God and contristate the holy Spirit which they banish from their Souls These reasons which so much aggravate the sins of Christians are also the cause why God doth not pardon them with so much indulgence but obligeth the Penitent after the remission of the fault to some satisfaction for the sin Certainly saith the Council Ses 14. c. 8. the equity of the divine justice requires that he should deal otherwise with them who before Baptism have sinned by ignorance then with them who by Holy Baptism have been delivered from the servitude of sin and the Devil and after they have received the gift of the Holy Ghost have not been afraid to violate the Temple of God and contristat his holy Spirit Sanè divinae justitiae ratio exigere videtur ut aliter ab eo in gratiam-recipiantur qui ante Baptismum per ignorantiam deliquerint aliter verò qui semel a peccati servitute liberati accepto Spiritus sancti dono scienter Templum Dei violare Spiritum sanctum contristare non formidaverint From thence the Council descends to the second reason which they derive from the goodness of God which imposes these punishments for our advantage as followeth Et divinam clementiam decet ne ita nobis absque ulla satictfactione peccata dimittantur ut occasione acceptâ peccata leviora putantes velut injurii contumeliosi S. Sancto in graviora labamur thesaurizantes nobis iram in die irae It is very agreeable to the divine bounty not to remit our sins without obliging us to some Satisfaction lest by occasion of too much mildness we should think our sins less then they are and from thence take occasion to fall into greater and to become injurious and contumelious to the Holy Ghost and draw upon us the divine wrath in the day of Anger Proculdubio enim magnopere a peccato revocant quasi fraeno quodam coercent hae satisfactoriae paenae cautioresque vigilantiores in futurum poenitentes efficiunt medentur quoque peccatorum reliquiis vitiosos habitus male vivendo comparatos contrariis virtutum actionibus tollunt For without doubt these satisfactory punishments have a wonderfull Vertue to divert Penitents from Sin and serve as a Bridle to withdraw them and teach them to have a greater Guard for the future besides they cure those reliques and disorders which sin had left in the Soul and root out the Vicious habits contracted by a disorderly way of living In these last words the Council comprehends a third reason which they draw from the wholesome effects which follow from Satisfaction which are the correction of past faults and amendment of Penitents for the future They add yet two more viz. That the works of pennance duly performed are a powerfull means to avert the punishment which the divine Justice hath prepar'd in readyness to throw upon us And that by these pains which we suffer for our sins we become more like and better resemble our Saviour Jesus Christ who hath suffered for our Sins and from whose merit our satisfactions derive all their force or merit And we are assured Rom. 8.17 that if we have a part in his sufferings we shall also partake of his Glory The words of the Council are Ibid. Neque vero in Ecclesia Dei unquam existimata fuit ad amovendam imminentem a Domino paenam quam ut has paenitentiae opera homines cum vero animi dolore frequentent Accedit ad haec quod dum satisfaciendo patimur pro peccatis Christi Jesu qui pro peccatis nostris satisfecit ex quo omnis nostra sufficientia est conformes efficimur certissimam quoque arrham inde habentes quod si compatimur conglorificabimur CHAP. IV. Wherein Satisfaction consists and whether it be Essential to the Sacrament of Penance WE have already said that it consists in doing or suffering some painfull thing to recompence the Temporal punishment which God hath reserved after the remission of sin This satisfaction may be performed two manner of ways either in Vertue of the Sacrament by the impaition of the Priest or out of the Sacrament by the sole Devotion of the Penitent That only which is imposed by the Priest is Sacramentall and makes a part of the Sacrament of Pennance That which the Penitent performs upon his own free motion is an effect of the virtue of Penance with which his heart is fill'd and altho' it do not make a part of the Sacrament it is nevertheless very profitable and wholsome yea often very necessary to supply the defects of the Penance imposed by Confessours which ordinarily come very short of the punishment which their Sins deserve in the sight of God. It may be ask'd whether Sacramental Satisfaction be essential to the Sacrament of Penance that is to say whether or no it be so necessary that without it the Sacrament would be in valid as to the remission of Sins To which it is necessary that we answer under a distinction betwixt Satisfaction effectual or actual and affective only which is a sincere will to satisfy For the first is not at all of the essence of the Sacrament so as without it the Absolution should be null for it is certain that Absolution may be given to a Penitent before he hath actually made any Satisfaction imposed by the Priest which is evident from the practice of the Church which frequently gives Absolution before Satisfaction be actually perform'd But as to the will of fatisfying God it is so necessary that without it the Absolution would be of no effect The reason is because that will is inseparable from true Contrition and he who hath it not at all cannot have the necessary sorrow for his Sins nor be truly Penitent because it is the proper effect of Penance to endeavour to destroy Sin and repair the injury it doth to Almighty God as St. Thomas saith 3. p. q. 85. a. 2. In Poenitentia invenitur specialis ratio actus laudabilis viz. operari ad destructionem peccati in quantum est offensa Dei. Besides as it is not the intention of God to forgive the Sin but by obliging the Sinner to a Temporal Punishment so neither can it be that he who will not or doth not design to undergo that pain receive the remission of his Sins which is not given him but upon condition to endure it Moreover by that resistance to the Divine Will he commits a Sin in his very Confession and by consequence renders himself uncapable of Absolution This Conclusion we shall see more clearly hereafter in the Chapter CHAP. V. Of the Conditions Satisfaction ought to have on behalf of the Ghostly Father PEnance depends upon two persons the Priest that imposes it and the Penitent who accepteth and performs it There are certain Conditions which it ought to have on either side I shall speak briefly of the one and the other that not only the Penitent may know what he ought to
