6. Compare day with day, week with week, communion with communion, time with time, duty with duty, and see if you can observe any advantage, any ground gotten of a passion; any further degree of the spirit of mortification, any new permanent fires of devotion; for by volatile, sudden and transient flames we can never guess steadily. But be sure never to think you are at all improved unless you observe your defects to be 1) fewer: 2) or lighter: or 3) at least not to be the same, but of another kind and instance, against which you had not made particular provisions formerly; but now upon this new observation and experience you must.

7. Upon or against a communion-day endeavour to put your soul into that order and state of good things, as if that day you were to die; and consider that unless you dare die upon that day, if God should call you, there is but little reason you should dare to receive the sacrament of life, or the ministry of death. He that communicates worthily is justified from sins: and to him death can have no sting, to whom the sacrament brings life and health; and therefore let every one that is to communicate place himself by meditation in the gates of death, and suppose himself seated before the tribunal of God's judgment, and see whether he can reasonably hope that his sins are pardoned, and cured, and extinguished. And then if you judge righteous judgment, you will soon find what pinches most, what makes you most afraid, what was most criminal, or what is least mortified; and so you will learn to make provisions accordingly.

8. If you find any thing yet amiss, or too suspicious, or remaining to evil purposes, the relics of the scattered enemy after a war, resolve to use some general instrument of piety or repentance, that may, by being useful in all the parts of your life and conversation, meet with every straggling irregularity, and by perpetuity and an assiduous force clear the coast. 1) Resolve to have the presence of God frequently in your thought. 2) Or endeavour and resolve to bring it to pass to have so great a dread and reverence of God, that you may be more ashamed and really troubled and confounded to sin in the presence of God, than in the sight and observation of the best and severest man. 3) Or else resolve to punish thyself with some proportionable affliction of the body or spirit for every irregularity or return of undecency in that instance in which thou setst thyself to mortify any one especial passion or temptation: or 4) firmly to purpose in every thing which is not well, not to stay a minute, but to repent instantly of it, severely to condemn it, and to do something at the first opportunity for amends: or 5) to resolve against an instance of infirmity for some short, sure, and conquerable periods of time: as if you be given to prating, resolve to be silent, or to speak nothing but what is pertinent for a day; or for a day not to be angry; and then sometimes for two days; and so diet your weak soul with little portions of food till it be able to take in and digest a full meal: or 6) meditate often every day of death, or the day of judgment. By these and the like instruments it will

happen to the remains of sin, as it did to the Egyptians; what is left by the hail, the caterpiller will destroy; and what the caterpiller leaves, the locusts will eat. These instruments will eat up the remains of sin as the poor gather up the gleanings after the carts in harvest.

9. But if at any communion and in the use of these advices you do not perceive any sensible progression in the spirit of mortification or devotion; then be sure to be ashamed and to be humbled for thy indisposition and slow progression in the discipline of Christ; and if thou beest humbled truly for thy want of improvement, it is certain thou hast improved. And if you come with fear and trembling, it is very probable you will come in the spirit of repentance and devotion.

These exercises and measures will not seem many, long and tedious* as the rules of art; if we consider that all are not to be used at all times, nor by every person, but are instruments fitted to several necessities, and useful when they can do good, and to be used no longer. For he that uses these or any the like advices by way of solemnity, and in periodical returns, will still think fit to use them at every communion as long as he lives; but he that uses them as he should, that is, to effect the work of reformation upon his soul, may lay them all aside, according as his work is done. But if we would every day do something of this, if we would every day prepare for the day of death, or which is of a like consideration, for the day of our communion; if we would every night examine our passed day, and set our things in order; if we would have a perpetual entercourse and conversation with God; or, which is better than all examinations in the world, if we would actually attend to what we do, and consider every action, and speak so little that we might consider it; we should find that upon the day of our communion we should have nothing to do, but the third particular, that is, the offices of prayer and eucharist, and to renew our graces by prayer and exercises of devotion.

