[...].cc. xxxix. [...]p [...]e. FIrst I thynke it very expedient to shewe you y ^e dyffynicion of prayer that ye may y ^e better knowe what it is. Saynt Austyn sayth. Quid autem estoratio: nisi ascentio aīe deterrestribꝰ ad celestia: inquisitio superno (rum): inuisibilium desiderium? As who sholde say. Prayer is nothynge elles but an ascencyon of the soule from erthly thynges to heuenly thynges that be aboue / & a desyre of thynges inuysy­ble. ¶we may take this dyffynycion that whan we pray we shold not wylfully suffer the affeccion of our myndes to rest on worldly creatures / but we sholde haue our desyres eleuate vnto god omnipotent in he­uen. And this appereth well in the begynnynge of y ^e prayer the whiche Cryst dyde teche to his dysciples: where as we say. Pater noster qui es ī celis: sancti­ficetur nomen tuum. [...]thei. vi. [...] O our fader the whiche arte in heuen / santyfied be thy name. This worde. In celis (as sayth the glose ordynary) is put there bycause y ^t we sholde in tyme of prayer eleuat our myndes vnto y ^e spirituall heuyns / where as is y ^e fader omnipotent moost excellēt in his glory. we sholde so order our selfe in prayer that we myght truely say with the apostle saynt Poule. [...]d philip. [...]x. Nostra autem cōuersatio in celis est.

IN many & dyuers places of holy scrypture we be exhorted and prouoked to frequentacyon of [Page] prayer. It is wryten. Ad col. iii. Orationibꝰ instāte vigilātes in eis in gratiarū actione. Vse you to pray instaūtly / not slepyngly / nor slouthfully / but quykly & deuoutly gyuyng thankes and praysynges to god. ¶It is al­so wryten. Subditus esto dn̄o: et ora eum. Psal. xxxv [...] Subdue thyselfe man to thy lorde god / & make thy prayers to hym. ¶Also. Non impediaris orare semper. Eccle xvii [...] Lete nothyng be impedyment to the / but that thou mayst be euer in prayer. ¶Also our sauyour Cryst in the gospell of Luke. Oportet semper orare et nō deficere. Luce. xviii ye shold euer be prayeng & neuer cease. ¶And y ^e apostle saynt Poule. Sine intercessione orate. 1. Ad thess [...] v. That is to say Pray you and cease not. ¶And also ad Timotheum. Volo ergo viros orare in omni loco. I wyl that men be prayeng in euery place. But bycause these wordes soundeth to be veray streyte / yf we take the lytterall sence of them. For it is very harde / and almost impossible for any man euer to contynue in actuall prayer. A certayne holy doctour expoundyng sayeth. Beda suplu cam ca. xvii. Nū (quam) de sinit orare nisi qui desinit bn̄facere. As long as a man is doyng any good dedes: so longe he is prayeng. And except he cease from doyng good dedes: he ceaseth not to pray. This exposycion maketh the wordes before­sayd easy / & cōforteth the reders or herers of this. yet not withstandyng I wyll exhorte euery deuout chyrstyan to gyue thēself to vocal prayer as nygh as they may cōuenyently & expedyently. For doubtlesse ther­of wyll come grete profyte and manyfolde fruytes / of the whiche by the grace of god parte I shall bryefly and shortly touche

[...]omeli [...]. [...]lxxviii. THe holy doctour saynt Iohn̄ Chrysostome saith. Magnūvere bonū charissimi or̄o. &c To bryng you in moche latyn it is grete labour to me / & but lytell profyte or none to y ^e reders. For my purpose is specially to wryte to such ꝑsones as be vnlerned / & not to thē y ^t be ler­ned. wherefore here after I shall leue y ^e latyn & speke y ^e sence therof in englysshe / trustyng y ^t it shal be more cō pendyous to me / & more acceptable to thē for whome I wryte. ¶This doctour Chrisostom sayth. Prayer is a thīg of grete vertu & goodnesse. For if ye take gre­te ꝓfyte by cōmunycacion w ^t a man y ^t is approbate & singuler in vtues. How moche more (saith he) shall y ^e ꝑsone haue y ^t in his prayer speketh to god / the which is the lorde & gyuer of all vertues? [...]e. xxx. de [...]. e. Saynt Augustyn sayth y ^t prayer dooth call the grace of y ^e holy goost to a mānis soule / it putteth away all hardnes of hertt yt maketh fastynge & abstynēce to be dulcet & delectable to a mānes soule. And lyke as a mā can not make a ꝑ­fyte refeccyō or meale w ^tout drynke / so fastynge w ^tout prayer can not ꝑfytely nourysshe y ^e soule. Prayer causeth a ꝑsone y ^t is in deedly syn̄e / & in y ^e state of dāpnacion to ryse fro his syn̄e / & to be made y ^e chylde of saluacion. Prayer (as sayth Ludolphe y ^e carthusian in a certayn sermon) is a vertue inestymable / & of suffycyent efficacy to īpetrate & gete all thyng y ^t is good / & to re­pell & w ^tstande all thynge that is not good. By prayer we obtayne pacyence in all sekenesses / dyseases / and aduersytees. By prayer we may subdue all euell af­feccyōs. By prayer we may perceyue the subtyltees and dysceytes of our goostly enmyes / & be able to re­syst and auoyde them. By prayer we may gladly suf­fre [Page] & strōgly bere w ^tout tedyousnes all penytēcyall labours & afflyccyōs. By prayer we may be able to profyte in the swete excercyses of spyrytuall lyuyng. By prayer we may refreyne y ^e bestyall & carnall appety­tes of our bodyes. By prayer we may eschewe y ^e delectacyon of vayne thoughtes. By prayer we may stablysshe our hertes in cōstant purpose & spūall strēgth to y ^e pleasure of god. Prayer is moche ꝓfytable at euery necessyte / for by it we may remoue & expel fro vs al wycked spyrytes / & call for our helpe & consolacyon y ^e gloryous aungels of heuen. For as saynt Bede sayth Lyke as a thefe dooth fle away whā he hereth y ^e cla­mour or noyse of his resystenes: so doth our goostly enmye y ^e deuyl whā he hereth y ^e clamour of prayer. And lyke as theyr neybours come at theyr callyng to help them y ^t be in daūger of theues / so do y ^e good aūgels of god come to helpe vs agaynst our enmyes whan we cal to thē by prayer. The manyfolde afflicciōs of kyn­ge Pharao by y ^e prayer of Moyses were euer w ^tdrawen & takē away. whā y ^e chyldrē of Israell murmured ayenst god in desert sōtymes he punisshed thē w ^t fyre / sōtyme w ^t brennyng serpētes / & sōtyme by other meanes / of y ^e which it were to long to speke now / but euer whan Moyses prayed for thē our lorde w ^tdrewe his sworde of vēgeaūce fro thē. By prayer kynge Dauyd was delyuered fro y ^e ꝑsecuciōs of Saul & Absolō. By prayer Helyas obtened of god y ^t it dyd not rayne by y ^e space of .iij. yeres & .vi. moneths / & than he prayed a­gayne for to haue rayn / & it pleased god to send sufficyent therof for y ^e ꝓducciō of fruytes & other necessaries By prayer Helyzeꝰ dyd reyse fro dethe to lyfe y ^e chyld of the Sunamyte w ^t whome he had his hospitalyte. [Page] It wolde aske a longe space to speke of all the myra­cles and other thynges that the prophetes and other good men of the olde lawe / and y ^e apostles with other true chrystyans of y ^e newe lawe hath optened of god by the vertue of prayer. wherfore I wyll lete them passe / prayeng you my spyrytuall frendes to be cōtented with these fewe / the whiche I haue now shortly touched. And for a breue conclusyon of this matter I shall brynge one auctoryte of the gospell y ^t dooth suffycyētly expresse what ꝓfite comēth by prayer / though there were no mo in all holy scrypture but onely it. Our mayster Chryst in the gospell of Marke sayeth. Quecū (que) orantes petitis: Capitulo. xi credite (qr) quia accipietis: et euenient vobis. That is to say. what soeuer ye right wysly desyre of me by prayer / beleue that ye shal haue it and ye shall haue it after / your desyre / or elles moche better / & more for your profyte. Therfore seynge that prayer is of so grete dygnyte / & so acceptable to god lete vs not forgete to pray / but lete vs occupy our selfs therin / as moche as we may conuenyently. But peraduenture some men of the worlde wyll say. Prayer is ordeyned to cōtemplatyf and relygious persones: for they haue nothyng elles to be occupyed w ^t / wher­fore lete them pray. But we that be men of y ^e worlde haue other besynesse to do / and therfore we may not be euer rennyng to y ^e chyrche to make our prayers. It shall be suffycyēt for vs to pray on the holy dayes. I feare me lest there be many of this faculte nowe of dayes / more is y ^e pyte. And I thynke y ^t the cause therof is blyndnesse of hert ingendred by custome of syn̄e. From y ^e whiche to be delyuered our moder holy chyr­che dooth pray sayeng. A cecitate cordys libera nos [Page] domine. I knowe not what it shold auayle to exhort suche persones to prayer / except they wolde fyrst purge theyr soules from this blyndnesse by contricion / cō fessyon / & satysfaccion / yet notw ^tstandyng yf they wolde fall to prayer / by the vertue therof / they myght obteyne grace to ryse the more quyckely from theyr synfull lyuyng. But my purpose as now is to wryte spe­cially to suche deuout persones / as I trust wyl not to theyr knowlege rest in deedly syn̄e / for all the tempo­rall lucres of this worlde. And I trust of that dysposicyon there be ryght many. whose nomber I beseche our lorde to multyply & encrease. These deuout soules I wyll counsell oft tymes to vse prayer / & not to make suche excuses as the other persones beforesaid do. For as sayth saynt Iohn̄ Chrysostome in his foresayd homyly it is no suffycient excuse to say they may not be euer at the chyrche to pray For a man that is well dysposed may pray in any place where soeuer he is. For it is neyther the place nor the tyme y ^t is impedyment to prayer. ¶If a man neyther lyft vp his handes towarde the heuens / nor knele on his knees / nor make tunsyon on his brest / yet shall he make a parfyte prayer / yf he rendre to god onely a feruent & deuout myn­de. That man that is come of noble blode & ryall pro­geny may be at lyberte to frequentate y ^e chyrche and other secrete places at his pleasure for his deuocyon. And therfore may he the more quyetly gyue hymsel e to vocall prayer. And not onely whā he is secrete / but also whā he is in cōpany he may vse to pray / though his prayers be than the shorter. As (for an example) whan he sytteth at dyner / or souper / or whan he is sō tymes at other honest recreaciōs: he may lyft vp his [Page] hert vnto god sayeng in his mynde / though he speke nothyng w ^t his mouthe. Iesu haue mercy vpon me / & forgyue me all my synnes. Iesu gyue me grace to be thy true and faythfull seruaunt. Iesu make me to lo­ue the with all my hert / & all my soule. with suche o­ther as it shall please god to put in his mynde / sometymes sayng one / & somtymes another. And yf it please hym to speke with his mouthe he may sōtymes saye. Aue benigne Iesu. And somtymes. Aue maria. w ^t suche other shorte prayers as shall come to his remē ­braūce / the whiche saynt Augustyn calleth Or̄ones iaculatories / y ^t is to saye / prayers iaculatory: or redy at y ^e hande. And they be very profytable & expedyent to obteyne grace. Thus may the man of worshyp oc­cupy himselfe in prayer. Other men y ^t be of inferyous degrees whyther they be marchauntes / yomen / or craftes men or of what cōdycyon soeuer they be they can not be excused / but they may vse moche prayer yf they wyll. For yf they be ryding or goyng in iourney they may haue space ynough therto / yf they be at home at theyr occupacyōs or sellyng of theyr ware / yet may they vse such short prayers as I haue beforesaid in theyr shoppes or other places where they be. For god regardeth more y ^e hert & mynde of him y ^e prayeth thā he doth y ^e place where he prayeth. The prophete Hieremy beyng in y ^e foule pryson / & standyng in clay & dyrt / made his prayers to god. Danyell in y ^e lake of lyons dyde also pray to god. Ionas beyng in y ^e bely of a grete fysshe dyde not forgete to pray. The thefe hangyng on the crosse at the ryght hande of Cryst made his prayer in fewe wordes. Iob sytting on y ^e dōghyl dyde offer vp his prayers to god. And all they by the [Page] merites of theyr prayers was herde of god / and they obteyned theyr desyres to theyr grete cōsolacyon and confort. Here may ye se y ^t god dooth accept the douout prayer of man in what place soeuer it is sayd. Ther­fore my intyerly beloued frendes: lete vs exercyse our selfes in prayer as moch as we may / neuer deferryng it for the tyme nor for the place. For euery tyme / & euery place is apt & conuenyent for prayer. For yf we gyue our selfe thus to prayer / I trust in the goodnesse of god we shall taste of the holsome & swete fruytes y ^t co­meth therof / of the whiche parte I haue shortly tou­ched here before.

