Meditations vppon the mysteries of our holy faith with the practise of mental praier touching the same composed in Spanish by the R.F. Luys de la Puente ... ; and translated into English by F. Rich. Gibbons ...

The second Pointe.

SEcondly, I will consider the greate affliction, that my Soule shall feele in leauing all things present, if I possesse them with an euill Conscience, or with a disordinate Affection: whereupon I am to perswa∣de myselfe, that in that hower, perforce, and in spite of my teethe, I am to leaue three sortes of things.

1. First, I am to leaue the Riches, Dignities, Offi∣ces, Delicacies, and Possessions, that I had, and shall not bee able to carrye any thing with mee: And the more goods I haue, the more bitter it willbee to leaue them. For Deathe (saieth Ecclesiasticus) is

very bitter to him that hath peace with Riches, and Dignities, and is desirous to liue, to enjoy them longer: and the Sinnes hee committed in procuring, and in abusing them, shall augment this bitternesse, Gods Iustice so ordaining it, that those things which in their life were the Instruments of their vicious Delightes, should in their Deathe bee their Executioners, and Tormentours: Then shallbee fullfilled that which is written in Iob of a Sinner, His breade in his belly, which hee did eate with much Sauour, suallbee turned into the gall of Aspes vvithin him, the riches that hee hath deuoured, he shall vomite out, and God shall dravv them forth out of his belly: He shall suck the Heade of the Aspes, and the Vipers Tongue shall kill him: that is to say, his Delightes shallbee turned into Gall, his Riches shall make him disgorge: but hee shall neither haue Courage to dispose of them, nor to leaue them, vntill Deathe take them away by force, the Serpents, and Vipers of Hell tormenting him, for hauing gotten, and possessed them with Sinne.

Secondly, in that hower I must forcibly departe from my Parents, and Brethren; friends, and Ac∣quaintance, and from all those that I loue, whi∣ther it bee with a naturall Loue, or with a Lawfull, or vnlawfull Loue. And as wee leaue not without griefe, what wee possessed with Loue: and by how much the greater the Loue is, wherewith it is pos∣sessed, so much the greater griefe is felt in abando∣ning it: exceeding greate will the Sorrowe bee, that I shall feele to departe from so many per∣sons, and things, that are so fastned to my Hear∣te. And in these Anguishes I shall say with that other king: Siccine separat amara mors? Doth bitter Deathe thus separate? Is it possible that I should leaue those whome I so loue? And shall I neuer more see them, nor enjoy them?

O cruell Deathe, how much doest thou exasperate my Hearte, depriuing mee with such Sorowe, of what I possessed with such Ioye?

3. Lastly, in that hower my Soule is to departe from my Bodye, with whome it hath helde so strict, and auncient Amitye: and consequently it is to departe from this VVorlde, and from all things the∣rein contained, without hope for euer againe to see, heare, taste, or touche them. And if the Loue I bea∣re to my Bodye, to my Life, and to the other things of this visible worlde, bee a disordinate Loue, of force I must needes feele exceeding greate griefe to departe from them: which I may easily make experience of, by that sensible feeling I haue, when they take from mee my VVealthe, my Honour, and Fame; or exile mee from my Countrey, and force mee to liue from my friendes, like a Pilgrim among Strangers; or cut of some member of my Bodye. For all this together in a troope succeedeth in Deathe, after another, and a more painefull manner, which is without hope euer to retourne againe to possesse it in this Life.

In euery one of these three Considerations pon∣dering a while what is to bee noted, I will enter in∣to myselfe, & examine whither I carry a disordinate Loue to any of these things repeated; which if I finde that I doe, I will endeuour to vnroote it with the force of this consideration, and with the exer∣cize of Mortification: for this is to dye in life, and with proffit taking as it were by the hande Dea∣the, so not to feele Deathe, as Religious men doe that abandon all things for Christe our Lorde; whome I am to beseeche to ayde mee herein, saying vnto him. O eternall God in vvhose hande the Soules of the Iust are, and vnder vvhose Protection the Torment of Deathe doth not touche them, take from my Soule the disordinate Loue of all visible things, that in depar∣ting

from them, it may haue no feeling of Torment. O my Soule, if thou desirest that these three bitternesses of Deathe should not touche thee, Loue not those things that Deathe can take from thee; for if thou possesst them not vvith Loue, thou shalt leaue them in Deathe vvithout Dolour, or griefe.

I am likewise to ponder in these considerations, how greate a madnesse it is to offend God, and to indanger my eternall Saluation, for things that I am so soone to abandon, resoluing valourously with myselfe, presently to auoyde any person, or thing whatsoeuer, that may expose mee to this pe∣rill, dying to it, rather then for its cause, to dye to God, and separating it from mee, rather then it should separate mee from God. Seeing for this saide our Sauiour Christe, that hee came to sende the sworde, and Diuision vpon Earthe, separating from men all Persons, and Things, that might hinder their Saluation. O svveete Redeemer, put forthvvith into my hande the svvorde of Mortification, that I may separate from mee, vvhatsoeuer might separate mee from thee, dying to all that is created, to liue to thee my Creator, vvorlde vvithout ende. Amen.

Notes

• Psal. 48.18.
• Eccles. 41 1.
• Iob. 20.14.
• D. Greg. 1. moral. 13.
• 1. Reg 15 32.
• Sap. 3.1.
• Colloquie
• Matt. 10 34. Luc. 12.51. Colloquie