore them as David did iniquicatem meam ego cognosco peccatum meum contra me est semper Psal 50.4 In fine perform your Penance secretly if it be great and if it be given you for great Sins but which are altogether unknown to those amongst whom you live that you may neither scandalise any one nor defame your self It was for these two reasons we said in the precedent Chapter that the Preist ought to enjoyn such a penance that may be secretly comply'd with when the Sins are wholly secret and the Penitent also must keep his Penance secret that he may avoid the same inconveniences And yet this is a thing wherein Penitents and particularly young people are frequently faulty declaring indiscreetly their penances to others which cannot but be of very ill consequence when their penances are signall and notorious If the penance be enjoyn'd you for Sins that are known to others as you ought not to affect to publish it so neither ought you to avoid the making of it known being it may serve for the edification of others and satisfy for the scandal which your Sins have caused CHAP. VII Of the Works which may be enjoyn'd for Penance THe most ordinary works of Penance are prayer fasting almsdeeds and whatsoever may have a relation to any of these three such as in respect of Prayer are reading pious books Meditation Confession hearing Mass In respect of fasting all the Mortifications of the body Labour retrenching our selves even of lawfull Pleasures Abstinence from things either Hurtfull or Dangerous In regard of Alms all the Helps and Assistances one can give to their Neighbour These three sorts of works are very proper for Penance and agree with it admirably well For first by these three works we submit to God all the goods which we possess the goods of the Mind those of the Body and of Fortune The goods of the mind by Prayer which subjects the Spirit to God those of the Body by Fasting and other Mortifications and those of Fortune by Almsdeeds Secondly because almost all our Sins consist in the abuse of some of these three things Pride proceeds from the abuse of the goods or advantages of the mind Luxury from those of the goods of the Body and from the abuse of our Riches proceeds Covetousness We repair that abuse by the three above-mentioned works Prayer humbles the mind Fasting tames the body and Alms makes good use of Riches These three works are highly praised and commended in the Scripture as having a wonderfull force to appease Gods anger after Sin and obtain of him all manner of favours It is said of prayers Judith 9.16 That the Prayers of the humble and good have always been pleasing to God. Eccle. 35.21 That the Prayer of him that humbles himself penetrates the Clouds Peircing as I may say the Heavens to mount to the Divine Throne and make it self be understood and graciously heard This made St. Augustine say that it is the same for Prayer to ascend unto Heaven as for Mercy to descend from thence Ascendit Oratio descendit miseratio And he adds elsewhere thâ—t to make Prayer mount more easily up to Heaven it is good to give it two wings viz. Fasting and Alms. As for Fasting it is said Tob. 12.8 That Prayer is good with Fasting That the Fasting and Penance of the Ninevites appeased Gods wrath against them When God exhorts his People to penance he assignes fasting as one of the most efficacious means Convert your selves to me in Fasting Tears and Lamentations Joel 2.13 And as for Alms it is said Tob. 4.11 That it delivers from Sin and Death And that it will not permit that the Soul which gives it should be lost That Dan. 4.24 by it we must redeem our Sins That Eccl. 29.15 we must hide our almes in the bosome of the poor and it will Pray and obtain of God an exemption from all evil for him that does it There is a great number of other passages in the Holy Scripture to shew how powerfull these three works are to obtain the mercy of God and remission of Sins These three works have each of them three singular qualities which render them more amiable and commend them to our more frequent practise For they are Satisfactory Meritorious and impetratorious They are Satisfactorious in respect of the temporal punishment by reason of the trouble which they give of Sins past either to the Body or Mind and by these pains or trouble willingly undergone one Satisfies for the punishments which are due to the Sins he hath committed They are meritorious in respect of grace and glory which is common to all good works performed in the state of Sanctifying grace They are impetratorious that is they have a particular vertue whereby to obtain of God the favours which we demand and that according to the intention of those who do them and by how much better that
