our Sauiour we should receaue this B. Sacrament VVHEN thou hast O my soule by the considerations alleadged in the former meditation stirred vp thy selfe to a filiall feare and reuerence thou must also endeauour to moue thy selfe to a feruent loue and charitie towards thy Sauiour whoÌ„ thou art to receaue To this all thy former meditations will conduce for that by them is shewed what a good house keeper how liberall an Hoste what a Father what a Mother what a Friend Spouse Phisitian and Pastour all which are titles of loue Christ hath shewed himself vnto the in this B. Sacrament Saye then vnto him thou hast shewed they self in this B. Sacrament a noble house keeper giue me the loue belonging to one of thy familie thou hast shewed thy selfe a bountifull Hoste giue me the loue of a louing guest thou hast shewed thy selfe a Father and Mother make me a louing and obedieÌ„t childe Thou hast shewed thyselfe a louinge friend make me loue thee reciprocallie yea a Spouse make me a louing spouse yea a Phisitian make me a louing patient yea a Pastour inflame my heart with the loue of a louing sheepe Thou neuer shewedst more loue to mee then in this B. Sacrament by which out of a great loue thou giuest to me and after so admirable a manner as loue is ingenious thy bodie bloud soule and diuinitie By Incarnation thou impartedst thy self onlie to that nature which thou tookest of the B. Virgin But by this Sacrament thou bestowest thyself on all in particular who receaue it VVith what loue shall I paye this loue Thou giuest thy All vnto me and can I giue lesse then my All to thee and yet so shall I not rendre like for like because my All is nothing to thy All nothing somuch as if a begger should giue his raggs for the Kinges purple robe crowne scepter and kingdome I vse to take kindelie all which a freind giueth be it but a ring or Image because I imagine that he giueth his loue in his guift yea and himself also in his guift though not in person with what loue then should I answer to thy loue who giuest thy selfe vnto me not onelie in thy guifts and effects as thou giuest by creation iustification and glorification but also by this B. Sacrament in thine owne person Children loue their parents and nurces because they feed and nourish them brute beasts loue them who giue them meate be it but crustes and bones hay or strawe how then should I loue thee O Lord who feedest me with thy owne flesh bloud seasoned and sauced with the Diuinitie O my heart to shew thy self that thou art not made of flint marble or steele but of soft flesh resolue thy self into loue for thy Sauiours loue shewed in this B. Sacrament and being so resolued and transformed imploy thy selfe and all thou are for his loue and honour If thou thus prepare thy selfe by a great reuerence and loue to this B. Sacrament in which the Sonne of God resideth as in his cabinet not onely he but his Father also the first person in Trinitie and their holy Spirit the Holie Ghost the third person who procedeth from them both consubstantiall and coequall vnto them will all three come vnto thee not onely to visit thee but also to dwell with thee for this God the SoÌ„ne promiseth saying If any loue me he will keepe my word Ioa. 14. and my Father will loue him and we will come to him and will make abode with him And because thou art notable of thyself to furnish thy howse so as it may be fitt for the entertainement of so great personages they will bring with theÌ„ their tapistrie and ornaments of grace and vertues by which thou shalt be adorned to their liking And because thou canst not prepare a feast worthie such guests though thou shouldest seeke sea and Land for it they will bring their feast with them to witt this Blessed Sacrament the Manna which conteineth all that can delight thy spirit and with it they will bring aboundaÌ„ce of all grace by which they will feast thee and will be feasted of thee THE 13. MEDITATION To be made immediatlie after Communion How thanâ—kefull the Receauer should bee VVHen thou hast receaued this B. Sacrament pause awhile and think what thou hast receaued Thou hast receaued more then the worth of Heauen and earth the Sonne of God in whom be all the treasures of wisedom and knowledge hidden Coloss 2. in whom dwelle the fulnesse of the God head corporallie who is the head of all principalitie and power thou hast receaued him who is worth so much that he is inestimable no price caÌ„ be sett on him Antonius and Cleopatra did on a time vainlie striue who should make the greatest feast And Antonius prepared all that Sea and Land could affoard Cleopatra not sollicitous for any such fare tooke an vnion which hung at her eare and resoluing it drank it at a draft and putting her finger to the other eare to take another vnion he who was elected arbiter and Iudge betwixt them bad Cleopatra hold her hand for that she