the fyre of the loue of God and true charitie And among all meditations in the which this heauenly fyre is kindled the chiefest is this of the passion and death of our Redéemer Bicause if there be any thing that hath force to drawe the loue of one man to loue an other it is to knowe that he is loued of the other and so there can not be a thing in the worlde more apte to drawe the heart of a Christian to loue God then to consider how God first loued him the whiche he may very well vnderstande by that whiche he did and suffered for him And if it be the greatest signe that a friend can showe of that loue he beareth towardes an other to giue his owne life for him as he our Lord him self sayth this signe then haue we most manifestly of the loue he bare vs for that his will was to giue his most precious lyfe for vs or rather as Saint Paul concludeth a greater signe can we not haue of his innumerable loue then to knowe his will was to offer him selfe vnto death euen the death of the crosse and that not only for his friendes but also for his enemies If then thou were negligent slouthfull and cold to loue God before thou knewest how much he loued thée nowe thou doest knowe it by suche and so many signes and argumentes endeuour to him which hath so loued thée Call to minde in this mysterie how streatly thou art beloued of al the whole Trinitie séeing the father so muche loued thée that he gaue his onely begottē sonne vnto death for thée Remember wel those words of the Euangelist S. Iohn which saith in this maner So God loued the worlde that for it he gaue his onely begotten sonne In which wordes thou mayest knowe the greatnes of the person of whom thou art so beloued and that is the Father almightie maker of heauen and of earth and also the greatnes of his loue wherewith he loued thée is manyfest by the greatnes of the gifte whiche he gaue thée and that is his only begotten sonne who hath the same like infinite power bounty and maiestie with the father And this suche a sonne he hath graciously giuen thée that taking thy humanitie or manhood he might dye in the same for thée and redéeme thée in suche sorte as the Apostle sayth God spared not his owne sonne to pardon vs his miserable seruants O inestimable loue and greater then any vnderstanding can comprehende And likewise the loue of the Sonne was nothing lesse then this of the Father in that he came downe from heauen and was incarnate for thée spente hys lyfe and dyed for thée that by suche meanes he might in diuers sortes be giuen to thée In byrth as thy companion in life as thy comfort in his last Supper as thy foode in death as price for thée in heauen as a rewarde for thée And as the loue of the Father and the Sonne was towardes thée so was the loue of the holy Ghost who willed wrought together with the father and the sonne thy saluation redemption Now the most blessed and glorious Trinitie hath so loued thée how canst thou be so slacke in rēdring to him loue for loue séeing that loue can not be repayed but with loue And if thou vnderstande not this excéeding loue of God by other benefites whiche he hath done for thée as in thy creation and conseruation consider yet what thou hast receiued of him in thy reparation and redemption then shalt thou perceiue how true those words be which he spake by the prophet Ieremie With perpetual loue haue I loued thée and therefore haue I drawen thée to me in hauing mercy vpon thée These be the sharpe arrowes which the kingly prophet Dauid speaketh of sufficient to pearce anye hard hart These be the new warres which the scripture speaketh of that a king is from heauen elected to subdue and conquer men of the earth Differing from the first which he made with thretnings and feare These be the ropes of Adam and the cordes of charitie with which the prophet O say sayth he would draw men vnto him Because if they will worke according to the vse of reason which they haue in respect they be reasonable men they ought not to be more vnreasonable then brute beastes who suffer them selues to be drawen with ropes and halters in finding them selues forced and constrayned to loue such as loueth them When thou therefore shalte meditate vppon the death and passion of thy Redéemer let the principall ende of thy trauell be to be rauished in the loue of such a Lorde that hath so loued thée and by so many profes hath wel declared his loue towards thée and assure thy selfe that al those stripes and bloodye woundes which thou beholdest in him be voyces crying and testifying his deare and true loue towardes thée Beholde him vppon the Crosse thrust through with a speare and thou shalte perceiue how he prouoketh and forceth thée to loue him His féete so nayled do showe that he will tarie for thée if thou wilte returne come agayne to him His armes so stretched do signifie that he desireth to embrace thée His head so bowed downe doth signifie that he will giue thée the kisse of grace That side of his opened with a spere doth manifestly shew that he is willing to giue thée a place in his hart where thou mayst rest thy selfe quietly surely And what other thing might he do for thée which he hath not done And what other thing doth he more require of thée but in that acknowledging this his loue thou answere him agayne with thy loue O moste swéete Iesu the true louer of men what is he if he well consider this