[
{"content": "Another ete or drink for the doom that is coming out of their dens, and go as they are minded and not speak to others. The tenth day, age of thirty winter, and they come to the doom. (Dominus veniet. The day he died on the cross with all the instruments of his passion. The spear, crown, scourges, nails, hammer, and other instruments were ordered for you and some other.\n\nAnd there shall be diverse accusers both above him and beneath him. And on every side above him will be our Lord Jesus Christ, his dominion man. (When the rich do the poor wrong: they can do no more but pray to God to quit them at the day of doom. And so he will, for God says thus: \"Michi vindicabo, amici mei, quibus eritis dominus vestri in die judicii; et non speretis in eos qui post vos erunt, ne et vos fallantur.\" Fear the pain of hell, that never shall have an end.\n\nSaint Bede tells of a husbandman in England who fell sick and lay down even until the next day. Then he did not rise. Departed his gods in four parts, and all his own gave he to the poor. And he went and became a monk. On one side it was so cold that no tongue could tell the pain. And on the other side it was so hot that no man could tell the pain. And souls were cast out of one into the other, and that was a great pain to them. And the angel showed him a fire that came from hell, so hot and bright.\n\nNow, Lord God, for Thy great mercy, have mercy on us. And keep us. Amen.\n\nGood men and women, this day is called in holy church, the Sunday in September. For this reason, with the sweetest was ordained in holy church for a great solemnity and a holy time. And in the same flesh and blood, we are all one kingdom of heaven. For these reasons, all Christian people ought to be full of joy in their souls, making solemnity and mirth, and cleansing them both in body and soul from all manner of sins. And grounding them in great sadness of love to God and to all Christian people, doing great alms to those who have need. But Now, the more harm is caused by high and solemn feasts. Sin and great sicknesses afflict the soul, as in pride through various ways in clothing, and in many diverse ways using, into great covetousness and into the most charlatanry. Thus these solemn and high feasts, which were ordered for great worship of God and of our lady and all the saints in heaven, now become great offenses to God. Wherefore our mother, the holy Church, seeing her children in such despair, is deeply grieved that comes too soon after. But, as it is read by great clerks, it is more speaking to men's souls to God, to a house where there is a corpse and weeping, than to go to a house where there is great revelry and much mirth. For Solomon says thus to his son,\n\nThat thou shalt die. The body reasonably first as,\n\n(Note: This text appears to be written in Middle English. Here is the cleaned and translated text into modern English:\n\nNow, the more harm is caused by high and solemn feasts. Sin and great sicknesses afflict the soul, as in pride through various ways in clothing, and in many diverse ways using, into great covetousness and into the most charlatanry. Thus these solemn and high feasts, which were ordered for great worship of God and of our lady and all the saints in heaven, now become great offenses to God. Wherefore our mother, the holy Church, seeing her children in such despair, is deeply grieved that comes too soon after. But, as it is read by great clerks, it is more beneficial to men's souls to go to a house where there is a corpse and weeping, than to go to a house where there is great revelry and much mirth. For Solomon says to his son,\n\nThat thou shalt die. The body reasonably first as,) In the church, on this day, the sickness of death has taken me. The Circumdederunt me. The sekeness of death has taken hold of me. I have heard of a king who was ever in heavy sorrow; he would never laugh nor make merry. Kings brood were about him with his heavy countenance, and counseled him to leave it and make merry. When a man should be done with death, trumpets and trumpets should come before his gate. Then the king bade them go and trumpet before his brother's gate. And in the meantime, the king called unto him seven men whom he trusted.\n\nSo when his brother was brought before him, they did as the king commanded. Then the king commanded all men to dance and make revelry as they could, and so they did. Then said the king to his brother, why art thou so heavy of countenance? Lift up thy head and be merry for all this mirth is made for thee.\n\nThen answered he and said, How should I be merry of countenance and see? Here are seven swords set to my heart, and I knew not who would be my first death. Then the king said, \"Put up your swords,\" and spoke to his brother thus: \"It grieves me that seven deadly sins are eager to take my soul to the heart. This makes me that I can never be merry or make glad cheer, but ever afraid of death for my soul. It is the eldest brother. Have mercy on me; I have never known this till now, and shall be wiser ever after. I will say boldly, he who takes this to heart will have a better will to love than to laugh, to sigh than to sing, so it shall find the mind of death the prince of all sins also primarily we must have in mind the painful death of our savior, who suffered for us all, of which I am made.\" First chapter of Trenys. \"Attend and see, sister Dolor, if sorrow is like my sorrow.\" Another salve is for labor in this world. St. Paul speaks in the Psalm of this day and says, \"Sic.\" You may have the game by this running, and through this running you shall understand it. He who runs for you enforces himself with all his might to run fast, and every servant of God must labor in the degree God has set him in, and men of the holy church must labor in studying and praying and teaching the people the law of God. The Lord is rent and tenants must labor to keep the church in peace and other common people must labor to live according to the times of the day. This is to understand all degrees of the world. For as Job says, \"A man is born to labor and travel in this world as a bird to fly,\" and St. Bernard says, \"He who will not labor here in this world, he shall labor with the fiends of hell.\" It is the testament of Adam that he left to all his offspring, labor and travel. To this labor he gives an example and recounts how God made Adam and Eve. Then had our Lord mercy on them, and because they were both naked, he clothed them. in Pylches, they labored and traveled not in any way to fulfill his desire to serve God, but if it was chastised with punishment. For it must be chastised sometimes with pain. Thus did Adam and Eve, in example, that all others who should come after them should do the same for many years before her death. Either of them stood in water a nighttime up to the waist to Eve, and she also shone as an angel. And she said to the devil, \"Come forth from me, not from God.\" He said to Eve when God drove us out of paradise for our sin, and had compassion on us, for we wept sore on him, and begged him mercifully. He set us here to penance to the end of our lives. And therefore go again for the more penance you do, the more shall be our reward. And therefore go again and do your penance in God's name. Yet the devil came again to Eve a second time and said, \"God, in His grace, has taken reward for your penance that you suffer and has forgiven you.\" Then went Eve to Adam and told him so. Then said Adam, \"I well know that he who has.\" \"say to the enemy this: he causes us greater penalty than us and urges us to leave and thus lose our reward. But we pay back our penalty to the end. God takes no heed to the beginning of a thing but to the ending. Yet the foe came again to Eve a third time and said, \"go to Adam and tell him that he began evil and will end evil. For the first time he transgressed through innocence, and now he sins through good deliberation.\nHere, outside of woman, God made the help and comfort for me. And now, through your temptation, you come to entice me again. But consider how our first sin stands in the sight of God, and all our offspring will be affected and have reproach thereof until the world's end. Therefore, though we might do more penance as all our offspring could do, it would be too little to appease our Lord God for our transgression of His special grace. Instead, return again to your penance, as Adam entreated, and then said, 'Adam, God will send.'\" vs the oil of mercy when the time of mercy is. And so Adam and Eve did penance to the end of their lives, and when Adam had lived for nine hundred years and thirty, and had thirty and thirty daughters, they died and were both buried beside Adam and Eve. Thus you may see well that Adam and Eve were truly penitent when they died, and thought one death inwardly, and labored and chastised their flesh reasonably. Therefore, we must do as they did, that which comes to us, in order to reach the joy of paradise; this Sunday is called the Sunday in Septuagesima from this day until Quasimodo, and she takes comfort again in part on All Souls' Day with a tract for it is not yet in full might until Saturday in Easter week, which is called Dominica in albis. Then she lays down the tract and sings double alleluia, alleluia, encouraging all Christian men to do true penance until the Saturday that is to a man's life's end, that is until the soul goes to rest. Yet the soul is not fully at rest. Until the Saturday, in albs, that is until the day of Doom, when the body and soul shall come to be clothed in albs, which are white seven times, whyter than the sun, and then they shall sing double alleluia. That is to say, Lord, make us save in everlasting bliss, to whom brings us he that for us all did on the wood tree. Amen.\n\nGood men and women, this day is called the Feast of the Dead, and more than three score or fore-score years is a long life. Yet the grace of God and His mercy and goodness is so much that if we will do our duties and diligence to serve God and please Him, He will give us long life. But He will have that joy and bliss must do three things. One is he must hate sin, namely, and suffer tribulation meekly and do alms deeds willingly. Then, for our days being short, we must the more tribulation suffer meekly and with patient heart and not grumble and discontent comes of special grace, for it is a remedy for sins here in this world, either for penance or else for great increasing to His joy in another. In this world, I have endured numerous tribulations. I have been in many great troubles and have been imprisoned often, bound with chains of iron. Five times I have been scourged with rods and five times with whips on my bare body. Once I was beaten with stones and three times in shipwrecks. I have spent a night and a day in the depths of the sea. I have been in perilous rivers many times. I have been robbed in the presence of thieves and false brethren who showed me true love but were false and advised others to harm and trouble me. I have suffered in famine and thirst. I have fasted many times. I have kept many vigils. I have endured long wakefulness. I have experienced cold and many other fears and trials, and all these I suffered with good will and always thanked God for his sweet consolation, knowing well that all these things were for his sake. These tribulations and diseases were due to sin that he had committed before. And to increase his merit and joy that should come after, all Christian people who wish to please God should endure what manner of disease or tribulation comes to them patiently and meekly, regarding it as coming for sin that you have committed before or for the great increase of joy and bliss that you shall have afterwards. It comes from special grace where God visits and comes, but where He suffers all His will is no good. Therefore, thank God for His visitation and beseech Him for His mercy. God knows our intent. He swiftly grants mercy to all who ask with a humble heart. Therefore, a man must endure tribulations patiently. He must also perform alms discreetly, which are figured by these sixty days; for sixty represents the six works of mercy. that which comes out of the ten commandments are the reasons why we should give alms, visit the sick and imprisoned, comfort the afflicted, clothe the naked, and bury the dead. These are the seven works of mercy that all Christian people must do if they want to be saved and have God's mercy. Lent begins this day and ends on the Wednesday in Easter week. The holy church speaks of these works as the \" corporal works of mercy.\" The Lord will say to you at the day of judgment, \"Depart from me, you who are far off, for I was hungry and you gave me not to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me not to drink. I was a stranger and you did not welcome me. Naked and you did not clothe me. Sick and in prison and you did not visit me.\" Therefore, Lent begins this day and ends on the Wednesday in Easter week. The Lord's Prayer, \"Bless me, O Lord,\" was ordained for you. These same words, God will say to you at the day of judgment. And to all who have done alms and charitable deeds discreetly and in fullness, and to the poor and to those who are not poor, you must do good will, and that which you have done discretely, this shall be fulfilled in the deed. This must be done discreetly, and the Lord teaches this today in the gospel, and says, \"He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. So let each one give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.\" A man went out to sow his seed, and as he sowed, some fell by the wayside and was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the air devoured it. Some fell on rocky ground, and as it had no moisture, it sprang up immediately; but when the sun rose, it was scorched, and because it had no root, it withered away. Some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. And some fell on good ground and grew up and yielded a hundredfold. I am the way, truth, and life. I am the true and righteous life and way to heaven. He who does not give alms discretely for Christ's sake, but for pride, pomp, and vain glory of the world, and so denies his reward, I prove to be an example.\n\nThere was in this land a wonderfully rich man, and he did much alms in his life, so much that the people believed him to be a saint. But when he was dead, he appeared to one that he loved well in his life as black as any pitch with an horrible stench, and said, \"You think that I am a saint, but now I am such as you see me.\" Then he said, \"Where are your alms deeds?\" And he said, \"The wind of vain glory has blown them away. He who does his alms for the vain glory of the world denies his reward, and so maintains them in their decay among stones and becomes dry and denies his reward. His seat falls among thorns that yield no fruit to the rich who have no need of it. to and so, this shall be everlasting food to those who dispense it discretely. You must also hate sin, and flee from it in all that you can, for he who hates and flees from sin loves God, and God loves him, for God hates sin so much that he took vengeance upon the whole world for the sin of lechery, and in particular for the sin against nature. When God saw this sin reigning in the world so unworthily, he sent me forthwith, saying, \"Make thee an ark of planned wood. Take of all clean beasts and birds, and let them come in and go in with thee, and take food and drink with them. Then make this ark as God taught you: three hundred cubits long, one cubit in breadth, and thirty cubits in height. This ship was being made in the space of a cubit when God saw that the people were ever longer the worse than the help of angels.\" \"Man and his family were brought to Noah, and when all were aboard the ship, our Lord commanded Noah, his wife, and their three sons to enter the ship by themselves, while the women and their husbands entered by themselves. The men should not come with the women, so when they were all in, God closed the door to them without anyone else. For forty days and forty nights the sky remained open, and then it rained. The water bore the ship higher than any hill, which was forty cubits. The ship remained afloat for a hundred and forty days and nights, and all the world, both people and animals, were drowned, except those who were in the ship. Josephus said in his army there is a hill called Sarus, which was higher than the water was. Therefore, various people have the opinion that more people were saved. Noah remained in the ship for a year, and then he put out a raven to bring back word to know if the water had receded or not. He did not return. Then he sent out a dove, and it returned with an olive leaf.\" A branch of olive in her hand, and there he knew well that the water was receded in some place. Then, as God bade him, Noah went out and took the unclean animals from the ark and burned the unclean animals in sacrifice to God. And that pleased God so well that He swore them and all that came after them to live on the earth for sin, and now there is as much sin as there ever was in those days and much more in many degrees, where I fear God will take vengeance on us. And would not this time come, when not the prayers of holy church and good saints could appease Him? In particular, by the prayers of our Lady, and that you shall here be an example of St. Dominic. He saw our Lord Jesus Christ holding three spears in His hand, ready to shoot them into this world for vengeance and all for sin. The coming our Lady kneeling before Our Lord and said, \"My dear son, what will you do?\" And He said, \"My dear mother, the world is so full of sin of pride, covetousness, and lechery.