had alreadie surpassed Antonius his feast hauing drunk alreadie the price of all Egypt But thou O my soule by receauing this B. Sacrament eatest and drinkest at once the bodie and bloud of Christ for with his bodie his bloud alwayes is by concomitance and inseparable vnioÌ„ which is more then the price of Egypt yea theÌ„ a thousand worlds And therefore if thou shouldest resolue thy heart into gratitude and thankes giuing thou coulds not shew sufficient gratitude for this so great benefit Say then to thy bountifull Iesus with gratefull Dauid Psa 115. Quid retribuam Domino pro omnibus quae retribuit mihi what shall I render to our Lord for all things that he hath rendred to me nay what shall I render to my Lord for this onlie thing which he hath bestowed on mee thou hast ô Lord not onlie bestowed on mee great benefites and this the greatiest of allâ— but thou hast also rendred good for euill mercie and grace for my sinnes what can I render thee for this Psa 115. I will follow King Dauids counsell I will take the chalice of saluation and I will inuocate the name of our Lord I will take the chalice of thy Passion which thou didst drink on the Crosse I will offer that sacrifice for this and both for all thy benefites and by them I will inuocate and praise thy name for euer If I could speake at once with all the tongues of men and Angels I could not ô Lord giue thee sufficient thanks for this so great a benefit which conteineth thy sacred self and thy holie flesh and blood Deifyed by thy Diuinitie VVherefore in an astonishment at this great benefit and thy great liberalitie I will be silent and by my silence I will testifie and confesse that thou hast bestowed on me in this B. Sacrament more then
THE XV. MEDITATION How by the receiuing of this B. Sacrament the Receiuer is made the Temple of God THE XVI MEDITATION Of the good purposes which after Communion are to bee made APPROBATIO HAE meditationes Eucharisticae Ch. M. piae sunt deuotae nihil fidei catholicae bonis moribus contrarium continentes ideoque vtiliter excudentur perlegentur Actum Duaci 4. Iulij 1639. Georgius Coluenerius S. Theol. Doctor Regius ordinariusque ac primarius Professor Duacen sis Vniuersitatis Cancellarius librorum Censor To the Reader THE nature of man is desirous of Noueltie chaunge varietie Noe bed is so soft of which in tyme we are not wearie no Musick so delightfull which by oftē repetition becommeth not redious noe dish so daintie which if it come often to the table is not loathed and nothing but the cleare vision and fruition of God doth alwaies content The reason of this is the sufficiencie of God his goodnes the insufficiēcie of that which is good in his creatures For God is Sūmum bonum cheefest and infinite Good in which is no defect and so being seen clearlie perfectli◠possessed as he is of the Blessed in heauē who see him face to face 1. Cor. 15. doth alwaies delight neuer glutte the Blessed or make them desirous of chaunge But all creatures and create Goods as they content and delight for a tyme by reason that they are good in their kind so in tyme they discontent and make vs wearie of them because in that they are finite they are also deficient VVhence it is that as sick men cannot lye long on one side or in one posture but doe turn chaunge often so wee are neuer long content with any one create thing seeme it at first neuer so pleasing but after wee haue had a tast of it wee are wearie of it and desire to chaunge though sometymes for worse And this is the cause why after many spirituall bookes set out heretofore by others I haue not feared to set out myne though they bee of the same subiect that other former bookes were seeing that though myne treat of the same matter yet they doe it in a diuers manner and so for varietie may please I knew well that many had written paraphrases vpon the Psalme Miserere and vpon all the Psalmes and yet in the yeare 1635 laduētured to set out mine also hoping that when deuout persōs are wearie of still reading others Paraphrases they wold for varietie be content to read mine also and I was not deceiued And although I was not ignorant that many Authours haue written meditations vpon the B. Sacrament and the sacred passion of Christ yet for the aforesaid reason I now diuulge my meditations vpon the same subiects hoping that after often reading of those former bookes some out of desire of chaunge wil be content to read mine though inferiour And therfore to accommodate my self to humain infirmitie to which euen spirituall exercises in time grow wearisome in these my meditations vpon the B. Sacrament I haue so disposed that euerie meditation hath a diuers particular subiect that so the varietie at least may allure the Reader and that the Communicant or Receiuer may come with a better spirituall appetite and denotion to receiue in this Holy Sacrament his Sauiour