then to represent him to ourselves as born vifibly for us in Bethlehem, and as now coming in an invisible manner, or in fpirit to communicate to us all the glorious effects and fruits of his incarnation and birth: the difpofitions which he finds in our fouls will be the measure of the grace which in his mercy he will communicate to us through the merits of this mystery. The treasure is infinite, and our Lord burns with infinite love, and a defire which is infinite as he himself is, of imparting to us with a boundless liberality, the abundant riches of his graces. We cannot fear any danger of exhausting his bounty, or draining the fountain, both being infinite ; the more we receive the better we fhall be difpofed to receive again greater fupplies; and the more pleasing shall we become to our most merciful and gracious Redeemer. How strong an incentive is this to fervour in preparing and difpofing ourselves for fuch incomprehenfible advantages? How much foever we open our hearts to receive, we shall be filled to the utmost extent and ardour of our defires. These graces are nothing lefs than all the incomprehenfible gifts of the divine mercy, redemption, grace and glory. That grace which heals all the deep wounds, and is the fovereign cure of all the diforders of our fouls, which wipes away the ftains of all our fins, reverses the fentence of eternal damnation, under which we lay, and refcues us from the flavery of the devil and the torments of hell; that grace which gives us victory over all our paffions and enemies, forms in our fouls the holy and glorious image of Chrift, and replenishes us with his divine fpirit; that grace by which we are called and really made the fons of God, fellows of the bleffed angels, heirs of the eternal glory, coheirs with Christ. Can we raise our defires to any thing beyond these ineftimable privileges? Can we frame an idea of the least part or circumftance of them? What ought then to be the tranfports of our joy at the fight or thought; what the fervour of our devotion in afking them, and the ardour of our defres to obtain them? But alas! as when Christ was born among the Jews his own people, "He came unto his own and his own received him not (2)." So we lament the fame monstrous inconceivable blindness and infenfibility among Christians in these our days. S. Bernard obferves (3), that we are to diftinguish three comings of Chrift: the firft, by which he manifefted him(2) John c. i. (3) S. Bern. Serm. 3. and 5. felf felf in the flesh: the fecond, by which he invifibly enters our fouls, to dwell in us by his grace and holy fpirit, and is thus spiritually born in us. The third is when he thall come in power and majefty to judge the world. The incomparable advantages which we hope for, and reap from his firft coming, and our fecurity and happiness in his laft coming to judge us, depend upon our receiving him in his fecond coming, by which he takes poffeffion of, and dwells in fpirit in our hearts. It is then of the most effential importance and neceffity that we invite Jefus into our fouls, that he may subject all our affections and powers to the empire of his holy love. O happy is he, cries out S. Bernard (4), in whom thou establifheft thy dwelling. O Lord Jefus, happy is he in whom the divine wisdom has prepared himself a tabernacle. In fuch fouls he destroys the empire of fin, makes himself master of their affections, and reigns fovereignly in them; to that every defire, and power, and fenfe is moved by his holy spirit, and obedient to his most adorable and perfect will. If we take a view of our own hearts, we shall see ourselves at an immense distance from this happy ftate, and fhall have reason to fear that Chrift is not yet fpiritually born or formed in us, or at least that his fpiritual birth in us is very weak and imperfect. Ah! Chrift comes to visit us, fays St. Bernard, but if we do not receive him into our fouls, he comes against us, and to our condemnation. If he is not fpiritually born in us, it is in vain that he was born for us; we make the defigns of his love and mercy in his first birth abortive, and he will come at the last day, not to crown but to condemn us; let us tremble at the fight of our paft floth and ingratitude. How many Advents have we already loft? So many calls of the divine mercy demand vengeance against us. Let our fervour in this Advent make amends for paft neglects, and retrieve our floth after fo much time loft, after fo many calls rejected and graces abused, after fo many repeated infidelities, we must redouble our pace that we may ftill be of that small thrice happy number, of whom it is written, "To as many as have re"ceived him he hath given power to be made the fons of "God (5)." We must be entirely callous and infenfible if we do not afpire most earnestly after this exalted and most neceffary grace, our effential happiness, and dread fovereignly every danger of forfeiting it. The fervour of this (4) S, Bern, Serm. 1, (5) John c. i. difpofition difpofition in us will appear in our earnestness in every mean of preparing ourselves for it in this holy time of Advent. Though our fpiritual, only, and infinitely important inteteft and eternal happiness were not fo highly concerned in, and did not fo effentially depend upon our fervour in making this Advent a time of our fanctification; duty, love and gratitude to God, ought most powerfully to excite us to it: motives which weigh above all others with generous minds. The eternal omnipotent God, whofe prefence the whole creation would not be able to bear, fhould he appear in the immense and incomprehenfible glory of his Majesty, before whom, according to the expreffions of the Prophets, the mountains would tremble, the fun withdraw its light, the earth vanish out of fight, and nature shrink into nothing: this immortal God leaves the throne of his glory, clothes himself with our weakness, and ftooping down infinitely below his majesty, humbles, nay annihilates himself fo as to appear the very outcaft of his own vileft finful creatures, only to enlighten our darknefs, deliver us out of the jaws of everlasting death, raise us from the abyss of