AFter the mynde of the mellyfluous doctor saynt Bernarde in his boke of sentences: it is necessary for euery persone to cōsyder thre thynges tofore the begynnynge of theyr prayer. Fyrst what thynge they intende to aske in prayer. Secondaryly of whome they aske. Thyrdly themselfe that do aske. ¶As to y ^e fyrst partye I saye / it is necessary to consyder before theyr prayer / what thynge they intende to aske in prayer / leest peraduenture they sholde aske that thynge that shold be contrary vnto charyte / as the dethe of theyr enemyes / domage of theyr neyghbours / or other su­che. He that so prayed deserueth not for to be herde of god. Ca. [...]. For he in the gospell of saynt Luke / the syxt cha­pytre doth exhorte vs for to loue our euyll wyllers or [Page] enmyes / and to be benefycyall to them y ^t do hate vs / and to pray for them that wrongfully do ꝑsecute vs. But yf we pray for the remyssyon of our synnes / for y ^e grace of y ^e holy goost / for vertue / for spiritual wysdom for faythe / for trouthe / for iustyce / for mekenes / for pacyence / & for suche other / than almyghty god of his infynyte goodnesse wyll quykly here vs / & graunt our desyre. For of them y ^t in prayer asketh suche thynges almyghty god speketh by his prophete Esay sayeng. Ca. lxv. whā they be spekyng I sha [...]l here them / & tofore the & begyn to crye I shall gracyously here thē. ¶Secon­daryly we must cōsyder of whom we aske any thyng by prayer for y ^e saluacyon of our soules. For we ought to haue afore our eyes as the onely graunter & gyuer of our peticion. That is to say god omnypotēt. And in hym we must consyder .ij. thynges / his infenite goodnesse / & his superexcellent magesty. His goodnesse by the whiche he wyll frely graunt vs oure desyre. And this shall cause vs to haue a grete cōfydence & trust in hym. His magesty by the whiche he may graunt / & gyue what soeuer it shall please hym. And this shall cause vs to gyue honour and reuerence to hym / as it besemeth the creature to gyue to hym that dyde crea­te & make hym. ¶Thyrdly we must consyder our sel­fes who & what we be that do aske any thyng of god by prayer / y ^t is to say / y ^t we be wretches of y ^e worlde and greuous synners / deseruyng to obtene nothyng that we pray for / as of our owne merytes: but onely by the grete mercy & goodnesse of god. And this wyll cause vs to humylyate & meke our selfes in the syght of god / and than we may be sure that he wyll not dy­spyse our prayers. Ps. C.i. For the prophete sayth. Our lorde [Page] hath loked on meke men: & he hath not dispysed theyr prayer.

WE rede by a holy doctour of .ij. maner of prayers: of the whiche one is called vo­call prayer / & the other is called mētall prayer. Vocall prayer is y ^t / the whiche is spoken by mouyng of the tongue & of the lyppes: & by pronouncyng of y ^e soūde. Of this prayer speketh the ꝓphete in y ^e .iij. psalme / sayeng. Vo­ce mea ad dn̄m clamaui: et exaudiuit mede mōte sctō suo. I cryed to our lorde w ^t my voyce / & he herde me from his holy hyll. And also in y ^e .xvij. psalme. In tri­bulatione mea inuocaui dn̄m: et ad deū meum clamaui. Et exaudiuit de templo sctō suo vocem meam. &c In my trybulacion I inwardly called our lorde / & I cryed to my god / & it pleased hym from his holy tēple to here my voyce. ¶After the mynde of saynt Bona­uenture in his thyrde questyon vpon the .xiiij. dystin­ction / in the .iiij. boke of y ^e mayster of y ^e sentences: vo­call prayer may be deuyded in to .ij. partes / y ^t is to say in to pure vocall prayer / & in to myxte vocall prayer. Pure vocall prayer is whan a man speketh the wor­des with his mouthe w ^tout any affeccyon or deuociō of y ^e mynde ꝑteynyng therto. And this is but of small meryte & lytell effect / yf there be no intencyon actuall nor virtuall goyng tofore / but yf it haue an intencion goyng tofore / y ^t is to say yf a man at y ^e begynnyng of his prayer lyft vp his mynde to god w ^t good purpose [Page] to pray deuoutly / than is this prayer merytoryous / though his mynde afterwarde by fraylte be not mo­che theron / it is suffycyēt to excuse a man of his duty.

¶Myxte vocall prayer is that the / whiche is spoken with y ^e mouthe / & procedeth fro the herte w ^t ardaunt deuocyon & feruent affeccyon of the mynde. This maner of prayer is very good & ꝓfytable / and gretely accepted in the syght of almyghty god. And vnto suche ꝑsones y ^e perceyue theyr deuocyon to encrease by spe­kyng of y ^e swete wordes in prayer / this myxte prayer is comynly y ^e beste / and this I thynke dooth fortune moost oft in good deuout people of y ^e worlde (for who­me I specyally wryte this treatyse) the which haue a good mynde to serue god. But yet they haue not experyence of the delectable spirituall lyfe / nor dyde ne­uer taste the swete delicious wynes of the lyfe cōtemplatyfe / whiche god hath reserueth vnto suche persones y ^t be as it were sequestrate from the worlde / & the affeccyons thereof / and thrugh the mortyfycacyon of sensualyte be made by the grace of god moche spyry­tuall. ¶The mental prayer (of the whiche here after I intende to speke / as it shall please my mayster Iesu for to gyue me grace) I thynke is y ^e best / yf it me vsed sobrely and dyscretely. For elles it is so laborous and so vyolent / y ^t within short space it wyll brynge a man vnto suche debilitacion and weykenesse of brayne y ^t it wyll cast hym in greate daunger of sekenesse / or some other great inconuenyence.

¶Mentall prayer is that the whyche is offred to al­myghty god with perfyte feruour of spyryte and de­uocyon [Page] of the mynde / without any sounde of wordes spoken by the mouthe This prayer is of grete effecte and profytable yf it be vsed dyscretely as I sayd before. In some case y ^e myxte vocall prayer is better to so­me persones than is this. But yf we shall speke sym­pliciter and without any suche respect I thynke this mentall prayer is the best. For vocal prayer bothe pure & myxte maye be spoken and sayd whan y ^e mynde is occupyed w ^t vayne cogytacyons of thynges sayd or done in y ^e worlde / the whiche perteyneth nothyng to theyr prayer. But this mentall prayer is of so no­ble and soo pure nature / that it wyll not at that tyme admyt any other thought that sholde be impedimēt or lettynge to it. For whan a man prayeth mentally / his mynde is onely therupon / or vpon due cyrcūstaū ­ces perteynyng therto. And yf any other thought by chaunce do occupye his mynde / for that tyme he cea­seth to pray mentally. This prayer is of great excellē ­cy ad dignite / and is the very true and faythfully ambassadour betwyxt god and mannes soule. For there can none aduersyte lete hym but he wyll go y ^e ryght way to y ^e celestyall palays / where as the kynge of all kynges: & lorde of all lordes dooth contynually tary / & there effectuously with due honour and reuerēce she­we the causes of his comynge. yea / and this heuenly messager ordereth hymselfe soo wysely and so amya­bly that the moost hygh and almyghtyest kyng and emperour wyll not lyghtly denye hym any maner of thynge that he desyreth. But what soeuer he chary­tably asketh / this moost heuenly kynge gracyously graunteth. On this maner prayed Anna the wyfe of Helcana / as it is expresly manyfest by y ^e byble in y ^e [Page] fyrst boke of y ^e kynges. whan Hely the preste dyde beholde her face largely perfused with teares of deuocyon. She prayed to god bycause she had ben al her lyfe without any fruyte procreate by the sede of man / y ^t it wolde please his mercy & goodnes to graunt her a sone y ^t myght be his true seruaunt. ¶As she prayed in this maner Hely seyng her lippes moue & heryng no voyce thought y ^t she had ben inebryate w ^t drynkynge to moche wyne. It may well be that she was dron­ken / but not of this materyall wyne made of grapes by the craft of man / but she was dronken with spyry­tuall wyne of deuocyon the whiche came fro the wy­neceller of heuen. wherof the holy goost / y ^e thyrde persone in trynite is the tauerner / or vyntener. Of howe blyssed is he / or she that may be inebryate with this wyne? I beseche you all my spyrituall frēdes to pray for me a wretche / that I may haue grace soo to order my selfe y ^t I may deserue some thynge to caste of this wyne / to the laude and prayse of hym that is bothe wyne & vyntener. I mene of this deuout & swete mē tall prayer / of the whiche to speke a lytell more I holde it expedyent. wherfore I wyll exhorte suche persones that by grace can & may practyse thēselfe therin to vse it with dyscrecyon. And yf they perceyue them selfe strong of nature & may well away therwith / to vse it oft / but not longe at ones. yf they ꝑceyue them­self weyke or feble in brayne / it is good for them to vse it but lytell. It is a prety craft to pray mentally. And there be (as I suppose) but fewe that be cōnyng therin. This arte perteneth moost specyally to cōtempla­tyf persones: & other deuoute seculer persones y ^t haue suffyciēt knowlege of scrypture & spyrituall thynges. [Page] To other vnlerned persones it is moost profytable to vse the prayer of mouthe / gyuyng therto y ^e deuocion of mynde as moche as they may. And this for a cōclu­syon (as sayth saynt Thomas) it is expedyent for euery persone to exercise and vse y ^t maner of prayer / whi­ther it be mentall or vocall / in the whiche they fynde moost swetenesse and increase of deuocyon.