\" other sins that I will list here are three kinds of vengeance against the people. Then our lady, my dearest son, have mercy on them and wait a while, for I have some true servants who will preach and teach the people to turn from sin. And thus pray to our lady, God saved us, to take vengeance. But now the world is so full of sin and cursed living of false extortion and oppression of the poor people that they cry to God for succor and help. Therefore, it is likely that we shall soon be severely punished with some grievous vengeance or with death or with harshness of pestilence. Wherefore, it is necessary for us to pray earnestly to our lady that she may pray for us to her dear son our Lord Jesus Christ to spare us in our days.\n\nGood men and women, this day is called the Sunday in Quinquagesime. This word Quinquagesime is a number of 50, which number was taken in the old law to signify remission and joy for all manner of people who were set with service of. \"This text begins and ends on the great day when those who reach that age are made free with great joy and merriment. It signifies that all Christian people who are oppressed by any tribulation or disease in this world will be made free and granted remission at the day of judgment. Every year, the pope in Rome grants full remission of all sins to all Christian people who come to Rome that year. For those who cannot come there, the pope, Jesus Christ, by His special grace, grants full pardon of all sins in their last moments, provided they keep three things in this world: confession, contrition, and satisfaction. He must also have charity without hypocrisy, steadfast faith without flattery, and without these things, no man can have pardon.\" At Rome, or elsewhere, and therefore he who wishes to be a penitent of the pope of heaven and have a clean soul and truly repent and be in full purpose never to sin again, God will give them all their sins for a man may have such great contrition that it may quench all the pains that were ever ordained for him. Take example by Peter the penitent, for Christ thrice denied him with great anguish but he was afterward contrite and sorrowful. And wept bitterly. And God, who is full of mercy, gave him absolution and made him better cheer after than he had before, for he should be in no despair and fear.\n\nWe find of a great rich man who was so wicked in his life that many people deemed him damned to hell. He felt himself that he should be dead. And he thought how wicked he had been in his living and took such contrition to him and such great sorrow that he wept night and day whenever his sin came to his mind, and so lay seven days and seven nights. A monk in an abbey died at the same time as him, sent by his abbot to confess how he had seen it. The monk came and said, \"Sir, I have come to fulfill my promise. Give me leave to go, for I go to rejoice.\" The abbot asked if there were any others who had died at that time who were going to rejoice, but the monk replied, \"You are the only one.\" The soul of such a man told him. Then the abbot said, \"Now you know well that you are not my monk but some deceitful being. For we know well that if any soul is in pain, it is one of those.\" The monk replied, \"Any man is unworthy to know the rewards of God's judgment. That man had such great contrition and penance and wept bitterly for his sins that the water of his eyes perished through all his clothes.\" \"the ground where you go the deer tomorrow and when you find it true that I say, leave me. And I go to everlasting joy and bliss. Then the abbot went with the deer and found it was true as the monk had said. And there the abbot knelt down and thanked God and bade all the people be glad that God is so merciful and that he had this knowledge. Here you may see the great contrition that this man had quenched the great pain that was ordained for him. Thus you may see how great help is to a man's soul to be contrite and sorry for his sins and to recommend these psalms, the fifty-first Psalm, \"Miserere mei, Deus,\" more than when a man is sorry for his sins and says thus with a sorrowful heart: \"God have mercy on me, according to your word, and forgive my transgressions, that I may be in the righteousness of your sight.\" But he has mercy and this example.\"\n\nThere was a man A father had five sons and had found them long in school and cost him much. One day he called his five sons before him and said, \"Children, I have found you long in school and have spent much on you. I see no great profit there. Why then do you not ask me a question? I will spend no more on you and find you no leniency in school. They asked their father what the question was to be, and he said, \"I am old and feeble and may not live long and therefore I would know from you what thing would bring a man's soul most quickly to heaven.\" The eldest son answered and said, \"Father, preaching and teaching will bring a soul most quickly to heaven of anything.\" The father asked the second son, \"What do you say, second son?\" He answered, \"Faith and true belief bring a soul as quickly to heaven.\" The father asked his third son, \"What do you say, third son?\" He answered, \"Good prayers and alms-deeds bring a soul quickly to heaven.\" the father said, \"Pilgrimage bringing great penance suffers brings a soul sooner to heaven than all these. What say you, my faithful son? He replied, \"Father, truly, there is another thing that brings a soul sooner to heaven than all these. What is that?\" The father said, \"Charity. For what virtue does a man have, and he lacks charity, it profits him not with heaven's wardens. Though a man prays and does alms-giving, goes on a pilgrimage, has full faith and teaches and preaches, and suffers penance never so much, cries and weeps never so loudly, he is not heard by God without charity.\" Here Saint Paul in his pistle says, \"If I have all the property in the world and know the prophecies and the secrets of God, and have so much faith that I could move mountains, but I do not give alms to the poor, none of these things avails me.\" god's sake, give me to burn and my body in hot fire. But charity is not necessary for every created soul that will be saved, unless a man says he loves God and does not love his neighbor in good intent. For he who loves God loves his neighbor as himself. Therefore, a man must have full charity who will be saved. Charity covers a multitude of sins. For charity covers the multitude of sins. For he who dies in mortal sin and without charity shall be damned. And therefore, of all virtues, charity is most virtuous and most necessary for a human soul. Yet we must have a steadfast faith without flattering and believe sadly as the holy church teaches, and believe faithfully in the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. The Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Ghost is God, these three persons being but one God who made all things from nothing. This faith was first shown in the holy patriarchate, in the valley of Mambre, where he saw it. thre fayre men co\u2223myng toward hym but he worshipped but one yeuyng ensample to all cristen people to se in spi\u00a6rite the fadir the sone and the hooly goste thre per\u2223sones in one god hede and worshipped hem as on god Also ye muste bele\u00a6ue in the carnacion of ou\u00a6re lord ihesu criste that oure lady conceyued in the hooly goste with ou\u2223tewemme of her body in flesche and blode as one of vs and verry god & man and was dede and beried Tercia die re\u00a6surrex it a mortuia And one the thryde day he rose from dethe to lyffe Ascendit ad celos. And styed vp to heuen on hooly thoursday. In de venturus est iu\u2223dicare viuos & mor\u00a6tuos and shall come a yene at the day of dome and deme the quicke and\nthe dede Thys ys by isaac the sone of abraham that he gete one his wyffe Sara thourgh the hooly goste whanne they bothe where passyd age to brynge forthe. for god seyde to abraham yt he shulde haue frute as grete in multitude as ther were sterrys in the firma ment Than whan this childe was borne he was callyd isaac And whan he was Fifteenth winter, God spoke to Abraham in this way: \"Take your son Isaac and go to the place I show you. Sacrifice him there as the custom was sometime. Then Abraham received a test from God to have great Isaac and though he loved him as never before, he took him immediately and went to the place, making his son Isaac carry the wood for self-immolation. And an angel spoke to Abraham and bade him leave him and take the ram that stood by and offer it instead of his son Isaac. Abraham, you may understand that he was spared not for any love he had for him but suffered the Jews to lay their hands on his back, the cross he was to bear himself, and led him to the hill of Calvary and there sacrificed him on the wood altar, the cross made of palm and there he died for all kinds. Thus may Christ well be called Isaac, who is understood as the laughter bearer, for he brought many a soul. \"Out of hell laughs the one who went the thirst sore weeping. Then, just as this was a figure of Christ's passion long before he was born, so this day Christ himself in the Gospels said to his disciples about how he would be betrayed. \"For the Son of Man goes as it has been determined, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed.\" And how he would be taken and beaten with scourges, spit upon, and after his scourging was done on the cross, and so they would kill him, and on the third day he would rise again. And for their sake, and to strengthen their belief and to his words right before them, he made a blind man see who cried out and said, \"I Jesus, son of David, have mercy on us, Lord, what do you want me to do to you?\" He said, \"I am he.\" And a leper was present and he thanked God. So must every Christian man who desires forgiveness and satisfaction in deed be in whole charity without hypocrisy and in steadfast faith without flattery. And I tell you this example.\n\nThere was a bishop in England named Croxeth and was bishop of Lynn.\" hold the greatest cleric in England or in the world, and when he lay in his death bed, there came to him a great multitude of demons and disputed with him about the faith, to such an extent that they had nearly turned him out of belief and put him into despair. Then our lady was ready and said to him, \"My servant, do you not remain in holy church as it teaches? And immediately he cried out and said, 'Yes, gracious lady, I believe as holy church teaches me.' And immediately the demon departed and gave up the ghost to everlasting bliss to the one who God brings us all Amen. This day is called in holy church the first Sunday in Lent, a name of forty for the cause that every man, whether more or less, is bound by God and holy church to fast these forty days, save those whom the law dispenses for reasonable causes. Children, women in labor, pilgrims, and sick people. those the law dispenses with, on her conscience. Then, because Sunday is no day of penance, remember one of the words he said on your heads. Memento quod cinis es et in cinerem reverteris. Have in mind, man of ashes, that thou art come and to ashes thou shalt return. Then be there, and Jerico, to be tempted by the devil, and was there forty days fasting and forty nights, showing to all Christian people the fasting which is expressed in the preface of the mass that is said in holy church: Quia corporalis fasting hand lifteth up thought of man to and to largeness of all goodness and gets great merit and tempts her to gluttony, vain glory, and covetousness. Right so the and tempts Christ, as the gospel says. Forty days and forty nights, then came the devil to him and showed him stones and said:\n\nSi quando she saw the appeal of temptation of the devil to eat thereof,\nThe same way he went to hate. made him eat of the bread. For gluttony is not only in man's food but in the foul lust and appetite of a man. Then Christ said to him at once, \"Not by bread alone does man live, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.\" Then the devil took him and set him on the high pinnacle of the temple and said to him, \"If thou art the Son of God, command that these stones become loaves of bread.\" Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. Yet he drew near to him the third time. As it is written, \"He led him into the wilderness and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in their splendor. He took him and set him on a high hill and showed him all the kingdoms and the splendor of the world, and said to him, \"All these things I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.\" Then our Lord God said to him, \"Get thee behind me, Satan! For it is written, 'Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.'\" Go, Satan! It is written, \"Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.\" The angelic servants approached him and ministered to him, as the devil is most busy tempting people for the forty days with the sins of gluttony, lust, and pride. It is necessary to have three remedies against these: first, abstinence for gluttony; second, meekness for pride; and third, generosity for lust. We must fast, which means not eating before the appointed time, not eating excessively more than necessary, and fasting both day and night, as Christ did. However, there are many people who will sit and drink both night and day, filling their bodies with foul lust of gluttony. You must also fast from all kinds of flesh and white meat. For Jerome says that eggs are almost flesh and milk is blood. When you go to your meal, take the example of the holy church: when the priest goes to mass, that is God's word, he bows down at the beginning and bids all others do the same, and at the end of the mass, he bows down. You go to your meal, so worship God with a Pater Noster and an Ave. That which sent you that food, make a cross upon your breast, and afterwards make a north (or thanks) and thank God highly that sent you that food for your bodily sustenance. Thus must you fast against gluttony and pride, which is but a fair glory of the world. You must put away all such thoughts of pride and haughtiness in heart and be meek and lowly in heart. Consider how a man is born feeble and poor, and goes every day on a journey toward his death while he lives in this world, and at last comes death and casts him down into his bed and lies there sighing and growing weak. Then the ghost rises up and then lies.\n\nAnd he stinks both hide and hide,\nThen his breath stinks and his lips wax black,\nHis face pales and his eyes yellow,\nHis tongue is eagle-mouthed and his nose black,\nHis teeth fall away a way,\nHis flesh withers and turns to earth,\nAnd at last, with great sighing,\nYou rise up the ghost and then lie. there are those who have forgotten and put into the earth Cito oblivion And so shall be sand I hope you shall put away pride. Then a yearning you must have abstinence, that is, you must abstain from worldly courtesies and vanities, and those who have been hard in keeping goods. And ever have gathered to get and fast have in keeping But now shall you be as ready to pay and content that you are in debt to both God and the world And also to restore again what he has taken wrongfully. And you give to poor people food and drink and clothes and other things necessary And the feast that have all this year gone busily to get goods of the world now must be as soberly ready to go and give the poor people to them that have need, as we have in the gospel. Date it and God will give you for the hands that will not give alms. Alms they are unworthy to be acceptable to God Also you must go full soberly to God's service and in. Pilgrimages go and visit all manner of good deeds of Alms and he who has been good and gives to the poor, needy person who is God's people, pleases God much and greatly helps the soul. Alms a mort, deliver the soul from death. Sicut aqua extinguish ignem, so alms quench sin. For righte as water quencheth fire, rightly so alms quench sin. The prophet says, \"Date et dgod wyll geue yow Dimittite et dimittemini.\" Give and God will give you. But now it is little that you have to feed your bodies, so that nothing you may give to poor bodies for God's sake.\n\nThere was a worthy and rich knight and a mighty man of his house, but he cherished more his body with delicate meats and dainties. But at last he died and was buried in a stone tomb. His son was a worthy man and used every day to say prayers for his father's soul by his tomb. So one day he made a great feast for all. This man, considered worthy in the country around him when they should go to dinner, pondered how he had not said \"Deprofundis\" and prayed the people to wait until he had finished his devotions. They said they would go with him and did so. Then such a lust filled this man's heart that he needed to see his father's tomb opened or else he thought he would die. And so the people opened the tomb, and there was a great black toad, as black as any eye could bear, clinging to his father's heart with its foul claws. Then this man said, \"O father, much good food and drink has gone down that was accompanied by a foul hellhound and a horrible foul beast.\" And a none let him go close the tomb, and so he went to dinner. And when he had served all the people properly, he left his child and lordship and all his goods and went away, and did so until God willed, and may he join in everlasting joy, as I hope. God bring us all to Amen. It is ordained that good men and women cleanse your conscience from all manner of rust and filth of sin, so that you may receive the body of our Lord with clean conscience on Easter day. The body keeps all good things put there till the Day of Judgment. For at that Day of Judgment, every man will be judged. Then, how a man shall keep his vessel holy, the church teaches it by the example of a holy patriarch Jacob. Jacob had a father called Isaac and his mother Rebecca. She had two children at one birth, and the first was Esau and the other Jacob. But for the story is long, we shall take at this time that is most necessary and leave the other. God gave his patriarch blessing, he gave his blessed children it. Then, Isaac was old and near his death, and he said to his blessed sons, \"I am about to die. But when Esau was gone, Jacob took his father's blessing and his father did not know.