Damasus Epi. 57. that he was resolved never to depart from him but inseparably to unite himself unto him as to one who held the Chair of St. Peter upon which says he I know that the Church is built Adding that the Church thus built is the only house where it is lawfull to Eat the Paschal Lamb the Ark of Noah out of which during the Flood none were saved he that doth not gather with the Pope scattereth that is he who is not united to Jesus Christ doth associate himself with Anti-Christ Fifthly we are also obliged to believe that this true Church is Infallible in her judgments in matters of Faith and Doctrine concerning manners whether she be or be not assembled in the persons of her Pastours and Head viz. the Pope and Bishops she holds universally one and the same Doctrine This is also an Article of Faith grounded upon the word of the Son of God who hath promised that the gates of Hell shall never prevail against her his Church from whence it follows that she never either fell or ever shall fall into the least error in points of faith she being as the Apostle affirms the Pillar and ground of truth But we have already prov'd this truth above in the first Article Now from all what we have said both in the first Article and in the present question it follows that we must conclude and hold this for a certain and infallible truth that all saithfull Christians whosoever desire to be assured in points of faith and sound Doctrine concerning Manners and to avoid error in a matter of so great concern must of necessity adhere and stick close solely inseperably to the Holy Catholick Apostolick and Roman Church and hear and follow her Judgment and Doctrine in all things ARTICLE IV. What are we obliged to believe concerning the Sacraments I Believe the Remission of Sins We are obliged to believe what the Church hath always taught concerning the Sacraments viz. First that they are the means instituted by God thereby either to confer his Grace upon us or to augment what we have already received or to restore what we had lost as it is expressed in the Councill of Trent Sess 7. Proaem Secondly that a Sacrament may be rightly defined in this manner a Visible signe of invisible grace instituted by God for our sanctification 3. That this Visible sign consists and is as it were composed of two parts viz. the sensible thing which is applyed in the Sacrament as water in Baptism and the words which are pronounced as in the same Beptism these words I baptize thee c. according to that received doctrine delivered by St. Augustin Accedit verbum ad Elementum fit Sacramentum By the joyning of the words with the Element or Material thing the Sacrament becomes compleat One of these two parts is called the matter the other the form of the Sacrament 4. That the Sacrament being applyed by a lawfull Minister either gives or augments Sanctifying Grace in the Soul of the worthy receiver 5. That there are Seven Sacraments viz. Baptism Confirmation Eucharist Penance Extreme Unction Order Matrimony Baptism makes us the Children of Jesus Christ Washing us from the Stains of Original sin and enlivening our Soul with the Life of Grace whence St. Paul calls Baptism Tit. 3.5 the laver of regeneration and the renovation of the Holy Ghost Confirmation strengthens us and conserves and confirms us in the faith we received in Baptism The Holy Eucharist is the nourishment of the Soul for as by Meat and Drink our decayed Spirits are revived so by the use of the Blessed Sacrament those damages which Charity dayly suffers from humane frailty are repaired Penance restores us to the Grace of God which we had lost by sin Extreme Unction gives us strength at the hour of death that we may be the better able to fight against our Ghostly Enemy in that last Moment upon which Eternily depends it is a remedy against Spirituall weakness contracted by our former Sins Order consecrates the Ministers of Christ and gives them power to conferr the Sacraments Matrimony sanctifies the contract betwixt man and woman and gives them grace to comply with the obligations which they draw upon themselves by that indissoluble Bond instituted by God for the propagation of Mankind and raised to the dignity of a Sacrament by our Saviour Christ Altho' all or every one of the Sacraments do cause sanctifying grace yet they do not every one produce it in the same manner for there are two viz. Baptism and Penance instituted for the remission of Sins which conferr it upon those whom they find void of grace from whence it is that they are called the Sacraments of the dead that is to say of those who are dead in the sight of God in the state of Mortal Sin whom they raise up from that death to the life of grace whereas all the rest are called the Sacraments of the living in as much as they encrease the grace they find precedently in the Soul and to receive any one of these worthily it is necessary