YF that the prayer of man shall be pleasaūt & acceptable in the syght of god / it must haue .ii. ꝓpryetes: y ^t is to say / deuocion & continuāce. ¶Fyrst I say our prayers must be offred to god w ^t deuocyon / and with in­wardly affeccyō of hert & mynde / or elles it is no meruayle though we be not herde of hym to whome we pray. For yf a man sholde make his supplycacion to a grete prynce of this worlde in any necessary cause / ey­ther for hymselfe or for his frende / & dyd not speke effectuously nor hertely in the sayd cause / but slouthfully & as it were slepyngly pronunce his wordes / so that the prynce myght well & euydently ꝑceyue that his hert dyde nothyng agre with his wordes: it is to be supposed y ^t he wolde deny his peticion or supplicaciō. So lykewyse whan the excellent prynce of heuen the whiche knoweth the hert & thought of euery ꝑsone / dooth perceyue that in the tyme of prayer our hertes be not consonaunt with our wordes: it is no maruell though he regarde not our peticiōs or prayers. wherfore it is very expedyent yf our prayers shall be acce­pted [Page] of god / y ^t we ēdeuer our selfs to pray with fervor and deuocion. ¶Of certayne thinges that shall giue vs occasyon to deuocion in tyme of prayer I shall she­we you hereafter by the grace of Iesu. But fyrst I intende some thynge to speke of the contynuaunce that we sholde haue in prayer.

¶Our sauyour Cryst in the gospell of Mathe. dooth prouoke vs nt onely to prayer sayeng Petite et ac­cipietis: querite et inuenietis: pulsate et aperietur vobis. That is to say. Aske and ye shall haue / seche & ye shall fynde / knocke & I shall opē to you. In these wordes we may haue a grete cōfidence & trust to obteyne whatsoeuer we ryght wysly desyre by prayer. For he y ^t bydded vs aske wyll not deny. If he wolde haue denyed / he wolde not haue bydden vs aske. And therfore sayth saynt Augustyn (Sermon equite de verbis dn̄i in euāgeliū sedin Matheū). He that counceyleth thus to aske / wyll he deny? as who wolde saye / no. But ꝑaduenture somtymes he wyll not graunt our petycyons by & by / but dyfferre vnto another tyme. And y ^t for dyuers causes? y ^e whyche yf I sholde nowe recyte / they wolde aske a longe tyme / therfore I wyll lete them passe all / excepte one y ^t is moost for my purpose. ¶After the opynion of dyuers doctours sō ­tymes almyghty god deferreth to graūt y ^e petycyōs of his supplycauntes & seruaūtes: bycause he wolde y ^t they sholde cōtynue & perseuer in prayer. For perse­ueraunce in prayer & in euery good dede is worthy to to haue a grete rewarde / & therfore it is wrytē. Qui perseuerauerit vs (que) in finem hic saluꝰ erit. [...]athe .x. who that in goodnesse dooth perseuer vnto the ende / he shal be saued. And also of y ^e perseueraunce in prayer it is wryten. [Page] Eccliast. Melior est finis orationis: (quam) principisi. Ca. iii. The ende of prayer is better than the begynnynge. wherfore our mayster Cryst sayth. luce. xviii. Oportet semper orare et non deficere / ye sholde perseuer in prayer and not fayle them. Thus dooth our sauyour Iesus spe­kyng in holy scrypture / exhorte vs to the cōtynuaūce and perseueraunce in prayer. And he dooth not onely councel vs by his swete and confortable wordes: but also he prouoketh vs therto by famylyare examples Of the whiche one we rede in the .xviij. chapytre of y ^e euāgelyst Luke. where he sayeth. Iudex quidā erat in quidā ciuitate. &c. There was a iudge in a certay­ne cyte the whiche dyde not feare god nor man / vnto whome came a certayne wydow of the same cyte / desyryng hym that she myght haue ryght of her aduersary. He deferred and wolde not regarde her wordes of a longe season. But yet at the laste bycause of her importunyte he remembred hymself & sayd. Though it be so that I drede neyther god nor man / yet for her perseueraunt instaunce and desyre I wyll se that her aduersary shall do her no wronge / leest peraduēture at the last through her importunyte she wyll be vnto me moche tedyouse. This aforesayd parabole spake our sauyour Iesu Cryst for to prouoke vs vnto the cō tynuance of prayer. And in lyke wyse as the iudge dyde dyfferre by a longe space / and yet at the laste dyde condescende vnto the desyre of y ^e wydowe bycause of her contynuyng instaunce. So wyll the moost glo­ryous sader of heuen somtyme dyfferre for to graunte suche thynges as we doo desyre of hym by prayer. But yf that we wyll perseuer alway / and call to him contynually / at the last he wyll graunt our petycyōs [Page] bycause of our importunite. ¶Also of this matter we haue another parabole in the gospell of Luke. [...]cc. xi. where our sauyour Cryst sayth. Quis vestrū habebit ami­cū. &c. whiche of you hath a frende & gooth to hym at mydnyght sayng to hym. My frende I pray you lende me .iij. loues of breade / For I haue a straūger comē to me / & I haue no breade to set on y ^e table before him. And he beyng w ^tin sayth answeryng on this maner. I pray you dysease me not / for my doores be shet / & I and my seruaūtes be all in bed. I can not now ryse & lende them you. yet he is not contented with this an­swere / but taryeth styll contynually knockyng & cal­lyng / and wyll not retorne to his hous tyll he spede of his purpose. I tell you trouthe (sayeth oure mayster Cryst) yf he wyll not aryse bycause he is his frende / yet for his improbite or his īportunyte / at the last he wyll aryse and lende hym as moche breade as is ne­cessary. ¶Se here my gostly frēdes how our louyng lorde & mayster Iesus cryst sheweth to vs this parabole to ꝓuoke vs to the ꝑceueraūce of prayer / whose coūcell & prouocacyon yf we folowe / vndoubtedly as this mā caused his frende to ryse at mydnyght & len­de hym breade. So wyll almyghty god (though he deferre for a tyme) gyue vs al thyng necessary / yf we call to hym w ^t cōtynuaūce & ꝑfourmaunce of prayer.

I Promyse here tofore y ^t I wolde shewe you ol suche thynges y ^t wyll gyue you occasyon to deuocion in tyme of prayer / wherfore by the gace of Iesu [Page] now I shall do my dylygēce to ꝑforme that ꝓmysse ¶It is a specyall helpe to deuocyon before your pra­yers to make a due preparacyon. Therfore it is wry­ten. Ante or̄onem p̄para aīam tuam. Before thy prayer prepare thy mynde / or thy soule therto. Ecclesi. xviii. ca. But ꝑad­uenture some men be ignorant / & knowe not howe to prepare them / therfore I shall shewe them after my symple reason the maner therof. ¶Fyrst whan ye intende to praye / tofore the begynnyng of your prayer: call to mynde parte of the many & grete benefytes w ^t the whiche god of his goodnesse hath suffycyently in dued you. As the benefytes of your creacyon / how he created and made your soule to his owne symylitude or lykenesse. Of your redēpcyon / howe it pleased the second persone in trynite to come fro the glory in heuē vnto this vale of mysery / & here to suffer grete penu­ry and paynes all the tyme of his lyfe / and at y ^e laste moost bytter passion & dethe on the crosse / for y ^e redem­pcion of you and all mankynde. Of your p̄seruacyon / how that god of his singuler gracyousnesse hath pre­serued you from the fyrst day of your natyuite to this presēt tyme / gyuyng you meate & drinke and clothes & all other thinges necessary and expedient for you to haue. And besydes these many tymes he hath dely­uered you from the ieopardy of corporal dethe. where as yf ye had ben deed at y ^t tyme / ꝑchaunce your soule sholde haue ben in grete daunger of dampnacion / by the reason of deedly synne / in the whiche ꝑaduenture at suche tyme ye were culpable. Of your ꝓmysed gloryficacion / how god of his charitable benignite hath predestynate you to be perpetuall inheredytare of y ^e kyngdome of heuē / where as ye shall haue the fruy­cyon [Page] and clere syght of his deyte / the whiche shall be more Ioye to you than my pen can wryte / herte can thynke / or mouthe can speke. Remembrynge these w ^t suche other / as it shall please god at that tyme to put in your mynde / gyue laudes and thankes to him / not onely for them: but also generally for all his other be­nyfytes the whiche be innumerable. whan ye haue thus done / remember how vnthankfull and how vnkynde you haue ben to hym / that dyde neuer before gyue hym due thankes for all suche his grete benyfytes / but moost vnkyndly forgetyng them haue offended his magesty by the reason of innumerable syn̄e / the whiche ye haue cōmytted by all y ^e tymes of your lyfe / Beseche his grace thā of mercy and forgyuenes knowlegyng your selfe to be a wretched synner / and of so grete fraylte that ye be neyther able of your selfe to pray deuoutly / nor to do any other good dede acce­ptable to hym. Desyre hym mekely and louyngly y ^t he wyll vouchesaufe to dyrect your prayer / so that it may be acceptable to hym / & ꝓfytable to your selfe & all other thynges necessary to be prayed for / sayng w ^t the prophete dauyd. [...]sal. cxi. Dirigantur domine or̄o mea: sicut incensum in conspectu tuo. Good lorde I beseche the that my prayer may be dyrected & ascended in the syght of the / lyke to the swete odour of encense. Thus ordryng your selfe as I haue nowe sayd / I trust in y ^e mercy of god that ye shall make a conuenyent p̄para­cyon goyng before your prayer. And this take ye for y ^e fyrst thyng that shall gyue you occasyon of deuociō ¶The seconde thynge y ^t shall cause you deuoutely to pray is to remember fyrst what nede & necessyte ye haue of prayer as cōcernyng your owne persone. Secō ­dayly [Page] what nede generally all the worlde hath. And thyrdly what nede y ^e soules haue y ^t be in the paynes of purgatory.