and not perfected do not conduce at all to the Salvation of the wicked no more then the first motions to evil do render good and Virtuous Souls culpable in the sight of God. This Animadversion deserves to be well considered and so much the more for that it remarks a very particular reason of the false repentance which is customary to those who do not at all amend then Lives viz. that it often happens they have only a beginning of repentance by some good motions they seel in their heart without proceeding further They conceive indeed some disple sure against their Sins but not a perfect hatred and detestation of them they feel some faint desires but they have not at all an entire and true resolution to forsake them There is yet one thing more very remarkable in this Advertisement upon the example of Balaam and his false repentance For this wicked Prophet in the motion he had of repentance desired indeed to dye the death of the Just but he saith not one word of living as they did he demands the blessing to resemble them in his death but not to be like unto them in his life Let my Soul saith he Num. 23.10 dye the death of the Just and let my end be like unto theirs Thus his repentance was not true but false because he did not desire to forsake his Sins and amend his life but only to be sav'd at the hour of death Which is properly to desire to live ill and yet dye well and so not be punish'd for it Now this kind of repentance is found but too often amongst Christians and peculiarly amongst those who live in this customary relapse of which we speak For there is not one single man of them who desire not to dye in the grace of God and save their Souls And for this reason they go to Confession now and then to discharge themselves of their past Sins that they may not be troubled with remorse of Conscience at the hour of death But they seldom or never desire to live holily or at least they have not an effectual and efficacious will to do it as by their frequent relapses it doth but too evidently appear CHAP. VII That by returning back to Sin we lose great part of the fruit of our precedent good Confessions THis is another efficacious reason to demonstrate the danger to which one exposeth his Salvation by returning back to Sin. That it doth not only render abundance of Confessions invalid and nall but it also makes us lose the fruit of those good Confessions we have made Two fruits there are of the Sacrament of Penance The first is the Remission of Sins The second the Recovery of the friendship of Almighty God and many other Graces and Assistances which he grants by vertue of the Sacrament to those who perform the Penance their Sins deserve Tho' these two effects be produced at the same time and inseparably the one from the other yet one may be lost without the other For by relapse into Mortal Sin one doth not at all lose the Remission which he hath receiv'd of precedent Sins by good Confessions it being most certain that a Sin once pardon'd doth never revive again Forasmuch as the Apostle hath it Rom. 11.29 The gifts of God are without repentance But as to the Friendship of God and the special assistances of his Grace which one merits by means of the Sacrament it is certain they are entirely lost when one relapses into Mortal Sin and this mischievous fall causeth a deplorable ruine in his Soul who yields himself over to it God himself threatens this by his Prophet Ezech. 3.20 If the Just Man saith he withdraws himself from his Justice to return to his former iniquity I will forget all the good he hath done And the Wise Man saith upon this Subject Eccl. 34.30 What doth it avail a man who hath touched a dead body to have washed himself if again he defile himself and touch it This is the reason why God saith to Sinners by his Prophet wash and be cleansed he doth not only say that they wash themselves from their iniquities but that they be also cleansed forasmuch as Saint Gregory observes it is to no purpose to be washed if one do not conserve himself clean Without this one doth no more then those unclean Animals which wash themselves and presently return to wallow in the dirt This obliged St. Peter and others when they spoke of Penance to advertise Penitents that Penance avails them nothing who after they have performed it return to Sin except it be for their greater ruine 2. Pet. 2. Those saith St. Gregory above-cited who do Penance and do not amend their Lives are to be admonished that it is to no purpose to cleanse themselves from their Sins by tears if afterwards by their evil actions they defile their Souls And that they seem only to cleanse themselves to the end that after they are washed they may return to their former filth CHAP. VIII That by frequent relapse into Sin one allways falls into a worse condition then before THis truth our Saviour himself hath taught us upon occasion of a possessed person whom he had delivered from that miserable condition It happens saith he that the wicked Spirit being cast out of a man useth all his endeavours to return to his former dwelling and calling others to his assistance at last he re-enters there this second possession is much more prejudicial then the former Mat. 12.45 and the last of that man be made worse then the first By this example of a person whose body is possessed we are instructed in what passes in the Soul when one unfortunatly relapses into Sin as the Apostle St. Peter hath explained it in these words 2. Epistle cited in the second Chapter If after they are retired from the disorders of the world they suffer themselves yet to be intangled and overcome thereby they fall back into a worse condition then before Now if this be true of the first relpse what will it be of the Second of the Tenth of the Twentieth and of all those which befall them who do nothing else all their life time but rise and fall repent and then as often return to the Sins they had repented of It is evident that they fall at last into a most deplorable State even almost into an impossibility ever to save their Souls This is certain and if you doubt it answer if you can this proof and demonstration By this ordinary relapse three things which put his Salvation in the utmost danger befall the Sinner First ill habits encrease and grow stronger and stronger 2ly The light and graces of God diminish in an high degree 3ly The Devil comes with more strength and power to destroy him whom he sees so deeply engaged in wickedness Behold three things which without doubt when they happen endanger Salvation in an high degree Now it is certain they befall all