and know it that can denie the thing thou requirest of him and for so many causes is due vnto thée And howe can any man excuse himselfe to loue thée béeing pricked forwarde and prouoked with so many motions and swéete callings of thy diuine loue Be not therefore my good brother vnthankfull nor so dull to vnderstande this his so great loue for the which it should behoue thy hart to melt euen as the wax whensoeuer thou remembrest that he loued thée first and that he washed thée with his precious blood Denie him not the tribute of loue thou owest him for although he haue forgiuen thée other thy debtes yet this he will not discharge or acquite thée of but rather affirmeth that he came to put fyre on the earth and woulde that it should burne continually And in figure of this he commaunded in the olde lawe that the fyre shoulde stande alwayes kindled vppon his altar The whiche is not so muche ment of the materiall fyre as of the spirituall which is our loue towards him and that he would should alwayes burne vpon the altar of our heart because that sacrifice is alwayes acceptable to him whiche is offered with suche fyre And because this maye be
hiâ— standing before the Iudges anâ— his accusers and in the maner of his answering to their questions and in that peaceable calmnesse of minde whcih he alwayes expressed not once being troubled in his countenance or chaunging moode although he â—ere neuer so muche iniuried and wrongfully slaundered He â—eclared also his perfect obedience not onely béeing obedient â—o his eternall Father in the â—ommandement of death which â—e gaue him but also declared â—he same in euery thing euen â—owardes his wicked enemies whiche crucified him in dooing whatsoeuer they willed as in suffering him selfe to be spoyled of his clothes and agayne to be clothed and that as often as pleased them to commaunde him Nowe going to one iudge and now vnto an other as they woulde haue him and finally when he was appoynted thereto he bare the Crosse whereon he should be crucified What shal we then say of the softnesse and of the silence he obserued and kept in all that pitifull pageant of his passion He was not desirous to multiply words nor to answere so many iniuries and blasphemies they spake agaynst him neither to defende him selfe agaynst the false witnesse they brought foorth ne to excuse him selfe of that they vniustly accused him and layde to his charge But he suffered patiently all things without aunswering of any thing euen as though he had bene domme So that he therin well fulfilled that whiche was written of him I as a deafe man did not heare and as a domme creature which openeth not his mouth I made no aunswere And the Euangelist affirmeth that euen the very iudge Pilate him selfe dyd much maruel at his gret silence But much more his inuincible patience may cause vs to maruell with the which he suffered and bare not only the innumerable scornes skoffes and mockings with other outrages deuised agaynst him but also the gréeuous sorowes and paynes the most bitter tormentes they coulde inuent to punishe him withall whiche were so many and so cruell that they might suffice to breake any hard stone Verifying in this that whiche Ezechiel prophesied of him wheÌ„ he likened his face to the Diamond and hard flint because of the hardnes wherewith he bare so many blowes and buffettes with their fists and hard gauntlets and all with suche an inuincible patience without making resistance at all ne yet so muche as any show of murmuring or grudging And likewise consider howe that his most feruent and burning charitie was not able to be quenched or diminished with all the waters of those his afflictions and sorows which entred into him and perced euen through the very middest of his most blessed soule but rather the more they doubled his torments the more increased the flame of loue by the which in his most excessiue sorows he prayed for them that crucified him and excused them before his father who accused and condemned him Furthermore remember that intier deare mercy of his that where he saw our great miseries and calamities he had compassion vpon vs and wéeped for our sakes he prayed for vs and shedde his most precious blood thereby to heale and cure our gréeuous diseases and daungerous woundes Call also to minde and consider that fortitude and magnanimitie of his who knowing as noteth the Euangelist Saint Iohn all things that should be done vnto him that is to saye the great battayle which was prepared agaynst him and in the whiche he shoulde dye with so many gréeuous tormentes and deadly woundes yet feared he nothing at all to marche forwarde to méete his enemies in the face and offer him selfe into their hands to execute what crueltie they would vpon him Consider also his constante perseuerance which is a vertue that crowneth and rewardeth all our good workes Because who so euer shall perseuer and continue in well dooing to the ende he shall be saued Which vertue is in none better séene then in Christ who in such sorte perseuered continued â—â—â—tly went forward with that worâ—e of our redemption he had begoâ—â— that neither the feare of paineâ— nor strokes nor iniuries nor scornes nor threatnings foule wordes nor fayre promises nor men nor diuels could be able to make him come down from the Crosse or leaue vndone any one iote of that was to be done