\" And so he made way for him, blessing all who blessed him. When Esau came home and learned that it was Jacob, his brother, he thought to himself as he went in a country of wild people, \"I cannot go by this way.\" And he laid a stone under his head and slept. In this sleep he thought he saw a ladder that stood on the earth, its top reaching to heaven, and angels of God ascending and descending on it. Then God spoke to him and said, \"I am God of Abraham, and I will give this land to you and be your protector as you journey.\" Jacob woke up and said, \"This is the house of God, and I will make a pillar here and pour out a drink offering; I had not known that.\" So he went to his uncle and stayed with him for twenty years, serving him and marrying both his daughters, Leah and Rachel, and their children and all his livestock. Then a multitude of angels came to him there. Help him, who Jacob came to a ford, he made all his men go before with his cart and himself, and as he prayed there, an angel appeared to him in the likeness of a man and wrestled with him all night until the morning, and took him by the great sinew of his thigh and made him halt ever after. The angel said to Jacob, \"What is your name?\" He said, \"Jacob.\" The angel replied, \"You shall no longer be called Jacob but Israel shall be your name.\" And he blessed him and left him there, and thus he went home to his own country with great prosperity. This story is read in holy church in this example to all good servants who desire to get the blessing of the Father in heaven and to have an inheritance there. For Jacob is to be understood as a wrestler, and Israel a man who sees God; for he who will see God, he must wrestle here on earth with the bad angel, that is the devil, and with his own flesh, as Jacob did when he had wrestled all night long after having done a great struggle. A man comes and openly confesses his sin with all its circumstances. Then his flesh will be ashamed, but he must strongly wrestle with his flesh and make it confess and do penance according to the counsel of his confessor. A woman was troubled by a demon and said, \"Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me.\" Then our Lord answered, \"No, but go your way; the dog and the swine should eat your flesh.\" The woman said, \"Faith as great as yours be granted to me. And her daughter was healed. This woman and her daughter were shown a man whose conscience was truly troubled by deadly sin that could not be helped unless he went to God and confessed to the priest, not for rebuke or shame or fear, but let him suffer all that the confessor says to him and take his penance meekly with a contrite heart and do it willingly. A man who has committed a heinous sin and is saved shall never find peace in his conscience until he confesses it, as experience shows how hounds of hell will gnaw at his soul with unquenchable rest. There was a woman who had committed a heinous sin and wanted to confess but dared not. The Lord came to her physically and said, \"My daughter, why don't you confess your sin to me? You may not, for shame.\"\n\nThen the Lord took her hand and put it in his side, close to his heart. The woman quivered in fear and said, \"Lord, I feel your heart.\" Then the Lord said, \"Be no longer ashamed to show me your heart, as this woman did. She rose up and, with a light, saw her face was all bloody and wanted to wash it.\" of it would not be until the morrow that she was shriven, and then was her honor cleansed as it was before, and she was cleansed of all her sins. Good men and women, this is the third son's day in cleanliness; wherefore were you in the Gospel of this day? And they say, \"Erat,\" and when the devil was out and it was not for shame of the world, in or out, he would never come to confession. Therefore, you that are behind come and confess yourselves and make yourselves clean and have this deed man out of your mind and many an evil thought and many a cursed deed, many great other sins, many an evil word that you have spoken, I wot you cannot tell all, for you have been so long from confession. But I say to you that ignorance shall not excuse you at the day of judgment. For as soon as you have offended God in many transgressions that harm the soul, you should make yourselves clean. & wyll it neuer in youre mynde but ye woll not come till hit be for gotyn And so yit wha\u0304 ye come to shryf te ye be dome for the fen\u00a6de is withyn yow for ye wene many tymes that hit be no synne to speke an ydyll worde to make the people to laughe nor to swere a grete othe it dothe no harme but seint poule in his pistell forbe\u00a6dith euery man to speke any idyll wordis & seithe thus. Dico autem vo\u00a6bis quod omne ver\u2223bum ociosum quod locuti fuerint om\u2223nea reddent ratio\u2223nea in die iudicii For sothe. I sey to yow that ye shall yeue a reke\u2223nyng for euery idyll wor\u00a6de that ye speke and non shall passe vn punyshid at the day of dome. and ther for late all idyll wor\u00a6dis be harlatry and ry\u2223bawdiy And if ye so do that is worshippe to god and profyte to the spe\u2223ker for there as harlatry is moche spokyn it is mo\u00a6che in mynde For the to\u0304\u00a6ge shewde the habundau\u0304\u00a6ce of the herte so firste in thoughte after in his spe\u00a6kyng hit causith moche people to fall in synne of dede doyng. Dnus quis{que} temptatur con\u2223cupiscencia. Furste Every man is tempted to sin because of the lust of the thought within him. Concupiscence generates sin, and lust gathers sin. Sin, once committed, brings about everlasting death, which is spoken of as reprobate and harlotry, for the lust that a man has in speaking is great sin.\n\nWe find an abbot who was a chaste woman, except for the desire to speak of sin. When she was dead and buried in the church, the night after, demons came and took up the body and beat it with burning scourges from head to toe, making it as black as pitch. But from head downward, it shone as bright as the sun, and the demons could do it no harm. Every time the demons beat her, she cried pitifully. Her two sisters, who were nuns, were greatly afraid but comforted each other and did not approach until they knew what was happening. Then the spirit spoke to her sister Ren and said, \"You know well that I was chaste.\" \"Meydan asks for your dedication. But I had great desire to speak of sin that party has great pain, as you may see wherefor I pray, sisters, pray for me, through your prayers may be helped. And beware by me, in coming time here you may see what parallels it is to speak idyllic words and harlequinian speech. Whereas this same letter says, \"Abstain from fornication.\" Abstain from fornication and all sins and walk with Christ in love and peace as Christ did, who suffered many scorns, rebukes, and despites, and took meekly patiently and in charity, yielding himself as an example to all Christian people to do the same. But he who will live in rest and peace shall have great persecution from evil people, but if he suffers it meekly, he is a martyr before God and in confirming of this holy church, make mind and mention as such.\n\nWe read of a holy man who was called Joseph, who suffered great persecution. But he suffered meekly for God, and God raised him to great worship and prosperity.\" This Joseph had a father named Jacob and had seventeen sons, among whom Joseph was favored most. His brothers were jealous of Joseph because their father loved him more than them, and they hated him especially because of a dream he had. In the dream, they believed that all of them would bow down to him, and they plotted to kill him. But they dared not do so out of fear of God. Instead, they sold him into Egypt to a man named Potiphar for thirty pieces of silver. However, the steward of the king bought Joseph from them. The devil was envious of Joseph and tempted him, saying, \"Come and lie with me,\" but as soon as Joseph understood her meaning, he fled and left his cloak behind. This woman cried and told her husband how Joseph intended to lie with her, and because he would not refuse, she kept his coat. Therefore, the Lord caused Joseph to be placed in prison, where Pharaoh had put his butler and his baker. As they fell asleep, they dreamed the same dreams, which they told Joseph. He said to them that the king would restore his butler to his office again within three days, and the baker would be hanged within three days. And as he said, it happened to be so. When the king had told him his dream, Joseph said that God had sent him a clear warning to prepare him for what was coming. He said that there would be seven years of abundant harvests of grain and all kinds of fruits and vegetables, and after them would come seven years of severe famine during which people would spend all their resources. Then the king said, \"I know of no one else who could interpret dreams.\" Pursue it so well for such a thing as you could wherefore and gathered corn fast for seven years. After seven years, all things became scarce and dear. Then Jacob Joseph's father heard that there was corn to sell in Egypt. And he sent his ten sons to buy corn. When they came there and saw Joseph all filled down on his knees and did him worship as his dream was, for they did not know him but went as they believed he was a ruler of the country. But he knew them now. Then he spoke to them in Latin. \"Surge,\" he said, and they replied, \"We are spies who have come to explore the land.\" And they said, \"No, we are all brothers and one man's sons. We have another brother at home with our father, and we do not know where he is alive or not. And to prove the truth, he made one of us bind himself to him, and this one is named Simeon. Let us fill our sacks with corn and secretly put it in.\" And so they filled their sacks with corn. Her money into her sacks, unwilling to part with them. And when they return home to her father and put out the corn, they gave her father her money. But then he was sorry for Simeon his son who had been left behind in prison. And moreover, because he loved Benjamin most, he sent for him. When Joseph saw his brother Benjamin, he could not contain his weeping, and he delivered him to his father. He set them all to eat and filled their sacks with corn. He put the cup that they drank from into Benjamin's sack and he said, \"It is not so,\" and Benjamin ran back and they found it in his sack. They came again to Joseph weeping, and when Joseph saw them all weeping, and his own brother Benjamin most of all, he was moved to compassion.\n\n\"Good cheer! I am Joseph, your brother. Do not be afraid. God has sent you back to bring you to your father for your profit. A none sent after our father, and so we all dwell together in one place.\" While in that land, this story is read aloud this week in holy church for God's children to take example of old fathers suffering trials and persecution meekly in perfect charity for God's sake, as he suffered for us. For whoever endures the great persecution that God sends must show mercy and take penance. For there are some people who will say, \"Why does God do this to me? What have I done to displease Him, though I am in great peace for His peace's sake. Truly, words can hide much grace.\"\n\nWe find in miracles the story of Winifred the virgin. And so help me God and this holy virgin, a man came to her one night on the second day. And so, by God's help and this holy virgin, this man was healed. And this holy virgin of his healing, he held in high regard.\n\nSo that night he went to his bed in good health, and the next morning his sickness took a turn for the worse than it had been before, and he lay crying, grieving greatly.\n\nThen a monk came to him and asked him what he had done that his sickness had worsened, and he said, no thing the monk said that you were shriven, you were whole and he said nay. I had no need, for I neither owned an ox nor a cow nor committed any grievous sin, though the monk thought otherwise. They may commit a deadly sin for just as a man may burden a scrooge horse with many small corn kernels, so may he let his soul fall into the pit of hell with many small sins. This man went to a priest and showed himself and was whole both in body and soul ever after his confession and penance of this holy virgin. Amen\n\nGood men and women, this is the fourth Sunday in Lent, the holy church making mention of an holy prophet who was called Moses. The which, as we read in holy church, was in the desert of Sinai. God spoke to him and said, \"I will be with thee; I will bring thee into a land of plenteousness of all good things. So he had taught them.\" Moses gathered all the old people who knew the prophecy and told them to be ready for departure from that land. He assured them that God would be with them, appearing before them as a pillar of cloud by day to shield them from the heat of the sun, and as a pillar of fire by night to protect them from harmful creatures.\n\nBut when Pharaoh learned that Moses had led this people away, he took chariots, horses, and horsemen, as well as infantry, numbering three thousand chariots, six hundred horses, and charioteers, and pursued them.\n\nMoses prayed to God for help when he saw Pharaoh's forces approaching. God struck the sea with his staff, and the sea split into two parts. The water stood still on both sides like a hill, and the ground was dry. Moses then led the people forward.\n\nPharaoh, however, hesitated. Have passed and sewn after, but when he had his oste within the sea, the water went to get him and drowned him and all his oste. And Moses saw that he and his people were thus perishing, he thanked God and was there for seven days, and every day they went to the sea thanking God for their passage, making great melody that our Lord had done so for them. And yet we mind of all Easter week we make solemn procession to the font, which is the red sea. Then went Moses forth with his people into the desert until he came to Mount Sinai, and there he left the people at the foot, with the stone tablets, and Moses stood up on the hill there as God was. And there he was for forty days and forty nights without food or drink. Then God gave him two tables of stone on which God wrote with His own fingers the Ten Commandments, and took them from Moses and commanded him to teach them. And when Moses came down to the people, his face was all bright as the sun, and two spirits. Standing on his head like two horns, so that the people might not speak with him for clarity, Abscondit mihi faciem s (Moses hid his face with a veil). Then, on the left, were written the three commandments that Moses received from God. And these are:\n\nThe first is, thou shalt worship thy God and love Him above all things; for thou shalt direct all thy works to God's will and show His will, not thine own.\n\nThe second is, thou shalt not take His name in vain. That is, thou shalt call God's children as a Christian man and serve the sender before that name is to thee in vain. Also, thou shalt not swear by God nor by any part of His body, nothing that He made, but in the name of the truth. And yet only when thou art compelled thereunto.\n\nThe third commandment is, thou shalt keep the Sabbath day, that is, thou shalt be early up and late down to serve God on the holy day, as thou art on the work day to thy own work; as busy shalt thou be on it. The fourth commandment is to serve God. You shall honor your father and mother who brought you into this world. Also, your godfather and godmother who made you a Christian man, and your father under God who has care and charge of your soul. The fifth is you shall not kill any man with your tongue or hands, nor commit adultery. The sixth, you shall not steal God's people, for they held him as a prophet. But this day they compelled him and fully persuaded that they would spare for nothing but he should be dead, as the gospel tells us. Christ preached in the temple, and the Jews rebuked him sharply and said, \"Is not this the son of Joseph?\" They were ready to stone him to death, but he knew their malice. Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple. Thus our Lord began his passion on this day. \"Church reads this week in the book of Jeremiah the prophet, who first prophesied of Christ's passion and told how and in what manner the Jews should kill him. You should understand well that in the same way the Jews pursued Christ to death, I fear greatly that there are still many false people who are Christians but persecute Him in heaven. Saint Augustine says that they sin more gravely who persecute Him in heaven than the Jews did who persecuted Him on earth to death. If you want to know which these are, listen to how Christ identified them:\n\n\"Whoever is of God hears the words of God. For he does not hear the words of God that swear falsely, these are the ones\nwho persecute Him in heaven, rejoicing in their hearts when they have committed a foul deed and are rooted in a foul cursed disposition of sin, and will not mend themselves for preaching or teaching but ever do foul deeds and are not ready to fight.