either to errour or Impiety 10. The Tenth is to scoff at holy things the ceremonies of the Church to contemn them in his heart or by any action whatsoever 11. The Eleventh to abuse the words of the holy Scripture in applying them to wicked or prophane senses making them serve for jests or other ill uses 12. The Twelfth is to desire to know such things to come as appertain to God alone or those which are either past or present but totally hidden from us and for this end to employ unlawfull means as Soothsayers Magicians Fortune-tellers observe Omens cast Lotts or make use of other Superstitious Inventions 13. The thirteenth is to give credit to Dreams and Superstitions to employ Prayers or Sacred Names to ill uses to use Charms or other Inventions to the end to make ones self beloved to cure Diseases or to give a Spell whether to Men or Beasts All these are Mortal Sins even when the means seem innocent as Prayers or Sacred words if one believe they will certainly take effect For then as St. Augustin saith De medicin animae contra sortileg These are not remedies given us by Jesus Christ but rather Poyson which the Devil hath spread amongst holy things Non est in eis remedium Christi sed venenum Diaboli Sins against Hope Anchora quae nostrae stat pes bene fida salutis Motibus his quatitur dum Desperatio mentem Dejicit aut falsas addit Praesumptio vires I. 1. Hinc qui scelerum furiis agitantibus omnem Desperat veniam 2. vel ab his cessare modumque Ponere posse negans vitiis dimittit habenas Divinae contemptor opis spem laedit Et ille II. 1. Qui male confisus sperat placabile numen Dum nova praeteritis adjungens crimina 2. mores Mutare extremae differt in tempora vitae 3. Quique Deum tentans levis imprudensque periclis 4. Corporis aut animae sese objicit 5. auxiliique Non poscit coelestis opem praesentia cingunt Dum mala 6. praesidiis spernit melioribus uti Quae Deus ad nostram voluit conferre salutem 7. Rebus in adversis qui frangitur atque superbis Vocibus impatiens hominesque Deumque fatigat Hope is a Theological Virtue whereby we expect from the hand of God Eternal Salvation and the means whereby we may obtain it Two Sins there are diametrically opposit both contrary to this Virtue The one is hoping too little the other confiding too much the first is called Despair the other Presumption I. One sins by Despair 1. When one distrusts in the mercies of God or despairs to be ever able to obtain of God the remission of his Sins as it happened to Cain 2. When one despairs of amending ones Life and in this Despair abandons himself to all wickedness which is a mistrust or contempt of the grace of God. This Sin is but too common II. One sins by Presumption 1. When one hopes that God will allways forgive his Sins whatsoever life he leads and living in this hope he doth not at all concern himself to mend his Life 2. When one defers his conversion 'till the end of his life or puts off his Repentance 'till the honr of Death 3. When one willingly exposes himself to any danger of offending God as to Company Reading or any other thing by which he runs the hazard to offend This is what we call to tempt God. 4. When without necessity one exposes himself to some Corporal danger as Sickness Wounds or Death 5. When in these so remarkable dangers of Body or Soul one neglects his application and recourse to God by Prayer to implore his assistance 6. When in these same dangers one neglects the remedies which God hath instituted and appointed as those of Physick for the Body and those of Prayer and Sacraments for the Soul. One sins also against this Virtue in adversities when he is discouraged to that degree that he puts not his trust in God and more still when one is impatient or murmures against his Providence in Adversity or is exalted in his own thoughts in time of Prosperity attributing the good success or Honour to himself The Sins against Charity CHarity is a Theological Virtue which makes us to love God above all things whence it follows that every Mortal Sin is directly opposite to it totally destroys it Because the Sinner in every such Sin prefers the affection he bears to the thing wherein he offends before the love and bounden duty he owes to God who forbids the Sin. However there are some Sins more particularly opposed to this great Virtue whereof behold some examples Caelestem nullum non laedit crimen amorem Quod male divinum humano postponit amori Praecipuè tamen his virtutum maxima damnis Impetitur 1. Summae si quis bonitatis amarum Infandumque furens scelerata forte recepit Mente odium execrans blasphemans sancta Deique Dextram indignatus ferientem aut Judicis aequi Iram exhorrescens infensum quem timet odit 2. Praeterea ille nocens sanctum qui numen amore Diligit exiguo bona nec super omnia summum Prosequitur redamatque bonum peccare paratus Vt serventur opes vel honos aut vita caducis Postponens aeterna bonis 3. Hominum quoque amorem Posthabito quaesisse Deo quem non