¶Fyrst I say it shall moeue you to pray deuoutly yf ye intyerly wyll cōsyder what nede you haue of pra­yer / as concernyng your selfe. For yf ye examyn your conscyence depely / consyderyng dyscretely how your fraylte is moche īclyned to pryde / to wrathe / to enuy to slouthe / to glotony / to auaryce / to lechery / & to the spyces & braūches of them. And on the cōtrary parte how slowe ye be to vysyte y ^e syke ꝑsones / to cōfort thē that be desolate & lacke consolacion / to gyue almes to y ^e poore peple. &c. And how tedyous it is for you to here y ^e worde of god priched / to here your masse & other dyuine seruyce. And how sōpnolent & slep [...] ye be thera [...] / w ^t [...]ches ther [...]y [...]s: I doubte not but ye shall wel perceyue y ^t you had grete nede of prayer for your owne ꝑsone / & that shall moeue you to pray deuoutly ¶Secondaryly I thynke that it wyll cause you to pray deuoutly yf ye consyder what nede all the worl­de hath of prayer. For as sayth saynt Iohan the apo­stle in his [...] epystle. C [...]. [...]. [...] Mundus totꝰ in maligno po­sitꝰ est. That is to say. all the worlde it set on vnhap­pynesse & myschefe. Not so to be vnderstāden y ^t euery persone in the worlde is so yll dysposed. But that many: & it is to be feared lest the moost parte be moche set to folowe y ^e concupyscence of vyce & synne. we knowe by dayly experiēce y ^t in the people of the worlde [...]tue doth gretely decay / & vyce doth dayly encreas & mul­typly. who is nowe lyuynge that euer sawe or herde of me newe inuencyons of pryde and vanytees than is in these dayes? who herde euer of moo dysceytes [Page] and fraudes among kynsfolkes and neybours? was the synne of the flesshe euer more vsed / sythe y ^e tyme y ^t Sodome & Gomorre were dystroyed than it is now? was there euer greter swering & blasphemy than is now? It is taken but for a tryfle to swere by y ^e precy­ous woundes & body of our sauiour Iesu Cryst / & by the masse / and by the gloryous sacrament of y ^e auter. Alas for pyte / it wolde aske to longe space yf I sholde reherce syngulerly by hymself euery grete notable vice y ^t is comynly & dayly vsed in the worlde. But you my spyrytuall frendes y ^t be more conuersaunt in the face of the worlde than I am / maye se & perceyue mo­che more abusion / that I cease to speke of now bycau­se I wyll not tary so longe in this matter. But yf I shall speke any thynge cōcernyng y ^e mynistres of cry­stes chyrche y ^t shold be adorned w ^t grace and vertues to the example of other / I feare me y ^t among parte of them is also moche abusion. who herde euer of more symony? who herde euer of more sellyng of benefices vnder colour of pensiōs. who herde euer of more aua­ryce regnyng amonge seculer prestes than is in these days? To speke of them y ^t be reguler / who sawe euer relygiō more remyshly kept? who sawe euer so many apostates that haue forsaken theyr relygyō & be now insecular habite? And for a cōclusyon to speke generally of persones of euery faculte. who herde euer of mo­re heresy open & suspected than is in these dayes? Take hede dyligent reder & consyder / whither y ^e wordes of saynt Iohn̄ before rehersed / may now be veryfyed or not / where he sayth. Mundus totꝰ in maligno positus est. The worlde is all set on synne. I thynke there is no man that ꝓfoundly & effectuously dooth cōsyder [Page] this generall mysery y ^t is vsed thrughe the moost parte of all the worlde / but it shall gyue hym occasyō to pray deuoutly for amendement therof. And this for the seconde parte.

¶Thyrdely to consyder how grete nede the soules y ^t be in the paynes of purgatory haue of prayer / wyl also submynyster plenteous & haboūdaunt mater of deuocyō. For there they be w ^tout cōsolacyon or cōfort / in grete derkenesse & mysery / suffryng paynes ineffable and contynually callyng & cryenge for mercy / & for to be releued with deuout prayers: & other charytable dedes of good crystiēs yet lyuyng in this worlde. Oh what hert is so hard y ^t wyll not be mollefyed with cō passyon vpon those poore soules that there be in pay­nes intollerable. It passeth the capacyte of all men lyuīg to expresse y ^e gretenes of the paynes with y ^e whi­che they be greuously tormented. After the mynde of some doctours theyr paynes be egall in comparyson to the paynes of hell. Except that y ^e paynes of hell be ꝑpetual / & the paynes of purgatory temporal. There they be somtymes in extreme coldnesse / & somtyme in inextynguyble hotenesse. That hotenesse after y ^e opy­nyō of som catholycall men / as ferre excedeth y ^e hote­nesse of this elementary & materyall fyre / as the hote­nesse of this fyre passeth the hotenesse of the fygura­tyf fyre paynted on a walle. yf ony suche comparyson may be made I wyll speke no more of this mater / for I can not expresse / neyther in generall nor in specyal what horryble paynes y ^e soules y ^t be there suffre / and shal do vnto suche tyme as they haue made condigne satysfaccyō for theyr trespaces cōmytted / & not suffyciently punysshed in this lyfe. Excepte they be released [Page] by the deuoute prayers (as I sayd before) & by other good dedys of charitable cristyās lyuyng yet in this worlde. wherfore euery deuout persone before the begynnyng of his prayer call to mynde y ^e ineffable paynes y ^t these soules do suffre / thynkīg yf he were therwith thē how glad he wold be to be released by y ^e merytes of suffrages & prayers. This doyng I suppose y ^t there is no man so colde nor so dull / but he wolde styre hym to the warmnes & feruour of deuocyon.

¶Now haue I shewed you after my poore maner of certayn meanes: the which well consyderyng before y ^e begynnyng of prayer wyll excytate & moeue your hertes to y ^e feruent swetnes of deuocyon. yet I inten­de by the helpe of Iesus breuely to suꝑadde & put one thynge more / & so to make an ende of this mater. But peraduenture some men wyll thynke y ^t I am suꝑflu­ous in this poynt. for it wolde be very long & tedyoꝰ to remēbre so many thinges euer tofore y ^e begynning of prayer. As to this obieccion I make this answere. If a man shold consyder euery thyng at y ^e large as it is wryten it wolde aske a longe space. But y ^e effect of thē with a quycke memory may be so shortly cōprehē ded that they shall not be tedyous / nor ony thyng greuous to ony suche whom it shall please to put them in practyse. But yet for more compendyousnesse I wyl that all be not remembred at one tyme / and but somtime one / and somtyme another / and so I thynke they wyll be tedyous to no man.

¶Another meane that wyll gyue you occasyō for to pray deuoutly / is tofore che begynnyng to thynke y ^t eyther tofore your prayer be accomplysshed / or els as shortly as ye haue made an ende therof that ye shall [Page] departe out of this world / and be presented to y ^e right wyse iuge / there to make a streyte accompt and rekenyng of al the tyme of your lyfe past. But peraduenture som wyll say. why sholde I thynke so? For I trust to lyue many yeres longer. As to that I say not nay / but it may so fortune. Notwithshandyng you beyng on lyue at the begynnynge of prayer / yf it shall please god / ye may departe tofore ye haue made a ꝑfyte en­de therof. And yf I wold affirme this parte to be true there is no man lyuing that may truely affyrme the contrary. Therfore I holde it moche profytable thus for to thynke. And so doyng I trust it wyll gyue you grete occasyon to deuocyon.

LIke as example by euery thyng that is heuy of the self / or laden with ony thyng that depresseth the berer / sooner & more easely it may descende downe the hyll / than it may ascend vp the moūt. Prayer is an ascencyō of the mynde to god as Damascene sayth. Li. iiii. ca xxiii ps. xii. Accordyng also to y ^e wordes of the prophete in his psalme sayng. I haue lyft vp myn eyes vnto the mountes. That is to say. I haue made my prayer to the holy sayntes in heuen / as meanes to god / of whom I trust helpe and socoure. For my socoure and helpe is of god / the whi­che made heuen and erthe. wherfore euery thynge y ^t is heuy vnto the soule / dooth depresse the spyryte and letteth parfyte deuocyon / and causeth many & often [Page] tymes distraccyon of mynde in tyme of prayer. Accordyng to the sayng of the Sapience. Sapi [...] ­ [...]ie. j. The body y ^t is corrupte doth greue & let the soule / and the sences do de­presse hym / whose mynde is occupyed aboute many thīges. For vndubted in tyme of prayer / there y ^e mynde is moche inclyned / where about in other tymes it is moost occupyed. If grete study / besynesse / and care doth occupy the mynde / as to gete temporall ryches & honours worldsy ꝓmocyōs: or other suche pleasu­res: no meruel yf y ^t soule can not be fyxed in one thing specyally yf it be iner spyrytual. But prayer syth it is one of the partes of cōtemplaciō / yf it be pure / it hath respect onely or pryncypally vnto one thyng / which is god almyghty. To whom prayer bereth the pety­cyō of the hert / & maketh supplicacyon for helpe. But y ^e hertes of them y ^t be occupyed in many thinges can not longe be fyxed on one thyng / wherfore theyr pra­yer can not be long pure without distracciō of mynd. Martha was occupyed about many thinges: Luce. x & therfore she was troubled in her mynde. But Mary occupyed about one / dyd chuse the better parte. And therfore she was quyet in spyryte / & all togyder contēpla­tyue. Of the which example we may lerne / that sith bothe these women were holy & moche accept in y ^e fauour of god: that the labours of them which ben prelates & take cure of other. and be cōtent for the loue of god to leue theyr cōtemplacyon / & to take labours spirytual or temporall for theyr subgectes / ben moch merytoryoꝰ. For albeit y ^t they haue distraccyōs in theyr prayer / & somtyme fele not suche swetnes & flame of deuocyō / as they were wont to haue afore they dyde take y ^t offyce on them. yet let them be sure: syth theyr [Page] labours is for god / & helpyng of soules / so moch more ryche is theyr merytes afore god. how moch more is theyre labours & cures? In so moche y ^t these houshol­ders also / whiche dyscretly and truely doth occupye the worlde for the mayntenyng of theyr houshold / albeit they comēly haue dystracciōs of mynde in tyme of theyr prayer: yet they not wylling to haue suche e­uagacions of mynde: yf they often call in theyr mynd to the remēbraunce of god they shal not lese theyr meryte. For as saynt Thomas sayth. xxij. q [...] xxxiij. arti xi [...] Holy men haue sō ­tyme euagacyōs of mynde in tyme of prayer: And he sayth moreouer that / y ^t person dooth praye in spyryte & trouthe / whiche moeued of the instinceyō of y ^e holy goost procedeth and gooth to pray. Notwithstādyng y ^t for weykenes of spyryte y ^e mynde afterward be wā dryng & dystract. For whan y ^e mynde of hym y ^t dothe pray ascendeth to god by contemplacion / than anone by cause it is feble & weyke it falleth to euagacyōs & wāderyng myndes. But holy mē oftētymes calleth in theyr spyryt to remēbre what they pray / & so they contynue theyr deuocion. And this is one generall remedy / & as a dayly medicyn contynually to be vsed of euery persone agaynst dystracciōs of mynde / for to cō serue theyr attencyō / deuocyon / & meryte in prayer. Another remedy is oftētymes with actual intent (as moche as fraylte wyl suffre) to do theyr werkes and worldly besynes to the honoure of god / actually referryng them to his glory. As saynt Paule sayth. j. Co. [...] why­ther ye eate or drynke / or what someuer els ye shal do do al to the glory of god. This exercyse of mynde vsed in other prayers / shal encreas the loue of god in theyr hertes / wherby thyer spyrytes shalbe more strong in [Page] deuociō to auoyde grete distraccyons of mynde in ty­me of prayer. And it wolde be noted of euery crysten man that besyde the naturall loue which he hath to his wyfe / chyldrē / & seruauntes / except in true catholyke faith of y ^e chirch he endeuer himself by his good example of lyfe to edyfye thē in vertue / to the honour of god & profyte of theyr soules / he shall do lytell more to his housholde thā dothe the pagan or turke to his famylly. For they dayly do labour & ꝓuyde for theyr housholde / & naturally dooth loue the same. But the faythfull seruaunt of god an true crystyans must do more. ¶Another remedy agaynst distracciōs is this It is necessary for al such honest worldly lyuers whiche be moche troubled w ^t scateryng mynde in prayer to apply thēself to some ordred exercyse / specyally in y ^e chyrche of god. As after they haue taken holy water knele downe in som place where they intende to rest & pray. And all worldly besynes sequestred all grud­ges agaynst neyghbour al iniuryes / & offences clene put out of mynde and remyt with meke and contryte spyryte / aske god mercy for theyr vnkyndnes & negligēces done & cōmyth syth y ^e last tyme they were there ānd for all vndyscrete behauour & impacyency to his houshold & neyghbours. And thanke god for y ^e preseruacion of hym or his / & all crysten people. And for al y ^e benefites of god / specyally for your creacion / redēpciō & gloryficacyō / which we all trust to haue by y ^e mea­nes of his sones blyssed passyon. whiche than lete vs call afore our mynde. and in sure fayth depely cōsyde­ring y ^e lame sete vs mekely thank the father of heuen for his ineffable mercy / loue / & charyte / y ^t wold sende his eterne & onely beloued sone to suffe in our nature [Page] so paynfull & ignomyneoꝰ a dethe to redeme man out of the thraldome of the deuyll. And also with all oure hertes thank our sayd lord Iesu cryst y ^e sone of god for his lyke loue / mercy / & charyte. To whom (as saynt Poule sayth. Ad Hebre. xii Ioye & glory profferd / all cōfusyon dyspised) wolde sustene the crosse / & suffre the moost payn­full dethe for our saluacyon. If we wolde thus ordre our self in the chyrche dystraccyons sholde haue lytell place in prayer. But yf the persone be vnlettred & moche encombred with wandryng cogytacyōs of theyr herte / than it is expedyēt for such to haue afore theyr eyes some deuout remembraūce or obiect / as some pycture of the passyon of Cryste / or some other saynt / to whome they haue moost deuocyon. That whyle senses be stayed & fyxed in that sensyble deuout ymage / theyr spyryte may more lyberally ascende to god or to the saynt to whom they pray. And for y ^t consyderacyon ymages of sayntes be set vp in the chyrches as bokes of lay mē. That they redynge in thē / theyr actes & Iestes suffred for almighty god may be styred to deuocyon / and for to honoure god in his holy sayntes. ¶Some vseth agaynst suche dystraccions lytell bo­kes / in the whiche is conteyned pyctures of the arty­eles of the lyfe and passion of our lorde Iesu / and tor­nyng ouer theyr leues dooth worshyp our lorde / say­eng for euery article a Pater nr̄ / an Aue & a crede. and this exercise is good for thē whiche be vnlerned. & I councell them y ^t can haue no suche bokes to remēbre the sayd articles by the feestes of the yere. begynnīg at the natyuyte of oure lorde god / his circumcysion / his epyphany / his presentacion in to the temple / his fast and temptacyon / his dethe and bytter passyon / [Page] his resurreccyō / & ascention / with other solēpne festes in y ^e yere. And for eche say the prayer aboue rehersed. And this done serue our lady lykewyse / begynnynge at her concepcyō / natyuite / salutacyō / visitacyō / purificacyō / & assumpcyō. And after this y ^e apostles / mar­tyrs: & other holy sayntes as theyr festes cā be called to remembraūce / or as they appere & be reprynted a­fore thē in theyr ymages set vp in chyrches. This or­dre vsed shall call in the mynde from worldly besynes (& so distraccyō auoyded) it shall kyndle deuocyon / & encreace the meryte and fruyte of prayer.