that we be in the state of grace The Soul by each Sacrament is not only sanctified by habitual but also endowed with actual grace that is with a vigour and strength towards the compassing of those particular effects for which it was first instituted and ordained Moreover there are three which imprint a character in the Soul Baptism Confirmation and Order this Character is a Spiritual Mark or Seal which God makes in his Soul who receives any of these three Sacraments which impression because it can never be rased out none of these three Sacraments can be reiterated or received the second time by the same Person without a Sacrilege CHAP. III. Of the Holy Eucharist ALL what we have said hitherto whether of Faith in general or in particular of the Divinity it self of the Incarnation of the Son of God of the Holy Church and of the Sacraments serve only as so many steps or dispositions to the belief of the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar and to render the understanding of this adorable Mystery more easy to us which therefore we shall here endeavour to explain as brief and short as possibly we may I shall reduce all whatsoever we are obliged to know concerning it into four heads 1. The real prefence of the Son of God in the Sacrament 2. The Wonders inseparably annext unto it 3. The effects which it is capable to produce 4. The dispositions necessary to receive it ARTICLE I. Of the real presence of the Son of God in the Holy Eucharist and of what we are to believe concerning this Sacrament WE are obliged to believe that it is a Sacrament instituted by Jesus Christ wherein he gives us really and truly his Body and Blood under the species or exteriour appearance of Bread and Wine for our Spiritual nourishment and refection There is not any one particle of this general
follow the Scripture except also they follow and be assured of the true Sense of Scripture for as St. Augustin in tract 18. in Jo. saith Heresy springs from no other source but from good Scripture ill understood and boldly maintained And St. Hilary l. 2. ad Constant August saith excellently well That there is no Heretick but maintains his Blasphemies by the Scripture If they fay that the Holy Ghost inspires them with the true Sense of the Scriptures and the right understanding of the Mysteries therein contained The Answer is impertinent for there was never any Heretick who had not this same Plea. Secondly If it be so why are there so many different Sentiments amongst them and that in Points of Faith Can the Holy Ghost be contrary to or contradict himself Is it possible that he should inspire both truth and falshood 3ly who is it that doth not perceive that this answer were it good would authorize as many religions as there are men for every one will easily say that he hath the Holy Ghost Lastly why do they desire that others should believe them whilst they affirm that they have the H. Ghost having nothing besides there own assertion to justify what they say since they themselves refuse to believe the Church which requires their assent by so just a title as is the promise made her by the Son of God of the continuall assistance of his H. Spirit even to the end of the world We must then conclude and hold for a certain truth that it is neither our private judgment nor our interiour perswasion however we may believe it comes from the Holy Ghost which is capable to serve us as a rule in points of Faith or can make us see which is a true and which a false revelation but it is the sole Testimony of the Catholick Church and the judgment which she forms of the divine truths which is and ought to be the rule of our belief For whilst we submit our selves to her judgment we cannot fall As we cannot but mistake and err when tho' never so little we depart from the doctrine of the Church We find in the Church four conditions required for the rule of saith To be a rule it must at one and the same time be One Certain Manifest and Visible The Church is One for as there can be but one Faith so there can be no more then one true Church as it is said in the Nicene Creed Et unam Sanctam Catholicam Apostolicam Ecclesiam The judgment of the Church is Certain in points of faith since she can never fail being as the Apostle saith the Pillar and ground of truth It is Manifest because clearly proposed and by word of mouth explained upon occasion of any Emergent difficulty in matters of faith The Church for this reason was Established by the Son of God his will is that we have recourse unto her in these occasions according as it was also practiced in the Old Testament where it is said Mal. 2.7 that the lips of the Priest do conserve knowledge and one must seek the Law from his mouth And the Apostle assures us that the same method is to be observed in the New Testament when he saith Ephes 4.11 that the Son of God hath established some Apostles some Pastours and other some Doctors for the administration of his word for the building up of the body of Jesus Christ that is his Church That we may not be like Children wavering in uncertainty and carried away with every wind of Doctrine And for this reason also St. Augustin affirms that in all difficulties which occurr concerning any questions or matters of Faith we must make our addresses to the Church If any one saith he cont Crescon fear to be deceived in the obscurity of this question let him consult the Church Si quis falli metuit hujus obscuritate questionis Ecclesiam de illâ consulat Lastly the Church is Visible as consisting of Pastours who have succeeded one another ever since the Apostles even unto this present time and as in all ages one might so at this very time one may easily address himself unto them to be instructed in all what concerns our