piget qui Esse suo gratus Domino nil curat at omnem Stultis ut placeat curam admovet atque laborem 4. Quem pudor aut vani revocat formido pericli Ne cupiat bona vel faciat quae conscius ipse Sancta jubere sibi novit mandata malumque Quod prohibent patrat humano compulsus amore 5. Inque Deum raro conversus segnius illum Cogitat aut loquitur tacito sub corde monentem Non andit Benefacta sui nec mente revolvens Auctoris dignas contemnit reddere grates The greatest sin against Charity is the hatred of God. This is a Sin the very thought whereof causes an horrour in the Soul and it is proper to the Devils and damned Souls Yet however sometimes it is found amongst men when a wicked Conscience oppress'd with misfortunes gives it self over to complaints against God as if he were the cause of them to execrations to Blasphemys and in fine to hate him whom he believes to be the cause of his miseries or from whom he fears the punishment of his crimes 2. The second is not to bear God the love which he requires at our hands that is the love above all things as he is the greatest and most amiable of all goods This happens when one is so disposed in mind that he will rather choose willfully to offend God then loose either some Honour Riches or life it self if it were necessary This Sin is but too common and one does not take notice of it 3. The third is to prefer the love of men before the love of God to be more fearfull of their
doing nothing then employ himself in any lawfull and commendable exercise which is a Sin that never comes alone but carries after it a large train of many others And in this point it is necessary to examen ones self seriously and distinctly The 2d is to be more carefull and Solicitous to labour in the concerns of our bodies or temporall advantages then for the Salvation of our Souls It is a very Common Sin of which however one seldome or never examens himself Consider then whether you have not often totally neglected and abandoned the care of your Soul being so far from taking any care to labour in this great concern as that you have not admitted even of a thought thereof How long time have you past in this negligence The 3d. is to slight in his heart piety and good works having a distast or an aversion for them as it happens but too often to those who continue in the negligence we have just now spoke of The 4th is to defer from day to day and from time to time the amendment of ones life or immediately to desist after one has begun it The 5th is to forsake those means which God hath vouchsaf't us for our amendment Such as are the Sacraments Penance Prayer good works Or else to perform indeed these duties but so ill and with so little devotion that they do one no good Thus you must here examen your self whether when you were conscious to your self that you were in danger to commit some mortall Sin you have employed these means to the end you might avoid it The 6th is when either despairing ever to be able to amend or presuming that God will pardon us at the last hour we give our selves over totally to vice without ever concerning our selves at all to amend our lives Which is properly what St. Paul calls Rom. 2.5 to heap up a treasure of the Wrath of God against our selves All these Sins deserve to be well examined The EXAMEN upon the Second Commandment Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain THere are four sorts of Sins which are forbidden in this Commandment or which may have relation to it viz. an unlawfull Oath Blasphemy Cursing the Sins against Vows which the following verses will explain Terribile sanctum nomen violare secunda Lex prohibet tantoque reum se crimine reddit I. In vanum jurans falsi testem vel iniqui Qui vocat ore Deum nulla aut ratione coactus II. In caelum erectus numen blasphemat eique Nomina sancta adimens male sanus veraque falsis Commutans Sanctum scelerata voce lacessit III. Tum furiis ipsum se devovet atque precatur Dira sibi horrendum dictu sociisque Deoque IV. Stultaque vota vovens 1. quae vel praestare nequibit 2. Aut non sunt placitura Deo. 3. Qui vota fidemque Rite datam revocat levis 4. aut dissolvere differt To form a right judgment of this Commandment You must observe that we do not here take this word Oath as it is vulgarly understood for so Blasphemy as well as Cursing is called an Oath but we take it precisely and properly for the use which is made of the name of God to affirm or deny a thing such an use of its own nature is not bad but on the contrary it is an act of Religion when it is accompanied with the three circumstances which holy writ Heirem 4.2 requires an Oath should have Truth Justice and Necessity Hence the Commandment doth not at all forbid to Swear but to Swear in vain that is without these three conditions Wherefore the first Sin against this Commandment is the taking a wicked Oath that is 1. When one Swears an untruth which one knows to be so 2. When one Swears an unjust thing to the prejudice of our neighbour 3. When one Swears without any necessity altho ' the thing be both true and just Now there is no necessity of an oath except the thing for which one swears be of great importance One Sins moreover by an evil Oath when one either Swears to do what he never designs to do or when one swears to do an evill thing in which case the Oath doth not at all oblige but it was a mortall Sin to Swear and it would be another to fulfill his Oath