Chapter 76

That the end of the Meditation of the Passion is to be the imitation thereof; and what is to be the beginning, and ground, of greater things which we are to imitate.

TO the end that thou mayst know, how to profit by this exercise, thou art to be advertised, that the end of the meditation of the passion, is to be the imitation thereof, and the accomplishment, of the law of our Lord. And¹ this I tell thee, because some there are who make much reckoning of the hours which they spend in prayer; & of the gust, and sweetness which they find therein; but they take no account, of the fruit which they gather by it. They conceive, with an erroneous judgement, that he that prayeth most, and with greatest sweetness of delights that he, forsooth, is the greatest saint; whereas indeed, that other man is so, who together with the profound² contempt of himself hath the greatest charity; wherein consisteth the perfection of Christian life, and the fulfilling of the whole law. And he that liveth well, and he that prayeth well, must do it all to this end; and not content himself, with only having spent such a piece of his time well in confessing, or communicating, or devout praying, or any other thing, of the like nature.

We read of Moses, that having been forty days, and forty nights upon the top of mount Sinai in continual conversation with the most high God; and descending afterward to converse with men, he told them no stories, or vistons, or revelations, or curious secrets; but he carried much light in his face, and two tables of stone in his hands. In the one whereof, those³ three commandments were written, which appertain to the honour of God; and seven in the other which belong to our duty towards, our neighbour. Giving⁴ thereby to understand, that he that treats with God, by the tongue of prayer, must have light in his understanding; thereby to know what he is to do; and then a fulfilling of the will of God, put in execution, as if the law, were in his hands. And since he hath the office of one that prays, he may also have the life of one that prays; which must be such, as that, in all his actions, it may appear;⁵ that some part of that sovereign truth, and supreme purity, wherewith he had so much to do, hath stuck unto him. For they who employ a fit of time in weeping, and in lamenting those buffets, which they gave our Lord, in his passion; if, departing from thence, upon the offer of the least of those affronts, which were put upon our Lord, they have yet little patience, (as if they had learned nothing in prayer, but to be able to suffer nothing) I know not to whom I should compare them, but to such, as (when they are sleeping) do conceive, that they are doing some great matter, who yet, when they wake, are found to have done the express contrary.

What⁶ more absurd, and foolish thing can there be, then that, when I do so much esteem the patience of our Lord, in his pain, I will yet have none in mine. But I will say, Carry thy Cross alone O Lord, though it be deadly heavy; for I have no mind to help thee, by carrying of mine, though it he very light. The Apostles had compassion, and they shed tears, for the Passion of our Lord; but because they fled from the imitation thereof, they were cowards, and offended God thereby, like evil Christians. Thou art not therefore to consider the Passion, and to have compassion of out Lord, as one that would look upon a business in the nature of a mere looker on; but as one who is to accompany our Lord, in the point of sufferance. And by looking upon him, procure thou to get strength, to drink of his Chalice with him, though it be never so bitter. Let⁷ the beginning, and foundation of greater matters, wherein thou art to imitate him, be in exterior austerities, and the mortification of thy body. That so thou mayest carry some resemblance to his divine flesh, which was so full of affliction, & torments; fare greater, then can be expressed.

Behold him with stiff attention, how he tasteth of vinegar, and gall; behold in how straight a bed he is lodged; and how bare he is of clothes; and how thick he is apparelled, with torments, from head to foot; and get thou force from hence, to fly from the delicacies, and ornaments of thy body, in thy clothes, in thy bed, and in thy food. And in this, and in all the rest, (which thou canst do, without much inconvenience) afflict thy body, and make it live upon a Cross; and that, which thou canst not do, let indeed, thy hart desire; and beg strength of our Lord, for it; and lament, in that he, being upon the Cross, thou deservedst not to accompany, or to imitate him.

These must be the desires of a Christian, who exerciseth himself, upon thinking on the Passion, if he have a mind to imitate it. For⁸ when our Lord came from heaven to earth, to converse with men, and to teach them the best, and most secure way to heaven; and when he was borne, did make choice of poverty, of cold, and of banishment; and as he increased in years, so did he increase in affliction; and the end of his life, was the addition of others, which were greater than they. He honoured these things, though of themselves they were base; and by joining them to himself, he gave them such a stamp of greatness, and such tokens of security, & beauty, as to make them grow to be desired. For⁹ if a temporal king by apparelling himself in such or such a fashion, do instantly make it honourable, and to be thought worthy of imitation by all his vassals; how much more shall this be done, by that sovereign King of Kings, whose worth is infinitely more, then of all the creatures how high soever. And he that followeth not this dictamen, should be no true vassal of this Lord; since he holds it not for a point of honour, to be like him. A delightful thing it is, as saith S. Bernard, to imitate the dishonour of him that was crucified; but this only belongs to such, as are not ungrateful to him.