for finishing of the worke of our redemption which his Father had commaunded him Nor yet leaue thou here vnremembred both for thy consolation and example to folow his blessed stepps that contempt of the world and that his extreme pouertie whereof he giueth vs notable examples both in his blessed passion death and also in his life and conuersation which was full of pouertie and contempt of honour and worldly fauour But specially it is to be séene in his passion and ende of his life because he dyed in that straite bedde of the Crosse hauing nothing at all to leane his head vpon standing spoyled and naked with so great shame and ignominie in that multitude of people beholding and gasing vppon him And in the thirst and drinesse which he suffred they gaue him not so much as a cup of water but only bitter gal and vineger There was not one that mighte helpe or comfort him with any ease or reliefe but rather those his enemies studied by all deuises and inuentions they could new kindes of paynes and wayes how to vexe and disgrace him O my God what is that man but if he will remember this and marke it well may be ashamed to murmure grudge and lament him selfe of any griefe or aduersity that he doth suffer What pouerty or barennesse in the worlde may be compared to thine what abstinence what austeritie of life or straitnesse of penance was euer so harde and sharpe which may be compared to that thou diddest suffer on the Crosse what man was euer in the world so despised so mocked and so persecuted as thou waste in thy passion and death Truely O Lorde he that can well remember and consider thée maye shutte his mouth shame to lament him self at al either of pouerty hunger thirst nakednesse vnkindnesse or of any other lacke or griefe that he suffereth He may be ashamed to sée howe fayntly and coldly he traueleth to folow thée O Lord being set before vs as an example and rule of our life Thou seest now good brother what order thou muste obserue béeing after this sort occupied in thy meditation vpon the passion Beholde the pure and cleare glasse in the whiche thou mayst looke and learne to knowe and sée in thy selfe thy faults deformities and defects and then compare them together with his vertues and perfections because thou shalte so vnderstand how great thy pride is if thou beholde and haue respect to his lowlynesse méekenesse and humilitie how great is thy coldnesse in comparison to his tender and burning charitie and the like of other vertues aforesaid and many more that may be coÌ„sidered of which shal discouer and open vnto thée thy lackes and imperfections thy foulenesse and
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
disciples there maye be these poyntes following to meditate vpon 1 With howe great méekenes and humilitie the sauiour of the world rising from supper washed the féete of his Disciples and also of Iudas and wyped them with the towell wherewith he was gyrt 2 Secondarily consider of the entier loue which moued him to institute that high Sacrament in the which he gaue his Disciples to eate his most sacred body and precious blood to drinke and willed it shoulde remayne in his Church as the foode and consolation of our soules 3 Thirdly call to minde that heauenly lesson which he preached to his Disciples comforting and exhorting them and vs also to humilitie charitie and patience of the whiche vertues he gaue vs so liuely examples in the latter ende of his life here The prayer I Geue thée thanks most swéete Iesu with all my hart for thy marueilous humilitie in abasing thy selfe to become as a seruaunt to washe the féete of thy seruants And also I prayse and worship thée for the inestimable benefite that thou diddest work for vs in willing to continue with vs in thy most holy sacrament in the whiche thy blessed body is verily conteined for the foode and comfort of our soules I humbly beséeche thy infinite clemencie pitie to graunt me grace to folowe this example of so great humilitie and that my vile condition neuer become proude when I shall consider and sée thy maiestie so humbled And vouchsafe also my gracious Lorde and Redéemer to washe my féete that is to say the affectes and naughtie passions of my soule And giue me that loue and charitie which thou diddest so greatlye commende to thy Disciples that with purenesse of hart and with suche inwarde cleannesse of minde as I am bounde and as is acceptable to God I may draw neare to this moste swéete Sacrament and participate aboundauntlye of those effectes which it worketh in deuoute soules Graunt me also O celestiall Scholemaster and euerlasting wisdome of the father that thy most blessed words may be imprinted in me which thou didst preach in this worlde chiefly those words of thy latter talke neare thy death béeing full of so great charitie coÌ„solation with the which thou didst coÌ„fort the sorowful minds of thy beloued Disciples And séeing thou hast the word of euerlasting life more swete then the hony or hony combe make my soule to tast it chiefly to delight in it and alwayes to obay it that by it as by a most lightsome lanterne I may sée how to guide my selfe in all my wayes and works Amen Ter prece sollicitat patrem sudatque pauetque Innocuas stringunt impia vincâ—a manus Of the prayer in the garden and apprehending of our Sauiour ¶ Poyntes to meditate therevpon 1 How our sauiour going into