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MEMORIAL 
 
 OF L 
 
 CHRISTIAN LIEE, 
 
 CONTAINING 
 
 ALL THAT A SOUL NEWLY CONVERTED TO GOD OUGftT 
 
 TO DO, THAT IT MAY ATTAIN THE PERFECTION 
 
 TO WHICH IT OUGHT TO ASPIRE 
 
 , BY THE 
 
 REV. F.'llEWISjDE GKANADA 
 
 EEVISBD BY THB 
 
 RET. F, J. L'ESTRANGE, I D 
 
 NEW-YORK: 
 THE CATHOLIC PUBLICATION SOCIETY, 
 
 ^\%^ 
 
 •> 
 

 o=y 
 
 «B » 1>>» 
 

 PRKFACE. 
 
 — ^•••- 
 
 As the inclinations and judgments of writeis have beea^ 
 iiflferent, so have they disposed themselves to treat of differ- 
 ent matters. Some, charmed with the beauty of eloquence, 
 have labored to frame an excellent oratot : they have taken 
 him from the cradle, and conducted him through all the 
 steps and degrees of this art, till they have brought him to 
 the highest point to which he could be raised. Others have 
 attempted to represent a perfect prince; others, a great cap* 
 tain; others, a wise courtier; and in these different designs 
 every one of them has proposed to himself the advancing 
 of that which he most esteemed. But, of all human thingd, 
 there is none so noble as a perfect Christian. The holy 
 authors name him a heavenly man, or an earthly angel ; and 
 it is with reason they give him this quality, since, being _^^.^-:-^> 
 destined to a supernatural end, he leads a divine life. Thus*, '■ ' ' 
 since all other conditions, which are as much below this as 
 their end is inferior, have had masters who have taught 
 tirith so much care, from their first elements even to their 
 last period, what was necessary to render one accomplished 
 in them, how much more just is it to prescribe rules for this 
 heavenly profession, which so much the more stands in need 
 of being faithftiUy taught, as the perfection of it is mor« 
 clifficult to be attained. 
 
 This has made me a long time desirous to see in some one 
 book the manner of forming a perfect Christian, in order 
 that such a book might be, as it were, an abridgment of 
 
ft PREFACE. 
 
 whatever belongs to the conduct of a Christian in this life. 
 For, as good workmen take care to furnish themselves with 
 all instruments necessary for their trade, and as those who 
 applj themselves to any art or science do all they can to 
 have some book in which they may find whatever concerns 
 the knowledge they would acquire, that they may ease their 
 memory by enclosing it, as it were, in one only place, so it 
 seems to me very expedient to do the same in the science of 
 Christianity, which is the art of arts and science of sciences ; 
 to the end, that such as desire to serve God sincerely, having 
 this little treatise, may find in it light enough for the direc- 
 tion of their lives, and that the preachers and confessors 
 who are zealous for the public, may without much pains, 
 draw from it whatever is necessary for the infusing of true 
 piety into the souls of their hearers. 
 
 I know that we do not want, at this day, books which 
 treat of this matter; but each of them have in a manner 
 some particular end to which they are directed. As for 
 catechisms, though they contain a summary of Christianity, 
 and all that pertains to it, yet, since their principal aim 
 tends only to explain the substance of things, and cause 
 them to be comprehended, their doctrine is more speculative, 
 and fitter to enlighten the understanding, than to affect the 
 will. 
 
 Wherefore I am resolved, by the grace of God, and witk 
 the assistance I hope to receive from the writings of the 
 holy fathers, who have spoken of these matters in divers 
 places, to compose this book, which I assume to draw from 
 their sentiments and sentences, for the framing a perfect 
 Christian, and conducting him through all the states and 
 exercises of this life, from the beginning of his conversion 
 to the utmost perfection he can acquire. I propose to my- 
 self for this purpose, to take him quite rough and an- 
 wrought, like the trunk of a tree cut down upon a barren 
 mountain, with ita branches and bark, and to polish him 
 little by little, till I have brought him to the perfect state to 
 
PKKFACE.: 6i 
 
 »'hich he ought to aspire. To this end, I will set before hia 
 eyes, iu my first book, heaven and hell, with the advantages- 
 that accompany virtue, and the obligations we have to fol- 
 low it, and will endeavor to persuade him, by these consid- 
 erations, to take a strong resolution of leaving vice, andl 
 firmly applying himself to God's service. 
 
 This resolution being formed, I teach him, in the second' 
 book, how he must do penance; because this is the first step^' 
 he has to take, that he may enter into this way. I propose 
 to him several considerations, and divers prayers, which* 
 may serve to make him conceive all possible regret andi^ 
 horror for the sins of his past life; and I afterwards instruct^ 
 him how he must confess himself, and make a satisfaction- 
 proportionate to his offences. After confession follows com- 
 munion, and therefore, in my third book, I give himcoun*- 
 sels and precepts for communicating worthily, with prayers,, 
 which he may use befof e and after communion. 
 
 Amendment of life ought to be the fruit of these two sa- 
 craments: on which I enlarge myself in my fourth book.. 
 But because in the Christian life some content themselves 
 with doing only what is necessary for their salvation, and 
 others, willing to go farther, and tend to pei^fection, are not 
 satisfied with a simple observation of the commandinents, 
 but oblige themselves also to follow the counsels, I prescribe; 
 two rules of living well; one more common j for the first;, 
 and another more strict and spiritual, for the others. 
 
 A book, in which every private person succinctly set»* 
 down his private affairs, is ordinarily termed a Mbmotoal:: 
 I have given the same name to this, because I have compen- 
 diously treated all I have comprised in it; though I have^ 
 not so much studied brevity, but that I have also endeavor- 
 ed to set down all that was necessary for my subject. It is^ 
 true, the theme is copious and plentiful, and there are man j^ 
 things to be said which cannot be sufiiciently expressed, but 
 I leave this to other writers. Yet, if it shall please God to 
 prolong the course of this my life, whicb passes away with' • 
 
<J PREPACE 
 
 *o much speed, T may treat more at large 8(ftoe parts of this 
 doctrine, and, in particular, give the public an Exhortation, 
 with rules for leading a good life, a Treatise on the Love of 
 (iod, and on the Life of Jesus Christ. 
 
 It is true, that what I assume is properly a work of tho 
 Holy Ghost, and that to him alone belongs the forming a 
 perfect Christian. But, as grace excludes not labor, which, 
 on the contrary, ought to concur with it, so God's interior 
 instruction excludes not the exterior instruction which comes 
 from men; but, on the contrary, necessarily requires it. 
 This office particularly pertains to the priests and ministers 
 of the church ; it is to them that God sends us to be inform- 
 ed of his law. Wherefore, amongst the ornaments with 
 which the high-priest, in the old law was clothed, there was 
 one named the Rational, which he wore on his breast, having 
 engraven on it these words, ^^ Doctrine and Truth^^ [Exod, 
 xxi.) to show that these two things otghi to be in Aaron's 
 heart, that from thence, as from a plentiful spring, they 
 might run down upon all the rest. This function is so im- 
 portant and so considerable, that Moses, by the counsel of 
 his father-in-law Jethro, reserved it to himself alone. Exod, 
 xviii. This prudent old man advised him to commit to 
 other judges the lighter affairs, and the judgments that con- 
 cerned temporal matters; but that he should reserve to him- 
 self religion and God's worship, and should take for his own 
 province the care of teaching the people the ceremonies of 
 the law, and in what manner they ought to serve God. 
 Tliis is what God requires of his priests; and some of them 
 whom be had called to this dignity having been so unhappy 
 as to neglect the duty of their charge, he addressed to them 
 ihese amazing words by the mouth of the prophet: "Because 
 thou hast rejected knowledge, I will reject thee, that thou 
 ghalt not do the office of priesthood to me." Osee iv. 6. And 
 in another place he again threatens them with this punish- 
 ment, by the prophet Tsaias, as with the most dreadful ca- 
 lamity that could befall them, saying: that 1 ecau^^e of their 
 
PREFACE. i 
 
 great siiis he would punish them with a terrible punishment, 
 which should be, that " wisdom" should "perish from their 
 wise men, and the understanding of their prudeat men" 
 should be ^'hid." Isaias xxix. 14. 
 
 A.fter this, none can doubt but that as the want of this 
 wisdom is one of the greatest chastisements which can be 
 inflicted on such as have the conduct of souls, so it is no 
 less terrible to those who are to receive their instructions. 
 For the light of the understanding being taken away, which 
 is, as it were, the author of every change that is made in the 
 soul, and like the principal wheel of a clock, that governs 
 and moves the Christian life, what can afterwards be expect- 
 ed but blindness, extravagance, and other disorders of that 
 nature? 
 
 This sentiment is none of mine, the whole Scripture show- 
 ing us, that all these evils have no other source. See here 
 what the Almighty^ God says of them by the mouth of 
 Isaias: " For it is not a wise people ; therefore he that made 
 it, shall not have mercy on it ; and he that formed it, shall 
 not spare it" Isaias xxvii. 11. And in another place he 
 says: "Therefore is my people led away captive, because 
 they had not knowledge, and their nobles have perished 
 with famine, and their multitude were dried up with thirst" 
 Chap. v. 13. The prophet Baruch confirms the same thing, 
 when he says, that the true cause of the children of Israel's 
 captivity, and of their miseries in strange lands, was, that 
 they had "forsaken the Fountain of Wisdom." Bar. iii. 12. 
 He gives also this only reason for the destruction of the 
 giants — that is, the great men of the world: "Because," 
 says he, " they had not wisdom, they perished through their 
 folly." Ih. V. 28. And it is to remedy this evil that St. Paul, 
 writing to the Colossians, expressly charges them to take 
 care that the word and doctrine of Jesus Christ be mces- 
 aantly preached amongst them, and that they mutually 
 teach, and charitably advise one another what they ara 
 obli£:ed to do. 
 
O PREFACS. 
 
 There is no trade, how mean soever, but has its rules for 
 the well performing it : how much more necessary, then, is 
 it to have them in the highest of all exercises, which is to 
 please God, to serve him, to gain the kingdom of heaven, 
 and to surmount the strength and stratagems of our enomy ? 
 How can an ignorant man know a thing which so much 
 imports him, if there are not set before his eyes the promises 
 and threatenings of Almighty God, and the obligations he 
 has to serve him ? How can he conceive a sorrow for his 
 sins, if he is not made to understand the reasons he has to 
 be afflicted for them ? How can he communicate worthily, 
 if he is not taught what is necessary for the making a good 
 communion ? How can he regulate his life, seek virtue, and 
 shun vice, if he know not the means to obtain the one, and 
 resist the other, nor understand the temptations and artifices 
 of the enemy ? How shall he make a good prayer, and how 
 can he accompany it with the conditions it requires if ke 
 has not been instructed in them? How shall he atta-in tc 
 the love of God, if he is ignorant of the way that leads to 
 it, of the things that hinder it, and of the exercises he must 
 do to merit it? We have need of all this light for all these 
 different things : we bring it not with us at our birth ; on 
 the contrary, we may say, with truth, there is nothing that 
 better represents our condition than the man in the gospel, 
 who was blind from his mother's womb. 
 
 It is indeed the office of preachers to cure this blindness 
 by the light of God's word : but these are not every where 
 to be found ; nor do they all treat of these matters which 
 are so necessary; nor yet, speaking as they ordinarily do in 
 general, can they easily descend to such particularities as 
 this moral doctrine demands, which, respecting particular 
 exercises, requires also particular precepts, which are not 
 usually given in pulpits. Wherefore there is nothing more 
 profitable than the reading of good books. They are, as it 
 were, constant preachers, which teach at all times: bow 
 long soever they may be, they are never tiresome, because 
 
PBEFAOB. 9 
 
 one may leave them when one will ; and if they are short, 
 one always gets some benefit by frequent reading them over. 
 Ho^v great are the fruits of God's word ; and who shall ex- 
 plain the doctrine of his Church ? It is as a light which 
 enlightens our minds, as a fire which heats our wills, as a 
 hammer which softens the hardness of our hearts, as a knife 
 which pares away the superfluities of our passions, as a 
 torch which lights us in all the passages of this life, as a 
 seed which brings forth the fruits of eternal life ; and, in 
 fine, as a wholesome food and nourishment, which sustains 
 OS, refreshes us, and gives strength and vigor to our souls, 
 to bring them to God. 
 
 Experience renders us knowing in this truth: the light 
 and fruit which come from reading are so great, that we 
 ordinarily see most people change their lives only by this 
 way: and if many sinners should be asked, what was the 
 occasion and beginning of their conversion, they would 
 almost continually answer, that it must be attributed to the 
 reading of some book of devotion, which moved them to 
 take that resolution. Do we not • know, how that officer of 
 the queen of Ethiopia, was reading in his chariot the prophet 
 Isaias, when God converted him by the means of St. Philip, 
 who took occasion from that reading to instruct him in the 
 feith ? Acts viii. And whence proceeded so many heroical 
 actions, as king Josias did during the whole course of his 
 reign, but from his having read a holy book, which was 
 sent him by the priest Helchias, as we learn out of the book 
 of Kings ? 4 Kings xxii. 
 
 And to furnish us with a memorable example, does not 
 St. Augustin acknowledge, that he owes his conversion to a 
 book on which he fortunately cast his eyes : he himself gives 
 us an account of it in the eighth book of his Confessions ; 
 and because it is a thing which deserves for ever to be im- 
 printed in your minds, I will repeat to you his words at 
 length. 
 
 He 8a3'S then, that "a certain African gentleman, named 
 
10 PREFACE. 
 
 Potitianus, being come to visit him, told him wonderftil 
 things which the world published of the great St. Anthony ; 
 and he added, that the emperor being one afternoon busied 
 in beholding certain public spectacles in the town of Triers, 
 this gentleman, with three of his friends, who attended the 
 court, agreed to go walk abroad into the fields ; that two 
 of them came by chance to a monk's cell, where finding a 
 book which contained the life of St. Anthony, one of them 
 began to read it; and that feeling his heart on a sudden 
 inflamed with holy love, touched with a religious shame, 
 and animated with a just anger against himself, he said 
 these words to his friend : ' What do we pretend to obtain 
 by all our care and toil ? What do we seek ? Why have 
 we so many years engaged ourselves in war and battles ? 
 If we should attain to the height of our desires, can we hope 
 for any better fortune than to be esteemed by the emperor ? 
 And in that very state, what is there that is not frail and 
 exposed to dangers ? And through how many perils must 
 we run to arrive at this extreme peril ? In the meantime, 
 if I desire to be loved by my God, I may immediately be 
 so.' He spoke these words, being troubled and agitated 
 with the labor which the bringing forth of the new life 
 gave him; he cast his eyes again on the book — he read; 
 he was inwardly changed, and entirely freed from all world- 
 ly affections, as appeared soon after; for having finished 
 his reading, and allayed the storm which the waves of his 
 thoughts had stirred up in his heart, with a great sigh, he 
 said to his friends: 'I am now in peace and repose; I 
 heartily renounce all our hopes; I am absolutely resolved 
 to serve God, and from this very momen set up my rest 
 here without going any farther. If you wiU not imitate me 
 in my resolution, at least endeavor not to withdraw me 
 from it' The other answered, that he would not leave him, 
 and that he should not find any difficulty in keeping him 
 company, since so great a recompense was proposed to him; 
 thus both of them began without sparing any thing, to raise 
 
PREFACE. 11 
 
 that spiritual building of which the gospel speaks. And 
 what is no less worthy of admiration is, that they were both 
 promised, and that those to whom they were betrothed 
 understanding this change, consecrated their virginity to 
 God." 
 
 This is what St. Augustin relates, ( Conf, 6. viii. c. 6,) apd 
 this example wrought so pc^werfuUy on his soul, that turn- 
 ing instantly to one of his fiends, he said to him with a 
 loud voice : " What is it we suffer ? What have we so latPly 
 heard? The unlearned come and cairy heaven by force, 
 and we with all our learning, remain buried in flesh and 
 blood." The saint adds, that sensibly touched with this 
 thought, he went into a garden, where he lay down on tho 
 ground under a fig-tree, and that giving liberty to his tears, 
 in the trouble and agitation to which his heart was reduced, 
 he uttered these words: "How long, Lord, how long wilt 
 thou be angry? Shall thy just indignation never cease? 
 Forget, I beseech thee, my past iniquities." {B. viii. c. 12.) 
 And immediately he began anew this discourse: "How 
 long, how long ? To-morrow, and to-morrow ? And why 
 shall not this very moment an end be put to my crimes ?^* 
 Whilst in the bitterness of his heart he breathed forth these 
 sorrowful words, he heard a voice which said to him : — 
 " Take and read !" He immediately rose up, and took into 
 his hand a book of the Holy Scriptures that lay near him : 
 calling to mind what he had heard spoken of St. Anthony 
 how that hearing by chance in the gospel these words of Je- 
 sus Christ, " Go, sell the things that thou hast, and give to 
 the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven; and come 
 and follow me," i^Matt. xix. 21.) he took them as if they had 
 been particularly addressed to himself, and thereupon re- 
 Bolved to leave all, and follow Jesus Christ. Animated by 
 this example, and yet more by the voice he heard, he began 
 to read the book, and immediately Almighty God infused so 
 great a light into his heart, that joyfully renouncing all pre- 
 sent things, he gave himself up wholly to God's service 
 
12 PREFACE. 
 
 We learn by these examples, how many signal conver s'loni 
 have had their beginning from the reading of good books ; as 
 that of Potitianus's friends, of St. Augustin, and also that 
 of St. Anthony^ and we might add many others, as well of 
 past ages, as of this in which we live, that began after the 
 same manner. But this perhaps would be superfluous ; for 
 the mysteries which the christian religion reveals to men, 
 have so much beauty to touch their hearts, that I wonder 
 not at their producing such marvellous changes in the souls 
 of those who consider them. The reading of pious books 
 not only serves to awaken those whom this world holds as 
 it were enchanted and lulled asleep, but also to preserve those 
 whom grace has already roused, and who begin to watch 
 over themselves. Wherefore Grod's word is, in the Scripture, 
 termed bread, or food; because it nourishes and sustains souls 
 in the spiritual life, as material bread does bodies in the 
 corporal. 
 
 And although this sort of food has in all times been as ne- 
 cessary as bread for the preservation of life, yet it is much 
 more so in this. Heretofore the pastors and priests were so 
 oareful and zealous in preaching God's word, that there was 
 no need of any thing more for believers, who might without 
 reading preserve themselves, and go forward in virtue; but 
 we see at this day, that many of those to whom the cure of 
 souls is entrusted, content themselves with administering the 
 sacraments, and say a mass at the usual hour; and that in 
 the greatest part of the boroughs and villages, and even in 
 some good towns, having performed these functions, they 
 think they have fulfilled their duty. Thus are the people de- 
 prived of an assistance which is so necessary to them ; and 
 in this necessity it is fit to supply with good books the want 
 of knowing and zealous pastors. 
 
 Receive then this present that I make you, which in an in- 
 different size, and at a small charge, may supply the instruc- 
 tions you would otherwise want. It will serve for a sermon, 
 {o exhort you to live well; for a christian instruction, to 
 
PREFACE. 13 
 
 teach you true piety; for an examination to make a good 
 confession ; for a preparation to communicate worthily ; for 
 a book of devotion to pray by ; and will, in fine, furnish you 
 with several subjects to meditate on, which are, in a manner, 
 all the duties that the christian philosophy comprehends : for 
 if this work of mine is worthy of any consideration, it is 
 because it contains many things, and treats of whatsoever 
 concerns the obligations of christians, as well of those that 
 are but beginners, as of those that are more advanced in 
 virtue, I have done what I could to collect these matters 
 together, and express them in a plain and easy style, to the 
 end I might please even the palate of the weak, to whom I 
 often direct my discourse. Now if the benefit that may be 
 reaped by it, be as great as the diligence I have bestowed on 
 it has been earnest, I shall think myself happily employed ; 
 since there is no bodily labor, how great soever it may be. 
 which ought to enter into comparison with the spiritual 
 good that may contribute to the salvation of sooU. 
 t 
 
% Jtemorkl of a ft^ristian f ift 
 
 BOOK I 
 
 CONTAINING 
 
 A SERIOUS EXHORTATION TO DO PENANCE. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 With what punishment God threatens those who live 
 
 in Sin, 
 
 Of the means Grod has often used to subdue the 
 hearts of men, and render them obedient to his com- 
 mands, one of the most prevalent has ever been, to 
 set before their eyes the greatness of the pains pre- 
 pared for those who obstinately disobey and break 
 his laws. For though the hopes of the happiness 
 promised the good, may sometimes produce the same 
 effect, yet we are usually more sensibly touched with 
 what afflicts than with what delights us. We are 
 more discontented with an affront, than elated with 
 honor ; and the inconveniences of sickness are more 
 painful to us, than the sweetness of health is pleas- 
 ant; so that the esteem we have for the latter arises 
 from the former, the evil which accompanies it 
 making a deeper impression on our senses. 
 
 15 
 
16 THE MEMORIAL OP 
 
 Wherefore we see, that in former ages God oft^D 
 applied this remedy, as we are taught by the proph- 
 ets, whose writings arc filled with nothing but terrors 
 and threats. God's design, we are assured, by this 
 way, to strike a dread into men's minds, to keep 
 their restless spirits within the bounds of their du- 
 ties, and, by this fear, to bring them under and sub- 
 ject them to the yoke of his law. God commands 
 the prophet Jeremias to take a white book, and to 
 write in ifc all the threats and calamities he had re- 
 vealed from the time he first began to speak to him, 
 and to read them to the people, to see whether the 
 representation of these miseries would oblige then; 
 to change their lives, to the end God might change 
 the resolution he had taken, to make them feel the 
 effects of his wrath. The prophet did as he was 
 commanded ; and the Scripture observes, that at the 
 same time this people were seized with such terror, 
 that having lost the use of their senses, there was 
 left them only the motion of their eyes, which they 
 sorrowfully cast on one another ; so great a change 
 did these divine words cause in them. 
 
 It is manifest, then, that in the time of the 
 Mosaical law, this was one of the principal means 
 which God used with men, nor is it abolished in the 
 law of grace. Does not St. Paul, the greatest of 
 preachers, say, (Ecmi. i.) that as God makes known 
 his justice in those he renders just, he in like manner 
 ?^auses his indignation to appear in the punishment 
 of the wicked? When the forerunner of Jesua 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFE. 17 
 
 Christ was sent, we know in what manner he first 
 preached; he declared aloud, {Luke iii. 9, 10, 16, 
 17,) that " the axe is laid to the root of the ived ;'' 
 that "every tree therefore that bringeth not forth 
 good fruit shall be cut down, and cast into the fire ;'' 
 that a mightier than he was abeady come into the 
 world, " whose fan is in his hand ; and he will purge 
 his floor, and will gather the wheat into his barn, but 
 the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire." The 
 dread which the thunder of these words caused in 
 their hearts was such, that all sorts of people of all 
 descriptions ran to him. Even the publicans and 
 soldiers, who ordinarily take little care of their sal- 
 vation, had recourse to this holy man, asking him 
 what they should do to be saved, and to avoid these 
 nenaces ? We now declare to you the same thing on 
 God's behalf: it is not, I confess, with the same 
 spirit and the same holiness, with which St. John 
 Baptist accompanied his words ; but you are assured, 
 that we speak to you the sanie truth, since St. John 
 preached not any other faith, or any other gospel, 
 but what we declare to you. 
 
 SECTION I. 
 
 You will perhaps ask me, what the pains are, with 
 which Grod threatens the wicked in the Scripture. 
 My answer is, in a few words, that what may be said, 
 without making any long discourse, is this : that as 
 the reward of the good is a universal good, in which 
 
 !S to be found whatever is good ; so the punishment 
 
 2 
 
18 THB MEMORIAL OF 
 
 of the wicked is a universal evil, containing in itself 
 all other evils. 
 
 To understand this, you must know, that all the 
 evils of this present life are particular evils, and conse 
 quently afflict not all our senses together. Amongst 
 diseases, some attack the eyes, others the ears, others 
 the heart, the stomach, the head, or some other part. 
 Not any one of these evils extends itself generally 
 over all our members; they have their seat only in 
 some one of them; and yet we see what torment 
 any one of these infirmities, though but the aching 
 of a tooth, gives a sick man. 
 
 This is the effect ordinarily produced by sickness, 
 which, how troublesome soever, is nevertheless sup- 
 portable ; l3ut if a man should fall into so universal 
 a distemper, that it should not leave any one of his 
 senses, or any one of his members without its par- 
 ticular pain ; that at the same time he should feel 
 sharp pains in his head, in his eyes, in his stomach, 
 in his heart, and in all the parts and joints of his 
 body ; that in this condition he should lie stretched 
 on a bed, wasting away by little and little in his 
 sufferings, every member having, as it were, its par 
 ticular pain, what would you say of the torment he 
 should endure? Could you imagine any thing more 
 miserable, or more worthy of compassion? Would 
 you not pity any creature you should see f educed tc 
 «uch a 3tate ? IBehold here (if this matter will admit 
 of any comparison) what, not for one night alone, 
 but for all eternity, is suffered in hell! As the 
 
 1 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFE. 19 
 
 wicked hav3 employed all their members and all their 
 <ienses to offend Grod, and as there is nothing in them 
 which they have not made instrumental to sin, so it 
 is very just that every one of these parts should re- 
 ceive its proper punishment. In this place the un- 
 chaste eyes shall be tormented with the horrible sight 
 of devils; the ears, with the confusion of the cries 
 and groans they shall there hear ; the smell, with the 
 insupportable stench of that infernal abode ; the taste, 
 with an insatiable hunger and thirst; the touch, all 
 the members capable of that sentiment, with inex- 
 pressible fire and cold, bpth together; the imagina- 
 tion shall be tormented by the rigor of present evils ; 
 the memory, by the remembrance of past pleasures; 
 ike understanding, by the consideration of lost bene- 
 fits and future miseries. 
 
 The Scripture admirably well sets forth the diver- 
 sity and great number of these pains, when it says, 
 (^Matt. viii. Luke vi., Ecd. vii., Isa. Ixvi., Apoc. xviii.) 
 that in hell they shall suffer hunger and thirst ; that 
 there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, two- 
 edged swords, and spirit created for revenge ; that 
 there shall be serpents, worms, scorpions, hammers^ 
 wormwood, water mingled with gall, winds and hor- 
 rible tempests, and other things of that sort; all 
 which signify the infinity and dreadful severity of 
 the punishments inflicted in that place. In that place 
 shall be found, also, interior and exterior darkness, 
 environing both the body and soul, much more ob- 
 scure than that of Egypt, which might be even felt 
 
20 THE MEMORIAL OF 
 
 with the hand. (Exod, x.) In fine, there shall be a 
 fire, not of the same natnre with that in this world,, 
 which ofiends bnt slightly, and in a short time ceases ; 
 but a fire, fit for that place, which shall cause incredi- 
 ble torments, and neve haver an end. Now if this be 
 true, can there be any thing imagined more strange, 
 than to see those who believe and confess these 
 things, to live in so wilful a negligence ? To what 
 labors would not a rational man expose himself, that 
 he might but one only day, nay but one only houi-, 
 be exempted from so many evils? And yet scarce 
 any one thinks on the eternal miseries, scarce any 
 one has the courage to expose himself to the least 
 trouble, that he may escape them by pursuing virtue. 
 This blindne^ is certainly so prodigious, that it is 
 sufficient to deprive all those of their reason, thak 
 consider of it. 
 
 If, in the multitude of these pains, they could but 
 in the least hope that they would one day come to 
 an end, or after some time be diminished, it would 
 be some comfort: but, on the contrary, the gate is 
 there shut against all sorts of hope whatever. In 
 the miseries of this world there is always a gate 
 remaining open, where those that suffer expect some 
 consolation. They are sometimes comforted by rea- 
 son, sometimes by friends, sometimes by the know- 
 ledge that several others undergo the same calamities 
 with them, and, in fine, by the belief that these 
 afflictions will not last for ever. But this last of all 
 evils is the only one without any consolation ; the re- 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFE. 21 
 
 probates see no door where they can find any safety ; 
 neither heaven, earth, the time past, present, or 
 future, nor all other things whatever, ofier them the 
 least remedy ; which way soever they turn, they find 
 themselves to be the mark of all the arrows of God's 
 wrath. All creatures seem to have conspired against 
 them, and they are themselves their own most un- 
 ceasing tormentors. 
 
 This is the state that these unhappy ones bewail 
 in the prophet, saying, (Fsalm cxiv. 3,) " the sor- 
 rows of death have compassed me; and the perils 
 of hell have found me ;" because which way soevei 
 they turn their eyes, they see only subjects of sorrow, 
 and find nothing to comfort them. The virgins that 
 were ready, says the gospel, entered into the palaoe 
 of the bridegroom, and presently the gate was shut. 
 The gate shut ! eternal shutting ! gate of all 
 goodness, which shall never be opened again, who 
 can sufficiently consider thee ? As if the gospel had 
 more clearly said, the gate is shut for ever to pardon, 
 to mercy, to hope, to grace, to merits, and, in fine, to 
 whatsoever good can be expected. There are only 
 six days that manna can be gathered in; on the 
 seventh, which is the Sabbath, it is no longer to be 
 found; he therefore shall fast for ever, who has not 
 made provision while it was time. " Because of the 
 cold," says the wise man, " the sluggard would not 
 plough ; he shall beg therefore in the summer, and 
 it shall not be given him." (Prov. xx. 4.) And 
 m another place : " He that gathereth in the harvest, 
 
22 THE MEMORIAL OF 
 
 is a wise son : but he that snorteth in the summer, 
 is the son of confusion." ((7A. x. 5.) And in 
 elFect, can there be imagined any confusion more 
 strange than that of the unhappy miser, who might 
 have bought all the treasures of heaven with the 
 least crumbs of bread which fell from his table ; but 
 having refused so small a thing to a poor beggar, is 
 now, in punishment of his avarice, become himself 
 m poor, that he asks, and shall for ever ask, one 
 drop of water, without being able to obtain it ! 
 Who would not be touched with the prayer he made ? 
 "Father Abraham," says he, "have mercy on me, 
 and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his 
 finger in water, to cool my tongue, for I am torment- 
 ed in this flame." (^I/uke xvi. 24.) Can one desire 
 less ? He durst not ask a glass of water, nor* that 
 Lazarus should put his hand into the water, not yet 
 so much as his whole finger; he requests only, that 
 tie touch his tongue with the tip of his finger, and 
 this is denied him. 
 
 This is to teach us, that this gate is so shut, tha.t 
 there is not the least hope of comfort for the wicked ; 
 and that this horrible excommunication fulminated 
 against them, is so general, that they cannot expect 
 BO small a refreshment. On what side soever they 
 turn their eyes, which way soever they stretch forth 
 their hands, they will find nothing to ease them: 
 their condition is like to that of a drowning man ; 
 sinking in the midst of the waves, and not knowing 
 where to set his foot, he reaches forth his hands on 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFE. 23 
 
 erery side, because all he touches is but running 
 water, which deceives and deludes him. Thus these 
 victims doomed to the just vengeance of heaven, 
 swallowed up in a deep ocean of miseries, shall be 
 reduced to a continual combat and struggling against 
 death, without finding any consolation on which 
 they may rest. 
 
 Behold then one of the greatest torments that is 
 suffered in this place; for if these pains had any 
 limited time, though it should extend to a thousand, 
 or even a hundred millions of years, this would be 
 at least some sort of comfort, since whatever has an 
 end affords a certain hope. But the state of the 
 damned is not of this nature ; their punishments 
 continue with God's eternity, the continuance of 
 their miseries equals the duration of God's glory; 
 as long as God shall live, they shall die, nor shall 
 they cease to be what they are, till God also ceases 
 to be what he is. dying life ! immortal death I 
 how shall I name thee ? Shall I call thee life or 
 death ? If thou art life, how dost thou kill ? If thou 
 art death, how canst thou endure ? I Will term thee 
 neither the one nor the other, because both in the 
 one and the other there is some good ; in life there 
 is some rest, in death there is an end, which is a 
 great ease to our afflictions : but there being in thee 
 neither rest nor end, what canst thou be? Thou 
 art all that is bad both in life and death ; for thou 
 hast the torments of death, and not the end which 
 it gives; thou hast the continuance of life, and not 
 
24 THE MEMORIAL OF 
 
 the enjoy nient it brings. God has stript life and 
 death of all the good they had, and placed in thee 
 whatever they had of evil, for the punishment of the 
 wicked. How bitter is this composition! How 
 loathsome and intolerable is this drink of our Lord's 
 cup, of which all the sinners of the earth shall 
 drink ! Psalm Ixxiv. 
 
 I could wish, then, that you would attentively 
 consider this long duration, that you would penetrate 
 as far as you can into this eternity, with the eyes of 
 your understanding, and that, like the clean beast 
 che v/ing the cud, (^Levit: xi. 3,) you would ruminate 
 on this point as much as it deserves. And to facili- 
 tate to you this meditation by an easy comparison, 
 imagine how great the pain of a sick man is in one 
 bad night, especially if he be tormented with any 
 sharp distemper; see how often he turns himself in 
 his bed, what disquiet he finds in himself, how long 
 the time seems to him, how he counts all the hours, 
 how slowly he thinks they pass, and with what im- 
 patience he desires the day, which is yet so little 
 capable to cure his disease. If the labor of one 
 night appears so painful, what will be the torments 
 of an eternal night, which has not any morning, 
 nor expects the least dawning of the day! pro- 
 found darkness ! eternal night, how terrible thou 
 art ! Night, cursed by the mouth of God and his 
 saints I which desireth light, and shall never see it; 
 which wisheth for the brightness of the morning, 
 and shall never enjoy it I But weigh a little more 
 
 1 
 
A CHBISTIAN LIFB. 25 
 
 what a horrible torment it will be to live eternally 
 in such a night, not laid on a soft bed, as sick men 
 are, but on a bed, or rather in a furnace, of burning 
 flames. What body will be able to support these 
 heats? How the very thoughts of them make me 
 tremble ! If it be an insupportable pain to hold the 
 end of the finger on a burning coal for a short space 
 of time, what will it be to burn both body and soul, 
 in the midst of these flames, whose heat is so sharp 
 and penetrating, that those of this world are in com- 
 parison of them but painted fires ? Is there yet any 
 judgment on the earth ? Have men yet any reason ? 
 Do they understand what these words mean ? Do 
 they think them to be only fables and amusements, 
 or that these things concern them not, but that they 
 are spoken for others ? A Christian can allege none 
 of all this, since his faith assures him the contrary. 
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 To this evil, which is already so great, succeeds 
 another not one jot less, to wit, that these pains are 
 always alike, always in the same degree, and the 
 same rigor^ without receiving any diminution or 
 abatement. All the heavenly bodies turn round with 
 heaven, they never continue in the same station, they 
 are always ascending or descending. The sea ebbs 
 and flows, rivers increase and decrease ; times and sea- 
 sons, the states of all men, even of kings themselves, 
 are in continual motion ; there is no fever, how vio- 
 lent soever, but has its intermissions ; there is no pain 
 3 
 
26 THE MEMORIAL OF 
 
 sc sharp, but when it comes to the utmost extremity 
 it abates; in fine, time, by little and little, wears 
 away all evils; and, as it is commonly said, there is 
 nothing sooner dried up than tears. This pain alone 
 is always fresh, this fever has no interval, these fits 
 have neither evening nor morning. God, in the time 
 of the deluge, caused it to rain forty days and forty 
 nights without ceasing, (Gen. vii. 12,) and the world 
 was drowned, but he will eternally rain the darts and 
 arrows of his wrath upon the damned, without a 
 moment of intermission. 
 
 This is so true, that (according to the opinion of 
 St Thomas, 1. 2., q. 87., art, 9., ad. 3,) the pains 
 which shall be suffered in hell for venial sins, shall 
 be of as long continuance as those which shall be in- 
 flicted for mortal sins. For though venial sins merit 
 not an infinite punishment, yet because in that place 
 all debts are rigorously exacted, there being no re* 
 mission of any, this torment shall continue always 
 in one and the same degree, and one eternal duration. 
 See, now, whether any state can be more intolerable 
 than continually to suffer in the same manner, and 
 without any alteration or change. Should a food be 
 ever so delicate, yet if we were obliged to eat of it 
 all our life, it would cause in us a disgust. The 
 manna {Exod. 16,) which God sent to the children 
 of Israel in the desert, was so excellent a food, that 
 uothing could be imagined better, {Num. xxi. 4,) yet 
 after the people had often eaten of it, it grew sc 
 loathBome to them, that they oould no longer endure 
 
A CHRTSTIAN LIFE. 27 
 
 it A straight and direct way is more tiresome than 
 that which turns and winds ; for variety, even in dif- 
 ficult matters, admits of some alleviation. Consider, 
 now, if things that are pleasing cause a loathing in 
 us, when they are frequent, what a vexation and dip - 
 content such terrible pains will give us continuing 
 always the same. What will be the thoughts of 
 these unhappy wretches, when they shall see them- 
 selves so forsaken and so hated by God, that he will 
 never discharge them of the punishment of any one 
 sin? The rage and fury they shall enter into will 
 be so great, that they will never cease cursing «^nd 
 blaspheming his holy name. 
 
 SECTION III. 
 
 To these evils you may add a new pain, which in- 
 cessantly consumes and devours the damned; it is 
 the worm of conscience, of which the holy Scriptures 
 80 often speaks, saying, " Their worm shall not die, 
 and their fire shall not be quenched." Is, Ixvi. 24. 
 This worm is a raging despite, which possesses those 
 wretches, and an unfruitful repentance, which shall 
 always torment them, by putting them in mind of 
 the time that was given them, and of the means 
 Ihat were offered them to escape this miserable con- 
 dition, which they unhappily neglected. With what, 
 motions of fury will not sinners be agitated, when 
 tiiey shall see themselves in this desolate state, with- 
 out help and without hope; and shall remember how 
 many days and years they have let unprofitably pass 
 
28 THE MEMORIAL 07 
 
 away ; how often they were admonished of the dan- 
 ger that threatened them, and how little did they 
 regard it ! Do we not read in the gospel, that ''there 
 shall be " in that place " weeping and gnashing of 
 teeth?" Matt. viii. 12. 
 
 These are, brethren, some of the principal causes 
 of the torment that is in hell ; and to the end you 
 may the better comprehend a thing which is of so 
 great importance to you, I will set before your eyes 
 an example, which very much represents the pain of 
 the damned. Remember the history of Joseph, and 
 the action he did in the time of the Egyptian famine. 
 During seven years Grod sent so extarordinary an 
 abundance of wheat, that it exceeded all measure, 
 and equalled the very sand of the sea. Gen. xli. 49. 
 The seven years of plenty being ended, the other 
 seven, which followed them, were afflicted with so 
 great and so universal a scarcity, that the very first 
 year all Egypt came to Pharoah, saying, " Give us 
 food :" the king sent them to Joseph, who required 
 of them all the money they had, and gave them corn 
 for a year. Having consumed their provision, they 
 returned the next year to Joseph, and said to him, 
 "Give us hresid :^\(Gen. xlvii. 15,) "why should we 
 die in thy presence, having now no money ?" Josepb 
 answered them, " Bring me your cattle, and for them 
 I will give you food :" this was done. The next year 
 after, finding themselves in the same extremity, they 
 had again recourse to Joseph, with these words : 
 " We will not hide from our lord, how, that our mone| 
 
A OHRIS'HAN LIFE. 29 
 
 is spent, and our cattle also are gone : neither art 
 
 thou ignorant, that we have nothing now left but our 
 
 bodies and our lands. Why therefore shall we die 
 
 before thy eyes ? We will be thine, both we and our 
 
 lands : buy us to be the king's servants, and give us 
 
 seed, lest for want of tillers the land be turned into 
 
 a wilderness." Thus Joseph became master of all 
 
 Egypt, by taking advantage of the people's incon- 
 
 giderateness. 
 
 Let us now see the profit you may draw from this 
 
 history. Imagine with me, what were the thoughts 
 
 of the Egyptians, when they remembered those 
 
 happy years of plenty, and considered that they had 
 
 not only a favorable opportunity to provide for their 
 
 future necessities, but also to enrich themselves for 
 
 their whole lives. Represent to yourself their vain 
 
 repentance, and with what displeasure they made 
 
 themselves these reproaches : Miserable that we are, 
 
 with what ease might we not only have remedied the 
 
 necessity of a year, but have also procured ourselves 
 
 abundance for ever, and we would not ! Had we not 
 
 been forewarned, our negligence might have been in 
 
 some sort excusable ; but our misfortune was foretold 
 
 us long before it happened. We might easily judge, 
 
 that he who had spoken the truth of the things that 
 
 were past, would not prove a liar in those that were 
 
 to come. We saw with what earnestness and care our 
 
 king's officers gathered together all the corn of the 
 
 province, which ought to have taken away all doubt 
 
 from our minds. And after this we let ourselves be 
 3* 
 
30 THE MEMORIAL OF 
 
 surprised : can such neglect and inconsiderateness be 
 any way excused? What advantage might we not 
 have received from the goods we might have then 
 stored up, had we not prodigally wasted them ! — 
 What riches might we not have gotten by what we 
 spent and squandered away unprofitably? Where 
 was our wit? Where was our reason, that we could 
 not benefit ourselves by so advantageous a conjunc- 
 ture ? These complaints would, without doubt, have 
 been very just in the mouth of these wretches : but 
 there is as little proportion between their misfortune 
 and that of which we speak, between their blindness 
 and that of the greatest part of men, as there is be- 
 tween the shadow and the substance. The hunger 
 they suffered lasted but seven years ; but this of hell 
 shall be eternal: — that found a remedy, though it 
 cost them very dear; this shall never have any: 
 there was a means found to redeem them with money 
 and some land ; but this can never be redeemed or 
 compensated. Of this punishment there can be no 
 remission; from this tribunal there is no appeal; 
 this decree is not to be revoked. After the seven 
 years were passed, that people began to come forth 
 from their misery ; but in this we represent to you, 
 whoever shall have begun to suffer, shall suffer eter- 
 nally, and never know what ease and rest can be. 
 
 If the sorrow and complaints of the Egyptians 
 were, during that time, so great and so just, what shall 
 be the affliction of these, when they shall see them- 
 selves without remedy? when tearing themselves 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFE. 31 
 
 and pining away with grief, they shail say, " Wretch 
 that I am, what time and what opportunities have 1 
 suffered to pass away in vain ! I saw the season in 
 which, for one glass of cold water, I might have 
 gained a crown of glory ; when by giving something 
 to the poor, I might have merited eternal life. What 
 hindered me from casting my eyes upon the future? 
 How did the present blind me ? Why did I let the 
 years pass away unprofitably, which by their abun- 
 dance gave me the means of being rich ? Had I lived 
 amongst heathens, and believed that all was ended 
 with the present life, I might have had some excuse 
 before my Judge, and said to him, I knew not what 
 you had reserved for me in the other life ; but living 
 among Christians, having the happiness to be of 
 their number, knowing by faith that this hour must 
 come, the voice of the church continually warning 
 me of it, seeing every day so many people, who, to 
 benefit by her advice, made use of their time ; whose 
 life was^^n invincible proof of what was taught us, 
 and who hastened to make great provision of good 
 works for this last hour; I see no excuse for me, 
 nothing can justify my having continued deaf to so 
 many voices, aad blind to so many examples ; heaven 
 was offered to me for nothing, and there is no torment 
 but I deserve for having so far forgotten myself. 
 Infernal furies gnaw and tear my entrails. I have 
 merited it. I deserve to be tormented with hunger 
 for ever, since I would not in time provide myself 
 with what was necessary. I deserve not to reap, 
 
32 THE MEMORIAL OF 
 
 since I have not sown ; I deserve to Lave nothing 
 since I stored up nothing ; let not anything now be 
 given me of what I desire, since I heretofore refused 
 what was so easy for me to give. I deserve eternal- 
 ly to send forth cries, and shed tears in vain : as long 
 as God shall be God do I deserve that the worm of 
 my conscience should gnaw and devour me for ever, 
 since for a little wealth which I enjoyed, I have lost 
 infinite treasures, when that by depriving myself of 
 so small a matter, I might have gained so great 
 riches." Behold, what is that worm that shall never 
 die ! Behold in what manner it torments th6 damned, 
 and makes one of their greatest punishments. 
 
 SECTION IV. 
 
 I ASSURE myself, you will not be a little terrified 
 at so many sorts of pains, and that you will believe, 
 there can be nothing added to those of which I have 
 spoken ; but God's arm is strong enough to chastise 
 his enemies yet more rigorously. These sufi*eringa 
 I have represented are great, but he can easily make 
 them feel new ones; those we have observed are 
 common to all the damned, but there are particular 
 ones, which every one shall suffer according to his M 
 crime, the proud shall be abased, and filled with " 
 confusion; the covetous shall be driven to extreme 
 poverty ; the glutton shall be tormented with per- || 
 petual thirst and raging hunger ; the unchaste shall 
 I urn in the flames which they themselves have kin- 
 dled ; and all those who have employed their live* 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFE. i'd' 
 
 only no invent new pleasures, shall live in aontinual 
 tears. But because there is ordinarily nothing that 
 more powerfully touches than example, I will state 
 to you only one, to make you comprehend something 
 of this truth. We read of a certain saint, to whom 
 Grod granted the favor to see in spirit the punish- 
 ment of a carnal man, who during his life had aban- 
 doned himself to all sorts of sensual pleasures. He 
 saw, as soon as this unhappy person had expired, tlw 
 devils seize upon his soul, and with great joy present 
 it to the prince of darkness, who was sitting in a 
 chair of fire. Seeing before him this criminal, he 
 rose up from his seat, and said he would surrender 
 to him that honorable place, because he had been 
 of quality in the world, and always treated with 
 respect As soon as he was seated, and had, with 
 terrible cries and groans, a thousand times cursed 
 an honor that cost him so dear, two horrible devils 
 presented him a cup of a most filthy and bitter 
 drink, which they forced him to drink, saying, " It 
 is fit you taste the wine which we drink here below, 
 since on earth you loved delicious wines and dainty 
 cheer." At the same time came in two other devils 
 with two trumpets of fire, which setting to the ears 
 of this man, they blew into them on both sides 
 burning flames, mocking his misery with these 
 words : " We have prepared for you this refreshment, 
 because we knew you loved the delicacy or music.'' 
 Two others followed, loaded with serpents and vipers, 
 which throwing into his mouth, and on his breast, 
 
n4 THE MEMORIAL OF 
 
 they said, " Since you were enamored of the kisses 
 and caresses of women, it is just you should now 
 feel other caresses, and make proof of other delights." 
 
 It is thus, that in this place, for the punishment 
 of the wicked, as the prophet speaks, " measure is 
 opposed to measure," to the end, that by the diver- 
 sity of the pains proportioned to the crimes, the or- 
 der of God's justice and wisdom may appear with 
 greater lustre. And God showed something of it in 
 spirit to this holy man, to the end we might not be 
 surprised, but might prevent these evils by sincere 
 repentance. It is not that these things are mate- 
 rially found in hell, but God makes use of them, to 
 let us in some manner understand the torments that 
 are there suffered, and the sorrows that accompany 
 the damned. There is none, not the very heathens 
 themselves, but have had some light into this matter ; 
 for one of their poets having begun to relate some 
 of the infernal torments, passes over the rest in 
 silence, because of their multitude, declaring, that 
 though he had a hundred mouths, as many tongues, 
 and a voice of iron, yet he should not be able to re- 
 cite so much as their names. Virg. ^n. lib. 6. It 
 is a poet that speaks ; but we may truly say, that he 
 spoke in this place like a prophet or an evangeli&t. 
 
 If then these things are certain, and not to be 
 avoided by the wicked, who is he, that looking on 
 those things with the eyes of faith, can, without 
 r<3nouncing his reason, and even the sentiments of 
 Hclf-love, which always seeks its own good, and ii 
 
A tCmtrSTIAN LIFE. 3 
 
 ever fearful of evil, forbear to change his life? To 
 act otherwise, would be, indeed, to be reduced to th€ 
 condition of beasts, who look no further than what 
 is before them; it would be to have eyes and not tc 
 see. '"^Hear, ye deaf," says Isaias, "and you that 
 a,re blhid, open your eyes and see. Who yg blind 
 but my servant ? and deaf, but he to whom I have 
 Bent my messengers ? Who is truly without eyes, 
 but he that has sufiFered himself to be sold for a 
 slave ?" Isa, iv. 18, 19. People of th« world, who 
 boast that they are so prudent, and see so many 
 things, do they not see this ? Do they, who have 
 such good ears, and hear every thing, continue deaf 
 only on this occasion ? If you believe not what I 
 say to you, you are no Christians ; and if you be- 
 lieve it, and have not recourse to remedies, you are 
 irrational. A philosopher has said, that there is this 
 difference between opinion and imagination, that 
 imagination alone is not sufficient to cause a fear, 
 but there must be opinion to work this effect, Arist, 
 de Anima, L 3. c. 3. For the imagination alone 
 which I may have, that a house may fall upon me, 
 will not put me in fear, unless my thought at the 
 same time represents that this accident will happen. 
 The continual apprehension in which murderers Kve, 
 comes only from this source ; they fear, with reason, 
 the wiles of their enemies. Now if it be true, that 
 the apprehension of a danger is enough to strike a 
 terror into the most resolute, how comes it, that the 
 certainty of so many evils you have by faith, which 
 
^Q THE MEMORIAL Of 
 
 80 far exceeds all science, does not cause you to 
 tremble? If you see that you have so kng lived 
 wickedly, that, at least, according to present justice, 
 you are condemned to these pains, and that there ia 
 nothing can make you reasonably presume you shall 
 act belter for the future than you have done for so 
 many years, how can you live at rest in the midst of 
 so evident, so terrible a danger ? Or rather, how is 
 it, that you are not in a continual fright, seeing the 
 state you live in, the time you lose, the cruel regret 
 you will therefore have, the shame and torments pre- 
 pared for you ? This is so strange a blindness, it \b 
 impossible for any one to comprehend it. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 What the Glory of the Blessed is. 
 
 To the end we may want nothing to incline our 
 hearts to virtue, having declared to you the punish- 
 ments with which God threatens the wicked, I will 
 speak of the reward he promises the good, which 
 consists in eternal glory, and immortal life. It is 
 true, there is not among angels or men, any one able 
 to explain this recompense, or this life ; but to give 
 you some glimmering, some relish of it, hear what St 
 Augustin says, (Medit. c. 22, and 25.) " life, which 
 God hath prepared for them that love him ; that life, 
 the sole principle of life ; happy, secure, quiet life 
 
 i 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFE. t^l 
 
 pure, chaste, beauteous, holy life; that life which 
 fears no death, dreads no sorrow ; life devoid of spot 
 or stain, devoid of pain, corruption, anxiety or pertur- 
 bation ; life, full fraught with dignity and excellence ; 
 where there is no enemy to assault us ; no sin to se- 
 duce us ; no fear to intimidate us ; but perfect love, 
 an everlasting day, one and the same spirit in all^ 
 where God is seen face to face, and where the soul i& 
 continually feasted with the bread of life. 
 
 '' Happy mansion of glory, the desires of my heart 
 are directed to thee, thy infinite beauties constitute 
 the delight of my soul ; the more I consider thee, 
 the more I languish with love for thee ; sole object 
 of my ardent desires, I am charmed with the sweet 
 remembrance of thee. 
 
 '' happy lifcy truly blessed, immortal, ever- 
 lasting kingdom ! to which no period of time shall 
 ever succeed : where there is one never-ending day, 
 there can be no measure of time. Where they who 
 have been victorious in the spiritual combat, shall 
 join in concert with the holy Angels, and sing, 
 without ceasing, the songs of Sion. 
 
 "How happy my soul, and eternally happy, 
 heavenly city, should it merit to contemplate thy 
 glory, thy beauty, thy happiness ; to see thy gates, 
 thy walls, thy streets, thy numerous buildings, thy 
 . illustrious inhabitants, and thy Almighty Sovereign 
 enthroned in splendor and majesty, in the midsi of 
 thee ! For thy walls are of precious stones, thy 
 gates of beauteous pearl, and thy streets of the 
 
38 THE MEIkrORIAL OF 
 
 purest gold, ever resounding with joyful AUeluua. 
 Thy many mansions are founded upon hewn, square, 
 sapphire stone, and covered in with plates of gold : 
 into these no man can enter, who is not clean ; no 
 man can inhabit them, who is defiled. 
 
 " Sweet and beautiful are thy delights, Jerusa- 
 lem, our common mother. Thou feelest none of the 
 trials and sufierings which we all behold and endui^e 
 in this miserable life. Thou art subject to no inter* 
 vals of darkness, no vicissitudes of night and day, 
 no variety of seasons in their several courses. Thy 
 light is not furnished by lamps or candles ; in thee 
 there is no shining moon, no glittering stars, but 
 Grod of God, light of light, even the sun of justice 
 ever shines in thee ; and the white, immaculate Lamb, 
 is thy pure, thy beauteous light ; thy sun, thy splen- 
 dor, and all thy felicity consist in the never-failing 
 contemplation of this most beautiful King. This 
 King of Kings is in the midst of thee, and all his 
 children surround and adore him continually. 
 
 " There are the harmonious choirs of angels; there 
 the assemblage of the heavenly citizens; there the 
 joyful procession of all those blessed souls, who from 
 the melancholy pilgrimage of this life, return to the 
 never-ending joys of their heavenly country. There 
 the choir of prophets, whom the spirit of God en- 
 dued with the knowledge of future events ; there the 
 twelve first preachers of the Christian religion, the 
 blessed Apostles; there the victorious army of in- 
 numerable Martyrs; there the sacred assembly of 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFE. 39 
 
 Confessors; there the true and perfect monks and 
 religious ; there the holy women, who overcame the 
 pleasures of the world and the infirmity of their sex ; 
 there the virgins and youths^ who surpassed their years 
 by their virtues and sanctity; there the sheep and 
 lambs, who have escaped the snares of worldly pleas- 
 ures ; these all rejoice in their proper mansions : and 
 though the degree of glory in each is different, yet 
 the joy of all is common, and shall be so for eternity. 
 " There charity reigns in its highest perfection, 
 because Grod there is all in all ; him they continually 
 behold, and beholding continually praise and love, 
 and love and praise without end, without labor, with* 
 out ce^5sation ; this is their sole, their constant em- 
 ployment. How happy shall I be, how supremely, 
 how everlastingly happy, should I, after the dissolu- 
 tion of this wretched body, deserve to hear the celes- 
 tial and melodious hymns which are sung by the 
 Saints, and troops of holy Angels, in praise of their 
 eternal King ! How happy myself, how exceedingly 
 happy, should I merit to join and sing in concert 
 with them the praises of my King, my God, and my 
 Redeemer ; to see him in his glory, as he vouchsafed 
 to promise, when saying to his Father, * I will, that 
 where I am, they also whom thou hast given me, may 
 be with me, that they may see my glory, which thou 
 hast given me, because thou hast loved me before the 
 creation of the world.' (John xvii. 24.) And again< 
 ' If any man minister to me, let him follow me : and 
 whi'.re I am, there also shall my minister be.' (Ih. xii. 
 
40 
 
 THE MEMORIAL OT 
 
 26.) And in another place : ' He that loveth me, shall 
 be loved of my Father : and I will love him, and will 
 manifest myself to him.' " (/6. xiv. 21.) 
 
 Represent, therefore, now to yourselves, if you 
 have lived in Grod's fear, what a day that shall be 
 which shall shine over your heads, when finishing 
 the course of this life, you shall pass from death to 
 immortality, and that in the inevitable moment, when 
 others shall begin to tremble, you shall begin to 
 walk joyfully, because you shall perceive the hour 
 of your redemption to draw nigh. " Endeavor," said 
 St. Jerome to the Virgin Eustochium, (^Lih. de Cust. 
 Virg.^ •' to get out of the prison of this body, and as 
 if you were at the door of your heavenly bridegroom, 
 set before your eyes the reward of your labors, which 
 is ready for you. Think what a day that will be, in 
 which the Blessed Virgin Mary shall come to receive 
 you, accompanied with a troop of holy virgins, and 
 when your Lord and Spouse, attended by all his 
 saints, shall present himself before you, saying, 
 ' Come and make haste, my spouse, my fair one, my 
 dove : for the winter is past, the rains and the storms 
 are ceased, and the flowers begin to appear upon our 
 land.' " 
 
 How great, afterwards, shall that joy be, that your 
 soul will receive, when it shall be presented by the 
 angels, and particularly by him that was its faithful 
 guardian, before the throne of the most Holy Trinity, 
 and that they shall there declare the good works you 
 shall have done, with the crosses and labors you shall 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFE. 41 
 
 have nndergone for God's sake I St. Luke writes, 
 that after the death of Tabitha^ so famous for her 
 alms-deeds, all the poor people and widows flocked 
 about St. Peter, showing him the garments she had' 
 given them, and that the apostle, moved with their 
 loss and desolate condition, prayed to God for this 
 holy woman, and raised her again. What a content 
 will it be to your soul, when the blessed spirits, 
 placing you in the midst of them, shall in this as- 
 sembly, before the presence of God, make an exact 
 relation of your alms-deeds, your prayers, your fast- 
 ings, the purity of your life, your meekness in injuries,, 
 your patience in labors, your temperance in the use- 
 of this life's conveniencies, all the virtues you shall' 
 ha\e exercised, and the good works you shall have 
 performed ! What a satisfactioh you shall then relish 
 from the good you shall have done, when you shall 
 clearly understand the price and excellence of virtue I 
 There the faithful and obedient man shall appear 
 victorious, as the wise man says; there virtue shall' 
 receive its reward, and the good be honored accord- 
 ing to their merit. 
 
 Another comfort you shall then enjoy, will be to 
 cast back your eyes upon your past navigation, and 
 consider the tempests that have tossed you, the straits 
 you have sailed through, the dangers you have es- 
 caped, and the pirates you have avoided; there you 
 shall sing this song of the prophet: "If the Lord 
 had not assisted me, I was ready to fall into hell r 
 
 especially, when from that place of rest and glorj 
 4* 
 
42 THE MEMORIAL OF 
 
 you shall see so many sins that are hourly committed 
 in the world, so many souls that daily descend into 
 hell, and how, among so many wretches that are 
 miserably lost, God would save you. What a glo- 
 rious sight will it be to behold the triumphs that will 
 be daily celebrated, when new inhabitants, after they 
 have vanquished the world, and finished their course, 
 shall come to receive their crowns in that blessed 
 city ! What a joy will it be to see the seats filled, 
 the walls repaired, and the buildings of that noble 
 Jerusalem perfectly completed ! With what accla- 
 mations will they be received by that celestial court, 
 which shall see them laden with the spoil of their 
 enemies ! Nor shall men alone enjoy this glory; there 
 shall be seen also victorious women, that shall have 
 together triumphed over the world, and the weeknes,^ 
 of their sex. There shall you behold innocent 
 virgins crowned with roses and lilies, for having uni- 
 ted martyrdom with chastity, and at the same time 
 conquered the world and the flesh. There shall be 
 seen young children, who shall receive the recom- 
 pense of their purity, their virtues having outstrip! 
 their years. There, in fine, shall friends be recover- 
 ed, masters found again, kindred known, and after 
 thousands of Alleluias, a kiss of peace be given. 
 The shade is sweet to those who have felt the heat 
 of the mid-day sun ; a fountain is refreshing to the 
 thirsty traveller: repose is pleasant to the laborer 
 that has toiled all the day ; but far more sweet to 
 ihe saints will be the enjoyment of peace after war, 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFE. 45 
 
 of safety after danger, and of eternal rest after 
 fcciuporary labors. 
 
 The war being ended, arms, as no longer necessary, 
 are no longer in use. The children of Israel fur- 
 nished themselves with proper arms to conquer the 
 land of promise ; but having once conquered it, they 
 laid by their spears and swords, and burying the dis- 
 orders of war in oblivion, every one, with the pleasure 
 of peace, enjoyed the shade of his vine and of his 
 fig-tree. (Mic. iv. 4.) There the eyes, tired with 
 long watching, may sleep their fill ; there the sentinel 
 of whom the prophet speaks, may come down from 
 his watch, and leave the keeping of the tower ; there 
 the blessed St. Jerome may now take his rest, who all 
 his life watched day and night, beating his breast in 
 prayer, and fighting courageously against all ihe 
 powers of the old serpent. In this blessed country is 
 not heard the rattling of the enemy's armor. The 
 viper that winds itself up into a coil, lurks not there 
 to sting us; the venomous sight of the basilisk does 
 not there annoy us, nor the hissing of the serpent 
 wound our tender ears; nothing is there heard but 
 the sweet breathing of the Holy Grhost, or seen, but 
 the glory of God. This is the country of peace and 
 security, raised above all the elements, in which are 
 found neither clouds nor tempests. " Glorious things 
 are said of thee, city of God." Psalm Ixxxvi. 3. 
 " Blessed," says holy Tobias, " are all they that love 
 thee, and that rejoice in thy peace. My soul, bless 
 thou the Lord, because the Lord our God hath 
 
44 THE MEMORIAL OF 
 
 delivered Jerusalem^ his city, from all her troubles. 
 Happy shall I be if there shall remain of my seed to 
 see the glory of Jerusalem. The gates of Jerusalem 
 sljall be built of sapphire and of emerald, and all the 
 walls thereof round about, of precious stones. All 
 the streets shall be paved with white and clean 
 stones; and Alleluia shall be sung in its streets.'' 
 Toh. xiii. 18, &c. 
 
 O happy country, how art thou stored with joy ! 
 glory, full of sweetness! who shall those be for 
 whom Grod has prepared such a felicity, and whom 
 has he chosen to enjoy thee? To desire thee seems 
 very presumptuous, and yet without desiring thee I 
 neither will nor can live. Children of Adam, blind 
 men, straying sheep, if this is your sheepfold, whither 
 do you run ? Why do you suffer yourselves to lose 
 so great a good, rather than take so little pains ? If 
 labor be requisite to obtain thee, let all the labors in 
 the world be laid upon me ; I willingly and heartily 
 accept them. Let diseases torment me, let sorrows 
 rain down upon me^ let me be persecuted on all sides, 
 let all creatures conspire against me, let me be the 
 reproach of men, le4) the whole world plot my ruin, 
 let my life be consumed in griefs, and my years in 
 groans, provided that after these storms I may find 
 rest in the day of misery, and ascending to thee, 
 may make a part of that people which is clad with 
 so much beauty and glory. 
 
 (xo now you that are so foolishly charmed with 
 the love of this world ; go seek after honor, build 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFE. 45 
 
 palaces ; extend, if you can, the limits of your lands 
 beyond measure ; command, if you will, over king- 
 doms and worlds ; but assure yourselves that, after 
 all this, you shall never be so rich nor so great as 
 the least of God's servants, who shall receive what 
 the world cannot give, and enjoy what shall last for 
 ever. You, with your riches and pomp, shall be 
 buried in hell with the rich glutton, and a despised 
 servant shall, with poor Lazarus, be carried by 
 angels into Abraham's bosom. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 The Advantages God promises the Good in this Life. 
 
 I KNOW what the incredulous and libertines will 
 say against what I have just now represented. They 
 will allege that these are future goods and evils, that 
 the heart of man is touched with present objects, and 
 that there must be something of this nature to move 
 them. But Grod has of his goodness abundantly 
 provided for this also ; and, though he has reserved 
 the most delicate viands for the end of the banquet, 
 knowing nevertheless his children's weakness, he 
 would not leave them without nourishment, for fear 
 they might faint by the way. Thus, when he said to 
 Abraham, " Fear not, Abraham, I am thy protector, 
 and thy reward, exceeding great," he promised him 
 by these words two things; one present, which was 
 
46 THE MEMORIAL OF 
 
 his protection and assistance in all the reneountera 
 of this life ; the other future, which was the reward 
 of glory he reserved for him until the other. Now 
 none can comprehend how great this first promise is, 
 nor the vast number of benefits it includes, but those 
 who have diligently read the Scripture, which repeats 
 nothing so often or so earnestly as the abundance of 
 the favors that God promises his friends in this life. 
 Hear what Solomon says in his proverbs on this 
 subject; "Blessed is the man that findeth wisdom, 
 and is rich in prudence : the purchasing thereof is 
 better than the merchandize of silver, and her fruit 
 than the chiefest and purest gold : she is more pre- 
 cious than all riches ; and all the things that are 
 desired are not to be compared with her. Length of 
 days is in her right hand, and in her left riches and 
 glory. Her ways are beautiful ways, and all her paths 
 are peaceable. She is a tree of life to them that lay 
 hold on her : and he that shall retain her is blessed. 
 My son, let not these things depart from thy eyes ; 
 keep the law and the counsel, and there shall be life 
 to thy soul and grace to thy mouth. Th^en shalt 
 thou walk confident^ in thy way, and thy foot shall 
 not stumble. If thou sleep, thou shalt not fear; 
 thou shalt rest, and thy sleep shall be sweet." Behold 
 the felicity and sweetness that is found in the way of 
 the good; but see what the Scripture teaches us 
 concerning that of the wicked. It is the wise man 
 again who speaks in Ecclesiasticus : " The way of 
 sinners is made plain with stones, and in their end is 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFK. 47 
 
 hell, and darkness, and pains." Ecd. xxi. Judge 
 now, there being so wide a difference between these 
 two ways, not only in respect of their end, but also 
 of the steps which lead to it, whether there can be 
 any reason to change the way of God for that of the 
 world ; and whether it would not be an exceeding 
 folly to choose rather the going through one torment 
 to many others, than the passing from one rest to 
 another far greater. 
 
 But to the end you may more clearly perceive liow 
 great this rest is, and know the abundance of the 
 benefits that precede it in this life, I conjure you 
 attentively to consider what God himself, in the 
 prophet Isaias, promises those that shall keep his law. 
 I shall relate the true sense which all interpreters 
 give his words : When thou shalt do the things that 
 I command thee, then shall the dawning of the day, 
 who is the Sun of Justice, appear over thee, to dis- 
 sipate all the darkness of the errors and disquiets 
 that encompass thee ; thou shalt begin presently to 
 enjoy a true and perfect health ; the holiness of thy 
 good works shall go before thee as a torch, and the 
 glory of the Lord shall surround thee on every side : 
 then shalt thou call upon the name of the Lord, and 
 he shall hear thee ; thou shalt implore his assistance, 
 and he shall answer thee, that he is ready to grant 
 thee whatsoever is necessary for thee : then shall the 
 light of God's grace shine forth to comfort thee, in 
 the midst of the darkness which the vexations and 
 miseries of this life shall have brought upon thee \ 
 
4S THE MEMORIAL OF 
 
 th J darkness shall be as the noon-day, since the jjord 
 will, through his infinite goodness, bring it to pasa, 
 that not only these miseries, but thy very falls and 
 stumbles, shall serve as an occasion to advance thy 
 happiness ; he shall give thy soul true peace and 
 true rest in the time of famine and scarcity ; he shall 
 give thee plenty and abundance, and thy bones shall 
 be belivered from death and eternal flames: thou 
 shalt be as a garden that is often watered, and as a 
 fountain of living water that is never dry. What 
 has long been ruinous in thee shall be rebuilt on su<jh 
 firm foundations that ages shall not shake it. If 
 thou takest care to sokmnize my festivals, and pro- 
 fanest not their holiness by unlawful sports ; if thou 
 dost not thine own will in opposition to mine^ but 
 cheerfully and exactly performest what I this day 
 command thee, then shalt thou rejoi<3e in the Lord, 
 whose caresses surpass all the delights of the world : 
 I will place thee above whatsoever is most exalted on 
 earth — that is, in so happy a state of life that all 
 the power of earthly felicity, and human nature, 
 cannot come near it; and, in fine, to complete th^ 
 happiness, I will fill thee with all good things, when 
 I shall make thee partaker of that rich inheritance 1 
 promised Jacob, thy father ; that is of heavenly joy 
 and glory ; for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken 
 it. Isa. Iviii. 8, &<J , 
 
 God's words are clear : himself represents the 
 benefits he promises his servants; and though some 
 iii them are for the future, yet the greatest part of 
 
k CHRISTIAN LIFE. 49 
 
 tlicm respects even the present time. Of this nature 
 is the new light and heavenly brightness with which 
 he enlightens souls ; the abundance of things truly 
 good, wherewith they are fully satisfied : their firm 
 and assured confidence in him; the easiness with 
 which he hears all the prayers of the just ; the peace 
 and tranquillity of their consciences ; the particular 
 protection he gives them ; the beauty, and, as I may 
 say, verdure of grace, signified by that well-watered 
 garden of which the prophet speaks ; the continual 
 assistance of all that is useful for their salvation, 
 meant by the fountain that never dries ; those divine 
 delights and comforts which far exceed all worldly 
 pleasures, and that supernatural elevation of mind, 
 the purity of which all the strength of created nature 
 can never attain to. All these so rare effects are 
 favors God promises his elect, works of his mercy, 
 gifts of his grace, testimonies of his love, and bless- 
 ings that show his particular providence over them. 
 It would be of great use to treat separately on each 
 of them; but there is so much to be said on so 
 copious a subject, that the brevity I design does not 
 admit it. 
 
 It is sufficient that you know that the good enjoy 
 all these advantages in this life and the next, while 
 the wicked are excluded from them in both ; that you 
 thence judge how great a difference there is between 
 them, the one being so rich, and the other so poor ; 
 and that you thereby comprehend that the one are 
 ia God's favor, the other in his displeasure ; the one 
 5 
 
50 THE MEMORIAL OF 
 
 are his friends, the other his enemies ; the one are in 
 light, the other in darkness ; the one taste the jovs 
 of angels, the other wallow in the pleasures of beasts : 
 the one are truly free, and lords of themselves, the 
 other are slaves of the devil and their own irregular 
 desires; the one are always content, through the in- 
 terior testimony of their conscience, and the other, 
 except they are stark blind, are in continual disquiets, 
 by reason of the worm that gnaws their hearts ; the 
 one remain always firm in the midst of afflictions, 
 and the other, like chaiF, are carried away by the 
 wind; the hope of the one, like an immoveable 
 anchor, places them in security, and the other, having 
 nothing to support them, are exposed fco all the 
 assaults of fortune ; the prayers of the one are ac- 
 ceptable to God, and those of the other are despised ; 
 the death of the one is sweet, calm, and precious in 
 the eyes of God, and that of the other unquiet, 
 troublesome, and disturbed with a thousand terrors : 
 and, in fine, that the one, like God's true children, 
 are in his keeping, and rest sweetly under the shadow 
 of his providence, as under the protection of their 
 father and their pastor ; and the other, excluded from 
 this care, and this manner of conduct, wander about 
 like strayed sheep, without a master and without a 
 shepherd, exposed to the mercy of the wolves, and to 
 all the dangers and evil accidents which are but too 
 common in the world. 
 