faith This is the City whereof the Son of God speaks Mat. 5.14 which is built upon a Mountain to which all the World may have access as it was foretold by Isaias Chap. 2.3 Come and ascend to the mountain of our Lord to the House of the God of Jacob. It will teach us his ways and we shall walk in his paths for the Law will come forth of Sion and the word of our Lord from Jerusalem It was to this City that St. Augustin de Vnitat Eecles c. 14. sent the Donatists when he said to them you have the City whereof he himself who built it said that it was a City built upon a Mountain and could not be hidden I have staid and dilated my self on set purpose upon this Subject of the Rule of Faith because it is of great concern in this affair and upon which all the rest as far as concerns us depends it is a Principle and Fundamental Maxim in matters of Faith That we must hearken to and obey the Church we must receive the Divine Revelations from her alone and the Interpretation she gives of the Holy Scripture and Tradition which are the two ways by which as is abovesaid God hath been pleased to convey his Divine Truths the Mysteries of our Holy Faith unto us Quest VII What Qualities or Conditions ought our Faith to have IT follows from what we have already said that Faith to be perfect must have three qualities or Conditions it must be Humble Vniversal and Firm or fixed and steddy Humble that is in matters of Faith we are to submit our selves to the judgment of the Church and not to be wedded to our proper sense nor to our interiour persuasion nor to the judgment of any particular Person as we have shew'd above Thus God ordained it in the Old Testament Deut. 17.8 where he commanded that in the difficulties which should occurr concerning the performance of the Law every one should have recourse to the Priests follow exactly their decision and that under pain of Death in case one should be refractory or disobedient And in the New Testament he hath decreed that he who will not hear the Church shall be accounted as an Infidel Vniversal that is it ought to comprehend and believe generally all the truths which are proposed by the Church to be believed without excepting any and the reason is evident because the Church which proposeth them by reason of the assistance of the Holy Ghost which is promised her without restriction is equally infallible in all her Judgments and can be no more deceived in the least then in the greatest Mystery of our Faith and as St. Augustin contra Epist fundam speaking of the Books of the Sacred Scripture saith excellently well If
Salvation What good things ought he not to do who considers himself in this danger or rather I will not say what Evil but even what indifferent things ought he not to deny himself that by doing good and avoiding evil he may both prevent the misfortunes which environ him at present and avoid the eternal loss of his Soul which threatens him for the future Without question you see clear enough what he should do first that he should seek all means possible to appease the divine anger regain his favour which cannot be otherwise effected but by ceasing to offend him by performing acts of condign Penance and by pouring forth his Soul in hearty prayer that he may obtain from God the grace of Holy Contrition In the Second place that he should apply himself to consider the sins he hath committed meditate upon the motives which are capable to imprint in his Soul an horror of them then he should propose to himself the examples of true Penitents imitate them in their Penances and conquer Heaven by the force of tears and Contrition as they have done We shall discourse of these two general means in the following Chapters CHAP. VII Of the first means to obtain Contrition which are three avoiding sin works of Penance and Prayer I Put these three means togeher because they are so inseparable that they seem to make but one The first is to forsake sin or cease from offending God for how can you expect to gain the Spirit of Contrition or the Holy Virtue of Penance whilst you persist actually to offend him and resist his grace and how can you have in your heart a true sorrow and detestation of sin when you take pleasure to commit it This is impossible Sin is the destruction of divine grace it roots out of the Soul all pious thoughts it banisheth all holy inspirations and disperses them at their first appearance like a blasting North-wind by its cold and dryness it scatters the Clouds disperses the Rain or dew of Heaven and parches up the Earth This is what theWise man would signify by those mysterious words of the Proverbs Ventus Aquilo dissipat plavias Auster congregat dissipatas Prov. 25. It is sin which locks up the Heavens and hinders the rains of Grace from showring upon men when they need it most whilst they stand obnoxious to his wrath On the contrary the fear of Gods Judgments which seizeth upon Sinners is like the favourable South-wind which gathers the Clouds dissolves them into Rain and pours them upon the Earth this fear is a gentle gale that breaths into the Soul the thoughts of Penance it moves us to conceive true sorrow for our sins and at last brings us to the so much to be desired Port perfect Contrition The Second means is to abridge ones self of pleasures and perform the works of Penance next to sin there is nothing more opposite to Contrition which is the fruit of sorrow then pleasures Contrition is not found but in afflictions and miseries of which the heart is incapable in the time of pleasure Job speaking of Wisdom says it is not found in the houses of pleasures and delights Job 28. Non invenitur in terra suaviter viventium Much less Contrition which is the beginning of Wisdom Contrition is the off-spring of an