the garden to which place he knew his enemies should come for to apprehend him with that inward sorow and feare which for our saluatioÌ„ fréely his soule would féele he fel downe flat on the grounde with most great reuerence he made his prayers thrée times to his father praying him that the bitter cup which was prepared for him myght passe away yet notwithstaÌ„ding submitted himselfe alwayes to his fathers most godly will 2 Howe that his affliction and anguishe increasing which willingly he receaued caused hym at the last to sweate droppes of blood that fell vppon the earth And beyng in this agony there came downe an Angell from heauen to comfort him 3 How that being moued with the burnyng desyre of our redemption he went and met his enemyes in the face and was content to be kissed of that traitour Iudas and of the other to be taken and cruelly bounde to be forsaken of his disciples and brought to the house of Annas the Bishop ¶ The prayer BLessed be thou my Lorde and God O Iesu Christ for that thine infinit mercy that it pleased thée for to harten and comfort vs to be assaulted thy selfe wyth suche extréeme feare and sadnes And thou being the gladnesse and comforte of Angels diddest take well in worth to be comforted of an Angell I blesse and prayse thée also for that thy feruent loue that for to loose the bondes of our sinnes and to set vs at true libertie sufferedst thy selfe to bée taken and bounde of thy enemyes shamefully like a théefe I beséeche thy infinite goodnesse therefore that in mine afflictions feare and sadnesse I may haue the grace alwayes to run vnto thée with most humble and deuout praier submitting my selfe wholly into thy blessed handes and that so to doe may be my onely comfort and helpe séeing that without thée vaine is the health and helpe that any worldly creature can giue me I beséeche thée also most méeke Lambe by that thy patience and gentlenesse which with hard cordes and ropes diddest suffer thy selfe to be bounde when thou wast taken that thou wilte vouchsafe to bynde my soule with the chaynes of thy loue that I being loosed by thée from my sinnes and from my disorderly affections suffer not my selfe to bée anye more bound with them And that neither the diuell the worlde nor the fleshe may at any time separate me from thy loue seruice and most blessed will and pleasure Amen Ad sedes Annae rapitur Caifaeque tribunal Hic tota insultat nocte proterua oohors How Christ was lèd to the house of Annas and Caiphas ¶ The poyntes to meditate 1 The blasphemies and villanies which were spoken against our redéemer by those wicked ministers the outrages buffetinges and beatinges which he suffered when he was led from the garden to Annas house where he was first presented 2 Consider the great méekenes humilitie and modestie which shyned in our Sauiour whiles he stoode before the presence of that proude byshoppe and aunswered to the demaundes of his doctrine and of his Disciples tooke so patiently those reprochfull strokes and buffets 3 And after that howe wyth like spite cruell handeling and shame he was ledde to the house of Chaiphas where they vsed muche scornings iniuries towards him as in couering and blindfolding his blessed and reuerend face spitting in it and striking it so that he passed all that night without any rest at all ¶ The prayer I Render thankes and prayses to thée moste louing Iesu for thy inuincible patience with which it pleased thée for vs most vyle sinners to beare and suffer so greate trauelles paynes and iniuries submitting thy most blessed bodye to them that did beate it and thy most reuerend bearde and heare to them that dyd teare it bespit it and soyle it and diddest not turne thine amiable face from them that did spitte in in I do humbly beséech thy goodnes for that thy insuperable patience sake with which thou sufferedst so many strokes and beatinges without grudge or anger towardes thyne enemies that thou wilt graunt me strength and patience to suffer all persecutions and iniuries which in this worlde are wrought against me knowing that my
Crux recipit fessum claui palmasque pedesque Traijciunt sedant fellea vinasitim Of the nayling of Christ vpon the Crosse ye may meditate these poyntes 1 Howe that being with great trouble and trauell nowe come to the mount of Caluarie which was the place where the malefactours shoulde put him to execution in steade of good wyne which they vsed to geue others that went to their sorrowfull death to comfort their spirites they gaue Christ wine that was myxte with gall because there shoulde no member or part nor yet anye sense remayne in him without torment 2 Remember the inhumanitie of them to spoyle him of his garmentes which was a new cause of griefe and torment to that most méeke Lambe and a renuing of the excéeding sorrowes which he suffered And likewise call to minde howe that béeyng spoyled of his garmentes hée stoode all naked in most bytter sorrowes griefe and shame 3 Then further consider with howe great crueltie they caused hym to bée stretched vppon that harde bedde of the Crosse which they had prepared for him On the which they perced throughe and nayled with bygge grosse nayles the most holy hands and féete of him that made bothe heauen and earth And on the other syde consyder wyth what excéedyng patience and charitie hée suffered so great tormentes as no tongue