Directions fo the Worthy Receiving the Blessed Sacrament, Meditation 5
Another Meditation on the same Subject.
COuld I speak the Language of Angels, and had I one of the Harps of those Blessed Saints who Triumph in Heaven, yet could I not sufficiently acknow…edge the Favour that God hath shewed me to day.
The Happiness of Abraham is admired, in that he lodged Angels; but without comparison, greater is my Felicity; for I lodge him whom the Angels adore, and in whose Presence the Seraphims cover their Faces with their Wings. The Angels stayed but a short time in Abraham's House, but Christ Jesus will dwell in my Heart for ever.
The Royal Prophet exalts the Goodness of God, in that he hath given to Man the Beasts of the Fields, and the Fowls of the Air for Food; but I have far greater reason to magnifie that infinite Mercy of God, who feeds me with the Flesh and Blood of his only begotten Son.
The same Prophet with Admiration beheld the Moon and Stars, which shine in the Firmament for the sake of Man: But I, Lord, contemplating the Bowels of Mercy, wherewith the day-spring from on high hath visited me; seeing the Sun of Justice spreading abroad his Beams in my Heart, have more cause to be ravished with Admiration, and to cry out: What is Man that thou thinkest of him, or the Son of Man that thou should'st visit him?
Elizabeth, the Mother of John the Baptist, being visited by the blessed Virgin, cried out, Whence is this to me that the Mother of the Lord should come to me? But with greater Astonishment I may say,
Whence is this to me, that not the Mother of my Lord, but that my Lord himself hath vouchsafed to visit his poor Servant? That Heaven should stoop to the Earth? And that the Creator should honour his Creature with his Holy Presence?
So soon as the Salutation of the Blessod Virgin came to the Ears of Elizabeth, the little Child leapt for Joy in her Womb. Seeing then that not only the Salutation of my Saviour is come to my Ears, but that himself is come to lodge in my Soul; let my Heart leap for joy, my Bowels yern, and my Affections be inflamed! This is the happy day that the Lord hath made, let us rejoyce and be glad therein.
Many lodge Kings and their Court, who become not richer thereby, but by lodging him who hath written on his Garment and on his Thigh, The King of Kings and Lord of Lords: I shall for ever possess inexhaustible Treasures; for he that hath not spared to give his own Son for me, will not he also with him give me all things?
If God blessed the House of Obed Edom, because for sometime he lodged the Ark of the Covenant, have not I reason to hope that God will bless me with his most Holy Blessings, since I lodge him for ever, of whom the Ark of the Covenant was but a Figure, and the Foot-stool to his Feet.
Blessed be God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who in him hath blessed us with all Spiritual Blessings in Heavenly Places in the Church, and hath made us fit to be partakers of the Inheritance of the Saints in Light. I will not be affraid of Famine, for I lodge with me that great Prophet, who not onelyonly multiplies the Oyl and the Meal, but is himself the Bread of Life, and the Well of Water springing up into Everlasting Life. The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want; he maketh me to lie down in green Pastures, and leadeth me beside the still Waters, &c. I will not be ashamed of the World, nor of its Storms; for Christ Jesus hath overcome the World; he commands the Winds and the Floods and they obey. Though the Sea roar and be troubled, though the Mountains shake with the swelling thereof; there is a River, the Streams whereof shall make glad the City of God, the Holy Place of the Tabernacles of the most High. I will not be affraid of the Sword of the destroying Angel for not onelyonly the Lintel and Side-posts of the Door of my House, but the Inward Parts of my Soul are sprinkled with the Blood of the Immaculate Lamb.
I will not be affraid of the Fury of the Red Dragon, nor of the Subtle Accusations of that Old Serpent; for the Devil hath no power in Christ Jesus, nor in his Members: Now that Salvation is come, and the Kingdom of our God, and the Power of his Christ. For that malicious Accuser, who accused us before God, Night and Day, is cast down. We have overcome him by the Blood of the Lamb; and we we shall shortly see him bruised under our Feet.
Nor will I be affraid of Death and Hell; for he holdeth in his Hands the Keys of Hell and Death. O Grave where is thy Sting? the Sting of Death is Sin, and the Power of Sin is the Law: But thanks be to God who hath given us Victory through Jesus Christ our Lord.