afflicted heart ruminating on all his sins in the bitterness of his Soul and can this be found amongst divertisements and pleasures No no It is most certain that he who resolves to be Penitent and contrite ought to banish far from his thoughts divertisements and pleasures and betake himself to the works of Penance as Fasting Alms-deeds and the like The Third necessary means is Prayer because Contrition being as is above declared a gift of God a gift which is not due unto us but proceeds from his pure bounty it is certain we have great need to demand pray or beg it of him very earnestly need to acknowledge our own misery and the absolute dependance we have upon his mercy Upon this occasion it is that we ought to re-enter perfectly into our selves and humble our selves in the presence of God in a profound acknowledgment of the misery to which we are reduced by this state of sin It is upon this occasion we ought to employ those excellent Sentences of the Prophet Jeremy Ego vir videns paupertatem meam in virgâ indignationis ejus It is true O my God! I acknowledge the extreme misery whither thy anger hath justly reduced me I am now in the darkness of sin instead of the light of thy grace which I formerly enjoyed Thou hast turned thy hand against me thou hast taken away all my forces and environ'd me with bitterness and pain my Life is fall'n into an abiss out of which I cannot get out Considering my self in this state I said I was lost but I had recourse unto thee O my God I invoked thy Holy Name from the depth of my misery Thou hast graciously hearkned unto me do not turn away thine Ears from the lamentations which flow from my heart from the clamours which I make to obtain thy mercy CHAP. VIII Of the Motives of Contrition and first of the grievousness of sin WHen you demand of God Contrition by Prayer and works of Penance you must not be wanting to your self but endeavour on your part to procure it This endeavour consists in weighing attentively the motives which are capable to raise this sorrow in your heart and in meditating upon the grievousness of sin and the reasons which may move you to an horror and detestation of it This practice is absolutely necessary for him who desires to be truly converted But is not much in use as God himself complains by his Prophet There is none says he that repents himself of his sins saying what have I done Jer. 8. Do it then as you ought dear Theotime and with all the attention of your heart whilst you read what I shall here propose unto you and beg of God that he will make you comprehend and understand this so important a concern for it is impossible without grace to know it exactly right You must then suppose that the grievousness of sin is so great that it is incomprehensible or unconceivable and this truth alone may make you judge of the greatness of it To comprehend this grievousness you should have a full Idea or true definition of sin which might perfectly explain it's nature But this is impossible The sovereign good which is God cannot be defined because it is infinite neither also can sin which is the supreme evil That is infinite in goodness this is infinite in malice That possesses all perfections this is the accomplishment of all mischiefs And as no created Spirit can comprehend the Greatness Bounty and Perfections of God so none but God can understand the grievousness malice miseries of Sin. And the reason is very evident because to understand well the grievousness of sin
I believe the Gospel I must also necessarily believe the Acts of the Apostles because the same Authority of the Catholick Church obliges to believe them both We may say the same of all the other truths which are proposed by the Church for if we believe one we ought also to believe the others because it is the same Authority and the same Church which proposes and gives us assurance of them both And the same St. Augustin l. 16. cont Faust c. 3. speaking of Hereticks and those who would give credit to nothing but their own will. You says he who in the Gospell believe what you please and what you like not reject You rather give credit to your selves then to the Gospell because when led by your private Spirit you approve what pleaseth and disapprove what displeases you in Scripture you do not at all submit your selves to the authority of holy writ there to find out your faith but rather you subject the Scripture to your selves to judge of it according to your will. In fine Faith ought to be firm that is fixed steddy and free from any at least voluntary doubt And this also for the same reason the infallible authority of the Church which proposes unto us the divine truths the objects of our Faith and cannot be deceived in what she proposes to us So that there is no more reason to doubt of any one truth then of all the rest And there is not a better way to dispell with ease the doubts which arise against any one article of our faith then to reflect upon the others which one believes with all the certainty imaginable which yet are no otherwise grounded then upon the same authority of the Church for if we do not doubt of those neither ought we to question these In all the doubts which may occur concerning any point or points of faith whether they arise from our own imaginations or spring from occasion of Heresy new doctrins or scandall given in the Church we ought to have recourse to this authority as to a secure refuge A refuge where we shall find the divine Protection against the contradiction of evill tongues as the Psalmist hath it and after him St. Augustin in those excellent words which he delivers upon that passage of Psa 30. exposi 2. Serm. 3. Preteges eos in tabernaculo tuo a condictione linguarum If you find tongues which contratradict