his sacred bodie and bloud I propose him in diuers manners as in manner of a Feast maker a boūtifull house keeper a Freind a Pastour a physician a spouse a Father and the like that this varietie may delight and cause the Receiuer to come to this Holie Sacrament without any tediousnes yea with greater spirituall appetite And so I hope my meditations will not be vngratefull because in them there is varietie and diuersitie also from the meditations which others haue set forth others may haue somethīg which I haue not and I may haue something which they haue not they may haue their manner and I may haue myne they may haue their inuentions I may haue myne and so both theirs and myne may be pleasing For as the same meate diuerslie cooked may be as pleasing as diuers meates soe the same matter handled by diuers diuerslie may by reason of this varietie prooue no lesse pleasing then diuers matters and subiectes Otherwise if because that some haue written of a subiect others who succeed thē must not touch that matter all modern Authours must absteine from writing because nothing can be now sayd which was not in substance sayd before For as Ecclesiastes said in his time so much more may wee now say in our time Eccles 1 nothing vnder the Sunne is new neither is any man able to saye behold this is new for that it hath alreadie gone before in the ages that were before And so wee See that there are diuers commentaries vpon the same booke of scripture diuers sermons on the same holy day text diuers bookes of the same part of Philosophie diuinitie This being premised for my excuse I will breeflie aduertise the Reader that Meditation is not whatsoeuer speculation or discourse vpon God or his diuine perfections or the mysteries of our faith for this speculation being only to discouer the truth is not worthie the name of meditation which is a kind of mental prayer but meditation doth speculate the aforesaid obiectes discourseth on them to mooue some affection as loue ioye feare sorrow according to the natures of the mysteries or obiectes on which wee meditate In this exercise of meditation as the contemplatiues doe well obserue there are three wayes to perfection The one is Purgatiue when by meditation wee stirr vp in vs a feare of God his Iudgements and sorrow for our sinnes or hatred of them by which our soules are purged from all filth of sinne The second way is illuminatiue when by meditation our understanding is so illuminated as it seeth the excellencie of vertue as of obedience humilitie pouertie of spirit chastitie and the like and seing the beautie of it induceth the will to loue it and louing it to practise and to get it The third way is Vnitiue when by meditation of God his Diuine perfections we stirre vp in our heartes a loue of God a complacence in his Goodnes or mercie or other his perfectiōs and diuine attributes by this way our soules are vnited to God The first way is of beginners the secōd of those that profit in the way of vertue the third of them that are perfect In my Paraphrasis and meditation of the Psalme Miserere I haue speciallie shewed the Purgatiue way inducing the sinner to penance and sorrow for his sinnes by which sorrow the soule is purged frō sinne In my meditations vpon the Passion I propose the illuminatiue waye because Christ in his Passion hath set vs exāples of all vertues In my meditatiōs vpon the B. Sacrament I teach the vnitiue way that Sacrament by it selfe vniting vs reallie to Christ and the
mariaage betwixt man and wife because carnall mariage is dissolued by death of both or one of the parties but the mariage of Incarnation betwixt God man is absolulie indissoluble insomuch that death which separated Christ his soule from his bodie could separate neither soule nor bodie from the diuinitie to which they were vnited and so so long as God shall be God he shall be man and man shall be God and the mariage shall be eternall and whereas by mariage all things are common betwixt man and wife by Incarnation God imparted to our humaine nature all his Goods and diuine attributes for that after Incarnation man became God and consequentlie eternall omnipotent immense c. by a certain communication which diuines call communicatio idiomatum and man gaue to God all his riches or rather pouerties for that after Incarnation God became man and consequentlie was borne in tyme of a Virgin-mother who was borne of a Virgin Father before all worlds and so became hungrie and thirstie hoat and cold passible and mortall as other men are and as by carnall mariage man and wife are vna caro one flesh Ephes 5. so by this mariage God and man is one flesh yea one person The Church in which this mariage was made was the sacred wombe of the Virgin the Brides God and man the Priest that maried them the Holy Ghost the words by the which the mariage was contracted were Ecce