doing ever hereafter Things pleasing to Thee An Impregnable Defence both of Soul and Body against all Assaults or Treacheries of mine Enemies A Token of present Grace and a sure Pledge and Earnest of future Glory Amen Another ALmighty and Immortal Father Behold I come to this Sacrament of Thy only begotten Son our Lord Jesus Christ I come As an Infirm and Languishing Person to the Physitian that gives Life and Health As one Defil'd and Unclean to the pure Spring of Grace and Mercy As the Blind to a Light of never failing Clearness As a Poor and Indigent Creature to the Lord of Heaven and Earth I humbly supplicate and beseech Thee therefore in such Abundance and so copious overflowing of Plenty of Favours To daign me A Cure of mine Infirmity A Cleansing from my Defilements A Recovery from Blindness An Enriching of my Poverty A Nuptial Garment for hiding my Shame and Nakedness That being admitted a Guest at Thy Table and Feeding on the Bread of Angels the King of Kings and Lord of Lords I may demean my self with So great Reverence and Humility So true Contrition and Devotion So much Purity and Faith That purpose and Intention As may most conduce to the Salvation of my Soul Grant me now I pray Thee to Receive not only the Sacrament of our Lords Body and Blood but the Virtue also and real Effect of the Sacrament O most Merciful God Grant me in such manner to Receive This Body of Thy only begotten Son our Lord Jesus Christ which he took from the Virgin Mary that I may thereby become Incorporated into His Mystical Body and be one of its Living and Sound Members O most Indulgent Father Vouchsafe that this Thy Beloved Son whom now I intend to Receive as here He comes Masqu'd and under these Veils So I may hereafter be admitted to Enjoy with open Face in full Vision as with Thee and the Holy Spirit he Lives and and Reigns one God World without End Amen Prayers after Communion I Give Thee Infinite Thanks from the very bottom of my Heart and with all the Powers and Faculties of my Soul and Body Holy Lord Omnipotent Father Eternal God! Who hast now Vouchsafed Me a Sinner a most unworthy Servant upon no account of any Merit in me but in meer condescention of Thy Mercy to have an Interest in this Inestimable Sacrifice and Holy Communion of the Precious Body and Blood of Thy Son our Lord Jesus Christ Which I have now Offer'd and fed upon In Honourable memory of His Death and Passion In Gratitude for all Benefits Receiv'd c. For Reconcilement and Remission of my Sins c. For increase of Grace to c. In Memory and Veneration of such and such Servant or Saint of Thine c. And I humbly beseech Thee that these Acts of Devotion and Worship of Thee may not be to me any new Guilt of Sin to be Punish'd but an Effectual Intercession rather and Procurement of Pardon An Armory of Faith and Shield of Good Will A clean riddance of all Vices in me A total quenching of Lust and Concupiscence An Increase of Divine Love and Patience of Humility Obedience and all other Virtues A Fortress against all the Machinations of my Enemies Visible and Invisible A perfect Calming of all Commotions from Flesh or Spirit A close adhaesion to Thee the only True God and the Happy Conclusion of my Life And after this Viaticum Conduct I beseech Thee Thy Servant to that inexpressible never-ending Feast where Thou together with Thy Son and Holy Spirit Indivisible Trinity art to Thy Saints Their true Light Their full Satisfaction Their everlasting Joy Their compleat Delight and Their Every perfect Happiness Through Jesus Christ Amen Another O My Lord Jesu Sweet above all Sweets Infuse into my Heart my Bowels and inmost Entrails of my Spirit such a strong Passion for Thee so True Clear Apostolick and most Sanctify'd Affection to Thee that my Soul may languish and be always melting with a Love of Thee only Long for Thee pant after Thy presence in these Thy Courts the places of Thy particular Residence and Worship wish to be quite dissolv'd to be with Thee yet nearer Make my Soul Hunger after Thee The Food of Angels The Refreshment of Sanctify'd Spirits Or daily Super-substantial Bread full of all Delightful Relishes and Suavities Savouring of the Varieties of all-pleasing Tasts and Gusts After Thee whom the Angels so much Covet to pry into let my Heart always have an Appetite and feed on Thee Let it ever Thirst for Thee The Spring of Life The Fountain of Wisdom and Knowledge The Source of Eternal Light The Torrent of Pleasures The Plenty of God's House Court Thee seek Thee find Thee run after Thee over-take Thee Muse on Thee Talk of Thee do all things to the Praise and Glory of Thy Name