\" Once upon a time, there was a city with a magistrate who would tell where anything was that was stolen or misplaced and how it had been taken. One day, a young man had stolen something and was afraid of this magistrate and a neighbor he knew to this magistrate. He said, \"I well know that you could do me great shame and willingly, but by God, if you believe in me, I will reveal it. I will break your head.\" Then, not long after, those who had been wronged came to the magistrate to tell him about the theft and how it had happened. The magistrate waited a long time before speaking and said, \"Times are worse than they were, and the one who tells the truth will be shamed and hunted.\" It is written in the book of kings how there were two great enemies, one named Jacob and the other Amasa. Jacob spoke to Amasa as they met, greeted him and kissed him. But with his other hand behind him, he struck him with his knife and killed him. This happened on that day. The people spoke fair words to one another before the people, but behind his back they intended to pursue him in heaven and set nothing by God's word. If they heard it with their ears, it meant nothing to them in their hearts.\n\nWhere God reproaches him grievously through his prophet Jeremiah. And he said, \"What deceit did your fathers find in me if I have transgressed against you in any way? Alas, for the shame of our obstinate pride! For God is in the right, and so he deals with us who are in the wrong.\" \"Proferith mercy or we ask him to make him merciful to those who displease him. And show love there. Thus is her heart deeper than any stone, and we are worthier than Jews. Thus we are unkind to him who shows kindness to us, and he cries to us and swears I have left earth for your sake, should hear my scripture. Turn again to me, and I will receive you. My arms are spread to clip you to me, and my head is ready to kiss you. My sides are ready to show you my heart, my hands my feet bled to show you what I suffered for you, and you turn away from me. And you be in perfect life, I will give you the treason without comparison, I will vanquish you without comparison, and you will have the rest without end, so that all the fault shall be found in you and not in me. Our lord proferith and teaches us, and there are few who will hear him, but let all these words pass out of their hearts coming. Our lord Jesus Christ suffered death to bring us to everlasting life.\" \"Therefore, in Christ's person, the prophet made a great lamentation for the great unkindness he saw in mankind and said thus:\n\nYou man for vanity, you stink for your rusty sin, and therefore I cry and weep, for on your head you have a garland of flowers, and one of your thorns you have on your forehead, and on your hands and feet you have many bloody wounds.\n\nYou have spread your arms to lead carols and dances, and my arms are not led to a tree with sharp nails. You have pinched your clothes small, and my body is full of great walls. And one thing grieves me most of all, that you did not set by my passion that suffered so much for your sake. But with your horrible swearing, you uplifted me with many great oaths by my head, eyes, arms, nails, sides, wounds, feet, bones, and heart, and by my passion, that you should do worship to what you do greatly despise and reprove.\"\n\nWe read in the gestes of Ro Mans that an Emperor sent a great maiden to a land. In that country, no man but you and I could swear an oath, but when this Justice arrived, he made the people take an oath in sessions and charged them. The people took example from this Justice and his men, swearing as they did during our Lord's Passion, arms, nails, face, wounds, heart, and so forth.\n\nOne day, as the Justice sat in his office and charged the people, a fair woman appeared before him, dressed all in green, carrying a fair child in her lap, all bloody and mutilated, with his head pierced, face disfigured, eyes gouged out, arms broken, hands smitten through his nails, feet cut off from his legs, sides torn, and bowels drawn out. Then this woman said to the Justice, \"What are they worthy to have who have done this to my child?\" He replied, \"They are worthy of death.\" Then She said, \"You and your men with your horrible oaths have dismembered my sweet son, Jesus Christ, who am I, the Mother, and thus you have taught your country. In sight of all the people, the earth has opened, and justice has descended into hell. Then the people were greatly distressed and left such great oaths and amended their lives. So let us leave our oaths and do as Christ should do and reverence the passion of our Lord Jesus Christ, who was the cause of our redemption, by which we shall come to everlasting bliss that will never have an end.\n\n\"Good friends, as you know well, this day is called Palm Sunday, but called Palm Sunday as St. John says, 'Our Lord Jesus Christ came to Bethany,' where He says, 'Veni, Jesus, bete et in tabernaculo tuo,' and Lazarus was brother to Mary Magdalene and to Martha, who was another sister. Then Jesus knew that His passion was near and took Lazarus with Him. Riding on an ass, He came toward Jerusalem.\" And when the people heard of it, they went against him. Not only because of Jesus, but to see Lazarus whom he had raised from the dead. They took branches of palms and other flowers and spread them in the way; and some spread their clothes in the way and sang, \"Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, King of Israel. For the holy church makes solemn procession today in his memory, and joy and mirth because of our redemption from death to life, which has lain all this year in the grave. Now I trust that they are restored to God, leaving; and may the angels of heaven rejoice in your rising from sin.\n\nAnd thus we take palms and flowers in procession as they did and go in procession, kneeling to the cross, in the worshipful mind of him who was... done one the cross worshipping and well coming him with song into the church, as we do our Lord into the city of Jerusalem. Then John Bellet asked a question and said that Christ had the greatest worship riding on the ass that ever he had in this world. Why do we worship the cross and not the ass to this question he answered himself and said that the worship of this world, as Solomon said, \"All is but vanity and nothingness,\" making a man forget his God and himself. There was great tribulation and heaviness causing a man to think of God and help and to know himself, and therefore we worship the cross, for all Christian people are called to leave living and selling on the holy day and in particular in church. Another reason it is called Palm Sunday because palms were taken out in procession, symbolizing that all Christian people should bear palms in procession, signifying that he had fought with the devil and has the victory. If a knight rebelled, the emperor would send a worthy knight to put him down and make him a subject of Rome. Upon completing this task, the knight would be brought into Rome with great honor, wearing clothes of gold and carrying a palm branch as a symbol of victory. However, when he entered any worthy city, one standing beside him would strike him in the mouth with a branch of olive, saying, \"Another one, this is to say, know yourself, for you may have the victory this time, but it may also turn against you and lead to your downfall.\" \"more than now, you should worship. Wherefore, you should bite in the mouth of your soul with the branch of olive, which has the virtue of meekness, and so bold you in love and meek in her tear, and ever more fearing and yearning, leave him fall into sin. And so leave this truly and most sincerely gather a man to virtuous living, so that we may have this virtue of meekness, patience, and charity to overcome our spiritual enemy now and forever. Amen\n\nFriends, you shall understand that the holy church used these three days and said service in the eve of it, which is meekness. But the holy church called it tenebrae. Then why is this service done in meekness? Holy fathers told for three reasons. One is the night before our Lord Jesus Christ was taken, he went up to the mount of Olives and prayed, thus: \"Father, if it is possible, let this bitter passion pass from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.\"\" and yet, for fear and dread of that bitter passion he felt in his spirit, he was both sweetly bathed in blood and water. Another cause is this: after midnight, Judas came with many others to take him, and because he was so like Christ, Judas said, \"Which one is it that I kiss?\" And thus was Christ taken in meekness, enduring all the spite they could do to him, striking and spitting on him, naked, on the cross, with three nails driven through from beneath, until the sun withdrew its light and he was pierced to death for these three reasons: the service in the night is performed in solemnity. This service reminds us of how Judas betrayed Christ and how the Jews came so quietly, making no noise, and all that the people should speak of coming and going should sound of the tree that is the cross upon which our Lord was done to death and of his passion and of the words that our Lord spoke while hanging on the cross. To his Moder, Mulier, ecce filia (daughter), I, the unworthy one, ask what these, who hang by him, said. Lord, when you come to your kingdom, remember me and our lord said to him. Hodie (today), they said, \"Come to my coming and going to the church. All Christian people should come and leave vanity and idle talking. Speak only to the cross that is crucified, for Christ is so merciful that if he had asked for mercy, he would have had it, and for your sake. At this service, certain candles are set in the choir. After the custom in some places, more than in others, as the custom is, which is the queytokening (signifying) of Christ's disciples, how they went each after other. But when all these candles are taken away and the light yet remains a while, it is still token that Christ himself, who was in his human form, took and laid himself in the sepulcher. The third day rose from death to live again, bringing light below to all that were dead and dispirited. The strokes the priest struck on the book were taken as a sign of hell's dispelling and feeding and all that he had bought with his pitiful passion. Now have you heard something about what this servant thinks, and do not be unkind to your Lord God who suffered all this for you,\n\nI find that Alisauder necham tells of a time when there was a knight who left his own country and came into a great forest. There he heard a sound of despair and wanted to know what it meant. He went near and saw a great bundle binding a man to a tree as he lay sleeping. When the lion awoke, he found himself bound and could not help himself. The knight who had compassion on this lion wished to help but was afraid of the lion, who was king of all beasts in that distress. He took his sword and struck a nearby stone instead. Fill down to the knights' feast and ever after night and day in every place, he followed the knight. And every night, the lion lay at this knight's bedside. In every battle, the lion was ready to help his master, so much so that the people spoke to the knight about the lion, even if he had the counsel of many people, he had the lion in suspicion, wherefore he went into his own country. A year quietly, while the lion slept, he took the water and went into ship and sailed for him. And when this lion woke and missed his master and went after him into the sea and swam after him as he might, and whatever his might sailed, then he was drowned. By this knight, you may understand God's son of heaven that came out of far country, which was outside heaven in this worldly realm, and was bound for mankind with this old addiction. The devil bound him to a tree in obedience, wherefor with the sharp sword that was his passion, he loosed mankind from their bonds and made him free to go where he would. And there he found thanks. For his loosing and becoming wealthy to him all the time that they leave and follow and sew the lore of the holy church. And he shall pass through the water that is to say through the pain of death, and he shall come to the joy that everlasts with out end, which God bring us all to Amen. Diverse questions. Any man would ask diverse questions and do to him volitionally and reply wherefor I have told you which are necessary for every priest to know, and if he will look it ready and keep it ready in heart, he may make ready answer and so shall it be to him both profit and worship. First, if a man asks how she Thursday is called, so you may say that in holy church it is called Ceand and say thus: \"Take this and eat it, for it is my own body. And the chalice, after he had washed all his disciples, showed what meaning that was in him and for the great love he had for them. It is also in English called she Thursday. For in olden father's days, they called it by this name.\" people wanted that day to show reverence and clip her hedges and do down their heads and so make them honest a year esteemed day. For on Good Friday they did nothing to their bodies but to suffer penance in mind of him who that day suffered his passion for all mankind. On Easter eve it was time to hear her service and after service make holy day.\nIt is written in the life of a saint that he was so busy on the Saturday before none that he made and gathered us then this community commanded him to tell why he did so. He said, \"Thou dost not reverence thy holy day, therefore, showing, and take these heretics from the fiend and made them burn in his own honor to suffer penance. So a bond unshaven till midday after this.\" This is said to all those in reprieve who do not worship the Saturday at vespers. Then, as John Bellet says on that Thursday, a man should do down his head and clipping his beard, and a priest should shave his crown, so that there should be nothing between God and him for heretics' coming. superfluities of venes and humors of the stomach, and they should part their nails of hands and shake off that which comes from superfluity of filth outside, and wash and make clean within, as without. And thus make him clean both within and without. While all this lenten season has had between us and the question been drawn out, to signify the passion that was hidden and unknown till the days come which these days have fulfilled, the Other openly showed himself to all the people for these days, for Christ suffered his passion openly, having on the cross. Consummatum est - it is ended, that is to say. Now the prophecy of my passion has an end. Wherefore the clothes of my Other were taken away. For Christ's clothes were taken away from him. And so he was left naked on the cross, save that our lady his mother wanted a kerchief about him to cover his members. The other stone was taken to typify Christ's body, which was drawn on the cross as a skin of parchment, so that all his. The behaviors that the author is depicted with are symbolized by the sand and thorns that he was crowned with. The water and wine that it is washed with are symbolized by the blood and water that ran down from his side, pierced by a spear. The wine poured upon the author on the fifth cross symbolizes the blood that ran down from his principal wounds of his body. This day is not a peace given at the mass for Judas betrayed Christ this day ended. Wherefore this night, what he had supped, he made the sacrament of his own body and gave it to his disciples to eat and drink, and began the sacrament of the mass and of the new law. After supper, he washed the feet of his disciples, symbolizing the affliction of venial sins. If people desire. The reason priests do not mass after the fourth as Christ did. According to Hyamo on the pillar of St. Paul, in the beginning of the faith, people came to church on Saturdays. The wealthy brought food and drink for them and feasted and drank with them, and then at night took their hospitality and said that Christ gave them an example to drink liberally and eat from the relief they left. And so after the people took her hospitality. However, the pillar of this day tells us that St. Paul rebuked them there and turned that foul usage into more honesty, cleanliness, and holiness. That is, mass is fasting, making all people take her hospitality fasting in the evening until the Paschal is made the chief tapestry in the church. So is Christ the chief above all the saints in heaven. The Paschal also symbolizes the pall of light that we saw before Moses and the children of Israel when Moses led them out. They traveled from Egypt to the land of Hefte, which is Jerusalem, and passed safely and soundly. Seven days after, they all arrived and thanked God for their safe passage. In mind, they visited all the holy churches and went in procession to the font, now the Red Sea, for all Christian people who were baptized in the font. In the font, they took on the red sea for blood and water is the wards that were in Christ's side, in which the power of Pharaoh and all his might were drowned, and Christian people failed. The font is hallowed on Easter even and one witness even for, in the beginning, all children were to be baptized one these two days and to be baptized at the font hallowing. However, because many had died without baptism in such long staying, holy church now ordained to baptize all times of the year, seven days before these events. The child shall abide to the font hallowing if it may, for fear of death, otherwise. Not. Thus, the Paschal hollow be illuminated with new fire, and all other tapers and candles be lit for holiness and good teaching and good living come together from Christ and the teaching of the holy church, and light them in Christ's passion with burning love and charity. Pieces of incense he stuck in the Paschal in the manner of a cross, though they be taken as the five wounds of our Lord, as Bede says, that shall be fresh and sweet as any incense until the day of doom to great reward for all who are damned who do not believe in Christ's passion and will not ask mercy and forgiveness of their sins. In the font, the priest casts water in the four parts of the font, for Christ had his disciples going preaching and teaching in the four parties of Christianity in the name of the Father and the Son & the Holy Ghost. And after the priest has blessed one, he pours one the water for the Holy Ghost in the making of the world, for when God cursed the water for Adam's sin. earth and land. He cursed not the water, for it is lawful for a man to eat in it, that after he dips the wax into the water of a candling, which signifies the manner of Christ who was fully baptized in water and put oil and cream into the water, for by the virtue of the sacrament, those in heaven and on earth are joined together, and it was provided by Christ's baptism, for there the Father in heaven spoke and said, \"This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.