I will not be affraid neither of the final Destruction of the World, when the Heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the Elements shall melt with Fervent Heat; the Earth also and the Works that are therein shall be Burnt up: God in his Mercy will preserve me, and I shall not be Rooted out like the Cursed People: for, not the Ambassadours of Joshua, but Joshua himself, lodgeth with me; he will send his Angels who plucking me out of the Fire, shall lead me by the hand into Mount Sion, to the City of the Living God.
In short, I will not be affraid of Everlasting Judgment; for with the hidden Manna I have received the White Stone, which is the Token of the Absolution of Criminals. My Judge will be my Advocate; and if God Justify, who shall Condemn me? O my God, let me not repay so many favours as I have received with ungratitude: Let me not do as the King of the Ammonites did, who abused the Ambassadours whom David had sent to comfort him. Let me not offend that Faithful Ambassadour whom I have received to Contract with me an Everlasting Covenant: Let me not grieve that Comforter who seals me unto the Day of Redemption; but let him be Served and Adored with the most Holy and Fervent Affections of my Soul; and let my Meditations be upon his Favours both Day and Night.
And as of old the most pretious things in the Ark were the Tables of the Law; so, seeing thou hast chosen me for thy Sanctuary, and the Pavillion of thy Glory, transform me into thine Image, that I may reckon nothing in the World more pretious than Obedience to thy Holy Commandements.
I know that of my self I am unfit for thy Service; for I am by Nature a Child of Wrath as well as others, all the Imaginations of my Heart are Evil and that continualy; and I am dead in sins and Trespasses: but if the blood of Bulls and Goats, and the Ashes of an Heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the Purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the Blood of Christ, who through the Eternal Spirit, offered himself without Spot to God, purge my Conscience from Dead Works to serve the Living God?
And as Aarons Rod blossomed and bore Almonds when it was put into the Tabernacle; so Lord, since by thy Holy Presence thou Sanctifiest me this day to be the Tabernacle of God in Spirit, thou wilt cause me likewise to blossom and fructify in good Works: In a word, if a dead Man, who touched the Bones of the Prophet Elisha, was raised again, thou wilt raise me, O Lord, in newness of Life, because to day I Embrace Christ Jesus Crucified. For if my Soul be dead, and looks more ghastly, and lies deeper in the Grave, than heretofore that poor dead man did; the Touch of thy Spirit, O Lord, is of more Efficacy than the Touching of the Bones of thy Prophet.
When Christ came into the World, the Evil Spirits fled, and those that were possessed with Devils, were eased. May the coming of Christ into my Soul banish from thence all Evil Spirits, and may I be delivered from those Hellish Lusts which cast me sometimes into the Fire of Anger and Hatred, and sometimes into the Mire of my unclean Pleasures.
O My God, grant that I may have always before mine Eyes Jesus Christ Crucified. Engrave him so upon my Heart, that he may be the Pattern of my Life and the Comfort of my Death. Let me never Glory but in the Cross Christ Jesus my Saviour, whereby the World is Crucified unto me and I unto the World.
Seeing thou hast put into me the Fountain of Light and Life, the Treasure of Wisdom and Knowledg, the Spring of True and Heavenly Pleasures: grant that I may continually go to it to quench my Thirst; that I may Thirst after no other Pleasure, that I may covet no other Riches: that I may constantly delight in that Light, and that I may follow it until it have brought me into thy Heavenly Canaan. Let all my Actions, Words and Thoughts, be to the Glory of thy Holy Name, the Edification of my Neighbour, and the Salvation of my Soul.
And forasmuch, Lord, as the passion whereof thou hast given me the Grace this day to Celebrate the Memory, hath only been represented to me as a Pattern how I may follow the Steps of my Saviour: So encrease my Faith, confirm my Courage, and strenghten me in the Inward man, that I may be able with Simon the Cyrenean to follow Christ Jesus bearing his Cross.
And in like manner, as my Saviour, having celebrated his Last Supper with his Disciples, went out into the Garden where his Soul was in anguish even unto Death, and swat drops of Blood; may I also when I go from this Table, having sung the Hymn with that Blessed Assembly, feel my self ready and disposed to suffer Death for his Name.