With Humility With Discretion With Delight With Felicity With Affection With Perseverance And be Thou only at all times my Hope my Confidence my Riches my Pleasure my Divertisement my Joy my Rest my Peace my Delight my sweet Perfume my Meat my Sauce my Meal my Retirement my Aid my Wisdom my Portion my Possession my Treasure on which my Mind may still run my Heart be ever set fix'd and unchangeably Establish'd Amen FINIS BOOKS Printed for Nathaniel Thompson at the Entrance into Old-Spring-Garden near Charing-Cross A Brief Discourse of Confession to a Lawful Priest wherein is treated of the last Judgement By P Manby Dean of London-Dery A Manual of Controversies clearly proving the Truth of Catholick Faith by Texts of Holy Scripture Councels of all Ages Fathers of the first 500 years Common Sense and Reason and fully Ansering all the Principal Objections of Protestants and all manner of Sectaries By H. T. A most Excellent way of Hearing Mass with Profit and Devotion Containing the whole Mase in Latine and English with divers Select Prayers before and after Confession and Communion and an Examen of Conscience c. A Manual of Devout Prayers fitted for all persons and all occasions To which is added the Rosary in Latine and English Prayers to the B. V. The Prayers of St. Bridget c. with the Vespers or Even-Song
it may conduce toward the Expiation of All my Sins known and unknown and what other Obliquities are hourly occasion'd by my frail and Infirm Nature And since I cannot be totally exempt from These unless by death which is the only sure-End of all Offending Grant that to Cancel their account as fast as It grows upon me I may offer up and Consecrate to Thee sincerely All the short Remainder of this Life and then pass so much the more Joyfully into the next as where I shall be secur'd from discontenting Thee any longer Of the Mixture of Water and Wine THis puts me in mind of the Union of the Divinty and Humanity in the Person of Jesus Christ and then of the Unity of all the Faithful well denoted by Water a Symbol of Weakness which Jesus Christ well typify'd by Wine an Emblem of strength And as the Priest Offer'd up The Bread before so now he makes 1. Oblation of the Wine and Water and in Them again of the People to God The Suscipiamur 2. And lastly Oblation Generalis â— He makes the First General Oblation of All Bread Wine Himself and People altogether jointly with Humility and Contrition into the Hands of God and thereby Sanctifies and Prepares the whole matter of this Sacrifice DEVOTION O Strengthen my Weakness represented by this Water with a new Force and Virtue of Thy Spirit which is the Muste or New Wine of the Law of Grace Make me depend on Nothing nor cleave to any Thing but Thee since Thou alone art the Power of God and Vigorous Life of the Soul in whose Absence the strongest Activity in Man is but miserable Infirmity And as now The Priest presents to Thee the Chalice thereby to Sanctifie It before He proceed to Its Consecration so help Me O Lord to Offer up my Self to Thee Fortified and Heighten'd by Thy Blessing and Grace by which I may be Encourag'd and Enflam'd and so make my self every time more and more capable to be Offer'd up in Sacrifice to Thee and even to Die for Thee Which is really the Greatest Favour that thou canst do any Mau during His Abode here Washing of the Priest's Hands THis meaneth Repentance for the daily Pollutions we incurr by our Frailty For there 's no approaching This Holy Sacrifice without renouncing and quitting as much as is possible such Impurities by a sincere Grief for and loathing of them though but Sins of Infirmity Hence It is that the Priest Washeth only the Tops of his Fingers To signifie that when one comes to Offer this Sacrifice 't is no time then to set about Repentance for Mortal Sins such one should have been freed and purg'd from before but all that is to be done is only to Wash off yet by unfeigned Grief and true Compunction those lesser Impurities and Defilements which in the course of this Life and by Conversation with things of this World we cannot avoid but that they will be sticking at least to the Outward parts as it were of our Souls and to the Works of our Hands But those that willingly neglect to Purify themselves from these though never so small Imperfections are unworthy of this Sacrament saith St. Denis as on the contrary The greatest Sins and Abominations that be cannot render those unworthy of approaching to It who have dis-engag'd their Wills from them and truly detest them in their Hearts DEVOTION SVffer not O my God the Pollutions of this World so to Defile