Ancilla Domini siat mihi secundum verbum tuum Luc. 1. Behold the handmaid of our Lorde be it done to me according to thy word the paranimphe was S. Iohn Baptiste But this mariage was made immediatlie onlie betwixt the second person in Trinitie God the Sonne and that humain nature which he tooke of the B. Virgins wombe yet this mariage is the ground of the two ensuing mariages The second mariage betwixt God and man is contracted by grace charitie Of which speaketh the Prophet Osee Osee cap. 2. in the name of God I will despouse thee to me for euer and I will despouse thee to me in Iustice c. and of this th' Apostle also speaking saith I haue despoused you to one man 1. Cor. 11. to present you a chast Virgin vnto Christ. By this mariage we are so despoused and linked to God that as man and wife are one flesh so wee and God are one spirit because as S. 1. Cor. 6. Paul saith Qui adhaeret Domino vnus spiritus est he that cleaneth to our Lord by charitie is one spirit with him Man and wife by their bond of mariage are to liue and vse to liue in one howse but by this mariage God dwelleth in vs and we in him according to those our sauiours wordes Io. 14 If any loue me he will keepe my word and my Father will loue him and we will come to him and will make abode with him and that this dwelling and abiding is not onlie with vs but in vs it appeareth by other his words Io. 14. In that day you shall know that I am in my Father and you in me and I in you and his disciple S. Iohn saith 1. Io. 4. God is charitie and he that abideth in charitie abideth in God and God in him So that by this mariage God dwellâ—th in vs as in his Temple and mansion place we in him yea by this mariage we are as S. Sâ—pra 1. Cor. 6.10.17 Paule saith one spirit with God And Christ himself prayeth that his Apostles and they that beleeued their preaching may be one in spirit of Charitie as he and his Father are one in substance VVhereupon the deuout S. Bern. ser 17. in cant Beanard saith Quid ergo dicit Fi lius c. VVhat doth the Sonne of God say I am in the Father and the Father in me and we are one Man saith I ame in God and God is in me and we are one spirit And in the same place none but a mad man will vsurpe that voice of the onlie begotten I and the Father are one Bern. ibid. yet I though I be but duste will not be afraid to say this I am one spirit with God He addeth that man was in God from all eternitie because God loued man from al eternitie but God began in time to be in man when man began to loue him O how should we loue this Spouse of our soules who is by Charitie so wedded vnto vs as he is not onlie with vs but also in vs because as man and wife are vna caro one flesh so is he one Spirit with vs. who would forsake the loue of such a Spouse as God is who is our Creatour and Sauiour for the loue of any creature though neuer so deare The thirde mariage betwixt Christ and vs is by meanes of the B. Sacrament by which Christ to vs and we to him are vnited not onlie in mutual loue but also in substance because by this B. Sacrament we receaue his body bloud soule yea and diuinitie our substance is vnited to his in that his is vnited to ours And as in carnall mariage all goods are common euen bodies because as S. 1. Cor. 7. Paule saith the woman hath not power of her own body but her husbaÌ„d and the man also hath not power of his bodie but the woman So by this Sacrament Christ communicateth more aboundantlie his graceâ— then by any other his substance that is his bodie and bloud soule diuinitie are ours by communioÌ„ he as it were taketh possession of our bodie soule when by communion he dwelleth in vs. And as by carnall mariage the man and wife are vna caro one flesh Hom. 61 Cyrill Alex li. 4. in Ioa. c. 17. so doth he in a manner by our receiuing of him mingle his substance as S. Chrisostome saith with ours and of two maketh one and as S. Cyrill saith our substance is made one with his as waxe vnited to waxe And so as carnal marriage betwixt man and wife is contracted by mutual consent expressed by their words but is consummated by vnion of their bodies so a spiritual mariage is contracted betwixt vs Christ by charitie but is not consummated but by vnion of our substance with his by meanes of this B. Sacr. O my soule what an honour is it to bee married to such a spouse more certes theÌ„ for a poore maid to be married to aÌ„ Emperour because there is a greater distance disparitie betwixt Christ thee then betwixt the poorest begget and the richest Emperour ô how didst thou loue me sweete Sauiour who vouchsafest to take me thy poore creature for thy spouse And if I consider what thou suffredst to pourchase me for thy Spouse thy loue will more appeare If an Emperour should hazard his life to winne the loue of a poore maide how amorous should he be thought to be of her Thou ô Lord sheddest thy bloud to winne