These kind of Oaths are Sworn when one says that he takes God to witness of a thing or that he Swears upon his Salvation upon the damnation of his Soul by the oath he owes to God that he may perish in that instant or such like Wherein it is necessary that they examen themselves particularly well who are accustomed to Swear and declare the number of these sins as near as they can The 2. Sin is that of Blasphemy that is to revile and villify Almighty God whether it be by denying him some perfection which is proper to him as in saying that he is not Just Good Wise c. or in attributing to him something unworthy of him as to say that he is the author of evill or the like Renouncing him either by word or thought Cursing him which never happens but to such Souls as are transported with rage and fury as in losses in Gaming or upon occasion of such other Crosses It is also a kind of Blasphemy to swear by the name of God by his Death by his Blood as often as all or any of these things shall be spoken in anger or thro' contempt and reproach and always in abusing Gods holy name and the adorable Misteries of our Redemption Those who are subject to these Sins ought strictly to examen themselves in all these points The 3. Sin is Cursing that is when to affirm a thing either mov'd by anger against any one or thro' impatience of his crosses and contradictions one flyes out into a passion so far as to wish harm to himself or others as death or some misfortune to wish at the Devil or the like Which choler but too often suggests to those who do not curb their passions The 4. concerns the abuse of Vows which are promises one makes to God. This abuse is offered many ways 1. In making a vow to do that which is impossible for him to fulfill 2. In vowing to do that which is evill and displeasing to Almighty God. 3. In breaking vows which one has made 4. In deferring too long to fulfill them without any lawfull cause of that delay The EXAMEN upon the Third Commandment Remember thou keep holy the Sabbath Day THat we may rightly understand the obligations of this Commandment it is necessary that we know the intention with which it was given which was that we might Honour God upon that day which for this end he hath reserved to himself Wherefore he forbids us servile works which might divert or hinder us from applying our selves unto him Whence it follows that this Commandment does not only oblige us
defamation This is ordinarily a mortall Sin and 〈◊〉 it obliges to a restitution of the honour 〈◊〉 thereby he hath taken from his neighbour and when one confesses himself of it he ought to declare the quality of the crime which he either impos'd upon him or revealed that also of the person whom he spoke ill of whether it were in presence of many persons and how often the intention with which he spoke it whether it were out of lightness and indiscretion or out of aversion or envy in which case the Sin is much greater III. The 3. Species is Lying which is not to tell a thing that is false as the vulgar think but to speak a thing which we judge to be otherwise then we say It is always a Sin either mortall or veniall It is a veniall Sin when it brings no considerable damage neither to him that tells it nor to others Yet it is to be observed that it is a very dangerous thing to accustome ones self unto it and to get a habit of it for the reasons we alledg'd in the Instruction of Youth part 4. capt 11. But we must have a care not to confess by custome only without a resolution to amend as it often happens A Lye is a mortall Sin when it is told in things of great moment when it either prejudices our neighbour in an high degree or him that tells it Whether in Soul or Body whether in honour or goods is a point which deserves a strict examen IV. The 4th Species is Hypocrisy which is a continuall lye and dissembling to the end to appear otherwise then one is Concerning 〈◊〉 he must examen the actions he hath 〈…〉 the words he hath spoken with that intent Whether one hath endeavoured to be esteemed good and virtuous whether one hath performed acts of piety with a design to appear so and be so esteemed whether one hath discoursed upon matters of devotion mov'd with that consideration and such like things The EXAMEN upon the Nineth and Tenth Commandment Thou shalt not desire thy Neighbours Wife Thou shalt not covet thy Neighbours Goods THese two Commandments prohibit us to covet any of those things which are forbidden by the 6. 7. to teach us that it is not sufficient to abstain from the evil action but we must also put a curb on our desires to do it One ought to examine ones self diligently in this point But being we have already plac't such Sins as occur against these in the examen upon those two Commandments we shall say no more of them in this place Fraternis inhiare bonis thalamisque pudicis Bina vetant sacram claudentia jussa tabellam The EXAMEN upon the Precepts of the Church 1. TO keep certain appointed days holy which obligation chiefly consists in hearing of Mass and resting from all servill work 2. To observe the commanded days of Fast and Abstinence 3. To pay Tithes to your Pastor 4. To confess your Sins to your Pastor at least once a year 5. To receive the Blessed Sacrament and that at Easter or thereabout One is obliged to all these Commandments under the pain of mortall sin Except necessity or some great reason excuse it It is easy to make an examen