THere be other distraccyons of mynde in tyme of prayer / y ^e cause wherof is synne. For lyke as in bodyly sekenes he is in grete ieopardy y ^t dooth abhorre all meates: & what so euer he receyueth he casteth & vomiteth it out agayn: so in lykewyse he is moost ferre from deuocyon whose soule is moost sore woūded w ^t many & dyuers mortall synnes. For very tedyous & vnsauery is prayer and al spyrytual thynges to such a persone For yf ony tyme he begyn to pray / anone he hath do­ne / for he is so weyke in soule y ^t he can not contynue. He cā not taste nor dygest spyrytuall thynges / bycause in hymself he is all synfull and beestly. No maruell though y ^t persone be dystract in prayer / whose herte is sore wounded & auerted fro god & fro the lyfe of grace: I councell hym to seke for remedy betyme. Go to y ^e lauatory of helth / and w ^t contryte herte make clene & [Page] hole confessyon. Take w ^t him so moche more huge contricion & repentaūt sorowe. How moche more by his syn̄e he hath deserued dampnacion / & hath prouoked the wrathe / yre / & indygnacion of y ^e hye god omnypotent. Lete him neuer presume / but thynke himself vnworthy to come in to y ^e chyrche / & to appere in the presence of god with an vnpenitent herte. But rather w ^t the publycan for his synne iuge himself vnworthy to loke vp to heuen / & bete that brest and herte w ^t his fyst which hath so greuously offended / & crye with y ^e pu­blycan. Mercy lorde god / mercy / mercy. A more sure remedy or more holsome playster for his sores can he haue none. For lyke as it is a noble playster or medy­cin y ^t healeth not onely the wounde / but also taketh a was the skar: whiche comynly is left in y ^e flesshe / so cō tricion is a noble medycyn for the soule. For it may be so grete and parfite / y ^t it not onely cureth the sin̄e / but it maketh y ^e syn̄e to be in suche detestacyon / y ^t it dooth awaye pryntes / fantasies / ꝓnytees / yll customes / fe­blenes / & other vnclene mocions to syn̄e / whiche syn̄e dooth leue behynde it in the soule / or at the leest dooth so mynisshe them y ^t moche they do not trouble y ^e spyrite. For albeit that the contrycion of some is suffycient to the remyssion of theyr syn̄es / yet it is not alway so ꝑfyte to take these foresayd & paynes & effectes away and y ^t causeth or is occasion of fantasies in tyme of prayer. For whan they wolde be moche deuout / and pra moost hertely. yea / somtyme in heryng masse / than y ^e fantasyes of theyr synnes is so brym̄e in theyr eyes & ymagynacion / that they haue no deuocyon to prayer And somtyme they leue theyr prayer / & be so wery of suche cogitacions: y ^t they feare themself lest theyr synnes [Page] be not forgyuen / or that god dooth forsake them / & is sore dyspleased w ^t thē. and it is not so. For as saynt Gregory sayth. Synnes remyt & past / whan they be brought to memory / they neuer hurt y ^e soule / excepte they please them self. As whan the soule hath delectacion in remēbraūce of thē. But yf suche persones wold consyder theyr owne selfe well / how they neuer dyd take suche payne & penaunce / nor had so ꝑfyte contrycion & sorow for theyr synnes that it was able to put away all fantasyes therof / they sholde se that of very iustyce it were expedyent for them to haue suche temptacyōs. For where they haue agaynst y ^e wyll of god wylfully abused theyr owne wyll in suche synnes / it is the grete goodnes of god y ^t wyll suffre thē to theyr payne agaynst theyr wylles to be tossed and vexed w ^t the fantasies of the same synnes / to theyr meryte and crowne in heuē / cōfusyon to theyr goostly enmy whiche hath no ferther power on them / than without peryll to exercyse & trouble them onely with fantasyes / whiche comynly is called the tēptacyōs of holy men. And therfore let them neuer leue theyr prayer nor place for them. So holy scrypture admonyssheth sayng. If the spyryte of him y ^t hath power ascende vpon the That is as the glose sayth. Eccle. x. If a myghty temptacyō assayle the dymyt not & leue not thy place for it. For the cure & helthe whiche cometh therby in the soule / shall put away and make ceas the gretest syn̄es. For vndubted god dooth suffre the to be tempted w ^t suche fantasyes for the mortificacyon of thy senses: purga­ciō of thy syn̄es & for due & ꝑfyte satysfacciō of y ^e same. ¶Remedyes agaynst such fātasies. For these forsayd cōsyderaciōs it is expedyent for such ꝑsones neuer to [Page] leue theyr prayer / but go forth always spekyng holy wordes. For albeit they fele no swetnes in theyr wordes: yet y ^e gostly enmy feleth therof grete payne / cōfusiō / & shame. And if they ꝑceyue thēself sore altered in theyr bodyes by such thoughtes / arme thēself w ^t y ^e syne of y ^e crosse & make cōtynually inuocaciō to y ^e passiō of our lorde for socour sayng. Lorde thy bytter passiō be betwene me and this temptacion. Some as they myght (theyr hertes fyxed in y ^e woūdes of our lorde) hath cryed & named cōtinually y ^e holy name of Iesu & hath founde remedy / & theyr tēptacion hath ceased For lyke as euery thing is cured by his cōtrary / & experience sheweth y ^t taking styckes fro y ^e fyre / it shall be sone extynct & quēched. So take away the causes & vse the contrary vertues of these tēptacions / & all other distractiōs in prayer / & they shall cease. The causes of distraccions in prayer is not onely y ^e grete enorme lines as heresy / homicide / vsury / & other like / but also grete multytude of venyall syn̄es & generally all mortall syn̄es be occasyō & causes of dystraccyon. . cor. iij For albeit venial syn̄es taketh not grace away fro y ^e soule yet where they be in custome & grete haboūdaūce the soul cā not w ^tout grete labour attene to fele y ^e swetnes of deuocyon. for y ^e senses hath so delyted in thē as outward & sēsyble plesures: y ^t it can not sauour nor taste notably y ^e inward swetnes of y ^e spiryt / which y ^e spirit sore desyreth. Among all mortall synnes I note .vi. y ^t specyally dysposeth to distracciōs: y ^t is pryde / ēuy / yre glotony / lechery / & couetise. Pryde inclyneth to vayn glory / & ypocrisy / & to thoughtes of elaciō of hī self. for y ^e proud ꝑsones mynd is so besy y ^t whereso euer he go or byde / stande or syt he speketh to hīself. And therfore [Page] he can do none otherwyse in payer but whyles his tōgue speketh one worde his herte thynketh another And oftētyme he ymagineth y ^t neuer was nor neuer shall be. ¶Remedy for these we maye soone haue / yf we in tyme of prayer wyl take good hede & custody of our herte / & dyspise all vaynglory & prayse of creatu­re. abhorre ypocresy / & meke our self to god. & prepare our hertes specyally in the begynning of prayer. For lacke of due preparacion in y ^e begynnynge / & for y ^t we are neglygent in orderyng our hertes to our prayer / causeth vs to haue lytell deuocion in our hertes / nor swetnes in our prayer. And contrary wyse good or­dre in the begynnynge expelleth dystraccyōs: & induceth feruour of spyrite. Example we may take of y ^e holy womā Iudith / which as scrypture sheweth whā she shold make her prayer to god / she dyde cast away all her gay aray / & dyde clothe her self with sacke. Iu. ix. cast dust vpon her heed / and fasted & watched in grete pe­naunce. ¶Of quene Hester we rede also / y ^t not onely she dyd all these w ^t grete wepyng & waylyng. as it is opē in the boke of Hester / but also she fyled her heed w ^t dust & donge. [...]e. xiiij And yede to euery place where she had by her pryde & myrth dyspleased god. & there she tea­red her heere in detestacyō of her syn̄e. Omeli. xxiij. ¶Mary magdalene also whan she yede to here y ^e holy worde of our lordes prechīg (as saynt Gregory sayth) she dyd take w ^t her so grete cōtrycyō / y ^t she made a sacrefyce of euery parte of her body / wherwith she had offēdyd god If she had this preparaciō of hert whan our lorde dyde speke vnto her. no lesse ought we to haue whā we shall come in p̄sence & speke to god whiche vndoubted we do as doctours sayth / whā we pray to him. Thā [Page] al y ^e malyce / & impacyency sholde be fer fro vs / which causeth dystraccyons of mynde in prayer / nothynge more. For Mary for the loue whiche she had to god & her neyghbour was worthy to here these wordes of our lorde / the grete multytude of her synnes be forgyuē / bycause she loueth moche / lete vs euer remēber y ^e wordes of our sauiour. Lu. vij Ma. vi et. xviij Except ye remyt eche other w ^t your hertes▪ your fader in heuen wyll not remyt nor forgyue your synnes. All these examples of these holy women ben wryten in the holy scrypture of god / and left for our exāple & erudycion. Lete vs therfore with Mary magdalene whan we shal come to pray / wepe & wayle our synnes. Call to our remembraunce with quene Hester the tymes / the places / the persones / and the partes of our body. And also the wordes / y ^e dedes & the thoughtes / in the which we haue offended the hye god omnipotēt / & there teare our heere / y ^t is to be actually sory for them & haue them in detestaciō / and be dyspleased with our self / which so vnkyndly haue offended our moost louyng & mercyfull fader in heuē. And I prayse it moche whan y ^e meke & contrite herte speketh to god in the moder tongue / praysyng his holy name / or askyng mercy for his synnes. Nothynge thā sholde be so moche afore our eyes / nor w ^t moche occupy our hertes as heuen / whiche myserably we haue lost by syn̄e. And hell to the which we haue boūde our selfe by syn̄e / and y ^t perpetually except we amēde our cōuersacion. Lete vs therfore for cloth / clothe our selfe w ^t sacke / as Iudith dyde / y ^t is to saye. Meke our selfe in our hertes: & euermore remēber how vnwor­thy we be to come to y ^e presence of god & speke to hym And in this exāple of this holy woman we may lerne [Page] & perceyue how lytel it pleaseth god / or ꝓmoteth praer to come to y ^e chyrch in gay apparel or clothing / ex­cept we vse our selfe warely therin. For nothyng more distracteth y ^e mynde / & hurteth prayer & deuocyon thā y ^e inordynate & curyous affecciōs & thoughtes of suche vanitees. ¶I wyll not say but it is cōmēdable on y ^e holy day to a [...]orne our bodies honestly / so y ^t our myndes be not alienate fro god therby. Lete vs also w ^t quene Hester cast dust & dōge vpō our hedes. That is to remēber not onely howe we be mortall / dust / as­shes / & erthe. & to thē torne agayne we shall. But also cast dong on our heed / y ^t is knowlege of our self y ^e most vyle slynking & vnkynd syn̄er y ^t lyueth. If y ^u loke mā streight afore thyn eyes / & iuge not thy neyȝbour / for in ease it is not lawfull for y ^e. & I suppose that y ^u maye well thynke so on thy self / whom onely in herte thou knowest & no other. Many bycause theyr conscyence murmures not / they thȳke thēself sure / but y ^t is a fals suerty. For as saynt Poule sayth. I know no syn̄e in my cōscyēce / but yet in y ^t I am not iustyfied. But the day of our lorde shall shewe & declare what euery mā is / whā our myserable soule shall be brought afore y ^e tribunall of y ^e hye iuge god almyghty / there to abyde y ^t moost terryble sentēce of y ^e iustice of god almyghty. Eyther to euerlastynge lyfe or endles payne. If we wold dayly exercise our self in this maner of p̄paraciō to our prayer not onely we shold auoyde grete distra­ctyons of mynde but also we sholde do due fruyte of penaunce for our synnes. Some there be whiche be moche lete in prayer by fantasyes and dyuers thou­ghtes and cogytacyons and yet they be not moche intryked nor fyled wyth mortall synne. And the [Page] cause of theyr dystraccyō is supposed to be grete habū daūce of venyall syn̄es. For now a dayes many be gyuen to sportes / games & desolate myrthe / & specyally to delycate fedyng of meates & drynkes & ydle speche All which be poyson to deuocion & moch let to prayer & occasiō of fātasies. For al such dissolute myrth / vayn speche & fedyng is so pleasaūt to y ^e senses y ^t they suffo­cate y ^e spirit / & letteth y ^e soule fro reioysing in spūal thī ges. Auoyde this case & deuocyō wil folow in prayer Delyte in suche vanytees / & not onely ye shal droune deuociō. but also ye shal make your self a uessell fyt for euery tēptacyon. Many ther be clene & vncorrupte in body. but for lack of custody of theyr hert fro y ^e for sayd vyces hath fallen in to grete tēptacyō of y ^e body / & so hath ben sore trobled w ^t vnclene thoughtes / specially in tyme of prayer. de sōn [...] bono. l [...] il j. Ca [...] xxxviij And al this is suffred of god / for to suppresse theyr pryde norysshed by suche fedyng & dissolucyon. For y ^e grcte clerke ysid sayth god suffreth y ^t proude ꝑson bycause he wyll not se himself to fall in tē ptacion of lechery / which is so manyfest y ^t sensibly he may se his owne bestlynes / & so lerne to meke himself yet some there be y ^t be cleue / & bothe vtuous & holy / & yet be sore troubled w ^t suche vnclene thoughtes & ste­ringes of y ^e body which trobleth thē / & specially in ty­me of prayer. ii. Cor xij. & this is suffred of god to kepe thē in mekenes. So had saint Poule y ^e stimulaciō of his flesshe & sore was trobled w ^t it / & al was to kepe hȳ in meke­nes / lest y ^e grete habūdaūce of grace & reuelaciōs shold make hȳ proud. wherfore such fātasies & vnclene cogitacions workith no hurt / where ther is no consent to thēfor more profyte is the custody and preseruacyon of mekenes with exercyse of temptacyon to the meke person than is hurte to haue sometyme dystraccyon. [Page] Some be so dull in spyrite that albeit theyr conscience dooth not moche reproue them of synne / yet they be very slowe to exercyse themselfe in vertue. And suche comynly be slepy & sluggysshe in theyr prayer. And y ^e cause therof I suppose is not onely heuynesse of com­plexyon / but also by reason of hotenesse of conscyence they thynke themselfe sure w ^tout syn̄e. And so put not themselfe to payne to labour for the encrease of grace & deuocion / whiche ꝑaduēture they myght haue aboue other yf they wolde put theyr dylygece therto / for they haue lesse impedymentes than other / & that causeth thē somtime to thynke in theyr hertes how they nede not to fast / nor pray moche / nor watche / for they haue no grete syn̄es. But all suche which be neyther colde nor hote / but rather do begyn to be lothesome to our lorde as scrypture sayth. I wolde aduise them to marke this poynt wel. Better it is after many fyn̄es remyt & forgiuen strongly to fyght for the loue of god & for theyr owne saluacyon / than in fewe syn̄es w ^tout batayle weykely to desyre heuen. Appoc. ij. ¶In all these dy­straccions & in suche otherlyke which cometh by reason of sekenesse or inordynate thought. Remoue y ^e cause and ye shall fynde remedy. But those persones whiche be dull in spyrite I wolde counsell to vse oftenty­mes depely some artycle or poynt of Crystes passion. suche as moost sensybly may moue them to deuocion. ¶Example who may consyder y ^t vnspekeable payne whiche the sone of god dyde suffer for our syn̄es vpon the crosse / where neyther standynge vpon carpytes / nor syttyng vpon cuysshyns / but hangynge with all the weyght of his blyssed body vpō boystous nayles of yren / whiche dyde teare & rent his handes and fete [Page] wherin were most synewes / vaynes: & bones to his importable payne. And who may this in true faythe depely consyder but it wyl styre & moeue hym to loue and deuocion / & to take paynes for theyr owne salua­cyō? For as y ^e flāme cometh of the fyre / so cometh deuocyon of loue & charyte. wherfore holy persones sholde be moche inwarde & attent in the tyme of theyr pra­yer. For whan the flāme of deuocyon is tendre / somtyme the leest cast of the syght asyde / or alienacyō of ony other of y ^e senses may extinct it & put it out. notw ^tstanding y ^t the fyre of charyte remayneth in theyr soules: whiche yf they wyll labour & blowe well by the exercyse of this forsayde holy poynt of our lordes passyon or ony suche other / they may kyndell and recouer the flāme of deuocyō agayne to theyr cōfort. which flāme yf they can not recouer / makyng theyr prayer in charyte / albeit they fele y ^e lesse swetnes in prayer / yet so cōtynuyng they shall not lose theyr meryte. iiii. sen. di. xv. As sayth saynt Thomas & other doctours mo.