you heresies raised up against you and divisions which oppose you have recourse to the Tabernacle of God adhere and stick fast to the Catholick Church do not depart from this rule of Truth and you shall be protected and guarded from the contradiction of tongues in the Tabernacle of God. Behold not only a wholsome but also a necessary advice which ought to be practised upon occasion of any doubts in faith and especially in the beginning of any heresy And had the hereticks of our time follow'd this good councell they would never so unfortunately have continued obstinate in their errour or drawn others into the same ruin as they have done CHAP. II. Of the things we are obliged to believe WE shall reduce them to four heads 1. The Divinity or what we are obliged to believe of God. 2. The Incarnation or the Humanity of the Son of God which shall comprehend what we are to be believe of Jesus Christ 3. The Church 4. The Sacraments These four things are all contained in the Apostles Creed ARTICLE I. What are we oblig'd to believe of God FOur things The First I believe in God that God is that is that there is one only true God who is an uncreated Being Eternall Independent Infinite in perfections in Knowledge in Power in Wisdom in Goodness in Justice and in all other things Secondly The Father Almighty and in his only Son I believe in the Holy Ghost that in God there are three Persons The Father the Son and the Holy Ghost That all these three are but one true God having the self same divine Essence the self same Wisdom the self same Goodness the self same Power and so of the other divine perfections That the Son the Eternal Word proceeds from the understanding of the Father by a perfect Knowledge which the Father conceives of himself by which he expresses his Image in the Son. And the Holy Ghost proceeds from the Father and the Son by a Mutuall love which they bear one another That these Processions do not cause any inequality or dependence or priority amongst the Divine Persons who are all Equall and Eternall as being all but one only true God One in Nature and three in Persons Thirdly Creator of Heaven and Earth That God is the authour and creator of all things that he hath made both Heaven and Earth and all the creatures therein whether visible or invisible of nothing by his only word That he conserves them by his power and governs them by his wisdom Fourthly Life Everlasting That as he is the beginning and first cause so also he is the end of all things and particularly of Men and Angels whom he created to adore and serve him and for whom he hath prepared eternall happiness which will consist in this that the blessed shall see him perfectly and enjoy him as he is in himself and this enjoyment shall endure for all eternity it shall never no never end ARTICLE II. What are we obliged to believe of Jesus Christ FOR the greater facility and distinctions sake we shall divide this Article into Questions Quest I. What is Jesus Christ And in Jesus Christ his only Son. HE is the Son of God the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity who was Incarnate that is made Man for us men and for our Salvation But Quest II. Why was he made Man TO redeem man from the Sentence of everlasting death which we had all incurred by disobedience of the first man and to give full satisfaction to the Divine Justice as well for that first or Original Sin as for all the rest which have been committed ever since by other men Quest III. This Incarnation in what doth it consist Who was conceived of the Holy Ghost born of the Virgin Mary IT consists in the strict and personal union of the Eternall word with human nature that is with a mortall body and an immortall Soul such as we have from which union there results a compound whom we call Jesus Christ true God and at the same time true man. Whence it plainly follows that in Jesus Christ there are two Natures and one only Person viz. the one divine the other humane nature both united in one the same Person of the Son of God or the eternal word whereas on the contrary in the divinity there is but one Nature three Persons By this Union the Divinity was neither changed into the Humanity nor the Humanity into the Divinity of our Lord for that is impossible But both natures enjoying either of them their own perfections
infused or given by God which makes us love him above all things and our Neighbour as our selves This definition is taken from the Commandment which God hath given us to love him Luc. 10.27 Thou shalt love says he the Lord thy God with thy whole heart with thy whole Soul with all thy strength and with all thy mind and thy Neighbour as thy self These words with thy whole heart signify what we have already said that we must love God above all things and that our heart ought to be wholly his loving nothing either equal with him or more then him but under and less then him and only in order to his Service This greater love doth not consist in having a more ardent a more tender and a more affective love for God then for any other thing altho' this were to be wished for But it lies in this that we esteem God more then all the things of this world and that in our heart and effectually we preferr his friendship before all other goods and whatsoever it is we love So that we resolve to abandon and loose them all rather then be deprived of the grace of God. This preference and this resolution are so necessarily required in the love of God that they are the only distinctive signs it hath and it cannot subsist without them So that in the moment in which any one willingly and in effect breaketh this resolution he looseth the love of God. However to make this preference and resolution we need not represent in particular all the