The life of the Reuerend Fa. Angel of Ioyeuse Capucin preacher Sometimes duke, peere, and marshall of France, and gouernour for the Kinge in Languedoc. Together with the liues of the Reuerend Fathers, Father Bennet Englishman, and Father Archangell Scotchman, of the same ordere. Written first in the Frenche tongue, and now translated into English by R.R. Catholique priest.

A briefe repetition of the foresaid principall points by way of Thankesgiuing. THE THIRTENTH CHAPTER:

NOwe, O my God and Sauiour, when I call to minde all these meruailous workes, & thy exceeding benefitts bestowed vppon mee, poore worme and vngratefull, vnprofitable and negligent seruant, when I remember them to imprint them the rather by this meanes into my harte, and to engraue them in the bottome of my soule, I am forced to confesse, that I finde nothing more sweete & sauorous to my soule, nor knowe nothing that is more pleasing to thee, then to praise and laude thy holy name for them.

For thou haste compassed mee about, thou hast taught mee, and kept mee as the apple of thyne eye; Thou which art the way, hast lead

mee into the way of thy holy truth, so that I straied not. Thou that art the truth, hast taught mee, so that I erred not, in things which were hard and profound; Thou that art the life, hast preserued mee so that a multitude of mortall dartes of the worlde, that flesh and the deuill, haue not wounded mee to death: O my light thou hast founde mee out in a desert land, that is in England which is vnpeopled of Catho∣liques, in a place of horrour that is in horrible sinnes: a land of greate desolation where there is scarce seene any trace or footestepp of catho∣lique religion.

O my loue, thou hast spread thy wings of thy mercy, and hast taken mee into thy fauour and seruice, and hast carried mee vpon thy shoulders; for I am a most vile sinner, I haue builded vpon thy back: O my sweetenes, thou hast taught mee to drawe honnie out of the rock of penance, and oile out of a moste harde flint stone, to wit, out of a most straight rule, and in all this o Lord thou hast beene my only guide so that I may iustly say, hee hath not done in like manner to any other nation; Giue mee grace therefore, o Lord, to thinke of them of∣ten, and to expresse them so, that I beeing vn∣gratefull as I am, yet others may praise thee for them. How greate a benefitt was this, to conuerte mee at that time and place, in which I determined to take my recreation, seeing for that end I walked forth into the feilds? The

multitude of my tentations, (o my God) doth euer more preache thy praises: my speedy, sod∣dain and perfect conuersion, doth shew suffi∣ciently the power of thy grace, that neither the flower of my age, nor the fury of youth, nor the pleasure wherein I did liue, nor the liberty which I had, nor the company which I haun∣ted, nor the place in which I abode, nor the habitude and long custome of my euill life past, nor yet the austeritie of a good life to come, had any force to staie mee.

This doth shewe the extension & protection of thy right hand, by thy only conduct with∣out any humane perswasion; besides the sweet streames of teares which came fom mee aboundantly in this my conuersion, from what fountain could they proceede but from the vnction of thy holy spirit. The bitter sighes, sobs, and grones, from whence came they, but from a compunction which thou hast exalted in my soule? The sinceritie which without partialitye I vsed in searching the true faith, & my firme purpose to study, fast, pray, lye vpon the hard ground, and other austerities which I practised, from whence did they issue, but from an aboundance of thy grace? And to see how it pleased thee without all these, sodainly to reueale, the truthe vnto me, this I say, maketh mee much astonished, and to knowe certainly that thou art truly neere to those whoe call vpon thee, and that whosoeuer shall reueale his

way to our Lord, hee will doe it, and will not permitte, nor giue eternall tormēt to the iuste.

And when I consider the excessiue consola∣tions manifested to mee, the merueilous reue∣lations, extraordinary visions and rauishments, admiring thy liberalitie, I knowe certeinly that there is none like vnto thee among the Gods, nor according to thy workes, & that hee spake truly which said: Awake thou that sleepest, and rise from the dead, and Christe will illuminate thee; Thou also o Lord, didst giue mee these conso∣lations in fitt tyme, to wit, when I was oppres∣sed and owercharged with tentations, soe o Lord thou doest bring to hell and doest bring back againe, the efficacy and force of thy voice in the inward of soules, doth expresse it selfe in those three callings whith I had vnto good life, to faith, to religion, resoluing to quitt bad life, heresy and the worlde: Thy mercyes are infinite in this thy preseruation of my life from my youth, among so many perills and dangers. Thy fatherly protection was seene, in not per∣mitting mee to haue conference with that he∣retique, which might haue hindered mee in my good course; And thy merueilous proui∣dence appeared, in the conuersion of my other companion and freind, when as wee beeing so farr distant one from the other, in the country and in the time of vacation wee bothe came to the citty the same day. And which is yet more remarkable, wee mett at the very howre

and instant of this my greate illumination, con∣solation, and finall resolution. After thou hadst so well instructed mee in thy faith and infla∣med mee in thy loue that the fewe wordes which I spake to him did soe mooue his harte that they wrought his conuersion.