HEre before after my simple lerning I haue spoken of certayne meanes: y ^t whiche vsed tofore the begynning of prayer may excitate & gretely dispose the mynde to y ^e feruour of deuocyon in the prayers folowīg. But it is oftentymes sene y ^t some men at the begynnyng of prayer be wel & deuoutly disposed. & afterwarde as they procede theyr affeccyon decayeth / & theyr deuocyō begynneth by lytell & lytel to be colde. The cause of this [Page] as I suppose / is the multytude of fātasmes & vayne thoughtes y ^e which by the suggestion of our goostly enmy / wyll enterpryse to haue possession & dominion in the soule of man / & so to exclude the feruour of deuocion & spiritual affeccion. wherfore how to auoyde suche vnprofityble cogytacions I shall shewe you a re­medy y ^e whiche I thinke is very expedient for to vse ¶This remedy I haue red in a boke of reuelacions y ^e which it pleaseth god to shewe to a certayn holy cō tēplatyf fader. There he sayeth he sawe in his cōtemplacion y ^e soule of a Carthusian assūpted vnto heuē of a grete cōpony of glorious aūgels & fayntes / where as it was magnyficētly gloryfyed / for the manyfold vertuous dedes y ^t he vsed in the tyme of his lyfe past. but in specyall he had one grete accidentall rewarde bycause y ^t he vsed in the tyme of sayng his seruice for euery verse y ^t he sayd / to remēber one of y ^e blyssed woū des of our sauiour Iesu cryst moost plēteously bledīg as hangyng on y ^e crosse. This is y ^e remedy y ^t I wold haue my spyrytuall frendes to vse agaynst y ^e vayne & vnprofytable cogitacyōs y ^t in tyme of prayer wyll importunely knocke at y ^e gates of our hertes. Vnto this councelleth the holy apostle saynt Peter in the .iiij. chapyter of his fyrst epystle / sayenge. Christo igitur passo in carne: & vos eadem cogitatione armamini. Seynge that Chryst suffred passyon in his passyble body / loke that ye vse the remembraunce of the same as a stronge armour or defence. The remembraunce of this blyssed passyō may well be called a stronge armour. For it is so stronge and of suche vertue / y ^t agaīst it there can none of our mortall enemyes (that is to say neyther the world / nor the flesshe / nor the deuyll) [Page] preuayle nor haue y ^e vyctory. But whanso euer we be moost troubled with them / yf we cal this to myn­de / they wyll anone vanyshe away / as doth the smoke of fyre in the ayre.