 Now, if all these advantages are the companions 
 of virtue, what hinders you from embracing so le^roat 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFE. 5\ 
 
 a good, what can you say to excuse your negligence ? 
 You cannot impute to me the having asserted any 
 thing against the truth, since I have proposed noth- 
 ing but God's word, and the testimonies of holy 
 Scripture. You cannot say these benefits are but 
 small, since we have shown they exceed all that 
 man's heart can desire. You cannot pretend to be 
 so much an enemy to yourself as to say you will 
 have none of them, since man so naturally loves 
 himself, that his will has always good for its object, 
 it being the mark at which all his desires aim. To 
 allege that you neither comprehend them, nor taste 
 them, will not exempt you from guilt, since, though 
 you have no sense of them, yet you believe them 
 through faith ; for indeed the sense of them may be 
 lost by sin, but not the faith. Now faith is a more 
 certain, more secure, and more unquestionable proof 
 than all other testimonies and experiences in the 
 world. You ought, then, with this testimony to 
 contradict all others^ and give more credit to faith, 
 than to your own senses and judgment. And if you 
 had but once made a strong resolution to cast your- 
 self before the throne of God's mercy, you would 
 soon find the effects of which these prophecies speak, 
 accomplished in you; you would know how to set a 
 value on the excellency of these divine treasures; 
 you would see how blind the lovers of this world are, 
 that they seek not after such advantageous favors ; 
 and you v/ould discern with how much reason our 
 Saviour invited you to embrace this lift, when he 
 
52 THE MEMORIAL Oi 
 
 said, ''Come to me, all you that labor, anl are bur* 
 dened, and T will refresh you. Take up my yoke 
 upon you, and learn of me, because I am meek, and 
 humble of heart: and you shall find rest to youi 
 souls. For my yoke is sweet, and my burden light.' 
 Matt. xi. 28, 29, 3C. God is no deceiver ; he makes 
 no false promises, nor does he enhance their value. 
 Why, then, do you fly ? Why do you renounce 
 quietness and peace ? Why do you slight the voice 
 of your pastor ? How come you to abandon virtue, 
 having such a promise, signed, as I may say by God's 
 own hand ? The queen of Saba heard far less things 
 of the wisdom of Solomon, and she came from the 
 ends of the earth, to be assured of what she had 
 heard; and will you be so little careful of yourself, 
 that being informed such wonderful things of virtue, 
 you will not hazard a little pains to know, at least, 
 whether they are true ? Trust, then, in God and his 
 holy word ; boldly deliver yourselves up to him ; get 
 rid of those trifles that hinder you ; and you will soon 
 know that the merit and worth of virtue far exceed 
 the praises that are given her, and that all we can 
 say of her is nothing in comparison to what she is 
 in reality. 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIPB. 5t! 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 That a man never ought to delay his Conversion. 
 ' having so many Debts to discharge, incurred by 
 the faults of his past Life, 
 
 If on the one side, the reasons that oblige us to 
 change our life are so important and so numerous ; 
 and on the other, nothing can excuse us from making 
 this change, tell me what time you expect for the ap- 
 plying yourself to so necessary a work? Cast your 
 eyes on your past life, and at what age soever you 
 are, know, that it is time that you begin to discharge 
 your conscience of your old debts. Consider that you 
 are Christians, that you are regenerated by the sacred 
 waters of baptism, that you have God for your Fath- 
 er, ever since the church became your mother in this 
 divine sacrament ; that you have been nourished with 
 the milk of the gospel, the doctrine of the apostles,, 
 and, what is incomparably more holy, with the very 
 bread of angels in the most august sacrament of the 
 altar ; and that, with all these advantages and graces, 
 you have lived as licentiously as if you had been 
 mere Pagans, having no knowledge of the true God. 
 What sin have you not committed? Where is the 
 forbidden tree on which you have not cast your eyes ? 
 VfThat green meadow has been excepted, at least from 
 your desires and irregular concupiscences ? ( Wisd, 
 ii.) There has not any object been presented before 
 5* 
 
54 THE MEMORIAL OF 
 
 yoii, but hus rendered your looks criminal ; there ha^ 
 been no sensual desire in you, which you have not 
 endeavored to entertain, though you knew you had 
 a Grod, and were Christians. What could you have 
 done mor^ had you been without any faith at all, 
 had you expected no other life, had you feared no 
 future judgment? Consider that your life has been 
 a continual train of sins, a heap of vices, a way of 
 precipices, and an inexcusable disobedience to God's 
 will. You have till this time had commerce only 
 with your passions; the flesh, vain honor, the world, 
 have hitherto been your gods: they have been the 
 the idols you have served, and whose laws you have 
 studied, thinking no more on God, and the obedience 
 you owe him, than if he did not exist. I say noth- 
 ing to you but the truth, there being but too great 
 a number of Christians who, firmly believing that 
 there is a God, sin with as much ease as if they cer- 
 tainly knew there were none; and being fully per- 
 suaded of the truth, do the same actions as if they 
 were assured it were a lie. Certainly, brethren, you 
 cannot do a greater injury to Almighty God, you can 
 no way more sensibly affront his divine Majesty nor 
 more clearly manifest the excess of your blindness, 
 than by believing all that the Christian religion 
 teaches, and living as if it were but a fable, or a 
 mere invention. 
 
 This is a point that deserves to be duly considered, 
 and if the multitude of your sins, and the ease wfth 
 which you have comuiitted them, do not terrify you, 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFE. 55 
 
 yet at least the greatness of him you have offended 
 should make some impression on you. Lift up your 
 eyes, and behold the infinite majesty of that Lord 
 whom all the powers of heaven adore, before whom 
 the whole world prostrates itself, in 'whose presence 
 all created things are but like the chaff that is driven 
 away hy the wind ; and then consider how great a 
 crime it is for such worms of the earth as we, to 
 have been so audacious as to offend him, and with 
 60 much insolence provoke the indignation of the 
 world's Creator, and sovereign Lord of all things. 
 
 Nothing displeases God so much as sin, and of 
 this we have many very evident proofs, by the severe 
 ehastisements with which his justice has punished it, 
 not only in particular persons, but also in great cities, 
 in provinces, in kingdoms, in nations, and finally, in 
 the whole world. His just wrath extended itself not 
 only over the earth ; heaven was not exempt from it; 
 nor was it executed only on sinners and strangers, but 
 t)n the innocence of his own Son, who undertook to 
 «ati»fy for them. " And if these things be done in 
 the green wood," and for others' sins, "what shall be 
 done in the dry," (Luke xxiii. 31.) which is found 
 loaden with its own offences? And can there be 
 imagined any greater folly than for weak and misera- 
 ble man to presume to mock (xod, whose hand is so 
 powerful, that it can in one instant thrust him for 
 ever into hell? 
 
 On the other side, consider God's extreme patianee, 
 lyith whi^h he \isls all along^ fmm the very first tinte 
 
56 nm mfstorial &f 
 
 nf jonr offending him, waited for yaur repentance, 
 and assure yourself^ tbat if, after so many years of 
 goodness as be has made use of to bring you to do 
 penance, you still abuse his mercy, and so little fear 
 his anger, "except you will be conyerted, he will 
 brandish his sword : he hath bent his bow, and made 
 it ready And in it he hath prepared the instm- 
 ments of death ; he hath made ready his arrows, for 
 them that burn." Fs. vii. 18, 14. 
 
 Consider besides the depth of his judgments, of 
 which we read, and daily see such wonderful effects. 
 We see Solomon, after he had receired such greali 
 wisdom — after he had uttered three thousands pro- 
 verbs — after he had been enlightened with the know* 
 ledge of the most abstruse mysteries,, so far at last 
 forsaken as to prostrate himself before false gods. 
 We see one of the fii-st seven deacons appointed in the 
 ehurch, after so many graces, and after receiving of 
 Holy Ghost, become not only a heretic, but the chief 
 of heresiarcbs. We see every moment so many glit- 
 tering stars fall miserably from heaven, pleased with 
 wallowing in the mire, and reduced to the food of 
 swine, instead of the bread of angels, with which 
 they were fed at their father^s t^ble. Now, if the 
 just, after so many years' service, for some concealed 
 ingratitude, are thus abandoned by God^ what must 
 they expect who have all their life scarc^jV done any 
 thing but multiply their offences ? 
 
 Can then any thing more reasonably be proposed 
 40 all those that are engaged in this manner cf Ufa, 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFE. 57 
 
 than to leave it off? Can any thing be more just, 
 than to exhort them no longer to add sin to sin, and 
 debt to debt, but to begin at length to serve God; 
 and ease their souls of so heavy a burden ? Have 
 they not given enough to the flesh, to the world, and 
 the devil ? Is it not fit, that after so long a delay, 
 they should give something of what is left them, to 
 Him who gave them all? In fine, is it not time, 
 after so many injuries, to fear the divine justice, 
 which is so much the severer against the wicked, as 
 it has suffered them with greater patience ? Ought 
 any thing so justly be feared, as the continuing so 
 long in sin, and God's displeasure ? as the having so 
 powerful an adversary, and making him, instead of 
 a merciful Father, a judge and an enemy ? Ought 
 any thing more to be apprehended, than the force of 
 ill custom, which changes into nature, and makes al- 
 most a necessity of vice ? And finally, is there any 
 thing so formidable, as the letting one's self go by 
 little and little, to so dangerous a precipice as a re- 
 probate sense, into which when a man is once fallen, 
 he no longer cares for any thing? The patriarcii 
 Jacob said to his father-in-law Laban, " Fourteen 
 years have I served thee, and taken care of thy goods : 
 it is reasonable therefore that I should now provide 
 also for my own house." {Gen. xxx.) Thus is it not 
 fit, that after so many years as you have employed 
 in the service of this world, you should begin to 
 think on your soul, and provide for that which is to 
 come? There is nothing so short, or so frail, as 
 
58 THE MEMORIAL OP 
 
 man's life: why then do you labor with so much 
 earnestness to store up for a thing of so short a con- 
 tinuance, and never think of making any reserve 
 for a life that shall last for ever ? 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Conclusion. 
 
 If the things we hitherto represented are so certain 
 that they cannot be doubted of, I conjure you now, 
 brethren, by the precious blood of Jesus Christ, to 
 remember yourselves, to consider that you are Chris- 
 tians, and to hold truly all that faith teaches you. 
 She teaches you, that you have above you a Judge, 
 who watches over all your actions, before whom 
 all the moments of your life are present, and that 
 there will come a day, when he will ask you an ac- 
 count of them, even of an idle word. She teaches 
 you, that man ends not with death, but that after 
 this transitory life there remains another, which lasts 
 for ever. She teaches you, that the souls die not 
 with the bodies; but that the body remaining in the 
 grave, the soul enters into a new world, where she 
 shall have entertainment and company suitable to the 
 life she has led in this. She teaches you, that re- 
 wards of virtue and punishments of vice are so great. 
 that though the whole world were full of books, and 
 all creatures employed to write, yet would the world 
 
^ A CHRISTIAN LIFE. 59 
 
 want writers and books, before what each of these 
 two things comprehends could be fnlly explained. 
 And, in fine, she teaches you, that you are so much 
 indebted to God, and his gifts are so great, that 
 though man had as many lives as there are sands in 
 the sea, they would be all but little to be employed 
 in his service. 
 
 Since then we have such powerful motives to in- 
 cline us to virtue, whence comes it, that there are 
 found so few who love and follow it? If men are 
 guided by interest, what greater interest can there be 
 than an eternal life ? If they fear punishment, what 
 torment can be greater than that which lasts for 
 ever ? If favors and obligations win the heart, what 
 obligations can equal those we have to Grod, as well 
 in respect of what he is, as in consideration of what 
 we have received from his bounty? If we are 
 touched with the fear of dangers, what is more to be 
 apprehended than death, the hour whereof is so un- 
 certain, and which engages us to so exact an account? 
 If peace, liberty, repose of mind, and a pleasant life, 
 are things which every one flesires, it is clear they 
 are far better found in the life which is governed by 
 the rules of virtue, than in that which is guided only 
 by fancy and passion, since man is a reasonable crea- 
 ture, and by reason differs from beasts. And, in fine, 
 if all this seems but little to oblige you to have the 
 esteem you ought for so important a matter, is it not 
 enough to know that God came down from heaven, 
 and was made man for this purpose; and that hav- 
 
60 THE MEMCllIAL OF 
 
 'iig completed the creation of the whole world in 
 seven days, he bestowed three and thirty years on 
 this work, and even laid down his own life to bring 
 it to perfection ? God died to make sin die, and yet 
 you will make this monster live, which God by his 
 own death would make to die. What can I say 
 more? We have but too many reasons, if we will 
 make use of them, in treating on this subject. I no 
 longer bid you behold a God fastened to a cross ; it 
 is sufficient to look on his creatures : which way 
 soever you turn your eyes, you will find all things 
 calling you, and inviting you to this excellent good ; 
 since there is no creature but speaks to us, and 
 teaches us that we ought to love and serve God. 
 Thus, whatsoever things there are in the world, they 
 are all so many preachers, so many voices, and so 
 many reasons, which call us to God. 
 
 Is it then possible, that all these voices, all these 
 promises, and all these threats, are not forcible 
 enough to bring us to him? Could God do more 
 than he has done? Could he promise any thing 
 greater ? Could he threaten us with any thing more 
 terrible, to win us, and withdraw us from sin ? And 
 yet such is the presumption of men that believe 
 these truths, or rather such is the charm wherewith 
 they are bewitched, that they fear not to continue all 
 their life in sin, to lie down in sin, to rise up in sin, 
 and to abandon themselves to all sorts of crimes, with 
 as little scruple and apprehension, with as much rest 
 m their sleep, and as much satisfaction at their 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFE. 61 
 
 meals, as if all they believe were but dreams, and 
 the gospel told them nothing but fables. Rebellious 
 souls, obstinate spirits, hardened hearts, firebrands 
 prepared to burn in flames for ever, what could you 
 do more, if all that you believed passe ^ with you for 
 lies? The fear of the world makes you moderate 
 your desires, and that of God has no operation on 
 you. It hinders you not from gratifying your lusts, 
 from taking revenge on all that displeases you, and 
 executing, if it be in your power, whatever your 
 passions inspire to you. Blind and senseless as you 
 are, feel you not, amidst the assurance in which you 
 live, some remorse of conscience ? Are reason and 
 judgment quite extinct in you ? Is it possible, that 
 60 great, so certain, and so real dangers terrify you 
 not at all ? If a dish of meat were set before you, 
 and some one, whom you even suspect to be a liar, 
 should acquaint you that there was poison in it, would 
 you dare to touch it, how delicious and inviting soevei 
 it might be, and how uncertain or unlikely soever the 
 information that was given you might appear ? The 
 prophets, the apostles, the evangelists, God himself, 
 cry out aloud and say to you — Miserable men, death 
 is in that dish, death is in that delicious morsel, which 
 the devil sets before you, and you are so besotted, as 
 to let your own hands give you your death, by eating 
 what destroys you. Reason and judgment have no 
 longer any place in you; their light is extinct, their 
 very snufF is quite put out^ since they are not able to 
 
 put a stop to the least of your vices. Madmen, 
 6 
 
62 TUB MEMO-RIAL OP 
 
 enchanted by the artifices of your enemy, condemned 
 for ever to interior and exterior darkness, td pass 
 from the one to the other ; blind men^ who see not 
 your misery, who are insensible of your unhappiness, 
 and who being harder than the adamant, are not 
 mollified by the divine words ^'how wretched you are I 
 how fit you are to be lamented with those very tears 
 with which our Saviour bewailed your loss, when he 
 said, " If thou also hadst known, and that in this thy 
 day, the things that are to thy peace ; but now they 
 are hidden from thy eyes !" {Lnikt xix. 42.) How 
 unfortunate was the day of your birth, how deplora- 
 ble will be that of* your death, since it shall see your 
 last condemnation ! It had been better for jou never 
 to have received life,, than to be lost for ever ; it had 
 been better for you never to have been baptized, 
 never to have received any light of faith, than to 
 have rendered your condemnation more terrible, by 
 having misused these graces. For if the philoso- 
 phers, as the apostle says, {Rom. i. 20, 21,) were 
 inexcusable, because, having reason enough to know 
 Gfod, they glorified him not as they ought; those 
 shall, without doubt, be far more culpable, who, after 
 the inestimable grace of baptism, after the gift of 
 faith, and after having every year received their God 
 in the eucharist, have done nothing more than these 
 philosophers. 
 
 What then can we conclude from this discourse, 
 but that there is no other prudence, no other wisdom 
 no other counsel ta be taken in this world, than ta 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFE. 63 
 
 renounce the hurry and tuniult of this life, and 
 betake ourselves to the only and true way that leads 
 us to an assured peace, and a life that never ends ? 
 This, reason commands us : to this, prudence, faith, 
 heaven, earth, hell, life, death, God's justice and 
 mercy call us ; and to this, does the Holy Ghost, by 
 the mouth of Bcclesiasticus, particularly invite us : 
 '* My son," says he, *'' from thy youth up receive in- 
 struction, and even to thy grey hairs thou shalt find 
 wisdom. Come to her as one that plougheth and 
 soweth, and wait for her good fruits : for in working 
 about her thou shalt labor a little, and shall quickly 
 eat of her fruits." Eccles. vi. 18, 19, 20. "Give 
 ear, my son, and take wise counsel, and cast not 
 away my advice. Put thy feet into her fetters, and 
 thy neck into her chains ; bow down thy shoulder, 
 and bear her, and be not grieved with her bands. 
 Come to her with all thy mind, and keep her ways 
 with all thy power ; search for her, and she shall be 
 made known to thee, and when thou hast gotten her, 
 let her not go. For in the latter end thou shalt find 
 rest in her, and she sha-U be turned to thy joy. 
 Then shall her tetters De a strong aefence for thee, 
 and a firm foundation, and her chain a robe of glory.'- 
 Eccles. vi. 24, &c. 
 
 These words of the wise man concern you, and the 
 Holy ''Ghost dictated them only to let us understand 
 in an excellent manner, how great the beauty, the 
 delights, and riches of true wisdom are, which is 
 nothing else but virtue, and that delightful know- 
 
64 THE MEMORIAL OP 
 
 ledge of Grod, of which we treat. But if yoiy heart 
 is not yet won by so many benefits, lift up your eyes 
 on high, and mind no longer the fleeting waters of 
 this world ; but turn your face towards your Master, 
 whom you behold dying on the cross, and satisfying 
 for your sins. If you consider the posture in which 
 he is, you will see that he has his feet fastened with 
 nails, to wait for you, his arms stretched out to 
 receive you, and his head bowing down to give you, 
 as to the prodigal son, a kiss of peace. From thence 
 (if you will hear him) he calls, with as many voices 
 as there are open wounds on his body. Give ear to 
 him, listen to his cries, and believe, that if his prayer 
 is not heard, who hearkened not to the poor man's 
 complaint, much more ought yours to be rejected, if 
 you continue deaf to the voice of God. 
 
 Now, if at last this powerful voice has touched 
 you, if you are firmly resolved to change your life, 
 and betake yourself to true penance, the following 
 Book will show you how this is to be done. 
 
 (CND OF THB IIBST BOOK. 
 
% Pmorial of a C|nstira Jift 
 
 BOOK II. 
 OF PENANCE AND CONEESSION, 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Of all the evils that at this day reign in the world, 
 there is none more deplorable than the manner many 
 Christians use in confessing their sins, at such time 
 as the Church commands it; for except a small 
 number that live in the fear of God, and take some 
 care of their souls, the rest bring not any preparation 
 to this divine sacrament, never scrupling to come 
 unto it, without giving themselves the least trouble to 
 examine their consciences. Thence it happens, that 
 they have no sooner ended their confession, and been 
 partakers of the holy communion, but they again 
 resume their former course, and the week appointed 
 them for their penance is scarce ended, when they 
 plunge themselves afresh in the mire, out of which it 
 was endeavored to draw them, and return like dogs 
 to their vomit. 
 
 As this disorder cannot be committed without 
 becoming guilty of the highest contempt against God 
 and his Church his ministers and sacrament ; and as 
 6* 65 
 
66 THE MEMORIAL OF 
 
 it is iudeed a mocking of his goodness, to ask him 
 once a year pardon for the injuries we have done himj 
 to protest to him that we will amend, and presently 
 after fall to committing of greater offences; so it 
 usually happens, that the divine Slajesty, justly pro-! 
 voked against such insolent prevaricators, exercises 
 on them, not only the most dreadful of all punishments,: 
 but also the most just, and the most suitable to their 
 fault. He leaves them entirely to themselves, he 
 suffers them thus to make a mockery of things the 
 most holy, even to the end of their lives; and when 
 they are surprised by death, they are found like 
 those who, till that time, never had done true pen- 
 ance : that is, their end, as the apostle speaks, is 
 " according to their works." 2 Cor. xi. 15. " They 
 have not returned unto me with their whole heart, 
 but with falsehood," says our Lord, by the prophet. 
 Jer. iii. 10. " They have used lying and hypocrisy, 
 and I will deal with them," says the Lord, " as with 
 the deceivers and hypocrites." With good reason 
 does he give the name of lying to all false and out- 
 side penance, ordinarily done by worldly people, for 
 indeed there is nothing more false : they think to 
 deceive God, and in the meantime they deceive 
 themselves; they flatter themselves, and esteem 
 themselves penitents, because they have done some- 
 thing exteriorly, which resembles penance, but which 
 is altogether unprofitable and unfruitful. 
 
 Let them then take care to dispose themselves to 
 true penance; and if any one makes this noble 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFE. 67 
 
 resolution, a ad desires to be truly penitent, I will, in 
 a few words, declare to him what it is he must do. 
 I will for this purpose set before you the most 
 common advices given by the fathers : I call them 
 common, because they are very clear to those that 
 have any knowledge of theology ; but since they are 
 unknown, and not understood by the simple, for whose 
 salvation we have principally undertaken this work, 
 we shall treat of them clearly and in order. This 
 sacrament consists of three principal parts; Contri- 
 tion, Confession, and Satisfaction ; and because it is 
 of the greatest importance for these three things to 
 be perfect, discoursing of each of them separately 
 and in particular we shall succinctly show you what 
 true penance is. 
 
 CHAPTER 1, 
 
 Of the first part of Penance, which is Contrition , 
 and the means to obtain it. 
 
 IIe, then, that unfeignedly desires to be converted ; 
 he that, well instructed in the vanity of the world, 
 and the obligation he has to serve God, resolves, like 
 the prodigal child, to return to his father's house : 
 he, I say, must know, that Contrition is the first and 
 principal gate by which he is to enter into it i and 
 that this is one of the most valuable aud most 
 [jgreeable sacrifices that can be offered to Almighty 
 
68 THE MEMORIAL OF 
 
 (rod ; which made the prophet say, " A sacrifice to 
 God is an afflicted spirit: a contrite and humble 
 heart, God, thou wilt not despise." Ps. 1. 19. 
 
 Now in this contrition there are two principal 
 parts : the one is a horror of past sins ; the other, a 
 resolution of future amendment. This we say, be- 
 cause contrition, to speak properly, is an aversion to, 
 and a hatred of sin, inasmuch as God is offended by 
 it; and consequently, he that truly hates sin, equally 
 detests the sins he has committed, and those he may 
 commit, because the one and the other are equally 
 displeasing to God. There is, notwithstanding, this 
 difference, that as to past offences, since they cannot 
 now be recalled, it is sufficient to look back upon 
 th6m with sorrow; but as for those to come, which 
 depend on the will, there must be a firm resolution 
 never to commit them. Thus it is clearly seen, as 
 St. August'in teaches in his book of the Remedy of 
 Penance, that it is not sufficient for the appeasing the 
 wrath of God, that men change their lives and re- 
 nounce their past sins ; but they are obliged also, for 
 the satisfying God's honor, whom they have insulted, 
 to have recourse to the remedies that accompany 
 penance; they must be truly sorrowful, they must 
 offer in sacrifice a contrite and humble heart, and 
 efface their crimes, by works of mercy. 
 
 According to this, the first thing a true penitent 
 ought to endeavor is, to have a great sorrow for his 
 offences, entering into the sentiments of that holy 
 penitent, who said, " I will call to mind before thee. 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFE. 69 
 
 Lord, all the years of my life, in tho bitterness of 
 my soul." And this sorrow ought not principally to 
 proceed from the sinner's having, by his crimes, de- 
 served hell and forfeited heaven, with all the benefits 
 that are lost by sinning ; (though this kind of sor- 
 row is good, when it hath God for its obj(^ct, whom 
 we have offended ;) for since God deserves to be 
 loved and esteemed above all things, reason wills, 
 that we be far more afflicted for losing and offending 
 him, than for anything else whatsoever. The greater 
 the sin, the greater the sorrow should be ; yet the 
 mercy of God is such, and the desire he has to save 
 us so great, that though the sorrow be not altogether 
 such as I have described, yet the virtue of the 
 sacrament of penance, which gives grace to him who 
 puts no impediment to the receiving it, being joined 
 unto it, will suffice for the obtaining remission of 
 the sin. This is what divines commonly say ; that 
 the sacraments of the l^w of grace render a man 
 contrite, who had been only attrite ; and as 'a candle 
 that is newly put out, and has not totally evaporated, 
 is easily lighted ; so the soul which yields some fer- 
 vor by the virtue of attrition, though it yet burns 
 not, is easily inflamed, and revives by the power of 
 the sacrament. But to know what the attrition is 
 that suffices to produce this effect, is not, brethren, 
 given to men ; God only knows it, from whom noth- 
 ing is hid. 
 
 You shall observe also, for the comfort of the 
 weak, that it is not always necessary for the sorrow 
 
70 THE MEMORIAL OF 
 
 of which we speak, to be of the nature of those that 
 are termed sensible, because they are in the sensitive 
 part of the soul, and produced exteriorly by tears. 
 One may, without this, be truly sorrowful, and truly 
 penitent, as when our will detests sin above all 
 things, how odious soever, which often happens with- 
 out the shedding of tears, or feeling this kind of 
 sorrow. 
 
 We shall hereafter explain how the grief neces- 
 sary to make one truly penitent may be acquired, and 
 by what means the possession of so great a good may 
 be attained. In the meantime I shall tell you, that 
 the second thing, and the most important to uhe 
 having this contrition, is to form in one's self a firm 
 resolution never to offend God by any mortal sin ; 
 this resolution, as well as the regret for sins committed, 
 must not have for its principal motive either heaven 
 or hell, or any other interest that respects ourselves, 
 but the love of God alone : and the sinner ought in 
 this point to resemble a virtuous wife, whose heart is 
 firmly resolved rather to lose her life than violate 
 the faith she has promised her husband, and who is 
 not thus resolute in preserving her loyalty to him, 
 go much for fear or interest, as for the love she bears 
 him. This is the disposition I desire in you, though 
 to fear the pains of hell, or to wish for heaven with 
 its reeompences, is not an evil thing, but profitable 
 and commendable, as being a gift of God. 
 
 Moreover, as the penitent is obliged to have n firm 
 resolution to avoid sin for the future, so he mus 
 
 rmj 
 
 1 
 
A CHRISTIAN LTPE. 71 
 
 forsake the sins to which he is yet subject, if they 
 are mortal ; otherwise his confession will no longer 
 be a confession, but a sacrilege, and an abuse of the 
 sacrament. He that confesses, and he that absolves 
 him in this condition, would be equally guilty; and 
 t?o this confession, instead of blotting out sins, would 
 serve only to add another more grievous. Beware 
 of falling into this misfortune ; take heed of making 
 a poison of a medicine, or a condemnation of what 
 God has instituted for your remedy, and the only 
 means to recover out of mortal sin ; consequently, if 
 a man has any hatred in his soul against his neigh- 
 bor, or if this hatred has passed so far as to become 
 an enmity^ he must, before all things, put off this 
 ill-will, be reconciled to him, and restore his reputa- 
 tion, if he has endeavored to deprive him of it, espe- 
 cially if there might happen any dangerous scandal 
 by not doing it ; in which the advice of his confessor 
 IS to be followed. This is what often happens, and 
 this conduct is wholly necessary, when there is found 
 any one who refuses his brother the pardon he asks 
 of him In the court (as it is termed) of conscience ; 
 for by this hardness he scandalizes his brother, and 
 gtirs up afresh his hatred against himself. 
 
 It is the same with the restitution of another's 
 goods, which must be immediately restored to the 
 person to whom they belong : I say immediately, be- 
 cause this restitution must not be delayed when it 
 can be done ; nor is it sufficient for you to have an 
 intention of restoring hereafter, or by your last wiH 
 
72 THE MEMORIAL OP 
 
 if you can out of hand acquit yourself of thie obli- 
 gation, though it be by inconveniencing yourself, 
 especially if he whose goods you detain is himself 
 in the same or such like condition. There are 
 many things to be said touching the necessity of 
 immediate restitution, and there are many false 
 pretences, with which such as are unwilling to re- 
 store, flatter and deceive themselves : those that de- 
 sire to be secure in conscience, will take advice of 
 their spiritual directors, who will shew them, that 
 not only he who has taken another man's goods, or 
 done him any damage, is bound to restore the one, 
 and repair the other ; but he also that has been the 
 occasion of it; he that has either counselled it or 
 consented to it ; he that has received the same into 
 his house as such ; he that has bought any thing of 
 a suspected person ; he that has hidden or concealed 
 such in his house ; and, in fine, he that has not hin- 
 dered the evil, if it was in his power to do it. All 
 these, and every one of them in particular, are bound 
 entirely to make good the damage that has been 
 caused by any of these ways ; and any of them hav- 
 ing satisfied it, all the rest are obliged to reimburse 
 him who has paid for them all. 
 
 As there is a sort of restitution that regards goods 
 unjustly detained, so there are two others that respect 
 reputation and honor. The first is, if we have pub- 
 lished some important and secret fault of our neigh- 
 bor ; and the second, if we have done him any in 
 jury by word or deed. In the first place we ar 
 
 
A CIIElifTlAN LIFE, 73 
 
 abliged, if it may be advantageous to hini, to restore 
 the good opinion that might be had of him, and to 
 repair the estimation and lustre of his reputation, 
 which we had endeavored to tarnish; and for the 
 second, it is absolutely necessary to satisfy the person 
 we have offended, either by asking him pardon, or 
 doing him some other service that may equal the 
 injury he has suffered, or by both, according to the 
 advice of our confessor. Thus you see three different 
 restitutions we are bound to ; to wit, of goods, of 
 reputation, and of honor; on which none can be too 
 exact in examining himself, for the discharge of his 
 conscience. 
 
 Another point, which is of very great importance, 
 and without which there cannot be any true and 
 solid penance, is the avoiding of dangerous occa- 
 sions. Thus those that have any dishonest com- 
 merce, that are engaged in any evil design, or in any 
 unlawful affection, are obliged to shun these occa- 
 sions, if they will receive the grace of the sacrament. 
 
 Nor is it enough that your heart is removed from 
 gin, unless you remove also the occasion of sinning ; 
 for otherwise you cannot possibly avoid it. It is a 
 dangerous error into which many persons fall, who, 
 pure as they believe their intention, imagine all to be 
 safe, not perceiving that the seed of the evil is in 
 them, which will never fail to spring forth in its 
 time. St. Bernard saw very clearly into this misfor- 
 tune, when he said, " You converse daily with a wo- 
 man, and do you pretend to be esteemed chaste? 
 7 
 
74 THE MEMORIAL Of 
 
 Though you should be so, you cannot at least.avoid 
 the giving occasion to evil suspicions ; and I tell you 
 that by acting thus, you cause a scandal, of which 
 you ought to take away both the cause and the mat- 
 ter, since it is written, ' Wo to that man by whom 
 the scandal cometh.' " Matt, xviii. 7. And the same 
 saint, in one of his sermons on the Canticles, says 
 another word which ought far more to frighten us: 
 •* It is, perhaps, a greater miracle for a man to dwell 
 with a woman without losing his chastity, than to 
 raise a dead man to life. If you cannot do what is 
 easier, how will you have me believe, that you will 
 do what is more difl&cult ?" 
 
 Wherefore, you must absolutely break this com- 
 merce ; you must banish all occasions of sin ; espe- 
 cially when the veil of modesty has been once re- 
 moved, and the evil taken its course; for as long 
 as this door is open to it, it is impossible, morally 
 speaking, but it will continue, and you be daily more 
 irrevocably engaged in it. But if you tell me, it is 
 difficult for you to separate from this occasion^ because 
 you must put out of your house some person to whom 
 you have great obligations, or who is very necessary 
 to you ; I answer this weak excuse by the words of 
 our Saviour: "If thy hand or thy foot scandalize 
 thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee. It is better 
 for thee to go into life maimed or lame, than having 
 two hands or two feet, to be cast into everlasting 
 fire." Matt: xviii. 8. This remedy seems harsh: 
 but as there are some corporal diseases which cannot 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIJ'S:, 75 
 
 be ctired but by the knife and the fire, and as a limb 
 must be sometimes cut off to save the body ; so there 
 are some spiritual distempers which require remedies 
 no less severe. God's law, which is very sweet and 
 very equitable, is not to be blamed for this ; the fault 
 is yours, sinner, who have renounced all shame, who 
 have voluntarily thrown yourself into the evil, who 
 have taken pleasure to provoke and rouse up a wild 
 beast in his own den, where you can neither fly, nor 
 defend yourself No wonder, then, that you suffer 
 the punishment you have deserved, that you reap 
 what you have sown, and that you undergo much 
 toil, to drive your enemy out of your house, since you 
 yourself opened the door to let him in. 
 
 CHAPTEE II. 
 
 On the principal means to obtain Contrition^ and 
 particularly of true Sorrow for Sin 
 
 You have seen what concerns the two most essen- 
 tial parts of contrition ; let us now see by what means 
 they may be attained, and principally examine the 
 first of those conditions, which is, the sorrow for 
 having offended Q-od. 
 
 Let him, then, who with all hia heart desires to 
 obtain this precious jewel, know, that the most effica- 
 cious of all means is, to beg it of God with a profound 
 humility. True contrition is a particular favor, an 
 
78 THE MEMORIAL OF 
 
 exrellent gift of God, and a work surpassing all the 
 powers of nature, which is infected by original sin. 
 Grod created it in righteousness, and this misery 
 turned it aside. He created it wholly just and 
 elevated to him ; but vice corrupted it, and made it 
 turn back towards itself, that is, towards the love of 
 visible goods, which it desires and esteems more than 
 God. Thus, as there is no remedy in nature to 
 recover a man born crooked and bowing towards the 
 earth, so our will being born in this imperfection, 
 there is none but God who is capable to reform it, 
 and raise it up to him, by making it love him above 
 all things : and as man cannot have this love without 
 God's grace, so he cannot, without the particular as- 
 sistance of his divine goodness, have a sorrow for sin, 
 surpassing all things ; for the one is the consequence 
 of the other. For this cause Jesus Christ says in the 
 gospel, " No man can come to me unless my Father 
 draw him ;" for to come to Jesus Christ is to love 
 him above all things, and to have a sorrow for sin, 
 exceeding all other, which none can have of himself: 
 God only can give it. 
 
 This grace is extraordinary, and when God grants 
 it to a sinner, it is one of the greatest favors he 
 bestows; for though it be more to give glory than 
 grace, it. is, nevertheless, more difficult to draw a man 
 out of sin, and place him in a state of grace, than to 
 give him glory after grace has been given him ; the 
 distance from sin to grace being undoubtedly far 
 greater than that from grace to glory. And St. 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFE. 77 
 
 Thomas, 1. 2. q. 113, art. 9, speaking of God's works, 
 affirms, that the justification of a sinner is a greater 
 work than the creation of the world ; because all the 
 being of the world is but a finite and limited good,. 
 as all created things are ; but the justification of man 
 is a participation of Q-od's greatness and glory, which 
 is an infinite good. 
 
 If then this sorrow be so great a gift of God, it 
 follows, that we must ask it of him with earnestness,, 
 imitating the woman of Canaan in her perseverance ; 
 *'Have mercy on me, Lord, thou Son of David: 
 my daughter (that is^ my soul) is grievously troubled 
 by a devil." Matt. xv. 23. But if God be at the 
 beginning severe, as he was towards the Canaanite, 
 be not discouraged nor cease to invoke him, for he 
 used this conduct towards that woman, only to teach 
 us not to lose confidence, but to persevere, as she did,, 
 in prayer, even to the end. G^d is " faithful," says 
 the apostle ; " he cannot deny himself." 2 Tim. ii. 13. 
 And to assist you in so important a matter as this of 
 prayer, we shall hereafter set down certain prayers, 
 that those who know not yet how to speak to God of 
 themselves, nor to represent to him their necessities, 
 may make known their hearts to him, and beg this 
 grace of him. 
 
 The second means to acquire this grace is, that he 
 who shall find himself touched by God, do choose a 
 time and place fit for retirement, that retreating into 
 himself, he may seriously meditate on all those things 
 which may excite him to a sorrow for his sins. The 
 
78 THE MEMORIAL Of 
 
 more attention and care he shall employ to consider 
 the causes there are for it, the more clearly he will see 
 the reasons that ought to incline him to bewail his 
 misery; he will find how nature has, not without 
 cause, ordained, that the same sense which serves a 
 man to see, should serve him also to weep ; that the 
 one is a consequence of the other ; that he who sees 
 as he should, weeps in the same manner ; and that 
 he who knows how to behold his sins as they ought 
 to be beheld, will know how also to lament them as 
 they ought to be lamented. Let the sinner then open 
 his eyes to view his faults ; let him observe their 
 multitude ; then let him consider the greatness of the 
 God he has ofifended ; and by these two considerations 
 lie will know the just causes he ha« to be afflicted. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Considerations that may help a Penitent to conceive 
 a horror of his Sins. First, of their MvUittide, 
 
 SECTION I. 
 
 To excite in your soul this lively sorrow, yon mnst 
 at first set before your eyes the whole course of your 
 life, and represent to your conscience all the sins with 
 which you have so long a time defiled it, and all the 
 ill uses you have made of so many graces received 
 from God ; and l>ecause sin is a turning away from 
 the sovereign good, and from the end for which m&D 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFE. 79 
 
 ▼as created /consider attentively what this end is, and 
 you will but too clearly see how far you have departed 
 from it. The end for which Grod placed man in the 
 world was not to plant gardens, to build houses, to 
 heap up riches, nor yet to live in delights, as the lives 
 and actions of the most part of men seem to persuade 
 us; but to the end he .might know God, love him, 
 keep his commandments, and by that means attain to 
 the highest felicity, for which he was created. For 
 this purpose he gave him a law which he is obliged 
 to observe, grace to fulfil this law, sacraments which 
 confer grace, doctors to teach him, and inspirations 
 to draw him ; and that which is more, he has given 
 also himself, to be the sovereign remedy of all our 
 evils. For the same purpose he bestowed on him the 
 gifts of nature, which are life, health, strength, the 
 faculties of the soul, the senses and members of the 
 body, to the end he might employ all these things in 
 the service of him who gave them to him ; and, in fine, 
 he plentifully furnished him with the necessaries (as 
 they are usually called) of life, to the end he might 
 make use of them to preserve his own life, to comfort 
 his neighbors, and to help himself by them, as means 
 afforded him for the meriting eternal glory. 
 
 See now whether you have satisfied the intentions 
 of your Creator : see how you have used all these 
 benefits, and in what manner you have acquitted 
 yourself of all these duties. If you at first look to 
 the end for which he created you, and at the same 
 time consider that which you have chosen, you will 
 
80 THE MEMOKIAL OP 
 
 see how far you have strayed from that of God. He 
 created you for himself, to the end you should employ 
 your understandfng, your memory, and your will for 
 him, and that you might place in him all your love 
 and all your hope ; and you, on th« contrary, forget- 
 ting these obligations, have, with an intolerable 
 contempt, made use of all these benefits only to fix 
 yourself to the world, and to give to the creature 
 what is due to none but the Creator. You have 
 loved the creature, you have adored it, you have 
 placed your hope and your joy in it ; and thus you 
 have given to created things what belongs to their 
 and your Lord, and have placed on the earthly goods 
 what you ought to have placed on the heavenly. You 
 will, by this means, know how ill you have performed 
 the first of God's commandments, which concern«« 
 this duty ; you will see in what forgetfulness of God 
 you have lived, since you have scarce thought on him 
 all your life long ; you will perceive how ungrateful 
 you have been for his benefits, since perhaps you have 
 never so much as thanked him for them ; you will 
 discern the little estimation you have made of hiF 
 commands, since you have so often violated them ; 
 that you have continually wanted love for him, who 
 deserves it so much, giving still the far greatest 
 share to worldly toys and trifles ; and, in fine, you will 
 see how you have fallen into such blindness, that you 
 have given all your affections to the miserable worms 
 of the earth, not having due sentiments for this so 
 excellent Majesty. 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFE. 81 
 
 Represent also to yourself how often you have 
 eworn, and even in vain, by his most holy and dread- 
 ful name, having had nothing so ordinarily in your 
 mouth to favor your obstinacy, and to confirm your 
 lies. See in what manner you have sanctified the 
 festivals ordained to praise God, and bewail your past 
 ofibnces, since you have expected these days only to 
 augment your crimes, and please the devils. Consid- 
 er what honor you have given as well to your natural 
 parents, as to your spiritual fathers^ who are your 
 prelates and superiors, since you have slighted all 
 their commands, and set all their laws at defiance ; 
 what love you have had for your neighbor, whom you 
 have so often injured, and whose death you have so 
 frequently desired for matters of no value, and some 
 insignificant punctilio of honor. See whether you 
 have preserved your body and soul from all impurity, 
 since you have so many times defiled yourself by 
 your actions, by your words, by your thoughts, by 
 your desires, by your voluntary complacencies, and 
 have thus so often dared to profane the temple which 
 God had sanctified for himself. Who can here explain 
 the uncleanness and licentiousness of your looks, the 
 impurities you have conceived in your heart, and 
 those your mouth has daily uttered, the excess and 
 pomp of your clothes, your walks, your dangerous 
 conversations, and so many artifices as you made use 
 of to do evil ? What shall I say of your covetousness 
 and your injustice, since you have esteemed nothing 
 so much as money, since you have made it your last 
 
82 THE MEMORIAL OP 
 
 end, have adored it as your idol, and given it what 
 is due to none but God alone ? Who can express the 
 liberty you have given to your tongue, the obsceni- 
 ties, the detractions, the flatteries, the lies, the curses, 
 and the injuries, that have proceeded from it; since 
 all your discourses, and all your ordinary conversa- 
 tions have been nothing else? Having in this 
 manner traced what you have committed against 
 Grod's commandments, make an exact and serious 
 reflection on the seven deadly sins, and see with 
 sorrow the share you have in them. Examine what 
 has been your ambition, your presumption, your pride, 
 and how many ways you have made it appear both in 
 your words and in your actions. Call to mind your 
 wrath, your envy, your intemperance, and the delicacy 
 with which you have pampered your body : reflect on 
 your dullness and slowness to do good, and the readi- 
 ness with which you have run after all things that 
 are evil. Consider also in what manner you have 
 performed the spiritual and corporal works of mercy, 
 and how little you have been concerned at your 
 neighbor's necessities, having taken so much care to 
 provide for your own. 
 
 And if there is no reasonable creature but ought 
 to acknowledge in itself God's benefits, and make use 
 of them according to his intentions, tell me to what 
 use you have employed them? In what have you 
 spent the life he has given you? How have you 
 employed your wit, your strength, and the gifts of 
 nature he has endowed you with? What have you 
 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFE. 88 
 
 done with all the wealth and riches he has bestowed 
 on you r You cannot deny but you have employed 
 them only in vanity, and offending Grod ; that of his 
 own benefits you have made arms against him ; that 
 you have taken occasion to commit the greatest sins, 
 from those very things from which you were obliga- 
 ted to do him the greatest services ; and that what 
 ought to have been a powerful motive to make you 
 love God above all things, has served you only to 
 offend him with greater ingratitude. And, in fine, 
 you will be forced to confess, that you have lived a3 
 if you owed nothing to your God, as if you had re- 
 ceived nothing of him, as if you had been your own 
 creator, and had not any dependence on him. What 
 is there then more reasonable, than that they who 
 have eyes to behold these disorders, and understand- 
 ing to comprehend how far they are strayed from 
 the right way, should bitterly bewail their unhappi- 
 ness, and that their eyes should melt in tears at the 
 sight of so many evils? Those only are neither 
 sensible of them, nor lament them, who ai^ so blind 
 as not to see the dreadful ruin, to the brink of which 
 they have brought their souls, and the loss of all 
 these necessary means of their salvation. 
 
 SECTION IL 
 Second Consideration — On what is lost hy Sin. 
 
 Having considered the number and quality of 
 your sins, consider also what they have made yo^ 
 
84 THE MEMORIAL OF 
 
 lose : you will thereby see how great that is wldch 
 you have lost, and how often you have lost it. This 
 motive will perhaps cause in you repentance and sor- 
 row, which can never be advantageous to you but on 
 this occasion. St. Chrysostom says, there is no loss 
 reparable by tears, but that which is suffered by sin, 
 and that they are never profitably employed but in 
 bewailing it : make use, brethren, of this saving sor- 
 row, and to incline your hearts the more seriously to 
 it, consider, with all humility, what is lost by one 
 mortal sin, and you will soon see that there is noth- 
 ing which ought more sensibly to move you. 
 
 Tho reasons of it are these : First, by one single 
 mortal sin is lost the grace of the Holy Ghost, 
 which is so excellent a gift, that God bestows no 
 greater on any mortal creature in this life : there are 
 lost also the charity and love of God, which are al- 
 ways inseparable from this grace, and far more con- 
 siderable than all the favors of earthly princes, which 
 men with so much care endeavor to preserve : there 
 are lost also infused virtues, and the gifts of the 
 Holy Ghost, which adorn and beautify the soul in the 
 sight of God, which arm and strengthen us against 
 the assaults of the devil : though faith and hope are 
 not always lost, yet there is lost the right to the in- 
 heritance of heaven, which comes by this grace 
 since it is grace that leads to glory : there is lost the 
 gift of spiritual adoption, which makes us the chil- 
 dren of God, gives us the heart and mind of children 
 towards him; and losing this advantage, we become 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFB. 85 
 
 Binwortliy to be treated by him with a fatherly affec- 
 tion, and renounce that singular and truly paternal 
 providence he exercises over such as he takes into 
 the number of his children: there is lost the peace 
 and quiet given by a good conscience : there are lost 
 the favors and comforts of the Holy Ghost: there is 
 lost the fruit and merit of all the good works a man 
 has done during his whole life till this unhappy hour, 
 and with this all the share a man can pretend to in 
 the riches and benefits of the whole church, which 
 are not communicated to the sinner in such a manner 
 as when he was in the state of grace. In fine, all 
 these treasures are lost by one mortal sin ; and what 
 a man gains by having committed it is, to see him- 
 self condemned for ever to the torments of hell ; to 
 be blotted out of the book of life ; instead of God's 
 child, to become the deviFs slave; and of the temple 
 of the most Holy Trinity, to become a den of 
 thieves, and a retreat for serpents. 
 
 But of all these losses, the most dreadful and af- 
 flicting is the having lost Almighty God; for this 
 loss is the root and cause of all the rest. Think on 
 this, brethren, and know, that to lose God, is to 
 cease having him for our father, our pastor, and our 
 protector ; and, on the contrary, of a most merciful 
 father, to render him a declared enemy, and a most 
 severe judge. It is this unhappiness you ought to 
 lament with tears of blood; and it was of such a 
 one as this that the prophet Osee said, " Rejoice not, 
 
 O Israel, as the nations do; for thou hast committed 
 8 
 
86 THE MEMORIAL OF 
 
 fornication against thy God." {Osee, ix. 1.) The 
 host of the tribe of Dan inarching to the conquest 
 of a city, some soldiers entered into a house, whence 
 they took away an idol of silver : the master of the 
 house, to whom it belonged, followed them weeping, 
 and when these soldiers asked him the cause of his 
 tears, he answered them, " You have taken away my 
 gods, and do you say, what aileth thee?" (Judges, 
 xviii. 24.) If this miserable man thought he had 
 great reason to bewail the loss of his idol of metal, 
 which was the work of his own hands, what ought a 
 Christian to do, since he knows that every time he 
 sins, he loses, not a false god, which himself has made, 
 but the true God, by whom all things were made. 
 
 This great good, and this chief of all goods, being 
 lost by one sin, judge whether it is not fit for them 
 heartily to lament, who have lost so precious a trea- 
 sure, and see themselves fallen from so many privi- 
 leges, and such a height of glory, into such an abyss 
 of misery: what sorrow, and what confusion ought 
 not to seize a soul that has thrown itself into so 
 many calamities! "Open your eyes, miserable soul," 
 Bays a holy Doctor, "and see what you were, and 
 what you are ; where you were, and where you are : 
 you were the spouse of the Most High, the temple 
 of the living God, a chosen vessel of the eterna 
 King the throne of the true Solomon, the seat of 
 wisdom, the companion of angels, and an inheritrix 
 of heaven : you had all these qualities, and as often 
 as I say you had, you ought to mourn that you no 
 
CHRISTIAN LIFE. 87 
 
 longer have them." Is there any thing more strong, 
 or more opposite than this change? The spouse of 
 God is found to be an adulteress with Satan ; the 
 temple of the Holy Ghost is become a den of thieves ; 
 the chosen vessel is changed into a vessel of corrup- 
 tion ; the habitation of Jesus Christ, into a sty of 
 unclean beasts ; the seat of God, into a chair of pesti- 
 lence; the companion of angels has made herself 
 the fellow of devils; and she who heretofore soared 
 aloft, even to heaven, like a dove, creeps now on 
 earth like a serpent. Bewail yourself then, misera- 
 ble soul; mourn, since the heavens mourn over you, 
 siuce the church deplores you, since all the sainte 
 lament for you. St. Paul shed tears for you, be- 
 cause you have sinned, and not done penance ; (2 Cor. 
 xii. 21.) the prophets weep for you, because God's 
 wrath is ready to break out against you; Jeremias 
 sheds more tears for you than he did for the destruc- 
 tion of Jerusalem, seeing the noble eity of Israel 
 overthrown by the just wrath of heaven, and the 
 daughter of Sion to have lost all her beauty. (Jer 
 xxii. 10. and Lament,) 
 
 SECTION III. 
 
 Third Consideration — On the Majesty and Good- 
 ness of God, against whom we sin. 
 
 If you pass farther, and consider the greatness 
 and goodness of God, against whom you sin, you wiD 
 find in this motive far greater cause to be afflicted 
 
88 THE MEMORIAL OP 
 
 It caunot be doubted but that the greater the persoD 
 offended is, the more grievous also is the offence 
 which is done unto him ; that if this person be of an 
 infinite merit, and an infinite dignity, the offence 
 committed against him will be also of the same 
 nature, and consequently of an infinite greatness. 
 Thus the farther you shall penetrate into the immen- 
 sity of Grod, the more you will discover the malice 
 and enormity of sin. Lift up, then, your eyes od 
 high, and see, if you can, the exceeding Majesty of 
 God ; behold his riches, his dignity, his wisdom, his 
 beauty, his glory, his goodness, his benignity, his 
 power, and the obligations in which all creatures are 
 bound to him ; and you will thereby, in some sort, 
 comprehend how great a crime it is to have offended 
 him. 
 
 But among all the grandeurs of Almighty God, 
 that which for the most part touches true penitents 
 is his goodness, particularly when it is considered and 
 meditated on. There are many things that make it 
 known, but there is nothing in which it so visibly 
 shows itself as in the incarnation and passion of the 
 Son of God, and the institution of the Holy Sacra- 
 ment, in which he daily offers himself for us, commu- 
 nicates himself to us, and makes his abode in us. Of 
 this divine goodness, we also, often enough, perceive 
 particular marks; we carry in ourselves pledges of 
 it, and certain assurances in the favorable entertain- 
 ments it sometimes pleases to afford the elect ; it often 
 nsits^ them with such extraordinary favors, with so 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFE. 89 
 
 much spiritual light and joy, that human weakness 
 cannot support them. We find it recorded, that an 
 ancient father of the desert, being at prayer, said, 
 " Lord, stop a little the torrent of thy consolatians ;" 
 and at another time, "Draw back from me, O Lord, 
 for it is impossible for me to support the excess of 
 thy sweetness." St. John dim. Grad. 25. These 
 are the effects of God's grace, the favors which the 
 devout are wont to receive from so infinite a great- 
 ness, from so extreme a goodness, from so immense a 
 sweetness, and from so infinite a mercy ; and after all 
 it is no wonder that this Divine Bounty, who so 
 willingly drank for us the bitter cup of his passion, 
 should make us taste, with so much sweetness, that 
 of his consolations. 
 
 Has not he then who attentively considers this 
 wonderful goodness, and at the same time remembers 
 his having so often offended it, just reason, day and 
 night, to bewail his offences? St. John Climachus 
 relates, {Grad. 4 & 5,) that one of the monks, whose 
 actions he describes, having committed a fault, asked 
 leave of his superior to enter into the house of peni- 
 tents, which they called the Prison, and that the 
 superior having granted it, though with reluctance, 
 because it was but a light offence and very pardonable, 
 this good brother felt in his soul so sharp a sorrow 
 for having sinned against the divine Majesty, that in 
 eight days, his heart being mortally pierced with 
 grief and love together, he gave up his soul to God. 
 See, sinners, how great this sorrow must have beea, 
 8* 
 
QO THE MEMORIAL OF 
 
 which eould in a short time deprive him that felt it 
 of his life. In this manner does the regret for sin 
 afflict those whose eyes God opens to see the greatness 
 of its malice ; and if this holy penitent was so sensibly 
 touched for one only sin, committed perhaps without 
 reflecting on what he did, how great ought to be 
 their sorrow who have employed their whole life only 
 in sinning and multiplying their offences. 
 
 SECTION IV. 
 
 Fourth Consideratwn — On the Injury done to God 
 
 by Sin. 
 
 Besides what we have already said, consider the 
 extreme injury sin does to God, and you will see the 
 just cause you have to grieve for it : for as often as 
 you sin you exercise in your heart a sort of judgment, 
 though you perceive it not ; on the one side you set 
 before you the benefit of sin, which is the pleasure 
 you expect to receive by it ; on the other, you con- 
 sider the offence you commit against God, which 
 makes you lose his friendship. Thus you put in the 
 balance God and your pleasure; and you resolve 
 without fear to lose rather the favor of Almighty 
 God than this miserable pleasure. 
 
 Can any thing be imagined more horrible, or can 
 any greater affront to the divine Majesty be invented 
 than to prefer so base and vile a thing before him V 
 This is to imitate the madness of the Jews, who being 
 offered their choice of Jesus or Barabbas, answered. 
 
A CHEISTIAN LIFE, 91 
 
 they would rather have that robber than Jesus Christ 
 It is, as much as lies in us, to take from God the 
 glory due to him, as to our last end, and give it to 
 our interest and our pleasures. For to set a higher 
 esteem on a fleeting pleasure than on God, and prefer 
 it before him, is undoubtedly, as much as is in our 
 power, to take the empire from the Creator, and give 
 it to the creature ; and this is so strange a case, that 
 God commands the heavens to be amazed at it, say- 
 ing by the prophet Jeremias, (Jer. ii. 12, 13,) " Be 
 astonished, ye heavens, at this, and ye gates thereof 
 be very desolate ; for my people have done two evils. 
 They have forsaken me, the fountain of living water, 
 and have digged to themselves cisterns, broken eie- 
 terns, that can hold no water." 
 
 Consider, then, how often you have done this injury 
 to God, and tremble for fear ; let your eyes become 
 fountains, to bewail day and night so great a disorder ; 
 see against whom you have sinned ; and for what you 
 have sinned ; what you have left, and what you have 
 chosen; what you have lost, and what you have 
 gained. Be ashamed now of yourself while it is yet 
 time, and stay not till you are covered for ever with 
 oonfiigion in the dreadful day of our Lord's judgment. 
 
 SECTION V. 
 Fifth (7onsiderattoii — On the hatred God bears to >SVn- 
 
 You will receive, also, no small assistance for the 
 ae<iuiring this holj sorrow, with a strong hatred 
 
92 TIIB MEMORIAL OF 
 
 against sm, if you consider attentively that which 
 God bears to it. This hatred is so great that none 
 can comprehend it ; and if all the created understand- 
 ings were united in one, it would not be able to 
 comprehend it ; for the better a thing is, the more it 
 loves goodness, and the more it hates wickedness. 
 Now, since it is true that God is not only good, but 
 infinitely good, it thence follows, that he has an 
 infinite love for good, and an infinite hatred to evil ; 
 and thus he recompenses the one with eternal glory^ 
 and punishes the other with eternal torments, and 
 the privation of an infinite good. Tt is also certain,, 
 that God hates sin as much as it deserves to be hated ; 
 that is, proportionably to the deformity which is ii> 
 Bin: now, since this deformity is infinite, as being 
 against a God of infinite majesty, it follows, that the 
 hatred God beai*s it is infinite. 
 
 These reasons are strong, but since examples are 
 more sensible and feeling, to the end you may the 
 better comprehend the quality of this hatred, I will 
 set before your eyes some of those great punishments 
 with which God has in this world chastised sin. The 
 heart is known by the works ; and by the penalties 
 God has inflicted on sinners, you will conceive the 
 aversion he has for sin. His power has formed 
 nothing so agreeable to his eyes as that fair angel 
 and his companions, whom he had created to praise 
 him ; but for one only sin, the highest creature became 
 the most abominable, and that which he loved most 
 vas the first object of his wrath. Can one^ without 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFE. 93 
 
 frembling, call to mind the puuishmeiit of the firs^ 
 man and all his posterity ? that which God laid on 
 the whole world by the waters of the deluge? those 
 five great towns mentioned in the holy Scripture, 
 which he consumed by fire from heaven? the rigor 
 of his justice and judgments^ which he made appear 
 in punishing the adultery of David ? the disobedience 
 of Saul ? the indulgence of Heli towards his children ? 
 the covetousness of Ananias and Sapphira ? and the 
 pride of Nebuchodonosor ? and, in fine, the greatness 
 and eternity of hell-torments, which were created 
 only to punish sin ? But what shall we say of the 
 pains suffered by the Son of God made man ? of that 
 rigorous chastisement which the Eternal Father 
 inflicted even on his own Son? This example is 
 beyond all others, and ought to cause much more 
 fear than those we have represented, seeing the 
 infinite dignity of the person on whom this punish- 
 ment fell, for the redemption of man. 
 
 Consider them, then, every one in particular, and 
 in all their circumstances, and be assured, you will 
 draw from them a wonderful advantage, by the know- 
 ledge they will give you of the dreadful rigor of 
 God's justice, and the perfect hatred he has against 
 sin. This is the means to excite in your heart the 
 true fear of God, and sorrow for your offences ; for 
 you should hate them, were it possible, as much as 
 God himself abhors them. I know it is difficult for 
 you to raise the greatness of this sorrow to the pitch 
 it ^ ought to be; but detest at least your crimes as 
 
94 THE MEMORIAL OF 
 
 much as you can, and cease not to beg of God that 
 he would increase your sorrow for having offended 
 him ; for in this consists the best part of true penance 
 and Christian justice. 
 
 SECTION VI. 
 
 Sixth Consideration — On Death, and the things 
 that follow it. 
 
 It is also very reasonable that the calling to mird 
 the pains of hell, the universal judgment, and the 
 judgment at the day of our death, should move us to 
 fear and sorrow for our sins, since each of thesa 
 things threatens with so great miseries those who 
 shall be found guilty ; and that they are so much 
 nearer to us, as there is none but ought to look on 
 the remainder of his life as very short. Think, then, 
 seriously on it, and consider what you will do, what 
 you will say, when this time shall come, which un- 
 doubtedly is not far off. It is then that all those who 
 shall have lived wickedly may say with ^ruth, my 
 soul, the hour is now come that must put an end to 
 thy pride, to thy vanity, to thy follies, and to thy 
 filthy pleasures, which thou hast loved more than 
 God, and to which thou hast paid more obedience 
 than to God, since thou hast so often for their sakee 
 offended him. Pride and vanity, where are you 
 now? Delights and pleasures, what is become of 
 you ? What have you given me, and what have you 
 left in my hands, after so many years that I have 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFE. 95 
 
 eerved you? I have preferred you before eternal 
 life ; for you I have lost heaven and gained hell ; 1 
 have lost infinite benefits, and deserved to become 
 for ever a companion of devils. What, I say, ha'^'* 
 you left me for being so faithful to you, and having, 
 for your sakes committed so many evils? If you 
 must, then, fall into this miserable condition ; if your 
 Heart must be pierced with all those thorns, and your 
 conscience stung with so much remorse, and perhaps 
 m vain, why do you not now make your soul sensibly 
 feel them, when you may do it with profit ? Why 
 do you not pronounce a just condemnation against 
 yourselves in this life, that you may not in the next 
 be judged by Almighty God according to the severity 
 of his justice ? 
 
 SECTION YII. 
 Seventh Consideration — On God^s Benefits. 
 
 But there will be nothing more available for the 
 increasing of this sorrow than to meditate thoroughly 
 on the greatness and number of God's benefits; for 
 the more you shall consider how good God has been 
 to you, the more confusion you will receive for having 
 been so ungrateful to him. It was by this means the 
 prophets often endeavored to excite in God's people 
 a sorrow for their ofiences ; and it was by this con- 
 sideration the prophet Nathan began to aggravate 
 the heinousness of David's sin, having, before he 
 reprehended him for his adultery, reminded him of 
 
\)6 THE MEMORIAL OF 
 
 all the benefits and favors he had received of Al- 
 mighty God. 
 
 To make use now of the same remedy, call dili- 
 gently to mind whatever God's goodness has done 
 for you. Remember that it is he who has created 
 you, who has kept you, who has redeemed you ; that 
 by his grace you have been baptized, you have been 
 called, you have received good inspirations, you have 
 been preserved from many evils, and have, in fine, 
 had a multitude of benefits bestowed on you. If you 
 weigh these things in a just balance, you will find, 
 that whatsoever the heavens include, and whatsoever 
 the earth contains, are benefits proceeding from him ; 
 that all the members and senses which compose your 
 body are so many of his gifts ; that all the moments 
 you breathe are so many favors you receive from his 
 hand ; that the bread you eat, the earth you walk on, 
 the sun which lights you, the heavens which encom- 
 pass you, and whatever serves for the entertainment 
 of your life, are preseats that he makes you ; and, in 
 fine, to comprehend all in one word, all the good in 
 the world are his benefits, since he created all this 
 good for you, and has preserved you from the great- 
 est of evils, that is, dying in your sins; it being 
 certain, that no misery is sufiered by one man which 
 another may not undergo. 
 
 Is there any thing, then, you ought to be more 
 sensible of than your having lived in such a forget- 
 fulness of God, who has carried you, as it were, in 
 his arms ; whose goodness has given you subsistence, 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFE. 97 
 
 whose spirit has given you life, whose sun has warmed 
 you, whose providence has protected you ; and finally, 
 in whom, and by whom, you live, move, and have 
 your being? Can there be any greater crime than 
 to have persevered so long in offending that God, who, 
 even during all your disorders, never ceased to do 
 you good? or any greater blindness than the having 
 returned for so many favors such base ingratitude ? 
 But, moreover, can any malice go higher than the 
 despising a God who, having clothed himself with a 
 body, made for you so many journeys^ sustained so 
 many fasts, shed for you so many tears, offered so 
 many prayers, suffered so many injuries, underwent 
 60 many labors, received so many affronts, and bore 
 such insupportable sorrows ? It is certain that sins 
 brought all these miseries upon him ; that he accept- 
 ed them, and would bear them, partly to satisfy for 
 them, and partly, to show us how much he hates 
 them, since he did so much to destroy them. Thus 
 you see what cause you have to melt into tears, when 
 you reflect how often, by your sins, you have afresh 
 buffetted, scourged, and crucified your Saviour, who 
 endured all this for you. Consider, on the one side, 
 that invincible patience and prodigious mercy of 
 God towards you, and on the other your ingratitude 
 towards him ; and being plunged into a sea of sor- 
 row, say to him the following words : 
 9 
 
98 THE MEMORIAL OF 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 ^4 Prayer, to stir up in the Soul Compunctiim, ani 
 Sorrow for her Sins, 
 
 Thou only begotten Son of God, such are the 
 benefits I have received from thee, that I want words 
 to express them. Thou hast drawn me out of the 
 dust and mire of the earth ; thou hast of nothing 
 created my soul, made after thy image^ and capable 
 of thy glory; thou hast given me understanding, 
 memory, will, free choice, with all the parts of my 
 body, and all the senses belonging to it, to the end 
 I might make use of them to know and love thee. 
 Thou hast borne with me even to this hour after so 
 many sins^ whereas so many others, less criminal than 
 I, suffer now perhaps the pains of hell, because thou 
 hast not borne them with the same patience. Not 
 content with these mercies, thou wouldst for my sake 
 be made man, and converse with men ; for me thou 
 wouldst feel the sharpest agony and sorrow; thou 
 wouldst be bathed in a bloody sweaty be taken, bound, 
 buffetted, spit upon, insulted, despised, blasphemed^ 
 and sometimes, in mockery, clothed with a red,, 
 sometimes wifch a white garment ; for me thou wouldst 
 be torn with whips, crowned with thorns,, beaten with 
 a reed, be condemned as a criminal, bear a cross on 
 thy shoulders to the place of thy punishment, and be 
 there fastened to it with nails ; in this infamous place 
 thou wouldst be set between two thieves^ as if tho» 
 
A CffMSTIAN LIFE. 99 
 
 hadst been one of the wicked ; wouldst have for the 
 easing of thy thirst, only vinegar and gall; and, in 
 fine, wouldst lose thy life in that deplorable condition. 
 
 In this manner, my Lord, and with suffering 
 such cruel torments, didst thou vouchsafe to redeem 
 me ; and yet I, who am but a worm of the earth, a 
 miserable sinner, have dared to give thee as many 
 buffets, and crucify thee afresh, as many times as I 
 have committed mortal sins ; which ought to make 
 all creatures with justice rise up against me, to 
 revenge the injuries of their Creator. 
 
 But how can I sufficiently accuse myself of the ill 
 use I have made of thy sacraments, these sacred 
 remedies, which thou with thy own blood preparest 
 for me? Thou hast washed me, and received me to 
 be thine, in the waters of baptism ; herein thou hast 
 adopted me to be one of thy children; thou hast 
 consecrated me as thy temple; thou hast anointed 
 me as a king, as a priest, and as a soldier, that ought 
 continually to fight against thy enemy. In this 
 sacrament thou hast chosen my soul for thy spouse, 
 and adorned it with all the ornaments befitting so 
 high a dignity. What have I done with all this 
 wealth thou bestowest on me, and what use have I 
 made of all these benefits? Thou madest me thy 
 son, and I have made myself the slave of sin ; thou 
 formedst me to be thy temple, and I have made my- 
 self an habitation for devils ; thou listedst me for on^ 
 of thy soldiers, and I have run over to thy enemy's 
 •ide; thou espousedst my soul, on condition I should 
 
100 THE MEMORIAL OF 
 
 bear thee an endless love, and I have loved vanity 
 more than truth, and the creature more than the 
 Creator. 
 
 It were fit, my Lord^ that finding myself guilty 
 of so many crimes, I should have begun to lament ; 
 this is a tribute I owe thee, and which thou hast 
 almost as long a time expected of me, as has past 
 since thou gavest me life to incline me to it ; thou 
 hast so often called me, and so long borne with me; 
 thou hast sometimes stirred me up to it by thy pun- 
 ishments, but often invited me by thy favors, and 
 has left no means untried to draw me to thee. When 
 thou waitedst for me, I abused thy patience ; whea 
 thou calledst me, I was deaf to thy voice ; thou gavest 
 me time to do penance, and I employed it to confirm 
 myself in my pride ; thou struckest me, and I felt it 
 not; thou afflictest me, and I made not the use I 
 ought to do of thy chastisements : thou hast takeu 
 great pains to purify me, and, with all thy labor, 
 even fire was not able to cleanse my filth, nor scour 
 away the rust of my vices. I equally hardened my- 
 self against thy punishments and thy favors, showing 
 on the one side my stubbornness, and on the other, 
 my ingratitude. But in fine, Lord, since thou 
 hast done so many things for me, and commandest 
 us never to lose confidence in thy goodness, I wholly 
 refer myself to thy mercy, and most humbly beg of 
 thee grace to lead a new life, that I may henceforth 
 in such manner please and serve thee, that I may 
 Qever hereafter be separated from thee. Ame7i. 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFE. lOl 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Another Prayer, to heg Pardon for our Sins, 
 
 O Sovereign Creator of all things, when I re- 
 volve in my mind how much, by my sins, I have 
 offended thee, I wonder at my folly, seeing that I 
 have forsaken so good a Father ; I accuse my ingrati- 
 tude, and perceiving, that from so noble a liberty 
 as I enjoyed, I am fallen into so miserable a slavery, 
 I condemn my imprudence, and can set nothing 
 before my eyes but hell and judgment, in the dread 
 I have of thy justice, from which I cannot escape. 
 But if, on the contrary, I consider thy great mercy, 
 which according to the testimony of thy prophet, 
 exceeds all thy works, (^Psal. cxliv.) then does a 
 pleasing breeze of hope come to refresh me, and 
 bring strength and comfort to my soul ; for how can 
 I despair to obtain pardon of him who has so often, 
 by the mouth of his prophets, invited sinners to do 
 penance, saying, " I desire not the death of the wicked, 
 but that the wicked turn from his way, and live." 
 Ezech. xxxiii. 11. Moreover, what expressions has 
 not thy Son used, and what comparison has he not 
 employed, to let us see that thou art always ready to 
 pardon those who are truly penitent ? This he sig- 
 nified to us by that precious stone, which was lost 
 and found again ; and by the strayed sheep, that the 
 sh^'pherd brought home on his shoulders. Matt. 
 xviii. 12, Ac. But much more expressly did he set 
 9* 
 
102 TaE MEMORIAL OP 
 
 it forth in the parable of the prodigal chUd, {Ltike 
 XV. 11, &c.) whose image I manifestly bear; for I 
 auj, in effect, that son, who with so little reason went 
 away from a father who so tenderly loved ; who have 
 so unfortunately squandered away my estate ; who, 
 instead of submitting to thy sweet yoke, have unwor- 
 thily subjected myself to the law of my passions; who 
 am, by this means, fallen into the intolerable bondage 
 of sin, whence there is no way for me to get out, but 
 by him whom I have forsaken and offended. 
 
 Let thy mercy, then, Lord, receive this wretch, 
 who begs thy pardon, and whom thou hast with so 
 much patience borne with, even to this hour. I am 
 not worthy to lift up my eyes towards thee, or to call 
 thee my Father, but thou hast goodness enough to 
 look down upon me, because thou truly art a Father. 
 It is this look alone that raises the dead ; it is this 
 look that causes those that are lost, to return to 
 themselves; and I am very certain, it would have 
 been impossible for me to have the sorrow I now feel, 
 if thou hadst not beheld me, when I had miserably 
 lost myself by straying from thee : thou, from the 
 height of heaven, lookedst down upon me, and 
 openedst my eyes, that I might see myself, and know 
 the evils of which I was full ; now thou comest before 
 me, putting me in mind what it is to have lost inno- 
 cence. I desire not thy paternal kiss, of which I am 
 unworthy; I request not the rich garments with 
 which I was wont to be clad, nor the ring that showed 
 my dignity; I ask thee not to receive me as thy 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFE. 103 
 
 fihild : it will be an exceeding happiness for me, if 
 fchou please to take me into the number of thy slaves, 
 if thou brandest me with thy iron, and bindest me 
 with thy chains, that I may no more fly from thee ; 
 it shall never grieve me to pass my life in thy house 
 as one of the least of thy servants, provided I masy 
 never be separated from thee. Hear me, then, 
 Father of mercies ; grant me some share in the favor 
 of thy only Son, and make me feel the remedy of 
 bis death. Give me thy spirit to purify my heart, 
 and strengthen it in thy love, that I may no more 
 return into this deplorable banishment, out of which 
 I have been recalled by thy goodness, who livest and 
 reignest world without end. Amen. 
 
 Another Prayer, to heg Pardon of owr Sins. 
 
 [If you desire to obtain true Contrition, and consequently the 
 Remission of your Sins, I advise you for some days to read 
 this Prayer with the greatest attention you can : you will see 
 therein, how exceedingly you are obliged to Almighty God, 
 and how great your Repentance ought to be for having offended 
 his divine Majesty.] 
 
 Who will give water to my head, and fountains 
 of tears to my eyes, that I may both night and day 
 bewail my sins, and my ingratitude to Almighty God ? 
 There are many things, my Lord, which may 
 bring sinners to the knowledge of their sins; but I 
 find nothing so efficacious as to consider the greatness 
 of thy goodness, and the multitude of thy benefits, 
 evep towards sinners themselves. Wherefore, to the 
 
104 THE MEMORIAL OF 
 
 end my soul may by this means accuse and confound 
 herself, I| will relate some part of thy benefits, and 
 some part of my wickedness, that it may by this 
 comparison more clearly appear, what thou art, and 
 what I am ; what thou hast been towards me, and 
 what I have been towards thee. 
 
 There was a time when I was not; thou gavest 
 me being, thou drewest me out of the dust of the 
 earth, and madest me after thy image. " From my 
 mother's womb thou art my God," (Fsal. xxi. 11.) 
 since from the beginning of my creation even to this 
 very hour thou hast been my Father, my Saviour, 
 my Protector, and all my good. Thou formest my 
 body with all its senses, thou createdst my soul with 
 all her powers, and thou hast, even to this day, 
 preserved my life by a particular benefit of thy provi- 
 dence. Thou camest down from heaven to earth; 
 thou soughtest me in the ways wherein I had lost 
 myself; thou enablest my nature, by taking my 
 humanity; thou deliverest me from captivity, by 
 making thyself a prisoner ; thou rescuedst me out of 
 the power of the devil, by putting thyself into the 
 hands of sinners ; and thou destroyedst my sin, by 
 clothing thyself with the similitude of a sinner. 
 Thou wouldst oblige me by this grace, fill me with 
 love by this benefit, strengthen my hope by these 
 merits, and cause in me a horror of sin, by showing 
 me what thou didst to destroy it. Thou threwest 
 burning coals on the dead coals of my heart, that by 
 the great number of flavors included in this one 
 
A CURISTIAN LIFE. 105 
 
 benefit, I might, in fine, love him who has done so 
 much for me, and shown me so much love. * 
 
 Thus, Lord, wast thou pleased to redeem me; 
 hut what would it have availed me to be redeemed if 
 I had not been baptized ? Amongst so many infidels, 
 of which the whole world is full, thou wast pleased 
 to make me one of thy faithful, and put me in the 
 number of those whose happiness is so great, as to 
 become thy children when they are regenerated in 
 the waters of baptism. There was I received to be 
 thine ; there was that wonderful alliance made, that 
 thou shouldst be my God, and I should be thy ser- 
 vant ; that thou shouldst be my Father, and I should 
 be thy child; that as thou wouldst never cease 
 exercising the care of a Father over me, I should 
 also, during my whole life, pay thee the respects and 
 obedience of a child. All this was done in baptism, 
 not to mention the other sacraments which thou hast 
 instituted as a remedy for my miseries, not being 
 willing to apply any other medicine to my wounds 
 but thine own precious blood. 
 