upon them wherefore we shall proceed Has quoque divinis placitis Ecclesia leges Subjunxit 1. Sancte ut celebrent pia festa Fideles Adsint sacris dum mystica sistitur uris Victima praesentemque Deum venerentur orent 2. Carnibus abstineant vetitis 3. jejunia servent Temporibus praescripta suis sanctisque diebus Quadraginta quibus Mater bene provida culpas Emendare Deumque jubet placare precando 4. Inde sacerdoti pandentes crimina sordes Abstergant mentis fletu sanctoque labore 5. Et cum mactandi Paschae veneranda recurrunt Tempora coelestis mundato pectore carnes Excipiant agni sacrasque epulentur ad aras Dum mundis animo mortali carne solutis Aeternum dabitur caelesti accumbere mensae The EXAMEN upon the Seven Deadly Sins THey are called so because they are the head or source from whence all other Sins do spring They are seven in all viz. Pride Covetousness Luxury Gluttony Envy Sloth and Anger We shall explain them in this order as they lie Ambitione tumens auri quem dira cupido Exagitat Veneri vel ventri deditus Inde Segnities quem frangit iners vel livor adurit Iraque praecipitat Septem capitalibus ille Vrgetur vitiis scelus hinc ruiturus in omne Of the Sin of Pride IT is a Sin which we little reflect on in our selves yet very common Many fall into it and often but few perceive it and fewer yet Confess it Behold them here in their different ranks in vast numbers and which deserve to be well examined Effigiem mentis veram dant ista superbae Sum vanus jactans tumidusque mihi arrogo multa Ambio praesumo sperno nec pareo jussis Errata agnosco nunquam Dehinc corripientem Contemnens mores durata fronte recuso Emendare malos Tumidus measensa tenaci Mente sequor semper discors hypocrita mendax Noxia scire volo nulli benefacta rependo Hanc gignit viciis foecunda superbia prolem Pride is an esteem which one hath of himself and a desire to be esteemed by others The goods which one either hath or believes he hath are the ground-work and Foundation of this Esteem as the goods of Fortune Riches Honours Dignities or the goods of the Body as Strength Beauty a good Grace good Cloaths or the goods of the Mind as Knowledge Prudence and Virtue This esteem together with proper love produceth a vast number of ill effects which are so many Sins of Pride The First is Vain Glory which values it self and desires to be esteemed by others for the goods one either hath not or those he hath but do not at all deserve to be esteemed as Beauty Cloaths Riches whence it derives its name vain or Vanity The Second is Boasting when one seeks to publish or as it were proclaim the goods he is endowed with to the end he may be the more esteemed The Third is the Pride which is called the swelling or puffing up of the Mind when one prizes himself excessively for the goods which he believes himself Possessor of and wherein he thinks he considerably surpasses others The 4th is Arrogance when one attributes to himself the goods he hath not or those which he hath but do not spring from us but from God or even from another who hath bestowed them on us when one requires the Honour and Respect which is not due to him when one believes himself to be the Author of a favour which one hath done him or which one hath received from him and doth not give the Glory of all to God. The 5th is Presumption when one hath too good a conceit of himself and believes himself capable of the things which are beyond his reach
our Saviour Jesus Christ But Alas the contrary is too true and this crime tho' a thousand times greater yet is much more common amongst Christians then that of Paricide They have an horror and with good reason to deprive those of breath from whom they receiv'd their life yet they are not apprehensive to Murder and Crucifie again as much as in them lies our Saviour Christ by receiving him into an impure perfidious Breast Nature hath imprinted in them a profound and lasting respect for those from whom they have received only a Mortal and fading life But they easily forget the Reverence they owe to Jesus Christ notwithstanding he nourisheth them with his own substance his pretious Blood and offers them by his presence a Spiritual and immortal and a pledge of everlasting life O God Theotime is it possible then that there should be found Souls capable of so black a deed so horrible a Crime Surely they are only those who either have no Faith or such as have never considered the enormity of the Sin who can commit it for he must surpass the very Devils in malice who falls into such a Sin if he have but the least knowledge how grievous and great it is and what dreadfull consequences do follow from it Two points I therefore design to discourse of in this place I will set forth the enormity of this Sin from three heads 1. From that remarkable saying of our Lord himself Mat. 7.6 Do not give that which is Holy unto Dogs If it be a great Sacrilege to give to Dogs things consecrated to God what Crime must it needs be to give the Holy of Holies unto a Soul an enemy of God more impure and filthy then the very Dogs and what Sin must it be in those to receive the Body of our Lord who being no better then Dogs as it is said in the Apocalypse and under this notion excluded from the Sanctuary Foris canes impudici yet have the impudence to eat the Bread of Children the Bread of the very Angels themselves Ecce panis Angelorum vere panis filioram non mittendus canibus 2. From that so famed