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.

1. AS cōcerning the first acte, * 1.1 which is sorrowe for sinnes, I am to procure, to haue it the most per∣fect that may bee, not contenting myselfe with an imperfect sorrowe which they call Attrition, pro∣ceeding from feare of the paines of hell, but procu∣ring the perfect sorrowe which they cal Contritiō, and procedeth from the loue of God, aboue all things, as before hath beene saide. And this sorrowe must bee the greatest that possiblie may bee, because it is the measure of the grace that is giuen in this sacrament. So that if the sorrowe bee imperfect, and little the grace shallbee litle: if it bee perfect, and greate, the grace shallbee greate: for looke, as sor∣rowe encreaseth, so shall grace: and if there bee no sorrowe, no grace shallbee giuen. And therefore the principall parte of this preparation, consisteth in the perfectiō of sorrowe: vnto the which I am to mooue myselfe with the cōsiderations that were set downe in the fift Meditation, and with some similitudes deduced out of holy scripture to mooue vs vnto the teares of loue.

2. * 1.2 Sometymes it telleth mee that I should weepe bitterly as a mother weepeth for the deathe of her onely begothen, vpon whome shee had laied all her loue, and repose: so will I weepe for the spirituall deathe of my soule which is my onely one, and by reason is much to bee loued: yet I myselfe haue cru∣elly slaine her by sinne, and subiected her to deathe euerlasting. And seeing I haue so greate a feeling of the losse of those things that I loue, a much grea∣ter feeling am I to haue of this, because it is the greatest of all: and herein teares are well employ∣ed. For a mother, let her weepe neuer so much, shee shall not giue life to her sonne that is deade: but I with the teares of Contrition, shall obtaine life for

my deade soule. O infinite God, * 1.3 I am very much grea∣ued for the iniurie I hune donne thee, by killing vvith sinne the soule that thou gauest mee, and seeing it is more thine, then mine, haue mercie vpon it. Deliuer my soule from the svvorde of death, * 1.4 & my only one from the dogg of Hell, that I may liue to thee, and confesse thy holy name amen.

2 I will likewise weepe for my sinnes, because with them I haue killed the only begotten Sonne, * 1.5 who through excellencie meriteth this name, Christ Iesus my Lord, whome within myselfe I haue cruci∣fied againe, and haue, as much as lieth in me giuen occasion that he should die. O only begoten Sonne of the Father, I am exceedingly sorroufull for my sinnes, * 1.6 for hauing binne thereby a cause of thy death: returne a Lord to liue in my soule vvith thy grace, seeing thou dydst die to giue it life.

3 Othersometimes it telleth mee, that I should weepe like a Bride that hath by death lost her belo∣ued spouse, vpon whome depended her whole reme∣die, and reliefe, thereby remaining a widowe, poore and abandoned. And so will I weepe for my sinnes, by the which I haue lost God the spouse of my soule, and with him haue lost the iewells of his grace, and Charitie, and the giftes that he had giuen me, re∣maining like a widowe, not able to engender child∣ren of good workes, merittes of life euerlasting, but abandoned, * 1.7 and left dessolate without the protectiō of so sweete a spouse. O if my harte vvould shiuer, and breake vvith the force of dolour, for hauing lost such a spouse, such Ievvells, and such amiable protection. And yet notwithstanding if I perceiue that my harte is still hardned, and melteth not with the considera∣tions of loue, * 1.8 I will make vse of those of feare be∣fore mentioned, that feare, (as S Barnard saieth), may quickne me, and open the dore to loue, excitetur vt excitet. Let feare be awakned that it may awake

me. Feare o my soule, the face of the Iudge, whome the powers of heauen doe feare, the wrathe of the Omnipotent, the face of his furie, the noise of the worlde that shall perish, the fire that shall burne it, the voice of the Archangell, and the most rigorous wordes of the finall sentence. Feare the teeth of the Dragō, the belly of Hell, the roating of fierce beastes that stand readie to deuour, the worme that euer gnaweth, the fier that allwaies burneth, the smoke, the brimstone, the whirlewinde, and the exterior darkenesse. O vvho can giue vvater to my heade, and fountaine of teares to my eies, * 1.9 that I may there vvith preuent the eternall lamentation, the gnashing of teeth, the binding of handes and feete, the vvaight of the fiery chaines that oppresse, that gripe, that burne and that neuer cons••me. VVith these teares of feare, I am to dispose myselfe to passe on to those of loue. * 1.10 For (as S. Augustine saith) Feare must be like the needle that entreth through the cloth, not to remaine withi•• itselfe, but to make the threde enter, wherewith to ioyn the partes that are disioyned: so feare must serue to make Charitie enter, and to ioyne together the affections of the soule, employing them in louing God, and bewaling the offence that it hath dōne him.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Of Con∣trition.
• * 1.2

  Of the teares of loue. Hierem. 6.26.
• * 1.3

  Colloquie
• * 1.4

  Psalm. 21.21.
• * 1.5

  Zacha. 12.10. Ad Heb. 6.6.
• * 1.6

  Colloquie
• * 1.7

  Colloquie
• * 1.8

  Ex D. Bern. serm. 16. in Cant.
• * 1.9

  Colloquie
• * 1.10

  Tract. in illud. ••Io∣an. 4. Charitas perfecta foras mittit ti∣morem.