SECTION IV.

DEVOTIONS TO BE USED UPON THE MORNING OF THE COMMUNION.

1. O BLESSED Lord, our gracious Saviour and Redeemer Jesus, King of kings and Lord of lords; Thou art fairer than the children of men; upon Thee the angels look and behold and wonder; what am I, O Lord, that Thou who fillest heaven and earth, shouldst descend and desire to dwell with me, who am nothing but folly and infirmity, misery and sin, shame and death?

Quisquis amore venit, nescit se ferre laborem ;

Nemo labore jacet, quisquis amore venit.

Ven. Fortunat., lib. iii. epigr. 37. [p. 95.-4to. Mogunt. 1617.].

2. I confess, O God, that when I consider Thy greatness, and my nothing, Thy purity and my uncleanness, Thy glory and my shame; I see it to be infinitely unreasonable and presumptuous that I should approach to Thy sacred presence, and desire to partake of Thy sacraments, and to enter into Thy grace, and to hope for a part of Thy glory. But when I consider Thy mercy and Thy wisdom, Thy bounty and Thy goodness, Thy readiness to forgive and Thy desires to impart Thyself unto Thy servants; then I am lifted up with hope; then I come with boldness to the throne of grace. Even so, O Lord, because Thou hast commanded it, and because Thou lovest it should be so.

3. It was never heard, O Lord, from the beginning of the world, that Thou didst ever despise him that called upon Thee, or forsake any man that abides in Thy fear, or that any person who trusted in the Lord was ever confounded. But if I come to Thee, I bring an unworthy person to be united unto Thee; if I come not, I shall remain unworthy for ever. If I stay away, I fear to lose Thee; if I come, I fear to offend Thee, and that will lose Thee more, and myself too at last. I know, O God, I know my sins have separated between me and my God; but Thy love and Thy passion, Thy holiness and Thy obedience hath reconciled us: and though my sins deter me, yet they make it necessary for me to come; and though Thy greatness amazes me, yet it is so full of goodness that it invites me.

4. O therefore, blessed Saviour, who didst for our sakes take upon Thee our passions and sensibilities, our weaknesses and our sufferings, who wert hungry after the temptation of the devil, weary and thirsty in Thy discourse with the woman of Samaria, who didst weep over Lazarus, wert afflicted in the garden, whipt in the consistory, nailed on the cross, pierced with a spear, wrapped in linen, laid in the grave, and so art become a merciful High-priest and pitiful to our infirmities; be pleased to receive a weary sinner, an overburdened conscience, an afflicted, polluted soul into Thy care and conduct, into Thy custody and cure. I know that a thousand years of tears and sorrow, the purity of angels, the love of saints, and the humiliation of the greatest penitent, is not sufficient to make me worthy to dwell with Thee, to be united to Thy infinity, to be fed with Thy body, and refreshed with Thy purest blood, to become bone of Thy bone, and flesh of Thy flesh, and spirit of Thy spirit.

5. But what I cannot be of myself, let me be made by Thee; I come to Thee, wounded and bruised and bleeding; for Thou art my physician, arise then with healing in Thy wings; I am thirsty and faint, as the hart longeth after the water brooks, so longeth my soul after Thee, O God; Thou art the eternal fountain, from whence spring the waters of comfort and salvation; I am hungry and empty and weak, and I come running after Thee because Thou hast the words of eternal life; O send me not away empty, for I shall faint and die; I cannot live with

out Thee. O let virtue go forth from Thee and heal all my sickness; do Thou appear to my soul in these mysteries; heal my sores, purify my stains, enlighten my darkness, turn me from all vain imaginations and illusions of the enemy, all perverseness of will, all violence and inordination of passions, sensual desires and devilish angers, lust and malice, gluttony and pride, the spirit of envy and the spirit of detraction; let not sin reign in my members, nor the devil lead my will captive, nor the world abuse my understanding and debauch my con

versation.