 In the mean time my malice has been so great, 
 that, notwithstanding all this assistance, I have lost 
 this first grace of innocence; and thy mercy has 
 been so abundant, that thou hast to this very hour 
 forborne me. my only hope, and sole refuge, how 
 can I without tears call to mind how often, during 
 this so ill-employed time, death might have surprised 
 me ? and yet I was preserved ! How many thousand 
 souls are now perhaps burning in hell for less offences 
 
106 THE MEMORIAL OF 
 
 thau I have committed! what would have become 
 of me, if thou hadst then taken me hence, as thou 
 didst so many others ? What judgment ought I not 
 to have expected, if death had seized me when thy 
 justice had found me in the very action that made me 
 criminal! Who tied its hands at that moment? 
 Who spoke to thee for me when T was asleep? 
 Who stayed thy indignation, and my punishment, at 
 such a time as I provoked the one, and deserved the 
 other? What didst thou see in me that rendered 
 me more considerable to thy eyes than so many oth-er 
 sinners, whom death took away in the midst of the 
 sins and follies of their youth ? My sins lifted up 
 their voice against me, and thou seemedst not to 
 hear them; my malice increased, every day against 
 thee, and thou daily prolongedst the term of thy 
 mercy. I daily sinned, and thou daily expectedst; 
 I fled, and thou soughtest me ; I was almost wearied 
 and tired with ofiending thee, and thou wast not 
 weary of bearing with me : and as if my sins had 
 been services, and not offences, in the midst of ray 
 greatest disorders I received from thee many good 
 inspirations and paternal corrections, which condemn- 
 ed them on purpose only to make me return to my 
 duty. How frequently didst thou call me? How 
 often didst thou make me hear thy voice in the 
 bottom of my heart, saying to me, " Thou hast pros- 
 tituted thyself to many lovers; nevertheless return 
 to me, and I will receive thee." Jer. iii. 1. Thou 
 inducedst me with words of love, and terrified st ^e 
 
k CHRISTIAN LIF». 107 
 
 with wholesome fears and threats, putting me in 
 mind of the dangers of death and the rigor of thj 
 justice. How many preachers hast thou sent to stir 
 me up by their word ? how many confessors to assist 
 me by their counsel ? How often, not only by words, 
 but by works, hast thou pursued me, endeavoring 
 (as a hunter who follows his game) to prevent me, 
 sometimes by benefits, sometimes by punishments, 
 that I might not escape from thee ? 
 
 "What shall I render to the Lord, for all the 
 things he has rendered to me?" Psal. cxv. 12, I 
 owe thee all that I am, because thou alone hast crea- 
 ted me : I am indebted to thee for all my being and 
 life, because it is thou alone that preservest me. But 
 what can I give thee for having given thyself for 
 me ? If I had all the lives of men and angels, and 
 should offer them up all in sacrifice fco thee, what 
 would all this be towards the recompensing one of 
 these drops of blood which thou hast shed for my 
 salvation? Who will then give tears to my eyes, 
 that I may bewail my wretchedness and blindness, 
 which have hindered me from acknowledging so many 
 benefits ? Help me now^ Lord, and give me thy 
 grace, to the end I may accuse myself, and " confess 
 my injustice to thee.'^' Psal. xxxi. 5. How unhappy 
 soever I am, I am nevertheless thy creature, made 
 after thy image ; acknowledge, Lord, this figure, 
 which is thine ; remove not from me, and thou wilt 
 find what thine own hand has made. I confess I 
 hav^ employed all my forces to offend thee, and made 
 
108 THE MEMORIAL OF 
 
 use of the work of thine own hands against thee; 
 my feet have run after iniquity, my hands have been 
 opened to eovetousness, my eyes have been gazing 
 after nothing but vanity, and my ears always atten- 
 tive to hearken after lies. That most noble part of 
 my soul which had eyes to see, has turned them away 
 from beholding thy beauty, and fixed them only on 
 that fading lustre which accompanies this miserable 
 life ; that which should have been continually me- 
 ditating on thy law and thy commandments, has 
 been busied day and night in nothing else but seek- 
 ing opportunities to break them. And if this has 
 been the employment of my understanding, what is 
 to be thought of my will? Thou offeredst it the 
 delights of heaven ; it has changed heaven for earth, 
 and opened the heart which thou hadst consecrated 
 for thyself to the love of creatures. This has been, 
 Lord, my acknowledgment of thy benefits, and 
 this is the fruit that the senses which thou hast 
 created have brought forth ; what then can I answer, 
 when entering into judgment with me, thou shalt say 
 to me: "1 planted thee a chosen vineyard, all true 
 seed ; how then art thou turned unto me into that 
 which is good for nothing?" Jer, ii. 21. Imi. v. 2. 
 If thy reproaching me with what thou didst for 
 me when thou createst me, is sufiScient to strike me 
 dumb, what shall I be able to answer when thou 
 shalt represent to me the care thou hast taken to 
 preserve me ? Thou hast preserved, Lord, by thy 
 adorable providence, him who has made it his whole 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFE. 109 
 
 study to contemn thy law, to persecute thy servants, 
 to scandalize thy church, and to fortify the kingdom 
 of sin against thee. Thou hast moved the tongue 
 that blasphemed thee; thou hast governed the mem- 
 bers that oflPended thee ; and thou has maintained him 
 who, at thy cost, served thy enemies. For I have 
 not only repaid thy benefits with ingratitude, but 
 have of those very benefits made arms to fight against 
 thee ; thou hast appointed all creatures to serve me ; 
 I have made use of them only to offend thee ; I have 
 lyved the gifts more than the giver ; the lustre I saw 
 in them blinded me. I kept my eyes and mind 
 fixed to that, whereas their beauty should have served 
 only as a means to raise me to the knowledge of thine, 
 and to make me comprehend how the Creator must 
 be incomparably fairer than his creature. Thou hast 
 given me all things necessary, that I might give 
 myself to thee; I have appropriated them to myself, 
 and have never rendered thee either the glory or the 
 tribute that I ought : they have been perfectly obe- 
 dient to thee, doing me all the services which thou 
 hast prescribed them ; and I, for my part, have always 
 offended him, by whose order all things set themselves 
 to serve me : thou gavest me health, and I employed 
 it againstjthee ; thou gavest me strength, and I used 
 it for thy enemy. 
 
 What shall I yet say of another of my ingratitudes ? 
 I have seen all the labors and miseries with which 
 other men are afflicted ; yet they have not been suffi- 
 cient to make me understand that all these calamities 
 10 
 
110 THE MEMORIAL OF 
 
 which befell others, were so many benefits to me 
 since thou hadst the goodness to preserve me from 
 them. Owe we not an acknowledgment to the least 
 of men that has done us good ? And art thou, O 
 my God, only he whose favors it is lawful to forget ? 
 If benefits have heretofore tamed the fierceness of 
 lions and serpents, how comes it that thine have not 
 so far won my heart as to oblige me to say with the 
 prophet : " Let us fear the Lord our God, who gi veth 
 us the early and the latter rain in due season ; who 
 preserveth for us the fulness of the yearly harvest." 
 Jer, V. 24. 
 
 Thy bearing, O Lord, with such a one as 1 am, 
 was sufficient to show what thou art; nor was it 
 necessary to give me any further testimonies of thy 
 goodness : and if thou may est with justice require 
 from me a strict account of these things, thou may est 
 with more rigor exact one from me of those, which 
 made thee so liberally shed thy blood. 1 have 
 thwarted all thy purposes, and, as much as lay in me, 
 rendered useless all the mystery of thy incarnation. 
 Thou madest thyself man to make me in a manner 
 participate of thy nature; andl, througha disorderly 
 love of mine own vileness, have ranked myselfamong 
 beasts, and made myself a child of the devil ; thou 
 earnest down to earth to raise me to heaveij,andns 
 1 merited not that favor, sol minded it not, taking 
 more pleasure to continue wallowing in my filth and 
 mire ; thou didst set me at liberty, and I have of 
 myself returned into bondage : thou gavest me life, 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFE. Ill 
 
 and I have given myself death ; thou madest me one 
 of thy members, and I made myself a member of the 
 devil. Neither did so many benefits suffice to make 
 me know thee ; nor so many extraordinary marks of 
 thy love, to make me love thee; nor so many obliga- 
 tions, to make me hope in thee ; nor so rigorous a 
 justice borne by thyself to make me fear thee. Thou 
 humblest thyself even to the dust of the earth ; and 
 my pride was never in the least abated ; thou stoodest 
 naked on the cross ; and the world suffices not my 
 covetousness : thou, who art a God, sufferedst thyself 
 to be buffeted; and I, who am but a worm of the 
 earth, cannot endure so much as the hem of my gar- 
 ment to be touched. 
 
 But T am yet constrained, to my confusion, to 
 observe the utmost point at which my ingratitude 
 and malice could arrive : the mercy and love it pleased 
 thee to exercise towards me were so exceeding, that 
 thou wouldst die thyself to make sin die in me ; and 
 I have presumed to ofiend thee on the confidence I 
 had in this mercy. What greater impiety than this 
 can be committed ? I have taken occasion from thy 
 goodness to persevere in my wickedness; the very 
 same means thou madest use of to destroy sin has 
 been to me a motive of sinning ; thus have I frustra- 
 ted thy designs, mocked thy counsels, and made all 
 thy bounties serve to execute the inventions of my 
 malice : because thou art so good, I imagined that I 
 might be wicked; and because thou hadst already 
 bestowed on me so many benefits, I concluded that 1 
 
112 THE MEMORIAL OF 
 
 might commit against thee great offences. By so 
 detestable a conclusion I fell into this error, to lehold 
 the remedy thou ordainest against sin, as an encour- 
 agement to sin with more liberty, and to employ 
 those arms to destroy my own life, which thou gavest 
 me to fight against my enemies. In fine, thou wouldst 
 die, to render thyself the Lord of the living and the 
 dead, and to the end " that they also, who live, may 
 not now live to themselves, but unto him who died 
 for them, and rose again ;'' (2 Cor. v. 15,) and I, like 
 a true child of Jezabel, have taken occasion from thy 
 death to rob thee of thy goods ; I have run away from 
 thy service, and made myself a slave to thy enemy. 
 What punishment does not such a crime deserve? 
 If dogs devoured the flesh of this queen for such a 
 sin, how comes it that my body is yet whole ? 4 Kings 
 ix. And if the apostle forms a strong argument to 
 demonstrate the malice of man's heart, from its taking 
 occasion of the law, to break the law, is it not a far 
 greater wickedness to take occasion of grace to over- 
 throw the same grace? Rom. vii. 13, &c. Lord, 
 1 adore thy patience, in sufiering thyself to be buffeted 
 by the hands of sinners ; but there is much more cause 
 to wonder at thy bearing with me, and such other 
 sinners as I am. 
 
 But what appearance of hope is there that this 
 patience is not tired ? I see what thou sayest in thy 
 prophets: "I have always held my peace, I have 
 kept silence, I have been patient ; I will speak now 
 as a woman in labor." hai, xlii. 14. I know that 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFE. 118 
 
 the earth which brings not forth fruit, after it has 
 been watered by the rain, is cursed; and that the 
 vineyard which, after it has been carefully cultivated ^ 
 instead of good grapes, brings forth only such as are 
 sour and wild, is destroyed and laid waste by thy 
 command. How then^ sinner, who mayest be com- 
 pared to a dry and withered branch, didst thou not 
 fear the terrible voice of that husbandman, who cut* 
 off from the vine the fruitless sprigs, and casts them' 
 into the fire? Where was my prudence not t© 
 apprehend so formidable a judgment ? Where were 
 my ears that they heard not these words ? And what 
 dead sleep was I in that I awoke not at the thundering 
 of these threats ? I placed all my content in continu- 
 ing on the earth : I loved an abode so unworthy the 
 soul which God has given me, and I made it my 
 delight to be among the thorns; I was burned with 
 the fire of my passions : I was stung with the points 
 of my desires ; I was torn in pieces by the distraction^ 
 of my thoughts ; I felt the continual gnawings of the 
 worm of my conscience : and in this miserable con- 
 dition I foolishly thought myself at rest ; I imagined! 
 that I enjoyed peace in the midst of this cruel war,, 
 and perceived not that I was a senseless fool in not 
 knowing myself, and a rebel in departing from thy 
 service. 
 
 What, then, my God, will become of me ? Aias ! 
 what must I do ? I truly know that I deserve not to 
 appear before thee, or to lift up my eyes to behold 
 
 thee : but whither shall I go ? whei« oan; I hidt 
 10* 
 
114 THE MEMORIAL OF 
 
 Qiyself from thee ? Art not thou my father, and the 
 Father of Mercies ? Thus, though I have ceased to 
 act as a child, thou hast not left off to treat me as a 
 father ; and though I have committed all that can 
 contribute to my condemnation, thou hast still in 
 thee all that is requisite for my salvation. I can then 
 do nothing but throw myself at thy feet, and humbly 
 beg thy mercy ; I can call upon none but thee ; from 
 none but thee can I expect relief; for it is thou who 
 hast created me, hast formed me, hast redeemed me, 
 and hast preserved me ; thou art my king, my pastor, 
 my priest, and sacrifice ; and thus, Lord, if thou 
 puttest me away, who will receive me ? if thou forsak- 
 est me, who will protect me ? Acknowledge, Lord, 
 this strayed sheep, which returns to thee: if I am 
 wounded, thou canst heal me ; if I am blind, thou 
 canst give me sight ; nay, were I dead, thou canst 
 raise me again ; and if I am filthy, thou canst cleanse 
 me : " Thou shalt sprinkle me with hyssop, and I 
 shall be cleansed: thou shalt wash me, and T shall 
 be made whiter than snow." Psalm. 1. 9. Thy mer- 
 cy is greater than my offence, thy goodness exceeds 
 my malice, and thou canst pardon more sins than I 
 can commit. Look not, therefore, upon me with 
 disdain, nor consider the multitude of my offences ; 
 but the multitude of thy mercies, who livest and 
 reignest world without end. Amen, 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFE. 116 
 
 CHAPTER VI . 
 Of the Wonderful Fr-uits that foUow True Contrition. 
 
 These, brethren, are the considerations and prayers 
 that may help us to obtain this so important grace 
 of contrition : I have dwelt the longer upon them, 
 because this part is the foundation, and, as it were, 
 the key of all the rest that compose penance. You 
 ought, therefore, to read these things with the great- 
 est devotion you can; you ought to retire into a 
 quiet and silent place, and choose a time fit for that 
 purpose : for as it often happens that one who begins 
 to pray without devotion finds it in praying ; so it 
 may also fall out, that as you are. reading some of 
 these prayers, or meditating on some of those consid- 
 erations, T propose to you, without contrition, God 
 may give it you in the midst of prayer. St. Luke 
 (chap. 9, V. 29,) teaches us, that our Lord was trans- 
 figured whilst he was praying : thus great changes are 
 often wrought in prayer, God many times granting at 
 the last what he does not at the first ; «tid, therefore, 
 it is not without reason that the end of prayer is, 
 ordinarily, better than the beginning. 
 
 If it happen then that the penitent, by one of these 
 means, or any other, enters into a true contrition, 
 *he grace of the Holy Ghost is at the same time 
 restored to him, and it may be said, that from that 
 very moment this blessed Spirit is given him for a 
 guest, a director, and a governor, who will, like a 
 
116 THE MEMORIAL 09 
 
 wise pilot, securely steer his life through the micbBt 
 of this tempestuous sea He is then united by charity 
 to Jesus Christ, as a living member of its head, and 
 by this admirable union made partaker of the influence 
 of his grace, of his merits, of his death, and of his 
 life : he is then received and adopted for a child of 
 God, he becomes an inhabitant of his kingdom ; Grod 
 treats him as a true son, making him feel all those 
 effects of his care and providence which he usually 
 grants them whom he raises to this illustrious quality. 
 Then this Father, full of goodness, receives into his 
 house this son that was lost, causing him to be clothed 
 with a white robe, which signifies innocence, and 
 giving him the ring of wisdom, that is, a new know- 
 ledge of heavenly things, which are hidden from the 
 eyes of the world. Luke xv. 22. 
 
 Then the heavens rejoice, the angels sing praises 
 to God, and all the celestial kingdom bless that happy 
 day, which restores to them a banished citizen ; and 
 all creatures which were before afflicted for the offence 
 done to God, and the loss of their fellow creature, 
 leap for joy, and sound forth, after their manner, a 
 gong of praise, to see this loss so advantageously 
 repaired : but above all, this good Shepherd, who has 
 with so great pains sought his strayed sheep and 
 brought him home on his shoulders, makes his joy 
 appear ; then he calls together all his friends and 
 neighbors, saying to them : " Rejoice with me because 
 I have found my sheep that was lost." Luke xv. 6. 
 
 You will in the meantime observe, that the great- 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFE. 117 
 
 er the penitent's humility and contrition are, the 
 better they prepare him also for a more eminent 
 grace, and for the receiving greater mercies ; for as 
 the designed height of a building may be conceived 
 Dy the low laying of its foundations, and as we see 
 that a tree shoots up so much higher into the air as 
 it takes root deeper into the earth, so when God gives 
 men a more profound humility, and a more lively 
 horror of their wicked life, it is a great sign that he 
 disposes them for a more than ordinary grace. 
 
 " Justice and judgment are," as the prophet says, 
 "the preparation of God's throne." Ps. Ixxxviii. 15. 
 It is judgment that examines the cause, and justice 
 that executes the sentence. The soul of the sinner 
 exercises these functions in herself; she resents at 
 first with confusion the evil she has committed, which 
 was to forsake the Creator for love of the creature ; 
 and afterwards she pronounces against herself her 
 own judgment, acknowledging it to be just, that he 
 who dishonored God should humble himself, dishonor 
 himself, and debase himself, even to the dust of the 
 earth; and that he who has taken extraordinary 
 delight in creatures, should exceedingly lament, and 
 severely chastise himself, to do penance for his sinful 
 pleasures. It is thus a soul renders herself the throne 
 of God, and becomes the palace in which the Divine 
 Wisdom is pleased to make its abode. St. Bernard 
 says, that God makes use of fear and love, as of two 
 feet, to enter into a soul : he first sets in that of fear, 
 and afterwards that of love ; so that the greater the 
 
lis tHk mba«orial of 
 
 fear is which begins, the greater is the love which 
 follows. Our Lord, according to the language of 
 the prophet, mortifieth and quickeneth, " bringeth 
 down to hell, and bringeth back again." 1 Kings 
 ii. 6. And this is the order most frequently kept by 
 this Sovereign Lord, who, after a soul has conceived 
 so great a sorrow and fear for her offences, that she 
 seems as it were already swallowed up in hell, draws 
 her back by his mercies, and raises her up again, 
 giving her as many comforts as she has suffered griefs 
 and torments in her heart. 
 
 Thus, when your soul shall be troubled, when she 
 shall be taken with these terrors, do not lose courage ; 
 but, on the contrary, know that then a strong medi- 
 cine is given you, to the end you may become more 
 healthy ; that you are washed in scalding water, to 
 the end you may be more clean ; and that you are 
 laid on burning coals, to the end you may be purified 
 from the filth and rust you had contracted. It will 
 then be fit for you to raise your voice to God with 
 the prophet, saying ; " Thou hast moved the earth, 
 and hast troubled it ; heal thou the breaches thereof, 
 for it has been moved ;" (Ps. lix. 2,) and then will 
 you experience in yourself what the prophet adds: 
 "The earth trembled, and was still, when God arose 
 in judgment." Ps. Ixxv. 9, 10. 
 
 For as soon as, being moved by God, you shall have 
 pronounced against yourself the judgment we have 
 mentioned, the fear of divine justice will not fail to 
 seize your soul \ but this labor will soon be succeeded 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFE. 119 
 
 by rest, with the confidence and peace which oui 
 Lord gives those to whom he shows mercy: it is he, 
 that by his spirit of judgment, and by his spirit of 
 fire, washes away the stains of the daughters of Sion, 
 and takes from the midst of them the blood which 
 defiled them, striking a terror into the souls by the 
 first, that is, by the fear of his justice, and afterwards 
 comforting them by the second, that is, by confidence 
 in his mercy. Isai, iv. 4. Elias heard a noise, an 
 earthquake, and a violent whirlwind, which overthrew 
 mountains; but this tempest was followed by a 
 gentle wind, in which Grod made himself known. 3 
 Kings xix 
 
 This is the most usual manner in which God works 
 the conversion of souls, and this is the same he 
 observed for the sanctification of the world : he gave 
 it first the law, and after the law, the gospel ; and 
 thus the soul ought to find in herself before all things 
 the effect and rigor of the law; and afterwards the 
 peace and comfort of the gospel. The property of 
 the law is to frighten, as was signified by the terrors 
 with which it was given on Mount Sinai; (^Exod. 
 xix.) but the property of the gospel is to bring comfort 
 and courage ; as it came to pass when God sent the 
 Holy Ghost to the apostles on Mount Sion, in the 
 day of Pentecost. "Whoever will come to this 
 mountain must pass by the other :" that is, whoever 
 pretends to obtain the spirit of love, must feel the 
 spirit of fear ; and whoever aspires to the comforts 
 of the gospel, must first undergo the rigors of tho 
 
120 THE MEMORIAL OF 
 
 law. How happy is the soul that finds herself thus 
 disposed. It is to her are promised all the graces 
 and riches of the gospel, as Isaias signified, (c. Ixi. v. 
 1, 2, 3,) when speaking in the person of our Saviour, 
 he said thus : " The spirit of the Lord is upon me, 
 because the Lord hath anointed me ; he hath sent me 
 to preach to the meek, to heal the contrite of heart, 
 and to preach a release to the captives, and deliver- 
 ance to them that are shut up: to proclaim the 
 acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance 
 of our God ; to comfort all that mourn : to appoint to 
 the mourners of Sion, and to give them a crown for 
 ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, a garment of praise 
 for the spirit of grief" See hei;e how many com- 
 parisons the Holy Ghost uses, to express on one side 
 the effects of the law and penance, and on the other, 
 those of the gospel and grace, and how the one are 
 promised by the other. It is then certain, that to 
 enter into Jesus Christ's palace, and into his rich 
 cellars, where are the delicious wines of the true 
 Solomon, we must pass through affliction, through 
 labor, and through penance ; and that whoever pro- 
 poses any other way is a deceiver. Endeavor with 
 the spouse to get upon the mountain of myrrh, that 
 is, of bitterness, of sorrow, and of mortification, and 
 you shall not fail to hear afterwards the words which 
 the wise man adds : " Thou art all fair my love, and 
 there is not a spot in thee." Cant. iv. 7. 
 
 It is true, God does not always dispose in this 
 order; but sometimes prevents with the sweetness 
 
A CHKISTIAN LIFE. 121 
 
 ef his blessings those he will draw to him, lest the 
 austerity of penance, and the strokes of despair may 
 make them retire and shrink back : but it also ordi- 
 narily happens that, after they have been strengthened 
 by such evident pledges of his mercy, he puts into 
 their souls bitter regrets for their , offences which are 
 followed by this great peace, and this consolation we 
 have spoken of This is what God teaches by his 
 prophet, when he says : " I will give her vinedressers 
 out of the same place, and the valley of Achor (that 
 is, of trouble) for an opening of hope ; and she shall 
 sing there, as she sang in the days of her youth." 
 (Osee ii. 15.) This shows that when God uses these 
 means, he begins by the sweetness of spiritual de- 
 lights; that-he afterwards gives the valley of Achor, 
 that is trouble, and the bitterness of Contrition ; but 
 that in a short time succeed songs of youth, that is 
 the joys of the soul, which pours herself forth in 
 praises, seeing in herself the marks God gives her 
 of his love, which are so many pledges of the marriage 
 he will contract with her, and first fruits of his glory. 
 It is also of very great importance to take notice 
 that our Lord, in raising a soul from a less degree 
 of grace to an higher, often proceeds in the same 
 order he kept in bringing her to change her life, and 
 pass from sin to grace : for having a design to draw 
 her to great things, he disposes her for this state by 
 sighs and desires, by sorrows and fears, and fills her 
 not with his gifts till after he has tried her in spirit 
 and body, by many labors and pains. He will have 
 
122 THE MEMORIAL OT 
 
 this rainy and stormy winter to precede both the 
 flowers of the spring, and the fruits of the summer, 
 (Can. ii.) which are the gifts and graces that he 
 prepares for his friends ; and the greater the favors 
 are he reserves for them, the sharper also, usually, 
 are the sorrows that go before them. Let no sinner 
 therefore be dismayed when he sees himself in this 
 condition ; on the contrary, let him look on it as an 
 assurance of God's goodness, and of the graces he 
 will bestow on him. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 On the Second Part of Penance^ which is Confession^ 
 and of the seven things which are to be ohservea 
 in it. 
 
 We have explained the first part of penance, which 
 consists in contrition of heart ; let us now come to 
 the second, which regards confession of sins. Few 
 people confess as they ought ; and to perform this 
 duty well, when the penitent shall have done his ut- 
 most endeavor to excite in his soul a true contrition, 
 according to the rules we have set down, he must 
 observe what follows : 
 
 SECTION L 
 
 On the care that is to he taken in tocamining our 
 Conscience. 
 
 Advice I. The first thing is, that before any one 
 presents himself to confession, he takes time to ex- 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFE. 123 
 
 amine his conscience, and exact of his memory a 
 faithful account of all his past sins, especially if it be 
 long since he has been at confession. A wise doctor 
 says : that it is to be done with all the care and dili- 
 gence the most prudent men use in affairs of the 
 greatest importance ; and, in truth, I know not any 
 more considerable, or of greater consequence. 
 
 This preparation is so necessary, that if it should 
 be wanting, the confession would be null, unless the 
 confessor should, by prudently interrogating the peni- 
 tent, supply this default ; as it would also be, if any 
 should, on purpose, omit to confess a sin, of which he 
 knows himself guilty: and according to the opinion 
 of eminent doctors of the church, it is an evil equally 
 grievous to conceal voluntarily some sin in confession, 
 or to confess one's self so negligently as to omit some 
 for want of due examination. This is so common a 
 misfortune, that it were fiit to be preached aloud in 
 all public places, for the undeceiving of those who 
 ordinarily go and throw themselves at the feet of a 
 confessor, without any way preparing themselves by 
 an examination of their life. 
 
 Those who come to the performance of this duty 
 with so little respect, besides the sacrilege they com- 
 mit, are as much obliged to make a new confession 
 as if they had deliberately concealed one of their 
 sins ; their forgetfulness being so far from excusing 
 them, that, on the contrary, it renders them more 
 guilty, since it proceeds not from any defect of nature ; 
 but from a manifest negligence depending on the 
 
l'*J4 THE Mf]MORIAL OP 
 
 will. For avoiding these inconveniences, it is neceu- 
 Barjr'for a man to be careful in himself; and the 
 order he ought to keep in it is, to begin the review 
 of his soul by the consideration of the mortal offences 
 into which he may have fallen. For this purpose 
 it will be necessary to consider distinctly the ten 
 Commandments of God, and seriously to reflect how 
 often he has sinned against them, by thought, word, 
 or action, weighing also all the circumstances that 
 have accompanied the sin, if they are such as ought 
 necessarily to be confessed ; of which we will treat 
 particularly hereafter. 
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 The Obligation we have to confess the Number of 
 our Sins, 
 
 Advice II. In the second place, it is necessary 
 for the penitent, when he makes his confession, to be 
 exact in declaring the number of his sins ; that is, 
 how often he has committed such or such a sin; for 
 if the number be not expressed, his confession will 
 not be entire. If he cannot distinctly remember the 
 number, let him declare it in such manner as he can 
 best call it to mind ; but if his memory cannot suggest 
 to him any thing like a distinct comprehension of 
 the number, and if it be a sin in which he has lived 
 a considerable time, as in some enmity, or sin of 
 impurity, let him then declare how long he has 
 3ontinued in this sin, to the end the confessor may 
 
 i 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFE. 1 25 
 
 thence conjecture how often he may probably have 
 offended during such a space of time : but if it be a 
 gin that has not this continuance, but into which the 
 penitent has several times fallen ; as, if he has fore- 
 sworn himself, spoken ill of his neighbor, or cursed 
 him, and cannot remember how often he has thus 
 offended, let him tell at least, whether he has been 
 subject to commit these sorts of sins as often a? 
 occasion offered, or whether sometimes returning to 
 himself, he resisted them; for by this means his 
 physician, knowing the state of his disease, can better 
 apply himself to cure him. 
 
 SECTION III. 
 
 Of Confession, and the Circumstances that ought to 
 accompany it. 
 
 Advice III. It is not enough to confess the kind 
 and number of one's sins ; but their circumstances 
 must also be expressed, when they are of such a 
 nature as to be directly opposite to some of the com- 
 mandments of Almighty God, or of his Church, or 
 when they greatly aggravate the sin, though they do 
 not change the kind of it : for though the act of the 
 mortal sin be in itself but one, it may nevertheless 
 be accompanied with such deformity or excess, that 
 it will be absolutely necessary to declare them ; as, 
 for example, if a man should steal arms to kill another, 
 or take away his wife, it is evident that though this 
 
 be but one act, which is to rob, and that consequently 
 11* 
 
t26 THE MEMORIAL OF 
 
 he commits but one sin, which is theft, yet this single 
 Act is infected with the poison of two more criminal ; 
 to wit, murder and adultery, which are contrary to 
 these two of God's commandments : " Thou shalt not 
 kill," and " Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's 
 wife." And these circumstances so augment the sin^ 
 that it is absolutely necessary to confess them. There 
 are others that are not so important, and which may 
 be omitted; as having spoken ill of others in the 
 church, or having committed some sin on a fasting 
 day, or a holy-day ; but after all he does well to confess 
 them, as one confesses venial sins; and because it is 
 not so easy a matter to discern well the diflPerence 
 between these two sorts of circumstances, I will here 
 set down those we are most commonly obliged to 
 declare in confession. 
 
 First, as for what concerns sins of impurity: it is 
 necessary to declare the circumstances of the person 
 with whom one has sinned; the sins being diflferent 
 according to the different qualities of the person : for 
 to offend God with a single person is simple fornica- 
 tion; with a married person it is adultery; with a 
 kinswoman, incest; with a priest or a nun, being 
 dedicated to God's service, sacrilege, or spiritual 
 adultery: and such circumstances are so essential in 
 respect of this sin, that one is bound to declare them, 
 not only when it has been consummated by the act; 
 but also when it has been committed only in thought 
 and desire, since it is the same thing in the sight of 
 God. In thifi sin ako, and in all others, we must 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFE. 1^7 
 
 take notice whether they have caused any scandal, 
 which is likewise a necessary circumstance : and by 
 this word scandal is understood the giving another, 
 either by words or actions, occasion to sin; as the 
 soliciting a woman to incontinency, or of a man to 
 gaming, or the instigating any one to be revenged 
 of his enemy. Thus, in sins of the flesh, besides what 
 we have already said, it is very necessary to distin- 
 guish whether one has made use of such means as are 
 frequent in those sorts of crimes to induce the other 
 person to sin, or whether she willingly offered herself 
 to it; for in the first there is scandal, which much 
 augments the malice. 
 
 It is also to be considered, whether, when a sin 
 was committed, it were done in such a place, or before 
 such persons as, from the evil example that was given 
 them, might probably take occasion to do the like ; 
 as if any one who has authority over others should eat 
 flesh on a day of fasting or abstinence, or carelessly 
 give himself to some other licentiousnesSj in the 
 presence of those that depend on him, and will soon be 
 ready to imitate his faults. In this case there is an 
 indispensable obligation to confess this circumstance 
 of scandal, and of the ill example we have given ; and 
 this is a point that ought duly to be weighed by 
 persons of quality, whose houses are open to every 
 one to game in; and by all fathers and mothers, 
 whose words and actions are like laws to their chil- 
 dren: for though too common a misfortune, the 
 Buperiors taking plea^^ure in any thing, is suflScient to 
 
128 THE MEMORIAL OF 
 
 make their inferiors look on it at least as lawful, if 
 not also commendable. Saul, through despair, killed 
 himself with his own hand, and his servant at the 
 same time fell also on his own sword, believing that 
 he did not amiss in following the example of his 
 master. 1 Kings 31. It is also sometimes necessary 
 to declare, whether one has sinned in a holy place, 
 and particularly in three cases, which are, theft, 
 bloodshed, and actual impurity ; because this circum- 
 stance of place aggravates the offence, and makes it 
 sacrilege, which makes the crime more heinous. Tn 
 like manner, when a man has sworn, or made a vow 
 to do or not to do something to which he is moreover 
 obliged by an express commandment of Almighty 
 Grod, as^ not to swear, nor to kill, or any evil of like 
 nature ; if he shall afterwards happen to do the con- 
 trary, he is bound to declare this circumstance, to wit, 
 his oath or vow, which makes his sin double, and 
 ought to be doubly considered. 
 
 SECTION IV. 
 
 That it is not necessary to confess any thing that does 
 not aggravate or change the Species of the Sin of 
 which we accuse ourselves 
 
 Advice IV. The fourth advice is, that having 
 performed what I have declared of the number and 
 circumstances of sins, there is nothing farther neces- 
 sary to be done, but to express simply the kind or 
 'name of the sin committed; as theft, enmity, adultery, 
 or the like. Whence you may comprehend that, io 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFE. 129 
 
 confessing 3"0ur sins, there is no need of relating a 
 history ; it is enough to tell their names, and how 
 often you have committed them, without using many 
 words to declare how things passed. This is a rule 
 very requisite to be observed, and if the most part 
 of penitents understood it, they might in a short time 
 accuse themselves of their manifold sins, by reducing 
 them to their kinds, and saying: I have so many 
 times stolen, committed adultery, sworn false oaths, 
 &c. And for the better governing himself on these 
 occasions, when a penitent intends to accuse himself 
 of a crime that seems to require a long rehearsal, in» 
 which he will relate several circumstances that trou- 
 ble his conscience and vary his sins, let him endeavor 
 to pick them out of the body of his story, and accuse 
 himself of them apart, and so he shall accuse himself 
 as he ought. But after all, if he has not understand- 
 ing enough to keep this method, let him accuse 
 himself as well as he can, for God requires no more 
 of any one than he knows, and is able to do. 
 
 You may from this advice conclude, that it is not 
 necessary to particularise the manner and order in 
 which the sin was committed; especially if they are 
 things which concern impurity, but it is sufficient 
 simply to tell the kind. I could wish I might stop 
 here, and this matter being very loathsome, I wish I 
 could omit speaking of it : but since we are seeking 
 after remedies, I am constrained rather to offend the 
 chaste ear, by declaring in particular what is necessary 
 to be explained. The sin of impurity may then be 
 
1 30 THE MEMORIAL OF 
 
 oommitted by thought, by word, by touch, or, in fiuc, 
 by the deed itself. If the act has been consummated, 
 it is sufficient to tell the name of it ; as, I have so 
 often committed incest, adultery, or simple fornication, 
 without specifying any farther particularities, which 
 are sufficiently understood when the kind of the sin 
 is known. If it were by lascivious touching, you 
 shall say, I have so often dishonestly touched such a 
 sort of person, without adding any thing more partic- 
 ular, unless by the touching there followed something 
 that might change the kind of the sin. If you have 
 sinned in word, you shall say, I have spoken filthily 
 or immodest words to excite one to sin, or to divert 
 myself, without rehearsing what you said. If you 
 have offended in thought, you shall say, I have had 
 an unchaste thought, I consented to it, I have taken 
 delight in it, I have continued it : without particular- 
 ising, I thought on such or such a thing, as many do 
 to their confusion, not being obliged to it by the 
 sacrament. These things are so clear, that it seems 
 every one ought to be almost instructed of them by 
 himself; and we should not have spoken of them, did 
 we not observe the contrary to be frequently practised : 
 but there are some persons so stupid, that they want 
 a candle at noon-day; and the scrupulous shall by 
 this learn, that they ought not to declare their sins 
 in any other manner; they ought to explain them aa 
 tliey are taught by the doctors of the church, and 
 content themselves with that, since they are obligcvj 
 tc Jo no more. 
 
 4 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFE. 131 
 
 SECTION V. 
 In what manner Sins of Thought are to he confessed 
 
 Advice V. Because there is some particular diflS- 
 culty in confessing well sins of thought, I shall 
 succinctly show how this ought to be done. A man 
 when assaulted by an evil thought can behave himself 
 only after one of these four ways: he will either 
 immediately repel it, or for some time entertain it, 
 or determine to put in execution, or continue in it 
 purposely and deliberately, with delight. For the 
 first, it is clear there is no sin, but merit and a reward 
 to be expected ; and so there is nothing to be confessed. 
 And if the combat were so obstinate that it should 
 continue a whole day, he who resists is so far from 
 committing any sin, that, on the contrary, it is an 
 occasion of merit for him, and a means to obtain a 
 reward. The second is a venial sin, more or less 
 considerable according to the time one shall have 
 continued in it ; the manner of confessing it is to say, 
 I accuse myself of having had a thought of impurity, 
 of hatred, or of anger, and that I have not rejected 
 it as I ought, but indulged some time in it. As to 
 the third, when one consents to this thought, and 
 resolves to put it in execution, though the act followft 
 not, it is a mortal sin, and of the same kind as the 
 act itself would be ; for the exterior act has essentially 
 nothing more than the interior. For the fourth, 
 which is the delaying voluntarily in an evil thought. 
 
132 THE MEMORIAL C P 
 
 t 
 
 whether it respects revenge, impurity, stealthy, &c., 
 it is a mortal sin, and is termed in morality, delectatio 
 morosa ; that is, a lingering delight ; as if one should 
 say, though I drink not in the tavern, I take delight 
 in thinking on it ; and there are ordinarily none but 
 dissolute, vicious souls, and such as give themselves 
 up to sensual pleasures, that fall into such sins ; for 
 though this is not a consenting to the act of the sin. 
 it is yet a consenting to the delight it gives, and puts 
 a person in evident danger of consenting to the act. 
 This is to be understood, when a man sees and con- 
 siders what he thinks, and yet repels it not; for if 
 when he makes reflection on the evil thought that 
 occurs to him, he endeavors to shake off this flame 
 from him, it will then be no mortal sin, because he 
 stays not willingly in it, but it will be a venial one, 
 because he should have taken more care not to be 
 surprised by it. This manner of sin respects all 
 mortal sins, though it be more frequent in sins of the 
 flesh, of hatred, or of revenge, which commonly are 
 more fiery and deeper rooted than the rest. 
 
 This is a disorder into which those very often fall 
 that are wholly addicted to impurity and vice, who 
 seeing themselves deprived of the means to satisfy 
 their brutish desires, do what they can to enjoy, at 
 least in thought, their detestable pleasures, e'specially 
 when they dread dishonor, or that a strict watch 
 kept over them hinders their accomplishing them in 
 act. Nor is it less common amongst th(?se who are 
 violently possessed by some criminal, carnal passion ; 
 
A CHBISTIAN LIFE. 133 
 
 this is a tyranny that seizes on the heart with a 
 strange command, that carries it away, and keeps it 
 continually fixed on the base object; and therefore 
 there is nothing so dangerous as to give this sort of 
 affections entrance into one's soul ; for it is to lodgf 
 in one's house a cruel tyrant, and a destroyer of inno- 
 cence, and to keep by one a secret allurement to all 
 sins. Those sins may be also committed by married 
 persons, in respect of husband and wife, when they 
 entertain such thoughts with pleasure or delight : so 
 dangerous is this abominable sin ! 
 
 SECTION VI. 
 
 0/ taking heed not to prejudice our Neighbor's 
 Reputation, 
 
 Advice VI. The sixth advice, to preserve our 
 neighbor's reputation, confessing our own sins in 
 suet a manner as not to discover those of another, 
 nor even to name any person. It is sufficient to say, 
 I have sinned with one that is married, or that is 
 single. If the circumstance to be expressed is such 
 as the confessor may by it know of whom we speak, 
 we must then seek another confessor; and if that 
 cannot be done, we may, in such an impossibility, 
 tell the circumstance, for the confessor will not reveal 
 it; and this declaration tends not to defame our 
 neighbor, but to discover our own crimes. We 
 must also be very exact, neither excusing our sins 
 nor aggravating them with any excess, nor telling a 
 12 
 
34 THE MEMORIAL OF 
 
 certain thing for doubtful, nor a doubtful for certain ; 
 but putting all things in their quality, telling them 
 simply as they are, and never swerving from the truth. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 
 Of cases in which the Confession is nuU, and muM 
 he reiterated. 
 
 To the end it may more clearly appear of what 
 importance all those things are of which we have 
 treated, I have thought it would be very proper to 
 relate in few words, the most ordinary cases in which 
 the confession is null, and consequently, must be 
 reiterated. 
 
 The first is, when the penitent has in his confession 
 told a lie in a matter of mortal sin. The second, if 
 he has deliberately and on purpose omitted to accuse 
 himself of any mortal sin; that is, if he understood 
 what he concealed to be a mortal sin ; for if he then 
 thought it not so, but has since been better instructed, 
 it will be sufficient to accuse himself of this particu- 
 larly, without reiterating his whole confession : and 
 though the ignorance were such that it could not 
 excuse his first omission, when he fell into it, it is 
 nevertheless sufficient to discharge him of this new 
 obligation. The third is, if having been a long time 
 from confession, he has not been careful enough 
 examining his conscience ; for in this case forgetful 
 
 II 
 
 1 iui 
 ful-J 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFE. 135 
 
 QehS excuses not the penitent, but, on the contrary, 
 renders him more culpable. The fourth is, when the 
 penitent has not a firm resolution to leave the sin in 
 which he is, or when he will not restore what he 
 ought. The fifth, when he is excommunicated, and 
 has not taken care to get himself absolved of his ex- 
 communication before his coming to this sacrament. 
 It is however to be observed, that in all these castj;s 
 which require the reiterating the confession, if it be 
 made to the same confessor, it will not be necessary 
 to repeat anew all the sins one has confessed, if the 
 confessor remember them ; but it will suffice only to 
 say, I accuse myself of all the sins I confessed such 
 a day, and moretjver of such and such a fault, which 
 obliges me to reiterate my confession ; but it is always 
 safer to reiterate the confession, And because most 
 men have great reason to apprehend that they have 
 been guilty of some of these defects in the confessions 
 they have made, it is a very prudent and wholesome 
 advice for those who have any care of their salvation, 
 to make once in their life a general confession, to put 
 away entirely all these negligences, and afterwards 
 to begin a new life, and watch over themselves with 
 more attention. In fine, for the help of the weak, 
 and the ease of those whose memory is defective, we 
 have thought it would not be amiss to insert a short 
 table of sins, according to which penitents may exam- 
 ine their consciences, and prepare themselves to come 
 properly disposed to this sacrament. It is not qui 
 intention in presenting you with this memorial, to 
 
136 THE MEMORIAL OF 
 
 take up a great number of sins which rarely happen, 
 and are little known, (as some authors have done,) 
 but to set before you only those into which men most 
 commonly fall. 
 
 FIRST COMMANDMENT. 
 
 *' lam the Lord thy God, thou shaU not have strange gods before me." 
 
 Since, as St. Augustin says, God is to be honored by the three 
 theological virtues. Faith, Hope, and Charity, we ought in this 
 place to speak of the sins we have committed against these virtues. 
 And first, as for what concerns Faith, the penitent shall dedare 
 whether he has doubted of any article of faith, for he who doubts 
 in faith, is an infidel. 
 
 Nay, though he has not absolutely doubted, if he has even in 
 any manner staggered, or not been sufficiently firm in matters of 
 faith, it is a sin. 
 
 If he has with too much curiosity desired to search into matters 
 of faith. 
 
 If he has given credit to dreams, divinations, lota, and witch- 
 craft, or has made use of any of these things. 
 
 If he has given credit to, or carried about him any superstitious 
 writings, containing obscure and unknown words and figures. 
 
 If he was a free-mason, or abetted the principles of free-masonry. 
 
 If he has performed any work of devotion with an ill intention, 
 as, to the end any one might die. 
 
 As concerning blasphemy in matters of faith, let him accuse 
 himself if he has blasphemed God or his saints. 
 
 If he has been dissatisfied with the Divine Providence, nor sub- 
 mitted to the will of God ; if he has murmured against him, or 
 complained of him for the afflictions and troubles he has sent him, 
 as if he were not just or merciful. 
 
 If in this rage he has desired his own death, or wished God 
 would take him out of the world, testifying that he was weary of 
 the life he gave him. 
 
 As to Hope, let him examine himself whether, in the adversi^iei 
 that have befallen him, he has had such confidence in God as h« 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFE. 137 
 
 ought; acoompanied with such oourage and consolation as thif 
 livelj confidence ordinarily brings with it. 
 
 If, on the contrary, he has placed his confidence in creatures, 
 and in the powers of this world. 
 
 If he has despaired to obtain pardon of his sins, or amendment 
 of his life. 
 
 If, on the contrary, through a presumptuous confidence of being 
 pardoned for his offences, he has persisted in a wicked life, or put 
 off his repentance from day to day, or to the hour of his death. 
 
 As concerning Charity, let him accuse himself if he has not 
 loved God above all things, with all his heart, and with all big 
 soul, as he is obliged to do. 
 
 If he has done good works rather for some human respect or 
 interest, than for the love of Grod. 
 
 If he has not been careful to recommend himself every day to 
 God ; if he has not daily given him thanks for his benefits, and 
 principally for having created him, redeemed him, and made him 
 ft Christian, and that he is not an infidel or a heretic. 
 
 If he knows not his prayers, and what a Christian is bound 
 to do. 
 
 If he has ill treated God's servants, those that pray, confess, 
 and communicate ; if he has scoffed at them, or spoken ill of them. 
 
 If he has put himself in danger to offend Almighty God, by 
 doing something which he doubted to be a sin. 
 
 SECOND COMMANDMENT. 
 
 "TAoi* shalt not take the Name of the Lord thy God m vain." 
 
 If he has sworn any thing, knowing, or doubting it was false, 
 or if he took no care whether what he swore were true : if he 
 has promised any lawful thing with an oath, not having intention 
 to perform it when he swore. 
 
 If he has sworn without an intent to do as he swore. 
 
 If he has sworn not to do a good act, as not to lend gratis, nor 
 to help any one in necessity, nor to visit nor speak to one that 
 he ought in charity: this oath bindeth not, no more than the 
 following ; 
 
 If he has, on the contrary, sworn to do any evil. 
 
 He must also accuse himself of those oaths by which he cursei 
 
 12* 
 
1S8 THE MEMOEIAL OP 
 
 or imprecates on himself any evil, which are very common ; a0, 
 let such a thing come on me ; let such an accident befall me. 
 
 If he has been the cause of any one's swearing falsely, or not 
 performing a lawful oath he may have made. 
 
 If he has been accustomed to swear frequently: it is a perilous 
 habit, because it puts us in danger of sometimes swearing falsely. 
 
 If he has omitted to reprehend his children or servants when 
 he has heard them swear. 
 
 As concerning vows ; if he has broken any vow, or too long 
 delayed to fulfil it. 
 
 It he has made a vow to do some evil, or not to do some good : 
 neither of these vows obliges. 
 
 Great care is also to be taken that, in granting the change of 
 any vow, it be done with great prudence. 
 
 THIRD COMMANDMENT. 
 
 " Remember that thou Ixep holy the SabbcUh Day," 
 
 If he has broken any holyday, by doing or commanding an) 
 servile work to be done on it, except it were some small matter. 
 
 If he has neglected to hear a whole Mass on such days, without 
 lawful cause. 
 
 If he has not behaved himself at Mass, at divine service, and in 
 holy places, with such reverence as is due to them ; or if he haa 
 employed himself there in gazing, talking, or laughing. 
 
 If he has not taken care that his children and servants should 
 hear Mass on such days. 
 
 If he has spent the holydays in gaming or vanities. 
 
 If he has neglected the hearing of sermons. 
 
 If, being excommunicated, he has been present at divine service, 
 or received any sacrament. 
 
 FOURTH COMMANDMENT. 
 
 ^^ Honor thy Father and thy Mother," 
 
 This commandment comprehends. 1. The duties of children 
 towards their parents, and of parents towai-ds their children. 2. 
 Of servants towards their masters, and of masters towards their 
 •ervants. 3. Of superiors towards their inferiors, and of inferioi-a 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFE. 139 
 
 t4)\i?ards their superiors. 4. Of the wife towards the husband, 
 and of the husband towards his wife. 5. Of sons-in-law towards 
 their fathers-in-law, and of fathers-in-law towards their sons-in- 
 law. There is in a manner but one and the same rule for all these, 
 an 4 there may be also added to it what young people owe to their 
 eiders, and all those who have received favors, to their benefactors. 
 
 According to this order, a son ought first to examine himself, 
 if he has slighted his father or mother, if he has treated them 
 with disrespect, or spoken ill of them. 
 
 If he has disobeyed them in things that were lawful. 
 
 If he has not succored them in their necessities. 
 
 If he has behaved himself disdainfully or injuriously to them, 
 because they were poor, or of mean condition. 
 
 If he has not performed their last wills and testaments. 
 
 If he has wished their death, to enjoy their estates or property. 
 
 As for fathers ; let them consider if they have taken such care 
 of their children as they ought, especially in teaching them to 
 know and serve God, 
 
 If they have not rebuked or chastised them when they have 
 seen them neglect their duties, or frequent evil company. 
 
 If they have been too indulgent to them, in letting them have 
 tUeir own will, and follow their evil inclinations. 
 
 For masters : they ought to observe the same things, in as much 
 as regards their domestics, and to provide them what is necessary 
 for them. 
 
 Let them consider also, if they have been careful of them when 
 they were sick, and caused them to receive the sacraments. 
 
 If they suffered them to neglect their duty to God, or to fall 
 into vice, being able to hinder it. 
 
 Fathers-in-law and their sons-in-law are obliged to live in peace, 
 ajad a good understanding j and therefore let them examine them- 
 selves, and see whether there is any enmity between them ; if they 
 have had any quarrel, or given one another evil words : if worldly 
 interests have made them desire one another's death. 
 
 Let married persons consider their duties : the husband, if he 
 has treated his wife lovingly; if he has not abused her by worda 
 or otherwise. The wife, if she has misbehaved herself towards 
 her husband; if she has disobeyed him; if she has at any time 
 oflcnded him by injurious words, and thereby given iiim occaeioo 
 
110 THE MEMORIAL OF 
 
 t^» lose his })atience, or break forth into oaths. If there be aaf 
 cause of jealousy between them. 
 
 Let subj(K5ts honor their superiors; let thena see if they have 
 been disobedient to them; if they have contemned the laws and 
 orders they have given them ; if they have despised them in their 
 hearts ; if they have spoken ill of them ; if they have judged 
 rashly of them, putting an ill interpretation on their actions, say- 
 ing they did them for interest, or any other worldly respects ; if 
 they have not shown reverence to persons placed in oflBce and 
 dignity. 
 
 It they have contenmed aged persons ; if they have not honor- 
 ed them; if they have mocked them, or scoffed at them. 
 
 If they have been ungrateful to their benefactors ; if they have 
 forgotten their favors, or, which is much more infamous, ren- 
 dered them evil for good. 
 
 FIFTH COMMANDMENT. 
 <' Thau shaU not kiU." 
 
 The soul being far more considerable than the body, the peni- 
 tent ought, in the first place, to reflect if he has not spiritually 
 slain any one, by having incited him, or given him counsel or oc- 
 casion, to sin mortally ; which is called the sin of scandal. 
 
 If he has accompanied him, favored him or given him assistance 
 in any wicked action. 
 
 As to the body ; if he has killed any one ; if he has desired or 
 wished his neighbor's death ; if he has prayed to God for it. 
 
 If he has challenged or accepted a challenge, or encouraged, as- 
 sisted, or was present at duelling ; this being a heinous sin though 
 tj'equent. 
 
 If be has borne a deliberate hatred against any one, with a 
 design to be revenged of him, and how long this hatred has con- 
 tinued. 
 
 If he has taken away any one's reputation, with the scandal of 
 his neighbor. 
 
 If he has engaged in factions and quarrels, and if he has favored 
 them. 
 
 If he has threatened any one, or given him reproadiful language, 
 not being his servant, or under his government. 
 
 i 
 
A CHKISTIAN LIFE. 141 
 
 If he has refused to for^ve him who has humbly asked pardon 
 of him. 
 
 If, having offended any one by words or actions, he would not 
 desire his pardon, either by himself, or by a third person, or if 
 be has not sufficiently satisfied him for his offence. 
 
 SIXTH COMMANDMENT. 
 
 " Thou shaU not commit Adultery." 
 
 In all sins God may be offended by thought, word, and deed,* 
 but it more frequently happens in this. And if we are so unhappy 
 as to fall any of these three ways into sin, we must declare the 
 quality and circumstance of the person with whom we have 
 offended, as we have already said. 
 
 According to this order then, when a penitent shall accuse him- 
 self of his thoughts, he shall tell if he has been negligent in speed- 
 ily resisting his unclean thoughts ; if he has consented to them 
 with purpose to put them into execution if he had an opportu- 
 nity ; if he has wilfully and deliberately taken delight in them, 
 knowing what he did. 
 
 As to words; if he has spoken filthy and immodest words; if 
 he has taken pleasure in such kind of discourses. 
 
 If he has solicited any one to sin by words, letters, or the inter- 
 position of a third person. 
 
 As to deeds; if he has consummated the sinful act, or, if it has 
 not been consummated, if he has been guilty of unchastely 
 touching either himself or any other person. 
 
 If he has fallen into any voluntary pollution ; if he has himself 
 procured it, or if it befell him in his sleep, of which the judgment 
 must be according to the cause preceding it, and the sorrow or 
 delight following it. 
 
 If he has done any thing to provoke others to this sin, either 
 by painting, loose or wanton dress, showing one's self at windows, 
 or other open places, and the like. 
 
 If he has endeavored to corrupt the chastity of others by 
 presents, promises, true or false, or any other means whatever. 
 
 If he has not avoided the occasions of sin, as dangerous com - 
 pany and conversation, or the having in his own house the occa 
 lion of sinning, which is the greatest and most to be feared of all. 
 
142 THE MEMORIAL OF 
 
 If he has taken pleasure in reading such books as might pro- 
 voke him to sin. 
 
 If he has not had recourse to fasting, prayer, the sacraments, or 
 other spiritual remedies, when he has found himself tempted by 
 Chii sin. 
 
 SEVENTH COMMANDMENT 
 <^ Thou shalt not Steal" 
 
 If he has taken any thing belonging to another, by deceit, rio- 
 wnce, usury, or simony. 
 
 If he keeps another's goods against the owner's will, and does 
 ttot restore it. Nor is it suflScient to have a* design of restoring it 
 hereafter, but he must immediately do it, though by doing this 
 act of justice he should be driven to want something requisite for 
 the decency of his condition; particularly if the owner himself 
 be much endamaged by want of it. 
 
 If he detains his servants' or workmen's wages, or money due 
 to tradesmen, against their wiU. 
 
 If he restores not such thmgs as he has found, when he knows 
 the owner. 
 
 If in buying or selling he has used any deceit in the wares, 
 price, weight, or measure; if he has bought of such as were not 
 capacitated to sell, as of children and the like; if he has taken of 
 them any thing they ought not to give. 
 
 If, under pretence of selling on credit, he has taken above the 
 just price, having no other just cause to do so ; which he shall 
 submit to the judgment of his confessor. 
 
 If he has lent upon usury, or entered into society with any one 
 where the loss and gain are uncertain, with covenant to have his 
 whole principal secured to himself. 
 If he has cheated any way, and gained by it. 
 If he has played for more than was convenient for one of his 
 condition. 
 
 If he has played with minors, or persons under age, for more 
 
 than they could play for. 
 
 If in gaming he has sworn, quarrelled, or gn en evil language. 
 
 If he has not faithfully discharged the employ for which he ii 
 
 paid: which respects not only workmen, but also those that are 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFE. 143 
 
 ID the service of great persons^as their cashiers, stewards, over- 
 seers, or other officers; for if their master has received any dam- 
 age by their negligence, they are bound to make it good. 
 
 If he who has the disposal of public offices, benefices, and other 
 important employs, regards only the persons to whom he gives 
 them, and if he bestows tkem for worldly respects, and not ac- 
 cording to justice. 
 
 If he has advised the giving of a benefice or office to an uo- 
 warthy person, or one that is unfit for it. 
 
 If He has not paid dues tx) his pastor. 
 
 EIGHTH COMMANDMENT. 
 
 *^ Thou shaU not bear False Witness" 
 
 This commandment contains two great branches; the one com- 
 prehends the sins which are committed in judgment by the judges, 
 lawyers, and witnesses, jury, plaintiff, and defendant; the other, 
 slanders, detractions, mockeries, suspicions, lies and flatteries, 
 which are so conmion in the world. 
 
 As for the first, it is for the penitent to consider, if he is or haa 
 been a judge, lawyer, witness, or jury-man, and conformably to 
 accuse himself of what concerns these employs. 
 
 As for the second branch, he who confesses shall first reflect if 
 he has borne any false witness. 
 
 If it is a woman, she shall accuse herself, if through anger or 
 iealousy she has spoken unseemly of any other woman, saying, 
 that she behaves herself ill, that she brings others into bad com- 
 pany, that she is a bad woman, or a thief, when she misses any 
 thing out of her house : for to speak thus, when there Ls but little 
 ground for it, is also to bear false witness. 
 
 If he has spoken ill of any one with a bad intention, and design 
 to do him a displeasure, which is called detraction; if he has re- 
 vealed any grievous and secret fault of another, whose reputation 
 is blemished by it, though he had no design to prejudice him ; 
 for though the thing be true, he is obliged to restore his good 
 name, which he had taken away. 
 
 If he haa taken delight in hearkening to detractors, and if h* 
 has either excited them to detraction, or encouraged them in ii , 
 if he has been too light in reporting the evil he has heard of 
 another. 
 
144 THE MEMORIAL OF 
 
 If he has not defended his nftghbor's reputation, when de- 
 famed, knowing him to be innocent. 
 
 If he has found fault with another person's conduct uncharita* 
 bly ; if he has mocked or scoffed at the defect of others, either 
 in body or mind ; if he has judged rashly of his neighbor's wordi 
 or actions, putting an ill construction on that which might have 
 been taken in good part, or which is more dangerous, if he has 
 spoken that as certain which he only suspected in his heart. 
 
 If he is suspicious, taking occasion from the smallest matters to 
 believe ill of his neighbor ; if he has sown divisions, or raised 
 discontents between friends, by carrying tales from one to another, 
 which often produces great enmities. 
 
 If he has told any lie, to the prejudice or disadvantage of his 
 neighbor, or in any other manner. 
 
 If he has obtained any thing by false information, which he 
 could not of right have expected. 
 
 If he has discovered any thing entrusted to him as a lawful 
 secret ; if he has opened another's letters. 
 
 We have spoken of the ninth and tenth commandments in what 
 we have said concerning the sixth and seventh. 
 
 OF THE SEVEN CAPITAL SINS. 
 Of Pride, 
 
 Sin I. — ^Pride is an inordinate desire of one's own excellence j 
 this is a sin whence many others proceed, the principal of which 
 are vain-glory, ambition, presumption, ostentation, and hypocri- 
 sy. According, therefore, to this, he who shall perceive himself 
 infected with this sin, may accuse himself of every one of these 
 kinds in the following manner : 
 
 And first, as touching vain-glory: if he has gloried in having^ 
 done any wicked action, as in having been revenged, in having j 
 beaten or dishonored any one, Ac. 
 
 If he has attributed to himself any glory for vain qualities, 
 and such as deserve it not j as, for the beauty of his face, the 
 comeliness of his body, the fashion of his clothes, his train ot] 
 servants, wealth, descent, and such like things, which are of very 
 Utile importance. 
 
 If be has gloried vainly in those that are indeed good, and 
 
 J 
 
A OHUTSTIAN LIFE. 145 
 
 worthy of giory ; as in his virtue, knowledge, and prudence, all 
 ll/e <rlory of which ought to be given to God alone. 
 
 If he has delighted in being flattered, or receiving praises from 
 men, with too much complacency for himself, and without refer- 
 ing the glory to Almighty God. 
 
 As concerning ambition : if he has excessively desired honor 
 «nd vain-glory, and has for that cause done any thing contrary 
 to his duty. 
 
 If he has been so afraid of shame, ill-repute, or disesteem, as, 
 for the avoiding of these inconveniences, to have done what he 
 ought not, or omitted what he ought to have done. 
 
 If, through the sole apprehension of men's speeches, he has 
 abstained from doing any good : as confessing his sins, communi- 
 cating, hearing Mass, conversing with devout persons. 
 
 As for what respects presumption : if he has been too much 
 conceited of himself, esteeming himself mo*^ virtuous, more learn- 
 ed, more wise, or more noble, than he is; and if, on the other 
 side, he has too good an opinion of himself for what he is indeed, 
 not attributing the glory of it to God. 
 
 If he has too great confidence in his own judgment, knowledge 
 or virtue ; if for that reason he will not receive counsel, advice, 
 or correction from others. If, for the same reason, he defends 
 manifest faults, seeking excuses in his sins. 
 
 If not to seem overcome, he obstinately contends against what 
 he knows to be true and reasonable. 
 
 If he has little esteemed other persons, speaking contemptibly 
 of them ; if, with this presumption of himself, he has derided or 
 scorned the weakness or ignorance of others. 
 
 As for what regards hypocrisy: if he has affected to appear 
 what he is not, or desired to be thought better than he is, to pro- 
 cure himself vainly a reputation amongst men. 
 
 And, in fine, as concerning ostentation ; if he has through van- 
 ity, praised himself, and put a greater value on his actions tnan 
 he ought : if he has boasted of having committed any sin, as of 
 having dishonored any woman, beaten or misused any person ; 
 if he has vaunted of any thing he never did, especially if it were 
 linful, that he might pa&s for a man of courage. 
 
146 THE MEMORIAL Of 
 
 Covetoumeaa, 
 
 Sin n. — If he is covetous; if he has hoarded up much motkty 
 w ithout a reasonable cause ,* or if, on the contrary, he has oeen 
 prodigal, and squandered away his estate. 
 
 If he spends beyond his ability, and, to support it, reduces 
 himself to necessity, and defrauds his family of their due ; if he 
 pi jvides not what is fitting for his children and servants. 
 
 If he is such an inordinate lover of riches, that he forgets God, 
 ar.d the salvation of his soul, to satisfy his covetousness. 
 
 If he has desired any one's death, in order to enjoy his estate, 
 or for any advantage he expected from it. 
 
 0/ Lechery, 
 
 Sin HE. — This is treated of in the Sixth Commandment. 
 
 Of Anger, 
 
 Sin IV. — Let the penitent in the first place, consider, if he ba^ 
 been so angry with himself as to wish or desire his own death. 
 If in his anger and fury he has hurt himself; if he has given 
 himself to the devil, cursed himself, or attempted to hurt himself. 
 
 As concerning his neighbor : if he has been angry wdth him, 
 or taken dislike to him without cause. 
 
 If he has spoken with anger or abuse to him ; if he has given, 
 him injurious language, calling him thief, drunkard, or fool, if it 
 be not to correct him as his servant. 
 
 If to vex him he has upbraided him with the faults he has fallen 
 into ; through the same motive, he has uttered the same injurious 
 words, or discovered the same faults of the person he would 
 affront, in his absence. 
 
 If he has cursed, or offered to the devil, anyof 6od*s creatnrei; 
 if he has wished vengeance on them. 
 
 If he is obstinate, choleric, quarrelsome, and outrageona iB nlf 
 words and reasonings. 
 
 Of GluUonjf, 
 
 Sin "V. — If he has broken the fasts of the chQrc!^ 
 If he has eaten flesh meat on prohibited days. 
 
 I 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFE. 147 
 
 If he has eaten with such excess, or of such meats as hare 
 prejudiced his health. 
 
 If he has drunk or eaten too much, too often, or with too gre«i 
 sensual delight. 
 
 Of Envy, 
 
 Sin VI. — ^If he has deliberately been displeased at fcds neigfa' 
 >or's prosperity. 
 
 If he has rejoiced at another's misfortune ; as, to see him fallen 
 into losses. 
 
 If he has spoken ill of him to do him injury in his person or 
 reputation, or to raise his own on the ruin of another's ; if he 
 das discovered any of his neighbor's secret faults, to diminish the 
 isteem that might be had of him, and if he has, for the same 
 jause, been displeased when he has been well spoken of. 
 
 Of SlotK 
 
 Sin VII. — If he has through sloth omitted to do any good 
 work ; as, to hear Mass, or to pray, particularly when he was 
 obliged to do it. 
 
 If he has done the works of God coldly and negligently. 
 
 If he is inconstant in his good designs and purposes ; if he 
 leaves his exercises of piety on the least occasion ; if he delayt 
 them from day to day. 
 
 If he mis-spends his time in vain thoughts, idle words, or un- 
 profitable actions. 
 
 If he is extraordinarily afflicted at the troubles and adversities 
 that befall him ; and if, on the contrary, he is too much puffed 
 up with prosperity and good success, not giving God the glory of it. 
 
 Of the Works of Mercy. 
 
 Let him, in the first place, accuse himself if he has been negli- 
 gent in the spiritual works of mercy, particularly if he has not 
 given counsel or advice to those to whom he profitably might ; 
 if he has neglected to reprehend them for their faults, especially 
 those of whom he was obliged to take care. 
 
 If, in performing this duty, he has done it with such anger, or 
 with ^0 little moderation, that ha did more hurt than good ; if he 
 bas not been moved with so many disorders, miseries, and here- 
 
148 THE MEMORIAL OF 
 
 eies, as are in the world, and if he has not prajed God to reme- 
 dy them. 
 
 As to corporal works of mercy : let him consider, it he has 
 assisted his neighbor in his troubles and necessities, and if he has 
 given alms to the poor according to his ability. 
 
 If he thinks them burdensome to him, if he speaks ill of them, 
 if he gives them harsh words, if he shows himself displeased at 
 ♦;heir importunity, if he derides them. 
 
 Of other particular Accusations, according to the State or Con- 
 dition one is in. 
 
 Besides these accusations, which may be common to all sorts of 
 persons, there are some others more particular, which regard the 
 state and condition of e^ery one. There is a difference between 
 the obligations of a bishop, of a curate, of a priest, of a religious 
 person, of a merchant, of a judge, of a lawyer, of a physician ; 
 and thus the faults they commit in their functions are different, 
 and they ought particularly to declare them. 
 
 Prelates, and all that have charge of souls, ought to accuse 
 themselves, if they have neglected the duty incumbent on them, 
 to feed their flocks with their doctrine, example, and prayers. 
 
 Priests, of what concerns their office, and the celebration of 
 Mass. 
 
 Religious persons, of the vows and the obligations of their order. 
 
 Judges, if for any worldly respects, or other ill motives, they 
 have violated justice ; if they have too long delayed it. Lawyers, 
 if they have maintained unjust causes ; if they have put off trials, 
 or if they have not examined their client's case with care enough. 
 
 Plaintiffs and defendants, if their pretentions were unjust ; if 
 they effected delays to perplex affairs, and render them obscure ; 
 ff they have CDucealed or torn papers that testified the truth ; or 
 if they have gained the judges by favor, cabals, or open corruption. 
 
 Witnesses, if they have declared the truth, without favor or 
 affection. 
 
 Let merchants accuse themselves of dealing in prohibited 
 traffic, and if in their buying and selling they have done any 
 thing contrary to justice. And so of others, every one according 
 to his condition. 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFE. 149^ 
 
 General Directions for distinguishing between Mortal and VeniiU' 
 
 JSin, 
 
 In all those sorts of sins we have here set down, it would noti 
 have been amiss to declare which are mortal, and which ard 
 venial sins; because we are, of necessity, obliged to confess all* 
 our mortal sins, but as to our venial sins we are not bound to 
 confess them, if we are certain that they were only venial. But 
 •ince this matter cannot be explained in a few words, we will con- 
 tent ourselves with giving some general directions concerning: 
 this point, leaving the rest to the judgment of the confessor. 
 
 To know then what is mortal, and what is venial sin, these two' 
 following rules are ordinarily observed. The first is, that what- 
 soever is contrary to charity, is mortal sin; and by charity we- 
 understand the love of God and our neighbor : according to this 
 rule, whatever is against God's honor, or our neighbor's good, in 
 any matter of importance, is a mortal sin; as, to have any way 
 prejudiced him in his honor, in his estate, or the like; for thiS' 
 destroys charity, in which the life of the soul consists, and is 
 therefore rightly called mortal sin, because it takes away its^ 
 spiritual life. But whatsoever is not materially against charity, 
 is a venial sin ; as some idle words, which injure nobody, some 
 vain complacency, some hastiness, some kind of sloth or glut- 
 tony, as the eating a Uttle more than is necessary, and other faults 
 of the Uke nature. The second and more particular rule is, that 
 whatsoever breaks any commandment of Gk)d or his church, is a 
 mortal sin. Thus whosoever offends against the commandment,, 
 which says, " Thou shalt not steal ;" or against that which says, 
 **Thou shalt not commit adultery;" or against the precepts of' 
 the church, which ordains the confessing once a year, or the- 
 communicating at Easter, commits a mortal sin. It is neverthe- 
 less to be observed, that what is of itself a mortal sin, may, not- 
 withstanding, happen to be only venial, by reason of its circum- 
 stances ; for example, he who steals a bunch of grapes, though^ 
 he steals, commits not a nx)rtal sin, if he did not think that it was- 
 a mortal sin when he was taking it, or doubted that it might be- 
 such, because of the small value of the thing. 
 
 It is also to be observed, that there are three sorts of com- 
 mandments: some are negative; as, " Thou shalt not kill," Ac. ; 
 which oblige always, and at all times: others are affirmatiTei 
 13* 
 
150 THE MEMORIAL Olf 
 
 as, to give alms, to be sorry for one's sins, to love God; these bind 
 ti.l ways, though not at all times, but only when occasion requires ; 
 the third sort are mixed, and have somewhat in common botJi 
 with the negative and affirmative ones j ae to restore another 
 man's goods ; because this precept on the one side commands us 
 to restore, and on the other forbids us to retain what belongs not 
 to us : so those which are of this nature, bind in both manners ; 
 to wit, always, and at all times. And thus it is not enough for 
 him who owes, to have a purpose of making restitution hereafter, 
 he is obliged to do it out of hand, and not to keep another's goods 
 against the will of the owner, according to the nature of the neg- 
 ative commandment, which enjoins it, and obliges always and at 
 all times. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Of the third 'part of Penance, which is Satisfaction. 
 
