sinnes deserued muche more And séeing that thou O Lord whose face the Angels desyre to behold wast content to haue it defyled with their moste fylthye spettinges and all for to beautifye our soules graunte me grace not to regarde the vanityes of thys body or of the world but to care for the beautie of my soule and the ornamentes of holy vertue and the workes thereof With which I may séeme worthy to appeare before thy face in that moste happye kyngdome where the true and perfecte beawtie is And where they shall be adorned and clothed in glorie that shall raygne with thée without ende Amen Turba furens instat trahit ad praeteria vinctum Ficta probare malo crimina teste parat How Christ our Redeemer was brought to Pilates house ¶ Poyntes to meditate vpon 1 Howe the frydaye morning those wicked Iewes which so greatly desired the death of him that was the giuer of life came earely in the morning to the house of Caiphas where they left him after they had made an end of their wicked councell in the which they iudged hym worthy of death they led hym to the house of Pilate that hée might giue iudgement on him 2 Consider with howe great modestie our Lorde stoode in the presence of Pilate with howe great humilytie he aunswered to the thinges he demaunded of him and woulde neyther excuse nor defende himselfe agaynst any false inditement or accusations layd to his charge 3 Consider also specially those wordes of our redéemer which he spake to Pilate that is when he sayde my kingdome is not of this worlde declaring by those wordes that albeit he were the true king of heauen and earth he came not yet to reigne in the world but to suffer paines and to die for the life and redemption of the world ¶ The prayer BLessed bée thou Kinge of heauen for thy so great humility that being the vniuersall iudge of the lyuing and the deade it pleased thée so much to abase thy selfe to be led and to be iudged of an vniust iudge Who although he knewe thy innocencie and also the enuie of thy persecutours yet he suffered himselfe to bée peruerted and ouercome with worldly feare All whiche thou diddest willingly suffer without laying of any excuse for thy selfe in any thing so great was thy desire to gyue thy lyfe for the world vnto death being moued thy selfe thereto through thy passing loue and charitie I beseeche thée O Lorde to cleanse awaye from mee all wycked inclinations which I féele in my selfe when I excuse my synnes and my greate imperfections Where as thou being an innocent and voyde of all faultes wouldest not excuse thy self of those false and vniust accusations whiche were layde against thée And séeing thou diddest confesse that thy kingdome was not of this worlde I pray thée by that pouertie and base estate in which thou being King of heauen wouldest liue vppon the earth That thou wilte graunt me grace to dispise the honour vaine fauour of thys worlde and that I onely desire and séeke for that true and euerlasting kingdome which thou hast prepared for thē that truely and duely loue and serue thée Amen Ductus ad Herodem cum nil respondeat albam Induitur chlamydem luditur eijcitur How Christ beeing ledde vnto Herodes house was also there mocked scorned ¶ Poynts to meditate 1 Call to minde the diligence and busie crueltie of those peruers ministers of iniquitie in leading our Sauiour from Pilate to Herode with their gréedie and insatiable desire to put him to death 2 Remember also that cleare bright quiet countenaunce and continuall silence in the which our most méeke Sauiour stood◠before Herode without answering to any question they made to him because they were al curious vayne and vnprofitable 3 How that béeing mocked and scorned of Herode and his people he was apparrelled in derision with a white garment and then brought againe to Pilates house with all the shame and reprochfull deuises they could imagine ¶ The prayer I Moste humbly adore and worship thée most benigne Iesu for those wearisome iourneys which for our saluation it was thy will to make béeing so many times led hurried and haled from one iudge to an other in which procession thou didst suffer such gasings shame and mockeries namely béeing clothed with that white garmēt thou wast of all men mocked and scorned How shal I be able O Lord to answere these thy so great mercies and benefites receiued at thy godly hands that being by the transgression and disobedience of our first father Adam spoyled of that white garment of innocencie and immortalitie wherwith he was indued thou which art the second Adam our most true and louing father woldest recompence that losse and others which we had receiued of him in béeing content to be so clothed dispised besides other great iniuries and tormentes whiche thou diddest suffer I therfore besech thy maiesty for thy so gret trauels and rebukes that thou wilt pardon me my euill and vnprofitable walkings which I haue made in the discourse of my life walking in the waye of perdition and graunt me grace to runne cherefully from henceforth in the way of thy holy