My Hands that is My Actions as that they should contract any store of Filth from It but since 't is impossible to Converse here in this Earthly Habitation cleanly without All Sullying Grant that at most The Spots may but arrive to the outmost and lesser parts of Them as It were to the very Tops of the Fingers only A Petition suggested to me by the Priests Washing His. First Possess my Heart intirely and at all times and then let my Actions regard Thee too as their Principal Object and if secondarily in their Out-sides and parts farthest off They touch the fouling Earth Let me never cease Washing them with Tears of True Repentance and in the Water and Grace of Thy Holy Spirit till They be again Purify'd Especially as often as I come before Thee to partake of the Communion of Thy Blessed Body and to assist at That most Holy Sacrifice to which it would become Vs to approach in the greatest Purity Man in this Life can be capable of Because It is a darker Vision of God and some Representation of our Imployment in Heaven whither no Unclean Thing can Enter Vpon the Suscipe Sancta Trinitas The Kissing the Alar and Orate Fratres and the Secreta Suscipe Sancta Trinitas THe Priest having put himself into This Purity of Body and Mind with most profound Humility makes a Second General Oblation of all Oblation Generalis 2 1. Directing it to the proper Object of Worship The Holy and Blessed Trinity And 2. Applying it to the right End Of Commemoration of the Passion Resurrection and Ascention of Jesus Christ Of Honour to all the Glorify'd Saints in the Church Triumphant and of Salvation to all yet in the Militant by their Intercession implor'd 3. Kisses the Altar Orate Fratres THe Priest having already implor'd the Intercession of the Glorious Saints above for the things specify'd and particularly for that Acceptance of This Oblation and Sacrifice Now turns himself to the People desiring them to Joyn their Prayers to the same End DEVOTION DErive into me O Lord That Grace which the Priest Receives upon the Kissing of the Altar that stands in stead of Thee that assisted by It I may bear a part in That Common Prayer which He now Exhorts all the Faithful to joyn in with Him To Supplicate Thee favourably to Receive The Sacrifice He is here going to Offer unto Thee in the Behalf of the whole Church And do it the rather for the Honour of those Great Mysteries and Those Holy Saints which he hath just now made particular Commemoration of on purpose to teach us the Value of this Extraordinary Act of Grace by the Greatness of the Means imploy'd to obtain It. Agitate now in the Strictest Closet of my Soul by the means of this other Prayer which the Church calls Secret and produce therein the proper Effects of those good Thoughts which Thou hast been pleas'd to form in Me to Prepare me the better for this Sacrifice The Preface SO call'd because 't is the Entry to the Canon of the Mass and the last Immediate Preparation-general to the Sacrifice For here the Priest endeavours to prepare the People by putting them in mind 1. Of raising up their Heart in Devotion to God and taking It off from all Thoughts or Inclinations to any thing here below That they begin this Sacrifice of Offering up Christ to His Father by first Offering up their own Hearts which must be still the Anti-Sacrifice to all others or else they
Will too as I do still by the Tendencies of my Nature which rests only and un-interruptedly upon Thee as Its Author and support 4. Let me account it a Happiness that I can Perish for Thee and not Be as well as I have receiv'd from Thee to be And that in some forward Disposition to This I may now present my self to Thee at this Sacrifice of Thy Son To be Offer'd up with Him and to die every day Thus before-hand to make my self readier to be Sacrificed to Thee Once really and indeed To yield up this Life for Thee which Thou hast given me in any such Occurrences as it shall please Thee to fit for Me and Me for it 5. Lastly I Worship Thee in the Fore-sight of that Last Sacrifice which at the End of the World Thy Son shall make to Thee of all other Creatures before He Offer up his Elect to Thee as a Sacrifice too but after a far more Admirable manner For He shall first Consume by Fire all visible Things to make men see by the Light thereof That Thou alone art a fit Object for their Love as Thou alone art He that hast a Being firm and Incorruptible The first Memento COnsequently the Priest descends to some Particulars in the Church yet living Commemorating First Those for whom especially he Intends the Offering of this Sacrifice And being thus United to