\" And the Holy Ghost was seen, \"Like a dove.\" Thus was the font hallowed. Two times praying, all the saints of heaven were invoked to pray to God to keep that worthy sacrament pleasing to Him and the covenant they had made in Christ's name. Then the priest goes to the mass for Christ, who is the head of all holy church, is not unreasonable. Kirielewsou is said. For every priest in particular in the mass, it is great need to ask help and so court of God to keep us from all manner of harm. \"The father in heaven takes great joy in holding the people whom he has bought with his passion and in seeing them at rest and charitable with one another. The grey is not said for those who are few, or for those who are not yet ready to walk in the grace of Christianity. The name Gloria in excelsis is restored after All Hallows a tract is sung for those who are being baptized, as they must be diligently kept from the temptations of the devil lest they fall into deadly sin. The offertory is said for the women who come with ointments to offer to Christ's body, they find him not yet present. Agnus Dei is said but no peace is given for Christ, the head of the church, is not yet present. The procession is not said for those newly baptized should not be anointed this day but on the morrow. In olden times, people of great age came to baptism.\" For the children who were not stoned, they were greatly troubled by sickness from cold and long service more than is ended under a short coat. The sacrament of baptism is ended in the passion of Christ by which all Christian people were restored to everlasting bliss. God brings us all to Amen.\n\nGood friends, this day is called Good Friday for all that our Lord Jesus Christ suffered this day. It turns us to great joy, for this day he suffered passion under the pound and pilate for our sake. It is an old saying that a bird in the nest has a bird's end. Now see how this pilate was given a cursed living first and ended wretchedly. As St. Augustine says, cursed living begats a cursed end. He who forgets himself in his living is full like to forget himself in his last end.\n\nThis pilate was a knight's son who was called Tyrus. When this child was born, they set the name of his father at Pyle, and this woman's name was his father. So when this child was born, they set the name of his father as Pyle. Moderys name and the grave father were called him Pylates, after he was three years old, his mother brought him to the knights court to his father. Then, there was no knight so like Pylates age, except for this knight's son was more gentle, more manfully, more godly, more beloved than this Pylate. Therefore, for hate and envy, that the knight should pay to the emperor, it happened that the king of France had sent his son there for the same cause. Then, because Pylate saw that he was more beloved and cherished than this Pylate, he slew him. Then, for he was so cursed, the emperor, by the counsel of the Romans, sent Pylate to a country called Pounce, where the people of that country were so cursed that they slew any who came to be master over them. When Pylate arrived there, he applied himself to their mothers in various ways and subtly overcame them, gaining control and took on their names. Callidius, named Pilate of Pounus, had great dominion and power there, surpassing that of the king of Jerusalem. After him, the king of Jerusalem sent messengers to apprehend Pilate and make him a tenant under him of the land. Pilate liked the office and sent to the Emperor to have it confirmed, unaware that King Herod, who was then in power, was an enemy to him. When King Herod heard what Pilate had done, he was so angry. At that time, our Lord Jesus Christ was taken, and then they came to an agreement and both consented to Christ's death. Later, the Emperor fell ill and sent for Christ to heal him, as it was reported that Christ healed all who came to him with any kind of sickness. But Pilate had already put Christ to death or the messenger had not yet arrived. Then, when the Emperor understood that he had sent for Pilate and called him to come to him, Pilate came to Rome to the Emperor. And when Pilate came to Rome to the Emperor, he took hold of one Christ. Though we were present, he swore before Christ's coat that he would be dead. Then they took the coat and a man as the coat was of the Emperor's, and he slew himself with all. And when the Emperor heard of this and understood that he had slain himself and then a man, he made them bring a great stone and place it around Pythias neck and cast him into a water called Tybris. Then, when he was cast therein, the demons made such a noise around that all Rome was greatly frightened by them.\n\nThereafter, when the Emperor saw this, he made them take him up again, and then he was cast into a water between high hills, and for a long time there were many horrible sights in the water. A vision appeared to the cursed man.\n\nThus our Lord Jesus Christ suffered passion and death for all mankind. The first thing they did when they took Him was to buffet Him, strip Him naked, and scourge Him with rods on the head. \"capita vs [he] head and beat it down with sternish his brain and when they had punished him so, they led him forth all bloody. Called to them Noli te flere super me [you] do not weep for me but upon you and your children. The women of Jerusalem weep not for me but upon you and your children. For there shall come days in which you will bless the barren wombs and the fathers who never gave suck. Thus our Lord spoke before the vengeance that follows upon Jerusalem. The which prophecy Jeremiah the prophet spoke of, which is read in holy church these three days at tenebras, which was so horrible of many diverse reasons, and in particular of how [hunger] children lay in the streets and died. Then was there a woman come of great birth that for hunger took her own child that fed with her and slew it and cut it in two parts. Then she roasted half and that other half she kept till on the morrow.\" roast and anyone who came to have had part of it were heavy and fiercely dismayed and would not eat of it but went their way again. Then the mother of that child took and ate of it and said in this manner, \"This is my own son and my own child that I bore of my body and nursed with my milk, but yet I would rather eat him than die of hunger.\" Therefore I tell you this to show you something of the vengeance that filled the city of Jerusalem after the death of our Lord Jesus Christ. Then they laid him on the Mount of Calvary and there they crucified him, so that every bone of his body could be distinguished from another, and they nailed him hand and foot to the cross and gave up the cross and the body to the ground. With great effort they let the cross and the body fall down into the ground, causing all the body to collapse and all his bones to crack and his joints to burst and all wounds to burst open. Out of blood, arms and legs were laid feast and bound so that there was no blood left in him. And wonder it about his body until the blood was congealed, and then they drew away the clothes and pulled away the flesh from the bones. This was a great pity. And so when he should die, he began, as John Helas says. Deus meus respice in me. And so he said all verses singing until he came to that verse. In te domine speram. And so at this verse, An manus tuas dominum commendo spiritum meum redeemisti me domine Deus veritatis. There he gave up the spirit. This is a great example that our Lord Jesus Christ and he who can endure it,\n\nThankfully, at every prayer, save at that prayer that is said for the Jews, the holy church does not kneel not because the Jews scorn kneeling three times to Christ, whom they scourged, but for the Jews' sake, risen as Nero's heretics, but not for Christian people. For as long as any man or woman stands. A knight there once was, a great lord, who had a worthy man for a son. It happened that another knight and this man dined together, and this knight slew him. The father of the slain man gathered a great multitude of people and pursued the other knight wherever he went, night and day, to slay him and have no rest from the fear for his life. It happened on a good Friday that this knight saw all Christian people go to the church, and he thought that Christ died that day on the cross for all mankind, and placed himself only in the church. In the mercy of the almighty God, he went to the church with others to serve God. While he was in the church, another knight came in with a large group of people, and drew his sword from his hood to kill him. This other knight saw that he had trespassed against him and fell flat on the ground with his arms spread out, just as our Lord Jesus Christ spread his arms on the cross and said, \"For his love, which today spread his arms on the earth, suffered passion and died for you and me and all mankind. Have mercy on me, and give me your son's death.\"\n\nThen this knight thought it was too horrible a thing to strike him while he lay there and cried for mercy so meekly. He put up his sword and said to him, \"Now, for the sake of the one who today died on the cross for you and me, and all mankind, kiss me and come after me to do worship to the cross, kneeling.\"\n\nOnce this knight had kissed him. This is the image of the cross; the army of the cross should be held before it. The knight should bow before the cross, kiss it, and speak thus so that all people may hear: \"I give this to you as one who has been given to me for the love of me. And thus all Christian people should do. And then they should have mercy and grace from God and everlasting bliss.\"\n\nGood friends, you shall know well that this day is called God's Sunday. You know well that it is the custom in every place of worship as this day to do the following: the fire is taken out of the hall, and the black winter branches and all things that are foul with smoke are done away. And where the fire was, it should be gayly adorned with fair flowers and green boughs, showing a great example to all Christian people. In the same way, you should cleanse your souls, doing away with the foul burning sin of lechery. Put all these away and cast out all this foul, smoky dust and straw from your souls. flu\u00a6res of feythe and charite and thus make your sou\u00a6les abyll to receyue your lord god at the feste of Estyr. Deponentes omnem maliciam\nAnd putte a wey all ma\u00a6lice and all sorowe for ry\u00a6ghte as ye wolle suffre no thynge in youre house y\u2022 stinkythe and saueryd ille wher with ye may be disceyued Nyght so cri\u2223ste whan he comyth in to the house of youre soules and he fynde there any sand than comythe the fende in and bydithe there. Thanne may that soule be sory that is so for sakyn of god and be ta\u00a6ke to the feude. Thus it is with tho that bene in wrathe and enuye or in any dedly synne and woll not for geue to hem that\nhathe trespased to hem for no preyoure he shalle no for geuencsse haue. for\u00a6oure lord seythe thus. Dimittite et dimit temini\u25aa For geue and ye shall haue for geuenesse. And there for euery cri\u00a6sten man & woman shuld serche well his conscie\u0304ce and make hym abyll to receyue his sauyour ihe\u2223su criste very god and man.\nThere was summe ty\u00a6me an hooly bishop that preyde ofte besyly to god that he myghte I have grace to see and know which were worthy to receive that holy sacrament and come to God's board, where God's blood dropped out of her mouth, and some had the bishop's great marvel of that sight and prayed to God to give him revelation to know what all this signified. Then came to him an angel and said, \"Those who have bloody faces and blood dripping from their mouths are envious and wrathful and will not leave her alone, and those who have black faces are lecherous and will not leave her side and are ever ready to swear. They have committed great sin and are sorry for their sins because the weeping of her eyes has washed away their souls and made them clean, and so they live in pure life and truly labor for her pleasure. And the two companies of women who shine so brightly, passing all others, were great sinners and were sore afraid when they came to church and took a great repentance in her.\" Her heartily praying him heartily to feign no vestige, they would for her sake and never do amiss again, wherefor the angel went his way and the bishop quietly bowed down and thanked God for his revelation. And therefore take example, you two. And truly, you shall have grace and mercy, and so continue to everlasting joy and bliss. Wherefore take this glowing with our words to discern your ghostly father and say that you are in charity and be not deceitful. You deceive yourself and truly you shall not deceive God who sees every corner of your hearts. And therefore discern not your God and be as busy to make your souls clean for the fight of God as you are to make your houses clean for the sight of man. And as you would array yourselves in your best, this that you have a keen eye for the coming of your best friends, so should you array yourselves. This day is called also a passing day and in particular for two reasons. One is for this day. All Christ's people, in reverence of God, should give all thanks to Him, and be in perfect love and charity towards all Christian people who have wronged Him, throughout the year. Charity covers a multitude of sins. It is also a passing day, this day, that all God's children should leave evil living and enter into good living, leaving vices and coming to a good feast. He who passes thus is worthy to come to a good feast, which our Lord Jesus Christ made this day for all people.\n\nThis day is also called God's Sunday. For this day God's Son rose from death to life, and gladdened all His servants with His resurrection. Wherefore, the holy church makes merry and sings this day: \"Rejoice, O heavens, and let all the angels of God rejoice.\"\n\nThis is the day that the Lord made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it. For the Father of heaven, with all His angels, makes such great joy because of the resurrection. of his son that he makes today a passing great feast and bids all Cristen people there, as well as those that are in heaven as those that are on earth. And they shall be wellcome who come to this feast clothed in God's livery, that is a good clothing that is in love and charity. And also evil shall be those who come in the devil's livery, in wrath and envy. For, as the gospel tells us, these shall be and while others laugh and make merry, they shall weep and be sorry. And while some eat and drink at God's board, they shall grind with their teeth and say. Deus, Deus, quam pena tantum, wo wo wo, how many darknesses are there, for they shall think it is so dark and the pains of hell shall be so hard. For worms shall gnash and writhe. Therefore I charge you in God's name that none of you come to God's board but if you are in perfect love and charity and are clean and shriven. \"dedly I must by the law of the holy church with a loud voice proclaim, and therefore every Christian man and woman should carefully consider and make himself able to receive his savior Jesus Christ to heal his soul, so that it may come after this fleeting life to everlasting joy. This day is called the passing day, and for two reasons. One is that on this day, all Christ's people in remembrance of God should forgive all those who have offended them and be in perfect love and charity towards all Christian people who have wronged them. Charity covers a multitude of sins. It is also a passing day for this day should all God's children pass out of evil living into good living, out of vices into virtues. He who passes thus is worthy to come to a good feast, which our Lord Jesus Christ will host.\" This is the day that the Lord made. Rejoice and be glad in it, all of you. For on this day the Lord's son rose from death to life, and the holy church makes merry and sings: \"This is the day which the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.\" The Father in heaven, with all his angels, makes such great joy over the rising of his Son that he makes this day a great feast and invites all Christians, whether in heaven or on earth, to come to this feast clothed in the Lord's livery, which is a good clothing in love and charity. And woe to those who come in the devil's livery, clothed in wrath and envy; for, as the Gospel tells us, they shall be and while others laugh and make merry, they shall weep and be sorrowful. Some shall eat and drink. at God's board they shall grind with their teeth and say. Deus [we] quantus tenebrarum wo wo wo how many darknesses are there for they shall think it is so dark and the pains of hell shall be so harsh. For worms shall gnaw and wherefore I charge you in God's name that none of you come to God's board but if you are in perfect health and charity and are clean shriven and in full penance I knew in certain which one, outside of charity and in deadly sin, I must by the law of the holy church with a low voice say to them in the presence of all the people: I give you not your soul to your salvation. But to your damnation until you come to amendment. And therefore every Christian man and woman should search well his conscience and make himself able to receive his savior Jesus Christ to heal of his soul that she may come after this final life to everlasting joy. Amen.