¶There is no tēptacions: no trybulacions. nor none other aduersytees that may haue y ^e better or vpper­hande of this. And therfore saynt Augustyn on this maner speketh of hymselfe: In omnibus temptaciō ­nibꝰ. &c. In all temptaciōs / trybulacions / and aduersytees I fynde neuer so efficacial and sure remedy as in y ^e blyssed woūdes of our sauyour Iesu cryst. wherfore deuout chrystiās I wyll exhorte and aduyse you in all trybulaciōs: whyther they be spyrytuall or cor­porall / to arme you with this impenetrable harneys of the passyon of Cryst. That is to say / with de memory of this blyssed woūdes. And not onely in the tyme of aduersite / but also in prosperyte. And moost specy­ally / as nowe for my purpose I wyll councell you to vse this medytacyon or remēbraunce in tyme of pra­er. For very harde it is / and almoost impossyble for any man the whyche dooth not vnderstande (at the leest) the lytterall sence of his prayer / for to kepe his mynde contynully eleuate and lytte vp to almyghty god in deuocyon / and vpon the due cyrcumstaunces therof. wherfore necessyte wyll cause and cōpell hym to admyt some other cogytacyons and thoughtes besyde the sence of y ^e prayer. But so it is that euery man sholde eschewe and put from hym at all tymes / but moost specially in tyme of prayer vnfruytfull and vnprofitable thoughtes / and kepe his mynde stedfastly as moche as he may vpon good spiritual thoughtes [Page] but as I suppose there is none more spūall / nor more fruytfull than is y ^e medytacyon of y ^e woūdes of Cryst wherfore I wyll councel you y ^t be vnlerned & ꝑceyue not the lyterall sence of your prayer. & also I holde it profytable for you y ^t be lerned in the tyme therof to let your mynde be occupyed w ^t the remēbraunce of these precious woūdes. If ye thus do / thā shall ye exclude the vayne & vnprofytable cogitaciōs of worldly thynges. Than shall ye be moche quyet in your soules fro tēptaciōs of your ghostly enmyes. Thā shal ye be feruēt in deuociō. And than shall ye offre vp to god your prayer more odoriferous / more swete / & more acceptable to hym / than is the fragraūt fume of incense.

SHortly after this maner of deuout prayer or els in y ^e tyme therof your ghostly enmy wyl be besy to tempt you to y ^e vyce of vayneglory / & so (yf he cā) cause you not onely to lese y ^e merite of your deuout prayer / but also besyde y ^t greuously to offende god / by the reason of this detestable syn̄e. wherfore it is nedeful to be cyrspect. & whā ye ꝑceyue your self to be assayled w ^t such tēptacyōs anone mekely subdue your self to god / vn­feynedly knowlegyng y ^t yf ye haue prayed deuoutly it is your duty so to do. And yet be nothīg able so to do as of your self / but onely it cometh of y ^e grete goodnes & grace of almyghty god. That we can do nothyng y ^t good is / as of our selfe doth wytnes saynt Poule say­eng. [Page] Nō sufficiētes sumus. &c. ii. co. iii. we be not suffyciēt as of our selfs to thynk ony good thought / but all our suffyciēcy is of god. That all thynge y ^t is good cometh of y ^e grace of god it appereth wel by y ^e wordes of y ^e same apostle in another place where he sayth that he hath takē more labour in p̄chynge y ^t worde of god thā all y ^e other apostles. But than he quyckly somthīg w ^tdra­wīg these wordes sayth. Nō ego: (sed) gr̄a dei mecū. It was not I. but it was the grace of god w ^t me. Ryght so my frēdes whā ye be tēpted to vaynglory / eyther for sayng of your prayers deuoutly / or for doyng ony other good dede / quickly make answer to your gostly enmy / sayng w ^t saīt Poule. It was not I y ^t dyd this good dede / but it was the grace of god w ^t me. And by this meane keping your selfs in mekenes / y ^t is to say Hertely knowlegyng y ^t no goodnes cometh of our self but it cometh of y ^e mercy of god / ye shal not onely haue the meryte of your deuout prayer / but also ye shal deserue a crown in heuē for y ^e vyctory of your gostly en­my / by resisting of his tēptaciōs. But it fortuneth many tymes y ^t whā a mā hath by the grace of god & su­che m [...]nes as I haue now sayd / resysted a tēptaciō of vaynglory. by & by there foloweth an other tēptaci­on to y ^e same vyce more subtylly & moch more craftely than dyd the fyrst. For whā a mā hath resisted one tē ­ptaciō of the sayd vaynglory / the deuyl wyll be redy cast in y ^e mynde of the resistent / y ^t he hath done a noble acte / & y ^t he is worthy to haue a grete rewarde of god with suche other flateryng cauyllaciōs / y ^e whiche be more peryllous than the fyrst. And after these yf they be resysted / ꝑaduēture he wyl multyply mo / in so moche y ^t he wyll trouble the deuout man so sore y ^t he shal [Page] vnnethe know what is best for hym to do. but I wyl aduyse euery swete soule to be of good cōfort / & strong in god / takynge suche importune temptacyons as a scourge or flagellacyon for his synnes past / in y ^e whi­che he hath greuously offended almyghty god. And thogh he be sore troubled therwith / yet let hym euer haue a constant purpose to resyste / as moche as shall lye in hym / makynge the sygne of the crosse in his for heed / and callyng to remembraūce the blessed woun­des of our sauyour Iesu chryst. And than call to hym sayng as dyde his dyscyples. Mathei octauo. whan they were troubled with tempestes vpon the water Domine salua nos: perimus. Saue vs good lorde / or elles we shall perysshe. ¶He that wyl thus do / let hym trust surely to haue remedy. And truely he shall not fayle therof / but quickely he shal be delyuered fro the ieopardous tempest of temptacyon. or elles haue grace / strength / & paciently to suffre them. And after this lyfe gloryfyed in the kyngdome of heuen. For he sayth by the mouthe of his prophete. Psalmo. lxxxx. Quoniā in me sperauit: liberabo eū. &c. Bycause he trusteth in me I wyll delyuer hym. I wyll defende hym bycause he dyd know my name. He cryed on me and I shall graciously here hym. I am w ^t hym in his trybulacion / from the whiche I shall take hym & gloryfy hym. ¶Also the apostle saynt Paule in his fyrst epystle vnto the Corynthyens speketh to the consolacyon of suche persones that be moche troubled with tēptacyons sayng. Hidelis autē deus. &c. Almighty god is faythfull the whiche wylt not suffre vs to be tempted forther than he wyll gyue vs grace for to resyst. But in tyme of temptacyō he wyll gyue you grace [Page] to resyst / & also torne it to your grete spyrytuall profyte. ¶Also saynt Bernard sayth in his fyfth sermon de quadragesima. Sub te est o homo appetitꝰ tuꝰ. &c O man / sayth he: thyn appetyte is vnder thyn owne gouernaūce / and thou art y ^e lord of it. Thy enmy may moeue thy to temptacyons / but it is in thy lybertie whyther thou wylte consente or not. whan he tem­pteth the to pryde / vaynglory / glotony / vanite / impacyence / lechery / or ony suche other / loke y ^u do not con­sent. And as ofte as thou doest resyst / so oft thou shalt be crowned w ^t crownes of glorye. to the which bryng vs / be that on the crosse dyed for vs. Amen.

IT pleased almighty god of his infynit goodnesse to creat & make man to his ymage and symilytude y ^t he & his posteryte myght sup­ply the places in heuen / fro whens / Lucyfer w ^t his adherentes dyde fall for theyr pryde. for the ende y ^t they may perpetually giue laudes and prayse to theyr maker w ^t the gloryoꝰ aūgels in heuen wherfore my deuout frendes we sholde refer our prayers: & all other good dedes y ^t we shall haue grace for to do fynally to this ende. Not withstādyng we may lawfully desyre in our prayers all thynges necessary and expedyent bothe to our soules / and also to our bo­dyes. Hauynge euer in purpose the fynall intent / of y ^e whiche I spake before. After the mynde of the swete and mellyfluous doctour holy saynt Bernard saynge [Page] in his sermon before sayd. All thinges y ^t we nede to desyre in prayer / may be cōclude in .iij. peticiōs. Of the whiche one perteyneth to y ^e body / another to y ^e soule / the .iij. to y ^e beatitude of the lyfe eternal. In y ^e fyrst pe­ticion y ^t perteyneth to y ^e body of man we may lawfullly desyre of god all thynges y ^t be necessary therto / as meate / drynke / & clothes: w ^t suche other / by y ^e which we may be y ^e better susteyned in holy seruyce. In y ^e seconde peticion we may desyre in prayer all thyng ne­cessary for our soules: as for grace & vertues. &c. & for these we sholde pray oft / deuoutly / & feruently. In y ^e thyrde peticiō we sholde desyre w ^t all affecciō & loue to haue the lyfe eternall. For the ende (as I sayd before) y ^t we may vnceasyngly laude & prayse y ^t magnyficēt lorde / y ^t dyde create & make vs to his lykenes. But in these. iii. peticiōs it is necessary to obserue .iii. thīges. For in the fyrst many tymes there is suꝑfluite / in y ^e secōde impurete / & in the .iij. elacyon or pryde. For oft tymes we desyre to haue super fluite & more than is ne­cessary of tēporall thynges. And sōtyme we desyre to haue vertues y ^t we may make ostētacyō / or hoste our selfs therein. And ꝑaduēture sōtyme we seche how to obteyne y ^e lyfe eternall. Not w ^t humylyte & mekenes but w ^t a fals cōfidence in our own meries or deseruinges. Therfore we must take hede whan we pray for tēporal thynges y ^t we desyre no more but as necessite requyreth. whā we pray for vertues y ^t we may be frefro īpurete / y ^t is to say y ^t we desyre not vertues to ma­ke ostentacyon & bostyng therof. And whan we pray for y ^e lyfe eternall / y ^t we nothyng presume of our own merytes or deseruynges: but onely on the grete mer­cy & goodnes of god. ¶And to my purpose y ^t we shold [Page] referre all these fynally to the laude & prayse of him y ^t dyde create & make vs / it appereth well by the wor­des of saynt augustin ī his .x. omelye where he sayth y ^t no true crystyan sholde desyre to haue all tēporall & transitory thinges. But all the effect of his intencion & prayer sholde be y ^e eternall beatitude where as he maye laude & prayse his creatour & maker ꝑpetually w ^t all glorious sayntes. And whan it pleaseth god to gyue vs tēporall goodes accordynge to our prayers / thā shold we gyue him due thākes for thē / & whan it pleaseth him to take thē fro vs: yet neuertheles shold we thanke him. And in this parte kepe vs indifferēt to be cōtendted whan it shall please him to take thē fro vs. but lete vs pray deuoutly / hertely / instaūtly y ^t he neuer take him himselfe nor his grace fro vs.

IT is a laudable custom in y ^e chirche of Cryst to pray for thre states or degrees: in y ^e whi­che be cōteyned suche ꝑsones for whome it is necessary to pray. That is to say y ^e spiritual­te the temporalte / & the soules in purgatory. The chirche dooth not cōmaunde vs to pray for them y ^t be in heuē / for they haue no nede therof. Nor for the y ^t be in the paynes of hell / for to thē prayer can not pro fyte. But we sholde pray for thē y ^t be in this worlde lyuinge / & for the soules y ^t be in purgatory. ¶Fyrst we sholde pray for the spiritualte / as for our holy fader y ^e pope w ^t all his subgectes: mynistres of the chirche / & specially for y ^e byshop our dyocesan / & suche as vnder him hath y ^e cure of our soules: Secōdarily we sholde [Page] pray for the tēporalte / & specially for y ^e kynges grace / w ^t all suche y ^t vnder him be rulers & gouerners of the realme. And in this parte euery man (yf he be of y ^e te­poralte) ought pricipally to pray for himself. And yf he be of y ^e spūalte lykewise to do in y ^t parte / & than for his parentes: kynsfolkes: & bn̄fanctours / & than generally for all other christianes: bothe good and bad (as sayth saynt Augustyn in y ^e begynnyng of his thyrde sermō on y ^e .xij. sonday after y ^e trynite.) For the good y ^t they may ꝓfyte & encreas in goodnesse. For the bad y ^t they may haue grace to amende. ¶Also well done it is to pray for heretykes & infydels: y ^t they may haue grace to forsake theyr errours & infidelite / & be recōsy­led & brought to y ^e veryte of crysten fayth. & Besydes these our sauiour cyryst byddeth vs pray for our enmyes y ^t do ꝑsecute and trouble vs. And surely so we haue grete cause. For yf we take theyr persecuryons pacy­ently for y ^e loue of god / they shall gretely augmēt & en­creas our crownes & rewardes in heuē. Now to make a short cōclusion in this parte / we sholde pray generally for all thynges necessary to be prayed for.