6. O Jesus, be a Jesus unto me: and let this sacrament be a savour of life, and Thy holy body the bread of life, and Thy precious blood the purifier of my sinful life: grant I may receive these divine mysteries for the amendment of my life, and the defensative against my sins; for the increase of virtue and the perfection of my spirit: grant that I may from Thee thus sacramentally communicated derive prevailing grace for the amendment of my life; spiritual wisdom for the discerning the ways of peace; the spirit of love, and the spirit of purity; that in all my life I may walk worthy of Thy gracious favours which Thou givest to me unworthy; that I may do all my works in holiness and right intention, that I may resist every temptation with a never fainting courage, and a caution never surprised, and a prudence never deceived.

7. Sweetest Saviour, I come to Thee upon Thy invitation and Thy commandment; I could not come to Thee but by Thee; O let me never go from Thee any more, but enter into my heart; feed me with Thy word, sustain me with Thy spirit, refresh me with Thy comforts, and let me in this divine mystery receive Thee my dearest Saviour; and be Thou my wisdom and my righteousness, my sanctification and redemption; let me receive this holy nutriment as the earnest of an eternal inheritance, as a defensative against all spiritual danger, for the eviction of all the powers of the enemy, as an incentive of holy love, and a strengthening of my faith, for the increasing of a holy hope, and the consummation of a heavenly love; that Thou being one with me and I with Thee, I may by Thee be gracious in the eyes of Thy heavenly Father, and may receive my portion amongst the inheritance of sons, O eternal and most gracious Saviour and Redeemer Jesu. Amen, Amen.

CHAPTER VII.

OF OUR COMPORTMENT IN AND AFTER OUR RECEIVING
THE BLESSED SACRAMENT.

SECTION I.

OF THE CIRCUMSTANCES AND MANNER OF RECEPTION OF THE
DIVINE MYSTERIES.

It is the custom of the church of great antiquity, and proportionable regard, that every Christian that is in health should receive the blessed sacrament fasting. The apostles and primitive bishops at first gave it after supper, or together with it; but that soon passed into inconvenience; and some were drunken, and some were empty and despised, and the holy sacrament was dishonoured and the Lord's body was not discerned, and God was provoked to anger, and the sinners were smitten and died in their sin; as appears in the sad narrative which S. Pauly makes of the misdemeanours and the misfortunes in the Corinthian churches. Something like to which is that which Socrates tells of some Christians in Egypt; they celebrated the holy communion at evening; but never till they had "filled themselves with varieties of choice meat." Of some also in Africa that communicated at evening S. Austin speaks; and of others who communicated both morning and evening; at evening because S. Paul called it deînvоV KUρLaкòv, 'the Lord's supper; and in the morning from the universal custom of the church, which in most places from the very days of the apostles prevailed, that the holy eucharist should be given to none but to them that were fasting: which thing was also decreed in the third council of Carthage; and hath been observed ever since. And in this the church hath not without good reason taken up the custom.

For besides that the intemperance of them that feasted before they communicated did not only give scandal to the religion, but did infinitely indispose them that came, and dishonour the divine mysteries; and such feastings would for ever be a temptation and a snare, and therefore could not be cured so well as by taking the occasion

[1 Cor. xi. 21, 30.]

• Παντοίων εδεσμάτων ἐμφορηθέντες. -Socrat., lib. v. [cap. 22. p. 295.]

a Epist. cxviii. ad Januar. [al. liv. cap.

4. tom. v. col. 126 A.]

b [Can. xliv.] Ut sacramenta altaris non nisi a jejunis hominibus celebrentur,

excepto uno die anniversario, quo cœna Domini celebratur. Vide Zonar. in hunc canon. [apud Bevereg., synod., tom. i. p. 567.] et concil. Matiscon. ii. [can. vi. tom. iii. col. 461 E.] et Petrum Abailardum, epist. viii. [p. 164.-4to. Paris. 1616.]