\n\nGood friends these three days, that is to say Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, you shall fast and go in penance. Services for all we sinners and had to pray to God for help, grace, and mercy, for they may not excuse us from the procession that may lawfully be there. He who draws himself from the commandment of the holy church wilfully sins gravely. First, he sins in pride, for he is unwilling also in sloth, knowing himself in sin and unwilling to do his diligence to come out of it. And rightly, he who withdraws himself from the people gathered to serve God will be put from all the company of heaven and from all the saints who do good in holy church until he amends. Therefore, all Christian people come holy to this place and pray these three days to all the saints in heaven to pray to God for us, for we have sinned many times in the year and transgressed the commandment of God, and for these three days we shall fast and pray to God for mercy and remission of our sins and put away all the power of the devil and keep us from all mischief. \"Parallels and dreads that fall more frequently during this time of the year than any other, for in this time many great thunderstorms and lightning occur. And as Lincolnes says, there were fiends that flittered in the air in fear of the blast of thunder when Christ came to the gates of hell and dispelled it. And yet when they hear thunder in the air, they are so terrified that they fall down and do not rise again until they have done some wicked deeds. For then they bring rain and make tempests at sea, drawing down ships and causing disputes among the people, making one to kill another and tend to fire and burn houses, draw down steeples and trees, and cause women to overwhelm their children, making people hang themselves and drown themselves in vain hope and despair, and do many cursed deeds. And to put away all such sights and the power of the fiend, holy church has ordained that all Christian people shall fast and go in procession these three days and pray to God and to\" Our lady and all saints of heaven, help and succor us. In these processions, bellis bear robed banners, the cross comes after, and the people follow after. And then comes the king and his retinue. In this procession, the bells are God's trumpets, the banners come after, then the cross in the likeness of Christ as king of Christian people and all good priests chase away the fiends who have no power. They are like a cursed terror and dread him sore when they hear the trumpets of a king displayed in the field with his retinue coming towards him in the same way. The fiend, the terror of hell, is a fear and dread to him when the bells ring and the banners are borne and the cross with all the people praying. Then he flees and dares not be seen and puts away his power that we read at the City of Constantinople, as the people went in procession for a disease. Suddenly, a child was plucked up. to the ey\u00a6re and bore in to heuen and the angeles taughte hym to syng this songe Sancte deus Sanc\u2223tefor iand anon he was ladde down ayen to the erthe and thanne he songe that same songe & a none they were delyue\u2223red of her dissesis this is to sey in englische. hooly god hooly stronge god holy & neuer shall dye ha\u00a6ue mercy vs God that is hooly and neuer shall dye haue mercy one vs. god willithe and woll that we be stronge for to fighte with the fe\u0304de with the worlde and with the flesche and than he woll haue mercy on vs and brynge vs to that place than there as angeles sin\u00a6ggod haue mercy one vs and bring vs to his blysse Amen.\nGOod frend is so che a day ye shall haue an hyghe & a solempne feste in hooly churche that is callid the ascension of oure lord the su Criste for that day as the feythe and be leue te\u00a6chith how god is veray god & man and styed vp in to heuen where fore in tokenyng of this the pa\u00a6schpll that is the chefe ly\u00a6ghte in holy church that hathe sto\u0304de openly in the quere from Estyr vn to this This day Christ is signified as the chief light in the holy church, and our Lord openly appeared to His disciples on various occasions, teaching them faith and belief. This day He ascended into heaven and there would appear to them again. He appeared to them as they were sitting at table and ate with them, to show that He was truly God and man in flesh and blood, just as they were. For some of them, they were in doubt, fearing that He had become a spirit and bade them farewell. He stayed in heaven and left the imprint of His feet on the hard marble stone as a token of His ascension. Then you shall understand that the hill of Olivet is called merry, for Christ stood on the Mount of Olives, showing clearly that He is the head of mercy, and He is ever ready to grant mercy to all who ask with a meek heart. Then, in His ascension, angels made such a melody that no tongue can tell it so finely. They were of His coming. A swiftly ascending he stayed, for but a moment from earth to heaven. A great cleric, a philosopher, is called this, who travels thousands of miles every year. But he who follows this way knows it best. And this way shall be met by a rightful and good mother. Then, in his ascension, he had with him a great multitude of creatures, which he raised up all likewise with his wounds, fresh and bloody. For five reasons. First, to verify the faith of his resurrection, for he was in very flesh and blood that died on the cross for all mankind. Second, to show his wounds to his Father, in great help and solace to all mankind. Third, to show how righteous they are who will not believe in his passion and resurrection. Fourth, to show how merciful he is to those who will believe and ask mercy. Fifth, he bore with him a sign of victory, a symbol of certainty to all mankind, like a lord who has a true advocate by his side. A mother urged her son to answer for us before God. The son showed his faith and bleeding wounds to the father. The mother displayed her breast and pap to the son. The son, with such tokens of love shown, cannot fare badly with a friend in heaven's court. By the son's rising up into heaven, our lady has gained a great dignity. Our Lord Jesus Christ, though they worship men as gods, has taken humanity upon himself and is now in heaven bodily. Here a man can see how much he is bound to his God, whom we were bound to before and are now freed from the jaws of hell. And our Lord Jesus Christ has given us freedom and bound us to him to do him service and reverence. And in Angels, there was a time when they kept the gates of paradise shut with burning swords, so that no soul might enter in. But by faith, our Lord Jesus Christ has cast up the gates and opened the gates of heaven to them that believe.\n\nAlso, you shall be received just as a king of this world has officers of diverse degrees, some higher and some lower, and some more precious than others. Our lords standing at this time, the lower angels, in great wonder that they had seen Him in flesh and blood rising up to heaven with such a great multitude, and also in great wonder that they had seen the fiends of the air fly away in fear and dread of His coming, who before were wont to spare nothing to assail the souls that came by them. They hastened to do our Lord the sacred service of reverence and worship. Thus, for great wonder,\n\n(Note: The text appears to be incomplete and may require additional context to fully understand. The given text seems to be describing the reaction of angels to the Ascension of Christ and their subsequent service to Him.) \"wondered who the lower angel was, as they asked the higher angel, 'What is this that comes out of the world, clothed in blood as if a king of joy?' This is he who suffered death, ready in his struggle, dead on the cross, dreadful in rising, and thus has overcome all his enemies and now is glorious in heaven.\n\nThen, when our Lord Jesus Christ was raised up into heaven and his disciples standing there, amazed by the sight and also by the loud noise they heard in the sky, they looked up into heaven and suddenly two angels stood by them, clothed in white, and said, 'Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.' And so, for this reason, all the apostles lifted up their eyes to heaven.\" styled up in heaven and sand is ready to give mercy to all those who will ask mercy with a meek heart.\nAnd therefore there is no manner of man who may excuse himself nor have any manner of excuse but if he wills it himself and asks mercy to his lord God with a meek heart, and he shall have mercy and be saved.\nAnd a contrite heart to God shall never despise, and he will ask mercy and be sorry for his sins; our lord will take him to his mercy. Then, to show his great goodness and compassion, our lord of mankind will tell you this example.\nWe read in the life of St. Carp of how a man of misbelief turned from being a Christian man and sought his belief and his Christianity back. For this holy man Carp was so wrathful that he fell into great sickness. When he should have prayed to God for a healing, he prayed night and day that he might see them have a bodily vengeance. It happened at a mid-night hour as he prayed thus suddenly, the house that he lay in. In four parts, he saw one hanging so pitifully that it was great pity to behold. He looked up and saw our Lord Jesus Christ with a great multitude of angels sitting in His throne. And he looked up again and saw these two men standing before an open maw of a hellish mouth quaking and trembling in fear of the fiends, like adders and worms coming out of the maw to draw the two men in with them. And so many other fiends came in diverse likenesses to help them. Then was this holy man Carp eager to see these two men receive their vengeance and was very glad for it, losing sight of our Lord Jesus Christ and His holy angels for his heart was one with their vengeance. He was sorry for it being so long or they were put into their pain. Then he rose and went to help himself and all that he could, and whoever they were in the maw, this Carp was very glad for it. vp into heaven and there he saw our lord Jesus Christ, and he saw him rise from his throne for great pity and compassion that he had on the two men and come down to them and take them out of their pain and said to Carp Extend hands against me, stretch forth thine hands against me, he said, I am ready and in need to die again for mankind rather than to lose him.\n\nLord Jesus Christ is to all who will ask mercy and give mercy and deserve mercy, that every man may make amends and leave his sins and be in full will and purpose to sin no more, and thus he shall come to the grace and mercy of our lord Jesus Christ who suffered for us and all mankind one good Friday, and this day he raised up to heaven, which he will grant us and bring us all to Amen.\n\nGood friends, as you well know, a Saturday next coming is worthy and you shall fast and come to church to hear your service and make you ready, and if there be any of you that fall into any sin, let him come and confess it. amend it thereof and I will be ready to all that seek me. Take this in certainty in the same way as a man will not go to a place there as a stinking and high him thence. Rightly so the Holy Ghost flees from the soul that is entangled with deadly sin and angels will stop their noses from it, for more foul is deadly sin in the sight of God than anything that cares to smell it for the people. And with such as Himself chooses to come to a dwelling and command, He teaches them prayers more than any other time, for this holy church calls them and says, Come Holy Ghost, specially to have help and succor and grace and to have a part of the dole that He makes at this time to all Christian people who are a bell to receive His gifts. But you shall Understand that the Holy Ghost makes his gift in other ways than others. For they deal as it pleases him, but the Holy Ghost delights in all the people who are necessary and suitable to them. Some he gives wisdom in holy scripture to understand holy scripture, he gives grace to have great lust and joy therein, that is, they are eager to preach and to teach virtue and goodness, and some he gives grace in understanding of diverse languages: English, French, Welsh, Irish, without any great trouble in learning it. It is a great gift and a miracle and a special grace of almighty God that any man can understand our speaking. There are five letters that make up all the words of all the world and of all languages that are under heaven. And without one of these letters, no man can make a word and these are D, E, H, N, T.\n\nAdditionally, some he gives grace for following good counsel, and some he... \"And he inspires wisdom in them, revealing to them what is to come. They act wisely and discreetly, making all the people happy to hear them speak and follow their counsel. Some he grants grace to act according to counsel, as our Lord Jesus Christ gave himself to a man who would leave a perfect life to join a religion and be governed by his wardens' counsel and his own. This comes from the grace of the Holy Ghost. He also grants some grace in learning various sciences, some to learn one craft and some another, with good will and diligence, and not wasting time, sleeping, or being unworthy, but knowing how to earn a living.\" trouthe. Al\u2223so somme he geuythe gra\u00a6ce of pite and filleth her hertes so full of pitand compassion of her euene cristen that he in dissese & aduersite that they yeuen hem of theyr goodis to helpe and to socoure hem at her and to com\u00a6fortand also mercyable that they for geue hem all that they haue trespased to hem in any wyse. Somme he yeuithe also to dgod and euer\nthynke\u0304 of grete vengeau\u0304\u2223ce that god woll take for synne at the day of dome Timand day somme be euer a ferde to offende god and euer besely to do well in preuyte as in o\u00a6pyn sighte of people he that hathe this yifte ha\u2223the a speciall grace of the holy goste. Her sunt septem do na spiri\u2223tua sancti. These be the yeftes that, the holy goste departid among all ma\u0304kynde and yeuithe somme more than sum\u2223me But there may no man excuse hym but that the holy goste cristonyng where the bishopp\u0304 at the confermacion rehersithe these wordes of the sa\u2223crame\u0304t I woll tell you an ensample to fere yow the more to the sacrame\u0304t of cristonyng that is fou\u0304\u00a6den in the A bishop of St. James\nThere was a holy bishop who converted King Francis of France to Christian faith. When the king came to be christened at the font, there was a great crowd of people, and the clerk bearing the bishop's cruse could not bring it to him. When the font was consecrated and came to the anointing, he could not reach his cruse. Then the bishop lifted up his eyes to God, praying devoutly for help. And a woman appeared, as white as any milk, who was the Holy Ghost bringing in her hand a vial with oil and ointment for the bishop. When he opened the vial, there came forth from it such a sweet savor that all the people were amazed and greatly comforted. Here you may well see that the Holy Ghost makes the sacrament effective and gives it virtue.\n\nNow that the Holy Ghost may descend and enlighten us so that we may come to receive it. Hymn to our salvation: Amen.\nGood men and women, this day is called Wisdom Sunday, for on this day the Holy Ghost brought wisdom and understanding into Christ's disciples. And so, by her preaching afterward into all Christendom, you may understand that many have wisdom but not understanding, for there are many who have wisdom to preach and speak well, but few who have the wisdom to do well. There are many wise preachers and teachers. But their leaving is no small thing after their preaching. Also, there are many who labor to have wisdom and knowledge but few travel to come to good living. For he who can gain good things falsely with cunning and deceit is wise, but he who forsakes the wisdom of this world is a fool. But look what holy scripture says: \"The Lord recounted to Abraham his poverty and wrote his name in the book of life.