The daily exercises of a Christian life or the interiour spirit with which we ought to animate our actions throughout the whole day: With an easy instruction for mentall prayer, translated out of French by I.W. of the Soc. of Jesus.

FOR THE OCTAVE OF WHITSONTIDE.

Apply your self every day, to know, demand, & practise one of the seven gifts of the holy Ghost, to the end that he may purifiy, and Sanctify with these seven divine habits, all the affections of your soul.

THE .I. DAY. The gift of Wisdome.

LEt the subject of your prayer, be the qualities of this gift, which are (1.) to make us relish God, & all that unites us to him; (2.) to give us an extreme disgust of all pleasures of the senses, & all naturall satis∣faction; (3.) to make us esteem, love, & search with passion, sufferings, dis∣grace, & abjection, of which we have such a horrour; (4.) to make an in∣tire

separation of a heart, from all fondness of creatures, as also from all that is sensuall in devotion, & from all that is not God.

Come o holy Ghost, come & en∣lighten my mind with this gift of wisdome, come & destroy in me the love of the world: grant that I may take no relish in any thing but in God, that God may be all to me, & creatures may be nothing: grant that I may love contempt which my Savi∣our so esteemed, & that the cross may be the onely o••ject of my love.

2. Beg often during the first day, that is the day of Pentecost, the gift of wisdome, which consists in loving spirituall things, make an extraordi∣nary visit to the blessed Sacrament, to beg this day as well as throughout the whole Octave, the Office of the holy Ghost, & in the morning after your prayers, say, veni Creator, as in the end of this book, & give every day of the Octave, some little almes to the poor, to obtain the gifts of the holy Ghost, whom the holy Chruch stiles the Father of the poor.

THE II. DAY. The Gifts of Ʋnderstanding.

1. COnsider in your prayer the ef∣fects of this gift, which are (1.) to make us love what we believe, & to render our faith so lively & strong, that it may make such an impression upon our minds, as if we saw the ob∣jects of what we believe, so that a soul inlightened with this gift, is lost in the respect & love it finds, in gods pre∣sence, in prayer, & before the bles∣sed Sacrament, as if it saw God with its eyes; & this gift works the same effect in the soul, as the light of glory does in the souls of the Blessed▪ It sees God in the bosome of it, & feels his presence after so intimate & certain a manner, that it is rather a possession, then a knowledge of God. (2.) This gift makes us see God in all things, & makes all things carry us to God; So that a soul which is enlightened with it, considers nothing that is good, rich

or perfect in creatures, but onely i•• God, as in the source of all bounty & goodness: It is full of the Idea of th•• greatness of God, It penetrates chr••¦stian verities with a supernaturall view It discovers in abjection, & in th•• cross, beauties unknown to sensual soules, & depises all earthly goods

2. O my God dissipate the darkne•• of my mind, by the light of your holy spirit; grant I may judge no more o•• things according to their appearances & according to sense, but according to truth, & according to the superna∣turall view of grace, that all things that I understand, may carry me to you that all creatures may disappear in the presence of their Creatour, to the end that God alone may take up my mind, which is made, to know him, & my heart which was created, to ove him.

3. Observe that which is marked the first day after meditation, to wit, the frequent aspirations during the whole day, taken out of the affections marked in your meditation; The visit of the blessed Sacrament, The office of the holy Ghost, The veni Creator,

to obtain this Gift, & do the same the other days of the Octave.

THE III. DAY. The Gift of Knowledge.

1. COnsider that the gift of know∣ledge when it enlightens a soul, it makes it judge of things, as God himself does, that is to say, it makes it esteem nothing great but the service of God, to fear nothing but his dis∣pleasure, to love nothing but what makes us more agreable in his eyes.

2. This gift enlightens us in the knowledge of the Crucifix, that is to say, it makes us behold with res∣pect, all the crosses that God sends us, proceding from the cross deify'd in Jesus-Christ, & therefore makes us far from complaining of them; it receives them with gratefull acknow∣ledgement, & thanks our Saviour for them, as for a singular favour, it thinks it self more happy in suffring a contempt, an affliction, an injury,

a persecution, an affront, a refusall a drieness, a sensible dereliction of Go•• in prayer, more then in possessing the whole earth; wherefore the so•• thus enlightened with the gift o•• knowledge, when any pain happen to it, goes immediately & casts i•• self on its knees before a Crucifix, t•• receive its cross as from the hand o•• God, with respect, submission, & loue

2. O my Jesus! O that the beam•• of your cross were more known to the world! O how do they contemne the holy reliques of your cross, which you offer to us shut up in the pain of this life! O cross of my Saviour. O how often have I adored you i•• my Crucifix which is your image, & despised in my pains, which are you•• true effects, &, as it were, your s•• many other selves!