 After contrition and confession must follow satis- 
 faction. This is the third part of penance, and by 
 this God is satisfied for the faults committed against 
 him. For the better understanding this important 
 instruction, it is to be considered, that as he who 
 breaks the laws of the commonweal, is obliged to 
 suffer the penalties ordained by those laws ; so he 
 who breaks the laws of God, is liable to the punish- 
 ments appointed by Divine Justice. These penalties 
 are undergone either in this life or the next ; that is, 
 either in this world, in purgatory, or in hell ; in hell 
 the torments are eternal ; in purgatory the pains in- 
 deed last not for ever, but yet they are so terrible, 
 that, as St. Augustin says, all the torments of this 
 world, though even the most horrid ever suffered 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFR 151 
 
 by the martyrs, are not in the least to be compared 
 to them. Fastings and corporal austerities, though 
 bat light sufferings, exempt us nevertheless from this 
 dreadful punishment ; for since God in these things 
 regards not so much the sharpness of what is suffer- 
 ed, as the will with which this sacrifice is offered him : 
 and since what is free and voluntary in this world, 
 is forced in the other ; a little pain, voluntarily en- 
 dured in this life, has more value, and gives more 
 ample satisfaction, than many great ones suffered of 
 necessity in the next 
 
 On which you will perhaps ask me, if then the 
 sacrament of penanee is not sufficient to deliver us 
 from the punishment due to sin, how does that of 
 baptism produce this effect ; for it effaces all, and at 
 the same time absolves men both from the pain and 
 the guilt ? I answer you, that there is a great dif- 
 ference between these two sacraments ; that of bap- 
 tism is a spiritual regeneration, and a new birth of 
 tlie interior man ; and thus, as a thing which is born 
 anew, ceases immediately to be what it was, and re- 
 ceives a new being, without retaining anything of 
 what it had before ; as, when of a kernel there grows 
 up a tree, the kernel loses its being, and the tree 
 receives a new one ; so, when a man is spiritually 
 born again, he at the same time ceases to be that old 
 man, that is, that child of wrath and perdition he 
 was before ; and begins to be a new man, which is a 
 child of grace, and free at the same time both from 
 guilt and pain. But the sacrament of penance ope- 
 
152 THE MEMORIAL Of 
 
 rates not in this manner: it annihilates not past 
 sins, as a regeneration ; but cures them as a remedy. 
 This wholesome medicine sometimes indeed entirely 
 restores the health of the soul, but sometimes also it 
 restores it not so perfectly ; it frequently leaves in 
 the patients the relics of their ancient infirmity, 
 which, with care and good government, wear away 
 in time. Thus penance sometimes cures perfectly, 
 that is, both of pain and guilt, when it is accompanied 
 with perfect contrition ; such as was that of St. Mary 
 Magdalen, and some others ; but when the contrition 
 is not so full, it takes not away all the punishment 
 which must be suffered either in this life or the next. 
 The manner of men acting one with another gives us 
 an example of this conduct. A lord, who shall have 
 committed a capital crime against his prince, may 
 afterwards do him such great services as will render 
 him worthy of his favor, and obtain a general pardon 
 of the punishment which was due to his offence ; 
 he may also do him others not so considerable, and 
 by that means recover his prince's favor, with some 
 change of his punishment, as banishment instead of 
 death. David dealt thus with his son Absalom, for 
 a murder he had committed on the person of his 
 brother Amnon, in a cause of indignation he had 
 against him ; he banished him three years out of his 
 kingdom ; but after that time, being willing to par- 
 don him, he did it on condition he should not see 
 his face, nor enter into his palace. 2 Kings xiii. 14. 
 In like manner, when the condition of a sinner is not 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFE. 155 
 
 BO perfect, God pardons his sin by the virtue of the 
 sacrament, and exempts him from the eternal pun- 
 ishment he had merited, and often from a part of the 
 temporal ; but he will not permit this criminal to 
 enter into his palace, nor so soon to see his face, till 
 time has purged away his stains, either in this life 
 or the next. Thus God dealt with David; seeing 
 that he confessed his sin, and that his repentance 
 was sincere, he pardoned him the adultery into which 
 he had fallen, and re-established him in the grace he 
 had lost ; (ibid, xii.) but he afterwards sent him 
 great afflictions, for a crime which was pardoned 
 him. Ibid. xxiv. 
 
 But what sin was ever more pardoned than that 
 of Aaron and Moses at the waters of contradiction *f 
 Num. XX. Nevertheless, though the sin was for- 
 gotten, the sentence pronounced by the Divine Jus- 
 tice had its effect ; (^Deut. iii. 32.) and these two holy 
 personages, for this cause, were not allowed to enter 
 the Land of Promise. Thus then it happens to the 
 greatest part of men in this sacrament ; the sin is 
 there pardoned, divine grace is there acquired by 
 the virtue of Jesus Christ's passion, which operates 
 divinely in it ; but often by reason of the imperfec- 
 tion of the sorrow, a man remains obliged to certain 
 degrees of punishment, in such measures as it pleases 
 God to inflict them : and there being nothing so 
 advantageous for the discharging of these punish- 
 ments, as acts of piety and good works, those are, 
 (Without doubt, most efficacious which are most labo- 
 
154 THE MEMORIAL OF 
 
 rious, and most irksome to our flesh. For since 
 the flesh," as St. Grregory says, " has, by its irregular 
 delights, cast us into the crime, it is fit she should 
 punish herself for it, and by voluntary chastisements, 
 get rid of her evil: and since we have made no 
 scruple to displease God for the pleasing of our 
 senses, reason requires that we should afflict and 
 mortify them for the satisfying of God." 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 On the Origin and Cause of Satisfaction. 
 
 Being thoroughly persuaded, as we ought to be 
 by the reasons I have alleged, of the necessity of 
 satisfaction, let us now see what is the origin of it 
 to the end you may better know how you ought to 
 make it. 
 
 Remember then what I observed to you in the 
 beginning of this book, that true penance and the 
 conversion of a sinner is the greatest favor one can 
 receive in this life. Glory is indeed something more 
 excellent than grace, since the one is grace begun, 
 and the other grace perfected ; but in effect it is a 
 more extraordinary favor of God to draw a man out 
 of sin and put him in the state of grace, than to give 
 him glory after he has given him grace. Moreover 
 as baptism, which is the door of the sacraments and 
 the beginning of man's regeneration, brings along 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFE. 155 
 
 with it all the virtues and all the gifts of the Holy 
 Ghost, with the grace from which all these benefits 
 proceed ; so true penance, which is the beginning of 
 our resurrection, acquires all these gifts, but particu- 
 larly a new knowledge of spiritual and divine things, 
 to which man, as dwelling in the regions of darkness 
 and the shadow of death, was in a manner blind ; it 
 acquires a new charity and love of God, which is the 
 form of true penance and all other virtues, and causes 
 in our soul wonderful sentiments and effects of this 
 virtue ; for as natural love is the source of all the 
 other natural affections and passions, so the super- 
 natural love of God is the origin of all spiritual 
 affections and motions, which are so much the greater, 
 as this love is more powerful. And as the grace of 
 conversion is sometimes greater, as was that of St. 
 Paul, of St. Augustin, and several others ; and some- 
 times less, as the ordinary conversions which we daily 
 see ; so the interior motions and affections of the 
 soul, which come from this grace, are sometimes 
 greater and sometimes less. 
 
 This virtue then causes first to spring up in the 
 soul so much sorrow and so great a displeasure for 
 having offended God, that a true penitent would 
 rather choose to have suffered a thousand sorts of 
 torments, than to have sinned against such a master. 
 It imprints in his heart a true fear of the Divine 
 Majesty, whom he knows that he has offended ; it 
 renders him sensible how justly he has merited his 
 indignation and wrath, and makes him apprehend 
 
156 THE MEMORIAL OF 
 
 the effects of it ; it makes him conceive a very great 
 shame of appearing in his presence, like that of the 
 publican in the Gospel, who, covered with shame and 
 confusion, durst not lift up his eyes to heaven. 
 Lake xviii. In fine, it excites in him a very strong 
 resolution to satisfy God by the mark of a true pen- 
 ance for the sins committed against him, and an 
 ardent desire of revenging upon his own flesh the 
 evils of which it has been the occasion ; for consider- 
 ing that to please this enemy, and to content its 
 irregular desires, he has followed the disorderly love 
 of creatures, and renounced the love he owed to his 
 Creator, he becomes so incensed against his own 
 flesh, that there are not any pains or torments he 
 would not willingly inflict on it, as the only cause of 
 his misfortune. 
 
 Such was the spirit of penance which the holy 
 man Job expresses in these words : "I have sinned : 
 what shall I do to thee, keeper of men ?" Job 
 vii. 20. As if he would more clearly say, according 
 to St. Augustin's interpretation : Lord ! I acknow- 
 ledge my sin, and the trouble it gives me is such^ 
 that there is no pain I would refuse to suffer for the 
 expiating of it. See, Lord ! what thou pleasest 
 to have me do ; behold me ready for whatsoever thou 
 wilt do with me : I have nothing else to offer thee 
 but a heart disposed for whatever thou wilt command 
 it; if it be thy pleasure that I should be burned in 
 raging flames, that my body be torn in pieces, or that 
 [ endure any other torment whatsoever • behold I 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFE. 157 
 
 am ready. I offer myself to thee, bound hand and 
 foot, and lying prostrate before thee ; I fly not ; I 
 refuse thee not for my Judge ; I appeal not from thy 
 judgment ; I allege no excuses, nor desire any miti- 
 gation of my punishments. Judge me only accord- 
 ing to thy will ; be thou the knife, and let me be the 
 flesh ; cut me where and how thou pleasest, provided 
 thou pardon me the sins I have committed. It was 
 thus David afflicted himself, when he said, " I am 
 afflicted and humbled exceedingly; I roared with 
 the groaning of my heart. Lord, all my desire is 
 before thee, and my groaning is not hidden from 
 thee. My heart is troubled, my strength hath left 
 me, and the light of my eyes itself is not with me." 
 Psalm xxxvii. 9, 10, 11. Thus ought all those to 
 humble, afflict, and chastise themselves, who have 
 presumed to offend their God. For (as a holy doc- 
 tor says,) it is fit, that a soul which has forsaken 
 Ood, to please herself inordinately in the creature 
 against the will of the Creator, should pay with rigor 
 60 lawful a debt, and by voluntary pains purge away 
 the criminal delights with which she hath blinded 
 herself Since guilt naturally deserves to be followed 
 by pain, which amends and corrects it, it is just that 
 they who have dared to commit many faults, should 
 procure themselves many pains : and since man has 
 by sin separated himself from the Sovereign Good, 
 and foolishly adhered to the creature, which is an 
 intolerable contempt of Almighty God, it is just that, 
 to expiate this so criminal an injury against this 
 U 
 
158 THE MEMORIAL OF 
 
 Divine Power, he should by his own will abase him- 
 self even to the dust of the earth. 
 
 In this manner then do they labor to satisfy God, 
 whose eyes he has opened with his celestial light; 
 to the end that, knowing the greatness of the Divine 
 Goodness, they may therein know also their own 
 extreme vileness, and that the one and the other may 
 be the measure of their satisfaction. To strengthea 
 you in this design, and at the same time not only to 
 produce an example, but also to give confusion to the 
 wretched carelessness which is now found amongst 
 men, I have thought it would not be amiss to set 
 here before your eyes some circumstances of the 
 admirable austerity and rigor of certain penitente 
 whom St. John Climachus found in a monastery, 
 which this holy man, as an eye-witness, relates al- 
 most in these very words : 
 
 " Being come into this monastery, I beheld there 
 things which the eye of the slothful had never seen, 
 the ear of the negligent has never heard, and the 
 heart of sluggards will never be able to comprehend. 
 I saw there actions and words capable, if I may so 
 speak, to do violence to the Almighty, ^nd bow down 
 his mercy in a moment. I saw some of these holy 
 penitents, who passed whole nights standing upright 
 in the open air, as if they had been immovable; 
 and when sleep began to seize on them, I saw them 
 struggle, by reviling themselves, to keep it oflF, as 
 unwilling to grant their bodies the least repose. I 
 saw others, who keeping their eyes perpetually fixed 
 
^ CHRISTIAN LIFIk\ 159 
 
 towards heaven, with never ceasing isighs and tears 
 implored the divine mercy and assistance. Others, 
 on the contrary, said with the publican, that they 
 were not worthy to lift up their eyes towards heaven, 
 or to speak unto Almighty God ; and thus in sorrow 
 and silence they offered up their souls, filled with 
 confusion and fear. Others there were who, clad 
 with sack-cloth and hair-cloth, hid their faces be- 
 tween their knees, and struck their foreheads against 
 the ground with inexplicable bitterness of heart. I 
 saw some who had watered the earth round about 
 them with their tears, and others that lamented ex- 
 cessively because they could not weep. Several 
 others, mourning over themselves, as we do over the 
 grave of a deceased friend, bewailed the loss of their 
 souls. Others there were, who, ready to roar for 
 grief, eagerly strove to stifle the noise of their com- 
 plaints, till no longer able to repress them, they were 
 forced to let them break forth with greater violence. 
 I saw some, who by their exterior actions, and by the 
 apparent trouble of their minds, appeared so aston- 
 ished, that one would have taken them for statues of 
 stone, so insensible to all things had the excess of 
 their sorrow rendered them : their heart was plunged 
 in an abyss of humility ; and their scorching grief 
 had dried up all their tears." And a little after, 
 tliis holy man goes on thus : (ihid. art. 14 and seq.') 
 " There one might have seen these holy penitents, 
 full of sorrow, and bowing down to the earth, who 
 oontemning all care of their flesh, mingled their 
 
100 THE MEMOrjAL OF 
 
 bread with ashes, and their drink with tears There 
 were heard among them no words, but such as these : 
 Wo ! wo ! be to us, wretches as we are. It is with 
 justice, Grod, it is with justice ! Pardon us, if 
 thou pleasest, Lord, pardon us ! Many of them 
 had their tongues hanging out of their mouths, like 
 wearied dogs, through the extremity of the thirst 
 that tormented them : some there were, that in the 
 height of summer stood parching in the sun's most 
 violent heat ; and others, on the contrary, in the 
 depth of winter suffered themselves to freeze with 
 cold. Some took a little water to refresh their 
 tongue, but not sufficient to quench their thirst ; and 
 others contented themselves with a small morsel of 
 oread, refusing more, and saying, they were not 
 worthy to eat the food of men, since they had lived 
 the lives of beasts. 
 
 "ximongst these exercises, it is easy to be imagin- 
 ed there was no room for divertisements or idle dis- 
 courses, and, consequently, much less for wrath or fll 
 humors ; the care of the body, the pleasure of good 
 cheer, and the least shadow of vain-glory, were utter- 
 ly banished. Their whole employment was to cry 
 day and night to our Lord, and no voice was heard 
 in this company but that of prayer. There were some 
 who, beating their breasts as fiercely as if they were 
 knocking at the gates of heaven, said, Judge, full 
 of compassion, open to us by thy mercy that gate 
 which our sins has shut against us. Another said, 
 Show thy face to us, Lord, and * make known thy 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFE. 161 
 
 salvation.' Psalm xcvii. 4. Another said, *Eii 
 lighten them that sit in darkness, and in the shadow 
 of death .' Luke i. 79. Another said, let thv mer- 
 cies, Lord, prevent us speedily, ' for we are become 
 a reproach to our neighbor.' Psalm Ixxviii. 4. 
 Others said, Perhaps it will please God one day to 
 be reconciled to us, and to behold us with a favora- 
 ble eye ; perhaps we shall one day hear that voice, 
 which will say, to ' them that are bound, come forth : 
 and to them that are in darkness, show yourselves.' 
 Isai, xlix'. 6. 
 
 " They had always death present before their eyes, 
 and speaking to one another they said, * What will 
 Defall us at that last hour, and what shall our end 
 be ? Will God revoke the just judgment we have 
 deserved ? Shall our prayers have had force enough 
 to ascend to the throne of the Divine Majesty ? 
 Shall they be found worthy to be there received ? 
 Shall they have advantaged us ? and by what merit 
 shall they be applied to us ? Shall it be true, that 
 coming forth of our mouths^ still altogether unclean 
 and polluted, they have, nevertheless, found favor, 
 before the Lord ? Who can tell, whether our good 
 angels, to whose custody God has committed us, are 
 here about us, or whether the stench of our sins has 
 driven them away?' And others answered these de- 
 mands, saying : Who knows, brethren, as heretofore 
 the Ninivites said, (Jonas iii. 9.) whether our Lord 
 will not pardon us, whether he will not turn the eyes 
 of his mercy towards us, and deliver us from death, 
 14« 
 
162 THE MEMORIAL OF 
 
 after we have invocated him with perseverance, even 
 to the end of our lives ? For he is merciful, and our 
 tears and labors will appease him. Let us run, 
 brethren, let us run ; for we have need to run, and 
 to run with all our force, that we may get to the 
 place from whence we are fallen. Let us run always 
 towards that mark ; let us not spare our filthy flesh ; 
 let us revenge on it the excesses it has committed ; 
 and let us make it bear the punishments it has 
 made us deserve. 
 
 " This is what these true penitents said, and the 
 exterior state of their bodies no less expressed the 
 interior sorrow of their souls. Their countenances 
 represented rather dead than living persons; their 
 eyes were dry, and sunk into their heads; the flesh 
 of their cheeks appeared shrivelled, and, as it were, 
 parched with the scalding of their tears ; the hair of 
 their eye-lids was fallen away by reason of their 
 weeping ; their knees were hardened like a cameFs 
 skin by their continual prayer ; their breasts appear- 
 ed bruised with blows, and their lungs were so pre- 
 judiced by them, that their spittle was always seen 
 mingled with blood. These blessed criminals be- 
 sought their superior, who might indeed be consid- 
 ered as an angel amongst men, that he would load 
 their necks and hands with chains, that he would 
 put irons on their feet, and let them remain in this 
 condition till the day they should be laid in the 
 grave^ of which also they thought themselves xu^ 
 worthy. 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFE. 163 
 
 " But when the last hour of any of these peni- 
 tents approached, it was a far more dreadful specta- 
 cle to see the actions and motions of their compan- 
 ions at that instant ; for they encompassed him on 
 all sides, and with hanging down heads, sad looks, 
 and mournful words, said to him : How dost thou 
 find thyself now, dear brother ? What are thy 
 thoughts ? What dost thou say ? What is thy hope ? 
 What dost thou think will become of thee ? Hast 
 thou obtained what thou soughtest with so many 
 labors ? Dost thou see that the haven of salvation is 
 open for thee ? dost thou receive any pledge or cer- 
 tain assurance of it ? Does not thy heart perceive 
 some new light, and does it not hear some voice 
 within it, saying to it, ' Thy sins are forgiven thee ; 
 or, * Thy faith has made thee whole ;' {Matt ix. 2 
 and 22) or, on the contrary, tell us, if thou hearest 
 not these terrible words, * The wicked shall be turn- 
 ed into hell, and all nations that forget God ;' (^Psalm 
 ix. 18) or these others, 'Bind his hands and feet, 
 and cast him into the exterior darkness ;' (^Matt. xxii. 
 13) or these, * The wicked shall not see the glory of 
 God.' Isai. xxvi. 10. What sayest thou, brother? 
 Speak freely to us for our instruction. We conjure 
 thee to do it, dear brother, to the end we may learn 
 by thy example what we must one day expect ; for 
 thy suit is now come to an end ; thy cause will soon 
 be decided ; the judgment thou shalt receive will be 
 for eternity, and never will be changed ; we wait 
 what will be the event of ours, which is yet doubtful 
 
104 THE MEMORIAL Oi 
 
 and uncertain. Some answered to these demands, 
 ' Blessed be the Lord, who has not suffered us to be 
 a prey to their teeth.' Psalm cxxiii. 6. Others 
 answered with more sorrow and grief, Wo be to the 
 soul which has not faithfully kept the vows of her 
 holy profession, for now is the hour in which she 
 shall know what is prepared for her to all eternity. 
 
 " I confess, that having heard and seen all these 
 things, and compared my sluggishness with their 
 sufferings, I wanted but little of falling into despair : 
 for what, think you, is the situation and structure of 
 this monastery ? It is nothing but obscurity, stench, 
 and filthiness ; all is there hideous and loathsome. 
 Thus it is not without reason called a prison and an 
 abode of criminals, since one cannot so much as look 
 on it without weeping, and entering into the thoughts 
 of a true penance. 
 
 " All this will perhaps appear incredible or im- 
 possible to the sluggish or negligent ; but true peni- 
 tents, and those who know what the happiness is 
 they have lost by sin, will judge otherwise of it : for 
 the soul which finds herself guilty of having broken 
 the covenant and solemn treaty she has made with 
 her God, and remembers, that with the peace and 
 friendship of the Lord, she has lost the inestimable 
 treasures of his grace, the consolations of the Holy 
 Ghost, and has quenched the fire of charity, which 
 heretofore produced in her such sweet tears, conceives 
 so violent a sorrow for her offences, that she not only 
 iuffers all these labors with patience, but wouJd in- 
 
A CIIRTSTIAN LIFE. 165 
 
 finitely augment them, and even crucify herself, if it 
 were lawful for her so to do. Such were these blessed 
 criminals, or rather these holy fathers, when they re- 
 membered their past happiness, and all the sweet and 
 pious exercises they had heretofore employed them- 
 selves in, saying with the holy man Job, ' Who will 
 grant me, that I may be according to the months 
 past, according to the days in which God kept me ; 
 when his lamp shined over my head, and I walked 
 by his light in darkness ; as I was in the days of my 
 youth, when Grod was secretly in my tabernacle; 
 when the Almighty was with me, and my servants 
 round about me ; when I washed my feet with but- 
 ter, and the rock poured me out rivers of oil ? Job 
 xxix. 2, 3, &c. 
 
 '* It was thus they called to mind their past hap- 
 piness, and looking back on all the heavenly favors 
 they had received, they wept bitterly, and melting 
 wholly into tears, said, * Where is now that first puri- 
 ty of our prayers ? where is that confidence with which 
 we offered them to God V where are those so tender 
 and sweet tears which streamed from our eyes in the 
 midst of the bitterness and contrition of our hearts ? 
 where is that entire chastity of body and soul, which 
 made our principal glory ? where is that perfect loy- 
 alty and obedience we had for our superior ? what is 
 become of that heavenly force and that efficacy we 
 observed in the success of our prayers ? All these 
 things have disappeared, and vanished like smoke/ 
 And uttering these words, the sorrow for their loss. 
 
166 THE MEMORIAL OF 
 
 and the horror they had of themselves, grew so 
 great that they begged of God he would send them 
 during this life all the torments in the world, to be 
 revenged on their bodies for the evils they were the 
 cause of: some desired of him violent diseases ; 
 others, to be deprived of their sight, and become ob- 
 jects of misery to the eyes of the world ; and others, 
 to be struck with a palsy, which should render all 
 their limbs lame and useless, that they might by 
 present miseries escape those future ones they appre- 
 hended. 
 
 "In fine, brethren, I know not how I was able to 
 3ontinue so long among such terrible spectacles, and 
 to endure the sight of so many torments and so 
 many tears ; I staid there thirty days, wholly aston- 
 ished at what I saw, which being ended, I returned 
 to visit the superior who governed this monastery. 
 He seeing me quite altered, and wholly transported, 
 and comprehending the cause of my amazement, 
 said to me with his usual sweetness, * And well, Fa- 
 ther, have you seen the labors of these generous 
 combatants ?' * Yes, Father,' answered I to him, * I 
 have not only seen them, but admired them also ; 
 and esteem them much more happy who, having fal- 
 len, thus bewail their sins, than those, who, having 
 never fallen, bewail not themselves at all ; because 
 their fall seems to me, through an admirable effect 
 of grace, to have been an occasion of their more 
 happy and more glorious rising again.' " S. Joan. 
 Clim. grad. 5. ait. 4, d^ seq. 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFE. 167 
 
 St. Climachus tells us not this on the report of 
 another ; he faithfully represents the things he saw 
 with his own eyes ; and though this relation appears 
 a little too long, T thought myself obliged not to omit 
 any thing in it, as well for your benefit, as for seve- 
 ral other reasons. The first is, that men may be eon- 
 founded and humble themselves exceedingly, seeing 
 the cold and dull penances of this time compared 
 with the fervor and rigor of past ages. The second, 
 that we may see how far the charity which the Holy 
 Ghost has for us, goes ; what the strength, and what 
 the lights are, which his grace keeps always in rea- 
 diness for all the faithful ; and may hope that, as he 
 has communicated it freely to all those who went be- 
 fore us, he will neither refuse it to those who are 
 with us, nor to those that shall come after us, if they 
 persevere in works of penance, as these ancient fa- 
 thers did. The third, that being grounded on so 
 solid a hope, and strengthened by the example of 
 these saints, we may be stirred up to attempt some- 
 thing more considerable than what we do ; since, in 
 effect, their bodies were no otherwise framed than 
 ours ; nor had they any other &od, nor any other 
 assistance in their labors than what we have ; ana 
 that setting before you hard and difficult things, you 
 may be the less discouraged to embrace those which 
 are easier. 
 
 It is nevertheless true, that no man ought to be 
 dismayed, though he enters not at first into that high 
 perfection of which these saints have left us ac ex- 
 
168 THE MEMORIAL OF 
 
 ample ; for, as in the body there are many members of 
 which some are more, and others less honorable, and 
 as in heaven there are many mansions, of which 
 some are higher, and others lower; so in the church 
 there are different degrees of merit, different institu- 
 tions, and different sorts of penance, that dispose men 
 for them ; and that, in fine, what is necessary in one 
 manner of life, is not in another. Neither is it ab- 
 solutely necessary we should attempt at first what 
 great saints have practised ; many of their actions 
 are proposed to us rather to be admired than imi- 
 tated. What becomes a giant is not fit for a dwarf; 
 and what serves only to exercise great souls, would 
 ruin those that are weak. 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 On the three principal Works by which we satisfy 
 
 God, 
 
 Since painful and laborious works are also of their 
 own nature satisfactory, we shall, to follow the doc- 
 trine of the church and of the saints, establish three 
 sorts of satisfactory works ; to wit, fasting, alms, and 
 prayer. For these three things, besides their being 
 holy and efficacious, are also not to be performed 
 without giving some pain to our flesh, which thus, 
 by the feeling of pain, satisfies Grod for the criminal 
 pleasure it took in sinning ; moreover, as there aro 
 
 I 
 
X CHRISTIAN LIFE. 169 
 
 three things in the power of men, with which they 
 commonly offend Grod, to wit, their wealth, their 
 body, and their soul ; so it is fit they should make 
 him a generous sacrifice of them, consecrating their 
 estates by liberal alms, their bodies by rigorous fasts, 
 and their souls by continual prayers. It is also a 
 means to accomplish in some sort all that justice re- 
 quires, since, generally speaking, sin offends either 
 God, our neighbor, or ourselves : now these three 
 virtues regard these three objects, for by fasting the 
 body is chastised, by alms our neighbor is comforted, 
 and by prayer God is honored. 
 
 SECTION I. 
 
 He that desires sincerely and with all his heart to 
 satisfy God, must place his principal care in the 
 exercise of these three works, and first begin by fast- 
 ing. We have said that the pain it brings with it, 
 satisfies for the pleasure which has been taken in sin, 
 and that it inflicts a just punishment on our flesh, 
 which is usually the cause of all our diseases. More- 
 over, as Saint Bernard says, " Whilst we by fasting 
 abstain from lawful things, we obtain pardon for 
 those that are unlawful ; and thus with a short fast, 
 which lasts but for a moment, we redeem the eternal 
 fasts which are suffered in hell ; for one only mortal 
 sin deserves hell. In that woful place there is no 
 food tasted. The rich glutton begs but only one- 
 drop of water, and in so many ages it is not given 
 him. In that place is no comfort to be found, and 
 
 15 
 
170 THE MEMORIAL OF 
 
 miseries have no limits. Happy then is the fast 
 which secures us from the fasts and torments that 
 never shall have an end." The same saint adds, 
 that " fasting not only washes away sin, but that it 
 also cuts off the root of all vices ; that it not only 
 obtains pardon for our faults, but also procures us 
 grace ; that it not only effaces past sins, but pre- 
 serves us from those we might commit in time to 
 come." St. Peter de Ravenna expresses the excel- 
 lency of fasting by wonderful epithets. He calls it 
 " the palace of God, the camp of Jesus Christ, the 
 wall of the Holy Ghost, the ensign of faith, the 
 mark of charity, the standard of holiness." And St 
 Augustin assures us, that "fasting purifies souls, 
 raises the understanding, subdues the flesh to the 
 spirit, makes a contrite and humble heart, drives 
 away the darkness of concupiscence, cools the heat 
 of impurity, and kindles the light of charity ; that 
 fasting moderates our desires, mortifies our passionisi, 
 instructs our life, and puts bounds to our covetous- 
 ness. Fasting is allied to all virtues ; poverty ac- 
 knowledges it for her brother, penance for her son, 
 charity for her mother, prayer for her most faithful 
 companion ; it is the destroyer of self-love, the pre- 
 server of our health, and one of the most sure and 
 most powerful means to reconcile us to God, and to 
 obtain us his graces." By fasting, the Nini\ates 
 stopped the just indignation which God bad conceiv- 
 ed against them. Jonas iii. 10. By fasting, the 
 children of Israel, humbling their souls before God, 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFE. 171 
 
 found assistance in their necessities. 1 Kings vii. 
 6. 3y fasting the three children in the fiery fur- 
 nac3 were defended from the fury of the king of 
 Babylon. Dan. i. 8, 12. By fasting Elias was ta- 
 ken up in the fiery chariot, (4 Kings ii.) Moses 
 received the law, (Bxod. xxiv. 28.) and the Son of 
 Grod prepared himself to preach the gospel, {Matt, iv, 
 2.) though he had no need of it, but only to give us 
 an example. 
 
 Let those then who desire to satisfy God, and take 
 revenge on their sins, that they may enjoy all these 
 advantages, arm themselves with a holy hatred 
 against themselves ; that is, against their own flesh ; 
 let them execute justice on it ; let them punish its 
 excesses by fastings, watchings, disciplines, hair- 
 cloths, coarse apparel, hard lying, and all other aus- 
 terities they can. Thus they will not only give to 
 God the satisfaction which is due to him, but will 
 triumph also over the most powerful of their enemies, 
 and render their bodies and souls living temples of 
 the Holy Ghost. Govern yourselves, nevertheless, 
 in these exercises, with great prudence ; take coun- 
 sel of the wise ; use them with moderation according 
 to their advice, and take heed lest, aiming to destroy 
 an enemy, you destroy yourselves. Chastise the flesh, 
 but preserve to your bodies the strength they stand in 
 need of to the service of God. He commands in his 
 law, that in all sacrifices there should be ofiered salt, 
 to teach us, that in these which are spiritual sacri- 
 fices, we must always mix wisdom and discretion. 
 
112 THE MEMORIAL OF 
 
 Many pious souls, for want of thoroughly weighing 
 tliis consideration, have ruined their health, and 
 stopped in the midst of their career ; for being 
 obliged, in order to their recovery, to omit the prac- 
 tice of these holy exercises, they have unfortunately 
 found themselves gone much backward in virtue, 
 which is an attendant an the faithfulness and fervor 
 wherewith they are undertaken. 
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 On the Second, which is Alms. 
 But, brethren, fasting must not go alone ; giving 
 of alms must be its faithful companion, and if you 
 will have it beneficial to you, the works of mercy 
 must go along with it. St. Augustin says excel- 
 lently, that " fasting, without charity and alms, is 
 like a lamp which hath no oil." And in another 
 place, speaking to the faithful, he says, " Brethren, 
 give alms and your prayers shall be heard ; Jesus 
 Christ will help you to amend your lives, he will 
 pardon you your past sins, he will deliver you from 
 future evils, and he will give you eternal good.things." 
 On this subject St. Peter de Ravenna has also these 
 excellent words : " Though fasting takes away the 
 weakness left by sin, moderates the passions of the 
 flesh, and cuts off many occasions which make us fall 
 into disorder, it nevertheless restores not health 
 without the assistance of mercy, charity, and alms.'' 
 "Fasting," adds he, "cures the wounds of sin, but it 
 takes not away wholly the scar without the prccioun 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFE. 173 
 
 balm of alms." The holy man Tobias teaches us, 
 that " alms deliver from all sin, and from death, and 
 will not suffer the soul to go into darkness." Tob. 
 iv. 11. Ecclesiasticus affirms, that "as the water 
 quenches fire, so alms resisteth sin." Ecdes. iii. 33. 
 And St. Ambrose says, that " the force of alms is 
 wonderful ; it is a living spring, which with its wa- 
 ters quenches the flames of our vices, and by its effu- 
 sion, as that of a great river, puts out the fire of our 
 sins ; so that, though God be offended, though he be 
 justly provoked to wrath, he pardons, for the sake 
 of their alms, those whom he had resolved to punish 
 for their offences. And St. Augustin says^ that " as 
 the fire of hell is quenched by the wholesome water 
 of baptism, so the burning heats of our sins are al- 
 layed by alms and other works of justice ; insomuch 
 that the pardon of our sins, which is granted us only 
 once in baptism, is daily, as in a new baptism, im- 
 parted to us by the means of alms." It is true that 
 this comparison does not hold in all its parts ; but it 
 is, however, a great commendation to alms, that it 
 may in something be compared to the saving waters 
 of baptism, which is the source and origin of the 
 spiritual life. Wherefore the prophet l)aniel finds 
 no remedy to deliver king Nebuchodonosor from the 
 terrible judgment heaven had pronounced against 
 him, but by counselling him to have recourse to the 
 sacred anchor of alms. " king," says the prophet 
 to him, " take my counsel, redeem thy sins with aims, 
 a,ad endeavor to obtain the pardon of thy iniquities 
 15* 
 
174 THE MEMORIAL OF 
 
 by works of mercy towards the poor." Dan. iv. 27. 
 For he well knew that there is nothing more preva- 
 lent with Grod, or more likely to incline him to show 
 mercy, than our exercising mercy towards our fel- 
 low-creatures. *' In what measure you shall mete, it 
 shall be measured unto you again." Mark iv. 24. 
 Wherefore at the last day works of charity are so 
 much esteemed, that on them are declared the judg- 
 ment of our life, and the decision of our eternity. 
 St. Augustin thus explains this evangelical truth :' '' It 
 is written," says this saint, " Redeem your sins with 
 alms, because in effect our Lord loves the charitable 
 above all things, and recompenses his elect princi- 
 pally in consideration of the relief they have given 
 to the miserable ;" as if he should more clearly say, 
 " It is a difficult matter diligently to examine your 
 life, and use mercy towards you ; nevertheless go, 
 enter into the eternal kingdom ; for I was hungry, and 
 ye gave me to eat ; I was thirsty, and ye gave me 
 to drink ; so that the kingdom of heaven is not given 
 to you because you have not sinned, but because you 
 have redeemed your sins with alms." As, on the 
 contrary, he will say to the wicked, ^' Go, ye accurs- 
 ed, into eternal fire, not only because you have 
 sinned, but also because you have neglected to re- 
 deem your sins by alms ; for if you had at least used 
 this remedy, it would have delivered you from the 
 punishment that is falling on you." Serm. 50 de 
 Temp. St. Peter de Ravenna, passes yet fartherj 
 when he says, *' It is an admirable thing to see ho 
 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFE. 175 
 
 pleasing to God the relief is that is given to the poor, 
 since that in the kingdom of heaven, in the presence 
 of angels^ and in that great assembly of men raised 
 from the dead, there is no mention of the death that 
 Abel suffered, nor of the world which Noah pre- 
 served, nor of the faith that Abraham had, nor of 
 the law which Moses gave, nor of the cross to which 
 St. Peter was fastened ; but only of the bread that 
 is given to the poor." And St. Chrysostom, delight- 
 ed, with the beauty and power of this virtue, says 
 thus in one of his sermons : " Alms-givings is a 
 friend of God ; she is always about him ; she obtains 
 graces for whom she will ; she breads the bands of 
 ain ; she drives away darkness ; she stifles the flame 
 of our passions ; the gates of heaven are open to her 5 
 those that keep them respect her as a queen ; they 
 ask not who she is, nor what she seeks ; all go to 
 meet her, and receive her with joy ; she is a virgin ; 
 she has wings of gold, and her apparel is wonderfully 
 glorious ; her countenance is beautiful, and full of 
 jiweetness ; her swiftness, and the wings she wears, 
 in a moment bring her into God's presence." 
 
 Since this virtue then is of so great efficacy, they 
 who design to satisfy God, and obtain of him the 
 mercy they desire, must, as the apostle speaks, clothe 
 themselves with mercy, {Col. iii. 12.) and take care 
 to be adorned with all good works belonging to it ; 
 let them have great compassion on the miseries of 
 the poor, and relieve them to the utmost of their 
 tbility ; if they have not wherewithal otherwise to 
 
176 THE MEMORIAL OF 
 
 succor them, let them assist them with their counsels, 
 their cares, and their prayers ; or if they are wholly 
 unable to serve them, let them at least have a fellow- 
 feeling for their sufferings; since, as St. Gregory 
 says, '' He whose heart is touched with compassion, 
 gives no less than he who exercises liberality towards 
 the poor : for the one gives his wealth, and the other 
 his soul,which is much more precious than all world 
 ly wealth." On which, before I finish this point, I 
 must give you an important advice taken out of St. 
 Augustin, who says, " That of all the works of mer- 
 cy, with which we may obtain pardon of our sins, 
 there is none greater, or more prevalent, than will- 
 ingly to pardon those who have offended us." St. 
 Peter Chrysologus expresses the same thing in these 
 words : " Consider, brethren, that you cannot be with- 
 out sin, and that you always desire your sins should 
 be forgiven you ; if you will then be forgiven, you 
 must forgive, and so know that your happiness is in 
 your own hands, and that in pardoning others, you 
 pardon yourselves." St. Cesarius likewise says al- 
 most the same : " If you have not wherewithal to 
 relieve the captives, or clothe the naked, be at least 
 very careful to banish out of your heart all kind of 
 ill-will against your neighbor; render not to your' 
 enemies evil for evil ; on the contrary, love them, 
 and pray for them. Living thus, ground yourself 
 securely on the mercy and promises of God, and fear 
 not to say to him with confidence, * Give me, Lord, 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFE. 
 
 177 
 
 for I have given : pardon me, because I have par- 
 doned.' " 
 
 SECTION III. 
 Of the Third which is Prayer. 
 
 The third, and perhaps most necessary of the 
 works that are called satisfactory, is prayer : this not 
 only serves to fulfil the third part of penance, which 
 is satisfaction, but is especially useful to obtain the 
 first and most important, which is contrition ; since 
 by prayer God often infuses the spirit of contrition 
 into the souls of sinners, by prayer they often obtain 
 the remission of their offences ; and we see in the 
 gospel, that on the sole consideration of their prayer, 
 pardo^ was granted to the publican ancf the prodigal 
 child. Wherefore a prophet exhorts us not to seek 
 before God any other remedies for our evils : " Take 
 with you words, and return to the Lord, and say to 
 him : take away all iniquity, and receive the good : 
 and we will render the calves of our lips." Osee 
 xiv. 3. Thus is God sought in prayer ; by this he 
 graciously hears us : if he appears sometimes inexo- 
 rable, it is only towards the proud and obstinate ; but 
 he is benign towards the humble and penitent. Never 
 was any one seen to pray in this manner before God, 
 but he felt at the same time in his soul some sweet 
 breathing of his grace, and some assured pledge of 
 his clemency ; and to the end it may not be doubted 
 ho would engage his word for it in the prophet JoeL 
 
1V8 THE MEMORIAL OP 
 
 who says, " Every one that calleth upon the name of 
 the Lord, shall be saved." Joel ii. 32. 
 
 But to the end this prayer may the better ascend 
 on high, there must be given to her the two wings 
 of which we have spoken, fasting and aims ; it is 
 with them she flies swiftly, and stops not till she is 
 come before the throne of God : these are sisters, 
 which must not be separated ; they mutually assist, 
 and lend the hand to each other. Mercy, as St. John 
 Climachus says, causes prayer not to come empty 
 into God's presence, and if we show mercy to those 
 that stand in need of it, we shall incline God to 
 show mercy to us. " If you have a love for prayer," 
 says this saint, " you will without doubt also have a 
 love for mercy: for the first will cause God to hear 
 you mercifully, because you have for his sake favor- 
 ably heard your neighbor." Grad. 28, aH. 40. As 
 for fasting, it is certainly a powerful assistant to 
 prayer ; it disposes the soul to do well, and freeing 
 the body of the heaviness caused by the superfluity 
 of meats, renders it lighter to mount towards heaven. 
 Wherefore prayer joined to fasting, besides its be- 
 coming thereby more satisfactory, is much more pure 
 and spiritual ; for, as the same saint teaches us, " the 
 soul of him that fasts, prays with sobriety and atten- 
 tion ; but the soul of an intemperate and sensual per- 
 son, is always full of imaginations and evil thoughts." 
 S, Joan. Glimac. Grad, 14, art. 27. 
 
 As then fasting helps prayer, so prayer helps fast- 
 ing; since, as St. Bernard says, "prayer gives 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFE. 179 
 
 Strength to fast, and fasting obtains grace to pray.** 
 The spirit of prayer, and the sweetness found in it, 
 animate our hearts to mortify the flesh, each of these 
 virtues undertaking what is proper to it, in the sane- 
 tification of men. And, to speak with St. Jerome, 
 *' by fasting the vices of the body are cured, and by 
 prayer the infirmities of the soul." 
 
 Thence we may conclude, that prayer is not only 
 one of the satisfactory works, which is what we prin- 
 cipally endeavor to show in this place, but also that 
 it is meritorious, that it is impetratory, and that it 
 causes and nourishes devotion : by prayer, as it is 
 satisfactory, we discharge the debts contracted by our 
 sins ; as it is meritorious, we are rendered worthy by 
 it to increase in grace and obtain glory ; as it is im- 
 petratory, we obtain for it what we ask for with hn- 
 mility ; and as it is capable to produce in us the spirit 
 of devotion, we receive by it new lights ; we begin 
 to taste how sweet the Lord is ; good desires are re- 
 newed and strengthened in our hearts ; peace and 
 quietness are infused into our souls, together with an 
 extraordinary courage and zeal to embrace all occa- 
 sions of doing good works, which is properly called 
 devotion. 
 
 These four so rare and excellent fruits the virtne 
 prayer brings with it, and consequently it is of ex- 
 treme importance to exercise ourselves in it with 
 very much attention and perseverance. But since 
 we shall speak of it more at large hereafter, T shall at 
 this time content mj'Relf to recommend to you the 
 
180 THE MEMORIAL 0? 
 
 reading of tlie prayers and considerations you maj 
 have already seen, when we treated of contrition; it 
 will be good for you to go over them again, and en- 
 tertain yourself with them for some days, both before 
 and after confession ; they will suffice^ if you make 
 the reflection on them that you ought, to excite in 
 you a new sorrow for your sins^ and new desires to 
 satisfy God : and because there is nothing so power- 
 ful to make you enter into these resolutions as the 
 consideration of God's benefits and your own sins, aa 
 we have already more fully in that place shown, 1 
 advise you more particularly to persist in the contem- 
 plation of them. After you shall have employed 
 some days in this exercise, you may proceed to an- 
 other sort of prayer, which shall be hereafter taught 
 you in the book we shall make for that purpose ; and 
 in this manner varying your exercises, you will re- 
 ceive more light, and serve God without difficulty or 
 tiring, and with inexpressible ease and joy. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 A short Examination of Conscience for those that 
 ^ confess often. 
 
 Having treated of confession for such persons as 
 jseldom confess, I have thought it would not be in- 
 convenient to say something of the examen and pre- 
 paration to be used by those who more frequently 
 eome to this sacrament. These good souls suffer 
 
A CHRTSTTAN LTFE^, 181 
 
 divers disquiets, and are often molested witli scrnples 
 on this occasion : for on the one side believing, and 
 certainly knowing, that they are not without sins, 
 and on the other side, not knowing how to declare 
 them at the time of confession, they are persuaded 
 they never confess well. 
 
 This perplexity may arise from two causes : first, 
 from its being indeed a difficult matter for men to 
 know themselves, and to search thoroughly into the 
 writings of their consciences. It was this made a 
 \ prophet say, " Who can understand sins ? — ^from my 
 Secret ones cleanse me, Lord." Psalm xviii. 13, 
 Who knows all the sins into which he falls ? Cleanse 
 me, Lord, from the offences that are hidden fron. 
 my eyes and understanding. The second cause is, 
 that the sins of the just, who, as the wise man says, 
 ** falls seven times a day," (Prov. iv. 16,) are net 
 easily known; they are ordinarily rather sins of 
 omission than commission, as we are wont to speak. 
 For the understanding of which distinction, it is to 
 be observed, that all sins whatever happen one of 
 these two ways ; either by committing some evil act, 
 as by breaking any of the commandments of God or 
 the church ; or by omitting some good work to which 
 one is obliged, as by not producing acts of the love 
 of Grod, by not fasting, not praying, &c. The first 
 are so manifest, that they are easily known, because 
 in the committing of them some sensible action must 
 have preceded ; the others, which consist not in do- 
 ing, but in leaving undone, are more hardly discov- 
 16 
 
182 THE MEMORIAL OF 
 
 ered ; for who can see what is not ? And so it is not 
 to be wondered if devout persons, especially when 
 they are simple, find not sometimes in them any sins 
 of which they may accuse themselves. They are 
 bappy enough to fall very seldom into those we term 
 sins of commission, and that are easily taken notice 
 of: and not discerning sufficiently the others, they 
 approach the confessional only with confusion and 
 affliction of mind. 
 
 To remedy their troubles, I resolved to frame the 
 following memorial, which principally treats of these 
 sorts of sins. And because they may be either 
 against God, or ourselves^ or our neighbor, we will 
 divide them into three parts, according to the negli- 
 gence one may be guilty of in respect to these three 
 duties. I know that several of these omissions are not 
 sometimes so much as a venial sin. They are, never- 
 theless, imperfections and defects, and often not with- 
 out sin, at least venial ; wherefore those that aim at 
 perfection ought not to neglect accusing themselves 
 of them. I would not oblige them to do it always, for 
 fear of being too long and scrupulous ; but on solemn 
 feasts I should advise them to be more full and large 
 in declaring things. For other days, let one take 
 here what he shall think most proper for the exciting 
 in himself a sincere and true sorrow, and the dis* 
 charging of his conscience. 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFE. 183 
 
 The following regards their former Confessions, 
 
 1. That they did not come to this sacrament with such prepa- 
 ration, nor used such care in examining their conscience as they 
 ought to have done. 
 
 2. That they have not had so great sorrow and contrition for 
 their faults, nor so true and firm a desire to amend, as they ought 
 to have. 
 
 3. That they came not to the most holy communion with all 
 the purity of conscience, respect, and devotion, they should have 
 brought to it; and that after thus having communicated, they 
 continued not in that recollection of mind whicn the presence of 
 80 high a Guest requires. 
 
 4. That they have not seriously enough, nor with sufficient 
 zeal, endeavored the amendment of their lives, and daily advanc- 
 ing in our Lord's service ; but, on the contrary, have continued 
 in a certain coldness and negligence, unbeseeming Christians ; or 
 if, instead of going forward in the way of virtue, they have rather 
 returned to that of vice. They may afterwards enter more par- 
 ticularly into the examination of their faults, and keep the foi- 
 lowing order : 
 
 Against God, 
 
 We are obliged, in respect of God, to hare in us these three 
 virtues, which are named faith, hope, and charity : — and one may 
 accuse himself in this manner of the defects men usually fall into 
 concemiiig them. As for charity, examine yourself of not having- 
 loved God as you ought, with all your heart and all your soul ; 
 and on the contrary, of having too much loved the creatures and 
 vanities of this world, forgetting your Creator for them. 
 
 As touching faith, that you have not had so firm a faith as yo« 
 ought ; nor have speedily enough rejected the evil thoughts the 
 devil may have stirred up against it in your understanding. 
 
 As for hope, that you have not returned straight to God, Bor 
 have had recourse to him in the necessities and troubles of this 
 life, with such confidence as you ought to put in him ; on the 
 contrary, that you have been excessively afflicted and discontent- 
 ed, which cannot proceed but from a criminal mistrust of his 
 power and goodness. 
 
 As touching the intention, examine yourself^ that in the actioni 
 
184 THE MEMORIAL Of 
 
 which respect God's service, you have not had all the purity of 
 heart that is requisite, not having done them for his sake alone, 
 but sometimes to comply with decency or custom, sometimes be- 
 cause the J have been naturally pleasing to you, or through other 
 the like motives and interests. 
 
 Examine yourself also of having been negligent in embracing 
 the good inspirations God has given you, and thereby often re- 
 sisted the Holy Ghost for fear of enforcing yourself, and taking a 
 little pains. This is a very spiritual, and very secret fault, but 
 such a one as deserves to have great scruple of conscience made 
 of it. 
 
 As also, of not having acknowledged God's benefits as yois 
 ought ; of not having given him thanks enough for them ; of not 
 having sufficiently considered and esteemed them, so as t-o be- 
 come more zealous in the service of him from whom you received 
 them. 
 
 Examine yourself also of having forgotten God, and of having 
 been sometimes in such condition as if he had been quite banished 
 out of your heart ; whereas you ought always to walk in his 
 presence, and have him always before your eyes. 
 
 Examine yourself also of not having received with patience the 
 troubles and afflictions which God has sent you ; of not having 
 acknowledged that they came from his hand for your good, and 
 of not having thanked him for them. This is an important point, 
 and fit to be particularized, if you find in yourself any remorse of 
 conscience concerning it. 
 
 You may also, without fear of lying, accuse yourself of not 
 having behaved yourself at holy Mass, at divine service, in con- 
 secrated places, and in the presence of the most blessed sacra- 
 ment, with such respect and devotion as you ought. 
 
 Against One^a Self, 
 
 Man is composed of several parts ; of the body with all ita 
 senses ; of the soul with all its desires ; ot the spirit with all ita 
 faculties, which are the understanding, will, and memory; and 
 80 he may have sinned against the right and order which ought 
 to be observed in the use of all these things. 
 
 Examine yourself then first, of not having treated your body 
 in eating, drinking, sleeping, clothing, and all other thingS; wiUk 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFE 185 
 
 the rigor and severity you ought: but, on the contrary, of having; 
 Deen too indulgent to it, and too great a lover of yourself. 
 
 Of not having kepi your imagination and exterior senses within; 
 the strict bounds of their duty ; of having given them too mueh^ 
 liberty ; of having suffered them to wander extraordinarily ia- 
 conversations, and on other things that have diverted your eyet- 
 and ears ; and so having drawn into your imagination useless and: 
 frivolous matters, which have hindered the recollection of year 
 mind and attention in prayer. 
 
 Of not having mortified your passions, and tamed your owB' 
 will as you ought ; on the contrary, of having almost continually 
 obeyed it, and always consented to its irregularities ; of not hav 
 ing been so humble in your heart and actions as you ought; of 
 not having esteemed yourself so vile and miserable as you are, 
 Dor treated yourself as such ; of having been slothful and negfik 
 gent in your prayers ; of having often interrupted the course crf 
 them on' slight occasions ; of not having performed them with tbe? 
 attention and recollection you ought. 
 
 Against one^a Neighbor, 
 
 Examine yourself, that you have not, according to God's com- 
 mand, loved your neighbor as you would have others love yon. 
 
 That you have not in his necessities given him the assistance' 
 and relief he might expect from vou. 
 
 That you have n a naa sucfl compassion or* his miseries, nor 
 prayed so much to God for him as you ought. 
 
 That you have not been suflBciently sorrowful for the church's- 
 calamities, occasioned by wars, heresies, and other evils that rise 
 up against her ; and that you have not recommended her neces- 
 rities to God as much as you could, and were obliged to do. 
 
 If you have superiors, accuse yourself of not having obeyed*^ 
 them and honored them as you ought ; and if you have children,. 
 servants, or others under your tuition and government, accuse 
 yourself of not having instructed them, chastised them, or pro- 
 vided for them what was necessary ; and, in fine, of not having. 
 taken so much care of them as you were obliged to do. 
 
 Of Sins of Commission. 
 After you have thus examined yourself of sins of omission, yoir 
 may examine yourself of those of commission, setting before yon, 
 16* 
 
186 THl MEMORIAL OF A CHRISTIAN LCTl. 
 
 for this purpose, the ten (Kmnnandments of Qod, and the 
 deadly sins ; and examining your conscience upon them. 
 
 In fine, you ought particularly to consider your condition, to 
 weigh the things you are engaged to by it, and examine yourself 
 of all the faults you may have committed against the duties and 
 obligations annexed to it j as, a religious person, of not having 
 well kept his vows or his rule ; a judge, of taking bribes ; and 8o 
 ot others. 
 
 After examining yourself, endeavor to have a true sorrow for 
 these and all other sins that you cannot call to mind, and then 
 proceed to confession; after which you may end with these 
 •words, which are ordinarily used in the church : I am heartily 
 ^sorry for all these sins, and for all other sins into which I hav« 
 lallen by my thoughts, wwds, or actions, through my fault, 
 through my fault, through my most grievous &ult. I beg 
 im of Qod ; and of jou, Faih^, penance and absolatton* 
 
% Pmorial of a d^ristian fife. 
 
 BOOK III. 
 ON HOLY COAiMUNION, 
 
 CHAPTER 1. 
 
 How toe ought to prepare ourselves for it. 
 
 Having already observed to you the most impor* 
 tant things that may dispose you to make a good 
 confession, I come now to what concerns holy com- 
 munion. Since these two sacraments have such a 
 connexion, that the one ordinarily follows the other, 
 it would be very beneficial, and of great edification' 
 to your souls, to treat here of the virtue and wonder- 
 ful effects of this adorable sacrament ; but because 
 there are many things to be said on this subject, and 
 this memorial not permitting me to enter into mat- 
 ters requiring so long a discourse, I shall content 
 myself to entertain you with the preparations neces- 
 sary for the approaching this divine mystery, since 
 this disposition is of such importance, that the grace 
 given to him who receives the sacrament, will be 
 proportionable to the state in which he shall present 
 
 187 
 
188 THE MEMORIAL CfW 
 
 himself to receive it. This sacrament is of an in- 
 finite virtue, because it contains in it Jesus Christ 
 whole and entire, who is the fountain of all grace, 
 and also makes us partakers of the fruits and merits 
 3f his passion, which is of infinite value ; but he must 
 find souls prepared, and the more excellent the pre- 
 paration shall be, the greater will the grace be we 
 shall receive. He who goes to the sea to fetch 
 water, takes as much as the vessel he carries along 
 with him can contain. There will be no want of 
 water in the sea, which is an infinite abyss ; but he 
 will have only according to the greatness of his ves- 
 sel. This is what befalls all those who come to this 
 divine sacrament, which is the sea of all graces, and 
 thus is fulfilled in them what David says : " Open 
 thy mouth wide and I will fill it." Psalm Ixxx. 11. 
 
 It is also a maxim in philosophy, that causes act 
 according to the disposition they find in the matter. 
 The fire burns easily in dry wood, but not in green ; 
 because the one is disposed to receive the heat and 
 flame, and the other is not. And thus, as Jesus 
 Christ, who is the general cause of all graces, is in 
 this sacrament ; so he operates in the souls of those 
 who receive him, conformably to the holy dispositions 
 he finds in them. We daily see these effects, and 
 we know by experience, that they who celebrate the 
 holy sacrifice and communicate often, receive as 
 much benefit by it, as they bring zeal with them 
 to it 
 
 But it is not only the hope of enjoying the fruit« 
 
A OHttlSTIAN LIFB. l8ll 
 
 of this sacrament that should induce you to prepare 
 yourself well for the reception of it ; you ought to 
 fear being rigorously punished if you neglect it. It 
 is a general rule in all the sacraments of the law of 
 grace, that as they are highly profitable to those who 
 receive them worthily, so they are occasions of the 
 greatest evils to those who approach them unworthily. 
 A holy doctor says to this purpose, that as the sun, 
 water and air very much help to make plants grow 
 and fructify, when they are lively and well-rooted ; 
 and that, on the contrary, if they are dying and not 
 well-rooted, the same causes make them more speedily 
 wither or rot ; so this most blessed sacrament, which 
 operates far more powerfully in grace, than the water, 
 sun, and air do in nature, causes those souls that are 
 vigorous, and in which charity has already taken 
 root, to increase in virtue ; as, on the contrary, those 
 that have not these qualifications, instead of profiting 
 by their frequent communions, are more hardened 
 and blinded : not because of the sacrament, which 
 is altogether holy, but by their coming to it ill-pre- 
 pared. And this effect is wholly agreeable to the 
 nature of this sacrament, which is of itself the spir- 
 itual food of souls ; for as ordinary meats sustain 
 and nourish the bodies that are in health, and, on 
 the contrary are very prejudicial to those that are 
 sick and filled with bad humors, and in this condi- 
 tion have more need of abstinence than nourishment, 
 the same does this divine sacrament ; it gives life, 
 yea true life to some, and occasionally gives death to 
 others, according to their different dispositions. 
 
190 THE MEMORIAL OP 
 
 You will ask me now, what the preparation is 
 which this mystery requires. I advise you to cast 
 your eyes on the works of nature, of which God is 
 the author, as he is of those of grace. You will ob- 
 serve there that the more excellent natural forms are, 
 the greater disposition they require. For example, 
 the food is digested and prepared in the stomach to 
 go to the liver, where it is converted into blood, 
 which is a more noble form, to be carried to the 
 heart ; and, in fine, in this place it takes a more re- 
 quisite one to pass to the brain, where it receives its 
 last perfection. Thus it is purified, and refined, as I 
 may say, in each of these parts, to acquire a better 
 form, and with so just and regular an order, that the 
 perfection of the preceding form is a disposition for 
 that which follows, and that which is the limit and 
 end of the one, serves for a preparation to the other. 
 The same conduct and proportion is found in spir- 
 itual things, and particularly in the sacraments, 
 which require so much more preparation in the re- 
 ceivers, as they are of greater excellence and dignity. 
 There are some, the worthy receiving of which re- 
 quires only to be in the state of grace ; but this of 
 which we speak, being the highest and holiest of all, 
 because God himself is present in it, there is another 
 required to serve as a preparation for it, which is ac- 
 tual confession, if the soul finds itself guilty of any 
 mortal sin, or the least doubt of mortal sin. Besides 
 this, there is devotion requisite for the more holy re- 
 ceiving of it ; but an efiiective and not common de« 
 
A CHlUSrrAN LIFE. 19i 
 
 votion, accompanied with an exceeding reverence of 
 this great mystery^ and arising from the considera- 
 tion of such things as pertain to God. To put our- 
 selves in this state, we must at that time banish from 
 our souls all the imaginations and all the cares of 
 worldly affairs, to the end we may with more liberty, 
 and without hindrance, fix our hearts on God. It is 
 not enough that you be cleansed from all sin, but you 
 must also endeavor to be free from all thoughts, and 
 all solicitousness, which may put the least obstacle 
 to the attention and devotion it requires of you. 
 And this is wonderfully well represented to us by the 
 solitariness of Moses, when he went up on Mount 
 Sinai to speak with God. He was commanded to go 
 up alone, and that there should not all about the 
 mountain be seen any man or beast, great or small; 
 and God added also to his solitariness, a thick cloudy 
 and darkness, in which Moses was to communicate 
 with him ; (Exod. xix. 16.) to the end that being to 
 discourse with God, the solitariness and cloud might 
 take from him the sight of all created things. Yon 
 ought to imitate this solitariness, if you will wor- 
 thily draw nigh to our Lord. You must go to him 
 with a heart so solitary, so recollected, and so ab- 
 stracted from earthly things, so elevated, and so ab- 
 sorbed in God, as if at that moment you thought 
 there was none but God and you in the world. 
 Which is again represented by another action of the 
 same prophet, when he put off" his shoes to walk on 
 the ground where God made his presence appi^ar; 
 
192 THE MEMORIAT. OF 
 
 (^Exod, xiii. 5,) to let you understand, that when 
 you would go to him, you must strip yourself of all 
 the hurry of perishable and terrestrial thiags, with 
 which you are usually surrounded. 
 
 Such a purity will seem extraordinary, or perhaps 
 impossible, by reason of the corruption of our nature ; 
 but it is not impossible to charity or divine grace . 
 " love is strong as death," says the spouse in the 
 Canticles; (^Cant. viii. 6.) to show that as the death 
 of the body makes it become insensible to all worldly 
 things, so perfect charity in such manner possesses 
 the heart of man, and raises it up to God, as to maV<» 
 it forget all other things. 
 
 It is true, this spiritual death, and this so general 
 disengagement is not given to all ; it is a particular 
 privilege of the spouse ; (that is, of those holy souls 
 which deserve to be called by that name ;) the 
 church, nevertheless, proposes it to all, because 
 of the dignity of this sacrament, which, being the 
 bread of angels, requires the purity of angels in those 
 who eat of it. It is your part then to employ all 
 your endeavors to obtain it ; God will be contented 
 with the share you can have in it ; and if you, on 
 your part, do all that lies in you to forget all things 
 at the time of communion, and to approach it with 
 attention and a sincere and actual devotion, you have 
 every reason to hope well of the divine mercy. I 
 believe, nevertheless, it will be very fit to let you un- 
 derstand things more particularly ; and if you desire 
 tt) present j^ourself at this holy table in the condition 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFS. 193 
 
 you ought, spare nothing to adorn your souls with 
 the richest ornaments, whioh consist in the qualitiee 
 I am going to explain to you. 
 
 CHAPTER II, 
 
 Cf the first thing necessary for Communicating weU, 
 which is, Purity of Conscience. 
 
 Know first, that every good disposition cornea 
 from heaven, and acknowledge with profound hu- 
 mility, that all the cares of men and angels ar« not 
 able to give so perfect a preparation as is necessary 
 to communicate well, unless Grod's hand intervenes, 
 and he particularly grants you his assistance. For 
 as none can dispose himself to receive any increase 
 of grace without the help of grace, so non« can pre- 
 pare himself to receive God as he ought, unless God 
 himself vouchsafe to prepare him. Address, your- 
 self, therefore, to him with a contrite and humble 
 heart, and with fervent desires, that he would be 
 pleased to cleanse and adorn the house in which he 
 <;ondescends to lodge. When a king, making his pro- 
 gress through the country, is obliged to Btay in some 
 poor village, he expects not the inhabitants should 
 prepare his lodging for him., because he knows their 
 poverty is unable to do it ; but he himself sends be- 
 fore-hand his furniture, with officers to see that he 
 be lodged and provided for comformably to his great- 
 neFS, If kings act in this manner, you will have rea- 
 17 
 
194 THE MEMORIAL OF 
 
 son to beseech our Lord, who is " King of Kiagt, 
 and Lord of Lords," (Ajpoc. xix. 16.) that since he 
 '8 pleased to do you this incomparable favor, to lodge 
 in so poor a place as your breast, he will send before 
 him his Holy Spirit, with all his gifts and ornaments, 
 that by this means the grace of God and his almighty 
 power, may prepare the house into which his good- 
 ness disdains not to enter. 
 
 This being done, brethren, the first disposition for 
 communicating well^ is purity of conscience ; that is, 
 tkat we be clean and exempt from all mortal sin. 
 " I will wash my hands," says David, " among tbe 
 innocent: and will compass thy altar, O Lord.*' 
 Psalm XXV. 6. He promises God to wash his hands, 
 that is, the filthiness of his sins ; and afterwards pro- 
 poses to approach the altar, that is, the table of our 
 Ijord. And it is for this reason the apostle uses 
 these so terrible threats, speaking to the Corinthians : 
 " Whosoever shall eat this bread, or drink the cha- 
 lice of the Lord unworthily, he shall be guilty of the 
 body and of the blood of the Lord." 1 Cor. xi. 27. 
 To teach us by these words, that they who approach 
 this mystery with a polluted conscience, commit as 
 detestable an offence as that of the Jews, who cru- 
 cified Jesus Christ, since both the one and the other 
 horribly outrage his body and blood, though in a dif- 
 ferent manner. 
 
 But moreover, how can Jesus Christ be joined with 
 ria ? and what can be the event of putting together 
 two things so contrary and opposite, but the de- 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFE. 195 
 
 Btruction of both ? Things which are ( f the same 
 nature are easily joined, as water with water, and 
 iron with iron ; but two contrary things, as fire and 
 water, cannot suffer one another, and the weaker 
 must give way to the stronger. Since, then, by re- 
 ceiving this sacrament you join yourself with Jesus 
 Christ, what can you expect from this union, but the 
 ruin of the weaker part ? How can goodness subsist 
 with wickedness, purity with filth, humility with 
 pride, meekness with wrath, and cruelty with cle- 
 mency ? So it is when there is an intent of approach- 
 ing Christ; for to be worthy of this divine union, 
 Christians must in some sort resemble him, and this 
 is what sin absolutely hinders, when it is not cleansed 
 by penance. 
 
 All the sins that are called mortal make this 
 dreadful divorce. But there are two more danger- 
 ous than the rest, and which have a more formal op- 
 position to the qualities of this sacrament ; to wit, 
 hatred and impurity. As to the first, the eucharist 
 is a sacrament of love and union, since all the faithful 
 find in it one and the same nourishment, and one and 
 the same spirit, which render it one and the same 
 thing by love. This is what St. Augustin would 
 signify to us when he said, that " our Lord would 
 leave us his body and blood in things which, being 
 composed of several parts wholly separate from each 
 other, are drawn together, and reduced into one sole 
 body, as are bread and wine, of which the one is 
 noade of several grapes, and the other of several 
 
196 THE MEMORIAL OF 
 
 graiQS of corn :" to teach us that this sacrament, 
 which is given us under these two species, produces 
 the same thing in those who receive it, making in 
 them one only heart of many hearts, by the commu- 
 nication of one and the same spirit. Now if this be 
 true, as it cannot be doubted, can any thing be 
 imagined more unreasonable, than to come to a sa- 
 crament of love and union with a heart separated 
 from that of one's brother ? Would not this be the 
 same thing as desiring a surgeon to close a wound 
 for us, and doing on our side all we can to keep it 
 open? And would it not be an absolute want of 
 judgment to take this spiritual medicine, the effect 
 of which is to cure the wounds of ill-will, and unite 
 divided hearts, if one were in a firm resolution to re- 
 nounce this grace, and break at the samQ time, by 
 dissensions and quarrels, the peace and union it 
 ought to cause ? 
 
 If you desire then to avoid this inconvenience, 
 never have the boldness to approach this table with- 
 out a strong determination to put in effect what our 
 Lord ordains us, when he says, " If thou offer thy 
 gift at the altar^ and there thou remember that thy 
 brother hath any thing against thee, leave there thy 
 offering before the altar, and go first and be recon- 
 ciled to thy brother, and then coming thou shalt of- 
 fer thy gift." Matt. v. 23, 24. It is with this sa- 
 tisfaction, which the confessor will well regulate, and 
 with as firm a resolution, that you ought to come to 
 this heavenly table. If you present yourself there 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFE. 197 
 
 without this preparation, you can expect nothing else 
 but that the master of the feast will say to you, 
 " Friend, how earnest thou in hither, not having on a 
 wedding-garment?" (Matt. xxii. 12.) that is, being 
 without charity, which, as the apostle says, " eovereth 
 a multitude of sins." 1 Pet, iv. 8. And you have 
 great reason to fear that, having nothing to answer 
 to this objection, our Lord will pronounce against 
 you that severe sentence, " Let him be bound hand 
 and foot, and cast into the fire." 
 
 The other sin, which is no less contrary to the 
 grace of the sacrament, is impurity : for this sacra- 
 ment, which contains the most holy flesh of our Sa- 
 viour, formed of the substance of the chastest and 
 purest of all virgins, demands so great a purity of 
 body and mind, that the saints have believed a noc- 
 turnal illusion, caused by the devil in a dream, was a 
 sufficient cause to abstain unless obedience, or the 
 solemnity of some special feast, obliged a man to do 
 otherwise ; or except after this accident be found 
 himself no less full of devotion and zeal to commu- 
 nicate, than if it had not happened. St. Bernard 
 counsels in this case, even not to serve at the holy 
 Mass, so much purity does he judge this divine mys- 
 tery to require. For if St. Paul advised married 
 persons to abstain sometimes from the lawful use of 
 the marriage-bed, that they might more devoutly 
 apply themselves to prayer, (1 Cor. vii. 5.) how much 
 more ought they to be chaste, who, by the partici- 
 pating in the holy sacrament, receive God into theii 
 17* 
 
198 THE MEMORIAL Of 
 
 bodies? And if in the old law one unchaste dream 
 caused him to whom this dream happened, to be ex- 
 cluded for a whole day from the tents and company 
 of God's people, (Deut. xxii. 10.) with how much 
 more reason ought it to separate us from so strict a 
 communication with God himself? 
 
 But it is not only requisite that you be not defiled 
 with any mortal sin when you approach this table, 
 but you ought also to be exceedingly careful to 
 cleanse yourself from venial sins; for though it be 
 true, that sins of this nature do not wholly quench 
 the fire of charity, it is, notwithstanding, certain that 
 they diminish the fervor of devotion, which is the 
 first disposition this divine mystery requires. Con- 
 fess then before communion, to cleanse yourself of 
 this sort of offences ; conceive at least for them all 
 the horror and all the repentance you ought ; or en- 
 ter into some pious exercises, to recover by this 
 means the actual devotion which venial sin had made 
 you lose. Those that fail to do some one of these 
 things cannot be excused from a criminal negligence, 
 which is a very considerable venial sin, and will un- 
 doubtedly make them lose much of the fruit and 
 comforts of this sacrament, which is an effect they 
 ordinarily feel who approach it with this preparation, 
 But as for those who have sinned mortally, besides 
 the sincere repentance with which their soul must 
 be touched, there is required actual confession on 
 pain of a new mortal sin, as the council of Trent 
 hath expressly defined. 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFE. 199 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Of the second thing necessary for Conimumcatity 
 well, which is, Purity of Intention. 
 
 The second thing which is necessary to eomnm- 
 nicate worthily, '.& purity of intention ; that is, to do 
 this great action for the end for which it ought to be 
 done. For as the end is the principal circumstance 
 of all our works, so it is that which we ought prin- 
 cipally to consider in them, especially in this, which 
 is of far greater importance than all others, lest we 
 pervert God's designs, and use that for one end 
 which he has instituted for another. This doctrine 
 is of consequence, and that it may be the better 
 understood, it will be necessary to declare the differ- 
 ent ends to which those haVe respect who communi- 
 cate worthily, and those who communicate unwor- 
 thily ; for so that which you ought to aim at, will be 
 more easily known. 
 
 If any priest were so unhappy as to be moved 
 principally to celebrate Mass for the sake of the 
 temporal profit he might expect to receive by it, let 
 him remember the two sons of Aaron^ who offered 
 sacrifice to God with strange fire ; (^Lev, x. 1.) since 
 it is not the fire of divine love that would induce him 
 to do his duty, but the heat of covetousness and filthy 
 gain. Such should have great reason to dread the 
 punishment that befel those sacrilegious wretches, 
 who were in a moment devoured by the fire which 
 came forth of the sanctuary. There are some lay* 
 
200 niK BIKMORIAL OF 
 
 persons, who come to communion only for fear of 
 punishment^ as many wicked Christians who never 
 approach our Lord's table but at Easter, and that 
 with as much repugnance as if they were going to 
 be put to death. Those ought to consider, that as 
 none entered into the feast of king Assuerus with 
 base and unseemly apparel, (Esth. it. 2.) so they, by 
 these base and servile dispositions, render themselves 
 unworthy of this heavenly food : what was instituted 
 through love, ought to be taken with love, and it is 
 unreasonable to receive with the spirit of a slave, a 
 present which God makes us with the goodness of a 
 father. There are some that communicate to be like 
 others, though they find not in themselves any hun- 
 ger after this divine nourishment, nor know what it 
 is to amend their lives^ or bring to so holy an action 
 the necessary preparations; and others (whom I 
 place almost in the same rank) communicate only 
 through custom. They have prescribed themselves 
 certain set days of coming to the altar, at which they 
 will not fail ; and this alone makes all their devo- 
 tion. They certainly deceive themselves, and if they 
 were truly devout they would consider, that though 
 this is a good custom, it is not yet good to communi- 
 cate only for custom-sake, but that there are other 
 dispositions requisite, without which the fruits of 
 communion are not received. There are others, in 
 fine, who come to communicate, thinking to find in h 
 some spiritual gust, and to seek in the sacrament 
 fiome sensible devotion : this is the utmost end iheif 
 
A CIIllISTIAN LIFE. 201 
 
 pi opose, and in this their devotion is false, because 
 it looks not to the end it ought to aim at, which is to 
 embrace the cross and mortification of Jesus Christ, 
 and to make them more fervent and ready in serv- 
 ing God. 
 