the Living here in Charity in Honour and Reverence growing too from the same Charity he next aspires to joyn with the principal Saints Living in Paradice as the Glorious and Blessed Virgin The Apostles and chief Prelates of the See Apostolick together with other Great Saints in several Conditions Imploring Gods protection to be granted through their Prayers Thereby in this Mystical Bond of Mutual Love testifying the Communion and inseparable Conjunction of the Church-Militant and Triumphant DEVOTION I Offer unto Thee O my Lord Thy whole Church all Thy Chosen and especially Those whom thou in a manner hast given me uniting them to Me by a particular tye that in This little number I may represent to my self Those few which Thy Father hath Chosen out of all the World and Given to Thee from all Eternity that I may Love Them and Serve Them as Thou dost uncessantly Love and Assist all Thine Have in mind O Lord Them and Me by the Intercession of All Thy Saints and particularly of the Blessed Virgin of the Apostles and Bishops of the Apostolick See who are now made by Thee the chief in Heaven as They were First the Chief in Thy Church here on Earth I desire to make one among These in the Offering up my Self together with them This Sacrifice Vpon the Priest's holding over his Hands and saying Hanc Oblationem Hanc igitur Oblationem AFter all the Priest makes the Third General Oblation of the whole matter of the Sacrifice Oblatio Generalis 3 putting his Hands over both the Host and Chalice together By this putting His Hands over them He joyns Himself and the whole Congregation Church to this matter of the Sacrifice protesting then to God That He Offers and Sacrificeth all this to him and substitutes in the place this to be Sacrific'd for Himself and Them since it is not permitted that they should Sacrifice so as to destroy themselves Such a thing just did God Ordain in the Old Testament where he commanded the Jews to lay their Hands upon the Head of the Sacrifice which they Offer'd to Him to shew that they were One with It and that in their stead it was Sacrific'd DEVOTION STretch forth Thy Divine Power Over me as now the Priest Extends his Hands over That Bread and Wine which He is about to Consecrate that I also with those Elements may in some sense be Converted into the Body and Blood of Thy Son and consequently in Him be Offer'd up as an Acceptable Sacrifice and Holocaust which thou canst not Despise The Consecration and Elevation THis Protestation made the Priest proceeds to the Prayer of Consecration including a Commemoration of what Jesus Christ did and said when He Instituted This Holy Mystery and Imitating Him Blesses and Consecrates the Bread and Wine in the same manner and with the same Words as He us'd And immediately after Consecration and profound Adoration of Each to give Example to the People in all Piety He Elevates each aloft both to shew that He Offers them up to God the Father above in Heaven and also to make the People more Visibly behold Jesus Christ and so to bow down and Worship Him DEVOTION BRing now fresh into my Memory and fill my Fancy with all that Thou didst for Vs that Night before Thy Death when Thou Institutedst the Blessed Sacrament of thy Body and Blood as the last and most incomparable Pledge of Thy Love to Vs and a Memorandum indelible of our Obligation to Thee Assist Me with Thy Grace O my Saviour and I will Imitate Thee and give my self to Thee even as thou gavest Thy Self to Me without any reserve Change my Heart as Thou Changest This Bread Create a new Heart in Me by this new Body Transubstantiate in Me that seeming Life and Strength which yet is indeed but a dying feebleness into a True and Divine Spirit as Thou changest the Wine which is but the Blood of the Grape a Terrestrial juice into the Vigour and Blood of God Grant that this present Elevation of Thy Body and Blood in mine Eye may produce another like It in my Heart and Spirit as to Crucifie my Flesh that is my Passions and to deliver me from all Affections to this World so also to enflame me with a desire of that Life above and always to keep my Conversation in Heaven with Saints with Angels and with thine Own Dear Self sweet Jesu I Adore Thee O my Saviour in all Thy Elevations Thy Elevation on the Cross the Day of Thy Passion Thy Elevation in the Air at the great Day of the Last Judgement Thy Elevation to the Right-hand of Thy Father in that never-ending Day of Eternity Immediately upon the Priest's reposing the Body and Blood upon the Altar DEVOTION SAnctify me here now by Thy Presence Renew me again by Thy Nativity Purify me by the Memory of Thy Passion by which Thou hast Obliterated in Thy Self the Memory of those Sins which lay so heavy upon Thee to the very last Gasp of Thy Life here Vnde Memores Domine c. THen immediately to express that by Words which he just now did in Action the Priest makes a Solemn and more distinct Oblation to God the Father Avowing that He Offers this now Holy Pure and Immaculate Sacrifice as for the whole Church so in the Person of Jesus Christ whose room he supply'd in the Mystery of the Consecration And he sayes he does it in the Honourable Memory of the three great Mysteries of the Son of God His Passion Resurrection and Ascension In the word Passion including whatsoever the Son