commaundementes perfect obseruance of my calling and state So that I grudge not or disdayne although I be neuer so muche set at nought despised of men for thy loue sith that I sée thée whiche art the wisdome of the eternall father with so great silence to holde thy peace and be content to be mocked and clothed like a foole to recompence so my foolish pageantes and ignorances with which I haue so many times offended thée from the which I pray thée frō henceforth to preserue me Amen Ex pedit hic virgas iudex verbera torquet Largifluo tellus sanguinis imbre madet The scourging of Christ our Sauiour ¶ Poyntes to meditate 1 How our Lorde béeing brought agayne to the house of Pilate who thinking by giuing him some kind of punishment to mitigate the rage of the Iewes that were very importune vpon him to put Christ to death he tooke order he shuld be whipped 2 Consider the sharpnesse and bitter crueltie of those pitylesse tormentors in scourging of that most méeke Lambe in spoyling him of his garments and binding him strongly to a piller and so to beate him without all mercy and compassion 3 Remember also how cruelly he was whipt and beaten with roddes so that there remayned no one part of his blessed body vnwounded nor vnbathed with blood frō the crowne of his head to the soles of his féete ¶ The prayer I Adore worship O my Lorde God thy déepe iudgementes which are worthy to be adored and magnified and not serched And amongst other I worship and thanke thée for that which sufficeth to make the very Angels them selues to maruell that thou béeing the beloued sonne of the eternall Father to whom all seruice and reuerence is due and of whom
Palmesunday Concerning which ye may meditate these poynts following 1 HOwe that Christ oure redéemer comming vnto Bethania sixe dayes before his Passion supped in the house of Symon Leprosus where at that tyme was Lazarus his two sisters Martha and Magdalen and it is to be supposed that the most blessed virgin his mother was there also 2 Consider with what chéerfulnesse and diligence Martha serued at the table and that most feruent loue deuotion of Marie Magdalene who taking a vessell of Alabaster full of precious oyntment powred it vppon the head and féete of hir beloued maister and wyped hys féete with her heare and howe that the house was filled wyth the sauour of that swéete oyntment 3 Remember also howe the traitour Iudas murmured that Magdalene had so bestowed an oyntment of suche great value And how our most gracious Iesu defended her and praysed the woorke of so greate charitie and deuotion that she had done In the whiche was signifyed hys death and buriall that was at hande The prayer O My GOD and Lorde amongest other seruices and sacrifices which are acceptable to thée and which thou requirest of vs thou haste declared howe the sacrifice of laude and prayse pleaseth thée Wherfore knowing howe muche all men are debtours to thée for so great giftes and benefites receyued of thy most liberall hande I desire to offer to thée the same sacrifice My soule therefore most swéete Iesu maketh adoration and giueth thankes to thée and all my powers within me blesseth thy most holy name for all the works which thou hast done in the course of thy blessed lyfe for the innumerable sorowes reproches and tormentes which thou hast suffred in thy passion which thou wouldest shoulde be alwaies imprinted in my hart And first I laude prayse thée that knowing the nearer thy sorowfull death was at hand and for the whiche those thy deare friendes that loued thée so entirely should be in great sorowe and sadnesse it was thy godly pleasure first to chéere and kindly entertayne them in supping with them in Bethanie where those two moste deuoute sisters Mary and Martha declared the pure loue thy bare vnto thée I beséeche thée my good Lorde which art the faythfull louer of all them that loue thée for thine infinit loue to vouchsafe to kindle and inflame my heart with the fyre of thy loue that I may loue thée from the bottome of my heart as I am bounde and giue mée grace to followe that feruencie and deuotion which thy deuout seruaunt Magdalen shewed in casting that swéete liquor vpon thy heade and féete And that I maye also declare the same in annoynting of thée spirituallye That is in beléeuyng stedfastlye in honouring and reuerencing duely thy diuinitie and most holy humanitie in workyng accordyng to my power in the seruice of my neighbour to ayde and helpe him and to perseuer in so dooing all the dayes of my lyfe That by these meanes in exchaunge of that filthynesse and odious sauour which my sinnes haue vnto this tyme caused I may render for the time to come the swéete sauour of good workes which may bée acceptable both vnto thée and others that shall sée the same Amen Insidet in tardo regum rex Christus asello Cui vestem ac ramos plebs bona steruit ouans The solemnitie in the receiuing of Christ into the citie of Ierusalem the sunday before his passion ¶ Poynts to meditate vpon 1 How that the day folowing that is to say