The love of God may move and invite some; the beholding of their own miseries should urge others : some the conscience of sin should induce; others, a desire of obtaining grace: but the honour we all owe unto God should solicit all, seeing we have not a more high and excellent means of performing the same.

One friend doth willingly come unto another : it is a sign of small love to Christ, when we come so seldom to His Holy Passover; as, on the contrary, His love is augmented more and more in us by often communicating. A great and loving remembrance of His blessed Passion we celebrate in the frequent participation of this Holy Mystery; "so often," saith the Apostle, and therefore often, 66 you shew the Lord's death until He come."

Last of all, we see in winter, when the sun is farthest off, barrenness followeth in the coldness of our devotion, when this mystery is neglected, what ensueth but cold love to God and man; yea, and unaptness to all piety.

THE SEVENTH MEDITATION.

1. Consider, that in the primitive Church, which was governed by the Apostles themselves, the Christians often communicated, which did shew

t1 Corinthians xi. 26.

that great devotion and ferventness of spirit did possess the minds of men; and evident it is, that by how much the more that godly custom did wax more cold, by so much the ferventness and holiness of Christian people did wax less and less.

2. Consider, that by often communicating, piety and perfection of life is augmented, the Christian man is made more religious, the body made chaste and obedient to the soul, the soul to God.

3. Consider, that to receive Christ in the Sacrament with due preparation, is no other thing than to worship Him with great reverence: he, therefore, who by this Divine communicating doth often receive Him, worships Him with Divine honour; and he who honoureth Christ on earth, shall be likewise honoured by His heavenly Father in heaven".

4. Consider, seeing this Divine Sacrament is the meat of the soul, wherewith it is strengthened and maintained in a spiritual life, it doth manifestly follow by how much the more often the soul is nourished with this meat, by so much the more perfect it is made a life spiritual.

5. Consider, saith St. Bernard, Ser. de Cana Dominica, if any do not so often feel so great emotions of anger, envy, carnality, let him think

that by often communicating, God makes sound the corruptions of our nature.

THE FRUIT.

The fruit of this meditation is, to make a firm purpose of applying ourselves to this frequent and often communicating, to beseech the Lord that the soul may never loathe this heavenly food, but with an inward affection desire it: from which affection springeth perseverance, and a readiness to sanctimony and holiness of life, with a longing to walk before the Lord in uprightness, and that holy hunger and thirst after righteousness which makes the godly blessed.

THE SOLILOQUY.

What grace is this, O sweet Jesu, which Thou dost affect me with? for Thou not only vouchsafest to open unto me the precious mine of gold lying in the field of the Holy Church, that is, the hidden treasure, for which the man that found it sold all that he had to buy that field; but also dost often invite me to dig for so precious a treasure, that Thou mayest enrich my soul. But that which draweth me into admiration is, that to the purchasing of this field, and digging this treasure as often as I will, Thou hast added so great a com

x Matthew v. 6.

modity, that I need not sell any of my goods, much less all that I have.

Lord, if to obtain this treasure Thou hadst ordained hard fasts, long pilgrimages, shedding of blood, and other sharp penances, all these labours and afflictions ought worthily to have been suffered, to taste even but once Thy sacred Body: but, O love unheard of, that hadst rather make the entrance easy and delectable, that I might often return to this mine! O Adam, how much better is the condition of thy posterity than was thine; which is now brought to pass by the means of our loving and liberal Jesus! Thou wast driven out of Paradise; and that thou shouldest not return thither to eat of the tree of life and live, one of the cherubims, armed with a fiery sword, was set by the righteous God to keep it: we, Thy children, living in the Paradise of Thy Holy Church, are not only not driven away by an angel with a fiery sword, but are invited of the Lord of angels, by the fire of His love, to taste often the fruits of the tree of life; yea, to receive Him who hath given all strength to the tree of life, that giveth us a blessed and everlasting life; for so He inviting us hath promised; "He who eateth of this bread shall live for every."

y John vi. 58.

O my soul, be somewhat stirred up, and magnify thy God, for He which is mighty hath done great things for thee! Dost thou not see Him that He is made thy treasure to make thee rich? Return often to dig it; it is a precious treasure, and therefore it will satisfy thy desires; it is infinite, and therefore will never decay, nor be made empty.

CHAPTER X.

OF THE IMPEDIMENTS WHICH DETAIN MEN FROM THE BLESSED SACRAMENT.

IN

IN the fifth chapter of Exodus, Pharaoh, to withhold the people of God from doing sacrifice, causeth his task-masters to set them about drudgery.

It is the wiliness of the old serpent to draw us from performing this holy service unto God, to make the world and the flesh distract our thoughts and desires, so to keep us from this spiritual part of God's worship, either by a remiss and careless neglect, or at least by a timorous conceit of our unworthiness to approach unto the Table of our Lord.

This careless and remiss neglect ariseth of our many incumbrances and businesses in the world.