 None of these motives are direct ; they are by- 
 ways and false doors, by which they rather steal as 
 thieves, than receive as faithful servants, their mas- 
 ter's favors. Let us enter then by the doors by 
 which the saints have entered, and let us endeavor 
 to conform ourselves to the intentions they had, 
 which were not all of the same sort, as St. Bona- 
 venture teaches us in these words : " The intentions 
 of those who communicate are dififerent and numer- 
 ous: some are induced to it by the love of God 
 alone, that they may oftener draw their Beloved into 
 the bottom of their souls, to enjoy him, comfort them- 
 selves with him, and become inflamed with his love. 
 Others are excited to it by the knowledge they have 
 of their own weakness, and seek to be cured of their 
 infirmities by the assistance of this heavenly Phy- 
 sician ; others are touched with the remembrance of 
 their sins, and hope by this great sacrifice, and by 
 this saving Host, to obtain pardon of them ; others, 
 seeing themselves pressed with some temptation, or 
 some extraordinary affliction, have recourse to this 
 sacrament that, by the power of the Almighty, they 
 may be delivered from their troubles, and defended 
 from their enemy : others desire some particular 
 grace, and address themselves to this dear Son, to 
 
202 'THE MEMORIAL 0? 
 
 whom his Father can refuse nothing, for the obtain- 
 ing of their request ; others burn with a zeal of tes- 
 tifying to God their acknowledgment of his benefits, 
 and they oifer him this same Son who is given thera^ 
 knowing that they cannot present him any thing 
 more agreeable than this cup of blessing which he 
 has communicated to us; others have a design to 
 praise God in his saints, since we cannot of ourselves 
 more worthily honor them, than by ofiering to God 
 this sacrifice of praise in remembrance of them. 
 Others, in fine, celebrate and communicate, being 
 induced to it through an earnest desire of their 
 neighbor's salvation, or by the compassion they have 
 of their brethren's adversities, being assured that 
 there is nothing so efficaciously pleads the cause of 
 the miserable, or so powerfully intercedes before the 
 face of the Father for the living and the dead, as the 
 precious blood of his Son, which he has shed both for 
 the one and the other." 
 
 In this manner does this illuminated doctor show 
 us the most part of the good intentions we can have. 
 Choose that which shall most afi*ect you, and make 
 it, if you please, the object of your devotion. But I 
 counsel you something greater, and more worthy of 
 a Christian zeal. Stay not upon one alone, consider 
 them all as the admirable fruits of the holy sacra- 
 ment, and propose to yourself, with the assistance of 
 your divine Physician, the obtaining of them all. 
 Know nevertheless, that your principal end, and the 
 most proper to this divine mystery, is to procure that 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIVB. 208 
 
 by receiving Jesus Christ, who is concealed in it 
 you may receive into your souls his spirit, by which 
 you may be transformed into him, and brought to 
 live as he did ; that is, with the charity, humility, 
 patience, obedience, poverty of spirit, mortification of 
 the flesh, and contempt of this world, which appeared 
 in him. It is thus we spiritually eat and drink 
 Jesus, by changing ourselves into him, and making 
 ourselves one and the same thing with him, through 
 the imitation of his life, as he did who said, " 1 live 
 now, not I, but Christ liveth in me." Gcd. ii. 20. 
 See what ought to be our principal end, joined with 
 doing that which he commanded us, which is to re- 
 new at our communication the memory of his death, 
 and give him infinite thanks for the inestimabk 
 benefit of our redemption. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Of the third thing necessary for Communicating 
 well, which is, Actual Devotion. 
 
 The third disposition which holy communion re- 
 quires, is actual devotion ; and the better to under- 
 stand this, you must know that this sacrament, as 
 well as the rest, has one efiect common, and another 
 proper to itself; the common is to give grace, as all 
 the other sacraments of the law of grace do ; but 
 that which is particular to this, is a new strength, 
 
204 THE MEMORIAL OF 
 
 and new vigor in doing good works, and a new relish 
 of heavenly things, mixed with a great sweetness, 
 experienced by those who receive it. For as the 
 corporal food we take has not only the property to 
 preserve our lives, but, together with the pleasure 
 we have in eating, gives us also strength and live- 
 liness; so this divine food not only maintains our 
 spiritual life with the grace it gives us, but fortifies 
 also the spirit, and makes us feel inexplicable delight, 
 through a sacred virtue which accompanies it. St. 
 Thomas says, that " this sweetness is so great in 
 those whom the Holy Ghost has purified, whose souls 
 know how to relish true pleasures, that no words are 
 sufficient to express." 3 Par, q. 79. art. 1 & 2. 
 Nor is it to be doubted, since spiritual delights are 
 found there in their source, which is our Lord Jesus 
 Christ. 
 
 For the enjoyment then of this great benefit, ac- 
 tual devotion is required ; for since there must be 
 some proportion between the form and that which 
 serves as a disposition and preparative to the form, 
 there is nothing so advantageous for the augmenting 
 devotion, as devotion itself: as we see by experience 
 in wood, which, the hotter and drier it is, is so much 
 the fitter to burn, because heat and dryness are the 
 two qualities of fire. 
 
 But if you ask me what actual devotion is, I can 
 no way better explain it to you, than by telling you, 
 that it is like artificial water, which being extracted 
 out of divers flowers, retains something of all their 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFl. 206 
 
 Mvors. For this devotion is an ardent and affec- 
 tionate motion of the soul, composed of several holy 
 desires, and divers spiritual affections, of which it is 
 full when it comes to this sacrament. St. Ambrose 
 declares then, when preparing himself for Mass, he 
 makes his address to Jesus Christ in these words : 
 •* What ought, Lord, to be my contrition, my sor- 
 row for my faults, the fountain of my tears ! What 
 ought, in fine, to be the reverence, fear, chastity of 
 body, and purity of mind, which I am obliged to 
 bring to thy altar, when I am going to celebrate thig 
 divine mystery, where thy flesh is truly eaten, and thy 
 blood truly drunk ; where the lowest things are join-^ 
 ed with the highest, where the angels are present, 
 and where thou thyself art, after an unspeakable 
 manner, both the priest and sacrifice ! Who, O 
 Lord, can worthily perform this mystery, except thon 
 renderest him worthy?" In fine, to approach this 
 adorable sacrament with the devotion of which I 
 speak, and to correspond on your part, as much as 
 your weakness can admit, with its holiness and dig- 
 nity, bring always to it a very great respect, a pro- 
 found humility, much love and confidence ; but, 
 above all, assure yourself, that you will be so much 
 the more worthy this heavenly bread, as you shall be 
 more hungry, and desirous to be satisfied with it 
 The excellence of this sacred food requires no less 
 than all the several affections, and for the making 
 
 them spring up in your heart, the considerations I 
 18 
 
206 THE MEMORIAL OF 
 
 %m going to set before you, will not perhaps be aa 
 profitable. 
 
 SECTION I. 
 
 In the first place, to obtain fear and respect, con- 
 sider the greatness of him who is enclosed in thia 
 sacrament; for under this sacred veil is concealed 
 his Divine Majesty, who created the world, who pre- 
 serves and governs it; in whose presence the pillars 
 of heaven tremble ; before whom all nature lies pros- 
 trate (Job xxvi. 11. ;) whom the stars of heaven in- 
 cessantly praise (Ihid xxxviii. 7. ;) whose immuta- 
 bility appears in the wonderful revolutions of the sun 
 and moon ; in whose sight the celestial spirits them- 
 selves are not without spot ; in comparison of whom, 
 this vast frame of the world which appears so won- 
 derful, is, to use the Wise Man^s words, " but like a 
 drop of morning dew, or the least grain of the ba- 
 lance." Ibid iv. And after this, can you avoid being 
 seized with awe and reverence, seeing with the eyes 
 of faith so majestic a greatness abase itself to you ? 
 
 I might here add something concerning the sever- 
 ity of his justice, the depths of his judgments, with 
 the horror he has of wicked men and their wicked- 
 ness ; but I am contented only to represent to you 
 what you owe to this Sovereign Majesty^ and to show 
 not sinners alone, but ev«n the just themselves, what 
 great reason they have to fear when they approach 
 it. No man ought to flatter himself on this occasion^ 
 or vainly think himself secure^ because of the vii^iia 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFB. 207 
 
 of this sacrament, which is the life of souls. It is 
 true, that it gives life, but it is no less true, that it 
 gives also death to those who profane it by approach- 
 ing it unprepared. The children of Israel being at 
 the point to give battle to the Philistines, sent for the 
 ark into their army, hoping by the presence thereof, 
 to gain the victory over their enemies : but the suc- 
 cess was quite different from their expectation ; for 
 this sacred pledge was so far from rendering them 
 victorious, that, on the contrary, they lost the battle ; 
 all God's people were defeated, the ark was taken^ 
 and carried away by the infidels ; so that it seemed 
 to have come into the camp only to render their loss 
 the greater. They believed that the ark would be 
 their preservation, and it was their ruin. The same 
 thing befel that great favorite of Assuerus, named 
 Aman. Esther vii. Queen Esther invited him to the 
 banquet she had prepared for the king; this the 
 proud man esteemed a mark of favor ; but he fore- 
 saw not that his death would be the conclusion of his 
 banquet, and that from the table he should be sent 
 to execution. Wherefore the apostle, speaking to 
 the faithful^ cries out, and says to them, " Let a man 
 prove himself, and let him eat of that bread, and 
 drink of the chalice : for he that eateth and drinketh 
 unworthily, eateth and drinketh judgment to himself, 
 not discerning the body of the Lord." 1 Cor. xi. 
 28, 29. If, then, so great respect was required to the 
 ark of the Old Testament, which was but the figure 
 of this divine sacrament, there must, without doubt, 
 
208 THE MEMORIAL OF 
 
 be incomparably more purity and reverence due !• 
 the sacrament itself, in which Grod personally resides. 
 The Bethsamites heretofore looked with curiosity into 
 the ark, and fifty thousand of them died to expiate 
 that offence. 1 Kings vi. 19. What then shall be- 
 come of those who presume to receive irreverently 
 what this ark did but represent? When this ark 
 opened a passage to the Israelites through the waters 
 of Jordan, Joshua commanded them not to come 
 near it, but to leave always at least the distance of 
 two thousand cubits between the ark and the people, 
 for fear God should slay them. Josh. iii. 4. If Joshua 
 treated in this manner the afk of the Lord, what 
 must we do to receive in us the Lord of the ark ? 
 Ought not this terrify you, if, through a serious re- 
 flection on yourself, you consider that you are by 
 nature nothing, and by sin less than nothing, since 
 sin is less than nothing ? But those particularly 
 ought to tremble, who having so often, as the prophet 
 speaks, reduced themselves to nothing by their sins 
 against God, dare lodge him in a heart which has 
 been the nest of serpents and basilisks. 
 
 Humble yourself then as much as you can by these 
 considerations, and come to your Father's house with 
 tears in your eyes, and sorrow in your heart, saying 
 with the prodigal child, "Father, I have sinned 
 against heaven, and before thee : I am not worthy to 
 be called thy son : make me as one of thy hired 
 servants." Luke xv. 18, 19. Put yourself in the con- 
 lition of the publican in the gospel, who durst noi 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFS 209 
 
 approach the altar, nor lift up his eyes to heaven ; 
 and smiting your breast, say with him, " Grod ! be 
 merciful to me a sinner ;" {Jjuke xviii. 13.) or like 
 the woman of Canaan, who said to our Saviour, 
 "Yea, Lord, for the whelps also eat of the crumbs 
 which fall from the table of their masters." MM. 
 XV. 27. 
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 These are the considerations which may excite in 
 your soul some part of the respect you owe to this 
 divine sacrament ; but since it is reasonable you bring 
 also to it no less love and confidence, in order to ob- 
 tain them, consider on the other side, that as much 
 hatred as this Lord of Majesty and Justice has for 
 sin, so much goodness and mercy he has for sinners. 
 These were the divine qualities that brought him 
 down from heaven, and clothed him with our flesh, 
 that made him undertake so many journeys to seek 
 for sinners, that made him resolve to eat with them, 
 and obliged him to say, that their salvation was his 
 food and his delight. It was for them he fasted, 
 travelled up and down on foot, watched, rose up early, 
 and suffered innumerable contradictions and perse- 
 cutions from the world. It was for their sakes he 
 spent whole days m preaching, and nights in prayer 
 for their necessities ; it was for them that the gates 
 of his mercy were always open, and that he never 
 repelled any of those who addressed themselves u) 
 him, though they were rejected by others. In fine, 
 18* 
 
210 THB MEMORIAL OF 
 
 he was pressed with so' violent a desire to save them, 
 and remedy their evils, that, to redeem and cure 
 them, he consented to be fastened to a cross between 
 two thieves, and to shed for them even the last drop 
 of his blood. Does not it seem impossible to you for 
 this goodness to proceed any farther? But our 
 Saviour would extend it beyond his life. Departing 
 out of this world he left us another remedy, and 
 another refuge, by the institution of this most august 
 sacrament, in which he himself is present : by this 
 means you touch him, you possess him, and enjoy 
 the benefits which his power produces ; and thence 
 you daily experience that the same cause which 
 obliged him to die, obliged him also to institute this 
 sacrament; for as his love alone made him resolve 
 to come down from heaven, and deliver himself into 
 the hands of sinners : so the same love makes him 
 continually give himself to the world by this divine 
 invention, and often to sinners as guilty as those 
 that deprived him of his life. 
 
 It is then very clear that the cause of this great 
 work could on his side be nothing but his immense 
 charity ; and on ours, but our extreme necessities ; 
 on our part only our misery and on his only mercy. 
 And thus we see, that this divine sacrament is the 
 common remedy of the just and of sinners ; that it 
 is not only food for the healthy, but medicine also 
 for the sick ; that it is not only the life of the living, 
 but the resurrection likewise of the dead. And ac- 
 cording to St. Augustin, thi3 heavenly bread not only 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFB. 211 
 
 rastams those who live, but sometimes also raises 
 again those that have lost their life. 
 
 Who then can forbid you the participation of thi« 
 jaystery ? It is an hospital which the divine mercy 
 has erected with royal magnificence, endowed and 
 founded with the purest blood of Jesus Christ, for 
 the relief of all that are sick. Will you then think 
 yourselves excluded because you are infirm and 
 miserable? On the contrary, you ought for this 
 reason to have recourse to it. If you are afflicted 
 with any great disease, it is there you will be cured ; 
 if you are weak, you will there obtain strength ; if 
 you are blind, you will there receive sight ; if you 
 are poor, you will there find riches ; if you are hun- 
 gry? J<^^ will there be satisfied ; and, in fine, if you 
 are naked, and bare of the graces and virtues that 
 are necessary for you, you will there again be clothed 
 with them. 
 
 Some who do not sufficiently prize this divine 
 sacrament, and either know not, or will not know its 
 nature and condition, keep themselves and others 
 from it on frivolous pretences of their infirmities and 
 weaknesses ; but they must understand, that it was 
 instituted not only to serve for nourishment for those 
 who are in health, but for medicine also to those that 
 are sick; not only to comfort and strengthen the 
 just, but to give confidence also and health to peni- 
 tents. Those who find tnemselves most depressed 
 have greatest need of it ; ana consequently the weak 
 ean much less subsist without it than the stroDg 
 
212 THE MEMORIAL OF 
 
 Those whose souls are sound and vigorous, n)ay for 
 a time persist in good without this particular assist- 
 ance; but what can they do without it, who have 
 their soul always as it were on the edge of their lips ; 
 who are so weak and void of strength, that if they 
 turn their eyes but ever so little from God, they see 
 themselves ready to fall and perish ? It was of these 
 persons particularly that our Saviour had compassion, 
 when speaking in a figure of great mystery he said, 
 " If I send them away fasting to their homes, they 
 will faint by the way ; for some of them come from 
 far off." Mark viii. 3. For, as on that occasion, 
 those hearers of Jesus Christ who came from the 
 remotest places, must have been in more apparent 
 danger of fainting than those who had not under- 
 gone the toil of so long a journey ; so in the course 
 of this life, the weakest, and those which have far- 
 thest to travel, that they may arrive at the perfection 
 of divine love are, without doubt, exposed to more 
 pressing dangers. And since this living bread was 
 ordained from heaven to support the weak, it is not 
 a rashness, but a holy and wholesome resolution for 
 the sick to have recourse to the Physician, and re- 
 ceive from his goodness the remedy he has prepared 
 for him with so much love by the effusion of all his 
 blood. 
 
 For my part, I am firmly persuaded that one of 
 the greatest faults men can commit, and of which 
 they shall render the most rigorous account at the 
 day of judgment, will be that which they commit 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFE. 278 
 
 ft<;ainst the blood of Jesus Christ, in not making use 
 of the admirable remedies that are found in his 
 Church by the merit of his precious blood, of which 
 the eucharist is undoubtedly the greatest. If a king 
 had built a magnificent hospital for the reception of 
 all sick persons, and had furnished it with all things 
 necessary for the curing of their diseases, and after 
 he had with abundance of care and charge finished 
 this great work, there should not any one be found 
 that would come thither to be cured, would not this 
 princje think himself very ill treated, in having be- 
 stowed his labor for such slothful souls, so negligent 
 of their own health ? Doubt not but the King 
 of Heaven will conceive the same indignation, if, 
 having presented us with a remedy which cost him 
 so dear, and which he has compounded of his own 
 Dlood, he shall see us neglect it, and so, as much as 
 in us lies, frustrate his designs, and render all his 
 pains unprofitable. Doubt not but this contempt will 
 make you fall into a sin like that which our Lord 
 described in the parable of the feast, to which the 
 guests that were invited refused to come, and fear his 
 pronouncing against you that terrible sentence of 
 excommunication, *.* But I say unto you, that none 
 of those men that were invited shall taste of my 
 supper.'' Luke xiv. 24. 
 
 What reason can you allege that may be sufficient 
 to excuse you? If you say that you are sinners, 
 know you not that you cease to be so when you begin 
 to love justice, and to be sorry for your offences ? 
 
214 THE MEMORIAL 0? 
 
 And know you not, that as St. Jerome exprefises it» 
 past sins damn you not if they are no longer pleas- 
 ing ? If you say that you are fallen, and that your 
 fall is irrecoverable, assure yourselves it will not be so 
 if you are troubled for your misfortune, and stretch 
 out your hand to be raised up again. You have 
 little reason, if you say that you find yourselves 
 unworthy to approach so high a mystery. Do yon 
 believe that there is any one truly worthy? and 
 would not our Saviour, therefore, communicate him- 
 self to the little ones and imperfect, that his tender- 
 ness and love might thereby have greater lustre? 
 Thus, you see, you are so far from offending God by 
 coming to him, that you would highly offend him by 
 refusing to make use of a remedy which he has or- 
 dained for such as you are. These are the principal 
 considerations with which you may stir up in your 
 soul the ardent desire you ought to have, that you 
 may with profit be partaker of this great mystery. 
 
 SECTION III. 
 
 But there is a third disposition requisite for the 
 approaching to this holy table, which is an ardeni 
 desire and great hunger for this heavenly bread; 
 and for the obtaining it there is no better means 
 than to consider the effects of this divine sacrament, 
 and the affections it excites in those souls which re- 
 ceive it devoutly. For your instruction in this im- 
 portant point, you ought to know, that as God by 
 his goodness has opposed to the first man, who waa 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFS. 215 
 
 the cause of all our evils, a second man, to wit, Jesru 
 Christ, who is the original of all our good ; so to the 
 fatal fruit of that forbidden tree which destroyed us, 
 he has opposed a heavenly fbod in this sacrament, 
 which serves for a remedy to all our miseries. And 
 as " by the obedience of the one, many shall be made 
 just;" (Rom, v. 19.) so all the evils which that 
 poisoned meat had caused in us, have happily found 
 their cure in this august sacrament. This then is a 
 sovereign antidote, which the divine wisdom hae 
 provided to deliver all men from the poison with 
 which the old serpent had infected them. And, 
 therefore, to comprehend the abundance of the bene- 
 fits which are liberally communicated to us by thifl 
 saving food, we need only compute the calamities 
 which that other fatal meat had brought upon us, 
 and be fully sensible that God has changed his curse 
 into a blessing ; since, speaking of that first fruit, 
 he said, " In what day soever thou shalt eat of it, 
 thou shalt die;" (Gen, ii. 17.) and of the second, 
 " He that shall eat of this bread shall live for ever.'* 
 Another means is, attentively to meditate on what it 
 contains : for the flesh of Jesus Christ is really there, 
 which being united to the divine word, is partaker 
 of all its advantages, as a red hot iron partakes of 
 all the properties of the fire that heats it. This 
 made St. John Damascen say, that " the Word of 
 the eternal God, which gives life to all things, being 
 united to human flesh, makes that flesh also give 
 life:" and this it is which leaves us no room to 
 
216 TBlG MEMORIAL OF 
 
 doubt, but that this sacrament contains all the virtna 
 which is in Jesus Christ, since that in it is received 
 the flesh of Jesus Christ, which, being united to his 
 divinity, enjoys all the greatness and all the power 
 of it. 
 
 Admire then what is wrought in you when this 
 divine Lord comes to you; consider, that he comes 
 to honor you with his presence, to pour on you the 
 ointment of his grace, to cure you by his mercy, to 
 wash you with his blood, to raise you by his death, 
 to illuminate you with his light, to warm you with 
 his love, to comfort you with his delights, to unite 
 himself to your soul, and become her bridegroom, to 
 render you a partaker of his spirit, and of all that he 
 purchased for you on the cross, by offering up that 
 precious blood which he gives you. Know, that by 
 this divine sacrament your past sins are pardoned, 
 you are strengthened against those that are to come, 
 your passions are weakened, your temptations are 
 diminished, your devotion is awakened, your faith 
 receives new light, and your charity new heat ; your 
 hope is augmented, your weakness is supported, your 
 strength is repaired, your conscience is filled with 
 joy, you are made partaker of Jesus Christ's merits, 
 and receive pledges of eternal life. It is this bread 
 that gives courage to the weak, that entertains the 
 traveller, that eases those who are fallen, that ani* 
 mates the fearful, that gives arms to the valiant, that 
 rejoices the sorrowful, that comforts the afflicted, that 
 .nstmcts the ignorant, that heats the lukewarm, that 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFK. 217 
 
 awakens the sluggard, that cures the sick, and that 
 being the most common, is also the most assured 
 remedy for all jour necessities. Since, then, this 
 adorable sacrament produces such wonderful effects, 
 and since the love of him that gives it to us, is so 
 excessive, who will not desire such great riches, and 
 who will not hunger for so excellent a food ? 
 
 Let not, then, the consideration of your vileness 
 and unworthiness keep you back from this sacred 
 table, for though this sacrament is infinitely majestic 
 and holy, you ought, nevertheless, to remember, that 
 this treasure was discovered for the poor ; that this 
 medicine was ordained for the sick ; that this relief 
 was prepi^red for the necessitous, and this great feast 
 provided for the hungry. This sacrament is the 
 bread of angels, but it is also the bread of penitents ; 
 it is the nourishment of the healthy, but it is also 
 the remedy of the infirm : it is the feast of kings, 
 but it is also the food of the populace : it is the 
 strong meat of men, but it is also the milk of chil- 
 dren. Thus it is all things to all men ; and none, 
 how imperfect soever he is, ought to abstain from 
 this divine medicine, if he desire to be cured. *^ They 
 that are in health need not a physician, but they that 
 are ill." Matt. ix. 12. And if Jesus Christ came 
 principally into the world for these, it is also par- 
 ticularly for these that he gives himself in this sacra- 
 ment. See, then, by this, with what hunger, with 
 what desires, and with what joy you ought to sigh 
 
 after him who comes to heap en you so many favors 
 19 
 
218 THB MEMORIAL OF 
 
 
 Remember the longing of the ancient patriarchs 
 the coming of him whom you receive. Remembe; 
 how they pierced the heavens with their cries, re* 
 questing aloud, that he would be pleased to come 
 down ; and for this reason called him " The desired 
 of all nations." Ag. ii. 7. He who comes into youi 
 soul, is the same that came into the world, and he 
 came to do nothing else there, but what he did for 
 all the world. When he came into the world, he 
 gave the world the life of grace. He comes likewise 
 into your soul only to give it the same life. This 
 being so, why will you not desire him with as much 
 fervor as the prophets did ? Consider the zeal with 
 which the apostles expected the coming of the Holy 
 Ghost, the earnest prayers and fervent sighs with 
 which they requested him. You ought to send up 
 no less towards heaven for the obtaining Jesus 
 Christ's presence, since you receive by it the Holy 
 Ghost, though in a different manner. 
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 T?uU Time ought to be taken for the pvUing oiuft 
 self in all these Dispositions. i 
 
 To prepare yourself, then, in this manner, yoiii 
 ought to take some days before communion, in which. 
 Freeing your mind from all other thoughts, you may 
 both reflect at leisure on all these considerations, and, 
 also cleanse your conscience by a serious examin* 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFE. 219 
 
 tion, true contrition, and sacramental confession of 
 your sins: also some time should be allowed for 
 prayer, as a previous preparation. Let those whose 
 duty it is to offer daily the holy sacrifice, not follow 
 the example of some who> from vain and unprofitable 
 discourses, from immoderate laughter, from the 
 throng of secular affairs^ pass immediately (full of 
 distractions) to the altar, and make no scruple of 
 coming to our Lord's table to eat the bread of angels, 
 with the same disposition and indifference as if they 
 were eating a bit of common bread ; which is an in- 
 tolerable irreverence. We need seek no other cause 
 of their little progress in virtue, after their having 
 BO many years used this divine medicine : for if they 
 had, at every Mass they celebrate, received some in- 
 crease of grace, as it happens to those who are wor- 
 thily disposed for it, they would have stored up in 
 themselves a treasure of graces ; whereas we now 
 see them still the same^ and after twenty years serv* 
 ing at the altar, they continue as sensual as they 
 were, and sometimes worse. How lamentable is this 
 misfortune ! Can we see any thing more to be feared 
 than to come every day to the fountain of life, to the 
 banquet of angels, to the sovereign remedy of all 
 our evils, and having persisted thus a long time, to 
 be found at last as dry, as insensible, and with as 
 much weakness as at first ? These unfaithful minis- 
 ters of our Lord are exceedinglj to blame ; but there 
 is an infinite number of evil Christians that deserve 
 no less reprehension, who, after they have abandoned 
 
2f50 THE MEMORIAL OF 
 
 theiuselves to all manner of vices, come once a yeai 
 to confession, and having scarce ended their vomit 
 of innumerable abominations, go incontinently from 
 the priest's feet to take their place at our Lord'f^ 
 table, and there eat the bread of angels, which, if it 
 were possible for us, we should receive only with 
 angelical purity. Were it not fit, to employ first 
 some days pacifying God, and in watering and wash- 
 ing with tears the place in which he is to be lodged ? 
 Were it not reasonable to dispose ourselves by a vigil 
 of labor and sorrow for the joy of so great a festival, 
 and not to solemnize it without a great deal of pre- 
 paration ? When the time was come in which God 
 would give the law to his people, Moses commanded 
 them to prepare themselves three days before, to wash 
 their clothes, and abstain from the company of their 
 wives. Exod, xix. 10, 11. None can doubt but we 
 are obliged to do much more for the receiving God 
 himself, who gives us not only his law but his grace, 
 which is far more than his law ; and do we not fear, 
 having our imagination wholly filled with our sins, 
 being yet wholly defiled and polluted with our filthi- 
 ness, to approach a mystery of so great purity, and 
 receive a Lord whose majesty is so high and ele- 
 vated ? 
 
 This is a great abuse, and no less dangerous for 
 being common : it is of importance to consider it . i 
 well, and to weigh it as it deserves, not with the ^ 
 weight of Cannan, which is false, but with the weight 
 of the sanctuary ; that is, according .to the judgment « 
 
 1 
 
A CHRISTIAN LITE. 221 
 
 of G od and the sentiments of the saints. Let those 
 who desire to perform their duty, read St Cyprian's^ 
 sermon against the Christians that fell into idolatry, 
 nnd they shall see how vehemently this father repre-^ 
 hends this contempt and boldness. Speaking of some- 
 believers, who in a short time after their sacrificing^ 
 to idols, presented themselves to the holy communion,, 
 he says thus : " Returning from the altars of the 
 dt;vil, having their hands still polluted with these in- 
 famous sacrifices, they approach the holy sacrament. 
 And though it was written, that none should be sor 
 presumptuous as to eat of this meat unless he be 
 clean and pure, for that otherwise it will cause his- 
 death ; yet are they audacious enough to receive our 
 Lord's body, not having digested the flesh that was^ 
 offered to idols, but having their mouths still stink- 
 ing of that abominable food ; in which I may say 
 their hands and mouth commit a more detestable sin, 
 than that into which they fell, when they renounced 
 his worship and religion." These are the words of 
 St. Cyprian. Consider whether he could have ex- 
 pressed himself in more forcible terms. You may 
 judge by the discourse of this saint, what he would 
 have said of the profanations which daily happen in 
 the use of our most divine mystery. 
 
 You may well tell, that these sinners are reconciled 
 to God l^ confession : I suppose it ; but thougn they 
 may be truly restored to Jesus Christ's favor, is it fit 
 they should receive him at the same instant, and 
 with the same mouth that is just come &om vomii*- 
 
 Id* 
 
.222 THE MEMORIAL OF j 
 
 ling forth so much filthiness, without employing some 
 time to bewail their sins, and cleanse their con- 
 sciences, that they may approach him with greatei 
 purity ? Mary, sister of Moses, remained seven days 
 without entering into the camp of God's people, tti 
 ^though she had repented of her fault, and was par- «1 
 doned. Num. xii. 14. Absalom, the son of David/ pi 
 was banished three years from his father's palace, 
 though he had forgiven him the murder committed 
 on the person of his brother Amnon. 2 Kings xui. 
 S3. Now if this prince, after his being assured of hie 
 father's favor, was obliged in some sort to expiate hie 
 crime by a three years' absence, would any injurj 
 ^be done to these criminals by deferring for three 
 days their admission to the communion, after having 
 80 cruelly offended their heavenly Father, and sc 
 often, by their sins, murdered and crucified his only- 
 begotten Son ? 
 
 You will tell me again, there are some so frail that 
 they cannot even for so short a time, forbear offend- \ 
 ing God, and that it is therefore better to admit then 
 flpeedily to the holy table, for fear they render them- 
 selves unworthy by new faults. I answer this, thai 
 if these are venial sins, they exclude them not from 
 this grace, since, as the Scripture says, ** the just man 
 falleth seven times a day ;" (^Prov, xxiv. 16.) and i1 
 is not hard to apply a remedy to this evil. But if 
 vou speak of mortal sins, and believe them not capa- 
 ble to abstain from them for so short a time, what 
 danger can be imagined more strange than this, and 
 
A CHRISTIAN Ilfi?. 223 
 
 what disposition more abominable, than to dare com- 
 luunicate with so wavering and corrupt a conscience, 
 that one cannot promise himself to pass three day« 
 without sinning mortally ? And where is then that 
 firm purpose which ought to be engraven in the souls 
 of Christians, never to offend God, though for the 
 preservation of life itself? Where is the love ef 
 Crod, which fears sin above all things ? Banish from 
 your minds this dangerous apprehension. The 
 strength of grace is not so little, nor will you so 
 easily fall into mortal sins, if you, on your side, use 
 flome moderate care to avoid this misfortune. God 
 will grant you the grace to preserve you from them, 
 not only for some days, but also for whole years, and 
 even for all your life if you invoke his assistance ; 
 and he never refuses it to those that seek it. It i$ 
 true, that to oblige carnal and sensual men to abstain 
 from evil, though for so short a time, is like the 
 turning of a great river out of its natural current, 
 which it has kept for many ages. Whatever indus- 
 try you use to drain it from its ancient channel, at the 
 first gap it finds it breaks through all its ditches and 
 banks, and returns with violence to the place where 
 it was wont to have its course : it is the same with 
 these old sinners ; they have for so many years been 
 accustomed to live in a miserable libertinism of saying 
 and doing whatever comes into their fancy, and of 
 letting their hearts go with so much license after all 
 their desires, that to exhort them to. change theit 
 ife and persuade them to resist the motions of theii 
 
^a THE MEMORIAL Of 
 
 passions, is to give them so intolerable a pain, tibfti 
 DO time seems short enough for them till they get out 
 of this constraint, and return to their first disorders. 
 We see by the efiect, that the true cause which makes i 
 them go with so much haste to communion, is the ; 
 secret torment they feel to see themselves reduced to 
 a necessity of being good for only two or three days, ] 
 such deep roots has their wickedness taken in their 
 hearts. Wretches that you are I how can you enter ' 
 into this false presumption of being saved, and of 
 becoming companions of those who fight faithfully, 
 if you are become so hardened and so slothful that 
 you will not put on the armor of the Christian war- 
 fieure ? But know, as the apostle says, that none shall 
 **be crowned, except he strive lawfully;" (2 Tim. 
 ii. 5.) and do not imagine, that what I now say to 
 you is contrary to what I have represented to you, 
 concerning the confidence with which we ought to 
 approach this mystery. What I said in that place 
 was to give courage to weak and timorous souls who, 
 through indiscreet fears, abstain from this sacrament ; 
 and what I now say to you is, to retain the rash 
 within the bounds of their duty ; not on any design 
 to deprive them of this sovereign remedy, but to the 
 end they may come to it with the necessary purity 
 and preparation. 
 
A CHRISTIAN LI7B. 225 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 What ought to he done he/ore Communicating, 
 
 If you desire then to do this important action nB 
 you ought^ take some time to dispose yourself for it ; 
 and to say something more particular for those who 
 often er frequent this divine sacrament, my opinion 
 is, that as Moses commanded the children of Israel 
 to employ three days in preparing themselves to re- 
 ceive God's law, (^Exod. xix. 10, 11.) so you should 
 take the same time to put yourself in a state to re- 
 ceive this great Majesty, which comes to give you 
 not a law of death, but a law of life ; a law which 
 not only represents to you his characters, but fills 
 you with his spirit ; a law of love, and not of fear. 
 The Scripture gives us an example which ought to 
 fill us with great confusion ; it says, that the wives 
 of king Assuerus employed a whole year in adorn- 
 ing and preparing themselves to appear only once in 
 the presence of that prince. (Esther ii. 12.) If 
 these women spent so much time to render them- 
 selves agreeable to the eyes of a mortal man, what 
 ought not you to do for obtaining the favor of the 
 King of Heaven ! One of the greatest praises which 
 the angel gave the Blessed Virgin was to tell her 
 that she had found favor in the sight of God. (Luke 
 r. 30.) Wherefore then should not we take as much 
 care to render ourselves pleasing to God, as those 
 women did for that vanity ? Ought not our whole 
 life to be a continual preparation to render us wor- 
 
226 THE MEMORIAL OP 
 
 thj of the most signal of all favors, by coiumunica- 
 ting worthily ? 
 
 I know well that, morally speaking, you will not 
 faktiain to this perfection ; but do, at least, something 
 to dispose yourself for so great and so awful a mys- 
 tery. Do, on your part, seriously all that may de- 
 pend on you ; and if you ask me what that is, I will 
 tell you, first, that you ought to have your eyes more 
 watchful over yourself; that you ought more atten- 
 tively to consider all your actions, and all your words ; 
 and you ought to take very great care not to slip 
 into anything that may offend God's goodness, not 
 only mortally, but even venially, if it be possible. I 
 tell you, moreover, that you ought not only to avoid 
 sin, but also the occasions of sin. Abstain from un- 
 profitable conversations, from diverting entertain- 
 ments, from railleries, and all things of that nature, 
 which are scarcely ever without sin. Take heed 
 then to bridle your tongue ; let your mouth be pure 
 and innocent, and let no vain or dangerous word 
 proceed from it ; consider it is the door by which 
 this heavenly Host must enter into your soul. 
 
 If I demand of you so much circumspection and 
 cleanliness in your mouth, your heart requires yet 
 more ; free it then from all impure thoughts, from 
 all unquietness and vanity ; this is the bed on which 
 your God is to repose ; let him see nothing in it that 
 may offend his eyes. And because the place of the 
 Lord, as the Psalmist says, is a place of peace, it is 
 very fit to set aside, during that time, all affairs 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFE. 227 
 
 which may disti*act your mind, or put it in disorder 
 The bed of the heavenly bridegroom, as it is de- 
 scribed by the spouse in the Canticle, is all covered 
 with flowers; mix not with them thorns, that is, 
 sour and discontented thoughts. And if necessity 
 obliges to treat at that time of any difficult business, 
 let it be with so much moderation and reservedness^ 
 that your heart be not troubled about it, and that it 
 hinder not the peace and repose of your soul. In 
 these days, you ought to bestow more time on all 
 spiritual exercises ; pray, meditate ; this is the sweet- 
 smelling incense with which you ought to perfume 
 the house wherein you purpose to receive this hea- 
 venly guest ; employ yourself especially during these 
 three days, to pass over, with attention in your mind, 
 the three sorts of considerations I have declared to 
 you, to stir up in your souls the fear, love, and hun- 
 ger you ought to have for the bread of heaven. Du- 
 ring these three days pray to the Most Holy Trinity; 
 
 ^ address yourself every day to one of the Three Per- 
 sons separately, to the end they may give you the 
 grace and purity which is necessary for this holy 
 communion. Have recourse particularly to the 
 Blessed Virgin, beseeching her by that fervor and 
 that admirable devotion with which she conceived 
 in her womb the Son of God, and received him in 
 her arms after he was born, to obtain for you the 
 grace to receive him worthily into your soul. Beg 
 of her, by that tenderness and those transports with 
 
 ^ Jthich she herself communicated, and receired the 
 
228 THB MEMORIAL Of 
 
 Bacred body of her Son, after his ascent into heayen, 
 to obtain for you some part in the grace and love 
 which he made her feel when he gave himself to her. 
 In this prayer to the Queen of Heaven, make par- 
 ticular reflections on the lively faith, the devotion, 
 the tears, and the joy, with which she received her 
 Son under the sacramental species, in expectation of 
 the time when she should see him in all his glory. 
 For if you can conceive anything of the faith and 
 love of this holy creature, that is, with how much 
 firmness and certainty she believed, that in this con- 
 secrated bread there was truly her Son's precious 
 body, what affection she had for him, and what de- 
 sire to see him, possess him, and embrace him in her 
 heart; you will, without doubt, comprehend some- 
 thing of the sentiments of that divine soul, and of 
 the heavenly content she found in herself at the 
 time of her communion. Beg of her some of her 
 devotion, and that she will transmit to you some 
 spark of that divine fire, the least of whkh would be 
 sufficient to prepare you as you ought for this won- 
 derful feast. 
 
 The evening before you communicate, you will do 
 well to abstain, if you can, from supper, or at least 
 to sup very sparingly, without entering into any dis- 
 course at table, to the end your sleep may be more 
 pure and quiet, and your mind more free, and that 
 you may spend some part of the night in considering 
 ^he greatness of what you are going about^ and the 
 happiness you shall have the next day. Entering 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFK, 229 
 
 into your bod, bring thither the same thoughts ; beg 
 of God to preserve you during the night from the 
 illusions and artifices of your enemy, to the end yeu 
 may approach his Majesty with a great purity of 
 body and soul; as often as you awake resume the 
 same thoughts, and continue the SAme prayers you 
 made at your going to bed. And in the morning, 
 as soon as your eyes are open, let your heart be fas- 
 tened to the cro^ of Jesus Christ, and filled with the 
 memory of his passion. It is on this divine sacrifice 
 tibat you ought particularly to meditate all this 
 day, considering the immensity of the love with 
 which the Son of God, for your sake^ delivered him- 
 self up to this treaty ; how he presented his shoul- 
 ders to receive the blows which your crimes merited ; 
 and, in fine, with what charity he gives himself to us 
 all at this table for the common remedy of our evils 
 It was in remembrance of his death that Jesus 
 Christ instituted this sacrament, {Imke xxii. 19.) 
 and this is the principal and tenderest of the thoughts 
 which ought to fill your mind, if you desire to satisfy 
 with fidelity, as you are obliged to do, the will of 
 ciiis testator. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 What %$ to he done in Communicating , and after 
 Communicating. 
 
 Having declared to you the dispositions which are 
 aecessary for you befi^re communion, I am now going 
 
230 THE MEMORIAL OF 
 
 to teach you, in a few words, what you ought to do 
 at the time of your receiving, and after you shall 
 have received. At your approach then to the altar, 
 m order to communicate, imagine that you hear that 
 sweet voice of the Gospel, " Behold ! the bridegroom 
 Cometh ; go ye forth to meet him." Matt. xxv. 6. 
 For, in effect, there is no sacrament in which our 
 Lord so openly declares himself to be the bridegroom 
 of our souls, as in the sacrament of the eucharist : 
 its proper effect is to unite to him the soul of the 
 communicant, and to make of two but one thing ; 
 which is indeed a spiritual alliance. That you may 
 then go forth to meet this bridegroom, and receive 
 him as he deserves, you need only attentively con- 
 sider in what state he presents himself He comes 
 to you full of charity, goodness, humility, and mercy ; 
 he tells you, that he earnestly desires to celebrate 
 this Pasch with you, in which the true Lamb is eaten ; 
 (Luke xxii. 15.) and you ought, on your side, to re- 
 ceive him with all the devotion, love, humility, and 
 joy you are capable of, since you are going to be 
 honored with the presence of your soul's true bride- 
 groom, of your Master, your Creator, your God, and 
 your whole Good. Remember the devotion and joy 
 with which holy old Simeon received in his arms the 
 child Jesus, when he was put into them by his 
 mother. Luhe ii. 28, &c. He protested that he had 
 only desired life to see his Saviour. Enter into the 
 sentiments of this saint, and let not life be dear to 
 you, but because you are going to possess Jesus. 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFE. 231 
 
 See with what transport the mother of St. John the 
 Baptist received into her house the mother of her 
 Lord ; consider with what satisfaction she said to her 
 these words : " Whence is this to me, that the mo- 
 ther of my Lord should come to me ?" Luke i. 43 
 Is it not reasonable, since you receive this Lord in 
 person, that you should testify your joy, and say 
 with this holy woman : Whence is this excess of 
 happiness befallen me, that the Lord of angels, and 
 all the glory of heaven, vouchsafes to come to me. 
 my Father ! my Pastor, my Lord, my God, and 
 my all ! you are not contented with having created 
 me after your image, and redeemed me with your 
 blood ; but you will also, by an incomparable prodi- 
 gy of love, come into me, make your abode in me, 
 transform me into you, and make yourself one and 
 the same thing with me, as if you depended on me, 
 and not I on you. Whence, my Lord ! does this 
 good come unto me ? Is it from my merits, or that 
 you would gain some advantage from being with me ? 
 No surely ; it is an eflFect of your sole goodness and 
 mercy, which makes you more delight to be with 
 me, than I to be with you. I desire you, only be- 
 cause I am miserable, and have need of your assist- 
 ance ; and you desire me through pure mercy. I 
 seek you, to possess him that can give me all ; and 
 you come to find me out, that you may give me all ; 
 and because the desire you have to do me good infi- 
 nitely exceeds the inclination I have to receive it, 
 (since your goodness infinitely surpasses my nece»« 
 
232 THE MEMORIAL OF 
 
 sity,^ I certainly know that the pleasure you have 
 in coining to me, is much beyond that I feel in re- 
 ceiving you ; for it is your sacred mouth which 
 teaches me, that " your greatest delights are to be 
 with the children of men." Prov. viii. 31. Nor ia 
 it more natural for birds to fly, or for fishes to swim, 
 than it is for you, my Sovereign Good, to do good, 
 and communicate yourself. 
 
 It is in these or such like thoughts, your heart 
 ought to be employed before the receiving this hea- 
 venly Guest, and also after you have received him, so 
 to maintain and nourish in you the devotion he re- 
 quires. But because the holiness and dignity of this 
 bridegroom are beyond all that can be imagined, 
 and that he is moreover pleased to observe a chaste 
 shame-facedness in his brides, your devotion and joy 
 must be mixed with a very great respect, and a pro- 
 found humility, considering on the one side tho 
 supreme majesty of him who gives himself, and on 
 the other the unworthiness of him that receives. 
 Thus shall you accomplish what David counsels you : 
 " Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice before him 
 with trembling." Now for the procuring these holy 
 affections, you will do well to call to mind the won- 
 derful threats which God commanded to be pro- 
 nounced to his people, when he intended to give 
 them his law. He caused them to be told, that nei- 
 ther man nor beast should dare to approach the 
 mountain where his Majesty spake, under the penalty 
 of being immediately stoned to death. He permitted 
 
A CIIKISTIAN LIFE. 238 
 
 Aaron, his high priest, whom himself had chosen, 
 and gome of the most considerable, to come np into 
 the mountain; but at the same time he enjoined 
 them to adore afar off, and not to co^ae near him, 
 reserving tl^at privilege to Moses alone, (^Exod. xix. 
 12, 13, &c.) Apply to yourself this example ; retire 
 yourself into your own nothingness ; humble your- 
 self even to the dust and bottom of the earth, when 
 you receive into your body and soul the Lord of 
 heaven and earth. 
 
 SECTION 1. 
 
 Having received the sacred Host, keep it a little 
 while in your mouth, that it may moisten, and so 
 more easily pass down. For want of using this pre- 
 caution it often happens, that the host sticking to 
 the roof of the mouth, the anxiety with which the 
 receiver endeavors to loosen it, disturbs all the de- 
 votion that this precious moment requires : but great 
 care should be taken to let the sacred host pass into 
 the stomach before it would be so moistened as to 
 melt in the mouth ; for then it would not be actually 
 receiving it as commanded. Forbear spitting pre- 
 sently after you have communicated, if you can avoid 
 it ; and if necessity force you to spit, let it be in 
 some clean and decent place, where it may not be 
 trod on by any. Eat not as soon as you come from 
 communion, because you cannot, without some sort 
 of irreverence, burden your stomach with meat whilst 
 the aacramental species remain yet entire in it. The 
 SO* 
 
234 THE MEMORIAL OF 
 
 time which immediately follows this divine action 
 you have now been finishing, is the fittest of all to 
 treat with God^ to taste how sweet he is, and to 
 embrace him in the midst of your heart. Continue 
 some time in the church, in the place 'where you 
 have communicated, giving God thanks for this ex- 
 traordinary benefit ; persist a while in meditating on 
 all these circumstances, and say with your mouth 
 some of the prayers which T shall for this purpose 
 put at the end of this third book. Keep yourself 
 composed, and especially avoid a fault into which 
 many persons fall, who make no scruple of prattling 
 and laughing with others immediately after they 
 have communicated. This I esteem a very great 
 offence, and highly deserving to be condemned ; for 
 can you treat with greater incivility a guest who 
 should come to visit you, than to turn your back on 
 him as soon as he is come into your house, and leave 
 his company to divert yourself about other matters. 
 It is the opinion of Cardinal Cajetan, that the holy 
 sacrament communicates its virtue to the souls of the 
 receivers, not only at the time of their actual receiv- 
 ing, but also in that which follows, and as long as 
 the species continue whole in the stomach ; and he 
 believes that on this occasion may be said what our 
 Lord said on another: "As long as I am in the 
 world, I am the light of the world.'' John ix. 5. If 
 this be so, as this learned doctor supposes, it is a very 
 great reason to invite you to continue during that 
 time very closely recollected, and in a particular dero- 
 
A CHRISTIAN LHS. 285 
 
 tion, to the end this heavenly grace may be commu- 
 nicated to you in greater abundance, since this sacra- 
 ment operates conformably to the disposition it findg 
 in souls. The two principal passages by which the 
 Holy Ghost most frequently conveys into us his in- 
 fluences, are the understanding and the will, giving 
 to the one great lights, and to the other more tender 
 sentiments for the things of God. You would act 
 then with very little reason, if by such voluntary 
 distractions you should keep these doors shut during 
 80 advantageous a time. It is at this time you may 
 receive one of the greatest fruits of your communion, 
 and enjoy the most delicious repast of this table ; and 
 since the principal is done, and you have this divine 
 food in a manner still in your breast, do not depart 
 when you ought most familiarly to open the bosom 
 of your soul to God, and receive the most beneficial 
 eflfects of the sacrament and the preparation you have 
 brought to it. 
 
 You desire, perhaps, I should declare to you some^ 
 Aing more particular, and tell you in what you may 
 best employ these happy moments ; in a word, breth- 
 ren, employ them in praising God, and in the exer- 
 cise of his love ; for here, as St. Bernard says, is 
 given the kiss of peace, the sweetness of which 
 nothing can equal ; here is made that union of the 
 soul with the heavenly Bridegroom ; and this is truly 
 the time and place to raise your soul .higher to God 
 by holy aspirations, which are nothing else but fre- 
 !{uent acts of love and burning desires of the chiefed 
 
236 THE MITMORIAL OT 
 
 ^f>od, STich as were those of the prophet when he said, 
 •' I will love thee^ Lord, my strength ;" (^Psalm 
 xvii. 1.) and in another place, " As the hart panteth 
 after the fountains of waters, so my soul panteth af- 
 ter thee, God.'^ (^Psalm xli. 1.) I advise you also 
 to take time to give thanks to God for his beneiSts, 
 and especially for this, in which the Giver of all 
 Goodness gives even himself. And that you may 
 the better understand how much you are obliged to 
 make this last acknowledgment, remember the com- 
 mand which God gave Moses after he had rained 
 down manna on the people of Israel : he bid him 
 take a vessel of gold and fill it with manna, to be 
 kept in the ark for an eternal memorial of that bene- 
 fit, and to the end that all the successors of that peo- 
 ple might know in what manner he had fed their an- 
 cestors for forty years in the desert. (^Exod. xvi. 32, 
 &c.) There is no comparison between this manna, 
 which was a corruptible food, and the most holy sa- 
 crament, which is the bread of eternal life. And if 
 God required such an acknowledgment for that per- 
 ishable meat, what do you not owe him, and what may 
 not he exact of you for this which is life, and the 
 source of a life that shall never have an end ? Thk 
 gift is so great, that there are no words suflScient to 
 express it. During the whole day in which you 
 shall have obtained this happiness, keep yourself 
 very reserved, and take heed not to do anything 
 which may offend the presence of a God, whose good- 
 ness has made him condescend to lodge with joa 
 
A CIIRISTTAN LIFE. 237 
 
 The kingly prophet protested that he would lie pros- 
 trate with respect in the place where the Lord had 
 set his feet. (Psalm cxxxi. 7.) And you ought on 
 this day to have a holy respect for your own body, 
 in which Grod himself reposes. This respect consists 
 partly in regulating your exterior, but much more in 
 not permitting anything to enter into your interior, 
 which is not of God. You should especially take 
 care to keep during that day a religious silence ; you 
 must, if I may be permitted to use such a compari- 
 son, stop the oven's mouth, for fear the heat of de- 
 votion which the fire of God's love has kindled, 
 should evaporate. The spirit of devotion is delicate, 
 it easily slips away if it be not entertained, and re- 
 turns not but with much difficulty. Thus the holy 
 sacrament will keep you in modesty and recollection 
 during the days which precede communion, and those 
 that follow it. And as the sun enlightens and em- 
 bellishes the world, not only when he has got above 
 the horizon, but also an hour before he rises, and an 
 hour after he is set ; so the Sun of Justice, who is 
 contained in this admirable sacrament^ will enlighten 
 your souls, not only at the time you receive him, but 
 also both before and after your receiving him ; before 
 by the hopes of receiving so wonderful a favor ; after, 
 by the remembrance of having been so highly honored. 
 You will find in the fifth book of this Memorial 
 several prayers and meditations which will render all 
 these exercises much more easy to you, provided 
 you read them with attention and recollection, stay- 
 
238 THE MEMORIAL Of 
 
 mg and meditating on the things which shall mo0l 
 move you, and wherein you shall find the greater 
 relish. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 On the use of the Sacraments of Penance and the 
 Blessed Eucharist, and on the profit received hy 
 often frequenting them. 
 
 Having now copiously set forth in what manner 
 you ought to prepare yourself, that you ma} wor- 
 thily receive the holy communion, I am now going 
 more briefly to inform you of the profit you may gain 
 by the frequent use of the sacraments, if you take 
 care to approach them as you ought. 
 
 In the first place, you must know that the sacra- 
 ments of the law of grace are, as it were, the conduit- 
 pipes and channels of heaven, by which the Holy 
 Ghost conveys his graces, ajid which originally have 
 their sources from the side of Jesus Christ, according 
 to that curious conception of St. Chrysostom, that 
 all those who communicate ought to make account 
 that they are putting their mouths to the wounds of 
 that precious side, and drinking there the water of 
 life. They are remedies and medicines for our weak- 
 nesses, which none knows better than he who was sent 
 to cure them, and who wanted neither knowledge 
 nor love to invent what was most convenient for them. 
 It was not reasonable there should be so many sorts 
 of medicines to cure our bodies, and that there should 
 l»e none for our souls, which are subject to no leaa 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFB. 289 
 
 distempers ; since it is of far greater importance to 
 provide for their diseases tha'Q for those of the body, 
 fchey being of a far greater and more excellent value. 
 For this end were the sacraments of the law of 
 grace instituted : it was fit, that being a perfect law, 
 and requiring perfect subjects, it should comprehend 
 all that is necessary for our salvation ; and for this 
 reason, as our maladies are different and numerous, 
 it has several sacraments to remedy them. 
 
 Nor do the sacraments alone on their part help us 
 to obtain so good an effect ; but what we also con- 
 tribute on ours for the worthy receiving them. You 
 go to confession ; you accuse yourself of your past 
 gins ; you testify the sorrow you feel for having com- 
 mitted them ; you humble yourself at the feet of Je- 
 sus Christ's minister ; you beg pardon for your of- 
 fences; you take a firm resolution to amend; and, 
 in fine, God receives you, and you are reconciled to 
 him by the ministry of the church. You cannot 
 sufficiently esteem the benefit of this divine remedy ; 
 nothing is so capable to help you to regulate your 
 life ; and being to give an account of your conscience 
 from time to time, will make you, without doubifc, be- 
 come careful to keep it in a good condition. A traveller 
 that walks between two walls is obliged to go the di- 
 rect way, since he can neither turn aside on one 
 hand or the other ; so the confession you have made, 
 and that which must soon follow, are a great means 
 to keep you from declining to anything that is ill. 
 How beneficial is this sacrament ; how great is its 
 
240 THE MEMORIAL OF 
 
 necessity in the church ; and how desirable is it thai 
 (Christians have at least as much esteem for spiritual 
 things as they have for temporal, to the end they 
 might comprehend its worth ! Must not a garden 
 be continually dressed ? Must not a house be daily 
 swept ? Must not the linen you use be often washed ; 
 because all these things grow foul if they 'are not 
 frequently cleansed? You can less continue in so 
 corrupt a world as this we live in, without having 
 your soul stained and defiled ; and you would at the 
 same time renounce both piety and reason, if you 
 would not have recourse to so easy a remedy, and of- 
 ten make use of it, since you are so often in danger. 
 Wash your soul in the wholesome water of penanca 
 and confession once a week, since you wash at least 
 so often the linen which covers your body ; for the 
 purity of your soul is as much to be preferred before 
 the cleanliness of your body, as the one is more esti- 
 mable and more precious than the other. 
 
 See with how much haste and care the mariners 
 lay their hand to the pump of their ship, to empty 
 out the water it continually gathers in, especially in 
 time of rain, for fear, lest being overburdened, it 
 should sink down to the bottom. The venial sins we 
 daily commit appear nothing to us, and yet they are 
 like drops of water which fall into the bottom of our 
 soul, and bring us by little and little to mortal sins, 
 which utterly sink us, and cause our death. Let us 
 go then to the remedy which may preserve us from 
 the lesser, that so we may avoid falling into the 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFE. 241 
 
 greater, which would bring us to an irrevocable loss. 
 We see, also, how nature of herself provides for the 
 case of bodies filled with ill-humors, opening some 
 iflsue by which they are purged ; and that by these 
 moans, those who otherwise could scarcely live, are a 
 long time preserved in a state of health, and that 
 physicians are very careful not to stop these natural 
 issues, because they will not deprive their patients of 
 BO certain a remedy. What nature wisely finds out 
 for the preservation of bodies, grace more efficaciously 
 does for the saving of souls ; there are daily bred in 
 us ill-humors by sin^ and they are daily purged and 
 washed away by a good confession. 
 
 SECTION I. 
 
 Of the Effects of Sacramental Communion, 
 
 Thus are souls purified, and thus do they receive 
 health in confession ; but since this health is exposed 
 to many dangers, God has of his goodness given 
 them a powerful remedy for its preservation ; that is, 
 the most holy sacrament of the altar, which Jestif 
 Christ has instituted in the form of food ; *' because, 
 as food maintains the life of the body, so this sacra- 
 ment sustains the life of the spirit." (aS. Thorn, part 
 8. q. 79.) This life is charity, which this divine 
 preservative supports amidst all the contradictions it 
 meets with here below. Wherefore Jesus Christ 
 said, that " his flesh was meat indeed, and his blood 
 was drink indeed." (John vi. 56.) And all the fa- 
 thers on these words unanimously teach us, that this 
 
242 
 
 THE MEMORIAL OF 
 
 divine meat works spiritually in souls all the efit ctf 
 which the ordinary nourishment does in bodies ; for 
 it strengthens us in the spiritual life, it causes in our 
 souls an inward relish which fills them with joy, it 
 restores supernatural forces, it repairs the virtues 
 which are weakened, it enables to resist temptations, 
 and makes men grow up to the highest perfection 
 they ought to ascend to^ if they themselves put no 
 impediment to it. 
 
 If you ask, how it is possible that a corporal sub- 
 stance should produce such a spiritual eflfect as the 
 preserving and augmenting of charity, and the main- 
 taining in us the life of the soul ; I will tell you^ 
 that this wonder comes from the supernatural virtue 
 of the sacraments ^hich God has ordained : he 
 would have them serve for a remedy to our weakness, 
 and that under visible forms they should operate in- 
 visible effects. Thus in the sacrament of baptism, 
 the water, which outwardly washes the body, inward- 
 ly cleanses the soul from all its filth, and puts it in 
 the state of grace. This divine sacrament does the 
 same in its manner, as being a sacrament, and the 
 greatest of all sacraments ; but besides this it has 
 two signal advantages above all the rest, which cause 
 it more powerfully to produce this effect. The first 
 18, that with the flesh, it truly contains in it the soul 
 of Jesus Christ, and the eternal WORD of the liv- 
 ing God, and the life of all things, who by the meana 
 of the sacrament enters into the soul of the believer 
 which communicates and produces in it the admira* 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFE. 243 
 
 bit; effect of giving him a spiritual life. The physi- 
 cian, designing to cure his patient with some pow- 
 ders, puts them into water, to the end the water, 
 which is liquid, may carry the remedy through all 
 the parts of the body in which it is to make its ope- 
 ration. In like manner acts the Physician of our 
 Bouls ; he would unite the divine Word with the flesh 
 of man, that entering by this admirable way into 
 men composed of flesh, it might work in them this 
 kind of health and life. 
 
 The second is, that it is not only the divine Word 
 which operates this effect by itself, but the flesh, 
 which he has united to himself, participates of the 
 aame virtue ; and this flesh, as the instrument of the 
 Word, and by the union it has with him, causes also 
 Kfe, and a true spring of life. {S. Thorn, part 3. q. 
 97. art. 1.) Wherefore our Lord, as soon as he had 
 raised the prince of the synagogue's daughter, com- 
 manded they should give her to eat, (^ImJce viii. 55.) 
 to the end the life he had restored her by his power 
 might be preserved by nourishment ; and to teach 
 us, that souls raised by the virtue of Almighty God, 
 which is found in the sacrament of penance, stand in 
 need of this heavenly food to preserve in them, by 
 this last sacrament, the life they have received by 
 the first. Thus you see how necessary these two sa- 
 craments are for the spiritual life, since the one gives 
 it, and the other maintains it. If you desire then to 
 obtain this happy life, confess often ; and if you de- 
 sire to preserve it, communicate often. Nor think to 
 
244 THE MEMORIAL OF 
 
 find any other reason why you see at this day so 
 many people die spiritually, but because they will not 
 follow the counsel I here give you. It is for the 
 same reason that in the greatest part of men there 
 is not seen any spark of charity, in which the life of 
 the soul consists, because scarce any one makes use 
 of the sacred preservatives which God has ordained 
 for this effect. Charity, as Cardinal Cajetan admira- 
 bly well says, is in this world as out of her natural 
 place ; she is a citizen of heaven, where, having the 
 Sovereign good present, she incessantly burns with 
 love of him : but on earth she is like a stranger ; she 
 finds there a thousand things which are contrary to 
 her, and she has need of a strong defensive to subsist 
 there. One drop of water cast into the sea endures f«r 
 ever, because it is in its element, and of the same na- 
 ture with the other water it is mixed with ; but if you 
 pour it on the earth, it is immediately dried up, be- 
 cause of the natural dryness of the place where it 
 was spilt, which is contrary to it. A town situated 
 in the heart of a kingdom is secure from enemies ; 
 it needs neither fortifications nor garrisons to pre- 
 serve it; but a frontier town is in danger of being 
 lost, if it be not defended by ramparts and soldiers. 
 So charity in this life runs great hazards ; she is here 
 out of her natural place ; her enemies are numerous 
 and mighty ; and she would never subsist if her Sov- 
 ereign had not fortified her with powerful defences, 
 of which the strongest is, undoubtedly, the holy 
 Bacrament. David perceived something of it whuii 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFE 246 
 
 he said, " Thou hast prepared a table before me 
 (which gives me virtue and strength) against them 
 that afflict me." Psalm xxii 5. And if we are all 
 exposed to the assaults which these enemies daily 
 make upon us, how can we resist them without the 
 success of this table, whieh God has prepared, and 
 which is all our strength ? Wo be to them, says St. 
 Bernard, that are called to do the works of the 
 mighty, and do not eat the bread of the mighty. 
 Who are they, brethren, that are called to do the ac- 
 tions of the strong and hardy, but such as in the day 
 of their baptism declared themselves the soldiers of 
 Jesus Christ, and enemies to the devil, and all his 
 pomps ? And what is the food that gives strength 
 against these terrible enemies, but this divine sacra- 
 ment ; which, according to St. Chrysostom, changes 
 those who come to it, and makes them lions, who 
 cast fire out of their mouths. Wherefore, instead 
 of what we read, " Man eat the bread of angels," 
 (Pscdm Ixxvii. 25.) St. Jerome has translated, 
 " Man has eaten the bread of the mighty." For such 
 in effect is the holy sacrament, which was prefigured 
 by that bread. 
 
 And, therefore, with great reason does this holy 
 father bewail the unhappiness of those who, seeing 
 themselves daily called to the battle, and having no 
 arms for their defenOe which are equal to those of 
 the eucharist, will not make use of them, knowing 
 that the loss of so many souls as we daily see perish, 
 happens only through this negligence. In the time 
 21* 
 
246 TUE MEMORIAL OP 
 
 of the primitive Church, when this sacrament wai 
 continually administered to the faithful, the Chris- 
 tians, strengthened with its virtue, surmounted, with- 
 out difficulty, the rage of their persecutors : they daily 
 laid down their lives for the sake of justice, for which 
 we do not take the least pains. Change then^ in 
 fine, your conduct; you have need of a remedy 
 among so many dangers and deaths to which you are 
 so perpetually exposed. Draw near to this table, 
 feed yourself with this bread of the mighty, and re* 
 solve to renounce the errors of this age, and to imi- 
 tate the piety of those who lived in the first ages of 
 the church, if you desire to fight well and be crown- 
 ed with them. 
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 Answers to the Objections of the Slothful. 
 
 Carnal men, and such as have no other rule for 
 their conduct but their senses and corrupt will, ask 
 why so many confessions and communions; and 
 whether it be not sufficient to confess once a year, 
 as the church ordains. Those that speak thus neither 
 understand the corruption of nature, nor the virtue 
 of this heavenly medicine, nor the necessity we have 
 for it. 
 
 If man were sick but once a year, it would be suf- 
 ficient for him only once a year to make use of these 
 remedies ; but if man's whole life is nothing but a 
 continual train of infirmities; if the heat of our con* 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFE. 247 
 
 cupiscence so often scorches us ; if pride, envy, im- 
 purity, the festered wound of our ancient enemies, 
 the loathing of spiritual things, and an insatiable 
 hunger after earthly things, make in us every mo- 
 ment such strange ravages ; shall we be so negligent 
 AS to delay the providing against them till the year 
 is expired ? and do we think by such slow remedies 
 to cure the evils we daily feel ? Plasters have but 
 little force when applied to old sores. Confession, 1 
 grant, cures sin ; but it takes not away the roots of 
 them ; the ill habits in which we are grown old con- 
 tinue, and the cure of them is exceedingly difficult. 
 What would you say of a man who should see his 
 house set on fire, or his walls pulling down by his 
 enemies, and should wait till the end of the year to 
 oppose it ? Would you not accuse him of cowardice 
 or folly ? Yet this is the case of most men. Our 
 flesh daily burns with as many flames as it feels irreg- 
 ular desires ; the devils, which are our greatest ene- 
 mies, make continual attacks upon our heart, to whom 
 we can oppose nothing of so great power as the sa- 
 craments : the danger is extreme and present, and 
 will you stay a year before you remedy it ? Who- 
 ever acts thus, knows not the value of his soul, un- 
 derstands not the perverseness of his flesh, is ignor- 
 ant of the virtue of the sacraments, and of the end 
 for which they were instituted ; for it is not more 
 certain that physic was invented to cure the disease? 
 of our bodies, and bread to preserve them, than it ib 
 true that the sacrament of penance was ordained U> 
 
248 THE MEMORIAL OP 
 
 heal the maladies of our souls, and that of the coTn* 
 munion to nourish them. You will tell me, that at 
 the end of this year God will pardon all your sins : 
 be it so ; but do you not apprehend the tyranny of ill 
 custom, which having taken deep root in your souls, 
 cannot be plucked up without difficulty ? What cer- 
 tainty have you that you will live a year, a month, 
 even a day, or an hour ? Do you make nothing of 
 so many offences that you might have avoided, which 
 are of greater importance than the loss of a thou- 
 sand worlds ? Have you no fear of the other sins 
 which this first sin will draw after it, since St. Greg- 
 ory says, that the sin which is not redeemed by pen- 
 ance, is soon followed by some other no less heavy 
 than the former. Can it be doubted, but that it were 
 better to prevent dangerous wounds, than to seek a 
 cure for them after they are made ? The church in- 
 deed obliges you not to communicate above once a 
 year ; but do you not know, that in this she acts like 
 a tender mother, who would not give the weak occa- 
 sion either to communicate unworthily, or to break 
 her laws, as some do, who quite forsake the commu- 
 nion. It is an indulgence she uses in favor of the 
 weak, leaving the door open, and this holy table al- 
 ways prepared, for those who have more devotion and 
 piety. 
 
 There are many that understand well what I say, 
 and know by experience the virtue of the sacraments ; 
 but they make a difficulty to receive them often, for 
 ihame of the world ; being like those Pharisees of 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFE. 249 
 
 whom Sf . John speaks, that " believed in Jesus 
 Christ, but durst not confess him, because qf the 
 Pharisees ;" and whom the holy Evangelist accuses, 
 " that they loved the glory of men more than the 
 glory of God/' John xii. 42, 43. Are you not truly 
 guilty of that fault; for confessing as you do, that 
 this sacrament was instituted by Jesus Christ, and 
 that himself ordained the use of it, what is your not 
 daring to come to it, for fear of the world, but being 
 a«hamed to declare yourself a good Christian, and 
 tiue disciple of Jesus Christ. St. Peter bewailed all 
 his life one such fault ; he was afraid to appear one 
 of Jesus Christ's disciples, and the shame of the 
 world made him deny him. Bewail, as he did, your 
 infidelities with tears of blood. Jesus Christ reigns 
 now in heaven, he is adored by the world, and men 
 are ashamed to appear his disciples. In what man- 
 ner, says Salvian, is Jesus Christ at this day honored 
 amongst Christians, when the being his is an occa- 
 sion to make one less esteemed of men ? Can the 
 corruption of the world come to any greater ex- 
 tremity, than to hold religion as a mean and dishon- 
 orable thing ? On the contrary, it is this only that 
 deserves honor, and to which all divine and human 
 laws have given respect and deference. Say then 
 no longer, that the clamors of the world keep you 
 back from this divine mystery. You know that 
 amongst those three great enemies of our souls, of 
 which the Scripture makes mention, one of the most 
 dangerous is the world You know that it opposed 
 
250 THE MEMORIAL OF 
 
 Jesus Christ, and that it persecuted the apostles, 
 prophets, and all the saints. Would you after this 
 have any esteem for the most open of your enemies ? 
 Who ever relied on the counsel of his adversary, and 
 of an adversary who has sworn an irreconcilable 
 war ? The world withdraws you from the holy mys- 
 teries ; Jesus Christ invites you to them, when he 
 says, *' Come to me, all you that labor and are bur- 
 dened and I will refresh you.*' Matt. xi. 28. To 
 which of these two voices ought you with greatest 
 reason give ear ? If Jesus Christ calling us on the 
 one side, and the world on the other, we run to the 
 world and leave Jesus Christ, how can we be named 
 the servants of Jesus Christ? We are the servants 
 of him whose will we do, and whom we desire to 
 please ; and it is to us that the apostle said, ** If I 
 go about to please men, I am no longer the servant 
 of Jesus Christ." Follow your master's voice : yon 
 might perhaps allege some excuse, if the world called 
 you to rest, and Jesus Christ to labor ; but it is quite 
 contrary, as St. Augustin represents it : " The 
 world," says he, " cries to you, (more by action than 
 by voice,) there is nothing so weak as I am ; Jesus 
 Christ says to you, there is nothing so strong as I 
 am ; and yet my miserable soul chooses rather the 
 world, weak as it is, than Jesus Christ, with all his 
 strength." Solil c. 10. 
 
 Tell me, moreover, why do you trouble yourself 
 about the talk of the world ? Does it deprive you 
 of any considerable good, or do you any great injury? 
 
A chuistian life. 251 
 
 fn no wise : you are like fearful beasts, terrified at a 
 shadow, or something in the air ; all these fears are 
 only the effect of your self-love, which is so jealous 
 of your advantages, and so fearful to let you do any 
 thing without security, that it apprehends not only 
 real, but even imaginary dangers. But though there 
 should indeed be eause to fear, and though the per- 
 secution of men should proceed even to the shedding 
 of your blood, could you refuse to expose yourself to 
 a little pain^ for the enjoyment of so great a good ? 
 Could you think you had paid too dear for so pre- 
 cious a thing ? A bear, being got to a hive, care« 
 not though the bees sting him on all sides, so he 
 may but have his fill of honey. You possess with 
 the Holy Ghost a heap of all good things ; you taste 
 in it the greatness of all sweetness ; and will yo» 
 not, for the enjoyment of so rare a consolation, sup- 
 port with cheerfulness the stings of some slanderous 
 tongue. 
 
 I know others as guilty as these, who, through 
 mere sloth, and because they will not take the time 
 necessary to prepare themselves for communion, de- 
 prive themselves of this holy sacrament, and of Jesue 
 Christ himself, the most excellent of all the benefite 
 contained in it. Some Christians are so indifferent 
 to the things of God, that they esteem not this trea- 
 sure, and a little care or a little retirement appears 
 difficult to them for obtaining the possession of it 
 Indeed, brethren, you are far from the sentiments of 
 die saints, and particularly of the holy martyr, St. 
 
252 THE MEMORIAL 09 
 
 Ignatius, who, in one of his letters has these excel 
 lent words : " Let fire, crosses, wild beasts, the rend- 
 ing of all my members, all the torments of the world, 
 and all those the devils can invent, fall upon me, 
 provided I may be worthy to enjoy Jesus Christ." 
 This holy man desired to be exposed to all the mar- 
 tyrdoms which the cruelty of the devils could make 
 him suffer, that he might by these means go to Jesus 
 Christ: and will you, knowing that Jesus Christ 
 comes to you in this sacrament, think much of taking 
 a little pains to dispose yourself, by prayer and con- 
 fession, for the fruition of your God? Can any 
 greater folly be imagined, than to let yourself perish 
 for hunger, for fear of stretching forth your hands to 
 a great banquet which is prepared for you ? " The 
 sluggard," says the wise man, " hideth his hand un- 
 der his arm-pit, and will not so much as bring it to 
 his mouth." Frov. xix. 24. In truth, there can 
 nothing be conceived more abominable, and I see 
 not what excuse you can make at the day of judg- 
 ment for having on so small an occasion contemned 
 the greatest of all remedies, and the most precious of 
 God's gifts. 
 
 Neither allege to me that you abstain from it 
 through respect ; and that if you long delay your 
 s^proach to the communion, it is that you may come 
 to it with greater reverence. One of the many ef- 
 fects produced by this holy sacrament is, that the 
 frequenting it augments our esteem of it. Amongst 
 moDy too frequent conversation breeds contempt; 
 
A CTIRISTtAX LIFE. 
 