things before which we ought to preferr the love of God This is neither necessary nor always expedient It sufficeth that we have a general but an effectual resolution never to loose the grace of God for any thing of the world nor to do any thing whereby we may mortally offend him This resolution is the fruit and off-spring of the Virtue of Charity which is that Divine quality which God powers into our Souls when he receives us into his grace by the holy Spirit which is given us as the Apostle speaks Rom. 5.5 It continues with us as long as we conserve this resolution but as soon as we come to loose it by any either action or desire which is contrary unto it we are immediately deprived of this holy Charity which is the Queen and Mother of the other Virtues and without which all others are insignificant in order to Salvation I do not here examine the motives which ought to induce us to the love of God viz. whether it be that of the reward we expect from him or that of friendship and benevolence which we owe him Charity easily unites these two together although it be not built or grounded upon the reward yet it doth not exclude it but the Soul which is endowed with Charity loving God for himself expects at his hands the reward of that love which is him himself She loves God because of the recompence but she takes care that she do not say that she loves him by reason of the reward alone for she would love him although she looked for nothing from him and as St. Bernard de diligendo Deo says excellently well We never love God without a reward altho' we ought to love him without minding the reward for tho' true Charity be never fruitless yet it is not mercenary she seeks not her own Interest It is an affection of the Soul not a contract It is neither it self obtain'd nor doth it get any thing by bargain as Merchants do It is a voluntary affection and makes one give himself freely to his God. True love is satisfied with it self its reward is our beloved We have already spoken of this Virtue abstractedly and in it self in other places as in the Instruction of Youth Part. 4. Chap. 3. 16. and in that of Penance in the Examen upon the First Commandment Wherefore I shall only add here what concerns it in relation to the Sacrament of the Eucharist and in as much as it serves for the Holy Communion ARTICLE IV. Of the Motives of the love of God. IT was an admirable expression of St. Bernard ibid. that the reason of loving God is God himself and therefore when any one asks why we ought to love God One cannot answer better then by saying because he is God. But being God contains in himself an infinity of perfections and qualities which render him infinitely amiable this general reason of loving God because he is God is divided into many particular Motives which are so many several obligations to love that infinite goodness which can never be sufficiently loved Thus when I consider that God is great and perfect in himself an that he circles within himself all possible perfections all Power Goodness Wisdom Justice I find reason to love him above all other things because there is nothing amongst Creatures which is so amiable as he and he deserves to be beloved altho' supposing a thing impossible he should never have done us any good If I descend to the benefits which he hath bestowed upon us and consider him as Creator of Heaven and Earth and of all those excellent pieces which he hath made for our sake I find reason to love him above all things for how can I but love so great a bounty which hath wrought such wonders for us Heaven and Earth and all things in them says St. Augustin l. 10. Conf. c. 6. tell me on every side to love thee they declare the same to all that none may be excus'd if they do not love thee If I reflect upon my self I acknowledge I am the work of that immense goodness which out of nothing hath made me what I am and I cannot refrain from loving him if I love my self and own my self for what I am viz. the workmanship of God. This made St. Bernard ibid. say that God deserves to be loved for his own sake even by the very Infidel who although he be ignorant of Jesus Christ yet he knows himself therefore even the Infidel is inexcusable if he do not love his Lord with all his heart with all his Soul with all his strength viz. A certain innate or natural equity not unknown to Reason cries out aloud to him from within that he ought to love him with all his power from whom he cannot but know that he hath received all whatsoe're he hath If I consider the Redemption I there find a bottomless Abyss of love an unexhaustible fountain from whence motives to love that great and singular goodness which hath delivered me from an eternal ruine continually flow For as St. Bernard ibid. very well observes If I owe my self totally to God for that I am Created by him how much more do I owe him for that he hath Redeemed me and in such a manner For I was not so easily Redeemed as I was at first Created At my Creation it was said of me as well as of all other things