Doctrine and signal admonition of St. Paul 1. Cor. 11.27 Whosoever ones the Bread and drinks the Chalice of our Lord unworthily shall be guilty of the Body and Blood of our Lord. This Sentence is a Thunder which ought to terrify all those who are so miserably unfortumate as to Communicate in Mortal Sin For he saith they are guilty of the Body and Blood of the Son of God that is they despise and treat in juriously this adorable Body and Blood whilst they receive it in a profane place in the Temple of Satan in a Soul polluted with Mortal Sin. It is particularly verified in this occasion what St. Paul relates elsewhere Heb. 6.6 this is to Crucisy Jesus Christ again to scoff at him to trample him under ones feet and contemn his Blood in that very action by which one ought to sanctify his holy name Can we think of these things without trembling and horror We never call to mind without a certain horror and eversion the inhumane methods the Jews and Soldiets a sed against our Saviour Jesus Christ in the time of his bitter Passion and can we be so insensible in our own case as not to detest those affronts we offer him even worse then the Jews did whilst we unworthily receive him For besides that they Luo. 23.34 knew not what they did we know and confess him to be the Son of God whom we offend St. Chrisostome explaining these words of St. Paul. 1. Cor. 11. Whosoever shall eat the Bread or drink the Cup of our Lord unworthily shall be guilty of the Body and Blood of our Lord. Why so suith this Holy Father hom 27. and his answer is because he hath spilt the Blood and by that action he hath not offered a Sacrifice but committed a Murther for he who approaches unworthily to this Divine Table and receives no Fruit from thence resembles them who formerly pierced the Body of our Lord not to drink but to shed his Blood. And hom 60. Consider saith he what just Indignation you conceive against him who betrayed Jesus Christ and against those who Crucified him therefore consider lest you also be equally culpable and guilty of the Body and Blood of the Son of God. It is true they kill'd his most Sacred Body but you after so many and so often repeated benefits bestowed upon you receive him into an unclean and polluted Soul. St. Cyprian before him had said that unworthy Communicants offer Violence to the Body of Jesus Christ and that this sin is a more grievous offence in the sight of God then it is for a Christian to abjure him in the presence of Infidels The Third from hence which you ought never to forget that the sin of an unworthy Communion is the sin of Judas It was he who first committed it and those who fall into it since imitate his Example and become his Disciples They receive him as he did in a Criminall and guilty Soul They betray him not indeed to the Jews but which is worse to the Devil who inhabits in them What punishment ought they not to dread from such an Enormous Crime Ought they not to remember how that perfidious Apostle was immediately possessed by the Devil in the moment that be received Jesus Christ for since they imitate him in his Sin they cannot avoid being partaker of his punishment as we are about to shew you The dammages which follow from an unworthy Communion SUch a mischievous cause cannot but produce most fatal effects The death of the Soul which infallibly it brings with it is the first evil which follows from it Mors est malis vita bonis This death is an encrease or extension of that other wherein the Soul lay buried before by the Sin in which he receiv'd the Sacrament It is a further banishment from the grace of God and a further disheartning and exposing her to the Power of Satan From this Death follow other most dismal lamentable effects as the fall into new Sins the blindness of Spirit the encrease of vices and passions which makes a Soul to groan under the Yoke of her Captivity and hinder her from returning again to God by true Repentance The Prophet hath comprised these effects in few words Psalm 68.23 when speaking against the enemies of Jesus Christ he prays to God that their Table may prove a snare to them and an occasion of scandal That they may become blind so that they may not see their own good That they may always stoop under the Yoke of a miserable Servitude If those who persecuted Jesus Christ without knowing him are punished so severely what ought not Christians to expect when they treat him so ill in his own Person whom they know Histories are full of examples of divers punishments which God hath laid upon this so detestabie a
the most delicious viands you can possibly present him with Prepare your self to make him an offering of your heart to love him and of your self with all fidelity to serve him 3. Set forth upon your way to meet him and to invite him into your house by good thoughts and Holy affections Cant. 5. Veniat dilectus meus in hortum suum O Jesus come into my Soul as into a Garden which much delights thee Make her O make her fit and worthy to receive thee cleanse her and vouchsafe to take away from her whatsoever may be Offensive to thee plant in her and adorn her with the flowers which best please thee that is with Purity and Humility Veni Domine Jesu Come O Saviour of my Soul Come and save me by thy Grace and deliver me from those Enemies who design my Eternal ruine After Communion PErform that towards Jesus Christ which we are wont to do when a Person of Quality whom we