\" Said. The quiet man kept silent because he did not approve of him. But he left the rich man, for he had not rewarded him, although he taught and lived well for a good example in leaving is a good doctrine. This grace was bestowed upon Christ's disciples on that day, for they taught and lived well, for they gave good instruction, imparting good examples in their leaving. Then, how they came to receive this grace, you shall hear after the Lord's ascension. After our Lord Jesus Christ was taken up into heaven, His disciples were filled with great sorrow and mourning because they had lost their master whom they loved dearly and had given up all their goods for his sake, and had renounced all their Frenchness and lived in poverty in hope that they would be greatly helped by him. And thus they were all sad and greatly distressed, fearing to be taken by the Jews and cast into prison and afterwards put to death. This made them sorry that they had not shown greater devotion to him. They should not go long among the people to get them food and drink, but yet, as Christ commanded them in His ascension, they went into the City of Jerusalem and there they were in a hall and there they sat down to pray to God with one heart and one spirit and some comfort in their sickness. Suddenly, there was a great cloud made in the air like a blast of thunder, and even there, the Holy Ghost came among them and appeared to them in the form of tongues of fire. And a light came down among them in the likeness of tongues of fire, warming and illuminating and not consuming or damaging them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and received divine wisdom. And, as they were so weak and unlearned and true disciples as of children and nothing could teach them of the clergy, suddenly they were the wisest men and the best scholars in the world. And they all spoke in various languages under the sun. Before her heart was cold from fear and fear of death. Then they were comforted with the holy ghost in burning love and went on to preach and teach the word of God, unafraid and ready to take death for Christ's sake. At that time, there were people of all nations in Jerusalem, drawn into the temple out of great fear of the blast of thunder in the air and stayed to see what it might be.\n\nThen came the apostles into the temple and preached, and all manner of nations understood them, and so they preached the word of God. Then the people were astonished when they heard the apostles speak all manner of languages. Some said, \"These have drunk so much must that they don't know what they say or what they mean, for they are all drunk.\" But Peter answered and said, \"We are not drunk, but this is the prophecy of Joel the prophet: 'In the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams.' \" with all tongues that is to preach and in the world the law of Christ. Then the people turned fast, and so within seven years the sword was in all the world. Now it is to be known why the Holy Ghost appeared to them in the likeness of tongues rather than any other part of man's body, and why he came to them sitting rather than standing. As for this, this is the cause. A tongue is the best member of a man's body when it is in good rule and well disposed, but when it is out of rule, it is the worst. As the Apostle James says, \"A bitter venom is under the tongues of those who speak evil things.\" And, as St. James says, \"An accursed tongue is set on fire by the fire of hell and cannot be chastised while the fire burns it.\" And so, for tongues, they must speak words of fire that are sharp and sparkling to speak the truth and not spare in preaching and teaching to reprove misdeeds. For holy men in old times overcame and drove away the fire of temptation with holy words and good. \"Before you present with the burning love for God rightly, the fire of the Holy Ghost should drive away and overcome the fire of envy and evil living that reign in the tongues and hearts of many people. And for the apostles and other preachers who come after them, they should speak burning words, neither sharp nor out of fear nor love, but tell the truth and reprove the sins that reign in her in many diverse ways, and so do and say the word of God and reprove sin. And unless they will leave sin, they shall without remedy be damned into the fire of hell. Also, God is merciful to penitent sinners. God is merciful to those who are sorry for their sins and will leave them, and He will show mercy and forgive them, and they shall have everlasting bliss in the bright fire.\" that is the precious love of God that burns among angels and saints in heaven. He comes in likeness of tongues of fire, for it is the nature of fire to make low that is high and to warm that is cold, to make soft that is hard and make hard that is soft. The Holy Ghost makes hearts that are high in pride and envy low and warm in love and charity. The Holy Ghost makes harsh hearts that have been gathering and hoarding worldly goods soft and liberal to give and to do alms deeds for the love of almighty God, and makes them hard also in suffering of hard and strait living and in doing of great penance for their sins. Thus the Holy Ghost is ever ready to make salvation.\n\nThat other side is why the Holy Ghost came to the apostles rather than their standing than stone-tinged, for sitting is a sign of meekness in heart with rest, peace, and tranquility, which any Christian man should love other with burning love and charity. The clearly man, without feigning wrath or envy or any manner of malice, should be good-tongued with one another. But as soon as the brands are cast aside, envy arises, and the fire of the Holy Ghost is quenched. Then rises up smoke of great wrath and envy between party and party, and great grief and heaviness for the soul, causing it to fail in grace and have no consideration for reason. Anon, the wicked spirits are ready to rise and smoke in the same man's heart, that is, great wrath and envy and evil will, having no manner of rest but ever stirring and thinking how he may avenge himself and do vengeance upon his enemies. Thus is a man ever troubled by cursed deeds and is likely to be damned body and soul in hell eternally. Therefore, the Holy Ghost comes in the likeness of tongues of fire to burn out malice and envy. Anoint them with the sweetness of grace, love, and charity. Therefore, we shall pray to the Holy Ghost to grant us grace to temper our tongues, so that we may always speak good words, and that our hearts may be fed with meekness, enabling us to be fed by the Holy Ghost. As Saint Gregory did when he expounded the prophecy, he took Saint Peter to write down his explanation. And so, Gregory sat in his chair, holding up his hands and his eyes upward. Then the Holy Ghost came to him like a white dove with feet and burning gold bill, and sat on Gregory's right side. The dove put its bill into Gregory's mouth. And when he drew it out, he commanded Peter to write, and so it continued until he had finished. But he explained the Gospel so boldly that Peter was amazed and made a hole in the cloth between himself and Gregory to see how the Holy Ghost fed him. And furthermore, the Holy Ghost showed: de Grand charged him never to say anything while he lived. But when Gregory was dead, an eretic wanted to burn his books, and this holy man stood before him and said, \"Nay,\" and told all how the Holy Ghost had revealed to him while he expounded the prophecy, and so saved his books from being burned that he had made by the grace of God and the gift of the Holy Ghost. Which you also receive from him here in our living, that we may have the bliss that will never have an end. Amen.\n\nGood men and women, this day is a high and solemn feast in holy church, for it is of the Holy Trinity. For as holy church at this time makes mention of the Holy Ghost coming to Christ's disciples, now at this time is made mention of the three persons and one God in Trinity. We are bound to worship this Holy Trinity as much as we can. Also, you shall understand why, how, and what the cause that this feast was worshipped. For the Trinity's feeding of heretics and for the Trinity's worship, it was first ordained in the form of the Trinity. A great cleric, John Beleth, tells us that the Trinity was in the first Mada in the form of the Father, who came from the earth as one person, and Eve of Adam, the second person of both, who came as the third person as their child. Thus, the Trinity was found in man, where man should have mind to do worship to the Holy Trinity. For the holy church ordained that in the wedding of man and woman to get it so that the mass of the Trinity is sung. And at his death, one bell shall be rung in worship of the Trinity; for all Christian people are greatly bound to worship the Holy Trinity. The second cause is that the feast is ordained in confounding of heretics and Lollards to destroy them and their false opinions, which they held against the Holy Trinity, as he recounts in the beginning of the faith with his sweet words and false. Opinions where a bout to destroy the faith of the holy Trinity in the same way that Lollards nowadays with their false speech of gyles are a bout also to withdraw the people from the true belief and faith of the holy Trinity and the belief and faith of holy church, and are a bout in all manner ways that they can and may find to destroy and undo them, so that they might have their purpose. And thus they openly show that they are not God's servants, for they are out of charity, and he that is out of charity is far from God. But he that suffered tribulation, persecution, and disease for the love of almighty God and prayed for his enemies and would not do any vengeance but put all in almighty God and he would quite them full well in everlasting bliss. For our Lord said, \"Vengeance is mine, I will repay,\" and I shall quite every man according to his deserving. Though God allows holy church to be pursued by such miscreants and lewd livers, yet he ordained such a remedy. that holy chir\u00a6che is holpyn and her en\u00a6myes con and sha\u00a6med. Thus it happid on a tyme with the Em\u00a6perour of Rome that hi ghte Attyland he was made by heretikes as Io\u00a6han bellet tellith the why\u00a6che Emperour pursew\u2223ed Cristen people sore and hatid hem and ho\u00a6ly churche gretely. where\u00a6for he made to doo bren\u2223ne all the bokys that my\u00a6ghte be founde of cristen feythe. But as almyghty god wolde there was a good hooly man and that was a grete Clerke and that clerke was cal\u00a6lid Alpynyons that in meytenyng of the feyth of hooly churche he ma\u2223de the story of the Try\u00a6nite and the story also of seinte Stephyn and brou\u00a6ghte hit vn to the pope for to haue hem songon and redde in hooly chur\u00a6che But be counsell of that grete clerke they to\u00a6ke the story of Seint ste\u2223phyn and lefte the story of the hooly Trinite till to the tyme that Seynt Gregory was pope than for to repreue hem and do hem shame that be so the mysse beleuyng peo\u00a6ple and wolde not bele\u2223ue in the trinite but made\naftyr her reson many he retykes and in Consideration of them, Saint Gregory the pope ordained this feast to be hallowed and this story to be read in holy church in worship of the Trinity with all Christian people. The third cause is for the high Trinity's worship, and all Christian men should know how and in what manner they should believe in the Trinity. For the holy church teaches that he who believes in the Trinity shall be saved, and they who do not shall be damned. Therefore, it is expedient and necessary for all Christian people to know how they shall believe. You shall understand that persistent love for God is the faith, for he who believes persistently asks no questions that little avails. Faith has no merit where human reason provides experiment. Therefore, it is good for all Christian people to make love the mediator to the Holy Ghost, praying him to enlighten us with it in our souls that we may have grace to come to his persistent belief. Therefore, this The day was set next with Sunday, hoping that the Holy Ghost would be ready for all Christian people who would call upon him, especially in learning of the faith. Yet, for many wise ones, it is difficult to learn, and the Holy Ghost consists of three persons and one God. Take heed of this example: of this ice and water, how these three are diverse in substance, and yet it is all but water. You may understand by the water the Father, by the ice the Son, and by the snow the Holy Ghost. Water is an element that has great might and strength, and, as Master Alexander says, it is above heaven in the manner of ice, like a crystal, and it worships to be held and immediately it is vapid earth and is ground upon water. David says in the Psalter that it is all about the world and in all things, for in hard stones and iron sometimes sweet water knows all things and all is at his will and commandment. By the Son, Jesus Christ, you shall understand the water that is congealed hard and God and man who took the substance. and the Holy Ghost proceeded from the Virgin Mary and was born of her body, God who suffered the undeserved passion, was scourged and crucified, died, and was buried. On the third day, he rose from death to life, and after his holy Thursday, ascended into heaven and will come again at the day of judgment to judge the quick and the dead. By the snow you shall understand the Holy Ghost, for just as snow is but water and ice and light is full of God Almighty. And from him comes the Son, full of God, and from them both comes the Holy Ghost, full of God. This Trinity was known in the fullness of Christ as the Gospel relates. In the baptism of Christ, the whole Trinity was manifested: the Father in the person of Lord Jesus Christ was baptized in the waters of the Jordan, and all the people of the country around were baptized with him. And as they were in their presences, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove descended upon Christ and rested on him. And the Father spoke from heaven and said, \"You are my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.\" \"This is the Trinity who spoke in his person, and the Son was bodily in his person when John baptized the people, saying, \"Behold the Lamb of God.\" The Holy Ghost was seen in his person. Like a dove descending, these three are but one God in Trinity. Therefore, it was necessary for all Christian people to pray earnestly, so that we may have grace to have the persistent love to believe in the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, three persons and one God. We find that the mother of St. Edmund was appeared to him in a vision and placed in his hand. In the first was written \"Father,\" the Father, in the second \"Son,\" and in the third \"Holy Spirit.\" The Holy Ghost spoke and said to those figures, \"Take heed and learn what you may, and pay heed to this example. For just as a ring is round without beginning or end, so are the three persons in one God, but to ponder how it might be is folly for any man's wisdom.\"\" There upon sadly believed there upon, we read of a clerk who was greatly learned in divinity. This study closely intended to bring this into a book. Why God would be believed in the Trinity, and as he walked on a day studying this matter by the sea side, he was aware of a fair child sitting on the sea shore and holding a little shell in his hand, and therewith he took water out of the sea and cast it into a little pit. Then said this master to this child, \"What art thou, and he said, 'Sir, I am about to have all this water that is in the sea in this little pit.' Then said this master, \"Thou shalt never do it, pass it not by any man's power.\" \"Sir,\" said he, \"as soon shall I do this as thou art about to do.\" And anon the child vanished away. Then this master thought it was not God's will and left his studying in that matter, and thanked God highly. By this example we may see that it is not God's will that we should meddle in that matter but. swiftly believe in the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. Deny, by faith, the Trinity and the love of this person for the Trinity. Deny, through the works of mercy, come to this belief, doing Deny, through instigation, come to this belief, by doing works of righteousness. And you shall come to this belief, Father and Son and Holy Ghost. And you shall be crowned with a crown of everlasting joy and bliss, which brings us to the holy Trinity. Amen\n\nThis day is a high and solemn feast in holy church, the feast of the body of Christ. It is the feast of our Lord, whose own body is offered to the high Father in heaven at the altar in remission of our sins, to all Christ's people who live in this presence and charity. And great solace and help in relieving those who are in pains of purgatory there. This feast was founded. by a sacred command to man's soul and for the furthering of living to all Christian people in this present world, he ordained this present feast to be hallowed on the next day after the feast of the Holy Trinity for all Christians who wish to be saved. They must have a body bathed by the working of the Holy Ghost. Then, for this holy and better will to this holy sacrament and to do the service this day, he grants to all who are worthy, those who are truly penitent and shriven of their sins, and are in the church at evensong, matins, and mass for each day of pardon and for each hour of the day forty days of pardon and every day of the vigil. You shall understand that our Lord knew and willed that in the morning, he would suffer passion and death and depart from this world. He instituted a perpetual memory of his passion to abide with all Christians on earth. He took bread and wine and made his own flesh and blood. \"And he gave to his disciples, saying, 'Take this and eat; this is my body. And take this and drink; this is my blood. This do in remembrance of me. And he gave to all other priests the power to make my body and wine become the sacrament. Every priest has this power, whether good or bad; the sacrament cannot be impaired or damaged, but he who is a good man and a holy one helps greatly. He who does the office of the priesthood worthily and truly shall be glad and joyful that he was ever born. For our Lord has given a priest a gift and poured out mercy on him that he gave never to an angel in heaven, to make his own body into the form of bread.\" Therefore, a priest shall have more honor in heaven than any tongue can tell or heart think. He who is an evil-liver and knows himself in deadly sin and presumes to minister this worthy sacrament and will not mend himself may beware.