suffyceth to expresse ¶ The prayer NO tongue most mercifull Iesu sufficeth to giue thankes and prayse worthye to thée for thy burning charity which caused thée with so great patience to beare and suffer the incomparable tormentes thou diddest féele what tyme thou wast nayled vpon the Crosse For albeit the griefe smart of thy paine and sorrowe were excéedyng great yet without all comparison muche more passing great and vnspeakable was the greatnesse of thy loue that prycked thée forwarde to suffer it Thy verie works O Lorde prayse thée and for my parte I thanke and praise thée as much as I maye confessing my selfe neuer to be able to thanke thée for the least parte of that I am bounde vnto thée And therefore I praye the for those moste bitter sorowes and for the entier loue of thine which caused thée for the saluation of the worlde to suffer so gréeuous tormentes that thou wilt graunt me grace that they maye be alwayes fixed in my harte and minde as the percing arrowes of thy tender loue and that renouncing all vayne loue of this worlde I maye be surely nayled and fastened to thée in perfect loue and obedience And for so muche as thou art figured by that cluster of grapes whiche the two men broughte on a staffe vppon their shoulders from the lande of promise and waste troden foorth in that wine presse of the Crosse that out of thée should flowe moste swéete wine to swéeten and ouercome our soules swéeten and fil my soule with that wine which causeth men to become chast and pure And cause that I be fast nayled with thée with the nayles of thy loue and charitie Thoroughly nayle my fleshe with the feare of thée that it be not rebellious agaynst the spirite and let my hands and féete be so nayled with thine that they neither moue nor stretche besides thy blessed will And geue me so abundant grace that I may be desirous to suffer and to be dispraysed of all men for thée and to be pressed downe for thy diuine loue Amen Conspicitur crux alma solo caeloque verenda In qua expirauit mox viriusque parens How Christ was exalted vpon the Crosse ¶ Poynts to meditate vpon 1 How that béeing in maner aforesaide with such excessiue sorow and outcryes of the people nayled vpon the crosse he was exalted or lifted vp on high that all men might beholde him And was put in the place appoynted betwene two théeues that were also crucified with him 2 Remember the incomparable sorowe and anguishe which his moste blessed mother felt when she saw her swéete sonne wounded from toppe to toe and deformed so muche through the stripes and torments receiued that scarcely she might knowe her owne childe 3 Call to minde also howe amongst so many tormentes as our most mercifull sauiour suffered the first wordes he spake béeing nayled vpon the Crosse was to pray for his very enemies and them that crucified him whose blindnes and crueltie gréeued him more then his owne paynes and torments ¶ The prayer I Confesse my most swéet Lord and true louer of mankinde that in all the time of my life if I should do none other thing els both day and night yet I could not worthily for my part prayse and blesse thée for this vniuersall benefite of the redemption of mankinde both yll considered of me many other What may I then say O eternall loue of the father séeing thée in our mortall flesh so abased for my sake tormented for me and lifted vp vpon the crosse in the middest of two théeues and as one of them and muche worse handled O my Lord thanks be giuen to thée of all men and of all Angels for thine infinite charitie the which is sufficient to make them all to maruell séeing that I am he which hath committed the robbery and yet it is thy pleasure to suffer the punishment due therefore I beséech thée O infinite goodnesse that séeing it hath pleased thée to paye for mine iniquitie and sinnes and that thou haste pardoned me those whiche I haue committed that thou wilt giue me grace to take héede that I trespasse not in the like offences hereafter and that I deserue not eternall tormentes from whiche by meanes of thy tormentes thou haste so manye times deliuered me Giue me O Lorde the grace that I maye stande and staye my selfe surely and constantly by thy Crosse with thy moste blessed mother féeling some part of the sorowe that she felt And giue mine eyes grace to looke vp vpon thée raysed and lifted on high vpon the Crosse so that I maye be holpen from my spirituall soares as they were holpen from their corporall soares who did beholde the serpent that Moyses did in figure of thée exalt in the desart Vouchsafe also to graunt me so much thy fauour and grace that I maye reste my selfe vnder the shadow of this trée of life and that I maye taste of his moste swéete fruite the whiche maye cause me to loue euen mine enemies and to pray for them euen as thou standing nayled vpon the same trée as it were from thy chayre and pulpit doest teach and preach vnto me Amen Exanimum pectus transfigit cuspide miles Pectore ab effosso lympha cruorque fluunt How Christ was thrust into the side with a speare ¶ Poyntes to meditate 1 When that wicked generation had nailed and lifted vp the redéemer of the world vpon the crosse and coulde not nowe any more strike him with their handes they smote him with their tongs with many reprochefull words and blasphemies giuing him vineger to drinke in his great thirst vpon a sponge 2 Consider