of God Suffer'd for Us from the first Moment of his Conception to the very last of his Death All which space was one continual Suffering for the Redemption of the World By these Three methinks the Church in this Sacrament which she calls Mysterium Fidei would represent unto our Thoughts the very principal and most necessary Objects of our Faith without which we cannot be sav'd Which are in St. Augustin's Judgement the Passion and Resurrection of which the Ascension is the accomplishment of Jesus Christ And for this very Reason perhaps is the number of Three so often observ'd in the Benedictions Crosses and Oraisons to intimate to Us the Holy Trinity the Capital Object of our Faith and withall this Blessed Sacrament which is Offer'd up to all Three Persons therein though attributed more particularly to the Father This may here be Noted by way that the Crosses made by the Priest on the Hoste after Consecration are not as others Benedictions but only marks of Crucifying of the Hoste intimating the particular manner of its Immolation DEVOTION BLess me O my God by frequent Impressions made upon my Soul of Thy Death and Passion as the Priest makes Tokens thereof by so often Signing the Cross ✚ upon Thy Body and Blood after he hath Offer'd them up unto Thy Father Multiply upon Me Thy Graces in abundance Now that thou hast vouchsafed to Consecrate and make Me Thy Son by Baptism and to Feed me in the Fucharist with thine own Substance the same with That of the Son of God That my Whole Life may be suitable to so Divine a Birth and Aliment Accord me the Grace I Pray Thee that in all Occurences of This Life Good or Bad I may still draw Comfort from Thy Cross to support me that I may Ever and anon renew in my mind the Memory thereof so effectually as thereby to sweeten to my self my Sufferings and to learn Moderation in Happier Success and throughout the whole course of my Time to find still in That History seasonable Applications to all my Necessities At the Supra Quae. NExt He Prays God Graciously to accept from Us This Sacrifice remembring how well he was pleas'd with That of Abel that of Abraham and that of Melchizedech that so having so kindly taken from those Holy Men the most Famous Sacrificers in all Antiquities such remarkable Types and Figures of This he would not less favourably receive from Us The Substance it Self but endue us with some of that Grace and Purity wherewith They accompanied the Offering up of what was indeed but the shaddow of This. DEVOTION I Beseech Thee O my God That as This Sacrifice is altogether Spiritual and Divine having nothing in It of Sensible or Earthly but only the Outward Appearance and Shell as it were so I may Offer it up to Thee together with the Priest by a Motive and Inspiration wholly Spiritual and Divine in such manner as That the very External Actions themselves flowing from and govern'd by it may have Nothing of Flesh or Corporealness in them except the bare Appearance and Outside only And that all the Works and Services which I pay to Thee during my whole Life may be One Continual Sacrifice of Praise and Thanksgiving Internal and from the Heart That being according to the Scriptures the Chief Sacrifice that thou likest and Callest for Thus let me Imitate the Devotion of those Holy Patriarchs Abel Melchizedech and Abraham who Sacrific'd to Thee after the same manner long before the Evangelical Law of Grace by Voluntary Affection and not by Command in the Spirit not Letter and became thereby the most Notable Figures of the Sacrificing that Thou performd'st afterward more perfectly to Thy Father and that all Thy Faithful are oblig'd to perform together with Thee all their Life long Let me not Rest in or Content my self with the bare Outward Actions and Ceremonies how Solemn and Pompous and truly Great soever they are themselves but Worship Thee chiefly by a Movement that comes into my Heart like that Fire of Old from