Chapter 71

That the penance due to our sins must be the first pace, whereby we come to God; conceiving true grief for them, and making true Confession thereof, and satisfaction.

THE first pace which the soul is to make, in approaching towards God, is to be the penance of her sins. And to the end that this may be well performed, it will profit much, that a man disimploy himself from all business, and from all conversations; and do attend with care, to draw to his memory, all the sins of his life; helping himself for this purpose, by some¹ Confessionary. And after, that he hath lamented them, well, he must declare them to some spiritual Physician, who hath the power and knowledge, to prescribe fit remedies for that infirmity; and who may lay his conscience, as flat and even as if the man, were that day to dye, & to be presented before the judgement seat of God. In this business, he may spend some month, or two; dissolving with bitter sighs, the sins which he committed by wicked pleasures. And for this purpose, he may serve himself of the reading of some good book, such as I spoke of² long before; which may help him, to think of his death, and judgement; and with his thought to descend alive into that bottomless pit of eternal fire; to the end that he may not descend after he is dead, to find the misery which there is felt. It will also conduce to this purpose, that beholding some Image of the Crucisixe, or else remembering it, he consider, how himself, by his sins, was the cause why our Lord did suffer so great torments. And³ let him behold him with attention, from head to foot; and ponder every particular pain of his by itself; & lament every particular sin; since the afflictions of our Lord, do correspond to our crimes; he suffering dishonour for the payment of our pride; and of scourges and pains, in payment of our sensual pleasures; and so also in the rest. And let him think, that if a son should see his father cruelly scourged, and tormented, for a fault which not the Father, but that son had committed; and if he should hear this Proclamation made, He that committeth such a sin, shall pay for it with such a punishment. This Son would have great compassion of his Father; and great sorrow, for having done any such thing as was to cost that Father so dear. And if he were a true Son, it would more afflict him to see his Father so punished, then if they should have punished himself. And a strange thing it would be, if he cried not out, through excess of grief; confessing, that himself was the guilty person, & that him they should punish, and not the Father, who had made no fault.

From hence let us take example, to conceans thereby, more grief, for having sinned. For it is God, who was offended, and it is God, who was punished, for every mischief, which might have grown to us, by every sin. It is⁴ I, O Lord that sinned, but it is thou that payest the pain thereof. My wickedness, O Lord, did put thee in prison, and it made thee be proclaimed with infamy, through those streets; and at last it laid thee upon a Cross. Let this be thy lamentation, with desire to suffer all that for God, which he shallbe pleased to ordain. And when thou shalt have made this Examen of thy conscience, with sorrow, & satisfaction, according to the advice of thy Ghostly Father, thou mayst (after thy having received sacramental absolution) have confident hope of pardon, & receive comfort into thy soul.