 253 
 
 bui in the communion with Jesus Christ, when you 
 receive him worthily, grace is given you with him, 
 who is the fountain of all grace, and the oftener you 
 receive him the more grace you receive; and the 
 iflore grace increases, the more is fear, love, devotion, 
 humility, and all other virtues, which proceed from 
 grace, and are the true preparations that this august 
 sacrament requires, increased in you. Those who 
 i^ceiye it seldom, deprive themselves of these fruits, 
 ind undoubtedly receive it with less devotion. , St.. 
 Oregory affords us another proof of it, by the differ- 
 ence he puts between the taste of the spiritual and 
 corporal delights. " The one," says this saint, 
 speaking of sensual desires, " inflames us with desire, 
 whilst uji enjoyed ; but as soon as we are possessed 
 of them, they tire and disgust us ; as appears in two 
 persons, of which the one is hungry and the other 
 filled. But the other, (that is, spiritual delights,) 
 are of a very different nature ; they are not desired 
 before they are possessed, because they are not 
 known ; but when they are once tasted, the posses- 
 sion of them augments the desire; one is never 
 satisfied with them, and those that feed on them find 
 what Wisdom says : * They that eat me shall still 
 hunger, and they that drink me shall still thirst.' " 
 Whence it is easy to conclude^ that if the desire and 
 hunger after this heavenly bread make one of the 
 principal dispositions we ought to bring to the re- 
 ceiving it ; and if it be true, that the desire increases 
 by the possession of this bread of life, which is the 
 
<254 THS MEMORIAL 09 
 
 delight of the saints ; it is also clear, that the mori 
 you shall receive it, the more you will desire it, and 
 the more worthily you will receive it ; and, on the 
 contrary, if you long delay yottr coming to it, since 
 on the one side, you will want this great help, and 
 on the other, your sins will be multiplied for want 
 of using it, this delay will undoubtedly be the cause 
 that you will not make so good a communion. 
 
 You will tell me again, that you find in yourself 
 much weakness, that you are a sinner, and that yon 
 hold yourself unworthy this heavenly food. I an- 
 swer you, that not finding yourself burdened with 
 any mortal sin, you ought to come to it for this very 
 reason that keeps you back. This sacrament obtains 
 the pardon of sins ; it gives strength to those that 
 are weak ; it is the cure of the sick, and the trea* 
 sure of the poor ; wherefore some saints have said, 
 that often, by the virtue of this sacrament^ have at- 
 trito men become contrite ; which is no less than to 
 say, that of the dead they became living. Remember 
 that Jesus Christ did eat with publicans and sinners, 
 and that he said to the Jews, who were scandalized 
 at it, " They that are in health need not a physician, 
 but they that are ill ;" and " I am not come to call 
 the just, but sinners." (Matt. ix. 12, 13.) It is good 
 to refrain from this sacrament through fear, and it 
 is good to come to it through love, because both the 
 one and the other honor God ; but, as St. Thomas 
 determines, it is better to draw near through love, 
 than to keep back through fear ; because, generallj 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFE. 265 
 
 Speaking, actions which are done for love, arc heitit 
 and more excellent than those that are done for fear* 
 Wherefore we read, that David, having seen how 
 God had slain Osa for the little respect he bore to 
 the ark of the testament, durst not bring it into hi8 
 own house, but carried it aside into that of Obededom ; 
 but seeing how God had heaped upon Obededom 
 and his whole family happiness and prosperity, then 
 casting off all the fear which had terrified him, and 
 being encouraged by the marks God had given him 
 of his goodness, he received the ark into his palace, 
 and with it all sorts of benedictions. 
 
 CHAPTER TX 
 
 0/ the Cause why some Persons find Utile Devotion 
 when they Celebrate or Communicate. 
 
 I KNOW some questions may be asked on this oc- 
 casion ; and because they appear not without grbund, 
 I have thought it convenient to answer them. The 
 ^^first is, whence it comes to pass that some persons, 
 who often celebrate and communicate, enjoy not the 
 
 -sweetness they might expect from the use of thig 
 heavenly bread ; and the secondj that tliere are 
 others, who are so far from having any taste of them, 
 that it does not appear they are the least advanced 
 
 >"in' virtue, but continue still in one and the same 
 state. 
 
256 THE MEMORIAL OF 
 
 T answer, that this sometimes happens through the 
 fault of these persons who prepare not themselves as 
 they ought to communicate, or because their life is 
 not regular enough ; thus it is not to be wondered 
 at if they find not the satisfaction which others re- 
 ceive who ^re better disposed, whose life is more per- 
 fect, and their soul more pure, and consequently 
 more susceptible of heavenly things. This some- 
 times also happens by God's particular order, those 
 who communicate contributing nothing to it through 
 any fault of theirs, because this state is for their 
 good. We often see the experience of it in the 
 most just, who, though their fervor in prayer is no 
 way abated, lose all the consolations they formerly 
 found in it ; yet are not therefore less just, or lese 
 agreeable to Go3, who thus tries their constancy, and 
 by this means exercises and humbles them. Others 
 fall into this sort of desertion, because they observe 
 not in their devotion all the prudence it requires, as 
 St. Bonaventure teaches us in these words; "It 
 sometimes happens to spiritual persons, that the 
 more they labor to acquire the devotion which is 
 termed sensible, the less they find it ; and the more 
 eager they are to possess it, as on holy days, and es^ 
 pecially when they will communicate, the farther 
 they are from it. Many are exceedingly afflicted at 
 it, and in this dejection to which their heart is re- 
 duced, they judge that perhaps God will not have 
 them approach him in this state ; or else they believe 
 that he drives them from his presence, as unworthy 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFE. 257 
 
 to participate of so great a sacrament ; and in these 
 apprehensions they deprive themselves of the chiefest 
 remedy which might cure them." Of this I could' 
 easily allege to you divers reasons, some of which* 
 regard the defects that happen on our. part, aiidj 
 others the particular will and dispensation of God r 
 but to confine ourselves to the point of which we are* 
 treating, the principal and most common is, that on' 
 these days and those of communion, devotion iS' 
 sought with too much vehemence. Our souls, by ef-- 
 forts which have perhaps somewhat of self-love, vio- 
 late too much their liberty ; we stifle the power of 
 nature when we labor with too great force to prese, 
 %nd, as I may say, squeeze forth the juice of devo- 
 tii>n. If we find it not as soon as we desire it, we 
 are seized on by sorrow ; thus we remain with more- 
 hardness, and less disposition to receive it ; our ownj 
 forces are turned against us, and having spent our- 
 selves, we become more distracted and dry. "He," 
 says the wise man, " that over-much wrings the paps^ 
 for milk, will draw out blood ;" and we see by ex- 
 perience, that when an orange, or any other fruit, m 
 too much squeezed, the juice which comes from it w 
 neither so pure, nor so sweet. 
 
 This is what befalls those who will have devotiott 
 as it were by force. The afi*ections it produces are 
 mote tender when the heart is more at liberty ; and 
 this is the reason why we often find ourselves more, 
 touched with devotion at other timefs than on great 
 festivals, because the troublesome care we then take 
 22* 
 
258 THE BfEMORIAL OF 
 
 .to have devotion, suffocates the spirit of it ; whereas 
 at other times, the desire being more moderate, the 
 spirit acts with greater freedom and purity, which 
 are two dispositions that very much contribute to the 
 more easy finding what is sought. 
 
 As to the second Ijuestion, why some of those that 
 celebrate or communicate often make not the least 
 progress, not only in devotion, but even in common 
 virtues, and that, on the contrary, they are always 
 aeen to continue in the same coldness and negligence ; 
 a wise doctor answers, that, regularly speaking, this 
 happens for two reasons ; the one, through the de- 
 fault of their indevout preparation, as we have al- 
 "peady said, touching the want of devotion : they pre- 
 sent not themselves to the divine mysteries with that 
 fervor of charity, and that spiritual hunger, which 
 such excellent things deserve; they come to them 
 either through custom or necessity, and having re- 
 ceived them, lose at the same time all remembrance 
 of them ; they immediately open the door to all 
 manner of other objects, and put not the least re- 
 straint on their tongue, or the desires of their heart ; 
 so that going without respect, and returning without 
 recollection, it is no wonderthey gain so little benefit 
 by it. I mentioned to you in the beginning of this 
 book, that true maxim, that all things work according 
 to the dispositions they find in the subjects, which is 
 confirmed by the example of this great sacrament : 
 it actB in souls according to the disposition it meeta 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFS. 259 
 
 •nth in thein ; it acts much in such as are well pre- 
 pared, and operates less in those who are not so. 
 
 The other cause is, that many people frequent the 
 holy altars, who still keep in their souls certain de- 
 fects, and certain secret passions, of which they make 
 no account ; and for want of correcting and mortify- 
 ing them, they become almost irremediable. These 
 secret evils are a great obstacle to the advancement 
 of those souls, and I put in the first place the excess 
 of self-love and self-will, the over-curious care of the 
 body, and the satisfaction of the senses, which make 
 those who are subject to them seek in all things the 
 means to divert themselves. They lay themselves 
 out on creatures, amongst which devotion is dissipated, 
 or wholly lost ; they are like those vessels of ill-baked 
 day, which cannot hold the liquor put into them, but 
 let it run out by little and little, till there is nothing 
 left in them. This misfortune particularly befalls 
 those who amuse themselves in vain conversations, 
 and discourses of raillery, or embarrass themselves 
 with unnecessary visits or affairs ; — for, in fine, all 
 these things disorder the place where this heavenly 
 Bridegroom is to take his rest ; the love of Grod is a 
 f^ery delicate thing ; it admits no rivals, it will 
 the whole heart. 
 
260 TBI MSHORIAL Of 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Whether it he good to Communicate very oft/tn. 
 
 After my exhorting you, as I have done in the 
 foregoing chapter, to frequent the sacraments, and 
 particularly that of the eucharist, you have reason to 
 ask me, would I prescribe you some rule, and tell you 
 the time to which you shall limit your communions 
 
 The answer to the question is, on the one side, 
 very easy, and on the other, very difficult ; for if we 
 only regard the virtue and efficacy of this sacrament, 
 how Jesus Christ resides in it, who is the Author of 
 all graces, and that by this means he applies to ofi 
 the merits of his passion, which is of an infinite value, 
 we ought, if we could, to receive him an infinity of 
 times, since we receive by him a proportionate num- 
 ber of graces and favors. But, if, on the other side, 
 we consider the high preparation this sacrament re- 
 quires, according to which it communicates its virtue ; 
 and that it is the sacrament of the living, and not of 
 the dead, since eating supports life ; in this view it is 
 clear, that it is not fit to communicate often, but ac- 
 cording to the disposition that is found in the com- 
 municants ; on which there are yet many things that 
 are necessary to be examined. 
 
 First, the state or condition of every one is to be 
 considered ; for persons dedicated to God's service, as 
 priests, monks, nuns, and all other religious persons, 
 being more free from the perplexity of the world, 
 *nd the care of secular business, have undoubtedly. 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFE 1^1 
 
 in respect of their state, greater disposition to ap- 
 proach this sacrament. I say in respect of their state, 
 because Jesus Christ often supplies it by his wisdom, 
 which he gives to whom he pleases, as he pleases, 
 and in what state soever. David, Abraham, Job, 
 and many ancient kings and patriarchs, were raised 
 to a great perfection, though their state contributed 
 little to the attaining it; but they were assisted by 
 divine grace, which is more powerful than all states, 
 how perfect soever they may be. 
 
 Secondly, care must be taken that every one, be- 
 fore all things, discharge the duties of the state tp 
 which he is called ; and in such manner apply him- 
 self to spiritual exercises, that they no way prejudice 
 these first and stricter obligations. A married wo- 
 man, who is obliged to serve her husband, to breed 
 up her children, to look particularly after her daugh- 
 ters, to take care of her domestic affairs, ought in 
 such manner to give herself to matters of devotion, 
 that she omit not those which are of obligation, since 
 the one is of free will, and the other of necessity ; 
 the one is of counsel^ the other of commandment. 
 One of the principal foundations of a good life is, 
 never to leave the works of justice for those of grace. 
 *• Obedience is better than sacrifices," (1 Kings xv. 
 22.) said a holy prophet ; and he calls obedience 
 •whatsoever is of obligation, and sacrifice what is of 
 devotion and free will. Men, through a perverse in- 
 clination, have almost a natural opposition to this 
 •rder, and take m>^re pleasure to do their own will. 
 
282^ TETB MEMORIAL Of 
 
 than another's. Take heed of this, and observe that 
 what I have said of the duties of women towards 
 their husbands and children, concerns also those of 
 children to their parents, especially if they are poor, 
 old, or weak. The services you shall do them in 
 theix necessities make a part of the first command- 
 ment of the second table ; and, after what we owe to 
 God, it is the first obligation he lays upon us. The 
 irrational creatures, through the sole instinct of na- 
 ture, invite you to it by their example ; and the storks 
 with wonderful care assist those from whom they had 
 their being, in their later years. Use then the sa- 
 craments in such sort that you forget not obligations 
 80 just and so important as these, for otherwise your 
 devotion will not be acceptable to God. 
 
 In the third place, every one ought to examine 
 himself, and thoroughly consider what he undertook 
 when he took up this custom of communicating 
 often : he must look whether he finds himself in dis- 
 positions pure enough, and, as I may say, with all 
 the apparel of virtues which are necessary for the 
 worthy persevering in this excellent design. If it be 
 so, they may continue without fear, and with much 
 profit ; for as trees that are wont to be watered, grow 
 dry when they want this relief, so souls which are 
 accustomed to this heavenly food, are exceedingly 
 weakened when they are deprived of this benefit, 
 which is so great, and so proportioned to their neces- 
 %ities ; they are often seen to grow very slack in their 
 ■piritual life, and sometimes entirely to renounce what 
 
A CnRfSTIAN LIFB. 26S 
 
 thoy had happily begun. It is a thing generally 
 eonfirmed by experience, that weak bodies, being 
 once used to a medicine which does them good, find 
 themselves very ill when they quit it : it is the same 
 with souls of this quality, if through their own fault 
 they discontinue the use of so wholesome a remedy. 
 Thus it is for them to know the advantages they 
 draw from it, and then to watch carefully over their 
 lives, so as to keep themselves in so pure a state, that 
 Ihey may continue the frequent use of it without 
 scruple, since they run the hazard of losing their 
 strength, and fainting by the way, if they forsake so 
 powerful and so efficacious an assistance. 
 
 It is also to be observed, that men may take more 
 liberty to go forth of their house whither they shall 
 think convenient, to seek the sacraments, and priests 
 which may administer them to them, than is fit for 
 women. The same thing is also more seemly for 
 elderly than for young women ; and, generally speak- 
 ing, all the saints have very much recommended to 
 the younger women the keeping retired and out 
 of the sight of people. Even in the old law, Al- 
 mighty God expressly commanded the men to appear 
 before him thrice a year in his temple, never obliged 
 the women to come thither, so much as once in their 
 whole life. Deut. xvi. 16. The Eternal Wisdom 
 knew how dangerous it is for this sex to be gadding 
 abroad ; and Dina, Jacob's daughter, showed but too 
 sad air experience of it ; for by only once going forth 
 of her father'^s house, she destroyed herself, and a 
 
264 THE MEMORIAL Of 
 
 whole city with her. Gen. xxxiv. Wherefore iic4 
 without cause does St. Ambrose praise the blessed 
 Virgin, that departing out of her house, where she 
 nad always kept herself retired, she went in great 
 haste when she was obliged to go and visit her cou- 
 sin, St. Elizabeth. Liike i. 39. I say not this to im- 
 pose a perpetual cloister on maidens, but to exhort 
 them to speak as much as they can to God in private, 
 to seek him in the most secret corners of their 
 houses, and to go as little abroad as is possible, un- 
 less it be on such days as the church command, or 
 when, according to custom, they are to receive the 
 blessed sacrament, doing it with the circumspect I 
 advise them to. I make not this, however, a general 
 rule, for such persons are to be excepted from it, who, 
 though young in years, are yet very old in virtue. 
 
 In fine, every one ought to consult his conscience, 
 and consider what benefit he receives by frequent com- 
 munion ; for if a person by often receiving finds him- 
 self more devout, more recollected, more circumspect 
 in his words, more diligent in good works, more vigi- 
 lant over his actions, more master over his passions 
 and other irregular desires, though it be not in a very 
 eminent degree, it is a proof that this sacrament is 
 profitable to him, and therefore he ought to come the 
 oftener to it, as he receives from it more advantageous 
 effects ; but if he sees nothing of all this in himself, 
 it is an assured mark of the little profit he gets by 
 it, and of the slender preparation he makes for it 
 h' is, therefore fit for such a person either to abate 
 
k CHRISTIAN LIFE. 266 
 
 tJie number of his eommuQions, or to augment ihe 
 virtues which are necessary for his communicating 
 well. It is, notwithstanding true, that this divine mys- 
 tery sometimes works so secretly that it can scarce 
 be perceived; for grace, as well as nature, acts or- 
 dinarily by little and little, as it happens in plants, 
 the growth whereof is imperceptible, and not to be 
 discerned till they have attained their just height. 
 Wherefore we ought not on this occasion to rely on 
 our own judgment, but be guided by our confessor, 
 who may determine all according to his prudence. 
 
 In the meantime it is of very great importance to 
 observe, that we not only profit when we go forward, 
 but also when we go not backward. I know St. 
 Bernard says, that " in the way of God, not to go 
 forward is to go backward : one may, nevertheless, 
 more easily perceive when he turns back than when 
 he goes forward ; as the motion of a stone is mor« 
 clearly discerned, which with violence rolls down a 
 hill, than that of another which is insensibly thrust 
 upwards ; for to increase is very hard, and to de- 
 crease is very easy ; and it is easier to pull down 
 tfian to build." &rm. 2 Purif, et Ep. 324. Where- 
 fore I say, that if on the one side we observe we 
 make but little progress by often frequenting the 
 communion ; and on the other side also perceive, 
 that by discontinuing it we turn backward, fall into 
 notable defects, and find ourselves more unable to 
 resist temptations, more cold in prayer, more reluc- 
 tant to obedience, more slothful io works of mercy, 
 23 
 
266 THE MEMORIAL OF 
 
 more easily provoked to unseemly laughter, oi to 
 vain or idle talk ; more impatient in troubles, and, 
 in fine, more careless and negligent in watching over 
 ourselves and our actions ; if, I say, we perceive that 
 we fall into all these inconveniences, or into any of 
 them, when we refrain from the holy sacrament, and 
 that when we receive it we are less subject to them 
 it is a sign we profit by it ; because to suffer lesa 
 damage is in some sort to profit, and medicines which 
 preserve from distempers are no less necessary than 
 those which increase health. This consideration 
 ought very much to comfort those who do not so 
 clearly perceive in themselves the fruits of the comr 
 munion ; and though these persons often commit venial 
 sins, they ought not therefore to abstain from com- 
 municating, provided they seriously repent them of 
 their sins ; for, as St. Hilary says, " we ought not to 
 forsake the wholesome medicine of our Lord's body, if 
 we bring not to it mortal sins ; on the contrary, this 
 reason rather obliges us to have recourse to it, since 
 one of the effects of the holy sacrament, and its par- 
 ticular virtue, is to serve for a preservative againsi 
 these sorts of sins, without which this life cannot be 
 passed over." 
 
 All these things being supposed, there is none but 
 may easily judge whether he ought to present him- 
 gelf at this heavenly table seldom or often, for \t 
 will be sufficient for some to communicate on the 
 principal festivals of the year, for others once a 
 month or once in fifteen days, and for others once 
 
k CHRISTIAN LIFE. 267 
 
 ©very week, as St. Augustin advises: "wherewith 
 all sorts of persons, how virtuous soever, ought to 
 content themselves, unless there happen any particu- 
 lar circumstance of important cause, which may 
 oblige them to do otherwise. For as there is no rule 
 without exception, so nothing can be established as 
 perpetual that has not some limitation." Lib, de 
 Ecd, Dog. c. 58. This is St. Bonaventure's advice 
 in a treatise of perfection, which he wrote for one of 
 his sisters, where he has in substance the same things 
 we have here explained. His words are these : " If 
 any one desire to know whether it is better to com- 
 municate seldom or often, it seems impossible to me 
 to prescribe in this one general rule for all. For the 
 merits of men, as also their designs and exercises, 
 being different, the motions of the Holy Ghost dif- 
 fers, q^nd there being so many several states of life 
 in the world, it is as difficult to make one general 
 rule that may be suitable for them all, as one gar- 
 ment to fit every person. Wherefore, as one and the 
 same medicine is not administered to all patients, 
 nor yet in the same quantity ; and as to render it 
 beneficial, the quality of the persons and diseases, 
 their complexions, the time and place must be consid- 
 ered ; so the same thing is to be done in what concerns 
 this heavenly medicine. Those that are entangled 
 with the cares and troubles of the world can more 
 rarely get rid of them to receive, than they who are 
 free from all this incumbrance, and have dedicated 
 their lives to spiritual exercises. And amongst 
 
268 THE MEMORIAL OF 
 
 these, some are more vigilant over their conduct, and 
 live with greater purity of conscience than othecs; 
 some burn with a desire to participate of this holy 
 mystery ; others, on the contrary, approach it not 
 without fear and trembling ; and if their conscience, 
 the order established in their religion, and the ap- 
 prehension of being more separated from Almighty 
 God by not communicating, did not press them, they 
 would be seen to come very seldom to the holy table. 
 But I am of opinion, that priests, whose proper office 
 it is to celebrate, being excepted, there are few per- 
 sons for whom it is not sufficient to communicate 
 once a week, if there be not some particular cause or 
 reason to do otherwise ; as if some sickness should 
 happen, or ' some principal feast, or a pious soul 
 should find itself pressed by some new and extraor- 
 dinary desire to receive him who alone is capable to 
 moderate and refresh the heat of a heart that burns 
 with his love. It may, in this case, be piously be- 
 lieved that this vehemence and fervor proceed from 
 the Holy Ghost, if other circumstances concur with 
 it ; and then it seems that there is reason not to re- 
 sist it. Experience confirms this conduct, and there 
 have been persons seen whose life was Jesus Christ, 
 in such sort, that if they had not been often fed with 
 this sacred bread, it seemed their corporal life would 
 have failed them, so weak and feeble was their body. 
 It is therefore a good and wholesome thing to pre- 
 pare one's-self frequently for the receiving this ad* 
 mirable remedy with all the devotion that is dne to 
 
A CIIBISTTAN LIFE. 269 
 
 it, and afler one has received it, to watch over one's- 
 sclf, and all our actions, with a most exact diligence. 
 From this no one has a right to be exempted, and 
 religions persons, who are particularly dedicated to 
 trod, much less than others, if they will obtain and 
 preserve the innocence and purity which this holy 
 sacrament brings. And though a man sometimes 
 feels but little devotion, yet he ought not to forbear 
 coming humbly to this bread of life, putting his 
 whole confidence in God's mercy ; and if he judges 
 himself unworthy of it^ he must also think that the 
 more infirm and weak he feels himself, the more 
 need he has of the physician ; since, as our Saviour 
 himself has said, * the healthy have no need of a 
 physician, but the sick.' Matt. ix. 12. For indeed 
 we go not to Jesus Christ to sanctify him by our 
 holiness, but that he may sanctify us by his. Nor 
 let any one be discouraged when, after having done 
 all that he could, he finds not himself touched with 
 that particular sweetness of devotion he might de- 
 sire, or if in and after communion he feel no sensible 
 tenderness or zeal ; because it is often a particular 
 dispensation of Almighty God, who sometimes de- 
 prives his children of this consolation for causes best 
 known to himself" The testimony of this saint 
 ought to be of very great authority, this glorious 
 doctor having been so remarkable as well in learning 
 and holiness, as in the spirit of devotion, which he 
 possessed in a high degree, which made him write on 
 this subject nothing but what he knew by experiencei. 
 
S70 THB MEMORIAL Of 
 
 You see then by the testimony of this father, and 
 by whatsoever else I have hitherto represented to 
 you, the little reason some men have, who, through 
 a superfluous zeal and under pretence of respect, 
 condemn, and proceed even to preach against such 
 persons as frequent the sacraments. Though there 
 were some sort of excess in this, yet there are so 
 many other evils in the world, greater and more dan- 
 gerous to be apprehended, that they ought not to 
 spend all their strength and learning, as they do, in 
 attacking this alone ; especially since things being 
 well considered, it is manifest that the world suffers 
 much more damage by overmuch abstaining from the 
 sacraments, than by too often coming to them. And 
 the better to understand this, you shall observe, ac- 
 cording to the doctrine of St. Thomas, (1. 2. q, 64. 
 art. 1.) that as all moral virtues consist in a mean, 
 80 they have necessarily two vices which are opposite 
 to them, the one by excess, and the other by defect : 
 though they have not always names by which they 
 may be distinguished : it is the same in the use of the 
 fiacraments, and generally in all spiritual exercises 
 there may be either too much or too little. This be- 
 ing true, if we will equitably consider the greater and 
 more to be feared of these two extremities, we shall 
 find that the world undoubtedly suffers far more in- 
 conveniences by too much forbearing, than by too 
 touch frequenting the sacraments. For supposing 
 there were some fault on this side, yet who cannot 
 but know that the impropriety must be much greater 
 
▲ OHBISTIAN LIFB. 871 
 
 to see men almost wholly refrain from the sacra- 
 ments, in which God has placed the remedies of our 
 wounds, and the salvation of our souls? And^ in 
 effect, whence comes it that this age is so corrupt, 
 and the life of men so profligate, but from their con- 
 tempt of this sacrament and voluntary abandoning 
 this bread of life ? To be convinced of this, we 
 need only cast our eyes on the difference there is be- 
 tween the present time in which we live, when those 
 that bear the name of Christians communicate but 
 once a year, and the past time of the primitive 
 church, when those who were truly Christians com- 
 municated every day : this great difference, brethren, 
 will amaze you, and clearly show you which of these 
 two is the better. Let those then who have a zeal for 
 the glory of God and his church, send forth cries to 
 heaven, and weep for a cause so worthy of tears, to 
 see men so strangely separated from God, and all 
 spiritual exercises, since this separation is truly the 
 source and original of all our miseries- 
 
 As magistrates take all imaginable care to procur-e 
 that nothing may be wanting to the people who are 
 subject to their government, being certain that 
 abundance never discontents them, though they know 
 that excess in diet, and all other conveniences of life, 
 may as well be prejudicial to the public as necessity; 
 eo those who bear office in the church are obliged to 
 nse more diligence to keep them who are under their 
 -^narge from falling into a scarcity of spiritual food 
 
 a heavenly medicines, than they are to* retrench 
 
272^ tHk MEMORIAL OF 
 
 their excess : since want is in this case incomparal ly 
 more dangerous than abundance, and that so much 
 the more, because none can judge of this last, but 
 bj their interior, which every one knows not, and it 
 being great rashness to pronounce decrees on an af- 
 feir the bottom whereof is not known. 
 
 I believe that what we have said is more that suf- 
 ficient to convince you of these truths ; I shall only 
 •dd here some mediations and prayers for your de- 
 votion, before and after the holy communion. 
 
 A Meditation l)efore holy Comrmimon^ to stir up %n 
 the Sovl the Fear and L&ve of the most holy Sa* 
 erament 
 
 Who art thou, my Lord, and what am I, that I 
 should presume to approach thee ? What is man that 
 he should receive his God ? What is man of him- 
 self but a vessel of corruption, and by mortal sin 
 becomes a child of the devil, an heir of hell^ an 
 enemy of God, a creature weak to do good, and 
 unhappily powerful to do evil ? What is man ? A 
 creature blind in his designs, vain in his actions^ 
 filthy in his desires, inconstant in his purposes, vile 
 and base in all things, and only great in the false 
 esteem he has of himself 1 Shall so miserable a 
 creature dare to present himself before the divme 
 Majesty to be united with him ? The stars, l/oru, 
 are not pure in thy sight, the pillars of heaven trem- 
 ble before thee>tbe highest seraphim cover themselYes 
 
A ClfRTSTlAN LIFE. 27H' 
 
 with their wings in the presence of thy greatness, 
 and look on themselves as nothing ; {Job. xxvi. 11.) 
 how then shall so wretched a creature as I am, at- 
 tempt to approach thee, and receive thee in the holy 
 eucharist? St. John Baptist, sanctified from his 
 mother^s womb, dares not touch thy head, and de- 
 clares he is not worthy to untie thy shoes ; (^Matt. 
 iii. 11.) the prince of the apostles cries out, and 
 says, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, 
 Lord ;" (^Lulce v. 8.) and shall I have the boldness to 
 eome near thee, being filled with sins ? If in the 
 time of thy ancient law the loaves which were set on 
 the table of thy temple, and were only the shadow 
 of this mystery, might not be eaten but by him that 
 was clean and sanctified, (1 Kings xxi. 4, 5.) how 
 shall not 1, who am so void of all holiness, dread to 
 eat the bread of angels ? Thou, God, commandest 
 that the paschal lamb should be eaten with unleaven- 
 ed bread, and bitter lettuce, and that the eaters of 
 it should have their shoes on their feet, and their 
 reins girt ; (^Exod. xii. 8, &c.) and shall I dare to 
 eat the true Paschal Lamb, of which the other was 
 but a figure, without having this preparation ? Am 
 I that unleavened bread, clear and free from any 
 leaven of malice ? Have I in me the sentiments of 
 that true contrition, which was signified by the bitter 
 lettuce ? Where is the chastity of my reins, and 
 the cleanness of my feet, which are good desires ? I 
 fear, and have great reason to fear at my approach to 
 thia holy table, seeing myself void of all these dispo* 
 
274 THB MEMORIAL OF 
 
 sitions. I'rom this table was that wretched man 
 driven, who was found to be without his wedding 
 garment, that is, without charity; and was com- 
 manded to be bound hand and foot, and cast into 
 utter darkness. Matt. xxii. 11, &c. Nor can I but 
 expect the same punishment, if I present myself to 
 it in the same condition. Divine eyes of my Master, 
 CO which all the secrets of our souls lie open, what 
 shall become of me, if I am found thus naked at 
 your banquet ? It was so criminal a thing for a 
 priest to have inconsiderately touched the ark of the 
 covenant, which was ready to fall, that he was im- 
 mediately punished with sudden death ; (2 Kings vi. 
 6.) and ought not I to fear the same punishment, if 
 I unworthily receive him who was figured by that 
 ark ? The Bethsamites did but too curiously behold 
 the same ark, when it passed through their land, and 
 the Scripture teaches us, that for the expiation of 
 their rashness, God slew fifty thousand of that peo- 
 ple. 1 Kings vi. 19. O most merciful and dread 
 God, how far is thy sacrament above that ark, and 
 how much greater is it to receive thee, than to be- 
 hold thee ! What must I do to lodge within me a 
 God who is greatness and justice itself 
 
 But if I have so great reason to fear, considering 
 only thy majesty, what ought I not to apprehend, if 
 r cast my eyes on my sins ? Infinite Beauty, there 
 was a time, and may thy mercy grant that it last not 
 Btill, when thou wert that of which my heart least 
 thought^ and when I had more esteem for the duv 
 
A CHRISTIAN LITE. 276 
 
 of the creatures than for the treasures of thy grace, 
 and the hope of thy glory : my desires gave law to 
 my life, I blindly obeyed my concupiscences, and I 
 made as little account of thee as if I had never 
 known thee. I was tLat fool who said in his heart 
 there is no God, (^Psalm xiii. 1.) because I lived a 
 long time in such a manner as if I believed that 
 there was none. I never did anything for love of 
 thee ; I never dreaded thy justice ; I never refrained 
 from evil for fear of thy laws ; I never gave thee the 
 thanks I ought for thy benefits ; and knowing that 
 thou art everywhere, T never abstained from sin in 
 thy presence. 1 granted my eyes whatsoever they 
 desired, and never used the least resistance to my 
 heart to restrain it from any pleasure. There is no 
 sort of wickedness of which I have not been in a 
 manner culpable ; my life has been nothing but a 
 continual opposition and war against thee, and re- 
 newing of all the torments thou hast suffered for me. 
 For when I have sometimes communicated, and as 
 soon as my communion was over, began again to 
 offend thee, I treated thee with the same contempt 
 as did the soldiers, who on the one side adored thee 
 with bended knees, and on the other struck thee on 
 the head with a reed. Shall I then, my Saviour 
 and my Judge, dare to receive thee into an abode so 
 vile, and so full of impurity ? Shall I dare to place 
 thy sacred body in a den of dragons and serpents ? 
 I know that a soul in which sin dwells is the habi- 
 tation of the devil, and a cave of wild beasts. Wilt 
 
276 THE MEMORIAL 0? 
 
 thou, virginal purity, and fountain of all beauty, 
 be contented to be lodged in so abominable a place ? 
 " What fellowslnp hath light with darkness, and what 
 concord hath Christ with Belial ?" (2 Cor. vi. 13, 
 14.) " Flower of the field, and lily of the valleys," 
 {Cant ii. 1.) wilt thou suffer thyself to be food of 
 beasts? Shall this divine meat be given to dogs, 
 and this precious pearl be cast before swine ? (Matt. 
 vii. 6.) Lover of pure souls, who feedest among the 
 lilies till the day break, and the shadows fade away, 
 (Cant, iv. 5, 6.) what repose can I ofier thee in my 
 heart, where, instead of flowers, grow only thorns 
 and thistles ? " Thy bed is of the cedar of Libanon, 
 its pillars are of silver, its seat of gold, and its going 
 up of purple." (Cant. iii. 9, 10.) I have none of 
 these ornaments ; what seat shall I prepare for theo 
 when thou shalt come unto me? Thy sacred body 
 was wrapt in a clean linen cloth, and put in a new 
 sepulchre, in which no man was ever laid before ; 
 (Matt, xxvii. 59, Luke xxiii. 53.) and I see nothing 
 clean or new in my soul, where I may receive thee. 
 My mouth has been an open sepulchre, (Psalm v. 9.) 
 whence issued only stench, through the corruption of 
 my sins ; my heart is an undrainable source of sinful 
 diseases, and my will the seat and throne of my 
 enemy. Can T then receive thee in this condition, 
 and with my polluted lips give thee the kiss of 
 peace? I am in confusion, seeing myself in this 
 manner, my Redeemer, and am ashamed, being 
 •uch as 1 am, to go into the dwelling of the heavenly 
 
▲ CHJUSTIAK UFB. 277 
 
 Bridegroom^ who vouchsafes to embrace me, and 
 receive me anew. 
 
 The Second Part of this Meditation, 
 
 I KNOW, Grod, my extreme unworthiness, and I 
 know also thy great mercy ; it is this gives me the 
 courage to approach thee as I am : for the more un- 
 worthy I am, the more thou art glorified in not 
 rejecting so poor and filthy a creature. Thou, O 
 Lord, drivest not sinners away from thee ; but, on 
 the contrary, callest and drawest them to thee : thou 
 hast said, " Come unto me all you that labor and are 
 burdened, and I will refresh you." Matt. xi. 28. 
 Thou saidst, " The healthy need not the physician, 
 but the sick. I am not come to call the just, but 
 sinners." Mqtt. ix. 11, 12. And of thee it was pub- 
 licly said, that thou receivedst and didst eat with 
 sinners. Thou art still the same thou then wast, 
 and I believe that thou still at this day callest from 
 the height of heaven, those whom thou hast in thy 
 goodness called on earth. Touched, therefore, with 
 the mercy with which I know that thou callest us, I 
 come unto thee oppressed with sins, to the end it 
 might please thee to ease me. I come wJbh all my 
 miseries and all my temptations, that I may be re- 
 freshed. I come as a sick man to the physician, to 
 be cured, and as a sinner to the fountain of justice, 
 to be justified. I learn that thou receivest sinners, 
 that thou eatest with them, and that thy greatest 
 delight ig to converse with them, in order to convert 
 24 
 
278 THE MEMORIAL OF 
 
 them. If this manner is pleasing to thee, thou seest 
 in me, who am so great a sinner, that a special grace 
 is necessary to convert me. I doubt not, Lord^ 
 but the tears of that public sinner, Mary Magdalen,, 
 were more deligntful to thee than the Pharisee's 
 sumptuous feast, since thou didst not despise her 
 sorrow, nor reject her as a person defiled with sin ; 
 but, on the contrary, didst accept her penance, par- 
 don her ofiences, defend her against her accusers,, 
 and, for the few tears which she shed, didst forgive 
 her abundance of crimes. See here, O Lord, an 
 opportunity to acquire thee greater glory, a sinner 
 that brings to thy feet more iniquities, and fewer 
 tears. Thou showest on that occasion neither the 
 first nor last of thy mercies ; thou hadst before done 
 many such, and thou wilt yet do many that will not 
 be less remarkable. Let that which I hope for be 
 one of this number. Pardon this wretch, who has 
 more unworthily ofiended thee, and yet has not so 
 much sorrow for his offences : I have not tears 
 enough to wash thy feet, but thou hast shed as much 
 blood as is suflScient to wash away all the sins of the 
 world. Eyter not into indignation against me, be- 
 cause, being such a one as thou seest me, I presume,, 
 nevertheless, to come near thee. Kem ember that 
 thou disdainest not that poor woman^ sick of an issue 
 of blood, when she cast herself at thy feet, to be 
 eured of her infirmity by touching the hem of thy 
 garment, but, on the contrary, didst comfort her, and 
 didst give her courage^ saying to her '^ Be of good 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFE, 279 
 
 heart, daughter; thy faith hath made thee whole/' 
 Matt. ix. 22. I am afflicted with a more dangerous 
 and more incurable disease than her's; what then 
 can I do else but address myself to thee, as to the 
 most powerful of all remedies for the recovery of my 
 health ? Then art no less merciful on earth for be- 
 ing glorious in heaven ; for didst thou there exercise 
 another office, or hadst thou changed thy nature, we 
 should need another gospel to teach us this diflPer- 
 ence. Thy word is unchangeable, and it is by that 
 I know how all sick persons ran to thee, that they 
 might touch thee, because out of thee issued forth a 
 virtue that eured them. The leprous came to thee; 
 thou stretchedst forth thy hand, and they were 
 cleansed: the blind, the deaf, the paralytic, those 
 that were possessed with devils, and, in fine, all that 
 were afflicted with the strangest maladies, had re- 
 course to thee, and thou never refusedst them thy 
 assistance. In thee is health, life, and the remedy 
 of all diseases; thou art as merciful to will our 
 health as thou art powerful to give it. Thus, 
 Lord, to whom can we have recourse in our neces- 
 sities^ but to thee ? * 
 
 I acknowledge, indeed, that this divine sacrament 
 is not only food for the strong, but also medicine for 
 the sick ; that it is not only the support of the living, 
 but the resurrection also of the dead ; that it not 
 only fills the just with love and joy, but cleanses also 
 and cures the sinner. Let every one approach it, as 
 he oan, and let every one take there what is fit for 
 
280 THE MEMORIAL OF 
 
 him, and what his Lord will give him ; let the juet 
 come to be fed at this table, and let the voice of 
 their confession and praise be heard at this sacred 
 festival ; as for me, who am a sinner and sick, " I 
 will take the chalice of salvation." (Psalm ex v. 13.) 
 There is no way in the christian life, hj which I can 
 walk out of this sacred mystery, and I see not the 
 least pretence to excuse me from desiring the parti- 
 cipation of it. If I am sick, this will cure me ; if I 
 am in health, this will preserve me ; if I live, this 
 will strengthen me ; if I am dead, this will raise me 
 again to life ; if I am heated with divine love, this 
 will more inflame me ; and if I am cold, this will 
 heat me. I will not lose courage for that I am blind, 
 because our Lord enlightens the blind ; (Psalm cxiv. 
 8.) nor will I think myself without remedy for that 
 I am fallen, since our Lord raises those who are 
 fallen to the ground. I will not fly from his pre- 
 sence, as Adam did when he knew his nakedness, for 
 as much as he has the power to cover mine. I will 
 not hide me from hira, because I see myself unclean, 
 and all over defiled with sins, since he is the inex- 
 haustible fountain of mercy ; and my poverty shall 
 not hinder me from coming to him, because he is the 
 master and dispenser of all created things. I do 
 not believe T shall do him any injury in this ; on the 
 contrary, the more miserable I am, the more re- 
 markable occasion do I think to give him of making 
 his mercy admired by exercising it on me. The 
 scales which covered his eyes who was bo^n blind. 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFE. 281 
 
 served only to make God's glory appear in him with 
 greater lustre ; and the lowness to which I am re- 
 duced will render more conspicuous the goodness of 
 him who, being so great and so exalted, disdains not 
 the meanest and most contemptible things ; espe- 
 cially since my merits obtain not so great a privilege, 
 but it is granted me in consideration of those of Je- 
 sus Christ my Lord, for whose sake the eternal Fa- 
 ther adopts me, and treats me as one of his children. 
 Since then thou art my Father and my Saviour, I 
 presume to have recourse to thee, and beg of thee 
 this grace, that as David admitted one that was lame 
 to his table, because he was son to his dear friend 
 Jonathan, honoring thereby the merits of the father 
 in the person of the son ; so" it may please thee, 
 eternal Father ! to suflfer at thy table a wretched and 
 deformed sinner, not for his own sake, but for the 
 merits of Jesus Christ, whom thou hast so much 
 loved, who is our second Adam, and true Father, 
 and who lives and reigns with thee for ever. Amen. 
 
 A Prayer after Communion, made hy St. Thomas 
 of Aquin. 
 
 I GIVE thee thanks, Holy Lord, Almighty Fa- 
 ther, and Eternal God ! for all the benefits thou hast 
 so bountifully bestowed on me, and particularly for 
 that it has pleased thee, for no merits of mine, but 
 through the sole condescension of thy mercy, to re- 
 plenish me a sinner, thy unworthy servant, with the 
 precious body of thy only Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. 
 24* 
 
282 THE MEMORIAL Of 
 
 Suffer not, 1 beseech thee, this holy communion to 
 render me guilty, and liable to the punishment which 
 those deserve who come unworthily to it ; but grant, 
 on the contrary, that it may powerfully intercede for 
 the remission of my sins. Let it be a rampart to 
 preserve me in the faith, and a shield to repel the 
 darts of the enemy, who ceases not to attack my will, 
 that he may turn it against thee. Let it destroy all 
 my vices, root out all my sensual desires, and aug- 
 ment in me patience, charity, true humility, and all 
 other virtues ; let it settle a firm and solid peace in 
 my soul, and strongly defend me against all the as- 
 saults and stratagems of my visible and invisible 
 enemies ; let it unite me strictly to thee during this 
 life, and make me happily end in thee ; so that, in 
 fine, it may please thee to receive me, a sinner, to 
 that unspeakable banquet, where thou art the true 
 light, where thou fully satisfiest thy elect, and where 
 thou thyself art their joy, and their perfect felicity, 
 for ever and ever. Amen. 
 
 A Meditation after Communion, 
 
 Most gracious and most merciful God, what 
 thanks can I render to thee, who, being King of 
 Kings and Lord of Lords, hast this day vouchsafed 
 to visit my soul, to enter into my house, and to make 
 thyself one thing with me, by the inestimable virtuo 
 of this holy sacrament ! How shall I acknowledge 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIPR 28S 
 
 this honor ? What shall T return thee for this ben- 
 efit, and what thanks canst thou receive of so poor 
 and weak a creature, for so rich and precious a gift? 
 For thou art not content in this admirable mystery 
 to make us partakers of thy sovereign divinity, but 
 hast communicated to us also thy humanity, and all 
 the merits thou hast gained us by it. Thou hast 
 given us herein thy flesh and thy blood, and hast 
 therewith admitted us to a share in all the wealth 
 and riches thou hast purchased both by the one and 
 by the other. wonderful communication ! in- 
 comparable gift, little indeed understood by men, 
 but worthy to be celebrated with eternal praises! O 
 Redeemer of our souls ! couldst thou bestow on them 
 any other treasure which might be comparable to 
 this ? Thy words were as full of ti-uth as of love, 
 when in thy prayer thou saidst to thy Father, '* I 
 sanctify myself, that they also may be sanctified in 
 truth." John xvii. 19, new manner of sanctify- 
 ing, which costs the sanctifier so dear ! It is thou 
 that bearest holiness, it is I who reap the fruit of it ; 
 thou becomest poor, and I grow rich ; thou sufferedst 
 the punishment, and I receive the pardon. In fine, 
 thou shededst even to the last drop of thy blood, 
 and I recover health and life by it. Those terrible 
 sorrows which thou hast endured, those buffets, those 
 thorns, those nails, and that precious blood which 
 thou hast shed, have satisfied the heavenly Father 
 for me. Thy tears have washed me, thy wounds have 
 eured me, and the stripes thou receivedst, have paid 
 
284 THE MEMORIAL OF 
 
 for me. Happy communication ! wonderful fellow- 
 ship for those who have contracted it, since it renders 
 such unspeakable treasures common to them ! What 
 have we brought of our's, to be partakers of them? 
 What have we given to receive such great things? 
 It is an eiFect of thy sole grace and goodness. The 
 sun enlightens, the fire warms, the water refreshes, 
 because it is their nature to produce these effects, 
 and it is thine, Lord, to show mercy and to par- 
 don ; but what is most admirable^ to pardon others, 
 and suffer thyself! Thy very nature is goodness, 
 an infinite goodness, a sovereign goodness ; and it 
 is the property of a sovereign goodness to com- 
 municate itself sovereignly. It is thus that thou 
 hast dealt with us, since thou hast given thyself en- 
 tirely to us. Thou wert born in the world to become 
 our brother ; thou hast instituted the blessed euchar- 
 ist to be our food ; thou hast suffered death to be the 
 ransom of that which we deserved ; and thou reignest 
 in heaven to be our recompense. 
 
 In fine, my soul, to speak in one word, if thou wilt 
 all at once comprehend the benefits thou obtainest 
 when thou receivest this divine sacrament, consider 
 that which our Lord brought to the world when he 
 came into it ; for as descending down on earth he 
 gave us the life of grace, with whatever else accom- 
 panies it ; so giving himself to thee by this way, he 
 gives thee the same life. O blessed nourishment, 
 by which the children of men become children of 
 God, and by which our humanity dies happily, that 
 
A CIIRISTIA?^ LIFE. 285 
 
 God may live in it I O bread, full of sweetness, and 
 worthy our admiration, which nourish-es the soul, and 
 not the flesh; which strengthenest the heart, and 
 burdenest not the body ; which rejoicest the mind, 
 without distracting the understanding; which, by 
 thy virtue, stiflest sensuality, and destroyest in us 
 our human will, that the divine may reign in its 
 Btead. 
 
 What thanks can I then give thee, my Lord, 
 if the thanks ought to bear some proportion to the 
 greatness of the benefit? I learn in Exodus, that 
 thou commandest Moses to take a vessel of gold, to 
 fill it with manna, and to lay it up in the ark of the 
 testament, that it might be there kept, to put all the 
 posterity of the Israelites in mind with what sort 
 of nourishment their fathers were fed during forty 
 years in the desert. If thou wouldst then have so 
 great a value to be set on that corruptible food, and 
 appointedst that it should be kept as an eternal mon- 
 ument in a place of so great veneration, what esteem 
 ought not we to make of this incorruptible meat, 
 which gives eternal life to those who receive it wor- 
 thily ? I clearly see that there is as much difi*erence 
 between the first and second benefit, and consequently 
 between the acknowledgment which is due to them : 
 that food was earthly, this is heavenly ; that fed only 
 bodies, this nourishes souls ; that gave not true life 
 to those that did eat of it, this gives eternal life to 
 those who feed on it ; and, in fine, there cannot be 
 any comparison between them since these two meats 
 
286 THE MEMORIAL Of 
 
 are as different as the creature is from the Creator 
 Tf thou nevertheless, O my Saviour, wouldst that 
 the memory of this first favor should never be abol- 
 ished, but that the people should pay thee a perpetual 
 homage for having preserved their lives by this cor- 
 ruptible and perishable manna ; what oughtest thott 
 to expect from us, to whom thou hast given eternal 
 life by this heavenly and divine bread ? Man is too 
 weak to give thee thanks for it, and it would be a 
 rashness to think of finding in this life the praise* 
 we owe thee. There remains then in my inability no 
 other remedy for the acquitting myself of my duty, 
 but to have recourse to thee thyself, and say to thee 
 with thy prophet, " I will take the chalice of salva- 
 tion, and will invoke the name of the Lord ;" (Psalm 
 cxv. 13.) that is, I will pay my debts by new obliga- 
 tions, and beg of thee new favors for the sake of the 
 first. I beseech thee then, Lord, that thou wilt 
 be pleased to accept this venerable sacrament in sat- 
 isfaction for all my faults and all my sins, and to ob- 
 tain the entire and perfect amendment of my life ; 
 repair by it all my falls, and supply by it all the de- 
 fects which spring from my misery ; destroy in me 
 by it whatsoever may be displeasing to thy divine 
 eyes, and make me one according to thy will ; grant 
 me by it that I may strongly adhere to thee, per- 
 fectly and constantly love thee, and continue united 
 in thee, to the honor and glory of thy name. Show 
 mercy to all sinners ; bring back to thy church all 
 those whom heresy and schism have separated from 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFE. 287 
 
 il ; enlighten all the faithful to know thee better ; 
 succor all those that are in trouble and affliction ; 
 assist all those for whom I am obliged to offer thee 
 ray pra,yers ; comfort those who have given me birth 
 and education, my kinsfolk, benefactors, friends, and 
 enemies; take pity on all those for whom thou hast 
 slied thy blood ; pardon the living, and fill them with 
 thy graces, and grant to the dead rest and eternal 
 glory : who livest and reisnest world without ead. 
 Amen. 
 
 A Meditation for tme to exercise himself in on the 
 day of Holy Communion, in considering the greai" 
 ness of this Mystery^ and giving thanks to our 
 Ijord for this incomparable Benefit. 
 
 Were all creatures, both in heaven and earth, to 
 |oin themselves with me to give thee thanks for the 
 benefit I come now from receiving, yet they would 
 not, O my God, be able to perform it as it merits. 
 What praises, my Saviour, shall I give thee, for 
 having on this happy day vouchsafed to visit me, 
 comfort me, and favor me with thy presence I When 
 the mother of the precursor, filled with the Holy 
 Ghost, saw entering into her house the Virgin who 
 bore thee m her womb, amazed at so great a wonder, 
 she cried out, " Whence is this to me, that the mo- 
 ther of my Lord should come to me ?^' (^Luke i. 43.) 
 What ought I then to do, who am but a worm of the 
 earth, seeing that my mouth has received, and my 
 
288 THE MfiMOlUAL Of 
 
 stomach contained a consecrated host, in which id 
 comprehended the same God who came to visit St. 
 Elizabeth ? With how much more reason may 1 
 cry out, whence is this extraordinary favor befallen 
 me, that not only the mother of my God, but my 
 God himself and the sovereign Lord of all things, 
 has been pleased to come to me, who have so long 
 been the habitation of Satan ; to me, who tave so 
 often offended him ; to me, who have so often op- 
 posed his will, and by my so frequently rejecting 
 him, rendered myself unworthy to receive him? 
 Whence, then, have I this favor, that the King of 
 Kings and Lord of Lords is come to me ? that he 
 whose throne is in heaven, whose " footstool is on 
 earth," (^Psalm xcviii. 5.) whose officers are angels, 
 whose praises are published by the stars of the morn- 
 ing, and whose power governs the whole earth, should 
 so far abase himself as to come into so contemptible 
 a place ? Thou, my King, wouldst be born in a 
 stable amongst beasts, wouldst be delivered into the 
 hands of sinners, and descend even to hell. It well 
 appears, my God, that thou art not changed, and 
 that thou retainest the same love for sinners, since 
 thou still dost every day what thou once didst for 
 them. 
 
 Had thy goodness condescended to come unto m« 
 m any other manner, it had still been an effect of 
 thy very great mercy : but now, Lord, that thou 
 hast not only been pleased to visit me, but hast alse 
 Touchsafed to enter under my roof, to dwell in me. 
 
A CHRISTIA!? LIFE. 289 
 
 ta transform me into thee, and make me one and the 
 same thing with thyself, by so admirable a union, 
 that thy sacred mouth has found nothing more fit to 
 express it, than to compare it with the union which 
 thou hast with thy Almighty Father : this is what 
 far surpasses, and is altogether incomprehensible to 
 human understanding. , Dayid wondered at thy care 
 of man, when he said, " What is man that thou art 
 mindful of him ?" (Pscdm viii. 5.) But it is far 
 more to be admired, ihsi God not only remembers 
 man, but that he makes himself man for him, that 
 he dwells with him, that he dies for him^ that be 
 feeds him with his own flesh and blood, and makes 
 himself one and the same thing with him. Solomon 
 begged of God, if it were possible, that he would ac- 
 tually reside in the temple he had been so many 
 years building; but it is a much greater wonder 
 that God, who dwells in the heavens, should, after a 
 far more excellent manner, make his abode in a poor 
 Boul, who has scarcely labored so much as one only 
 day to prepare him a lodging. All created nature 
 is wrapt with admiration to see God made man ; to 
 see him descend from heaven to earth, and continue 
 nine months enclosed in a \irgin's womb. These 
 indeed are wonderful things, and fit to be admired ; 
 but it is ajso true, that the womb of this virgin was 
 filled with the Holy Ghost, that it was purer than 
 the stars of heaven, and so a lodging made worthy 
 of the Son of God. But that this Lord should 
 dwell in my heart, that he would choose for his ha- 
 25 
 
290 THE MEMORIAL Of 
 
 bitation a place sowfilthy and full of darkness, is the 
 highest and most amazing excess to which his mercy 
 could descend. Let the angels then bless thee, 
 my Lord, for so excellent a favor, and so incompara- 
 ble a mercy. Thou well showest that thou art the 
 supreme Good, since thou vouchsafest so perfectly to 
 communicate thyself, and hast invented so admirable 
 a means to render us partakers of thy goodness. 
 
 But how far ought our admiration and ottr ac* 
 knowledgment to extend, if we consider what the 
 new benefit is, and what the privilege, which this di» 
 vine sacrament brings us ! What does the church 
 teach me of the happiness that befalls me, and the 
 good thou dost me in this venerable mystery ? T 
 have here a seal marked with thy name, for an in* 
 riolable assurance that thou art my Father, and not 
 only my Father, but also the Bridegroom of my soul, 
 since I understand that the principal eifect of this 
 sacrament is to entertain our souls witn spiritual de- 
 lights, and to make them one and the same thing. 
 If it be so, and if the heart is to be judged by the 
 works, who can doubt but that thou discoverest to 
 us^ in this admirable work, a fatherly heart, and art 
 indeed a Father ? Masters are not wont to use ca- 
 resses towards their servants, but fathers towards 
 their children ; and that principally while they are 
 yet little, and whilst they love them with most ten- 
 derness ; for it is the father's goodness to give them 
 in that age, not only what is necessary for their life, 
 but also for their recreation. Thou didst not here- 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFE. 291 
 
 tofore treat thy people in this manner ; thou (Jealest 
 with them like a lord and master ; thou kept this 
 great eiFect of thy love a long time concealed from 
 the world and delayedst the discovery of it till the 
 time of thy coming on earth, with the happy tidings 
 of the gospel. Thus, in all thy other sacraments, 
 and in all thy other benefitSj thou hast only shown 
 me that thou art my King, my Saviour, my Pastor, 
 my Physician ; but in this, in which thou wouldst 
 after so high a manner unite thyself to my soul, and 
 love her with such wonderful tenderness, thou hast 
 very clearly made known, that thou art my Bride* 
 groom, that thou art my Father, and such a father 
 as loves his children with incomparable goodness. 
 This is what I manifestly discern, and this is what 
 all the favors thou showest me in this sacrament suf- 
 ficiently teach me. There is no deceit in thy works 
 as they show outwardly, so they are inwardly ; for 
 by the effects I know the cause,— by the works I 
 judge what is the heart ; and thou canst not treat 
 me with so much indulgence and sweetness, without 
 having for me a true fatherly heart. If the manna, 
 in which were found all sorts of tastes, and whatso- 
 ever the mouth could desire most agreeable and deli- 
 cious, was a mark of thy affection, and the tender- 
 ness of thy heart towards thy first-born children ; 
 what must the love be which thou at this day bear- 
 est us, since thou so liberally givest us thy divine 
 manna, which as far exceeds the manna of the desert 
 in sweetness, as heaven is above the earth ! celes- 
 
292 THE MEMORIAL OF 
 
 tial nourishment, bread of life, fountain of d-elighU, 
 vein of all virtues, death of all vices, fire of divine 
 love, medicine of health, refection of souls, health 
 of spirits, royal and divine banquet, and admirable 
 taste of eternal felicity ! What shall I say then, O 
 my Grod ? What thanks can I give thee ? With 
 what excess of love can I acknowledge so extraordi- 
 nary a benefit ? If, being what thou art, thou so 
 lovest a vile creature, who is less than a worm of the 
 earthy how should not I love thee, my God, who, 
 with all thy greatness, and all thy majesty, conde- 
 scendedst to be the bridegroom of my soul ! Let me 
 love thee, then, O Lord ; let me desire thee above all 
 things ; be thou my meat and my drink. delight- 
 ful sweetness ! love, whose pleasure is inestima- 
 ble ! let my soul feed on thee, and let my heart be 
 filled with thy delights ! food more delicious than 
 whatsoever is most pleasing on earth ! meat of the 
 strong ! make me to grow in thee ; augment what 
 thy presence gives to me, that I may be worthy hap- 
 pily to enjoy thee ! Children of Adam, blind men, 
 what is it you do ? What do you pretend to in the 
 world ? If you seek love, here is the noblest and 
 sweetest that can be desired. If you look for pleas- 
 ures, where will you find so great or so pure as these ? 
 If you aim at wealth, here is the treasure of heaven, 
 the price of the world, and an ocean of riches ; in 
 fine, if you aspire to honors, you will find here all the 
 majesty of God, who comes to honor you. 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFE. 293 
 
 The Second Part of this Meditation. 
 Since thou hast already done me the fever tO' 
 receive me into thy company, to place me at thj 
 table, to give me share of thy banquet, to heap on- 
 me thy benefits, to bind me to thee with such strong^ 
 and strait bonds of love, I from this time, my 
 Saviour, renounce all earthly things for love of 
 thee. Let there be no longer any world for me, or 
 any worldly vanity; begone from me ye deceitfaf 
 goods, which I have so much loved ; here is the only 
 and sovereign good. It is not reasonable that, hav- 
 ing tasted the bread of angels, T should return to the 
 food of beasts ; it is not fit that, having received 
 G-od into my house, I should let any thing vain or" 
 unprofitable enter into it. Should a woman of mean 
 condition be married to a king, she would soon leave- 
 that state of poverty which environed her, to appear 
 in the equipage of a queen. This ought my soul to 
 imitate, for, having been exalted to the dignity in 
 which this august sacrament has placed her, how can* 
 she again debase herself to the infamous condition to- 
 which her old habits had reduced her ? How catt 
 she open that heart to worldly thoughts, into whicb 
 she has already received the Lord of the World?' 
 How can she lodge in herself any profane thing; 
 having been consecrated by the divine presence'^ 
 Solomon could not consent that his wife, who was 
 daughter to king Pharaoh, should dwell in his house 
 at Jerusalem, because the ark of the testament had 
 
 sometime reposed in it. 2 Parol, viii. 11. If this 
 25» 
 
294 THE MEMORIAL OF 
 
 80 wise and understanding a king would not j ermil 
 his lawful wife, who was a princess of so great qual- 
 ity, to inhabit a palace where the ark of God had a 
 little while remained, only because this princess was 
 descended of a heathen family, ^an I suffer any thing 
 that is wicked and heathenish in a heart where God 
 himself would stay ? What a disorder would it be, 
 that impious desires should be still found in a place 
 where God has made his abode ; or that a mouth, 
 through which he has graciously condescended to 
 pass, should utter filthy words ! Solomon having 
 once sacrificed in the porch of the temple, ordained 
 that it should remain sanctified, and never after be 
 put to any profane use ; (3 Kings viii. 64.) is it not 
 much more fit that my soul should be now a holy 
 place, since it has had the happiness to receive him, 
 of whom all the sacrifices and all the sacraments of 
 the old law were but the figure ? 
 
 Since it has pleased thee, my Saviour, to favor 
 me with thy visit, grant me the grace to correspond 
 in some sort to this favor ; thou never conferredst an 
 extraordinary gift on any one without granting him 
 powerful assistance to preserve it ; and if, by thy 
 adorable presence, I have received from thee a gift 
 which surpasses all others, let thy sovereign power 
 sanctify me, that I may be able to sanctify my obli- 
 gations. Wheresoever thou hast entered, thou hast 
 shown this merciful benevolence. Thou enteredst 
 into the chaste womb of thy mother, and as thoa 
 thereby exaltedst her to the highest glory, so tboo 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFE. 295 
 
 at the same time gavest her the greatest grace to 
 luaiatain it. Being yet enclosed within this sanc- 
 tuary, thou enteredst into the house of St. Elizabeth, 
 and there by thy presence sanctifiedst her child, 
 gavest him heavenly joy, and filledst his mother with 
 thy spirit. Thou enterest into the world to converse 
 with men, and as by thy coming on earth thou raisedst 
 them to a wonderful degree of glory, so by a won- 
 derful grace thou repairedst their faults, and sancti- 
 fiedst them when they were wicked. And, in fine, 
 thou descendedst into hell, and of hell thou mad est 
 a paradise, rendering those happy by thy presence 
 whom thou honoredst with thy visit. Nor hast thou, 
 O Lord, only wrought these wonders when personally 
 present : the ark of the testament entered into the 
 house of Obededom^ and immediately thou pouredst 
 forth all thy benedictions on it, and on whatsoever 
 belonged to that good Israelite. Since then it has 
 pleased thee, through a greater mercy, to enter into 
 60 poor a dwelling as that of my soul ; since it has 
 pleased thee to abide in it, begin to bless thy ser- 
 vant's house, and grant me grace to answer this 
 favor ; enrich and adorn the place of thy habitation, 
 and render it fitting for thee : thou wouldst have me 
 to be like that happy sepulchre in which thy sacred 
 body was laid ; give me, therefore, the qualities that 
 were observed to be in it. That sepulchre was of 
 stone, give me firmness ; there was in it a shroud, 
 grant me the humility represented by it, since it is so 
 necessary for me ; myrrh was also found there, which 
 
296 THE MEMORIAL OP 
 
 is the symbol of mortiJBxjation ; make me die to all 
 my irregular desires, and to my own will, that I may 
 live only to thee. By establishing thy abode in me, 
 thou wouldst have me be as the ark of the testament ; 
 grant me, therefore, this favor, that, as the ark con- 
 tained nothing but the tables of the law, my heart 
 may entertain no thoughts or desires but of conform- 
 ing itself entirely to thy law. Thou lettest me know 
 by the effects of this great sacrament that thou art 
 my Father, since thou treatest me in it as thy child ; 
 but being thy child, give me thy grace, that I may 
 worthily correspond to this benefit, by loving thee 
 not only with a strong and solid love, but also with 
 a love full of tenderness. Let all my interior powers 
 melt and be absorbed in thy love, and let the sole 
 remembrance of thy so sweet and so amiable name 
 make all the joy of my heart. Give it the sentiments 
 of a true child, that is, the obedience, love, and re- 
 spect which are due to thee as its father. Let all 
 my hope and confidence be in thee, and let me in all 
 the troubles and afflictions of this life have recourse 
 to thee, like a good son who casts himself into his 
 father's arms, where he finds his most assured refuge. 
 But, above all, thou wouldst discover to me in this 
 divine mystery, that thou hadst for my soul all the 
 love that a bridegroom can have for his bride : give 
 me the same heart for thee ; let my affections an- 
 swer thine ; let my love be like thine, faithful, chaste, 
 and tender ; and let it be so strong and powerful, 
 that nothing may ever separate me from thee. It 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFE. 297 
 
 was to form so strict a union as this that thoa ordain- 
 est this holy sacrament. Thou knowest that the 
 creature is much better in thee than in itself; that 
 it has from thee all its strength and power ; that it 
 is of itself only misery and weakness ; that without 
 thee it is lost, like a drop of water, which being left 
 alone in the air, is dried up in a moment ; but being 
 thrown into the sea, and united with its beginning, 
 abides for ever. Draw me then, my Lord, from 
 myself, and receive me unto thee, because with thee 
 I find life ; and with myself I find death. I become 
 strong if I am with thee ; and if I am left to myself, 
 ri abate, and am lost: being with thee, I obtain a 
 firm and stable condition ; and of myself I am only 
 vanity and corruption. Depart not then from me, 
 good Jesus, depart not, Lord, but, " stay with 
 us, because it is towards evening, and the day is now 
 far spent ;" (Luke xxiv. 29.) and since I have been 
 so happy as to lodge thee this day in my house, 
 where I may treat with thee alone about the concerns 
 of my soul, I will not lose this favorable opportunity, 
 " I will not let thee go except thou bless me." Gen. 
 xxxii. 26. Change my old name, and give me a 
 new one ; that is, a new being, and a new manner of 
 life. Let the love of the world grow weaker in me 
 every day, and let the love of thee increase, or rather 
 grow daily stronger as long as I shall live, to the 
 end that all the desires of this world being extinct 
 and dead to me, I may live to thee alone. O my 
 Saviour, I desire thee alone, I think on thee alone ; 
 
508 TF/E MEMORIAL OF A CHRISriAX LIFE. 
 
 let me abide with thee alone, let all my thoughts and 
 cares respect thee alone ; to thee alone let me have 
 recourse in all my troubles, and let me expect and 
 receive assistance from none but thee alone, who 
 livest and reignest world without end. Amen. 
 
 OF THE THUD 
 
% glmorial of a Christian Jife. 
 
 BOOK IV. 
 
 CONTAINING 
 
 TWO PKINCIPAL KULES OF A CHRISTIAN LIFE. 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 After you shall be converted to God with your 
 whole heart, and shall have seriously endeavored to 
 purify your soul by these two great sacraments of 
 which we have treated, it remains that you speedily 
 set yourself to amend your imperfections, and regu- 
 late your life. For this purpose, therefore, I design 
 to give you the following counsels ; and as nature, in 
 the production of her works, goes always from the 
 lesser to the greater, that is, from what is of less to 
 what is of greater perfection, so grace ordinarily does 
 the same. Wherefore I will keep this order in the 
 instruction I purpose to give you on this subject, es- 
 tablishing two rules and two manners of living well ; 
 one for those who are newly converted, and desire to 
 be saved ; the other for such as, besides this, aspire 
 to a higher perfection, and endeavor daily to go for- 
 ward in the way of virtue. 
 
 299 
 
300 THE MEMORIAL OF 
 
 For the better compreheDding my intent, you shall 
 observe, that all the instruction conducing to a good 
 life, is, by the prophet David, divided into two prin- 
 cipal parts ; the one of avoiding evil, and the other 
 of doing good; (Fsalm xxxiii. 14.) that is, the one 
 consists in banishing vices from our souls, and the 
 other in adorning them with virtues. I see not in 
 this matter any division more perfect or clearer than 
 this, because that by observing these two things, one 
 becomes a new man and a new creature, destroying 
 by the first the image of the old man, and forming by 
 the second that of the new. Thus you render your- 
 self supernatural and divine creatures ; since as man 
 was created for a supernatural and divine end, which 
 is to see God in his glory ; so the life which disposes 
 to this end is divine and supernatural, according to 
 that maxim of philosophy, that the end and the means 
 ought to be proportioned^ and be of one and the same 
 order. And although these two things are, as well 
 in practice as in precept^ inseparable, since vices 
 cannot be overcome but by the help of virtues, nev- 
 ertheless, the better to distinguish what I intend to 
 teach you, and give it more light, I will, as much as 
 I can, separate the one from the other. It is requi- 
 site also to observe, that of the things which are pro- 
 posed both in this discourse and others that treat of 
 piety, some are of obligation, and others of free choice 
 and perfection ; that is, some are of precept, as the 
 commandments of God and the Church; and others 
 are of counsel^ as all the good advice and exhortations 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFE. 801 
 
 eontained in Holy Scripture, which conduce to the 
 better observing of what is commanded, and to the 
 arriving at a greater perfection. It is of very great 
 importance to give you this instruction at first, that 
 you may understand what is absolutely necessary, 
 and what depends on choice alone, and, therefore, 
 know your duties, for greater care must be taken to 
 perform what is of obligation than what is voluntary ; 
 and the first must never be left for the second, the 
 contrary being a very great error and disorder, yet 
 such as does but too frequently happen. Wherefore, 
 I shall, in the beginning of this book, very briefly 
 declare the things that are of obligation ; and shall 
 afterwards add many others, which may help you 
 more easily to perform these first and indispensable 
 duties, and bring you to obtain a higher perfection ; 
 for though it is true that the keeping of the com- 
 mandments is sufficient to salvation, yet in the way 
 of Grod, to continue in the same state, and say it is 
 enough, is to go backward; wherefore, besides the 
 essential things, and such as are absolutely necessary, 
 I shall adjoin many others that are useful and profit- 
 able, for the sake of such aspiring souls as desire daUj 
 to grow and increase in virtue. 
 26 
 
302 THE MEMORIAL OY 
 
 OHAPTER I. 
 
 The First Rule of a Christian Life , treating of the 
 Victory over Sin, and the Means to destroy it 
 
 If you desire then, with all your heart, to give 
 yourself to God and to save your soul, know, before 
 all things, that the most important part of this affair, 
 in comparison of which all others whatsoever are as 
 nothing, consists in one only point ; which is^ to form 
 in your soul a firm resolution never to commit any 
 mortal sin on any occasion whatever, either for the 
 sake of wealth, honor, or life itself or any other thing 
 in the world. And as a virtuous woman, or an officer 
 in an army, is always fully determined rather to die 
 than to be guilty of the least infidelity, the one 
 against her husband, and the other against his prince ; 
 80 you, as being true Christians, ought to be firmly 
 resolved rather to lose all things, even your own lives, 
 than to consent to so great a treason as is committed 
 against God by a mortal sin. The reason of this is, 
 because, as St. Paul says, the end and principal aim 
 of the Christian religion is charity, which consists in 
 loving God and our neighbor, (1 Tim, i. 5.) to whicli 
 nothing is so directly opposite as mortal sin ; inso- 
 much that he who commits it not, essentially fulfills 
 the law of charity. Our Lord himself taught us this 
 by the answer he gave to the young man in the gos- 
 pel ; that the faithful keeping of the commandments 
 is the way to heaven, and the means to obtain eter- 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFE. 303 
 
 nal life; {Matt. xix. 17.) and we know, that not to 
 commit any mortal sin is to keep them, since no man 
 sins mortally but by transgressing these command- 
 ments, and consequently that God's law and man's 
 salvation consist essentially in this point, in keeping 
 inviolably the commandments of God and those pre- 
 scribed to us by the church. 
 
 This is, in a few words, the summary, or rather 
 the principal and total of what a good Christian is 
 bound to do, the which is sufficient for his salvation ; 
 but because it is not so easy as may be imagined 
 fully to discharge this obligation, and that, on the 
 contrary, we ordinarily meet with very great irapedi* 
 ments on the part of the world, which is full of snares 
 and dangers ; on the part of the flesh, whose incli- 
 nations bring us to evil ; and on the part of the devil, 
 who daily makes war upon us ; you ought to be con- 
 tinually on your guard against these enemies, and 
 endeavor to subdue them by the assistance of the 
 virtues which will facilitate your conquest over them. 
 Of this we are now going to treat, and shall partic- 
 ularly note to you such things as may be serviceable 
 to you in attaining them. 
 
 SECTION I. 
 