Thee thy self in that Spirit and in That Truth which alone Soveraignly Ingratiate to Thee whatever is Offer'd Even this very Oblation of Thy Self Supplices te Rogamus HE proceeds higher and Prays that this Sacrifice may now be Offer'd rather upon that High-Altar of Gods in Heaven by his most Holy Angel For touch'd with a Consciousness of his own great unfitness to Offer a Sacrifice so transcendently Holy he falls back to Re-substitute Jesus Christ in his own room that He himself who is The Angel of the Great Councel would Offer It up to the Divine Majesty By this imploying that as Jesus Christ is the only High-Priest for this Sacrifice so He alone is fit to be the Presenter of It to His Father and to hear the Name of Angel however it be in some sense Communicated to other Priests also and that no man is worthy to be in this no not so much as His Deputy DEVOTION YEt after all 't is not Me O my God 't is not Me nor any one else here Offering Sacrifice to Thee that I desire Thee to Regard in this Action Regard Jesus Christ who is That Angel That Mediator between God and Men That Sacrificer for the whole Church Regard Him Be He the Person that now Presents to Thee this most Holy Host and be We meerly and barely His Instruments not stirring in this Heavenly Operation in the least guise as we are Animated and Mov'd by His Spirit And whatsoever we have about us Impure and Unclean let It all sall off aad be quite remov'd from us by the Cleansing power of Thy Grace That As in very deed It is not We that Live but He that Lives in Us so It may truly be said It is not We now that Offer up to Thee this Sacrifice but It is He that Offers it in Us as who alone hath the Faculty and Power to do It. But keep Vs all the while This is doing in a Trembling Posture looking at this Sacrifice and Mystery as that which the Church hath thought and styl'd Terrible that all our Confidence in a Business of this High Nature so infinitely beyond the Port of our low and despicable Condition may be rais'd and support It self solely upon Jesus Christ and we be no more than the visible Hands of that other Inviâ—sible one by which he presents It to Thee above upon that Caelestial Altar The Second Memento THis Sacrifice now fully perfected He designes it First for the Dead Offering It up for Them in a particular Commemoration following here in the custom ever practic'd in the Church 2. And then for the Living and more earnestly and intimated by a Thump on the Breast and a more Audible Tone for such as are Present that we may all be joyn'd to the Society of Those in Glory not for our Merits but for those of Jesus Christ since we have none of our own but what He pleases to
what was proper and naturally Thine And what A simple Figure and Commemoration only of That can it ever have such a Power The Blood of the Heyfer sprinkled though the true and near Figure of that Blood shed upon the Cross yet serv'd only to the Purification of the Flesh No 't is the Proper Blood of God alone that purges Our Consciences from dead works to serve the Living God The Resurrection of the Body O Gracious Jesus When shall It be that in a moment in the twinkling of an Eye at the last Trump the Dead shall arise and the same Flesh of every One now crumbled into Dust and scatter'd a thousand ways shall be re-compacted again into an Incorruptible Immortal Consistency Good God the Miracle of Miracles This And yet I am contemplating one well nigh Equal That in a Moment too in the twinkling of an Eye at the Trumpet of thy Word that very Body of Thine Seated at the right Hand of thy Father in Heaven is in a certain manner Reproduc'd in this Sacrament in all places where-ever the Mystery of It is duly Celebrated But O my wonderful Saviour If a little Leaven can Leaven a great Lump of Dough If one Spark of Fire be enough to Enflame a whole House if one Grain of Corn put into the Earth there works so as out of that Earth to cause so many more to grow and shoot up How may I hope that Thy Blessed Body entring into mine will Greg. Nyssen cap. 37. in its due time ferment it so as to make It rise warm and heat and Enflame It so as to make It like Thy Glorious Body and cause it to come up Immortal Impassible Subtile Nimble Clear and Shineing with all the Radiant Qualities that belong to Its perfection and may be expected from so Divine a Seed This Efficacy I confess can never be in the Figures of thy Body It comes only from the true and Real Presence of thy Precious Body It Self being There The Life Everlasting And indeed what other Nourishment Blessed Saviour but thy dear Body alone can possibly give A