fyue dayes before that Christe the true Lambe should be sacrificed for vs in his passion he would present hymselfe in Ierusalem euen as the lawe commaunded of the mysticall Lambe whiche so many dayes before it shoulde be sacrificed was to be prepared And for to shewe his good wyll and with what desyre of mynde he came to offer hymselfe he woulde therefore enter into Ierusalem with that ioye and solemnitie as was shewed him 2 Consyder with what deuotion and ioye the people at that tyme receiued their true king and Lorde and the diuersitie of seruice they shewed in honouring him as in dressyng the stréetes with bowes and spreading their garments before him in the waye and praysing him with songes 3 Call to minde also howe that in the myddest of that feasting and ioye in whiche our Lorde went when he sawe the Citie of Ierusalem he shedde his sorowfull teares well knowing how farre contrarywise within the space of fiue daies he was to bée handled of them and sorowing within him selfe the destruction of that Citie which he knew for their sinnes should be destroyed and brought to ruine Consider howe straightwayes after his entring into the Citie he went to visite the Temple out of the which he draue away them that prophaned the same with their marchandize in buying and selling The prayer I Adore and worship thée most louing Iesu true and eternal King of Heauen and earthe to whom al adoration honour and reuerence is due for all the workes whiche liuing in thys worlde thou diddest with wonderfull wysedome and infinite charitie And specially I giue thankes and praise to thée for that readie good wyll with which thou most innocent Lamb knowing that thou shouldest be sacrificed for the synnes of the worlde wouldest a fewe dayes before present thy selfe in Ierusalem entring into it with feaste and triumphe willyng thereby to declare thy chéerefulnesse and moste earnest desyre wherein thou camest to offer thy self vnto death whereon thou knewest our life to depende that in dying thou shouldest ouercome and triumph ouer death it selfe hell sinne and all other our enemyes I beséech thy immeasurable bountie and goodnesse to gyue mée grace and strength willynglye and gladly to offer my selfe to suche daungers and trauele as shall behoue mée to suffer in this lyfe for thy seruice and make me to despise for thy loue all the prayses and honours with which this deceitefull world would deceiue me euen as those solemnities prayses and honours with whiche the people of Ierusalem receiued thée did not let thée with great compassion to wéepe and lament what time other sang and made great ioy Let my chiefe care be to séeke thée and haue a zeale to honour thée and thine eternall Father séeing and considering that thy care which assoone as thou haddest entred the citie thou diddest by and by goe to visite his temple and beholding that most feruent zeale of thine in dryuing oute of it all them that boughte and solde in the same not contented that the house of prayer shoulde be so prophaned I humbly therefore beséeche thy diuine maiestie that thou driue out of my heart euery thing that may prophane or defile it to the ende it maye rest as thy temple and house of prayer into the which thou mayest vouchsafe to enter and dwell Amen Conuiuis fis Christe cibus coenaque refectis Abluis ipse pedes tum loca sola petis Of the last Supper which Christ our Lorde made to his
also how after the other words which he spake in promising the thiefe Paradise which committed himselfe vnto him and giuing S. Iohn to his mother in stead of her sonne in him also vs and her to Iohn and likewise to vs to be as a mother and declaring the gret thirst whiche he had and that chiefly was for our saluation he then finally commended his spirite into the handes of his eternall father and so inclining downe his head he yelded vp the ghost Of whose tormentes and death the heauens declare they did in some part féele the griefe for the sunne was eclipsed the earth trembled the very stones sheuered in péeces the graues opened the veyle of the temple deuided 3 Consider also the cruel launce and thrusting in of the speare with the whiche Longinus opened a gappe into the syde of Christ out of the which issued blood and water And albeit to him it was no payne because he was already deade yet notwithstanding his most innocent mother felte it whose bowels and hart was in those most greuous sorowes and sighes perce◠and thrust through agreable to the prophesie of Simeon ¶ The prayer I Render vnto thée O Iesu Christ most high and eternall Bishop infinite thankes for that thou hast offred thy self to thy father in moste swéete sacrifice and brought vnto an ende the works of our redemption thou diddst take vpon thée neuer staying therein neither for moste bitter tormentes which they put thee too nor yet for the multitude of blasphemies they spake agaynst thee For the whiche I humblye besech thee that thou vouchsafe to open the eyes of my soule that I may beholde and see and diligently marke that whiche thou