have long expected is arrived For after the first meeting and salutation we conduct him to the apartment prepared for him and there we perform these four things 1. We give him some great or signal testimonies of our respect friendship and acknowledgment for the Honour which we receive by his presence 2. We offer him the best things we have such as may be most pleasing to him 3. If we have need of his assistance we beg such things as we want willingly would have And in fine 4. When he returns we give him thanks acknowledging the honour of the visit we renew and repeat to him the protestations of fidelity friendship and service Behold as in a pattern how you are to behave your self towards Jesus Christ immediately after Communion As soon therefore as you have receiv'd the Sacred host with much Faith and a profound Humility adore our Lord who is within you Then departing modestly from the holy Table withdraw your self into some convenient place and employ your self in the following thoughts Conduct our Lord not into your body since he is there already but into the place of your Soul wherein he most delights that is into your heart and your affection That is to say six your thoughts upon him and comply with the following duties Make acts of Adoration of Love and of Acknowledgment in this manner and first Of Adoration O my God and my Saviour Jesus Christ I adore thee from the bottom of my heart I firmly believe that I now possess thy Body thy Blood thy Soul and thy Divinity I acknowledge that thou art in me all and every one of these ways O Greatness of God! is it possible that thou shouldest humble thy self so low O goodness how immense art thou and yet art pleased thus to remain with us Thou dost not only come and inhabit with us but thou bestowest thy self upon us for our food and nourishment and to whom to a poor and wretched servant as I am A Lord to his Slave God to his creature Jesus Christ to a Sinner O res mirabilis manducat Dominum pauper servus humilis Altho' there were nothing else but my mean and base condition it would make me unworthy to receive thee but I am become more undeserving by my sins and yet thou hast the goodness not only to say to me as David did to Miphiboseth that I shall Eat at thy Table 2. Reg. 9.7 Et tu comedes panem in mensa mea semper But also thou thy self offerest thy self unto me for my food and nourishment O Divine Goodness how have I deserved such and so great favours Ibid. Quis sum ego quoniam respexisti super canem mortuum Ponder well upon these words and consider what you were before by sin less in the sight of God then a dead Dog in respect of his Master and that you are now by his grace and favour restored to the number of the Children of God and seated at his Table nourished with his Body and Blood. Next pass on to the Acts of Love and Acknowledgment Acts of Love towards Jesus Christ O My God what return shall I make for this so signal favour and what shall I do to acknowledge it Is it possible that I should not continually love thee after this excess of love which thou hast shew'd me Thou hast loved me to that degree as to lay down thy Life for my sake and shall I not make this return as only to live for thee Thou at present hast communicated thy self wholly to me and shall not I be from henceforward wholly thine O my God permit me not to be so ungratefull and so insensible of thy Love and my own Salvation I protest here before thee that I will be faithfull to thee for the future that I will never part from thee by any disobedience to thy Commandments Ps 118.93 In aeternum non obliviscar justificationes tuas quia in ipsis vivificasti me I will never forget thy bounty nor the favour which thou hast done me in admitting me to thy mercy I will love thee with all my heart O my Saviour Ps 17. Diligam te Domine fortitudo mea firmamentum meum refugium meum liberator meus I will love thee and I do love thee O my God my strength my support my refuge and my deliverer Thou art my God and my All. Deus meus omnia What is there either in Heaven or upon Earth that I should love besides thee Ps 72.25 Quid mihi est in Coelo a te quid volui super terram Deus cordis mei pars mea Deus in aeternum O my God I will not love either in Heaven or Earth any thing but thee Thou art the God of my heart the inheritance and only happyness I pretend to I have made choice of thee and I will never change An Offering to Jesus Christ WHat shall I give thee O my Saviour in acknowledgment of thy favours and as an earnest of the love which now I promise thee I have not any thing worthy of thee and if I had I have nothing but what is from thee and what is thine and due to thee upon all accounts but thou art pleased to accept what is thy own upon several heads Hence it is that I offer my self unto thee that is my Body and my Soul which are now sanctified by the Honour of thy Divine presence I consecrate them both unto thee since at present thou hast vouchsafed they should serve thee as a Temple My Body never more to be employ'd as an Instrument of Sin My Soul to know thee to love thee and evermore to be faithfull to thee O Lord bless I beseech thee the Present which I make thee Sanctify them both since they have served thee for a Temple Benedic Domine domum istam Permit not that my Body be any more defiled with impure delights nor my Soul by a will to commit any Mortal Sin. This resolution I here make in thy presence