Life Everlasting It must be Bread that Lives It Self or it cannot give Life Bread that comes down from Heaven to give a Heavenly Life Bread that is no other than Thine Own Self my Lord and my God to give an Immortal Eternal Everlasting Life The Manna which was a true Type and Figure of thy Body yet could not do That there is need of some Food to be had more Substantial and Solid and Spiritual for such a Life and what can that be but Thy Self who hast Life in Thy Self and Livest now and for evermore World without End Amen This you see if you have Read and Weigh'd it well that the Articles of Our CREED cannot be consider'd in that full heighth wherein they ought to be literally and expresly believ'd and profess'd by every good Christian but that withall they dispose the Soul to a Firm Faith of the Real Presence of the true Body and Blood of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament which Article thereby seems to carry a very Natural and congenious proportion to all the rest at least as the possibility I may add and probability of it which is enough for the first step The next step shall be to weigh the several Testimonies of the Fathers and Their various Expressions wherein they seem to Labour so to set down what they believ'd in this High Mystery as that it might not be mistaken by Others wherefore from Them it will further appear that the Faith of the greatest part of the Church in all Ages was as it is now of the Real Presence Lastly Shall the particular Exceptions Answers Limitations Distinctions Subterfuges of latter Dissenters as to those Testimonies be produc'd and brought into the Light One by One. All this if you receive not Satisfaction before and if not after I have no other way left to help you with but Prayer Jam hoc qui dicit Non meis Disputationibus Refellendus sed Sanctorum Orationibus Revocandus est Aug. Preparatory Prayers toward the due Receiving of the Blessed Sacrament Authoriz'd by the Church Ad Mensam Dulcissimi Convivii c. TO Thy Table O most Bountiful Lord Jesus Christ where with such Delicious and Heavenly Food Thou usest to Entertain and Feast Pure Souls I a sinner though not presuming on any Merit or Desert of Mine but solely on Thy Goodness and Gracious Invitation do yet Tremble and Fear to approach For I have a Heart still prone to evil and Treacherous evne to the deceiving of my Self A Mind unconstant in all good Purposes A Body enslav'd to sin and which hath been Tainted and render'd loathsome by Corruption Original and many Crimes committed in it Senses wholly depriv'd and by long Custom dispos'd to admit any sort of Temptation Members all retain'd for the Service of some Vice or other A Tongue especially an unruly Evil and under no Guard or Discipline It self a very World of Iniquity And therefore now in this Misery and great Perplexity what to do and how to carry my self in this Conjuncture of Thy Call and my own Wretchedness towards Thee a God of so much Benignity but of such a Frightning Majesty too I nevertheless am here come unto Thee But To Thee as the Fountain of Mercy To Thee as the sole Curer of all my Maladies and Distempers at Present and the best Preserver against all Ills to come And whom I dare not appear before as my Judge I humbly Sue to have for my Saviour To Thee O Lord as such I here unbind and lay open my Wounds and Sores To Thee I discover my shame I know my Sins are great and many and they cause this Fear in me but I hope in Thy Mercies which are without number or stint Look upon me Then with those tender Eyes of Thy Compassion O Merciful Jesus Eternal and most Munificent Saviour God and Man Crucify'd for Man Hail Saving Sacrifice Offer'd up on the Altar of the Cross for Me and all Mankind Hail Precious and Royal Blood pour'd forth of the Wounds of my Crucify'd Lord and Cleansing a whole World from Sin Remember Lord this Creature of Thine for whom Thou hast spilt that Blood I am sorry that I have Offended Thee I desire to Amend what is Amiss Take from me O most Indulgent Saviour all my Iniquities and Transgressions that so beset me and cleave so close to me that being Purg'd and Sanctify'd throughout in Spirit Soul and Body I may come Worthily to feed at Thy Table on the Holiest of all Things And Grant that this Sacred prae-libation and fore-taste of Thy Body and Blood which I now intend to take though most unworthy may be to me A full Remission of my sins A perfect Evacuation of all vitiated and peccant Humours A chacing out of my Mind all unseemly Cogitations A producing therein a Series of better Thoughts and Sentiments An Effectual and Active Principle of