 The first is, to consider attentively what a strange 
 evil mortal sin is, by taking a thorough and particu- 
 lar view of its deformity and injustice, since it dares 
 to attack a God from whom we have received such 
 precious benefits, and to whom we are by so many 
 
B04 THE MEMORIAL OF 
 
 titles so strictly bound. There is no Christian but 
 acknowledo^es that God is the lord and master of all 
 things ; that he is their beginning and their end ; 
 that from him proceed universally all our goods ; 
 that he is an immense ocean of all perfections ; that 
 it is he who created all men, who redeemed and 
 sanctified them, who continually preserves them, and, 
 in fine, prepares for them eternal glory and happi- 
 ness. As his benefits are innumerable, so are our 
 obligations; and we forego all these benefits and 
 duties at one and the same time, when we are so un- 
 happy as to commit a mortal sin. This made Wil- 
 liam, bishop of Paris, say, that in one only mortal sin 
 are found, after a manner, the deformities of all the 
 mortal sins in the world ; and he adds, that this detes- 
 table sin is a kind of spiritual rebellion, because the 
 man who suffers himself to be carried away by it, re- 
 volts against his sovereign ; he puts the keys of his 
 heart, that is, his own soul, into his enemy's hands 
 by way of homage, and makes himself his vassal. 
 Mortal sin is also in some sort a sacrilege, since it 
 profanes the living temple of our heart, which was 
 consecrated to God ; it is a crime of apostacy, since 
 it makes us leave God's side, and betake ourselves to 
 the devil's, whose works we had renounced by bap- 
 tism. It is a spiritual adultery, since it causes a soul 
 that had become the spouse of Christ, to abandon 
 herself treacherously to all the creatures which she 
 particularly loves. It is a theft, since man, belong- 
 ing in so many ways to God, steals himself from his 
 
A CHKISTIAN LIFE. 305 
 
 fervice, and depriv^es him of what so lawfully per- 
 tains to him. In fine, since we are obliged to give 
 God all the honor, respecl obedience, fidelity, and, 
 in general, all the homages that are due to all crea- 
 tures, of what condition so^ ver they are, and much 
 more than this ; it necessarily follows, that one only 
 Bin against him infinitely surpasses all the other 
 faults and ofiences that may be committed in the 
 world. Wherefore^ with very great reason, does a 
 holy doctor cry out against this monster in these 
 terms : " evil, not sufficiently understood, which 
 takest from x\.lmighty God the respect that is due to 
 him, which contemnest his majesty, which injurest 
 his greatness, which extinguishest virtue, which de- 
 stroyest grace, which withdrawest us from the Sov- 
 ereign Good, which makest us lose eternal happiness, 
 which darkenest the understanding, which disorderest 
 the will, which art the most deadly poison of the 
 devil, which engagest thy followers to the pains of 
 hell, which art the destroyer of the world, the infal- 
 lible guide of perdition, the death of the sinner, the 
 malignant seed of Satan, and the gate of bell, and 
 which makest men delirious : abominable sin, which 
 art the net and snare wherein the unwary sufier 
 themselves to be caught ; which art the plague of 
 souls, which makest men become imitators of the 
 wicked spirits ; horrible darkness, intolerable stench, 
 extremest of all filthiness, vileness, lower than which 
 nothing can be imagined ; cruel beast, greatest of all 
 26* 
 
306 THE MEMORIAL OF 
 
 miseries, aud in fine, cause and original of all oor 
 
 evils !" 
 
 This is one of the principal considerations that 
 may excite in you a true hatred of sin. Reflect 
 seriously on it, and make use also, for the same 
 effect, of the others I have set before you in the 
 second book of penance ; as, to represent to yourself 
 what you lose by sin, how much God abhors it, and 
 the extreme outrage you commit against him, when 
 you fear not to offend him. I mention not the rest, 
 to avoid repetitions. 
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 The second means to advance in virtue, is care- 
 fully to avoid the occasions which may make you 
 fall into sin. I put in this rank, gaming, ill company, 
 dangerous conversations, over-much talking, and 
 particularly too frequent discourse and familiarity 
 with women, how honest and virtuous soever. For 
 if man becomes so weak by sin, that of himself, and 
 through his own misery, he falls and sins every 
 moment^ without any one provoking him to it, what 
 can he promise for himself if occasion solicits him, 
 and he is stirred up by the presence of the object, 
 and the opportunity to sin ? Fly then carefully all 
 these sorts of occasions, if you desire to be Grod's 
 true servants, and assure yourselves that, commonly 
 speaking, we are so far good as we avoid the oc- 
 casions of evil. Remember that David was a holy 
 man, but the sight of a woman, and the opportunity 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFE* 307 
 
 he had to sin, made him fall, which he ceased not to 
 bewail all his life. Remember his son Solomon, who 
 was the wisest of all men, and so highly favored by 
 God, that he was termed our Lord's well-beloved, 
 and yet through the same occasion fell into the 
 strangest of all abandonments. God had command- 
 ed the Jews not to marry with strange women, for 
 fear they might corrupt their religion, and make them 
 adore their idols. Solomon, thinking himself secure 
 from this danger, married many such, and loved them 
 so vehemently, that he was by their artifices persuad- 
 ed to build temples to their idols, and adore them. 
 This is a crime that you will scarce believe, and 
 which ought to make us tremble ; yet it is true, and 
 by it did this prince, so renowned for wisdom, ruin 
 himself, and all his posterity was deprived of his 
 kingdom. Who then can esteem himself safe 
 amongst occasions, when they overthrew these two 
 great men, one of whom was so holy, and the other 
 so wise 1 Shuil then the occasions as you would the 
 sin itself; and if you find yourself drawn by cus- 
 tom^ or by pleasure, to any one that is dangerous, 
 return into yourself, and say to your heart. Wretch 
 as thou art, if thou canst not now resist a single de- 
 sire, which sways thee on this occasion, how wilt 
 thou be able to surmount its power, and avoid the 
 danger it casts thee into, when it shall be strength- 
 ened by the presence of the object thou art going to 
 seek I Remember also that it is to tempt God, and 
 
3U8 THE MEMORIAL OF 
 
 render yourself unwortby his assistance, if yon do 
 not, on your part, what you ought to deserve it. 
 
 But amongst these temptations,, the most ordinary 
 is, undoubtedly, the company of wicked persons ; the 
 world is so full of them that one can scarce go a 
 step without meeting them ; keep yourself from them, 
 if you desire not to sin. A mad dog and a viper, 
 ready to burst with poison, are nothing near so dan- 
 gerous as ill company; and it is manifest, as the 
 apostle teaches us, that "Evil communication cor- 
 rupts good manners/' 1 Cor. xv. 33. Engrave then 
 on your heart this saying of the wise man, " He that 
 walks with the wise, shall be wise ; a friend of fools, 
 shall become like unto them :" (^Prov. xiii. 20. &c.) 
 and again, " He that toucheth pitch, shall be defiled 
 with it ; and he that hath fellowship with the proud, 
 shall put on pride." Eccles. xviii. 1. Let parents 
 especially cause their children carefully to keep them- 
 selves thus reserved ; and let masters and governors 
 take the same care of the youth committed to their 
 charge ; otherwise they will see all the benefit of 
 their education, and the labors of many years, lost in 
 a moment. 
 
 SECTION III. 
 
 Tub third advice is^to repel betimes the first as- 
 saults, and shake off immediately the least evil 
 thought, before it get possession of your heart ; for 
 thus you will resist with greater ease, and more 
 n erit : whereas» delaying ever so little, you will find 
 
A CTIRTSTTAN LIFE. 309 
 
 more difficulty in opposing the mischief, and commit 
 a new sin, which will be at least venial, and may 
 sometimes prove mortal. Consider that the fire 
 which does but just begin to kindle, is easily quench- 
 ed, and the plant which was but lately set, is not 
 hard to be plucked up again; but if the flame is 
 once spread, and the plant once rooted, then the fire 
 will not be put out, nor the root pulled up, without 
 abundance of labor. A town may, without much 
 difficulty, be defended before the enemies are got 
 into it ; but when they have once found the means 
 to make a breach and take possession of it, it will be 
 hard to drive them out again. When a stone is yet 
 on the top of a mountain, it may with ease be stayed 
 there, but if it once begin to roll, it will be almost 
 impossible to resist the violence which carries it. 
 These comparisons are common, yet to me they seem 
 fit to show, that as evil thoughts are without any 
 great labor overcome, when they are resisted at the 
 beginning, so it is difficult to master them when they 
 have once taken root in our heart. Now the best 
 and speediest way to resist them, of what quality 
 soever they are, is, as soon as ever they shall attack 
 you, to set before the eyes of your soul Jesus Christ 
 crucified, with all the anguish and sorrow that en- 
 compassed him on the cross, the streams of blood 
 which ran down from all his body, and all the wounds 
 and stripes that appeared on it ; to reiiect on all the 
 torments which he suffered for the destruction of sin, 
 and to say to him : Is it possible that thy Majesty 
 
310 THE MEMORIAL OF 
 
 should have put itself in this condition, to the end 
 I might not sin, and that, nevertheless, I should not 
 cease to offend thee ? Remove from me, Lord, 
 this unhappiness through thy infinite mercy, and for 
 the sake of that precious blood which thou hast shed 
 for me. Help me, O my God, and forsake me not, 
 since thou art my only support, and to none but thee 
 can I have recourse. When this shall befall you, 
 if you shall be alone, it will be good also to make 
 speedily the sign of the cross upon your heart ; for 
 this exterior action, accompanied with piety, has often 
 force enough to drive away the interior impression 
 which disquiets you. 
 
 St. Bernard writes, that a certain religious woman 
 of his time was wont frequently to perform this holy 
 action, and that her grave being opened some years 
 after her death, the finger with which she had so 
 often made this venerable sign was found still whole, 
 though the rest of her body was consumed. Another 
 doctor writes, that there died at Strasburg, a prior 
 ef St. Dominick's order, who had the same devotion, 
 and that some years after, his grave being also open- 
 ed, there was seen engraven on the bones which 
 covered the region of the heart, the perfect figure of 
 a cross, the foot of which was pointed, the three 
 uppermost parts ending in flower-de-luces ; God be- 
 ing willing to show, by this exterior mark, that 
 purity and chastity were preserved in this holy soul, 
 by the remembrance and power of the sign of the 
 cross, which this holy man often made on his breast, 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFE. 311 
 
 ko drive away the teraptations of the enemy. This 
 doctor bears witness of this wonder, as of a thing he 
 had seen with his own eyes, affirming that he travel- 
 led forty miles only to be a spectator of it. I have 
 related these two memorable examples, to let you see 
 how much Jesus Christ favors those who are mind- 
 ful of his sufferings, and to stir you up to make use 
 of this remedy, to the end you may obtain his grace. 
 
 SECTION lY. 
 
 The fourth is, to examine your conscience every 
 evening, before you go to bed : consider attentively 
 wherein you have sinned that day, in thought, word, 
 or deed, and particularly reflect on all the discourses 
 in which you may possibly have offended. If you 
 have told any lie ; if you wished the devil may have 
 power over any of God's creatures ; if you have 
 cursed any one ; if you have spoken any immodest, 
 slanderous, hasty, choleric words, or any other of that 
 nature. As to your thoughts, if you have speedily 
 and earnestly rejected such as have come upon you 
 against chastity, or any other virtue ; on the con- 
 trary, if you have staid ill them, and if you have no# 
 immediately shaken out of your bosom these sparklei 
 of hell-fire. And as for deeds, look with more exact- 
 ness into the obligations of your condition with those 
 of your house and family, and observe how you have 
 acquitted yourself of them. This exercise has been 
 often recommended to us by the holy fathers, amongst 
 whom, to give you an instance, I have made choice 
 
312 THE MEMORIAL OP 
 
 of Eusebius Emissenus, who, in one of his nomilies, 
 has these words : " Let every man daily see his con- 
 science before his eyes, and speak in this manner to 
 himself: Let us see whether I have passed this day 
 without sin, without envy, without contention, with- 
 out detraction ; let us see whether I have done any 
 thing for my own particular good, or the edification 
 of others ; let us see whether I have this day told a 
 lie, whether I have sworn, whether I have suflPered 
 myself to be overcome with anger, or any other 
 irregular passion, without having thought of doing 
 any good, or delivering myself by good works from 
 eternal torments. Who can bring me back again 
 this day, which I have unprofitably spent, or in 
 which I have employed myself only in vain and 
 dangerous thoughts ? After this sort, concludes this 
 holy father, you ought to repent, accuse, and con- 
 demn yourselves, before Almighty God, in the re- 
 treat of your closets and of your hearts." 
 
 But it is not sufficient to make barely this review 
 of your consciences ; to the end it may be more ben- 
 eficial, you shall add to it some penance, which you 
 shall impose on yourself for these sorts of sins. This 
 voluntary chastisement will render you more cautious, 
 and more fearful to commit what you ought not to 
 let pass without punishment, both for these sins of 
 the tongue, and other defects you might fall into. 
 Moreover, since there is no sin but deserves its pun- 
 ishment, the soul which is chastised becomes more 
 sarefiil not to fall into sin. 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFE. 313 
 
 It will be also advantageous to propose to one's 
 self every week the attacking some particular vice, 
 and endeavoring to get the victory over it ; the flesh 
 is with difficulty brought to enter into this combat, 
 but for fear it should fall asleep in so commendable 
 an undertaking, it will do well to make it wear some- 
 thing which may awaken it, and cause it to remember 
 its resolution. An hair girdle, a little chain set with 
 points, or some other thing of this nature known to 
 penitents, though but little painful, often produces 
 wonderful effects. In the meantime, though you 
 often fall, yet be not dismayed ; but, on the contrary, 
 though you should fall a thousand times a day into 
 such like offences, get as often up again ; put not your 
 confidence in yourself, but in the superabundance of 
 God's mercy; and be not troubled to observe that 
 you have not yet wholly conquered any one of your 
 passions, because this is a work which requires pa- 
 tience, and you will sometimes overcome in a little 
 time what you have with difficulty been struggling 
 against for many years. This ought to make you judge 
 how important this victory is to you ; and Ood also 
 sometimes permits some Jebusites, that is, some pas- 
 sion or difficult temptation, to abide in the soul, as he 
 left the remains of that nation in the midst of his 
 people : this he does to exercise your virtue, and keep 
 you in humility, which is the foundation of all other 
 virtues. Take care also at your arising in the morn- 
 ing to face at first that enemy, that is that inclination 
 or sin which most ordinarily makes war upon you; 
 27 
 
314 THE MEMORIAL 0¥ / 
 
 arm yourself against it with the assistance of prayer, 
 and a strong resolution never to have peace with it, 
 and draw up all your forces where you see the great- 
 est danger. 
 
 SECTION V. 
 
 The fifth is, to avoid, as much as possible, venial 
 sins; because they serve as a disposition to mortal 
 ones. Persons who are apprehensive of death, forget 
 nothing they think requisite for the preservation of 
 their health, and preventing such diseases as may 
 bring them to the grave ; so all those that desire to be 
 exempt from mortal sins, which are the death of the 
 soul, must take care to shun venial ones ; for they are 
 real diseases, and, if neglected, become capable to 
 bring her to death. For my part, I hold it as a cer- 
 tain truth, that a just man, who has long lived well, 
 and persevered in grace, will never fall into any 
 mortal sin, unless he is negligent in having a due 
 regard to himself, and makes little account of venial 
 sins, which weaken his soul, and deserve that God 
 should withdraw his hand, that is, his assistance, by 
 which he will be more liable to temptation, and more 
 easily overcome. For as no man immediately as- 
 cends to the highest degree of perfection, so likewise 
 no man falls on a sudden into the extremity of dis- 
 order, both good and evil growing in us by little and 
 ■little. Wherefore it is observed of Job, that poverty 
 attacked him before he was assaulted by the enemy; 
 to show us that souls rarely yield to mortal sin till 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFE. 315 
 
 after th&} are become poor, and have lost their vigor 
 by the nmltit^ude of their negligences. Our Lord 
 himself hath declared in the Gospel, that if you are 
 faithful in a little, you will be also faithful in much ; 
 and if you use diligence in avoiding small evils, you 
 will be secure against great ones. Tn the meantime, 
 you shall observe^ that by venial sins we understand 
 idle words, immoderate laughter, eating, drinking, 
 and sleeping beyond necessity, and other like things : 
 though these are light faults, and such as at first do 
 us no great hurt, yet do they, howfever, deprive us of 
 great benefits, chilling devotion, and slackening that 
 fervor of charity, which makes pure souls behave 
 themselves cheerful and diligent in whatsoever con- 
 cerns God's service. 
 
 SECTION VI. 
 
 The sixth is, to embrace a manner of life somewhat 
 austere, not giving to your flesh all it may desire, 
 either in eating, drinking, sleeping, clothing, or any- 
 thing else that flatters it. It is your greatest enemy ; 
 it is a spring of passions and irregular desires, which 
 dries not; and the more it is checked and weakened, 
 the more feeble and languishing will the passions lv3 
 which it produces. A hungry and barren land yields 
 only low and dry plants, affording but little juice ; 
 and, on the contrary, that which is fat and fruitful 
 brings forth strong and vigorous trees, especially if, 
 besides its natural fertility, care is taken to water it. 
 The same difference is between the passions in bodies, 
 
316 THE MEMORIAL OF 
 
 which ease and good cheer keep full and lusty, and 
 in those that are weakened and brought low by fast- 
 ing and other mortifications. Go, then, to the cause 
 of your disorders, if you will take away the effects. 
 I have already told you, that virtue has no enemy 
 more obstinate and dangerous than this our sinful 
 flesh ; it is she that, with the violence of her desires, 
 opposes all our good designs ; it is she that, through 
 the passion she has to be always tenderly treated, 
 disturbs all our holy exercises. Prayer, reading, 
 silence, fasting, and watching, are to her intolerable 
 constraints : look on her then, as the most powerful 
 obstacle of your salvation, and set yourself to resist 
 her; for if, through a cowardly complaisance, you 
 once, accustom her to become your mistress, you must 
 no longer speak of the practice of virtue, or exercises 
 of piety ; but if, on the contrary^ you courageously 
 and continually oppose the first assaults she shall 
 make upon you, and omit not, for some time, to fight 
 against her vicious inclinations, after you shall have 
 gained this advantage, and by exercise contracted a 
 constant habit of mastering her, and contemning her 
 efforts, all will be easy to you; for virtue has of it- 
 self nothing that is difficult, it being only the cor- 
 ruption of our flesh which makes her appear harsh. 
 The most effectual remedy, and true assault against 
 her corruption, is abstinence, which purifies her, 
 dries her, and makes her obedient to the spirit. For, 
 according to the opinion of a celebrated doctor, " Ab- 
 Bt\;jviJ<?e humbles the flesh, exalts the spirit, and taire.M 
 
A CHBISTIAN LIFE. 317 
 
 the passions ; it satisfies for sins, and, which is both 
 more admirable and more profitable, by destroying 
 covetousness, cuts off the root of all evils, since those 
 that are contented with little have no cause to desire 
 superfluities." This virtue of abstinence will not 
 only deliver you from all other evils, but also from 
 all the vexations of spirit, from all the cares and 
 anxieties with which thev are turmoiled, who will 
 not have anything wanting to the splendor of their 
 expenses and the delights of their bodies; and thus 
 you will continue free and at liberty to give your- 
 selves wholly to God. It was for this reason those 
 ancient fathers of Egypt exercised on themselves 
 such severe mortifications: this was also the motive 
 to that extreme poverty, of which St. Francis and 
 his followers made so particular a profession; for, 
 in effect, the austerity of the one, and the poverty 
 and barrenness of the other, tend both to the same 
 end. 
 
 If then, brethren, you desire to be true followers 
 of our Lord, give no intermission to your tears, till 
 you are arrived at that point of virtue to treat your 
 body as an enemy, as a tyrant, as a treacherous slave ; 
 let it^ as the common proverb is, be ill fed and well 
 beaten, or, at least, deal with it as you see wise and 
 discreet fathers do with their children ; you see they 
 bring them up in such a manner that they will not 
 indulge them in their humors, nor countenance their 
 follies. Nor do thev therefore love them the less, 
 but in this do violence to their own nature; observ- 
 27* 
 
818 THE MEMORIAL OP 
 
 iug this conduct only because the condition or good 
 of these dear children require it. A true servant of 
 Grod ought in this manner to treat his body, till he 
 has attained his point; let him never believe he haa 
 done any great matter, or made any considerable 
 advancement in the way of virtue. how happy 
 are those who have, in fine^ gotten to it; who have 
 reduced their body to suffer this treatment ; who have 
 thus humbled it and brought it down ; who have de- 
 prived it of sleep and food ; who have forced it to 
 submit to the spirit, and in this manner gloriously 
 conquered nature herself! Those that have obtained 
 this happiness live no longer according to fiesh and 
 blood, but according to the spirit of Jesus Christ; 
 they fight no longer under the standard or laws of 
 corrupt nature, since they have made themselves her 
 masters; and it may in some sort be said of them, 
 that they are no longer mere men, since they are be- 
 come something more than men. And thence you 
 may know the horrible corruption and blindness of 
 this world, which, through a spirit opposite to that 
 of Jesus Christ, and to the perfection which Chris- 
 tianity requires, employs all its cares, and all ita 
 forces, only to content the body and make it live in 
 delights. 
 
 SECTION VII. 
 
 A SEVENTH remedy is, to watch over your tongue. 
 It is, indeed, one of the least parts of your body ; yet 
 by it you fall a thousand times a day ; by it, you suf- 
 
A CIIUISTIAN LIFE. 819 
 
 fei* yourselves every hour to slip into filthy discourses ; 
 by it you utter speeches that are full of wrath, pride, 
 and vanity ; by it you fear not to assert lies ; and by 
 it oaths, curses, detractions, flatteries, and so many 
 other evils, issue forth of your mouth : not without 
 cause, therefore did the wise man say, that "in the 
 multitude of words there shall not want sin ;" (Frov. 
 X. 19.) and that " death and life are in the power of 
 the tongue." Ihid. xviii. 21. Wherefore I can 
 give you no better counsel than to advise you, when- 
 ever you shall have occasion to speak to such persons, 
 or of such matters, as you shall judge may lead to 
 the danger of falling into ill language, lying, boast- 
 ing, or vain glory, that you lift up your eyes on high, 
 and recommending yourself to God with all your 
 heart, say to him, with the prophet, ** Set a watch, 
 Lord, before my mouth, and a door round about my 
 lips." Psalm, cxl. 3. Remember also, when you 
 enter into any discourse, seriously to weigh all your 
 words, and to imitate the vigilance and care of a 
 traveller, who is obliged to pass a brook on the top 
 of certain slippery stones laid across it. But since 
 this matter is important, and requires a long discourse, 
 we shall treat more largely of it hereafter. 
 
 SECTION VIII. 
 
 The eighth is, that you permit not your heart to 
 adhere with too much affection to worldly things; as 
 honors, riches, children, parents, friends and the like. 
 When this love is irregular, it is the most ordinary 
 
820 THE MEMORIAL OP 
 
 source of all the sins, all the cares, all the vexations, 
 all the temptations, all the extravagances, and all the 
 troubles which happen in the world. As one of the 
 fowler's principal arts is to take notice what sort of 
 food is most pleasing to the birds he desires to catch, 
 so it is the principal study of our adversaries to ob- 
 serve carefully the things to which our inclinations 
 carry us with greater vehemence. These they make 
 use of to draw us into their nets, knowing, as a poet 
 says, that every one lets himself be drawn away by 
 the passion that most pleases him. It is true, men 
 are endowed with reason to govern them ; but yet, 
 generally speaking, the greatest part of men, if not 
 all, follow their passions : it is for this reason they are 
 called the feet of the soul, because they carry her 
 whither they will. And St. Augustin, in the same 
 sense, says, that "love is the poison of the soul, 
 making her go whithersoever she draws her." Conf, 
 I. 13. c. 9. If the love looks up to heaven, the soul 
 suddenly aspires thither; and if the love inclines 
 to earthly things, the soul is bowed down to the earth ; 
 in fine, what the weights are to a clock, the affections 
 are to our soul ; it moves as it is moved by them : and 
 as for the keeping a clock in due order, its weights 
 must be so exactly proportioned, that they be neither 
 lighter nor heavier than the space between the hours 
 it is to strike requires. So if you desire that your 
 life should be well managed, endeavor to reduce your 
 affections to their lawful use and order, esteeming 
 things as they truly are, and loving them as much as 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFE. 321 
 
 they are worthy of it. If you can attain to this de- 
 gree, you will be at the highest point to which your 
 virtues can ascend, since it is manifest, that the most 
 part of them are employed only in balancing and 
 moderating our desires according to this sort of pro- 
 portion. 
 
 To enter more securely into this condition, be at- 
 tentive never to let your heart expand itself exces- 
 sively towards visible and transitory things ; if you 
 find it begin to run after them, bring it back imme- 
 diately to its duty, and keep yourselves from loving 
 them more than they deserve ; that is, consider them 
 as perishable and uncertain goods, of little continuance 
 and importance. Withdraw your heart speedily from 
 them, and at the same time lift it up to God, who is 
 your only and sovereign good. If you in this man- 
 ner love temporal things, you will never despair when 
 you want them ; if they are taken from you, you will 
 suffer it patiently ; and this is the only means to avoid 
 abundance of sins, which people daily commit to ob- 
 tain, increase, and keep them. Herein does the 
 point of this important affair consist, for having 
 seriously renounced this love, you will have little 
 more to fear from the snares the enemy lays for you ; 
 as, on the contrary, if you have not yet made this 
 renunciation, know that you have not yet begun to 
 render yourselves followers of Jesus Christ. This is 
 what he himself very profoundly teaches in St. Luke, 
 when, speaking of you under the shadow of a parable 
 he says, " Which of you, having a mind to build a 
 
322 THE MEMORIAL OF 
 
 lower, doth not first sit down and reckon the chargefcf 
 that are necessary, whether he have wherewithal to 
 finish it? lest, after he hath laid the foundation, and 
 is not able to finish it, all that see it begin to mock 
 him, saying, This man began to build, and was not 
 able to finish. Or what king going to make war 
 against another king, doth not first sit down and 
 think whether he be able with ten thousand to meet 
 him that cometh against him with twenty thousand; 
 or else, whilst the other is yet far ofiP, he sendeth 
 ambassadors, and desireth conditions of peace ? So, 
 likewise, every one of you that doth not renounce 
 all that he possesseth, cannot be my disciple." LuTce 
 xiv. 28, &c. This comparison will perhaps ap- 
 pear to you a little obscure^ for it seems at first, that 
 there is not a great resemblance between the heaping 
 up of riches, or levying of armies, and the renounc- 
 ing what one has, since the one tends to gather and 
 the other to disperse. But if you maturely consider 
 it, you will find that there is nothing more suitable. 
 And this heavenly Doctor, from whose mouth it issued, 
 well knew that poverty and the forsaking of all earth- 
 ly things conduce as much towards the getting the 
 better in spiritual combats, as a numerous army does 
 towards the gaining the victory in battle, and a great 
 stock of money to the completing of a building. For 
 as a prince has so much more reason to think his 
 dominions secure, as he has a more powerful army on 
 foot to defend them, so the poorer, and the more in 
 want a man is of this world's goods, the lese does the 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFE* 323 
 
 devil find whereby to assault him. It was for this 
 cause that St. Francis, and so many other saints, 
 would live so poor, to the end, that possessing noth- 
 ing on earth, the world might have nothing to do 
 with them, nor they with the world. But, on the 
 contrary, if the devil sees that you abandon your 
 heart to temporal things, and pursue them with too 
 much vehemence, it is there he lays his nets and his 
 snares, and it is of them he makes himself arms to 
 destroy you. If you love honors, wealth, pleasures, 
 or other things of that nature, he fails not to set be- 
 fore you a thousand means for the obtaining what 
 you desire, for the keeping and increasing it: some 
 of them may be lawful, others unlawful ; and the de- 
 vil, making use of the passion which blinds you, causes 
 you to find nothing ill, or contrary to Grod's laws, in 
 whatsoever may content your desires. Thus you are 
 no longer guided by reason or justice, but by the 
 fury of your passions : this inconvenience is not 
 alone ; see here another more dangerous. There are 
 often many persons that aim at the same mark : now 
 if in the end you design, or in the means you propose 
 for the attaining it, you meet with any one that stays 
 you, or gives you the least hindrance, there imme- 
 diately springs up wrath, envy, hatred, law-suits, in- 
 juries, fighting, and, in fine, all sorts of viole»t mo- 
 tions that may put your minds in vexation and die- 
 order: the first violently stirs up the concupiscible 
 part of your soul, with all the difi^erent affections that 
 accompany it, and the second heats the iracible, with 
 
324 THE MEMORIAL OF 
 
 all the transports and furies which attend it ; and so 
 many storms and tempests as arise in your soul, ex- 
 pose it to a thousand sorts of dangers and shipwrecks. 
 It was this made St. Paul say, " The desire of money 
 is the root of all evils." 1 Tim, vi. 10. Nor is it 
 only that of money which is so, but also every other 
 sort of irregular and excessive desire, there being 
 none which produces not abundance of evils. 
 
 This is signified to us by another parable of the 
 Gospel, which treats of the marriage of the king's 
 son : some excused themselves from coming to it, be- 
 cause they were newly married ; others, because they 
 had a purchase to make ; and others, on divers pre- 
 tences of business or employments ; representing to 
 us, by these examples, the disorderly love of earthly 
 things, which so carries away our heart, as to make 
 it contemn all the delights and all the treasures of 
 heaven : and you thereby see how true Jesus Christ's 
 word is, that he who renounces not the love of the 
 world, cannot be his disciple. Love then all things 
 with moderation. " If riches abound with you," says 
 the prophet, " set not your heart upon them." Psalm 
 Ixi. 11. Put all your hope in God, and expect from 
 him, as from a true Father, assistance in all your 
 affairs. 
 
 Be contented with what he shall have given you, 
 continue peaceably in the state he has placed you in, 
 and desire not to be more than he will have you be. 
 Those that depart from this rule are deceived, and if 
 they leave it to follow their irregular desires, they 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFE. 325 
 
 must know, that they shall very hardly obtain what 
 they seek with so much passion ; that if they find it, 
 it shall not profit them ; and, to complete their happi- 
 ness, they shall fall into many sins, which will make 
 them lose both the benefits of this life and those of 
 oternity. Wherefore Solomon very wisely said — 
 " Lift not up thine eyerf to riches which thou canst 
 not obtain ; for they will make themselves wings, a« 
 cf an eagle; arid fiy to heaven." 
 
 SECTION IX. 
 
 The ninth is, to apply one's-self to the reading of 
 good books, and reject bad ones, the reading of them 
 being very pernicious ; for the. word of God is truly 
 our light, our medicine, our nourishment, and our 
 guide ; it is that which fills our will with good de- 
 sires ; it is that which helps us to recollect ourselves 
 when our heart is most distracted, and awakens de- 
 votion in us when it is most drowsy ; it is by that we 
 avoid idleness, which is the mother of all vices ; and, 
 in fine, as material nourishment is necessary to pre- 
 serve the life of the body, the reading of good books 
 or hearing good instructions, is no less so to main- 
 tain the life of the soul. St. Jerome says, that the 
 true food of the soul is to meditate day and night on 
 the life of our Lord ; and the reason he gives for it is, 
 that by this exercise the understanding is fed with 
 the knowledge of the truth, and the will strengthen- 
 ed by the savor it finds in it, and the love it conceives 
 for it. These two being the principal wheels of the 
 28 
 
S26 THE MEMORIAL OF 
 
 clock, OB which all, in a manner, depends; if they 
 go right, all the rest keep equal time and justness in 
 their motions. This is one of the most important 
 effects wrought by the reading of pious books ; but, 
 besides this there is nothing more useful to show ua 
 our defects, to heal our scruples, and to comfort us in 
 the temptations that come upon us. It is a treasure 
 of wise counsels for our conduct, it discovers to us 
 the sublime mysteries, and, in fine, encourages us to 
 do well, by the examples of virtue it sets before us, 
 and by the abundance of fruits which proceed from 
 it. It is for this cause Solomon so much recommends 
 it to us in his Proverbs, when he says, "My son, 
 keep the commandments of thy father, and forsake 
 not the law of thy mother. Bind them in thy heart 
 continually, and put them about thy neck. When 
 thou walkest, let them go with thee ; when thou sleep- 
 est, let them keep thee ; and when thou awakest, talk 
 with them : because the commandment is a lamp, and 
 the law a light, and reproofs of instruction are the 
 way of life." Prov, vi, 20, &c. 
 
 But that you may benefit by your reading, you 
 must read well ; enter not hastily and without respect 
 into this exercise, which ought to be holy ; banish 
 from it all curiosity ; read with humility, and with a 
 purpose to become better. Reading, used in this 
 manner, has much resemblance with meditation : 
 meditation, indeed, stays a little longer on things, 
 ruminating and digesting them more at leisure ; but, 
 in eflfect, good reading does almost the same thing, 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFE. 827 
 
 and if you read with the same preparation as you 
 ought, you will not draw much less profit from the 
 one than from the other ; for the light which the un« 
 derstanding receives by itj descends immediately into 
 the will and all the other powers of the soul, as the 
 motion and virtue of the first heaven is communicated 
 to all the celestial orbs. Love then the reading of 
 pious books, but prefer prayer before reading ; read 
 not many things at a time, for fear of tiring your 
 spirit instead of refreshing it. Receive the word of 
 God with a holy and spiritual hunger, even though 
 it be rudely and grossly pronounced ; and if it afibcl 
 you not, humble yourselves^ accuse rather your own 
 palate, which is too nice, than the rudeness of him 
 who speaks ; and be persuaded that it is through your 
 own fault that you are not found worthy to understand 
 it, and receive it with pleasure. 
 
 SECTION X. 
 
 The tenth is, never to lose God's presence ; that 
 is, to behold him always present before your eyes, as 
 the witness of your actions, the judge of your life, 
 and your strength in your weakness ; and to desire 
 of him often, by fervent aspirations, in consideration 
 of these divine qualities, the assistance of his grace, 
 to the end you may never take too much liberty in 
 anything. In this manner did a holy king walk be- 
 fore God, as he teaches us by these words: "Mine 
 eyes are always fixed upon our Lord, bec«iuse he will 
 deliver my feet out of the snare ;" {Psalm xxv 15.) 
 
328 THE MEMORIAL OF 
 
 and in another place, "I set my Lord always in my 
 sight ; for he is at my right hand, that I be not 
 moved." Ihid. xv. 8. It is true, that this contin 
 ual attention ought not to regard God only ; it is fit 
 that you employ a part of it on yourselves and on the 
 conduct of your life. In this manner ought you to 
 make good use* of your two eyes ; the one to be often 
 turned towards Grod, to give him the reverence you 
 owe him, and beg of him his grace ; and the other to 
 consider your own actions, to the end you may never 
 swerve from your obedience to his law. Remember, 
 and be assured, that of all the exercises of devotion, 
 this attention and vigilance towards God and your- 
 selves, is one of the most certain to keep you to your 
 duty, and make you pass this life like Christians. 
 
 I know that this is to require much of you, and 
 that it is not easy to be always in this actual atten- 
 tion ; but I am obliged to tell you, that you ought 
 earnestly to desire it of God, and endeavor with all 
 your might to procure it on certain occasions ; as when 
 you begin any dangerous affair ; or such wherein you 
 may be in hazard of offending ; as when you leave 
 retirement and silence to go and discourse about busi- 
 ness with persons whom you know to be of a difficult 
 temper ; when you go to take your food ; and espe- 
 cially when you resort to the choir to sing praises to 
 God, or to the altar, to offer up there the holy sacri- 
 fice. It is of exceeding great importance to prepare 
 yourselves well on these occasions, and to foresee 
 with care the dangers you may fall into, if you behave 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFE. 329' 
 
 yourselves negligently in them. Imitate the atten- 
 tion of a traveller, who meets with a difficult passage- 
 in his way ; he has then his eyes more open than be- 
 fore, he observes all his paces and all his steps. Do' 
 you the like, and be watchful, attentive, and strength- 
 ened with a more powerful and more liYely prayer on: 
 these occasions. Experience shows us that yow 
 should be more sober at table, and more moderate at 
 your meals if, you are beforehand prepared against 
 the allurements of intemperance, than if you had not 
 used this precaution. It is the same with all the 
 other vices, and by following this counsel you will 
 avoid abundance of sins. Ecclesiasticus teaches us^ 
 this wise lesson when he says, " Before sickness take 
 a medicine ;" (^Eccles. xviii. 20.) that is, foresee the- 
 danger, and remedy it before it befalls thee. 
 
 SECTION XI. 
 
 The eleventh remedy is, to fly idleness, which is 
 the mother of all vices. And this is so true, that of 
 four unhappy causes, related by the prophet Ezekiel,. 
 through which Sodom fell into the greatest and most 
 horrible of all crimes, he alleges this as one of the' 
 principal. It was also a maxim with the ancient fath- 
 ers of the desert, that a religious man employed, ha* 
 but one only temptation to fear; but that he who is 
 idle has reason to apprehend very many, because the 
 devil endeavors to make them all enter into him< 
 through the gate of idleness. There are then two 
 things found in this vice, which ought to render il 
 28* 
 
380 THE MEMORIAL OF 
 
 infinitely odious to all good people ; the one, that i 
 opens the door to all sorts of evils ; and the other, 
 that it shuts it to all manner of goodness. For since 
 neither learning, riches, honor, virtue, nor any other 
 good thing can be obtained without labor, a man that 
 ehuns pains throws away, as I may say, the instru- 
 ment with which he may make himself master of all 
 these good things. Who will not then abhor a fault 
 which draws after it such dangerous consequences? 
 What greater unhappiness can befall a town, than 
 to have two gates, of which the one is for the bring- 
 ing in all good things, and the other serves as a pas- 
 sage for all evil things, and to have the first always 
 shut, and the second always open? I see nothing 
 i;hat more lively represents the state of the damned 
 in hell. In the meantime, the soul of a sluggard, 
 who is busied about nothing, is in this condition ; it 
 remains miserably exposed to all evil, and totally de- 
 prived of all good, since good comes only by labor, 
 and a slothful man flies nothing so much as labor. 
 
 Wherefore, brethren, in such manner regulate 
 your lives, and so well dispose of your time during 
 the day, that there may be no moment unemployed. 
 Let poor people, and such as are to earn their bread 
 by labor, apply themselves to their trades, and the 
 work of their bands ; but as for those whom God has 
 not caused to be born in that condition, I know 
 nothing that can be better and more beneficial to 
 them, than to employ in the reading of good books 
 the time they shaU have left after they have given 
 
▲ CHRISTIAN LIFE. 331 
 
 what Wcos necessary to prayer, and the government 
 of their household. Cassian, speaking of the ancient 
 monks, says, that those fathers held the avoiding of 
 idleness to be so important to the persevering in 
 virtue and religious observances, that if any amongst 
 them was so far separated from all worldly commerce 
 that he could not carry his work to be sold, they 
 obliged him notwithstanding, to labor ; but at the 
 year's end he set his work on fire to rid his cell, and 
 began again anew. Lib. x. c. 24. He adds, that this 
 labor no way hindered their prayer, because at the 
 same time that their hands were exercised in action, 
 their hearts discoursed with God by prayer. 
 
 SECTION XII. 
 
 We put in the twelfth place solitude, which is the 
 surest guardian of innocence. Nothing so powerful- 
 ly preserves it; and it is this which all at once cuts 
 off the occasion of all sins^ since it banishes from 
 our eyes and our senses all the objects which may 
 give them birth. This remedy is so certain, that 
 heaven sent no other to the blessed Arsenius, when 
 he heard that voice which said to him, " Arsenius, 
 fly, keep silence, and be quiet " If you will then 
 become true servants of God, endeavor to retire into 
 yourselves ; do all that possibly you can to free your- 
 selves from all visits, compliments, and worldly con- 
 versations. For what can you hear in companies, 
 but detractions, lies, or flatteries? Or, if they are 
 exempt from these things that are sins, which rarely 
 
332 THE MEMORIAL OF 
 
 happens, they are not from abundance of others, let^ 
 criminal indeed, yet such as will render your souls 
 void of devotion, and so fill them with the images 
 and remembrance of what you shall have seen and 
 heard, which will never fail to present itself before 
 you at the time of prayer, and hinder it from being 
 so free and pure as it ought to be. But if you are 
 looked on as uncourteous, and if worldly men take it 
 ill that you pay them not these civilities, trouble not 
 yourselves about it, for it is far less inconvenient 
 that men should complain of you, than that you 
 should displease God. Cast your eyes on the mar- 
 tyrs, and so many other saints who have done so 
 great, and sufiered so terrible things to obtain heaven. 
 You labor for the glory they enjoy, and little pains 
 or privations will seem light to you, if you compare 
 them with a high recompense. After all, I invite 
 you to a labor which is but small, and should you 
 keep any other conduct, the greatness of the evils 
 you would receive by it is so formidable, that I can- 
 not sufficiently express it ; for the corruption of the 
 world is at this day so great, and the discourses of 
 men so pernicious, that you can scarce frequent them 
 without extreme danger. 
 
 SECTION XIII. 
 
 In fine, for the last and most infallible of all 
 r'^Muedies, you must absolutely break with the world ; 
 for it is impossible to be jointly the friend of God 
 and of the world, to please God and the world to- 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFE. 33S 
 
 gether; the ways, the intention, the works of the 
 one, are wholly opposite to those of the other : " For 
 the bed is straitened, so that one must fall out, and 
 a short covering cannot cover both," {Isai. xxviii. 
 20.) that is, God and the world. 
 
 A servant of God must then resolve with himself 
 to renounce the world, and separate himself from it 
 for ever, without troubling himself about what may 
 be said to him. Provided you have not actually given 
 any cause of scandal, laugh at the world with all its 
 vaiu discourses and reproaches; all the noise it can 
 make is but wind ; its terrors, and all the occasions 
 it can take to make you fear, are but bugbears to 
 scare little children, who are afraid of every shadow. 
 And to conclude, whoever shall regard the talk of 
 the world, and concern himself about it, can never 
 be God's true servant. This is what the great apostle 
 said: "If I yet pleased men, I should not be the 
 servant of Christ." Gal. i. 10. For every one is 
 servant to him whom he desires to please, and whoso 
 will he obeys. 
 
 SECTION XIV. 
 
 Besides these counsels and general remedies I had 
 to give you for strengthening you against the tempta- 
 tions and assaults of sin, there are yet three others, 
 which are the most eflGLcacious of all ; to wit, the use 
 of the sacraments, prayer, and alms. The apostle 
 teaches us, that among all the means to prevent our 
 falling into sin, there is none so powerful as grace. 
 
334; THE MEMORIAL OF 
 
 and it is by these three sorts of good works that you 
 may more easily obtain grace, though it be in dif- 
 ferent manners ; for the sacraments ordinarily give 
 grace, prayer begets it, and alms merit it. Othei 
 good works may also render you worthy of it, but 
 the merit is particularly attributed to alms, because 
 this great favor, to be found worthy of mercy in the 
 sight of God, is a recompense which answers the 
 charity you show to your neighbor. And thus alms 
 not only serve to satisfy for past sins, but also to keep 
 us from committing new ones, according to that sen- 
 tence of Ecclesiasticus, " Alms shall obtain help for 
 thee against all evil. Better than the shield of the 
 mighty, and better than the spear ; it shall fight for 
 thee against thy enemy." Eccles. xxix. 15, 16, 17. 
 As for the sacraments, who is ignorant that God 
 has instituted them as heavenly medicines against 
 sins ? that he left them in his church to serve as a 
 remedy against the sluggishness of the faithful ; to 
 kindle charity, and stir up devotion in their hearts; 
 to relieve their miseries, and be, as it were, treasures 
 of grace. I should have much to say on this sub- 
 ject, if I would extend my discourse on every one 
 of these three things in particular; but because I 
 have already treated of the sacraments of penance 
 and of the holy eucharist, in the second and third 
 book of this Mcniorial, and shall speak of prayer in 
 the fifth ; having also said somewhat of alms, when 
 I explained to you the three parts of satisfaction, of 
 which alms is one ; I shall insist no longer on them, 
 
A CHRTSTIAN LIFK. 
 
 336 
 
 leavrng you to the perusal of those places to which 
 I refer you. But remember, that the most impor- 
 tant of all things for the furthering of you in this 
 way, and what you ought most incessantly to beg of 
 Grod in your prayers, is, that he will rather abandon 
 you to all other miseries, and do with you whatso- 
 ever in the rigor of his justice he wills, than permit 
 you to fall into one mortal sin. To strengthen you 
 in this resolution, beg earnestly of him three sorts 
 of love, and three sorts of hatred : the love of him- 
 self, the love of sufferings, and the love of virtue ; 
 the hatred of sin, the hatred of your own will, and 
 the hatred of your own flesh ; these two last being 
 the most usual causes of sin when they are inordi- 
 nately loved. Let this holy hatred continually op- 
 pugn and destroy this wicked and inordinate love, 
 and let your actions, the contempt and severe treat- 
 ing of yourselves, always accompany your prayers; 
 for in this consist the knot of so important an affair. 
 But we shall handle this matter more at large in the 
 end of this book. 
 
 SECTION XV. 
 
 In these seventeen general remedies against sin 
 does the greatest part of the Christian philosophy 
 consist. It teaches also many particulars against 
 every one of the vices taken separately; but the 
 brevity I have prescribed to myself in this treatise 
 suffers me not to treat of them. But, to conclude, 
 and finish a last advice, with which it will be easy 
 
336 THE MEMORIAL OF 
 
 for you to keep all the rest, have always four things 
 before your eyes, and endeavor with great care to 
 observe them ; chastise your body, watch over your 
 tongue, mortify your desires, and do all you can never 
 to lose the presence of Grod. Thus shall you keep 
 in order the four principal parts of which your body 
 is composed, the flesh, the tongue, the understanding, 
 and the will. These being regulated, the rest of 
 your interior will remain calm, and then you will not 
 easily fall into such offences as may put you out of 
 God's favor, which is the principal end I have pro- 
 posed myself in this treatise. 
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 Of the Temptations that most ordinarily hefall tlwse 
 who begin to serve God, principally in Monasteries, 
 
 We are advised in Ecclesiasticus to have the me- 
 dicine ready before the disease attacks us: and the 
 principal design in true philosophy has ever been, to 
 discover unto men the dangers to which they are ex- 
 posed in the course of this life, and to give them 
 directions for avoiding them. According to this rule 
 I thought it would not be inconvenient, before I fin- 
 ish this matter, to observe to you in a few words 
 Rome sorts of temptations, to which they who begin 
 to serve God are subject. It is not a small matter 
 U\ know that they are but temptations, for to koow 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFE. 337 
 
 them well is in a manner to have conquered them. 
 When the skilful fowler lays a snare for the catching 
 any prey, he so disposes it that the poor bird may 
 rather take it for some pleasing food, than for a snare ; 
 so, when the devil will tempt any one, he uses all 
 his endeavors to persuade him that it is not a tempta- 
 tion, but some reasonable motion ; and, therefore, it 
 was that I said to you, it is no small advantage to- 
 wards the vanquishing a temptation, to know that it 
 is a temptation. In the meantime, brethren, who- 
 ever you are, if you pretend to enter into this new 
 warfare, prepare for the fight. Suppose at first, that 
 fou shall find in it many difficulties, and that the 
 temptations of the enemy will not be wanting. The 
 wise man gives you warning of it in Ecclesiasticus, 
 nor is it without cause that he says, " My son, when 
 thou shalt come to serve the Lord, live in fear, and 
 prepare thy soul for trial." 
 
 The first of these temptations, and that which first 
 perplexes the minds of beginners, is ordinarily against 
 the faith. The most part of men are so strangely 
 asleep in matters of faith, that they scarce behold 
 any of them but like things appearing in a dream ; 
 80 that at the moment of their awaking out of this 
 deep sleep, when they open their eyes, and discover 
 such admirable mysteries, they are like strangers 
 new come ashore in an unknown country ; they scarce 
 believe what they see, and their little knowledge and 
 light make them hesitate on everything that is pro- 
 posed to them. They may also be compared to a 
 
S38 THE MEMORIAL OF 
 
 new apprentice, who, entering into the shop of • 
 master, that is full of works, finds it filled with all 
 the instruments of his trade ; he looks on them one 
 ifter another with amazement ; he asks what use they 
 Ere for ; but when he takes them into his hand, and 
 learns how they are to be managed, then these doubts 
 vanish, and he finds nothing more commodious or 
 better invented, than that which troubled him and 
 seemed strange to him in the beginning. 
 
 The second temptation is that which is termed 
 blasphemy. This represents to the imagination filthy 
 and abominable objects when a man endeavors to 
 enter into the meditation of heavenly things. This 
 most disturbs such persons as have but newly quitted 
 a worldly life, for their minds being yet filled with 
 the images of what is most ordinarily seen in the 
 worlds it is difiicult so soon to get that away, which 
 time has deeply rooted in them. Thus representa- 
 tions altogether carnal and impure, are mixed with 
 the spiritual ones they would behold, and this mix- 
 ture gives them an extreme torment. The best way to 
 get rid of them is to slight them, since they are in 
 effect rather shadows, raised by the enemy to frigh- 
 ten, than real dangers. 
 
 The third temptation proceeds from scruples ; and 
 this caused only by the ignorance of spiritual things, 
 which is usually found in novices. In this obscurity 
 they go like those who walk in the night, fearing to 
 fall at every step ; and this particularly befalls them, 
 because they know not the difierence between a shn- 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFE. 3S9 
 
 pie thought and a consent. Thus they believe they 
 consent to every thing that comes into their mind. 
 
 The fourth temptation is. to be easily scandalized 
 at seeing in another anything contrary to what they 
 have proposed for themselves ; for, beginning to open 
 <heir eyes, and to know how happy a thing it is to 
 serve God, they wonder any one should take another 
 course, and cannot behold this disorder without in- 
 dignation. These persons, brethren, do not yet un- 
 derstand the greatness of human frailty. They know 
 not the depths of God's judgments, and are yet verv 
 fer from the sentiments of St. Gregory, who teaches 
 us, that true holiness is full of compassion, and that 
 which is false or imperfect, easily falls into murmur- 
 ing. 
 
 There is a fifth temptation, when men take offence 
 at the laws and order established to regulate the state 
 of which they make profession, and will set themselves 
 up for judges and censurers, to decide whether what 
 their rule has ordained, is good or bad. This is a 
 very great rashness, into which none ordinarily fall 
 but proud and presumptuous spirits, who trust more 
 to their wit than to the wisdom of their superiors ; 
 and this temptation has an affinity with that of the 
 old serpent, who questioned our first parents, saying, 
 " Why hath God commanded you, that you should 
 not eat of every tree of Paradise?" Gen. iii. 1. 
 The wise man, on the contrary, exhorts us to hear the 
 parables ; (Prov. i. 6.) that is, the doctrine of the 
 ancients, and the high sense they conceal in their ob- 
 
310 THE MEMORIAL OF 
 
 Bcurity : they are not without mystery, though wt at 
 first perceive it not. A child who begins to read, 
 believes what is told him without informing himself 
 of anything ; but, in fine, he understands things by 
 time and exercise. If you desire to profit, sufifer 
 yourselves to be guided by the counsel of another, 
 and utterly renounce your own opinion. Act rather 
 by the way of faith and obedience, than by the way 
 of reason, and say with the prophet, " I am become 
 as a beast before thee." Psalm Ixxii. 23. If you 
 live not in this manner, you will not continue long in 
 religion, nor will you ever possess peace in your heart. 
 
 There is another sort of temptation ; which is, to 
 be over eager in desiring spiritual comforts, to be ex- 
 cessively afflicted when they are wanting, to think 
 yourselves something when God grants you these 
 favors, and to believe yourselves so much the more 
 perfect, the more consolations you receive. Under- 
 stand, then, that these comforts and these favors are 
 not always the most certain measure of perfection ; 
 but that first charity, and then the mortification of 
 the passions, and the progress in solid virtues, are 
 the marks and fruits of the true love of God. There 
 are some also who are so mistaken, as to seek sensual 
 comforts when they want spiritual ones, and this is 
 A greater inconvenience than the first. 
 
 There is another temptation also befalls these per- 
 sons of whom we speak ; if God visits them by his 
 grace, and shows them an extraordinary favor, they 
 cannot keep it secret ; they publish what they ought 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFE. 841 
 
 to conceal ; they will become preachers and director* 
 of others before their time, and make themselves 
 masters, being yet but scholars. They fall into this 
 fault, thinking to do well, and under an appearance of 
 virtue ; but they ought to know, that the fruits of a 
 tree are worth nothing if they are not produced in 
 their season, and that the duty of a beginner is to 
 put his fingejr on his mouth, and keep his soul. 
 
 Another temptation which molests them, and ia 
 very common^ is the desire to change place. They 
 imagine they shall be more quiet, more retired, more 
 devout in certain places, and shall profit more in 
 them ; but they perceive not that by changing of 
 place, the air is indeed changed, but not the heart ; 
 and that, whithersoever we go, we always carry our- 
 selves with us; that is, we always carry along with 
 us a heart corrupted by sin, which is an undrainable 
 source of miseries and troubles, and whose sickness 
 is not cured by the change of abode, but by mixing 
 the severity of mortification with the odor of piety. 
 This indeed truly changes the heart, and as long as 
 this odor preserves its sweetness, the soul perceives 
 not the stench which proceeds from the infection of 
 our flesh. Wherefore the best way of flying from 
 ourselves is by approaching to God, and communi- 
 cating with him ; for if we abide in him by a fervent 
 devotion, and true sentiments of love, we are also out 
 of ourselves, and remain separated from ourselves. 
 
 There is yet another temptation, when in a new 
 gust, and through the new fervors they feel, thej 
 29* 
 
342 THE MEMORIAL OF 
 
 give themselves with excess, and without discretion, 
 to extraordinary watchings, prayers, solitude, and ab- 
 stinences; not considering that they thereby spoil 
 their sight, weaken their head, destroy their stomach, 
 and often render themselves unfit for all spiritual ex- 
 ercises during the remainder of their lives. I know 
 these things by experience, and the least evil which 
 can happen by them, is to fall through these ill-un- 
 dertaken austerities into some dangerous sickness. 
 For it sometimes so falls out, either through the good 
 treatment made to the sick, or for want of continuing 
 the good exercises, which must of necessity be in- 
 terrupted in this condition, that temptations in such 
 sort increase, as to overthrow all virtue, which is no 
 longer sustained by grace, nor by the strength of 
 devotion : some being once accustomed to conveni- 
 ences and ease, imagine they can be no more with- 
 out them ; and others, as St. Bonaventure says, come 
 thereby passionately to love their own flesh, and to 
 live not only in delicacy, but also in licentiousness ; 
 they make a color of their infirmities, and pretend 
 thereby to have a right of giving a free career to 
 their senses and pleasures. 
 
 There are also some, who, through overmuch pre- 
 caution, fall into another extremity : they are so fear- 
 ful of being sick, that they dare attempt nothing 
 which may give them the least trouble. They say, 
 it is sufficient for their salvation not to offend God 
 mortally, without subjecting themselves to the rigors, 
 or other practices of devotion and penarce, which 
 
A OHRISTIAN LIFE. 343 
 
 Are observed by all those who have embraced the 
 fitrait and narrow way. This is a dangerous tempta- 
 tion, and of these sluggards does St. Bernard speak, 
 when he says, " A beginner, who being as yet sensual, 
 pretends to discretion, and being but a novice, thinks 
 himself much advanced, and being but newly entered 
 into the spiritual life, meddles in giving counsels, 
 runs the hazard of continuing no long time in re- 
 ligion." 
 
 In fine, the last and most common of all tempta- 
 tions is, to leave the good way they have taken, and 
 return into the world. The devil uses a thousand 
 sorts of artifices to engage those in it afresh who 
 have separated themselves from it. Sometimes, to 
 flatter their incontinence, he represents to them mar- 
 riage as an assured haven, and the sweetest and easi- 
 est of all sorts of life, though it is in truth most fre- 
 quently nothing but a sea, always agitated with tem- 
 pests ; and to confirm them by great examples, he sets 
 before them the ancient patriarchs, who were at the 
 same time saints and married; sometimes he per- 
 suades them they shall meet with a woman entirely 
 conformable to their humor and intention, and that 
 80 they shall bring up their children in the fear of 
 God ; and that increasing their estates by some rich 
 alliance, they may therewith relieve the poor, which 
 religious persons not being able to do, they thereby 
 lose an excellent means of securing to themselvea 
 the kingdom of heaven at the day of judgment. 
 Sometimes he deceives them under the pretence of » 
 
S44 THE MEMORIAL OF 
 
 higher perfection ; he suggests to them the desire of 
 a stricter order, as is that of the Carthusians ; and 
 they see not that he only lays this bait to get them 
 out of the enclosure of their monastery, and to ex- 
 ercise on them his power with more liberty after they 
 shall have broken through this restraint, and return- 
 ed into the world. Sometimes he excites in theii 
 hearts a vehement love of solitude, making them de- 
 sirous to imitate the retired lives of the ancient her- 
 mits ; but this irregular desire which he insinuates 
 to them, is only to destroy them by this desert and 
 solitary way, after they are separated from the com- 
 pany of their spiritual fathers, and deprived of the 
 assistance and light of their counsels. 
 
 For amongst all these sorts of temptations the 
 most dangerous are those which allure us under the 
 image of piety. Things that are openly evil carry a 
 deformity with them which makes them known, and 
 gives a horror of them at the very first; those on 
 the contrary, which have some appearance of good, 
 or some false character of virtue, are much more to 
 be feared. Wherefore the devil more frequently 
 makes use of them against God's servants; and know- 
 ing that they are resolved to do good and eschew 
 evdl, he employs all his malice and all his power to 
 make them swallow this poison, that is, sin, mixed 
 with the sweetness of a false zeal, or an indiscieet 
 devotion. The enemies of Daniel having in vain at- 
 tempted all sorts of means to bring him into dis- 
 fiivor with the king of Persia, for committing some 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFE. 346 
 
 fault against the laws of his empire, and not being 
 able to render him guilty on that side, toot occasion 
 from the observation of God's law to ruin him ; which 
 succeeded not with them, because God protected his 
 servant. Dan. vi. The devil ordinarily tempts well- 
 inclined persons in the same manner, and this way 
 does he lay his snares for them ; and for this reason 
 ought they to walk with very great discretion and 
 circumspection, even in the love of things which ap- 
 pear good and virtuous ; for though it is not a sin to 
 have an affection for good things, there will perhaps 
 be one in the over-vehement manner of our desiring 
 them. All heat that is violent ought to be suspect- 
 ^ by you; and excess is always dangerous in all 
 things. 
 
 These are the most ordinary temptations of. such 
 as begin to serve God. I set down some which can 
 befall none but religious persons ; others are common 
 to tiiem with those that live in the world ; but they 
 have all remedies fit both for the one and for the 
 other. The principal are humility, submission, pray- 
 er, confession, and particularly the choice of a con- 
 fessor, who has prudence joined with piety ; for to 
 him, as to a good pilot, does it belong to guide this 
 vessel with judgment amidst the raging sea of this 
 world, where the devils every moment raise such 
 horrible tempests. But the most certain remedy of 
 all, dear brethren, is to put your confidence in God, 
 and invoke his assistance. It is he who knows our 
 weakness, and supports us by his grace ; it is he who, 
 
S46 THE MEMORIAL OF 
 
 at our coming forth of Egypt, draws us off from the 
 land of the Philistines, that we may escape their as- 
 saults, and not be forced to undergo a cruel war, 
 together with tb^ fatigues of a long journey; and it 
 is he, in fine, who, as the apostle speaks, " will not 
 suffer you to be tempted above that which you are 
 able;" (1 Gov. x. 13.) but will increase his graces, 
 when he shall see us in the greatest dangers. And 
 10 conclude this point, the true remedies against 
 temptations are the same that we have before declared 
 to you against sin, for there can be no better arms 
 against what inclines to sin, than those which must 
 be employed against sin itself And this shall suf- 
 fice for the first rule or instruction to those who begin 
 to serve God. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 The Second Rule of a Christian Life, which is the 
 Imitation of Jesus Christ, for Persons more advan^ 
 ^ed in Virtue. 
 
 Since there are some persons who, not content 
 with doing all they believe necessary for their salva- 
 tion, desire to pass further, and perfect themselves 
 in piety by the practice of the sublimest virtues, it 
 is fit they should be assisted : the doctrine I am now 
 going to teach them will be of use towards the ao- 
 eomplishing them in so noble a design. 
 
 And because all things have an end, to which liey 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFE. 847 
 
 ought to be directed ; having in the former rule set 
 down one end, which was the hatred and avoiding of 
 mortal sin, we shall in this propose a more excellent 
 one, which shall be the imitation of Jesus Christ, to 
 which every Christian ought to direct his whole life. 
 I shall be obliged to repeat to you here some things 
 I have touched on in the foregoing chapters ; but fear 
 not, therefore, you will lose your time in perusing 
 them, for I declared them to you at first, as means 
 serving to avoid sin, which was then my principal 
 aim ; but here I shall represent them to you for other 
 ends ; wherefore I will treat of them in a particular 
 manner. 
 
 SECTION I. 
 
 I SHALL then set before you, as the first of the pre- 
 cepts I am to give you, and as the end of the doctrine 
 I desire to engrave in your hearts these words of our 
 Saviour ; " I have given you an example, that as I 
 have done to you, so you do also." John xiii. 15. 
 For as a good writing-master, desiring to render his 
 scholars accomplished in his art, sets before them 
 copies of the fairest and finest cut letter that can be 
 found, to the end they may frame their hand to some- 
 thing like it ; so T, who mean to give you the form 
 of a holy and Christian life, have thought it necessary 
 to go at first to the original, and represent to you 
 Jesus Christ himself, since he was the Master of Vir- 
 tues; and that all the things he said and did, during 
 his life on Earth, were examples as well as remedies 
 
o48 THE MEMORIAL Of 
 
 for US. Every one knows, that effects are so muck 
 the more perfect, as they approach nearer to the per- 
 fection of their causes, and do more resemble them. 
 As the perfection of a scholar consists in imitating 
 his master, so all the perfection of the creature is to 
 imitate its Creator, and render itself as like to him as 
 it possibly can. Though this cannot be attained, it 
 must be aspired after; and it is not without cause 
 that our Lord, in so many places of holy scripture, 
 invites us to so excellent an imitation : "Be holy," 
 Bays he, in one place, " because I am holy ;" (^Levit, 
 xi. 44.) and in another, " Be you merciful,, as your 
 Father is merciful;" (^Luke vi. 36.) and elsewhere, 
 ** Be ye therefore perfect, as your heavenly Father is 
 perfect." Matt. v. 48. 
 
 Since, then, all the perfection of a creature consists 
 in imitating its Creator ; since to imitate a thing, it 
 must first be seen ; and since none can see God, du- 
 ring this life, in his nature and glory ; the Son of God 
 was so exceedingly gracious, that he vouchsafed to 
 clothe himself with our flesh, to the end, that being 
 made like other men, w-e might see Him whom we 
 ought to imitate. He took the form of a servant, 
 that we might see in what manner he conversed with 
 men on earth, what were his words, to what works he 
 applied himself, how he behaved himself in the good 
 or evil success of such things as befell him, in solitude 
 or in company, with his friends and with his enemies, 
 with the great and with the small; and, in fine, that 
 we might see the excellency of his virtues, his chari- 
 
A CHBI8TIAN LIFE. 349 
 
 iy, his humility, his patience, his obedience, his meek- 
 ness, his fastings, his prayers, his tears, his watchings, 
 his preachings, his labors, his zeal for the salvation 
 of souls, his love for his neighbor, his rigor and se- 
 verity towards himself, his tenderness and condescen- 
 sion to others : this was one of the principal causes 
 which made him come into the world; God was 
 pleased to make himself man, that man might become 
 like God; that he might learn to live as God, not 
 only for having heard of God, but for having seen 
 • him ; not only through the force of God's word, but 
 through the efficacy of his examples. And this is 
 what a great prophet had several ages before declared, 
 when he said, Thy eyes shall see thy teacher, and 
 thy ears shall hear the voice of one admonishing thee 
 behind thy back, saying. This is the way, walk ye 
 in it, and go not aside neither to the right hand nor 
 to the left." Isa, xxx. 20, 21. For by the manifesta- 
 tion of this great mystery, our ears have not only heard 
 the doctrine of God, but our eyes have also seen his 
 person ; that ig, they have seen the Word in flesh, God 
 in man, to the end man might learn of him how he 
 ought to.be the imitator of God, and that man might 
 not despair of being able to imitate God, since he saw 
 that God had made himself man. Thus the greater 
 conformity you shall havo with Jesus Christ in all 
 these virtues, the more perfect you will be. This is 
 what the spirit of God, who resides in the just, ena- 
 bles us to eifect. And, to use the words of a great doc- 
 tor, ** there is no painter who takes so much can) to 
 30 
 
S50 THE MEMORIAL OF 
 
 make a picture perfectly resemble the original, as Al 
 mighty God does to render all his elect like to Jesua 
 Christ crucified ; knowing it to be the greatest perfec- 
 tion and the highest glory that can in this life be ac- 
 quired." 
 
 But you will, perhaps, say to me : How can I imi- 
 tate the Son of God ? I am man, and he is God ; I 
 am an abyss of misery, and he is an abyss of virtue ; 
 how can I raise myself^ to the imitation of so wonder- 
 ful a purity? Your doubt is reasonable; and, in- 
 deed, a mortal and frail man cannot, of himself, attain 
 to so high a resemblance ; but he may approach it by 
 the power of God's spirit, when he is pleased to dwell 
 in him. It is for the producing so admirable an ef- 
 fect, that this spirit was given to men ; it is by th« 
 virtue of this divine spirit that they may lead a divine 
 life ; doing the works not of men, but of God, since 
 they have the spirit of God. It would not be impos- 
 sible for a man to speak like Cicero, if he had the 
 same spirit with Cicero ; nor for another to dispute 
 like Aristotle, if he had the spirit of Aristotle. Thus 
 it is not impossible for a man to imitate the virtues 
 of God, when he has received the spirit of God. It 
 is no very new change to see things participate in th« 
 nature of those with which they are joined. Insipid 
 food, seasoned with salt, will become savory ; preserv- 
 ed with sugar, sweet; and dressed with perfume* 
 and spices, odoriferous : it is in like manner less ex- 
 traordinary for man to become divine, if he partakes 
 «f the divine spirit. Our Lord explained both the 
 
A OHBIBTIAN LIFB. .851 
 
 one and the other in few words, when he said : '' That 
 which is born of the flesh is flesh ; and that which 
 is born of the spirit is spirit." John iii. 6. By which 
 he plainly declared to us, that it was not possible the 
 flesh should, of itself, be anything but flesh; but 
 that it was not also impossible it should become spirit, 
 if it were assisted by the virtue and presence of the 
 divine spirit. 
 
 It is from the influence of this spirit, as from a 
 heavenly seed, that the children of God are born ; 
 and it is not, therefore, to be wondered, if, as child- 
 ren, they resemble their Father, and lead a divine 
 life, since they have received the divine spirit, as one 
 of the dearest among these children teaches us in 
 the following words : " We, having the veil taken oflP 
 from our face, and receiving in our souls, as in a 
 glass, the brightness of God, are transformed into 
 the same image of God, through the operation of his 
 spirit." 2 Cor. iii. 18. Nor are we to be much sur- 
 prised, if they are in their degree styled gods, as 
 David named them, when he said, " I have said that 
 you are gods, and all of you the sons of the Most 
 High ; {Psalm Ixxxi. 6.) .since it is not so much to 
 be made partakers of God's name, as it is to be psur- 
 takers of his spirit and likeness. 
 
 And, indeed, ought any one to be astonished at 
 man's being raised to this dignity, since it is a grace 
 bestowed on us by the Son of God, who came down 
 from heaven to give it to us ? He vouchsafed 30 far 
 to humble himself as to become man, to the end that 
 
862 THE MEMORIAL OF 
 
 man, who was totally corrupted, might become di- 
 vine, not by nature, but by grace. Thus he would, 
 in one respect, be the exemplary cause of all our p^- 
 fection, since he represented to us, in his own most 
 holy life, the image of a perfect life ; and in another, 
 he would be the meritorious cause of it, since it was 
 he who, by the mystery of his incarnation, and the sac- 
 rifice of the cross, obtained for us so sublime a state. 
 Receive, then, and preserve faithfully in your 
 hearts, this first precept for the conduct of your life, 
 and regard it as the end it ought to have. To this 
 does the apostle, St. Peter, invite you, when he says, 
 " Christ also suifered for us, leaving you an example 
 that you should follow his steps. Who did no sin, 
 neither was guile found in his mouth. Who, when 
 he was reviled, did not revile ; when he suffered, he 
 threatened not." 1 Pet. ii. 21, &c. St. John re- 
 quires of you the same thing in these words : He 
 that saith he abideth in him, ought himself also to 
 walk even as he hath walked." 1 Jolin ii. 6. And 
 St. Prosper, explaining this passage, adds : " What is 
 it to live as Jesus Christ lived ? It is to contemn all 
 that is pleasing in the world, a« Jesus Christ con- 
 temneth it : it is to bear the harshest and most rigor- 
 ous usage, which he voluntarily suffered ; it is to 
 teach what he taught ; it is to expect what he pro- 
 mised ; it is to do good even to the most ungrateful ; 
 it is not to render evil for evil to those that speak 
 reproachfully of us ; it is to pray for our enemies ; 
 it is to have compassion on the wicked ; it is to gain 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFE. 353 
 
 the good will of those that are against us ; it is to 
 suffer the* proud with patience ; and, in fine, as the 
 apostle says, it is to die to the flesh, and to live to 
 God alone." 
 
 The imitation of Jesus Christ comprehends all 
 these things, and many others with them ; bu. be- 
 cause this precept is general, it is requisite I now 
 treat of virtues in particular, and explain to you the 
 use and practice of them, according to promise. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Of the Exercise and use of Virtues. 
 
 The first of all the virtues, and which is like the 
 tp 36 of life planted in the midst of Paradise, is chari- 
 ty, which makes us love God above all things, with 
 all our heart, and with all our strength. Matt. xxiL 
 38. This is the first and the greatest of all the com- 
 mandments. Charity is the queen of all virtues, the 
 beginning and end of the whole Christian life; it 
 is the life and soul of all our actions, without which 
 neither faith, hope, the gift of prophecy, martyrdom 
 itself, nor all the other virtues, do any thing avail 
 us. 1 Cor. xiii. For the obtaining this divine vir- 
 tue you principally stand in need of three things : 
 the first is, to keep your souls free from passions, and 
 from all the sins they are wont to produce ; for the 
 divine wisdom, as the holy scripture says, will not en- 
 ter into an evil conscience, nor will she make her 
 30* 
 
*i54 THE MEMORIAL OP 
 
 abode in a heart subject to sin. Wisd. i. 8. Where- 
 fore, all those who design to love Almighty God, 
 continually endeavor to abstain not only from mortal 
 sins, but from venial ones also, as much as possibly 
 they can. For as a looking-glass receives the rays 
 of the sun with so much the more brightness as it is 
 itself more bright and clean, so a soul does so much 
 the more participate in the splendors of divine love 
 as itself is more pure and free from the stains of sin. 
 The second is, to shun vain conversations, to re- 
 collect yourselves as often as you can within your- 
 selves, and seriously to revolve in your minds all 
 such things as may stir up your hearts to love Al- 
 mighty God ; for by this exercise you will know that 
 aU the causes of love we meet with in all creatures 
 are to be found in God alone, and all of them in the 
 highest perfection. The philosophers say, that good 
 iti naturally amiable, and that every one loves his 
 own good. Now, according to these maxims, these 
 two things do (besides many others) principally 
 oblige you sovereignly to love Almighty God ; the 
 excellency of his perfections, and the greatness of 
 his benefits. We shall in another place treat more 
 largely of these two obligations. Add to these two 
 motives, the excessive love he has for you, and that 
 which you owe to him ; since he is your father, your 
 brother, your king, your master, your God, and your 
 last end. He is for this reason called the Bride- 
 groom of your souls, and he for this cause deserves 
 to be loved with an infinite love, forasmuch as the 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFE. 355 
 
 love of the last end is of that nature. The farther 
 you shall enter into the consideration of these things, 
 and the more time you shall employ in them, th€ 
 more amiable will this divine object appear to you. 
 !• cannot therefore, brethren, sufficiently conjure you 
 to meditate on it, if you desire to make any great 
 progress in this love. 
 
 The third, and most expeditious means, is, to beg 
 it earnestly of Almighty God. If you find that your 
 soul, touched with the sweetness of our Lord, sighs 
 after this extreme beauty, instantly beseech his 
 Majesty, that he will grant you this precious treas- 
 ure, which he alone is able to give you. This way 
 is often found the easiest and the shortest, and a fer- 
 vent prayer frequently gains that in a moment, which 
 a long course of considerations cannot obtain. It is 
 good to meditate ; it is better to pray. Ask, there- 
 fore, continually this precious jewel ; beg it earnest- 
 ly, and let the voice of your hearfe cry louder than 
 that of your tongue. Choose in the scripture, or in 
 the writings of the fathers, some words full of ten- 
 derness, to express the fervor of your desires. But 
 we shall speak of this virtue, and all that concerns 
 it, in the treatise of the love of God. Moreover, as- 
 Bure yourselves that not one of these words, nor one 
 of your groans shall be unprofitable. Our Lord is 
 gracious, and his liberality has no limits. In con- 
 sideration of your prayer, if it be humble and sincere, 
 he will grant you either some increase of devotion, 
 W some new light, or some new flame of love; he 
 
356 THE MEMORIAL OF 
 
 will augment his grace in you, he will draTi youf 
 heart more effectually to him ; he will comfort you 
 with greater sweetness, or will strengthen you more 
 in the good cause you have begun. Take heed then 
 not to lose by your negligence so much good, which, 
 you may every moment acquire. 
 