miferies, exalt us upon the throne of his glory, and enrich us with the treasures of his divinity. And can we remain fo deeply immerfed in the filth of this earth, fo infenfible and fo ungrateful as to give no attention to fo bright a mercy and to the prefence of fo adorable a majefty? Do not our hearts burst with love, gratitude and aftonishment at fo wonderful a myftery, at this infinite condefcenfion and goodness of our God? Are not our fouls all on fire with glowing defires to go forth and meet him, to make him a tender of our best homages, offer ourselves in return to him, and prepare him the best reception we are able in our hearts, which alone he comes to feek? If an earthly King would honour us with a vifit, how would every hand and every contrivance of art be employed in removing all filth out of the road and out of the house, correcting every deformity and deficiency, and fetting off the dwelling with every ornament that could embellish it; how careful should we be that nothing fhould be found in our apartments that could give him the leaft offence or difguft, and nothing be wanting that could give him delight and pleasure, and teftify our fenfe of the favour and honour done us? How unpardonable would be the offence if we neglected such a preparation? We fhould juftly forfeit all the favours we could promise ourselves from his prefence and fhould incur by our contempt his fevereft indignation. Sin, worldly attach achments of the heart, and the flavery of our criminal paffions, are an abomination to our God, and incompatible with his divine prefence: the ornaments of all virtues are the charms and attractives which invite him into our fouls, and make them an abode for him: if we neglect to remove the impediments, and make him this preparation for his reception, we fhut our hearts against him, fuch an infenfibility and indifference muft quite freeze his divine heart glowing with love of us, fwelling with tender compaffion for our miferies, and burning with a boundless defire of giving himself whole and entire to us, and to crown us with his infinite mercies and glory. For this he fent John the Baptift before to announce to us the neceffity and obligation which we lie under of fuch a preparation. The great fummons delivered by the Baptift to the Jews, is equally addreffed to men of every age, and belongs no lefs to us than it did to the Jews then living. Chrift was born for all men it is then an indifpenfible duty in us to difpofe ourselves to receive him, and by his grace improve in ourfelves the fruits of his coming. Left we fhould deceive ourfelves in this point, and neglect fo effential a duty, our holy mother the church, ever tenderly folicitous for the spiritual welfare of her children, and the faithful depofitary and interpreter of the divine Oracles, proclaims the fummons of the Baptift to us during all the time of Advent in the most preffing and folemn manner. The fame pathetic invitation, the fame facred voice, which formerly echoed on the banks of the Jordan, and in the deserts of Jericho, is now founded in our ears from the altars, and by the fame divine authority and commiffion. The minifters of God now cry out to us in the words of the Prophets; "Sound your trumpets, 66 announce to all nations; behold God the Saviour will come: the Lord is near the day is just at hand, prepare "the way :" The church at this time ceafes not daily to proclaim aloud and repeat to us the exhortations of the Baptift, the great herald of heaven fent for this purpose; of whom it is written. "Behold I fend my angel before thy face who fhall prepare thy way before thee (6), prepare "ye the way of the Lord, make ftrait his paths, and all "flefh fhall fee the falvation of God (7)." This divine precurfor alfo points out to us in what this preparation of our foul chiefly confifts, and what are the conditions which (6) Mat. xi. 19. (7) Luke ii. 4--6. it requires, compunction, penance, and moft earnest and affiduous fighs and prayer. CHA P. III. On the Exercifes of holy PENANCE and PRAYER by which we are bound principally to fanctify our Souls in this boly Time of ADVENT. T HE first and most indifpenfible duty and obligation for the fanctification of Advent, upon which every other part and condition depends, is a fincere and perfect repentance. Mortal fin entirely feparates a foul from God, and banishes his holy fpirit from her. The leaft venial fin, especially if habitual or of attachment, obftructs the abundant effufion of his graces. Moreover to remove the obftacles to his sweet and glorious being in us, not only all fin must be put away by a fincere and perfect repentance, but also whatever expiation remains due to his divine juftice, ought to be discharged, fatisfaction for injuries done to our neighbour, and reftitution for injuftices must be made, every inordinate paffion must be fubdued, and every disorder, every irregular attachment of the affections corrected, that every impediment to the vifit of the Holy Ghoft and perfect reign of his grace may be taken away. The least stain, the leaft irregularity in the will or affections, raises obftacles to the perfect effufion of his bounty and love; the most spotlefs purity and perfect fan&tity becoming the fanctuary or dwelling of him who is fanctity itself. We intreat him in his vifit, and by his divine presence perfectly to cleanse our fouls, heal all our wounds, correct all diforders, and enrich us with all his gifts. But this we cannot fincerely afk of him unless we truly defire thefe graces, endeavour earnestly to prepare our hearts to receive them, and remove every thing that can obftru&t them. We abfolutely exclude him if we lie under the guilt of mortal fin, and we fet up obstacles to his graces, if we entertain any irregular attachment, or live in an habitual infidelity or floth in any duty, or if we do not to the utmost of our power endeavour to make atonement for the leaft offences, and correct the least disorders in our fouls. This is the work of holy compunction and pe nance. To difpofe the world to receive its God and Redeemer in the wonderful mystery of his incarnation, all the Prophets from |