THE IV. DAY. The Gift of Counsell.

1. COonsider that this gift carrys us 1. to consult God in all things that we undertake; (2.) to do nothing but by the motions of grace, or ac∣cording to the maximes of the Gospell. (3.) never to neglect inspirations & interiour admonitions of the holy Ghost, but readily & faithfully to follw them. (4.) to give good coun∣sell to such as ask our advice; (5.) never to follow that which vanity, humour or self love counsells us to do but to do that onely which the spi∣rit of grace & the love of our abje∣ction inspires us.

2. O my God! how much reason have I to fear that I have been the cause of the sin & damnation of many persons by my ill counsells? Perhaps at this present, there are some in hell which would have been in heaven, if I had counselled them in their des∣paire,

assisted them in their poverty or withdrawn them by my good coun¦sells from the occasion of sin. O how many have I ruined by my bad exam∣ple! What reproaches will these dam¦ned make me at the day of Iudge∣ment! O holy Ghost, how sorry am I, that I have so often neglected thy counsells to follow the sentiment of self love! O that I could be so faith∣full for the future, as never to do any thing contrary to your ••nspirations, but in all things, to follow your coun∣sel.

THE V. DAY. The Gift of Fortitude.

1. COnsider the effects of this gift, which are (1.) to render our selves so perfect masters of our hu∣mours, of our choler, & of our pas∣sions, that we may crush, & stifle their revolts in their birth; (2.) to give us invincible courage in our pains, ne∣ver to permit our selves to be op∣pressed

by them, but to remain faith∣full in them; (3.) to give us stedfast∣ness in our good resolutions, & cou∣rage, constantly to follow that which we have undertaken for the glory of God, & the salvation of souls, inspi∣te of all contradictions, contempt, or oppositions of creatures; (4.) to esta∣blish all our happiness in sufferings, or the persecutions that we undergo for the good we would do.

2. O Jesus humbled & despised! o that your affronts would render my contempts pleasing to me! And that your annihilations would give me cou∣rage to suffer my self to be reduced to nothing for your sake, in the esteem of all men! Holy spirit, grant that my mind may find its strength in the weakness of my body, that I may never fall under the burthen of the cross. O how I am confounded to see that there needs onely a rude word, a contradiction, nay a nothing, to make me fall into impatience! It seems to me when I goe from my prayer, that I want no force to do & suffer all things, but how weak am I, when the

occasion presents it self! Give me grace to suffer all things from others, & to make me suffer my self.

THE VI. DAY. The Gift of Piety.

1. COnsider that this gift inspires a soul with true devotion, which consists (1.) in performing with fer∣vour & promptitude, all that God de∣sires of us (2.) in loving prayer, the exercises of piety, the frequen∣ting of the Sacraments, solitude, rea∣ding, & recollection of mind, in the presence of God. This gift imprints in the heart so lively and animated a tenderness for the love of God, tha•• one is ready to do & suffer all things to please him.

2. Ought I ô my God, so often to bear the cross, & yet neuer to bear it well? O that a soul were as knowing in the science of Saints, to esteem, love, & cherish crosses as worldlings shun & reject them.

O Cross, ô holy Cross! how can you be all my consolation & com∣fort in my life? how can I look upon you at the day of judgement with con∣fidence, if I receive you not with res∣pect in this world, suffering my pains with submission, silence, & love?

THE VII. DAY. The Gift of the Fear of God.

1. COnsider that this gift imprints in our hearts a filial & respect∣full fear of God, which makes us apprehend the least sin, because 'tis displeasing to God, & not because of the punishment it deserves; & that pierceth a soul in all places, with an holy respect & an humble dread be∣fore the divine majesty of God which is intirely present to it.

2. O how well do I conceive, O my God, how this constant & habi∣tuall fear of a soul does purify, untye, & render it perfect? in a small time. O holy Ghost, bestow upon me this

wholsome fear, which may make me apprehend the lightest infidelity, & which may assure me of a happy eternity.

3. This gift unites us intimately to God in prayer, it recollects all the senses, it stops all the powers of the heart, in the sight & perfe∣ction of this sole object, of which the soul experiences an intimate pre∣sence, rather then a knowledge of it.

4. O holy Spirit! source of love & bounty, the adorable origine of the sanctification of our hearts, inflame them with the fire of thy divine cha∣rity, let us see & tast, how sweet our Lord is; give us the spirit of recolle∣ction, & of prayer, which may carry us to do all things, as in gods sight, & yet recall us into our selves, there to adore & love a God, who abides in our hearts, as in his temple, and sanctifies them, by the communication of his spirit.