 Above all^ if you desire to make any progress in 
 charity, keep your heart just. In all the works you 
 shall do, purify first your intention; never seek in 
 them your interest, your honor, or your content ; but 
 only the good pleasure and will of God. Be careful 
 in all that you undertake, whether of yourself or by 
 the orders of another, never to do any thing, either 
 because decency requires it, or to satisfy the ceremo- 
 nies of the world^ or because necessity obliges you, 
 or force constrains you to it, or to please the eyes of 
 men, or for any other human interest ; but purely to 
 please God, and content him; as a virtuous wife 
 serves her husband, not for the advantages she may 
 expect from him, but through the sole affection she 
 bears him. Your soul ought to be so chaste and 
 faithful to this point, that, as this wife adorns and 
 dresses herself only to satisfy her husband, and not 
 to please the eyes of others, so you should desire the 
 ornaments of virtues only to render yourselves ac- 
 ceptable in the sight of Almighty God. I speak not 
 this, as if it were blameable to do good works for the 
 obtaining eternal life, and to look on it as a recom- 
 pense ; such an intention being, on the contrary, holy 
 and commendable ; but I only give you to under- • 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFE. 857 
 
 Stand, tiiat your actions will always haye so much tte 
 more perfection and merit, as you shall more separate 
 them from all manner of interest, and more purely 
 design them for the love of God. For, as St. Ber- 
 nard admirably says, " Perfect love is neither made 
 stronger by hope, nor becomes weaker when it ex- 
 pects nothing ; for it acts not on considerations of the 
 benefit it may receive, nor would it ever cease to act, 
 though it should lose all hope of acknowledgment. 
 It is love alone, and not interest, which moves it to 
 .abor." 
 
 But it is not enough, brethren, to have this holy 
 intention in the beginning and end of your actions; 
 you ought actually to preserve it in the very moment 
 you are doing them. You ought in such manner to 
 do them, as to ofi*er them at the same time you do 
 them, and in the very same instant to love God ef- 
 fectively, and by a formed act : when you work, show 
 that you are more in prayer and love of God, than 
 in the work. Thus shall you never be distracted in 
 what you do, and you shall imitate the practice of the 
 saints, who amidst apparent labors and distractions 
 were never separated from God. The garments of 
 the spouse, according to the words of the Canticle, 
 smelt of incense. Cant. iv. 11. This is a figure in 
 which the Holy Ghost would, by garments, signify 
 the virtues souU are clothed with ; and by incense, 
 (which being cast into the fire, sends up an agreeable 
 perfume even into the highest region of the air,) the 
 force of prayer, which being made on earth, ceases 
 
858 THE MEMORIAL Olf 
 
 not to penetrate even the heavens. When a mother, 
 through excess of goodness, washes the feet of her 
 son, or a wife those of her husband, who is returned 
 from a journey, both the one and the other love them 
 and serve them at the same time, and the heart both 
 of the one and the other is filled with joy in doing 
 service to persons whom they so dearly love. This 
 is the disposition your hearts ought to be in when 
 you do anything for the service of your Creator; 
 and thus your garments will send forth before his fac€r 
 an odor of sweetness. 
 
 What you shall thus do will be of great merit ; 
 for the value of our actions depends principally on 
 the purity of the intention with which we do them. 
 In money the bulk is not so much esteemed as the 
 metal ; a little gold is worth more than abundance of 
 copper ; so in good works, the number is not so con- 
 siderable as the devotion and love which accompany 
 them ; as appears by the poor widow's mite, which 
 our Lord more esteemed than the great offerings of 
 several rich men. LiiJce xxi. 3, 4. It sometimes 
 happens, that a good action is done with so good a 
 will, and with so much charity and devotion, that it 
 is greater in the sight of God than many others which 
 are done in the same manner. As one only prayer 
 made with simplicity and fervor is more acceptable 
 to Almighty God than many others that are weak 
 and cold ; so one only action, done with zeal and de- 
 votion, obtains more than many others which '^anl 
 that fire. This is what they ought to observe, who 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFE. 859 
 
 live in a state which obliges them to be always em- 
 ployed in good works : take heed, whoever you are, 
 in what manner you do them ; let not their number 
 puff you up, but look whether you do them as you 
 ought, that is, with great devotion and charity. 
 
 Since this divine virtue has two branches, the love 
 of God and the love of our neighbor, endeavor as 
 well to satisfy this second obligation as the first, and 
 never cease to love your brethren for the love of God 
 Charity not only requires us to love God, but will 
 also have us love what belongs to him. Now amongst 
 the things that are his, nothing is more so than reason- 
 able creatures, which he has made after his own image, 
 and redeemed with his own blood ; and therefore it 
 comes, that from the same root and the same habit 
 whence the love of God proceeds, springs also that 
 noble instinct^ which makes us love our neighbor 
 for God's sake : this is the end for which we ought to 
 love our neighbor, and this is also the great motive 
 by which we are obliged to love him, how unworthy 
 soever he may be of our love. We ought not to love 
 him for himself, but for the sake of God, who is 
 Sovereign Lord of all men and of all things, who 
 has created us, redeemed us, and commanded us to 
 love one another for his sake; for though we may 
 possibly sometimes not find in our neighbor any cause 
 to love him, yet there are innumerable in God, by 
 which he deserves that we should for his sake not 
 only love pur neighbor, but even all the pains and 
 torments in the world ; so that if we see not any sub- 
 
S60 THE MEMORIAL OF 
 
 ject of love in the creature, we shall find in God an 
 infinite number of reasons, both -to love him, and to 
 do much more for him. 
 
 As to the effects, this love requires, that we do in- 
 jury to no man, that we speak ill of no man, that we 
 judge rashly of no man, that we keep an extraordi- 
 nary secrecy in what concerns our neighbor, and that 
 we rather condemn our mouth to an eternal silence, 
 than sufifer it to utter the least word which may any 
 way prejudice his reputation. Nor is it enough that 
 we do ill to none, but we must, moreover, do good to 
 all, assist every one, give good counsel to all such as 
 stand in need of it, pardon those who have ofiended 
 us, beg pardon of all those whom we have offended, 
 and above all, patiently suffer the humors, defects, 
 and even the injuries we receive of our brethren, ac- 
 cording to the precept of the apostle, ^* Bear ye one 
 another's burdens, and so you shall fulfil the law of 
 Christ." Gal. vi. 2. This is what charity requires, 
 in which consists the law and the prophets ; for to 
 go about the founding of a religion without it, is to 
 think of framing a lively and active body without a 
 soul, which is absolutely impossible. 
 
 SECTION I. 
 
 Though hope was no more in Jesus Christ than 
 faith, because Jesus Christ possessed what was infi- 
 nitely greater ; it is nevertheless a virtue you ought 
 highly to cherish, as being the sister of charity. It 
 is this which makes you regard God as your Father 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFR, 361 
 
 and gives you for him the heart of a child ; for in 
 effect, as there is no good on earth which, being com- 
 pared to Grod, deserves the name of good ; so there 
 is no father in this world, who has for his children 
 such tenderness and charity, as this heavenly Father 
 shows to those whom he has condescended to choose 
 for his. Assure yourselves that all things, whether 
 good or bad, prosperous or adverse, which befall you 
 in this world, are for your good, since the least bird 
 falls not into the net but by God's providence ; dis- 
 cover to him your troubles ; and grounding all your 
 assurance on his liberality, which is immense ; on 
 his promises, which are faithful ; on the benefits you 
 have received of him, which are so many pledges of 
 his bounty; and particularly on the merits of his 
 Son, which he has made ours ; hope firmly that he 
 will have compassion on you, though you are sinners 
 and miserable ; that he will powerfully assist you by 
 ways which are unknown to you, and at the hour 
 you least think of, and that he will turn all things 
 to good for you. And to render yourselves worthy 
 of his favors, have always in your mind, and often it 
 your mouth, these words of David : " I am a beggai 
 and poor; the Lord is careful for me." Psalm 
 xxxix. 18. 
 
 The whole scripture, the psalms, the prophets, and 
 the gospels, speak of nothing so often as of this di- 
 vine Providence, and how we ought to put all oui 
 hope in it. Exercise yourselves in this virtue, and 
 you will see that your heart will find itself thereby 
 31 
 
862 THE MEMORIAL OF 
 
 insensibly strengthened, not only to suffer, bti< al8(» 
 to expect your salvation from the afflictions and trou- 
 bles it shall please God to send you. Be assured, that 
 till you have obtained this confidence you shall never 
 enjoy true peace and quiet of mind. Without it all 
 things will afflict you, and cast you into vexation and 
 trouble ; but with it nothing ought to disquiet you, 
 since you have Grod on your side, and his promises 
 put you in assurance. 
 
 SECTION 11. 
 
 Humility, as well inward as outward, ought also 
 to be placed in the rank of principal virtues, since it 
 is the root and foundation of all the rest. This vir» 
 tue was so dear to the Son of God, and was so con* 
 spicuous both in his person and whole life, that, de- 
 signing to give us a perfect model for ours, he com- 
 prehends all in these words ; " Learn of me, for I 
 am meek and humble of heart;" (^Matt. xi. 22.) which 
 made Cardinal Cajetan say, that the principal part of 
 the Christian philosophy consists in these two dispo- 
 sitions; for humility disposes our souls to receive 
 the gifts of God, and meekness teaches us to con- 
 verse charitably with men. 
 
 True humility causes a man to regard himself as 
 one of the vilest and most abject creatures in the 
 world, unworthy of the bread he eats, of the earth 
 he tramples under his feet, and of the air he breathes : 
 it makes him esteem himself no otherwise than an 
 abominable carcass, full of worms, the stench where- 
 
A CHRISTIAN lIFlf. 863 
 
 of, as he himself cannot endure it, renders him in- 
 tolerable to every one else. In this manner speaks 
 blessed Vincent Ferrier : " My dear brethren " says 
 this saint, " we ought, both you and I, to have this 
 opinion of ourselves, and I more than any one ought 
 to have it, for my life is nothing but stench and filth, 
 my works are abominable, and altogether polluted 
 with the corruption of my sins : and what is more 
 deplorable I daily feel that this corruption and this 
 stench is renewed in me.'' Tract de Vita SpirituaUi 
 This condition, which strikes a horror in the eyes of 
 men, ought to cover you with an extreme confusion, 
 since it appears more clearly to the eyes of God, whose 
 sight is far more penetrating. Imagine that you are 
 already brought to this last and terrible judgment, 
 have a sincere sorrow for your sins, be sensibly af- 
 flicted for having lost the grace which you received 
 when you were washed with the water of baptism. 
 As you perceive that you are wholly putrefied and 
 fetid in the sight of Grod, be also persuaded that yoU 
 are no less so before angels and men; and thus con- 
 tinue in their presence full of confusion and contempt 
 of yourselves. Think seriously on what this most 
 excellent Majesty deserves ; consider how highly you 
 are indebted to him for so many favors as you have 
 received from him; how ill you have answered both 
 the one and the other ; how, instead of the obedience 
 you owe him, you have paid him only disobedience; 
 and you will see that you have deserved all creatures 
 'loald rise up against you, and unite all their forces 
 
864 THE MEMORIAL OF 
 
 to destroy you, to the end they may revenge on yon 
 the injuries you have so insolently done to their Lord. 
 For this reason, desire to be despised and to be scoff- 
 ed by every one, the very dregs of mankind ; receive 
 patiently and with joy all the shame, infamy and in- 
 juries that may befall you; let them give you as 
 much pleasure as a person animated with wrath re- 
 ceives when he is revenged on his enemy ; since you 
 ought to look on yourselves as such, and it is but 
 just you should revenge on yourselves the offence you 
 have committed against God. 
 
 Another condition of true humility is, that it ought 
 to fill you with a greater distrust of yourselves, of 
 your own wit, and of your own strength; that it 
 ought to turn you wholly towards Jesus Christ, whom 
 you must consider as poor, dishonored, contemned, 
 and dead for you, by the torment of the cross ; till it 
 has, in fine, brought you to this point, that you do 
 for his sake become, as it were, dead to all the pains 
 and affronts which may fall on you. Nor is it suf- 
 ficient to be in these sentiments, as to the preparation 
 of the heart ; the outward man, if it is well prepared, 
 must be correspondent to the inward, and as you al- 
 ready, by thought and mind, put yourselves in the 
 lowest place of the world, so you ought, in imitation 
 of Jesus Christ, reduce yourselves to wash the feet 
 of all men: your deportment, your apparel, your 
 words, your table, the service of your house, and 
 every thing else (keeping nevertheless, the laws of 
 discretion) must be conformable to the humility jou 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFE. 3OTv 
 
 kave in your interior ; for it would not only be a new 
 aionster, to see a man divided and different from 
 himself, but it would be also directly opposite to our 
 Lord's command, who says, " Thou shalt not take a^ 
 form contrary to thine own form." Eccles, xiv. 28^ 
 So that such dissimulation wounds your soul. 
 
 SECTION III. 
 
 Chastity, which, as our Saviour affirms, is properly 
 th« virtue of angels, has nothing to fear when it is^ 
 accompanied with humility. I say that it has noth- 
 ing to fear with this faithful companion ; because, one 
 of these virtues failing, the other runs the danger of 
 being lost: St. Anselm, therefore, spoke divinely 
 when he said, that " If pride is not strong enough to* 
 ruin humility, impurity brings in aid to destroy it ; 
 and if the filthy desires of the flesh are too weak tO' 
 vanquish chastity, pride lends a hand to overthrow 
 it ; so that these two virtues have these two vices to* 
 conquer, whereas other virtues ha-ve but one. Tem- 
 perance, for example, is opposed to gluttony, and. 
 diligence is an enemy to sloth ; but humility and. 
 chastity have always both pride and impurity to* 
 struggle with together ; for though pride is a worm,, 
 which by little and little undermines and corrodes all. 
 virtue, it nevertheless particularly attacks this ; and^ 
 consequently, if you desire to be truly chaste, and 
 securely to preserve your purity, love humility." 
 
 This virtue requires of you almost the mind of an 
 angel; it will have you fly all visits, conversations!. 
 3l» 
 
366 THE MEMOMAL Of 
 
 and friendships, that may be any way prejudicial to 
 it ; even sometimes those of spiritual persons ; for, as 
 St. Thomas excellently well says, spiritual love is 
 often changed into carnal love, because of the resem- 
 blance there is between the one and the other. It 
 requires that, as soon as an ill thought shall have 
 ■entered into your heart, you reject it with as much 
 speed as you would do a coal of fire that should have 
 fallen on your hand ; it requires that you employ all 
 your endeavors to be so chaste and so faithful to God 
 in this point, that you live as if you were without 
 eyes, not to see any thing which may offend him who 
 has given you them. And if you are obliged to be- 
 hold any thing, then say mildly in your heart: O 
 Lord, I renounce my eyes, if they dare see any thing 
 which may displease thee ; suffer me not to abuse these 
 eyes which thou hast created, and which thou now 
 illuminatest with thy light, that I may see and ad- 
 mire thy works, by making them weapons of offence 
 against thee. Keeping this reservedness and this 
 modesty in your looks, be assured that Almighty 
 Ood will protect you, that you shall avoid many dan- 
 gers, and live in great peace. It is also a part of 
 chastity to gain this important point, that your heart 
 be only God's, and that it be so tied and bound to 
 him, that no creature can possess it. See that it be 
 truly dead to the world, and, as if it were deaf and 
 blind, let it neither desire to see or hear any 
 thing but what is necessary or advantageous to your 
 aalva^ion. Nor is it enough to have the body and 
 
A CHRISTIAN HFE. 367 
 
 heart chaste — your eyes, your words, your conver- 
 sation, your clothes, your table, and all the rest of 
 your life must breathe forth nothing but chastity ; 
 for when this virtue is perfect, it makes all thingg 
 chaste and innocent, and if any one thing should not 
 be so, it would undoubtedly be capable to ruin all. 
 
 SECTION IV. 
 
 Tempbeance in eating and drinking is, of all the 
 virtues, that which most upholds chastity ; for, as St. 
 John Climaeus says, to desire to be chaste, and at the 
 fiame time to pamper one's body with delicacies, is. to 
 do like him, that should pretend to drive away a dog 
 by offering him a piece of bread. 
 
 If you pretend, then, to any part in this virtue* 
 you ought to be exceedingly careful not to overcharge 
 your stomach either with wine or meat, for fear your 
 spirit be oppressed by it. Use both the one and the 
 other with moderation, and at your meals think much 
 loss on the pleasure than on the necessity. It is nat- 
 ural to find a relish in what one eats, but seek it not, 
 neither stay in it with delight : dip spiritually with 
 your mind in the bitter cup of your sufferings of our 
 Redeemer every bit you shall put into your mouth ; 
 and receive all that you shall drink, as from the liv» 
 ing fountain of his sacred wounds: choose rather 
 common and gross meats, than such as are dear and 
 delicate, remembering that our Lord tasted gall and 
 vinegar for you : but though you satisfy yourself only 
 with common food, yet, if you eat it with too much 
 
368 THE MEMORIAL OF 
 
 greediness, you lose all the reward of abstinence, 
 which consists not so much in the quality of what is 
 eaten, as in the manner of using it. St. Augustin 
 teaches us, that it is not impossible for a wise man to 
 preserve temperance amidst the daintiest dishes, and 
 for an intemperate man to lose it at a repast, where 
 khere is nothing but herbs ; since gluttony regards 
 not the things that are eaten, but the disorder and 
 excess with which they are taken. In fine, if you 
 *re true lovers of the spiritual life, you will declare 
 a perpetual war against sensuality, refusing, with dis- 
 cretion, whatsoever it passionately desires. In which, 
 nevertheless, you ought to take heed to chastise your 
 flesh, that you ruin not your health by indiscreet ab- 
 stinences. Trust not yourselves in this matter ; keep 
 in it, as in all things else, necessary moderation, and 
 suffer yourselves to be guided by the counsels of the 
 wise. This virtue extends yet farther, since it re- 
 quires that you avoid superfluity in your apparel, in 
 your equipage, in your houses, in your furniture, and 
 in every thing else of which you are wont to make 
 ose. 
 
 SECTION V. 
 
 I EXHORT you also to love silence, which has a very 
 strict connection with temperance ; it is called the 
 mother of innocence, the key of discretion, the faith- 
 ful companion of chastity, the sure guard of devotion, 
 and the ornanent of youth. To exercise you profit- 
 ably in it, never permit any word to proceed out of 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFE. 
 
 four mouth which may either prejudice your neigh- 
 bor's reput:fition^ or be suspected of the least un- 
 cleanness. i!^ever give ear to any that speak them ; 
 but on the contrary, employ all the prudence that 
 God shall have given you to break off such discourses. 
 Let your speech be always free from flattery, when 
 you speak of others; and from vanity, when you 
 speak of yourselves. Avoid being crabbed in your 
 language ; endeavoring, on the contrary, to give it 
 all the sweetness and affability you can, without af- 
 fectation. Particularly shun artifice, and let your 
 discourses be simple and sincere^ as those of Jesus 
 Christ's true children ought to be. Never utter any 
 idle words, because it would be to make an ill use of 
 your time ; but especially abstain from such as savor 
 of raillery, because there is nothing that hinders de- 
 votion more. But the two most dangerous rocks 
 you are obliged to fear, are the speaking well 
 of yourselves, and ill of your neighbor. The better 
 to secure yourselves froin all those dangers, speak 
 little ; if you can be silent without prejudicing charity 
 or obedience, willingly hold your peace ; let not your 
 silence, nevertheless, be burdensome, or of ill edifi- 
 cation to any one ; and when you shall be obliged to 
 speak, be as brief as possible you can ; speak with 
 circumspection, and before you open your mouth, re- 
 solve within yourself to say nothing but what shall 
 be absolutely necessary. Do not easily engage your- 
 self to contradict the sentiments of another, nor be 
 obstinate against any one ; but after you have twice 
 
i70 THE ll£MOaUL Of 
 
 or .hrice asserted what you hold for truth, if you ai« 
 not believed, leave others to think what they please, 
 and continue silent, unless your silence be manifestly 
 prejudicial to God's glory. Take heed of appearing 
 too much wedded to your own opinions : meddle not 
 with unpleasing disputes in your conversation ; in- 
 sist not over-earnestly and with too much heat, even 
 on things you know ; but say, simply and modestly, 
 I think it is so, or. It is so, if T am not mistaken. 
 Not to deceive yourselves in this matter, which is so 
 ordinary and so important, and, as the grammariana 
 say, not to commit any barbarism in this spiritual 
 language, when you desire to speak, consider seven 
 things, or seven circumstances. The first is^ the 
 matter of which you will speak : which ought to be of 
 things good, profitable, or necessary, rejecting such as 
 are evil, unprofitable, or dangerous. The second is, 
 the end for which you shall speak ; which ought to be 
 free from dissimulation, interest, and vanity, but ftdl of 
 simplicity and freedom, having an honest and solid 
 aim. The third is, the manner how you shall utter 
 your words : speak without being over-much moved, 
 without making too much noise, and also without af- 
 fecting a certain negligence and delicacy, but after a 
 fashion tempered with mildness and gravity ; neither 
 let your discourse be heavy and unpleasant, but 
 agreeable and sweet, as they say St. Basil's talk was. 
 Women particularly should take care to speak with- 
 out affectation, and very simply, and their language 
 aught to resemble water, which is said to be best 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFK. 371 
 
 when it hLA no taste at all. It is also a great defect 
 to desire to appear always eloquent, and to maice 
 studied discourses ; this is a great vice in men, and 
 a dangerous thing in woman. The' fourth regards 
 the person who speaks, for it is not lawful for young 
 persons to speak with so much liberty. Silence is a 
 great ornament to that age, and shows a reserved- 
 ness and shamefacedness, which very much become 
 it, especially in maidens, according to that wise re- 
 monstrance which St. Ambrose addresses to them: 
 **Let virgins look to themselves, and their manner 
 of speaking ; for to speak many words, though they 
 are good, is often a gfeat fault in a maiden." The 
 fifth is, to consider before whom one speaks: for 
 respect must be had to wise and ancient men : neither 
 must one. speak in their presence, but when it is 
 necessary, or that one cannot be excused from it. 
 The sixth is, to consider the place in which one 
 speaks; for there are some places where one may 
 speak, and there are others where one must be silent, 
 as in the church, or other places, where one is obliged 
 to behave himself with respect. The seventh is, to 
 examine the time ; for, as the wise man says, " There 
 IS a time to keep silence, and a time to speak." Ec- 
 des. iii. 7. And herein is prudence as remarkable as 
 any thing else whatever, especially when there is an 
 intent of rebuking, exhorting, or counselling any 
 one; for it is good in all things to take a fit and 
 proper time especially in those where, for want of 
 considering this circumstance, one runs the hazard 
 
872 THE MEMORIAL Of 
 
 of Speaking unprofitably, and reaping no fruit from 
 one's words. And this it is that made the wise man 
 say, that " to speak a word in due time, is like apples 
 of gold on beds of silver.'' Prov, xxv. 11. 
 
 You ought, therefore, exactly to weigh all these 
 circumstances, if you design to keep your tongue in- 
 nocent; for in what manner soever you transgress 
 these rules, you offend ; and since it is very difficult 
 not to infringe some of them, when one speaks, the 
 most secure way for avoiding these shelves and rocks 
 is, to shelter yourselves in the haven ; that is, to oon- 
 tinue in silence. 
 
 SECTION VI. 
 
 Having thus regulated and mortified your tongue, 
 there remains yet a more important step for you to 
 make : you must proceed to the mortification of your 
 own will, which is another key of good life, and there 
 is nothing so available for the attaining to it, as 
 the submitting yourselves to the laws of obedience. 
 Highly esteem this virtue, and take pleasure to ex- 
 ercise yourselves in it ; for you cannot offer to God a 
 more agreeable sacrifice than the destruction of your 
 own perverse and rebellious will. Whatever action 
 you do through obedience, how mean and low soever 
 it is, God will raise it, and recompense it, as if it 
 were very excellent : and, on the contrary, God will 
 never approve of any of your actions, how eminent 
 soever it appears, if it be repugnant to the obedienot 
 j'ou owe to him, or to your superiors. Whoever, 
 
A CHRISTIAN L.*i2, 373 
 
 therefore, you are, obey, and that with a fre^ and 
 cheerful heart, those who are over you; honor them 
 for the love of God ; for though they are not, perhaps, 
 worthy of respect, if you regard their person, yet 
 they are because of their office: obey even your 
 equals and your inferiors, in such things as prudence 
 and decency will permit. Be very glad to be repre- 
 hended or taught by another, whoever he may be ; 
 and if you are too severely rebuked, let your defence 
 be humble, if you think fit to make use of any ; 
 though it may be better for you on such occasions, 
 in imitation of your Saviour, to suffer and be silent, 
 unless your silence may cause scandal. " Be ye sub- 
 ject therefore to ev^ry human creature for God's 
 gake." 1 Peter ii. 13. And when you shall receive 
 from him extraordinary favors and consolations, tak« 
 heed of being puffed up by them, or esteeming your- 
 selves the better for this reason ; for, indeed, what- 
 soever good you have comes from God, and whatso- 
 ever is faulty or sinful in you, is from yourselves. 
 
 S E C T I O N V 1 1 
 
 Learn also to suffer, without murmuring and com- 
 plaining, the injuries, contempts, calumnies, afflictions, 
 and losses, which Almighty God shall permit you to 
 undergo ; believing, as it is undoubtedly true, that 
 these evils befall you through his ever just and ever 
 merciful providence ; conceive no indignation or ha- 
 tred against those by whom they are inflicted on you ; 
 but, on the contrary, according io your master'^ 
 32 
 
874 THE MEMORIAL OF 
 
 exany)le, show yourselves gentle and courteous to* 
 wards them. 
 
 Judge not of men, nor make estimation of them 
 by their body, in which you see nothing but what i& 
 miserable ; but by the dignity of their soul, created 
 after the image of God. Never show a dislike to any 
 one ; be yet more careful never to appear angry, mel- 
 ancholy, or peevish; but, on the contrary, in your 
 words, in your conversation, when you answer any 
 one, keep always with the gravity which your profes- 
 sion requires, sweetness and affability Bear gently 
 with other men's faults ; and as for such as offend 
 God's honor, procure with all possible care, either bj 
 yourselves, or by others, that they may be corrected ; 
 but let this be always done with sweetness and char- 
 ity, and when you shall know that it may be profita- 
 bly done ; hate sin in men, but hate not the men for 
 the sin's sake ; for men are God's work, and sin is the 
 work of men. Be always ready to do good to aU, 
 even to those who wish you ill, and have as much 
 compassion for those who do evil, as for those who 
 suffer it : be particularly touched for the souls of the 
 faithful which are tormented in purgatory, and pray 
 with great affection for them. To render yourselves 
 more sensible of other's miseries, put yourselves in 
 the place of those who bear them, and then you will 
 feel them as your own. Envy no man ; speak ill of 
 no man ; have a good opinion of every one : and if 
 there arise any sinister suspicions in your heart, re- 
 ject them immediately, for fear they take root in it. 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFE. 876 
 
 Despise no man ; never despair of a sinner's conver- 
 sion ; for such a one as you see to-day a criminal, 
 may to-morrow, by Grod's grace, be changed. Have 
 a firm purpose never to judge any one, and always 
 interpret the words or actions of another in the best 
 part, seeing and hearing all things with a sincere and 
 charitable heart. 
 
 Trouble not yourselves at the great calamities you 
 see happen in the world; but trust in God's provi- 
 dence, without which a bird falls not to the ground. 
 Courageously recommend yourselves, and all things 
 that concern you, to the divine Providence, relying 
 with an entire confidence, in all your troubles, on the 
 mercy of so good a Master; address yourselves to 
 him by fervent prayers, according to this counsel of 
 the prophet : " Cast thy care upon the Lord, and he 
 shall sustain thee." Psalm liv. 23. And if it some- 
 times happens, that you feel not any inward consola- 
 tion, and that your heart is thereby cast down, grow 
 not, therefore, slack in your resolution, but redouble 
 your prayers, making them with abundance of faith 
 and humility in our Lord's presence, and not seeking 
 after vain comforts to divert you, for he himself will 
 comfort you. If the wicked spirit inspires into you 
 evil thoughts, which are sometimes horrible and 
 abominable, make no account of them, but speedily 
 shut the eyes of thy soul against these base objects ; 
 for you will more easily vanquish these assaults by 
 slighting them, than by employing much labor and 
 diligence to combat them. Believe not that you havo 
 
876 THE MEMORIAL OP 
 
 been wounded by your enemies darts, if you have 
 stoutly resisted, and repelled them with speed; there 
 befalls you nothing in this which requires to be con- 
 fessed; for we are, without doubt, obliged to confess 
 our sins, but not the temptations of sin to which we 
 give no consent, nor are knowingly or negligently the 
 cause of bringing them on. Unclean thoughts do 
 not defile us, unless they delight us ; for there is great 
 difference between feeling the evil, and consenting tc 
 it. And many great saints have sometimes experi- 
 enced in their flesh very troublesome and violent 
 motions to sin, but having opposed them with their 
 reason and their will, they have served only to gain 
 them new crowns. 
 
 SECTION VIII. 
 
 Do not imagine that holiness consists in receiving 
 great comforts and great sweetnesses, nor that those 
 tender sentiments, which sometimes produce foun- 
 tains of tears, are certain signs of a true devotion. 
 These marks are so deceitful, that heretics and pagans 
 have often felt these kind of transports. True devo- 
 tion is a fervent readiness, residing in the will, to do 
 always what is pleasing to God, and what regards his 
 honor and service ; it produces always advantageous 
 fruits, though the spirit remains dry, and the heart 
 wholly barren. To be spiritual, therefore, desire not. 
 with too much eagerness these inward delights ; but be 
 equally ready either to receive them, or be deprived of 
 tfaem, as it shall please the Almighty God. If he is 
 
, A CUKXSTIAN WJFB. B^TT 
 
 pleased lo comfort you, accept this favor with an 
 humble acknowledgment; take heed of using this 
 present for your own sole satisfaction, and being so 
 taken with the gift you have received as to forget him 
 that gave it : continue as humble and as quiet when 
 you are visited as when you are not ; and place not 
 your security and repose so much in the gifts of God, 
 as in Grod himself, who is the giver of them, and your 
 last end. If any grace is bestowed on you, how small 
 soever it be, believe that you are unworthy of it, and 
 that you deserve only pains and afflictions, and not 
 caresses. If in praying to Almighty God, or singing 
 his praises, you cannot be so attentive as you would, 
 lose therefore neither your courage nor your confi- 
 dence ; for though your mind may be distracted, your 
 prayers will not cease to be pleasing to God, if you 
 consent not to the distraction, and if you do on your 
 part aU you can ; if with a good heart you offer to 
 God your will, such as it is, and persevere with care 
 ttud simplicity in prayer. Be not then impatient^ 
 Dor excessively troubled, nor afflict yourselves, but 
 after you have done your utmost endeavors, yield 
 yourselves up wholly to God ; for he is so good, that 
 he bears with those who, speaking to him in prayer, 
 let sometimes things unworthy of his presence enter 
 into their thoughts. Say to him on these occasions: 
 Lord, thou seest how my heart slips from me, and 
 how it is unhappily distracted in divers places. Have 
 pity on me, who am a poor sinner. Good Jesus, an- 
 «wer for me, and supply my defects. I stagger at 
 32* 
 
878 THE MEMORIAL Of 
 
 every step, by reason of my weakness ; give me tby 
 hand for fear I fall. But, my God, what thanka 
 ought I not to render to thy goodness, that falling so 
 often, because I am weak and sick, thou art still my 
 protector and support ! 
 
 Dispose yourselves to receive often the holy com- 
 munion, to glorify God ; and if it is not granted you 
 in effect, as often as you would desire it, let not this 
 disquiet you; but be contented to approach it with 
 heart and will : for none can hinder you from coming 
 to our Lord in this manner, and enjoying him, if you 
 are so minded, a thousand times a day. 
 
 SECTION IX. 
 
 At night, before you go to bed, seriously recollect 
 yourself, and take a very strict account of all things 
 in which you have been employed that day ; after 
 this, betaking yourself to your bed, settle your body 
 in an honest and decent posture ; endeavor as much 
 as you can that sleep may come upon you whilst you 
 are thinking on God ; strive to be in such manner 
 possessed of him, and the sentiments of his love, at 
 your falling asleep, that you may still be quite full 
 of them when you shall awake. As soon as you shall 
 have opened your eyes, let your heart be lifted up to 
 God ; give him your first thoughts and words, say- 
 ing with the prophet, " God, my God, to thee do I 
 watch at break of day ;" (^Psalm Ixii. 1.) or, as he 
 gays a little after, "I will meditate on thee in the 
 morning, because thou hast been my helper." ihid 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFE. 8t9 
 
 7, 8. In this manner ought you to prepare yourself 
 for receiving the spirit of grace and devotion, which 
 in a Christian should never be interrupted. But if 
 you are not as quiet and as free as you would be, to 
 apply yourself to God ; or if any filthy dreams have 
 troubled you during your sleep, be not therefore ex- 
 traordinarily affli<3ted, but, on the contrary, make good 
 ose of it; and as soon as your reason shall have got 
 the mastery, abhor these base illusions, humble your- 
 self, and suffer with patience the disquiet they have 
 given you. 
 
 Take all manner of care to avoid not only great 
 eins, but even the least negligence ; for if you are 
 not resolved to abstain from every thing that may be 
 displeasing to God, or diminish his love, you will 
 never arrive either at a perfect purity or peace of 
 heart : this kind of defect will perhaps appear light 
 to you, but they will become great if you neglect 
 them; and there is no enemy so little, but may be- 
 come dangerous when he is contemned. Wherefore 
 St. Gregory said very well, "It is sometimes more 
 dangerous to fall into small faults than into great 
 ones; for greater sins being so evident, that they 
 strike the senses, and often the heart, are more easily 
 amended ; but the others being less known, less care 
 is taken to shun them, and so in time they cause 
 many disorders." I say not this, that you should lose 
 your confidence for having fallen into some sin of that 
 nature, nor that you ought to fly from God's presence: 
 but, on the contrary, return to him humbly and mth 
 
380 THE MEMORIAL 0» 
 
 affection ; speak to him with sorrow of the evil jon 
 have committed ; accuse your ingratitude, and weep 
 tenderly before him for having ojQfended so good a 
 Master. Fasten not your eyes only on the greatness 
 of your misery, but consider also the immensity of 
 his mercy, which cannot fail those who return to him 
 with all their heart : and to enter again entirely into 
 his favor, offer to the eternal Father in satisfaction 
 for your sins, the life and death of his only Son ; and 
 beg of his Son to wash away your stains through the 
 merits of his most precious blood, which he has shed 
 for you. After this, hope in God, and continue to 
 serve him with the same courage and the same heart 
 you had before you fell into sin. 
 
 Take heed you be not discouraged or grow faint 
 hearted, because you perceive in you some defects, or 
 gome passions, which you cannot with all your indus- 
 try totally subdue: recommend them to the divine 
 mercy, and without ever losing hope, suffer this con- 
 dition humbly and patiently ; persevere in good^ and 
 put yourselves in the hands of Almighty God. If 
 you fall a hundred times a day rise again as often, 
 in hopes he will pardon you ; and resolve every mo- 
 ment to be more attentive and more vigilant over 
 your actions. Confide not, however, in yourselves, 
 nor in your own strength, but in the sole goodness 
 of God, who never fails those who do on their side 
 what they can. Let all the affections of your soul be 
 so directed towards God, that he may be to you ail 
 in all things, and all things in him : consider theia 
 
A OJlIilSXlAN l^IFE. 381 
 
 uot in themselves, nor for what thej are ; make them 
 out the object of your delight, but respect them all 
 in God, considering the best and most important 
 qualification they have, which is, that they proceed 
 from him, and represent something of him; and thus 
 the joy and satisfaction they shall give you, will not 
 only be more pure, but also far sweeter and much 
 greater Recommend all your works and all your 
 exercises to the divine wisdom, to the end it may di- 
 rect them and perfect them ; offer them to your 
 Saviour and his eternal Father, as being united and 
 incorporated to the life and actions of his Son, for 
 the glory of his church, and for the salvation of 
 all the believers of which it is composed. By this 
 means, all your works and exercises will become holy, 
 and infinitely pleasing to Almighty God, through the 
 inestimable value of those of his dear Son, under the 
 shadow of which they will pass for good in God's 
 sight, and whence they draw all their grace. This 
 is the counsel given to us by the holy apostle St. 
 Peter, when he invites us to oflfer to God the sacrifice 
 of good works, that they may be acceptable to him 
 through Jesus Christ. Offer, then, to his divine 
 Majesty all your pains, great and little, internal and 
 external, with all the labors you undergo, from which 
 the present life cannot be exempted, to the end^ that 
 all your actions may draw their price and value from 
 the merits of the blood and passion of the Son of 
 
 aod. 
 
382 THE MEMORIAL 0? 
 
 SECTION X. 
 
 Be not too hasty or too eager in the things you 
 undertake ; be not over-much affected to them, bo as 
 to make yourselves their slaves ; but always endeavor 
 to preserve yourselves in a free choice, even in mat- 
 ters of virtue ; follow not the first motions of your 
 heart, if they have too much violence ; consider well ; 
 with prudence and judgment regulate your affections, 
 and, consequently, all the actions they are to produce ; 
 trust not to what they appear at first ; your intention 
 may be good, they also may be good ; but there is 
 no virtue which is to be esteemed a virtue, if it be 
 not accompanied with discretion ; and piety itself, 
 without discretion, may be hurtful. Prudently re- 
 move from you whatever may serve as an occasion 
 to make you lose the peace and tranquillity of your 
 heart ; and, above all, let your principal care be to 
 banish from your soul, wrath, covetousness, vain 
 pleasures, fear, joy, sorrow, love, hatred, and all the 
 passions which might disturb its quiet. Be no less 
 careful to preserve yourselves from indiscreet scruples, 
 and from all superfluous thoughts, which may cause 
 trouble to your mind ; be not disquieted at such ac- 
 cidents as may befall you in this life ; since, in effect, 
 all things in this world are transitory, and so all the 
 losses you can suffer are as payments anticipated for 
 *.he next life, and favors of God for all eternity. In 
 fine, entirely disengage your luind, as well as your 
 affections, from the present world, which passes away 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFE. 383 
 
 ilmost in an instant ; recollect all your forces and all 
 your powers within yourselves, and there continually 
 communicate alone with Almighty God. 
 
 At all times, and in all places, consider his* pres- 
 ence with awe; for at what time, and in what place 
 Boever you are, he is never absent, but is in all places. 
 Speak to him with confidence, as to a friend whom 
 you have near you, and fear not to discover to him 
 your purposes, and the sentiments of your soul. Ac- 
 custom yourselves to treat with him in private, and 
 ho. assured that this familiarity, if I may be permit- 
 ted to speak so, will be wonderfully beneficial to you, 
 IjQse neither courage nor hope, for seeing your heart 
 80 inconstant, and finding so much difficulty to mas- 
 ter your understanding and fix it on God. Persevere 
 valiantly; it is a horse got loose, chastise it in such 
 manner that it may be obliged to return to its course ; 
 for after you shall have with a little trouble accus- 
 tomed it, it will not only be sweet and easy to think 
 on God, and the things that concern him, but you 
 will be scarcely able to pass an hour without so doing. 
 But if you find your soul sometimes distracted, make 
 it return to its first exercise, and say to it, where 
 hast thou been wandering, my soul ? What ad- 
 vantage has accrued to thee by being separated from 
 thy Lord, having lost thy time, and unprofitably dis- 
 tracted thy heart ? Be no longer a wanderer, since 
 there is nothing so much misbecomes the spouse of 
 the heavenly King. 
 
 Set also often before your eyes the image of Jesus 
 
H84 THE MEMORIAL OV 
 
 (Thrist, God and man, nailed on the cross, and pmt 
 it as deep as you possibly can in the bottom of yonr 
 heart. Reverence with a sincere devotion his holy 
 wounds, which deserve that you should render them 
 eternal homage ; hide yourselves in them with a holy 
 confidence, accompanied with humility. If you em- 
 ploy all your senses in this lively represeLiation of 
 your Saviour's torments, there will be no room left 
 for other figures and strange imaginations ; and as 
 one nail drives out another, all vain thoughts will flj 
 away from before the presence of this. Pwell, then, 
 as much as you can, with yourselves ; treat witk 
 yourselves ; disentangle your heart, and remove from 
 it all transitory things ; look steadfastly on your God, 
 who always beholds you; let your heart speak to 
 -him, let your voice sometimes express your love to 
 him, and esteem it the greatest of all losses to be 
 separated one only moment from this sovereign Good, 
 in which all other good things are included. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Of a Christianas most essential Obligations tuwanb 
 God, towards Himself, md towards his Ntrghoor, 
 
 Having spoken of the virtues in general, we add 
 this chapter, to treat of them more particularly ; and 
 we shall apply what has been hitherto said, to the 
 principal obligations of a Christian, by which he ii 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFE. 386 
 
 to acquit himself of what he owes to Grod, to himself 
 and to his neighbors. The prophet Michaeas placed 
 the sum of all virtues in these three parts of justice, 
 when he said, **I will show thee, man, what is 
 good, and what the Lord require th of thee ; verily 
 to do judgment, to love mercy, and to walk solicitous 
 with thy God." Mic. vi. 8. For the first of these 
 instructions, which is to judge equitably, particularly 
 respects ourselves ; the second, to love mercy, regards 
 our neighbor ; and the third, to be careful to please 
 ^od, pertains to his worship, and the homage that is 
 due to him. 
 
 ^ SECTION I. 
 
 To begin with the strictest and most important of 
 these obligations, you shall observe, that as amongst 
 precious stones there are some which their kind alone 
 renders much more estimable than others, as rubies, 
 diamonds, and emeralds ; so amongst virtues, there 
 are some which of their own nature incomparably 
 exceed the rest. These are they which respect God, 
 and are for this reason called theological; to which 
 we may also add the fear of God, and religion, the 
 property whereof is to honor this sublime Majesty, 
 and whatever concerns the divine worship and ser- 
 vice. These are the first and most necessary ;• and 
 it may be said, that they are not only the first and 
 most considerable, but that they are also those which 
 stir up the others, and give them life and motion. 
 They are in respect to the other virtues, what the 
 as 
 
886 -r^HE BffiBfOltXAL OF 
 
 heavens are in respect of the inferior oreatorea, wlitch 
 depend on their influences and their courses. If you 
 design then to attain to perfection, endeavor to pos- 
 sess them all universally, if you can ; for as to make 
 a harp render pleasing music, all its strings must be 
 perfectly in tune, and every one do its office; so 
 to form the life of a perfect Christian, all the virtues 
 must contribute and agree together; but you must 
 particularly cultivate these and advance in them, be- 
 cause they are the term of perfection ; and you will 
 be so much the more perfect, as you shall have made 
 greater progress in them. It was hereby, I believe^ 
 that many of the holy patriarchs were so signal in 
 virtue ; for though they were rich Snd married, and 
 though the consideration of their families and estates 
 engaged them in many cares and temporal affairs, 
 they ceased not, nevertheless, to be very great saints, 
 because they possessed theee high virtues in perfec- 
 tion; and there is nothing more illustrious in their 
 lives, than their exercising themselves in them, as 
 appears in the faith and obedience of Abraham ; in 
 the piety, in the devotion, in the submission of David, 
 and in the confidence this great king had in God ; he 
 sought no other assistance, nor other refugee in all his 
 troubles ; he trusted only in him, as a true child does 
 in a good father, and much more so, since he said, 
 " My father and my mother have left me, but the 
 Lord hath taken me up.'* Psalm xxvi. 10. 
 
 Now the securest and fittest means to acquire these 
 excellent virtues, is, to believe, and print firmly yl 
 
A CHRISTIAN LP'S. 887 
 
 your minds, that God is truly your Father, and more 
 than your father, since there is no fatherly heart that 
 equals his : there is not any love of a father, or care 
 of a mother, which comes near that he has for you ; 
 and there is none but he who has created you, and 
 stores up for you the greatest of all good things. 
 Being thoroughly persuaded of this truth, always 
 look on him with the eyes and with the heart of true 
 children ; that is, with a loving heart, a tender heart, 
 an humble and respectful heart, a heart obedient and 
 entirely submitted to his holy will, and, in fine, with 
 a heart full of confidence amidst your troubles, and 
 which desires no other protection, but under the wings 
 of bis providence. You ought then to behold Al- 
 mighty Grod with such eyes, and with such a heart, 
 as often as you shall call him to mind ; and you are 
 obliged to call him to mind as often as you can, that 
 you may by little and little, with the assistance of 
 God's grace, form in yourselves a heart disposed like 
 that of the prophet, who said, " Thy name, Lord, 
 and thy remembrance, are the desire of the soul. 
 My soul hath desired thee in the night ; yea, and with 
 my spirit within me in the morning early I will watch 
 to thee." Isai, xxvi. 8, 9. 
 
 There are no words capable to express what this 
 kind of heart and afi'ection towards God is ; the forces 
 of nature are not alone sufficient to give it to us : he 
 therefore only knows it, who has experienced it, and 
 he only possesses it, who has been so happy as to have 
 received it. Wherefore you ought incessantly to beg 
 
288 THE MEMORIAL OF 
 
 this favor, and not to lose the hopes of obtaining it, 
 relying on these words of the Son of God : " If you 
 then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your 
 children, how much more will your heavenly Father 
 give the good spirit to them that ask him ?" Luhc 
 xi. 13. This is that spirit of which the apostle speaks, 
 when he says, " You have not again received the 
 spirit of servitude and fear, but you have received 
 the spirit of adoption of the sons of God, which caus- 
 eth us to cry, Abba, Father :" that is to say, that 
 your inclinations are the same for God, as those which 
 children have for their father; that you love him, 
 that you honor him, that you obey him^ and that you 
 have recourse to him in all your necessities with the 
 earns confidence as children have in their earthly 
 father. This is that heart which our Lord promises 
 you by the mouth of the prophet Ezechiel, in these 
 words : " I will give you a new heart, and put a new 
 spirit within you, and I will take away the stony 
 heart out of your flesh and I will give you a heart 
 of flesh, and I will put my spirit in the midst of you, 
 and I will cause you to walk in my commandments, 
 and to keep my judgments, and do them." Ezecli. 
 xxxvi. 26, 27. In fine, it is this spirit of children, 
 which all the prophets have so often and so unani- 
 mously promised you in their writings by the merits 
 of the only Son of God, and which was particularly 
 given to the faithful on the day of Pentecost, and 
 which was afterwards spread over all the church. 
 And to descend more into particulars, if this spirit 
 
A CHBISTIAir LIFE. 389 
 
 reigns in you, and if God has given you this heart 
 of which we speak, these dispositions will appear by 
 the effects, of which the principal, according to St. 
 Vincentius Lirinensis are those, and the procuring of 
 which you ought with the greatest care to endeavor : 
 " A most fervent love, an extreme fear, a great res- 
 pect, a most constant zeal, a continual giving of 
 thanks, a praise-sounding-voice, a ready obedience, 
 and an interior joy, which makes you seek God, and 
 find nothing sweet or agreeable but him. To obtain 
 these holy dispositions, pray without intermission, and 
 gay to our Lord, good Jesus, grant that I may 
 love thee most fervently, and with all the powers of 
 my soul ; let me infinitely honor and fear thee, let me 
 have so much zeal for the glory of thy holy name, 
 and in such manner seek to advance it, that the least 
 injury offered to thee may burn and pierce my heart ; 
 let me with very great humility acknowledge thy 
 benefits, and incessantly give thee thanks for them 
 as I ought ; let me continually praise thee, spending 
 days and nights in this exercise." Tract, de Vita 
 Spirituali. And saying to thee with all my heart, 
 as did thy prophet, " I will bless the Lord at all times ; 
 his praise shall be always in my mouth.*' Psalm 
 xxxiii. 1. Grant me also this grace, that perfectly 
 obeying thee, I may taste how sweet thou art, to the 
 end I may increase more and more in thy love, and 
 keep thy commandments with more faithfulness. 
 33* 
 
S90 THE MEMORIAL OF 
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 These affections and these virtues directly regard 
 Almighty God ; but the bame saint requires also some 
 others, which more immediately respect ourselves, 
 and reduces them to the number of seven. And 
 first he would, that a true child of God should be 
 always full of a holy confession for his sins. Second- 
 ly, that he should be sorry for them, and bewail 
 them all his life, because they have offended God, and 
 polluted his soul. Thirdly, that in respect of his 
 being a sinner, he should desire to be despised, for- 
 gotten, and forsaken of all the world, believing him- 
 self unworthy to be regarded of men, or receive the 
 least favor from them. Fourthly, that he should 
 consider his body as the source of his sins, and that 
 for this reason he should mortify it, and treat it with 
 all the rigor it deserves. Fifthly, that he conceive 
 an irreconcilable hatred against all his vicious incli- 
 nations, and that he labor without ceasing, not only 
 to cut off the branches of them, but also to pluck up 
 totally their roots. Sixthly, that with extraordinary 
 diligence, and exact faithfulness, he endeavor, that in 
 all his actions, in his words, in his senses, and in all 
 the motions of his soul, there may not anything be 
 found contradictory to justice, or which may in the 
 least withdraw him from the law and commandments 
 of Almighty God. And, seventhly, that modesty 
 and prudence appear in all his conduct, so that there 
 be nothing either superfluous or defective seen in it. 
 
A CHRlSTtAN LIFB. 891 
 
 SECTION III. 
 
 Tflis great saint adds also in the same place seven 
 Other dispositions, which are no less necessary than 
 the first, and are to be exercised towards our neigh- 
 bor. First, to have a true compassion of other men's 
 miseries, lamenting them as if they were our own. 
 Secondly, to rejoice sincerely at their prosperity, aa 
 we would do at any happiness that should befall our- 
 selves. Thirdly, to bear with quietness and patience 
 the injuries which are done to us, and to pardon them 
 with all our heart. Fourthly, to treat every one with 
 abundance of charity ; and that this charity appear 
 not only in our behaviour and discourses, but that 
 mr souls be filled with it, that it may be imparted to 
 our neighbor as occasion shall require. Fifthly, to 
 show respect towards all sorts of persons, to behold 
 none without esteeming them more considerable and 
 better than ourselves, and to subject ourselves to all 
 men, as if they were indeed our lords. Sixthly, to 
 keep perfect peace and perfect union with all men, 
 so that on our part, and as far as we can with Grod's 
 good pleasure, we may think and say the same thing 
 with all ; persuading ourselves, that among Catholics 
 there is nothing separate, that they are all one and 
 the same thing ; and that, therefore, there ought to 
 be but one and the same sentiment, and one and 
 the same will, between us and others. Seventhly, to 
 be in a sincere disposition, after the example of Jesus 
 Christ, to offer yourselves for all men ; that is, to be 
 always prepared to expose our lives for the salvation 
 
892 THE MEMORIAL OF 
 
 of all ; to pray day and night to Almighty God for 
 all ; and to endeavor continually that all be one only 
 thing in Jesus Christ, and Jesus Christ in them. 
 But think not that you are thereby less obliged to 
 shun the company of the wicked ; on the contrary, 
 you ought to know, that if there are any whose con- 
 versation has been to you an occasion of sin, who 
 have given a hindrance to your spiritual advancement, 
 or who have been the cause that the fervor of charity 
 has decreased in your soul, you ought to fly from 
 them, as from serpents. There is no coal, how thor- 
 oughly lighted soever, which is not quenched by being 
 put into water ; and there is none which is so quench- 
 ed but that it will kindle again if you mix it with 
 others that are burning. Avoid, then, dangerous 
 occasions ; but when there shall be no cause to fear 
 them, converse simply with your neighbor; examine 
 not too exactly his defects ; if they are so visible that 
 they cannot be concealed, either suffer them with 
 patience, or reprehend them with charity, when you 
 shall judge that your admonitions may be profitable. 
 But because charity and mercy towards our neigh- 
 bor is the root and foundation of all these virtues, it 
 is this you ought most to esteem, if you desire to 
 please Almighty God, since there is none which he so 
 often and so earnestly recommends in all the Scrip- 
 tures. The prophet Zachary relates, that the Jews 
 asking God, whether to please him and fulfil his law, 
 they ought to fast certain days in the year ; God, to 
 let them know what works were most pleasing to him, 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFE. 393 
 
 answered them in this manner ; " Thus saith the Lord 
 of hosts, saying, Judge ye true judgment, and show 
 ye mercy and compassion every man to his brother : 
 and oppress not the widow, and the fatherless, and 
 the stranger, and the poor : and let not a man devise 
 evil in his heart against his brother.^' Zach. viL 9, 
 10. These are the very express words which proceed 
 out of the Lord's mouth ; but he extols this yet much 
 higher, when he says, " This is my rest, refresh the 
 weary," Isa. xxviii. 12. For could God more exalt 
 the works of mercy, than by putting himself in the 
 place of the poor, and taking for his own, the refresh- 
 ment and assistance which is given the miserable ? 
 But, above all, I cannot sufficiently admire what I 
 have read in Ezechiel, where God, with his own 
 mouth, relating the sins which cast the town of Sod- 
 om into the extremity of all miseries, reduces them 
 to five, in these terrible words : " This was the ini- 
 quity of Sodom thy sister, pride, fulness of bread, 
 and abundance, and the idleness of her, and of her 
 daughters ; and they did not put forth their hand to 
 the needy and to the poor." EzecJi. xvi. 49. What 
 ought you, then, to think of this vice, and how odious 
 in the sight of God is hard-heartedness towards the 
 poor, since he places it at the last step by which this 
 people ascended to the greatest of all abominations ! 
 How strange is the blindness of Christians, to make 
 themselves imitators of Sodom, to employ all their 
 cares for the heaping up of treasures, and to place 
 their sovereign felicity in abundance! You have 
 
894 THB MEMORIAL Of 
 
 hitherto heard the law of the prophete ; the gospel^ 
 which is the law of love, speaks no other language ; 
 and can any thing greater be said in favor of mercy, 
 than what the Son of God himself taught us, when 
 he said, that the sentence which shall be pronounced 
 at the last judgment, shall be grounded only on the 
 having exercised or neglected the works of charity? 
 Is there any thing that can make us more esteem 
 this virtue than these following words : " What you 
 have done to the least of these, you have done it to 
 me.'' Matt. xxv. 40. And do we not see that our 
 Saviour has placed the whole accomplishment of the 
 law and the prophets on the only precept of loving 
 God and our neighbor? In fine^ Jesus Christ, being 
 ready to depart out of this world, recommended 
 nothing so expressly to his disciples in that great ser- 
 mon he made to them after his last supper, as to pre- 
 serve charity, and to bear love to their brethren. 
 " This is my commandment," says our Lord, " that 
 ye love one another as I have loved you." John xv, 
 12. And a little before he said, "By this shall all 
 men know that ye are my disciples, if you have loved 
 one for another." John xiii. 35. Nor is his heart 
 contented with only giving them this last command- 
 ment, but, turning immediately towards his Father, 
 he addresses to him a fervent prayer, that he would 
 imprint this precept in their minds, and that the ac- 
 complishment of the law might be manifested in 
 their perfect charity: "Holy Father," says the Son 
 >f God, "I pray that they all may be one, a« thou. 
 
4 CH&XBHAN xint SM 
 
 Father, in me, and I in thee, that the world may be- 
 lieve that thou hast sent me;" (John xvii. 11 & 12.) 
 both to let every one know, that the charity of Chris- 
 tians towards one another ought to be so perfect, and 
 80 far above whatsoever can be expected from flesh 
 and blood, that there should be no "need of any more' 
 powerful argument for the convincing of unbelievers, 
 and to make them believe that it was impossible, that 
 they who loved one another with so fervent and so' 
 disinterested a love, could be any other than heavenly 
 men.^ 
 
 You see, then, what the eharity should be that yon 
 ought to have for your neighbor, and with what af- 
 fection you are obliged to bear with him in his de- 
 fects, and relieve him in his necessities. But you 
 must observe, that for the making a holy use of all » 
 thittgs T have hitherto proposed to you, there is nothing 
 80 necessary as to watch continually over yourselves 
 with fear and trembling, and to dread nothing so 
 much as the falling short of your fidelity to God, in 
 the good resolutions you shall have taken for the 
 government of your life. This holy vigilance, and 
 this care, will serve you as a quickening spur to keep 
 you from ever falling asleep in the way of virtue : 
 and you ought never to lose them, even in the midst 
 of your employments and affairs, since this saving 
 fear, and this exact care never to do the least thing 
 which may be displeasing to Almighty God, is, aa- 
 cording to the prophet, the third part of justice. 
 
 These, then, are the principal virtues which 
 
396 THE MEMORIAL Of 
 
 hellish this heavenly life ; these are ihe flowert of 
 this paradise, the stars of this heaven, and the image 
 whereof we have spoken to you, renewed and reform- 
 ed after the resemblance of Jesus Christ ; for the life 
 of a Christian ought to be so perfect, that it should 
 be a pattern of holiness, a light to the worlds an 
 evident proof of the true faith, and a mirror in which 
 God's glory may be more clearly seen to shine, than 
 in all the other creatures ; as the prophet excellently 
 well signifies : " The valiant and the just shall be call- 
 ed trees, which our Lord has planted, that he might 
 be glorified in them." Isaias Ixi. 3. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Twelve principal things which they ought to do, who 
 desire to serve Almighty God. 
 
 Since I know that several persons desire to have 
 always before their eyes the principal points of this 
 spiritual life, I will endeavor succinctly to set before 
 you most important and most essential things ; those 
 which you ought to do, and those you ought to shun ; 
 to the end that this abridgment may serve you as a 
 landscape, in which you may, at one view, behold 
 your most particular obligations. 
 
 And to begin with those which you ought to do; 
 tho first is, that you endeavor to continue always Ia 
 Qod's presence by an actual application * but if thii 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIfB. 8f7 
 
 atnnot be without intermission, at lea&(t both day and 
 night, often lift up your heart to him by fervent as- 
 pirations, by short but humble and devout prayers, 
 and beg of him his love and his grace, as being able 
 to do nothing without him. 
 
 The second is, that as the bee seeks amongst the 
 flowers only some juice to carry into her hive, so yoa 
 in all things that shall come before you, in all your 
 conversations, and in all your readings, should always 
 endeavor to collect some pious and devout thoughts, 
 of which you may compose the honey of divine love. 
 And as fire consumes, and converts into its own 
 nature, whatever is put into it, even what is most 
 contrary thereunto, as water, or the hardest metal, as 
 iron or steel ; so let your heart be in such manner 
 inflamed with this love, that all things in the world, 
 of what quality soever they be, may only serve for 
 matter to augment its heat. 
 
 The third is, that if you fall into any faults, or 
 perceive your strength weakened or dissipated, do 
 not lose your courage, nor suffer yourselves to sink 
 under temptations ; but rather turn humbly towards 
 our Lord^ acknowledge before him your misery and 
 his mercy ; do, on your part, whatsoever shall be in 
 your power, to return to your first state, and follow 
 eourageously what you had begun. 
 
 The fourth is, that in whatsoever you shall do, yon 
 
 bring always a great purity of intention, which obligei 
 
 you to examine attentively all your words and actioni, 
 
 and even your thoughts, and to mark the intention 
 
 Z4t 
 
S98 THE MEMORIAL 09 
 
 they may have; endeavor to rectify it, and incline it 
 continually towards God, referring to his glory what- 
 ever shall proceed from you, and offering yourselves 
 to his Majesty, not only once every day, but as often 
 as you shall begin any thing. 
 
 The fifth is, that even in the time of peace and 
 tranquillity you be always prepared to receive humbly 
 til the storms which may rise up against you. It 
 seldom happens, that wrath and hastiness are any 
 way useful ; but it is more extraordinary that they 
 would produce any thing that is good ; they leave, 
 at least, the conscience always full of scruples, and 
 it is difficult to judge whether one has exceeded in 
 them or not; it is, therefore, one of the passions 
 which you may most easily subdue, and if you en- 
 deavor to surmount it you shall live with much 
 repose. 
 
 The sixth is, that if you are not a prelate, or the 
 father of a family, you always turn your eyes from 
 the imperfections of others, and cast them on your 
 own; for the first ordinarily draws after it pride, 
 wrath, rash judgment, indiscreet zeal, and divers 
 other motions which trouble the quiet of the heart 
 and conscience ; but the second ordinarily produces 
 in souls only humility, self-confusion, and the fear of 
 God. 
 
 The seventh is, that you disengage yourselves from 
 all the transitory things of this world, not only as to 
 your soul, but also as to your body, and that you ap- 
 ply yourselves to God with ail your heart ; for the 
 
A CHBISTIAN LIfB. 899 
 
 more you shall advance in this disposition, the less yon 
 will have of man, and the more you will participate 
 of God ; for such souls as are extraordinarily affected 
 to perishable things, change and pass with them ; but 
 such as love God alone, do in their degree participate 
 in the firmness and stability of God. Withdraw your- 
 selves also from the multiplicity of affairs ; for though 
 tkey are not evil, yet if you are too much addicted to 
 them, they will throw your heart into distraction, and 
 never suffer it to rest perfectly in God. 
 
 The eighth is, that you continually fix your eyes on 
 the life of Jesus Christ, on his passion, doctrine, con- 
 versation with men, and those divine examples he 
 has left us of all virtues, of humility, charity, mercy, 
 obedience, poverty austerity, contempt of the world* 
 and on the great love he had for our salvation. 
 
 The ninth is, that you labor as much as you possi- 
 bly can to deny yourselves, and resign yourselves up 
 wholly to Almighty God, in such manner that you 
 may cause your own will to die, and that the will of 
 God alone may live in you. It is thus he reigns in 
 OS, and we in him. This is the most useful of all the 
 resolutions you can take in the rencounters of this 
 life, prosperous or adverse, sorrowful or pleasing, 
 sweet or bitter, such as it shall please God to send you. 
 
 The tenth is, that in all your business, cares and 
 troubles, you shall have recourse to God with humil- 
 ity and confidence. He is your Father, therefore 
 seek him with the heart of a true child ; remit all 
 things to his providence ; take them as coming from 
 
400 THE MEMORIAL OF 
 
 his hand ; drive from you all discontented thonghtg 
 and cast yourselves with confidence before the throne 
 of his mercy. 
 
 The eleventh is, that you be in a perpetual ac- 
 knowledgment of his benefits, and that you give him 
 continual thanks for his favors, whether great or 
 Bmall, not considering so much the quality of the 
 gifts he shall have bestowed on you, as your own 
 unworthiness, the greatness of him who grants them, 
 and the love with which he treats you ; for, in effect, 
 he gives little things with no less love than the more 
 important. 
 
 The twelfth is, that you take a firm resolution to 
 cut off and remove far from you all such things, 
 whether corporal or spiritual, as may put the least 
 obstacle to your advancement ; as the too great love 
 of some persons, your studies, books, conversations, 
 and acquaintances, though they appear to you spirit- 
 ual; principally when you shall perceive that you 
 adhere too much to them, and that they hinder you 
 from making a greater progress in virtue. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Ttoelve sorts of Defects, which ottght carefidly to be 
 avoided in the Spiritual Life, 
 
 There are several defects which hinder one from 
 going forward in the spiritual life, and cause many 
 
A CHRISTIAN LIFB. 401 
 
 of those who had a design to profit, to be found after 
 several years the same they ever were. We will here 
 shew you twelve of the most important, that beholding 
 yourselves in them, as in a mirror, you may thereby 
 observe your stains, know the causes that hinder 
 your progress, and seek remedies for them. 
 
 The first is, the excessive love of businsss and out- 
 ward afiairs, which causes one to be deprived of the 
 inward visits and consolations of the spirit, for no 
 person can find without, what he ought to seek with- 
 in himself 
 
 The second is, the too easy access which one giver 
 to every body. Those who are naturally addicted to 
 this easiness, and take delight in it, cannot ria them- 
 selves of company and business, when it is necessary ; 
 thus they lose their time, and often fail in their good 
 exercises, because they will not fail their friends: 
 and through overmuch desire to please the creatures 
 the Creator is often displeased. 
 
 The third is, not to be humble enough before God, 
 and to act in his presence with too much liberty ; 
 thereby is lost that respectful reservedness that is 
 due to him, and which is founded in true humility, 
 and produces chiefly spiritual profit. 
 
 The fourth is, to apply one's self to things incon- 
 siderately and with too much eagerness; to follow 
 therein rather the impetuous passion of the mind, 
 than the guide of reason : this excessive fervor de- 
 stroys the peace and tranquillity of the heart; it ia 
 •Iso prejudicial to the afikirs themselves for want ot 
 34* 
 
402 THE MEMORIAL Of 
 
 giving them due consideration. There is nothing 
 more true than the assertion of the wise man, who 
 Bays, **He who hasteth with his feet shall fall.*' 
 Prov. xix. 2. Endeavor, therefore, to act in all 
 things with a sound and steady judgment, which may 
 be called the faithful companion of prudence. 
 
 The fifth, into which one sometimes falls without 
 perceiving it, is to presume too much on one's sel^ 
 and on one's own virtue. This is the vice of the phari- 
 see, who, through too good opinion he had of his own 
 merits, contemned others, and thereby found himself 
 to want the foundation of all virtues, which is hu- 
 mility.^ 
 
 The sixth is, to be inclined to judge evil of one's 
 neighbor, and lightly to condemn his actions. There 
 is nothing that more chills charity, since the good 
 we wish another proceeds partly from the good opin- 
 ion we have of him. 
 
 The seventh is, to have the greatest part of one'a 
 heart always set on worldly things. This causes the 
 divine love to retire from us, and be much less lib- 
 eral of its influences. 
 
 The eighth is, to behave one's self coldly in the 
 exercise of prayer, as many do, who come to it with 
 sloth, continue it weakly, and finish it without profit ; 
 which being so, it is no wonder if they find themselves 
 deprived of heavenly visitations, and their devotion 
 feeble and languishing. 
 
 The ninth is, to be over indulgent to one's sel^ 
 »nd very slack in what concerns the mortification 
 
A CHBISTIAN LIFB. 403 
 
 and destruction of the outward man. He who lives 
 for himself will hardly live for God; and he who 
 endeavors not daily to mortify himself^ will never be 
 the servant of God. 
 
 The tenth is, not to give one's self sufficiently to 
 recollection , but to be found ordinarily distracted, 
 and wandering, out of one's self; whence a man 
 comes to be ignorant of what he is, and knows not 
 how to disesteem himself as he ought, or to watch 
 over his own actions as much as is necessary. 
 
 The eleventh is, to love one's self too much ; to be 
 too much bent to one's own will and appetites : they 
 that live thus believe the cross of Jesus Christ to be 
 an intolerable burden, and the perfection of the evan- 
 gelical life a yoke which cannot be borne. 
 
 The twelfth is, to be changeable and inconstant in 
 one's purposes ; to form good resolutions, but more 
 easily break off from them. It is perseverance alone 
 which finishes the work : without it the whole life 
 passes in vain and frivolous projects, and a man be- 
 comes like those vines, which bear grapes all the year, 
 but such as nev^er come to maturity. 
 
 TDB nn. 
 
 I 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Pevaci^ < • • • • iii 
 
 BOOK I. 
 
 CoiUaining a aeri&ua ExhortaHon to do Petumet^ 
 Chap. 
 
 I. With what punishment God threatens those who lire 
 
 in sin, * • • 16 
 
 II. What the glory of the blessed is, , . . ,36 
 m. The advantages God promises the good in this life, • 46 
 rV. That a man ought never to delay his conversion, hav- 
 ing so many debts to discharge, incurred by the 
 faults of his past life, •••••• 69 
 
 V« Conclusion, . . • • • . • 68 
 
 BOOK II. 
 On Penance and Confession* 
 
 brrBODucTioN, • • • #6 
 
 L On the first part of Penance, which is Gontritioii, and 
 
 the means to obtain it, • • • • • 67 
 
 IL On the principal means to obtain Contrition, and par- 
 ticularly on true sorrow for sin, . . .76 
 m. Considerations that may help a penitent to conceive 
 
 a horror for his sins. First of their multitude, • 78 
 Sect. 2. Second Consideration. On what is lost by sin, 83 
 Sect. 3. Third Consideration. On the majesty and 
 
 goodness of God, against whom we sin, . • 87 
 Sect. 4. Fourth Consideration. On the injury done to 
 
 God by sin, . ....... 90 
 
 Sect. 5. Fifth Consideration. On the hatred God 
 
 bears to sin, ... • • • M 
 
 404 
 
G0NTBNT8. 405 
 
 Sect. 6. Sixth Consideration, On Deaths and the 
 
 things that follow it, 94 
 
 Sect. 7. Seventh Consideration. On God's benefits, 96 
 
 IV. A Prayer, to stir up in the sonl compunction and sor- 
 
 row for her sins, . . . . , 98 
 
 V. Another Prayer, to beg pardon for our sins, . • 101 
 Another Prayer, to beg pardon for our sins, • . lOS 
 
 n. Of the wonderful fruits that follow true Contrition, 116 
 fll. On the second part of Penance, which is Confession, 
 
 and of seven things that are to be observed in it, • 122 
 Sect. 1. On the care that is to be taken in examining 
 
 onr conscience, 122 
 
 Sect 2. The obligation we have to confess the number 
 
 of our sins, • • . 12# 
 
 Sect. 3. On Confession, and the circumstances that 
 
 ought to accompany it, II 
 
 Sect. 4. That it is not necessary to confess any thing 
 that does not aggravate or change the spodes of 
 the sin of which we accuse ourselves, . i^ 
 
 Sect 5. In what manner sins of thought Bie ic cm 
 
 confessed, . • . « . • . . 131 
 Sect. 6. Of taking heed not to prejudice our neighbor's 
 
 reputation, . . . • • . • . • ISS 
 Vin. Of cases in which the confession is null, and must be 
 
 reiterated, 134 
 
 A general examination of Conscience, • • . 18C 
 General directions for distinguishing between mortal 
 and venial sin, 149 
 
 IX. Of the third part of Penance, which is Satisfaction, 160 
 
 X. Of the origin and cause of Satisfaction, , . , 164 
 
 XI. Of the three principal works by which we satisfy 
 
 God, 168 
 
 Sect. 1. Of the first satisfactory work, which is 
 
 Fasting, .169 
 
 Sect 2. Of the second, which is Alms, • • . 172 
 Sect 3. Of the third, which is Prayer, • • • 177 
 
 XII. A short Examination of Conscience for those who 
 
 confess often, ....••• 180 
 
^ 406 
 
 CONTENm 
 
 BOOK 111 
 
 On Holy Communion, 
 
 4'<fAF. piM. 
 
 L How V2 ought to prepare ourselves for it, . 187 
 
 II. Of the first thing necessarj for communicating well, 
 
 which is, Puritj of Conscience, . • • ,193 
 
 III. Of the second thing necessary for communicating well, 
 
 which is Purity of Intention, , . . . 199 
 
 IV • Of the third thing necessary for communicating well, 
 
 which is Actual Devotion, 203 
 
 V. That time ought to be taken for the putting one's 
 
 self in all these dispositions, . • • • 218 
 
 VI. What ought to be done before communicating, . 225 
 
 VII. What is to be done in communicating, and after com- 
 
 municating, 22t 
 
 VUL Of the use of the sacraments of Penance and the 
 Blessed Eucharist, and of the profit received by 
 
 often frequenting them, 238 
 
 Sect. 1. Of the effects of sacramental Communion, • 241 
 Sect. 2. Answers to the objections of the slothful, • 2i6 
 IX. Of the cause why some persons find little devotion 
 
 when they celebrate or communicate, . • • 266 
 JL Whether it be good to communicate very often, • 260 
 A Meditation before holy Communion, to stir up in the 
 
 soul the fear and love of the most holy Sacrament, 272 
 The second part of this Meditation. • • • 277 
 
 A Prayer after Communion, by St. Thomas of Aquin, 281 
 A Meditation after Communion, .... 282 
 A Meditation for one to exercise himself in on the day 
 of holy Communion, in considering the greatneas 
 of this mystery, and giving thanks to our Lord for 
 this incomparable benefit, . . • • . 285f 
 The second part of this meditation, • • • 299 
 
 BOOK IV, 
 Containing tioo principcd Rules of a Christian Li/€* 
 
 PrbfacE; 299 
 
 L The First Rule of a Christian Life, treating of the 
 
 Tictory over sin^^ and the means to 4estroy it, • 902 
 

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