¶Thyrdly we shold pray for y ^e soules y ^t ben in y ^e paynes of purgatory / & therfore it is wrytē. i. machab. i Sctā ergo & salubris cogitacio. &c. It is an holy & a holsō thought to pray for y ^e soules y ^t be deed / y ^t they may be delyue­red frō payne infilicte for theyr synnes. And saynt Augustyn sayth in his .xliiij. sermon ad fr̄es in Heremo. Ora ergo ꝓ defūctis. &c. Pray for y ^e soules of thē y ^t be deed. And whā they come to y ^e lyfe eternall / they wyl not forgette to pray for you. But it these dayes there be many heretykes y ^t saye and affyrme that there is no purgatory / in the whiche the soules of them that then [Page] departed fro this lyfe be purged fro the fylthnesse of syn̄e. But anone as they departe they go eyther to heuen or to hell. I myght bryng in dyuers auctorytees of holy scrypture to confute this false opynyon w ^t / but as now I wyll lete them passe / partely bycause that­of late catholycall & grete famous clerkes in theyr bokes lately compyled: hath confuted suche opynyons moche more strongly than my symple lerning is able to do. And partely bycause it was my purpose in y ^e begynnyng to wryte this poore treatyse as an erudici­on of prayer to suche as haue but small or none vnder stādyng in holy scrypture / & not as a cōfutacion of heretykes. But I wyll beseche you all my spūall frēdes for whome I haue taken this laboure / in the blyssed woundes of our sauyour Iesu Cryste / yf ye here any ꝑsones speke eyther of this / or of any suche other false erronyous opynions: that ye gyue to them no credence / nor argue ye not with them in the cause yf they be lerned & pe vnlerned / lest peraduēture they myght seduce your intellygence by subtyll argumentes: apperyng to your naturall reasō as they were true / whā it is the contrary. But rather withdrawe your p̄sen­ce fro theyr cōpany / dyscussing nothyng in your mynde that excedeth your lernyng / but mekely and stedfastly beleue as the chyrche of Cryst dooth instruct you And as holy doctours and sayntes inspyred with the holy goost hath left here behinde thē on this erthe for our erudicion. ¶I wyll speke nomore of this matter now / but torne agayne to my purpose / desyring you ouer in your deuout prayers to remēber the soules in purgatory & specially y ^e soules of your parētes kins­folke and frendes / and benefactours. And of youre [Page] benigne charite for those soules y ^e whiche I your poore seruaūt & beedman am moost bounden to pray for. And generally for all y ^e soules in purgatory / y ^t it wyll please almyghty god of his infynyte mercy to release thē fro theyr paynes & take thē to his grete glory and ioye / y ^e whiche y ^e same god omnipotēt graūt to vs all immedyatly after y ^t we departe fro this lyfe. Amen.

[...]er. lx. de [...] [...]or [...]. SAynt Augustin sayth y ^t who so euer wyll haue his prayer fle or ascend to god / must p̄pare for it .ij. winges: y ^t is to say / fasting & almes dedes. And saynt Bernard in his fourth sermon vpon y ^e epiphany of our lor­de affirmeth y ^e same / callyng these .ij. wynges afflyc­cion of the flesshe / & cōtēpt or dyspysyng of the worlde And though these .ij. doctours differ in y ^e wordes: yet do they cōcorde in the significacion of thē. For fastyng is an afflyccion or punysshemēt of y ^e flesshe / & gyuing almes is a dyspising of the worlde. For ye shall se but fewe men y ^t hath grete affeccion & loue to the goodes of the worlde y ^t wyll vse moche to gyue almes. But y ^e lesse affeccion y ^t a man hath to worldly godes: y ^e more large wyll he be in gyuynge almes. These doctours do say y ^t whan a deuout prayer hath these .ij. winges it wyll fle into heuē swyftly / and there w ^tout doubt it shal gracyously be herde. wherfore I wyll exhort euery deuout ꝑsone dyscretely to vse fastyng & gyuing of almes. But ꝑchaūce some mā wyl say to me. I am aeged or gretely diseased w ^t infyrmytees & sekenesse y ^t I [Page] may not fast. Also I am so poore y ^t I am not able to giue almes / how thā sholde I p̄pare these .ij. wynges for my prayer? ¶As to y ^e fyrst I make this answere sayng / y ^e abstinēce & fasting was not ordeyned for su­che as be of grete aege / nor for suche as be moche vexed w ^t infyrmytees. But it was ordeyned for suche ꝑso­nes as be lusty & stronge to subdue & chastyse y ^e suꝑfluous fyersnes of y ^e flesshe / y ^t by y ^e meanes therof y ^e sensuall appetites may be y ^e better subgected vnto reason. Wherfore yf you y ^t be aeged or vexed w ^t īfirmitees ha­ue a good mynd to fast if ye were able therto. I doubt not but almighty god wyl accept your good wyl / as yf ye dyde ꝑforme y ^e thing in dede. This I speke of corporall abstinence or bodyly fastyng. But there is another called spūall abstinēce: / y ^t is to abstene fro vyces & syn̄es / in y ^e whiche a mā hath ben accustomed by along season. He y ^t is olde or seke may kepe this abstynē ce / as wel or better than he y ^t lusty & strong. And this euery true crysten man is bounde to kepe as wel the olde as the yong / the seke as y ^e hole. The other y ^t is to say corporall abstinence is ordeyned as for a meane or helpe to this. The other is good & profitable for suche as be able to kepe .ij. but this is y ^e better & more ꝑfite & it shold be obserued of euery ꝑson. wherfore yf y ^e olde & seke ꝑsones kepe this abstinēce in dede / & the other in wyll / y ^t is to say / y ^t they wolde be glad to kepe it yf they were able / it is not to be feared but they do suffyciētly p̄pare this one wyng of prayer. And yf y ^e other ꝑsones y ^t be lusty & strong in theyr bodyes do wysely & discretely obserue bothe corporall & the spūall abstynēce / thā do they also on theyr parte well p̄pare this one wynge of prayer. ¶As to the seconde where the [Page] seke man sayth he is so poore that he is not able to gyue almes. I make this answere / sayng that (after y ^e mynde of saynt Augustyn) there is .ij. [...]ru [...]ia. xlii maner of almes the one is to forgyue thē hertely y ^t hath offended you Or (after saynt Gregory) to gyue instruccyon of vtu­es to them y ^t be ignorant / to gyue councell to them y ^t haue nede therof / to gyue cōsolacion to thē y ^t be cōfortles / & so forth of other lyke. And this maner of almes he y ^t is in pouerte (for tēporal goodes) maye gyue as largely as he y ^t hath grete rychesse & worldly substaū ce. The other almes y ^t saynt Augustyn speketh of [...]is to gyue meate to y ^e hongry / drynke to the thyrsty / clothe y ^e naked. &c. To giue this almes coūceleth vs our lorde spekyng by his prophete ysay / where he sayth. Frange esurienti panē tuū. &c. [...]. lviii. that is to say. Breke thy brede to hym that is hongry. Gyue hospytalyte to the poore people y ^t labour in iourney. And whan y ^u seest a man y ^t is naked / giue him clothes. It belōgeth specially to y ^e ryche man to gyue this almes / but not onely to hym. For the poore man y ^t hath but lytell substaūce / yf he gyue parte of that w ^t a good wyll he shal haue as grete a rewarde of god / as the ryche man y ^t gyueth grete & large almes. And this appereth well by y ^e wordes of our sauiour Cryst in y ^e gospell of Luke where he sayeth / y ^t the poore woman y ^t offred but .ij. [...]. xxi. mynutes: the whiche be a ferthyng / offred more thā all the ryche men dyde. And yet euery one of them by large gyftes dyde offer. And yf a man be so poore y ^t he hath nothyng / yet yf he haue onely a good mynde / & wolde be glad for the loue of god to gyue almes yf he had worldly substaunce / his mynde wyll be accepted for y ^e dede. Now than it appereth will that euery mā [Page] bothe poore and ryche may gyue almes both spiritually and corporally as I haue beforesayd. wherfore my deuout frendes I wyll exhorte you to folowe the coūcell of the holy man Choby / where he sayth. ca. iiii. Ex substantia tua fac elemosinā. &c. Of thy substaunce loke that y ^u gyue almes / & torne not thy face away fro any poore man that dothe aske the / and thā our lorde wyll not torne his face fro the. Haue mercy and pyte on y ^e poore / & gyue to them almes as thy goodes wyl extende. If thou beryche & haue grete substaunce gyue than a large almes. If y ^u haue but lytell yet gyue parte therof as thou mayest / w ^t a good wyll. If thou haue nothyng / yet at the leest loke that y ^u haue a good mynde. This doyng thou shalt prepare for the a gre­te rewarde in y ^e day of necessyte. For almes wyll delyuer the from all synne / and from dethe y ^t shold folowe there vpon. And it wyll not suffer this soule to come in derkenes / but it wyll gyue the a grete hope & trust of saluacion / whan thou shalt appere to fore the face of god omnypotent. ¶Also vnto this exhorteth vs our mayster Cryst in y ^e .xi. chapytre of Luke / sayng. Date elemosinam: et ecce omnia munda sunt vobis. Giue ye almes / and than all thinges be clene to you. For it is wryten. Elemosina resistit peccatis. Eccle. iii. Almes doth resist vyce and synne. wherfore it foloweth in the .vij. chapytre. Elemosinamfacere ne despicias. Ca. xxxi Dyspyse not to gyue almes / but as it foloweth. Conclude elemosinam in sinu pauperis. &c. Pryuely put thyne al­mes in to the bosom of the poore man / and thā it wyl pray for the to god. For as it is in the .iii. chapytre of y ^e same boke. Sicut aqua extinguit ignē. &c. Lyke as water dooth quenche y ^e fyre / so almes dooth quenche [Page] the payne ordeyned for syn̄e. wherfore my intierly beloued frēdes I wyll aduyse you to vse oft tymes to giue almes as I haue sayd tofore. And thā ye shall ꝑfy­tely make the seconde wynge of prayer. The whiche prayer set about with the other wynge of abstynen­ce and this wyng of almes wyll ascende & fle quykly vnto the celestyall countre / & there prepare for you a mansyon or dwellynge place / in the whiche ye shall rest perpetually / with all blyssed aūgels and sayntes gyuyng reuerence & honour / lande and prayse vnceasyngly / to the moost gloryous Trynite. Cui sit honor et gloria per infinita secula seculorum. Amen.