And¹⁰ now tell me, if a King should go on foot, and that bare; and weary; and sweeting, through the sharpness of the way; having his back loaden with sackcloth, & his face with tears; and all this to move compassion, as D●nid did; what servant of his could there be, who either for love, or shame, would not also go on foot, and unshod, and as like his King as h● were able? And so the Scripture saith, that all th● servants of David did, and all the people, that went 〈◊〉 his company. But if such a King, should command any of his servants, that waited on him, to tak● horse, and to ride at ease; a cruel commandment would that be, to such a servant. And fro● the roots of his hart, he would beseech the King, not to put, such a huge affront upon him; as that, a Royal Majesty, being treated in such a fashion, his servant, should be seen so contrary to him. And if yet notwithstanding, the King should persist in the Commandment, the servant indeed would obey him; but with so much pain, as that (placing his eyes upon the affliction of the King) his hart would take no contentment in that ease, which exteriorly he was at; but (esteeming himself for more weak, and less favoured than the rest) he would reckon it amongst the greatest of his misfortunes, that he might not go more like his Lord. And that which he should want to do indeed, he would not fail to perform with the deepest wishes of his hart; taking that ease of his own, in patience, but in his desire, having sufferance.

Such doubtless, is Christ crucified to those hearts, which employ themselves in looking on him; if yet withal, they be grateful (as S. Bernard saith) for so great a benefit, as it is, for God to have abased himself so far, as to walk through this desert, with such misery, as never man endured. For¹¹ where there is this gratitude, no lance can remain, in the Rest, any longer; and both within, and without, there is an internal profound desire, to clap this Crucifix, as a seal upon his hart, and upon his arm; as a thing whereby he is not only not afflicted, or to hold himself thereby less honoured; but (as S. james saith) They have it in the place of ent●●re, and perfect i● that affliction may ●e offered them for his sake.

Such¹² is the height of them, who are grateful to this Lord; as that, with the knife of the lous of him being crucified, they do valiantly, destroy those¹³ Idols of Egypt, which worldly persons do so prise, & love; whether they be honours, or treasures, or pleasures; giving him thankes that he vouchsafes to admit them into his company. And they go in search (being all inflamed with l●ue) after as many ways, as they can think on, to suffer more; like Elephants being, as it were, enraged, with seeing, that the blood of their Lord, is spilt. And if it happen to concern the service of the same Lord, that they take their ease, or possess the honours, and riches of this life; they accept them only by obedience, and they use them with fear. And you had need give them much comfort, if you will make them content to go on horseback, when they see him on foot, whom they love so much more, than their own lives.

Such I say, is the altitude of the state of Christian men; and such a change hath Christ wrought in things, since the time of the crosse● as that the bitter, and the base, he maketh honourable and delightful; and¹⁴ he makes his servants ready, to cast the gorge, when they are but 〈◊〉 take a taste of that, for which worldlings, are upon the point to cut the throats of one another. This fruitful, and firm love, do I desire, that the thought of the sacred Passion (of which thou art so enamoured) should work in thy hart, &¹⁵ that thou mayst carry the mortification of our Lord in thy body. And if, there be none, who fling stones at thee, or imprison thee, or scourge thee, as they did our Lord, and his Apostles, who¹⁶ went joyfully suffering for his name; yet seek thou also means to suffer, in what thou mayst. And give¹⁷ God many thankes, when he offereth thee any occasion; to the end that using well that little, our Lord may give thee strength to suffer more, and may send thee more.

And consider well, that thou art not to esteem little of these things, in respect that S. Paul¹⁸ said, That the exercise of these corporal things, is of little profit. For although we should grant, that¹⁹ he meaneth it of such things, as we have here delivered; yet he will not have us esteem²⁰ little of them, in themselves; but only in comparison of greater matters. For the obtaining whereof, and for the satisfaction of the pain which is due in Purgatory; & yet further, for the acquiring of more grace, and glory; and for the serving of God, both with the interior, and exterior man; there is no doubt, but that, since we are debtors to him for all, these other things are very fit to be used. Whereof, our sovereign Master of light, did tell us, what we were to think, when he said (speaking of greater matters) That is was necessary to do them; and speaking of the lesser, that is was fit not to emit them.

Footnotes

1. A truth most necessary to be known. ↩

2. The perfection of a Christian consisteth in having profound humility, & ardent charity. ↩

3. He deuideth the commandments by three, & seven, as we do, and as S. Augustin, did; and, not by four and six as the Protestant's do. ↩

4. The right fruit of Prayer. ↩

5. If this prove not so in some proportion thou dost lose thy labour. ↩

6. A vicious, and a foolish thing. ↩

7. He adviseth to corporal penance as a disposition to the mortification of our passions. ↩

8. If there had been any better way to Heaven, then that of the Cross, our Lord jesus, would have taught us how to find it but he taught no other. ↩

9. Note this comparison, for is doth convince. ↩

10. Note this excellent comparison; & receive that light, and heat, which God is willing to grant thee by means thereof. ↩

11. But it will fall down, as we must do, by great abasement of ourselves for the love of our Lord jesus. ↩

12. The great nobility of a true Christian hart. ↩

13. Exod. 22. ↩

14. A certain truth nobly expressed. ↩

15. As S. Pau● saith he did▪ & he saith he did it, in his body, by punishing its & not only in his thought, and in his tongue. ↩

16. Act. 5. ↩

17. No protestant will hold any such discourse. ↩

18. 1. Tim. 4.
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19. Where of many are yet in doubt. ↩

20. How this place of Scripture is to be understood. ↩