May I be ready to shed my Blood for his Glory, who spared not his own for the Washing away of my Sins. May I be in readiness to lay down my life for his Service, who hath given his Soul for the Price of my Redemption. May I not be ashamed, neither of Bonds, nor Prisons, nor even of Gibbets, prepared for me, for his Sake; since my Lord Jesus Christ was not ashamed to be Bound, Whipt, and Nailed to the Cursed Cross between two Thieves.
The Souldier haveing taken his refreshment, finds himself more couragious and animated to the Battle: so grant, Lord, that after I have fed on so excellent Dainties, and drank of the new Wine of thy Kingdom, I may feel new Strength and Vigour in me, to F…ght the good Fight of Faith, Breathing after Everlasting Life.
That I may endure labour as a good Souldier of Jesus Christ. That I may be faithful unto him, even unto Death; being assured to receive the Crown of Life: for it is a sure saying, That if we suffer with him, we shall Reign with him. And if we bear in our Body the Death of our Lord Jesus, the Life of our Lord Jesus shall also manifest it self in our Mortal Flesh.
Alas! Lord, I know that of my self I cannot resist the least temptation, but I can do all things in Christ Jesus, who strengthens me. This poor Soul is seized with horrour and tossed with vain fears: but as our Saviour, drawing near the Boat tossed by a Tempest, said to his Disciples, It is I, fear not. And so soon as he was come into the Boat the Tempest ceased. Even so since Christ has this day come unto my Soul, let it please him to quiet the troubles of my Conscience, and give me Grace amid'st the greatest Evils to possess my Soul in Patience. I will securely pass through the Torrent of this World, because the Emperour of the Universe and the Supream Lord of all Creatures, is in my Vessel. We are like Sheep appointed for the Slaughter, but we shall be more than Conquerors through Jesus Christ that loved us.
O Lord Jesus! abide with us, and let not thy Spirit forsake us; for the Sun beginneth to decline, and the Light to fail. There is no knowledge nor fear of God in the Land, and Faith and Charity are departed from the Earth. The Vices that reign even in thine own Jsrael, threaten us with an Age of Darkness. The day is far spent, and night beginneth to cover the Face of the Earth; yea and many nights also. A Night of Temptation and Solicitation to Evil, a Night of Terrors and anxious Cares, a Night of Anguish, Tribulation, and frightful Death; a Night that casts both the Foolish and Wise Virgins into a Sleep; a Night that involves both the Innocent and Guilty. But if thou, Lord Jesus, abidest with us, none of these Nights shall terrify us: being troubled on every side we shall not be distressed; being in perplexity we shall not despair; being persecuted we shall not be forsaken: and being cast down we shall not be destroyed.
Amid'st the thickest darkness thou shalt be my Light, in the blackest Dungeons, the Sun of thy Grace shall shine about me. In time of War and the Rumours of War, thou shalt be my resting Place, my Peace and Tranquillity. In my flight, thou shall be my Refuge; in my Poverty, my Treasure; and in my Nakedness my Covering. In time of Famine, thou shalt be my Portion and my Drink for ever; in my Disgrace, thou shalt be my Diadem and Crown of Ornament; in my greatest Solitude thou shalt be my Company; in my Fears, thou shalt be my Confidence and the Work of my Assurance; in the Valley and Shadow of Death thy Rod and thy Staff shall comfort me. In thee have I hoped, O Lord, let me not be put to Confusion. Let thy Blessings and loving Kindness wait upon me all the days of my Life, and when I have finished my course, fought the good Fight, and kept the Faith, I shall be Crowned with the Crown of Righteousness; for he whom I have received to day, shall receive me at the hour of my Death.
He to whom I have given a place in my Heart, shall give me a Place in his Kingdom; where Night and Darkness shall be no more: for God Himself is the Light, and the Lamb, the Candle which never goeth out; where there shall be no more Weeping nor Crying, nor Labour; for Sorrow and Lamentation shall fly away. Joy and Everlasting Gladness shall be upon our Heads; and God shall wipe away all Tears from our Eyes. There shall no want be there; for the Tree of Life shall bring us forth Fruit every Month in the Year, and we shall continually Drink of the River of the Water of Life which streams from the Throne of God and the Lamb. O God, in thy presence is Fulness of Joy, and at thy Right Hand are Pleasures for Evermore. Amen.
FINIS.
End of the text · Charles Drelincourt, Directions fo the Worthy Receiving the Blessed Sacrament (1680)