Sweete thovghtes of Iesvs and Marie, or, Meditations for all the feasts of ovr B. Saviovr and his B. Mother togeither with Meditations for all the Sundayes of the yeare and our Sauiovrs Passion : for the vse of the daughters of Sion : diuided into tvvo partes / by Thomas Carre ...

MEDITATION I. For S. Stephens day.

I. POINT.

CONSIDER that it is no wonder that Christ is not knowen by men, since men haue left to be men, and are tur∣ned into the nature of brute beastes; to wit being placed in honour they vnderstood it not, and thence, they were compared to brute beastes, and were made like vnto them, Yes they ayme at nothing but to feede fatt, to find ease, to lye warme, to wanton it vp and downe, to generate and take delight. Are not these thinges comon with men and beastes? And doth not yet man adde to these many inuentions of witt and Arte, to court vanitie, to inuite luxe lust and sinne? But loe the wisdome of the eternall father is lodged in a Caue, to teach ignorant man another lesson: to witt, that felicitie is not to be found in vanitie, in carnalitie, in heapes of gold, nay it cryes out, as it were, to all the world by this example. Why doe you loue vanitie and seeke alye? It is not, it is not to be found

in these follies. No, my wayes are as farre remoued from your wayes, and my cogi∣tations from your cogitations, as is hea∣uen from earth.

[Aff.] Seeke still what you seeke, ô mor∣talls, but seeke it not where you seeke it; seeke it not in the follies of the world which knowes not Christ; but seek it in the knowledge of Christ. Seeke it not in the world which passeth away together with its concupiscences, but seeke it in Christ, the Word made flesh, which remaynes for euer. Nay seeke not Christ neither with hope to find him in pompe and state in the pallaces of Kinges, but in the poore cribbe with the poore, simple, and vigilant she∣phards, that is, with vigilancie, in simpli∣citie, in pouertie, in humilitie and abie∣ction. There may proud man, being hum∣bled, surely find and Know humble Christ.

[Resolution.] I will seeke then whom my soule loueth; Not in vanities as I did when I found him not. But, &c. And since the world neither receiues; nor knowes, nor cares for my Christ, I will neither admitt into my hart, nor know, or care for the world &c.

2. POINT.

[Cons.] Looke vpon this

caue or stable as the true sohoole of all ver∣tues, where the wisdome of heauen giues solide lessons of heauenly wisdome; where the eternally begotten, the onely begotten son of God, Iesus Christ, newly come downe from heauen, is to frame in our hartes the impressions of Christianitie: mhere the word which was in the begining with God, and was euen God him selfe, God of God, true God of true God, lying now dumbe in a poore manger, for the loue of poore man, who was become a brute beast, should speake lowder to heauen-beloued Christan hartes then all the voyces of men and Angells.

[Aff.] O deare God! O great God! ô truë God! whom my soule with all its forces acknowledges and adores in this strange disguise; what is it thou wouldst speake to my hart by these dumbe signes? What is it? Ist that thou wouldst signifie hereby to the faithfull and louing soule, that thou dost languish with loue, and so in a loue-pause remaynest speechlesse? Is it, that neuer more loue is spoken betwene true Louers, then when tongues keepe silence, and giue hartes leaue to speake by the eyes such misteries as none but louers vnder∣stand?

Is it, that man should waxe dumbe to the world, while the word appeares dumbe in the world? O speake thus, speake thus Deare Lord, to thy poore seruant who giues eare to thee. And, whilest thou spea∣kest, let the worlde keepe silence; and turne as dead to me, as I to it. Let my tongue, and all the tumultuous people of my interiour house, keepe silence. Let my hart be silent too, and onely giue eare to this one necessarie Word, saying: I am thy saluation: for I am Iesus, thy Sauiour.

THE II. MEDITATION.

I. POINT.

[CONS.] But what is this silent word? That verie same by which all thinges were made, and without which nothing was made, while he himselfe was not made but was begotten by an eternall genera∣tion, which none is capable to expresse. That word, from which all thinges had beeing, as from a verie Ocean of beeing. That word, which was in the begining, and in the begining began to worke vpon no∣thing, and of it made all thinges; created Heauen and earth: for that litle word fiat

was said, and euery thing began to ryse out of the abysse of nothing, and haue beeing, life, and motion, &c. By this word was said: Let light be made; and it presently was made, &c.

[Aff.] O powrefull almightie Lord! What humane wisdome is not strucke dumme with the wonders and prodigies wrought by this now silent word? The wisdome of the world would teach vs by Philosophie, that of nothing nothing is made: but this word▪ which is the Wisdome of heauē, assures vs, that of Nothing all thinges were made: which while he is silēt all the creatures to∣gether crye outwith a loudevoyce, we made not our selues but he made vs. O thou light of light! who in the begining with a word made light in the world, and now comest downe into it to enlighten all men, daigne to be a light to my obscured hart, that it may discerne as well the effects of thy word, as the silence of the ••ame. And clea∣rely see, that as in the begining that, made all thinges of nothing, so this, in tyme comes to repaire all thinges made worse then nothinge. And as that in the begining made all thinges right, so this in tyme comes to rectifie all thinges disordered.

And grant that as we see all that we haue & are, flowed from thy Bountie; so our firme resolution may euer be, that all we either haue or are, may returne to thee againe, by our Iustice and gratitude. Fiat fiat.

POINT 2.

[Conf.] But yet what is this silent word? The very son of God, God; the true God: now the verie son of Mary, the son of man, true man, flesh of our flesh, bones of our bones, God man, man God, God and man, one and the same. But if son, heyre; if son of God; heire of the kingdome of God, heauen. If God man, and heire to the kingdome of heauen, then man hath gotten title to the kingdome of heauen. If son and heire, and to the king∣dome of heauen, the kinge of heauen: man then begins, to raigne, since a part and portiō of him begins to raigne, in him who raigned in the begining, before the begining, in tyme, before tyme, from all eternitie.

[Aff.] Yes my poore soule, it is noe lesse excellent person then the son of God: the heire of God, the kinge of heauen, true God of true God, lyes before thyne eyes. Who, least he might haue bene a lesse

deare obiect to thy contemplation and loue, whyle he was lesse accessible; of inuisible he becomes visible in flesh, to thyne eyes of flesh. And by an incom∣parable, and inconceiuable transport of loue, he who in the beginning made mā to his owne similitude; and likenesse, vouchsa¦feth, in tyme to be made to the similitude and likenesse of man, and to giue vs power therby to become the sonnes of his hea∣uenly father, the sonnes of God. The son∣nes of God? the sonnes of thy heauenly father? Ah what ioy, ô Iesu we are thy brothers then: and if brothers, heires of God; coheires with thee, ô deare sauiour Iesus Christ. dilate, dilate my hart, deare child from heauen, the bulke of thy ouer∣charging dearenesse is too large to enter! Ah make me not poore with too much heauenly plentie; either bestowe thy giftes according to my measure, and abilitie, to receiue them, or enlarge my hart, and inable it to receiue them, according to the proportion in which thou dagniest to bestow them. I poore contemptible wretch! borne the son of earth, made the sonne of God, the Heyre of God! The brother of IBSVS-CHRIST! co∣heire with Iesus! let me, deare childe, let

me neuer more by a degenerous conuer∣sation. (In such or such thinges making reflection of your greatest imperfections, &c.) stayne the noble familie, and the di∣gnitie of the bloud and alliance, into which I am addopted by thy gracious∣nesse. May I rather dye then euer proue so base and disloyall. Amen.