Wherefore I may say o Lord I haue heard thy voice, and I haue trembled, and therefore in the presence of thy maiestie, I am like a poore mouse seeking to hide my selfe in some hole, and as a thiefe which hath done ill and hateth the light, I feare least thy iustice should bee excercised against my vnthankefullnes, I feare least thou art offended, the Saincts an∣gred, the Angells prouoked, men scandalised and all creatures mooued much in seeing my ingratitude, and my euill life; I feare least they may cry againste mee, and say; behould thy wretched vngratefull person, whoe notwith∣standing all those greate particular fauours and benefitts, receaued from his Lord and Master, coulde not bee wonne to obey him. It is thy greate mercy that I am not now plunged in the bottomlesse pitt of hel, yet as the sonne of thy seruant who haue putt my selfe vnder thy protection, my Lord and deliuerer, I con∣fesse to thee from my hart, and protest before thy diuine maiestie, that as long as I liue, I will remember this, and neuer forgett those infinite fauours which thou hast done mee in my ten∣der youth.

I knowe we that ingratitude which is the roote of all spiritual euill, and a winde which drieth and burneth vp all good, yea stoppeth vp the fountain of diuine mercye, is greately hatefull and displeasing to thee: and therefore I will humbly beseeche thee, that I may neuer bee ingratefull towards thy clemency and bounty, for as often as this dragon would haue swal∣lowed mee, thou hast deliuered mee from his iawes, when the maligne temptor was seazing vpon mee to carry mee to hell, thou of thy grace didst restraine him. I did offende thee, and thou didst defende mee, I did not feare thee, & yet thou didst not cease to preserue mee; I went from thee to my enemy, yet notwithstan∣ding thou didst hinder him that hee did mee noe extreame violence, thou hast heaped vpon mee all these rich fauours, and I poore wretch did not knowe them, much lesse acknowledg them; soe o Lord thou hast often deliuered mee from the dreadfull deuouring teethe of the de∣uill and saued mee from the iawes of the lion, and, I not witting of it, hast brought mee from the very brinke of hell mouth, I approached euen to the gates of death, and thou hast kept mee that I haue not entered.

O my Lord I haue likewise beene often de∣liuered euen from corporall death, euen then when I was afflicted with greeuous diseasles, and exposed to many greate dangers, both by sea and land, by fire and water thou hast of∣ten

assisted mee by thy greate mercy and good∣nes, & o Lord thou knowest well, that if death had then surprised mee, I had been perpetually damned: but without doubt thy vnspeakeable grace preuented mee allwaies, warranting mee both from corporall and eternall death.

Many other benefitts thou hast bestowed vppon mee, but yet I beeing altogether blinde, did not see them till thou didest graciously illuminate mee; Thou art therefore, o Lord, the life by which I liue and the cleare brightnes which maketh mee see, the light of my soule; and for this cause I render thee all possible thankes, although they bee poore, small, and noe way answereable to thy benefits, nor such as they shoulde bee, but such as my weake fraylty can present and offer to thee: for thou art my only God which louest our soules, and hatest nothing that thou hast made, and now hast saued mee beeing among greate sinners, to the end that I may serue for an example to all others, and bee wittnes of thy greate piety and soueraigne clemency; I will therfore magnifie thy holy name, that thou hast deliuered mee from the pitt of Hell more then a thowsand tymes; and although I did thruste my selfe des∣perately on, yet thou didst allwayes drawe mee, back, soe that if thou wouldest haue entered into iudgment and condemnation against mee & punish mee in rigour according to my faults and merits, thou hadst iustly a thowsand and

a thowsand tymes condemned mee, & punish∣ed mee with eternall death, but thou would∣est not doe it, but out of thy infinite loue of soules thou doest wayte till they bee conuerted and doe penance.

O infinite goodnes, my soule fainteth in this thy greate mercy, and cannot expresse it beeing soe vnspeakeable, alas I was wholly dead, o my soueraigne health, and thou hast raysed mee againe my life doth depende on thee, and as I doe wholly attribute it to thee I doe offer it and giue my selfe wholly to thee. O my sanctifier, by whom all things vncleane and polluted are sanctified, lett mee loue thee with all my harte, with all my soule, with all my thoughts, force; powers, and all my affe∣ctions, at all tymes and moments, that so I may enioye the fruits of thy mercie, for were it not that thou doest continually gouerne mee, and guide mee, I should bee wholly lost: if thou didst not continually quicken mee, I shoulde perish; & as thou doest at all times cōferre vnto mee thy greate benefites, thou dost continual∣ly oblige mee to praise thy soueraigne maiestie; as therefore there is noe minute in all my life, wherein I doe not feele some effect of thy greate goodnes, so there ought noe time to passe, wherein I should not putte thee before mine eyes, and loue thee with all my force and vertue: But o Lord this is not in mine owne power, if it proceede not from thy diuine ma∣iesty,

from whome cometh all that is good, as from the father of lights, with whome there is noe change variety, or alteration of things, for it is not in the discretion or will, of man to loue thee, if it bee not graunted him by thy holy grace, such a guift commeth from thee, o mercifull Lord, from whome commeth all good things, wherefore commaund that thou beest loued, and accorde to that which thou commaundest, and without doubt thy blessed commaundement shall bee fulfilled of mee, as also thy most holy will.