hast wrought and taught on the crosse and in thy death Bring low O Lord my hawtines and pride in séeing thy head inclined and brought lowe vnder a crowne of thorne Temper and moderate my gluttonie and intemperancie with the remembrance of thy most swete mouth tasting the bitter gawle and vineger Cause me to forsake the delites of the flesh in séeing thy flesh put to so great paynes vppon the crosse Mollifie the hardnes of my hart and suffer it not to be more hard then the stones which shiuered in péeces at thy death Make me O Lord to enter into thy open side where I may more safely saue my selfe in the great and perillous flood of this world then in the arke of Noe. Cause me for thy seruice willingly to endure beare all trouble and aduersitie seing that thou for my sake wouldest giue thy most blessed life and euen as thou diddest perseuer and continue vnto death in the obedience of thy father so graunt that I maye always perseuer in obedience towards thée Amen Ex cruce traiectos artus frigida membra Detrahit alta animi vis pietasque virum How our Redeemer was taken downe from the Crosse ¶ The poynts of meditation 1 How the rage of that vnhappie generation being partly mitigate quieted with the death of him that is the life of the world they returned into the citie but his most afflicted mother continued with him accompanied with the beloued disciple Iohn and other deuoute women tarying to sée if they might by any meanes burie him 2 Call to remembrance howe those honorable personages Ioseph and Nicodemus hauing leaue of Pilate to take Christe frō the crosse brought oyntmēts and other things necessarie for to embalme and burie him 3 Consider also with how great deuotion reuerence and tears they tooke him from the crosse and howe desirous his vncōfortable mother was to take him in hir armes to imbrace him ¶ The prayer I Adore and worship thée my most louing sauior I thāk thee and prayse thée with all my hart power for that through thy most holy crosse thou haste recouered and saued the world All thy workes O Lorde are most perfect and so it was thy will and pleasure perfectly to finishe this worke of so great importance of our redemption not leauing any thing that was to be done or suffered of that which of thine infinite wisdome was ordeined and of thy holy Prophetes forespoken which in those words thou diddest signifie It is iustified whiche thou spakest a litle before thou gauest vp the ghost Thanks be also to thy diuine power and might with which dying thou hast destroyed death after the maner of that strong Sampson with thy death thou hast ouercome thine enemies I beséeche thee therefore which art the giuer of life by the same thy deth that mortifying all my concupiscences and disorderly affections thou wilt reuiue my soule with the life of thy grace and so make me dye to the vayne pleasures honours and desires of the world of the fleshe that it may liue onely to thée onely confesse thée adore and worship thée dwel in thée seke for those things which belong to thy seruice as those thy deuoute seruants did in taking of thée from the crosse honoring thy moste blessed body in procuring to burie it being so greatly dishonored before 〈◊〉 Hic complexa sinu corpus miserabile nati Virgo parens lachrymis vulnera sacra vigat How our Sauiour beeing nowe taken frō the Crosse was layd in his moste sorowfull mothers lappe ¶ Poyntes to meditate 1 First consider with how gret tendernes the most blessed virgin mother receiued the dead body of her swéete sonne béeing nowe taken from the crosse beholding particulerly the signes of his soares and wounds with moste tender loue she kissed the same embraced bathed it with the teares which abundantly issued out of her pitifull eyes 2 Then cal to mind the lamentable words which his mother spake when she saw that blessed body of his so scourged wounded and ill handled the which she with so great loue and reuerence had brought vp whose words sighes were inough to breake with cōpassion the hart of any that heard them 3 Remember also the lamentable playnt which other deuoute men women made that were there present and chiefly of that welbeloued disciple Iohn and Magdalen which helde clipped fast the féete of her swéete master not satisfying her selfe ynough in kissing and washing them with her pitifull teares ¶ The prayer O My most merciful father and my god who shal giue water to my head and a fountayne of teares to mine eyes that I may bewayle the paynefull death of my swéet redéemer both day and night celebrate his holy exequies together with that deuout companie whiche with wofull playnt did celebrate the same Or who may giue me an hoate burning hart worthily to praise thée and thanke thée for the ineffable benefite which thou hast done for me in that thou haste vouchsafed that thine onely begotten sonne should léese his life to giue me life Whom would it not amase to sée this thy vnspeakable charity that for to redeme a vile slaue wouldest giue to death thy dearly beloued son All the Angelicall spirites