and the injury it does to God we must know how great how holy how good how perfect God is being that sin takes it's grievousness from the opposition it hath with the Greatness Bounty and Holiness of God. To know the greatness of an offence we must know and well understand the greatness and dignity of the person offended For this reason to compehend the grievousness and the injury it does to God we must measure the greatness of God but where is the measure of this accomplishment of goodness and perfections so much raised above us certainly we can never find it nor by consequence the measure of that Abyss of malice and misery of which we speak here Altitudinem Coeli profundum abyssi quis dimensus est who can ever measure saith Ecclesiasticus the height of Heaven or the depth of the Sea Eccles 1. Much less can the greatness of God and the grievousness of sin be measured If God be so high in dignity Majesty that no created Spirit can reach him it is true to say that sin is so profound in malice and unworthiness that it is impossible to comprehend it Yet nevertheless we must not despair to have an act of Contrition altho' we cannot conceive the grievousness of sin For in that alone which we said that we cannot comprehend its grievousness there is all the imaginable reason intirely to abhor and hate it and lament when we are so unfortunate as to fall into it Sin then is so great an evil that no created Spirit can conceive its enormity that to understand it we must know God clearly face to face which only God himself can fully comprehend What horror what detestation ought not we to have for so great and horrible an evil and what sorrow ought we to have to see our selves by our own ungracious will become guilty of it Ponder this well Theotime and do not pass over lightly this consideration for it is admirable I say again once more there is nothing that can make us hate sin more then to know that we cannot comprehend it's grievousness and it is easy to shew it by a contrary reason but very evident viz. That there is nothing which is more capable to raise in us a love and respect towards God then when we are fully persuaded that he is so great so perfect and so amiable that his greatness and perfections do infinitely surpass all that which we can conceive of him Let us apply the same to the grievousness of sin and the evils which it includes in it self and we shall find how detestable it is O sin is it true then that thou art so great that I cannot at all comprehend the heinousness of the injury thou dost to God and not only I but all the men and Angels together Now if thy enormity be so prodigious how can I but hate thee is not this sufficient to move a horour of thee O monster of wickedness he must needs be blind that flys not from thee O abiss of misfortunes how ought I to fear lest I should fall into such deep precipices CHAP. IX Of the same Subject of the grievousness of Sin. LEt us however attempt to gather some knowledge at least of the grievousness of Mortal Sin and although we cannot Comprehend it as it is in it self let us learn what the Holy Ghost has been pleased to let us know by the Sacred Scripture Read Theotime and be attentive What is Sin It is a rebellion of the creature against his Creator a resistance against his commandements by which it refuses to obey him and be subject to his holy will. This is what we learn from that wonderfull reproach which God made to Sinners by Jeremy From the beginning thou hast broken my Yoke thou hast burst my Bonds Jer. 2. That is all the considerations which kept thee ty'd to my Service and thou hast said I will not serve Behold what Sin is and what you have committed as often as you have Mortally offended God. Consider well this definition but this is not all What is Sin It is a horrible ingratitude committed against God and a forgetfullness of all his favours Who is it that says this It is he himself by his Prophet I have brought up Children and exalted them but they have despised me The Oxe hath known his owner and the Asse his masters Crib but Jsrael hath not known me and my People hath not understood Isa 1. and in another place The beloved was made grosse that is he hath enjoyed abundantly the goods which I have sent him and Spurned against me he left God his maker and departed from God his Salvation Deut. 32. What is Sin It is a Contempt of God and his Commandements by which one declares that he makes no account of his Greatness nor power of his Promises nor Threats This is what he himself saith above My Children have despised me Jer. 3. And by another Prophet he complains But as if a Woman should contemn her lover so hath the house of Israel contemned me Ezek. 5. And by another he says She hath contemned my judgments so that she was more impious then the Gentiles and my precepts more then the lands about her For they have cast away my judgments and in my precepts they have not walked And yet by another Prophet he reproaches Sinners with their contempt The Son honoureth the Father and the Servant his Lord if then I be Father where is my Honour and if I be the Lord where is my fear Mala. 1. What is Sin It is an injury done to God in his own person and before his own face knowing well that he beholds us and without respect to his greatness and Sanctity What is it saith he that my beloved hath done in my house much wickedness Jer. 11.15 and the Prophet Isaiah saith For Jerusalem is gone to ruine and Juda is fall'n because their tongue and their inventions were against our Lord to provoke the Eyes of his Majesty Isai 3.8 What is Sin It is a revolting from God and a renouncing of his friendship and grace to follow ones own will passion pleasure interest and the like For this reason Divines after a serious consideration of the nature of sin have thought that they could explicate it no better then by saying it was a turning away from God and a turning to or embracing the creature Aversio a Deo conversio ad creaturam Behold what is done by sin Hearken to the judgment and complaint of God himself Be astonished saith he O Heavens upon this and O Gates thereof be ye desolate exceedingly for two Evils have my people done Me they have forsaken the fountain of living water and have digged to themselves Cisterns that are not able to hold water Jer. 2. The meaning is that he who sins seeks his good and happiness in the creatures where he shall never find it What greater blindness then this See what they do who offend God