\" Of perpetual damage with findings of hell in everlasting pain. Then shall he understand that he grants this sacrament to us for eternity in holy church for four reasons necessary for all Christian people. The first is for man's great help. The second for Christ's passion remembering. The third for great showing. And the fourth for great reward. Note and in particular for the ninth cause, the third is if a man dies on that day, he shall not die a sudden death. The seventh, as long as he hears that mass, he shall not grow old. The eighth, all his steps toward and from the church, his good angel reckons to his salvation. The ninth, all the while he holds the holy sacramental wicked spirits fle from him and have no power over him, however great a sinner he may be. This help and so we have from the holy ghost and from the sacrament here on earth, and at our last end, all Christian people will send after the priest. To come to God is to believe body and soul, and to receive Him knowing well that He believes it is the same flesh and blood that Christ took from our Lady Saint Mary and was born of her body, true God and man, and after suffered passion and death on the cross for all mankind, and laid in the tomb, and rose from death to live and now sits at His Father's right hand in heaven, and shall come again at the day of judgment and determine the quick and the dead, every man according to his deserving. This perfect belief all Christian people shall be armed and made strong to withstand the fiends that will come and assail between the body and the soul, for then shall the sacrament that a man has received in his life make him mighty and strong, that he shall set all the fiends at naught, and so overcome them. Another skill that the sacrament is brought to a man to ask mercy of Christ and remission of his sins, having full trust. Believe that Christ is ever ready to give mercy to those who ask with a contrite heart. A meek Lord shall never despise, and we may see an example of this when He hung between two thieves. For this reason, they were ordered to be dead, and one asked mercy with a meek heart and said, \"Domine, dona eis requiem in regno tuo,\" meaning, \"Lord, grant him peace in your kingdom.\" When he came into his kingdom, have mercy on him at his first asking, and he granted him mercy and more, saying, \"Hodie mecum eras in paradiso,\" or \"This day thou shalt be with me in paradise.\" The other, however, asked for no mercy because pride was in his heart, and therefore he was damned into hell. Our Lord and the same flesh and blood is shown to us every day in the Mass, and we should steadfastly believe this. He who does not believe it truly will not be saved at the day of judgment.\n\nTherefore, I tell you this example from the life of Wood. the bishop of Canterbury had with him clerks who did not perfectly believe in the sacrament of the altar and said they could not believe that the body and blood of Christ could be ministered in the mass. Then was this bishop sorry and earnestly prayed to God for their amendment. On a certain day when he was at mass and had made the fraction, he saw the blood fall from the ostensory into the chalice. He made a sign to the one who doubted not to come near, saying, \"That which has received Christ's body in your hands, we truly believe in it, and we beseech you to pray to Him for us, that He take no vengeance on us for our unbelief. And we cry meekly, mercy.\" And the ostensory then turned into the form of bread as it was before, and they were perfect men of belief thereafter. Another skill is that the sacrament is made in the chalice to make a noble sight thereof, so that the soul may have mind on Christ's passion. A Christian man from England went into the holy land and hired a heathen to be his guide. As they came into a beautiful forest, the Christian man marveled greatly that he heard no noise of birds and there he had great marvel and said to this heathen man, \"I marvel more than you that there is no song of birds in this wood than you think, this is the peace that you call passion, the great prophet died in it.\" see and then he saw every bow of the trees full of birds as flat as they had been spread on the cross. The birds have mind one Christ's passion and make mourning and sorrow most lasting damination to everlasting salvation by his passion.\n\nThe third cause is why the sacrament is used in the altar for a mass shroud. By the sight thereof, think on our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father in heaven who has but one Son that he loves, sparing not to send him down into this world to suffer passion and death and to shed his precious blood for making to buy us from the devil's bonds and to write a charture with his own precious blood of freedom for evermore to all mankind. So that a man forfeits not his charture by deadly sin but he that loves God will keep his charture for God asks thee but love, where he says thus. Damichi cor tuum et sufficit mihi. Son, yield me thy heart and it is thine now for me. Then take heed of this example.\n\nThere was an Earl of Venus was called Sir Ambrose, who loved the sacrament in abundance and might. When he lay sick and was about to die, he could not receive the sacrament due to casting. Then he was sorry and made dole and had his right side made clean and covered it with a fair cloak of shroud and laid God's body thereon. He said to the ostler, \"You know that I love you with all my heart and would willingly restore you with my mouth. I dare, and therefore, since I may not, I lay you on the place next to my heart, and so I show you all the love of my heart that I can and may. For I beseech the good Lord have mercy on me. The ostler went there and closed his eye.\n\nSo let us love the sacrament in our life and do it reverence and worship, and then at our last end, when we shall die and pass out of this world, it will comfort us and bring us to everlasting bliss. Thus the sacrament is used for great mercy giving. all that believe in me. For though it has the appearance of bread and the taste is flesh, it is quick and sembles dead; yet those who eat of it and believe in me will have everlasting life in the kingdom of heaven, as the gospel says. Whoever eats this bread will live forever and never die, and he who receives it and does not believe this shall be condemned at the day of judgment to everlasting pain. Augustine in person and by chance came into the presence of the Jew and the Cristen man. The Jew said to the Cristen man, \"If I had been you, I would not have eaten it,\" and then the Cristen man replied, \"You have eaten nothing this day, for I have eaten nothing but this.\" In the time of St. Gregory, there was a woman named Lacusa. She prepared bread for the pope and other priests to sing and serve the people. When the pope came to this woman to give her alms and said, \"Take God's body,\" this woman smiled and laughed. The pope, drawing back his head, placed the host upon the altar and turned to the woman Lacusa, asking, \"Why do you smile, woman, when you should receive Christ's body?\" She replied, \"Why do you ask all the people to pray for a miracle on my behalf? When they had prayed for a long time, St. Gregory went to the altar and found the host transformed into red flesh and bleeding. The woman cried out and said, \"Lord, now I cry for mercy. I believe that you are truly God and man and the Son of Heaven in the form of bread.\" Then St. Gregory asked the people to pray again. hit should turn a yen to breadlike appearance and so he did, and with the same ostensible he held this woman, Lacina, and therefore late we do all the worship that we may to the sacrament. Also, in devinery, there was a woman lying sick and was near dead, and sent after a holy person about midnight to have her rights. This man, in all the haste that he might, rose and went to church and took God's body in a box of ivory and put it in his bosom and went towards this woman. And as he went through a fair meadow that was his next way, it happened that his box fell out of his bosom to the ground, and he went forth and didn't notice and came to this woman and heard her confession. Then he asked her if she would be held and she said yes and sought the box and when he found it not, he was full sorry and sad and said, \"Go after God's body and come again to you.\" for the sore weeping for his simplicity,\nand so as he came to a stand and stripped himself all naked, and bent himself, and beat himself, and said thus to himself: O thou simple man, why hast thou lost thy Lord, God, thy maker, and thy creator? And when he had thus beaten himself, he donned his cloak and went forth. And then he was afraid of the pillar of fire that lasts from earth to heaven and he was all astonished by it, yet blessed and went there to, and there lay the sacrament fallen out of the bore into the grass, and the pillar shone as bright as any sun and stood still from God's body to heaven, and all the beasts of the forest came about God's body and stood in a compass around it, save on a black horse that knelt but on that one knee. Then he said: If thou art any best that may speak, I charge thee in God's name here present, in this form, tell me why thou kneelest but on thy one knee. Then he said: I am a fiend of hell. I will clean the text as follows:\n\n\"I will not kneel and yield, but I am made to render my will for it is written that every kneeling in heaven and on earth is to the worship of the Lord God. Why art thou like a horse? He said to make the people ready. And a donkey he went his way, he could not leave a byde. Then this man went forth to Good men and women and to holy church and worship this holy saint that day for three special virtues: one is for his great holiness in his deeds. The second for his good living. The third for his great compassion suffering. He was a man of holy living; for when he understood and heard of St. John the Baptist that he was preaching in the desert, he left all his worldly occupation and went to him and was his disciple. And so, on a day as Christ came walking by the way, and St. John Baptist saw him walking, he said to his disciples, 'Behold the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world! And when St. Andrew and another of his brother discples heard it, they followed Him.\" When he heard Christ preach, it pleased him so well that a man named Peter, his brother, went to hear Christ preach as well. They cast great love to God, and soon after, as they were in the Galilee sea fishing, Christ came and called them and a man, and they left their fishing ship and net and all they had, and followed Him ever after and were with Him until He ascended to heaven.\n\nAfter Saint Andrew preached among the people, on one day as he preached, there was a man among the crowd named Nicholas who had lived many winters in lechery. Yet, when he heard that the word of God was of such great virtue that it would put away all temptations of sin, he had a gospel written and carried it with him wherever he went, and with the power of it, he abstained from sin. But yet, on one day, by temptation of the devil, he fell from grace and went again to the brothel house, as he was accustomed to do before. wy\u2223men lokyd vp on hym they cryed oute on hym &\nseyd o thou olde sely man what doste thou here go home ayene for we see so many maruelous on the that we may not haue to do with the. Thanne this Nicoll be thoughte hym that he hadde the gospel vpon hym and a none he wente to seint an\u00a6drew and tolde hym all the cause and preyde seint andrew to prey for hym that his soule myghte be sauyd. Thanne seint andrew wolde neuer ete\u00a6ne dryncke tyll he wyste whethir Nicoll shuld be sauyd or no Thanne seint andrew fastyd .v. dayes brede and watyr and preyde besely nyght and day. Thanne come a voyce and seyd as thou haste faste and preyde make Nicoll to do the same and thanne he shall be saued. Than seint andrew bad Nicoll faste .v. dayes brede and wa\u2223ter and prey besely vnto god and so he dede and thanne come a voyce to seint andrew ayene and seyd thy preyours and thy fastyng hathe made Nicoll that was loste founde ayene and he shall be sau\nAlso anothir miracle that anothir yong man come to seint andrew in a tyme and seyd Previously, to him, Sir, my mother has long urged me to lie with her, and because I would not do her will, she accused me to the bishop and said that I would have committed the sinful deed with her. For I well knew that I would be dead and yet I would rather die than shame my mother in this way. Therefore, I beg you, pray for me that you may take my death patiently for the salvation of my soul. Then Saint Andrew went forth to his home, and I shall go with him. And so, come with the people and set him before the bishop. When his mother accused him, he said nothing but held his peace. Then Saint Andrew said, \"Innocent blood should not be shed without cause. This cursed woman, out of lust for her body, is about to condemn her own child to death. Vengeance will come to her. Then she said, 'Sir justice, ever sitting, he should not have had his way, he drew this young man to him for counsel and support.' Then the justice commanded to cast this young man into the water to drown him and to.\" Put Saint Andrew in prison until he learned what death he should die. Then Saint Andrew prayed earnestly to God for help and courage. A great thunder came, making all the people so afraid that they were willing to release Saint Andrew from prison. And even with it came a lightning, burning the mother of the young man in the sight of all the people. Thus was this man saved, and the justice was converted to Christian faith, along with many others, and believed in God and Saint Andrew thereafter, as you can see, he was holy in living.\n\nAlso, he was great in performing miracles. On one day, as he went by the seashore, he saw a drowned man thrown out of the water. Andrew prayed to God to restore him to life, and the man rose. Then Andrew asked him where he had drowned. He said, \"We were ten men going to hear about a holy man named Andrew, and as we were in the sea.\" There came a great tempest and drowned us all but we wished we had been cast to land, so that we might have been raised to life again. Then Saint Andrew prayed to God that all the bodies might come to us, and they did. And they rose up in various countries. Then Saint Andrew made and ordered them all to come to us. He then knelt down and prayed to God long for them until they were all raised to life. Then Saint Andrew made them all kneel down and thank God and preached them and taught them Christian faith and baptized them all. And when they were steadfast in the faith, he sent them home to their own country with great joy to them, and many other miracles he performed that are too long to tell. Thus you may see that he was mighty in miracles, raising so many men to life. Also, he suffered great passion for Christ, converting the wife of Egeus. And this Egeus was a great man and made much people do sacrifices and offerings to idols. but for Saint Andrew, they immediately seized him and tried to make him sacrifice, but he refused and steadfastly resisted them. Many examples caused both him and the people to worship God rather than the demons of hell. Then Egias was enraged and had Andrew seized and stripped naked. They beat him with scourges, and his entire body ran with blood. Then they bound his hands and feet and placed him on a cross, intending for him to suffer a long time or die. But when Andrew came to the place where the cross was, he knelt down and said, \"Save me, Lord Jesus Christ, I desire to be united with you, for I yield myself to my master, Jesus Christ, who died on the cross.\" Then Andrew stood up and took off his clothes and gave them to the tormentors, urging them to do as they were commanded in the name of justice. They bound him to the cross, hands and feet, and turned his head downward, and poured out his blood. Bartholomew burst out at every knot of the ropes and so he hung there for three days, preaching to the people. And so, moved by pity for him, the people begged Egeas to take him down or they would kill him. Then, out of fear of the people, Egeas came to take him down. Then Saint Andrew stood before him and said, \"Why have you come to me, Egeas? What do you want from me? Egeas knew well that he would have no power to take me down, for on this cross I will die and even therewith. Have mercy on me,\" he said. And so, in that moment, the ghost departed. And when Egeas saw and knew that he was dead, he went homeward. After that day, Egeas grew mad and soon after he died among all the people. And when Maximilla, his wife, heard of this, she took Bartholomew's body and buried it in a tomb. And from the tomb, manna and oil flowed forth, and by this the people of the country knew when it should be there and when there was great abundance. Whenever it shall be called forth, it is effective. A fully and when it shall be dear, this bishop loved St. Andrew well, and for the find could in no way bring him out of his purpose, he came to the bishop in the guise of a fair woman, praying him that she might speak with him in the counsel of confession. He granted it to her. \"Sir,\" she said, \"I am a knight's daughter and have been much cherished and nursed in great tenderness. For I see this world is but a vanity to trust upon, I have avowed chastity. Now my father would marry me to a worthy prince, and for I would not break my vow, I have come promptly, in poor array, and thus I have heard of your great holiness, and am come to have your counsel and succor and help.\" Wherefore I pray you, that you will order for me that the devil have no power to let me from my purpose. Then the bishop comforted her and bade that she should thank God that had set her in such a purpose, and said to her, \"Be secure, dear daughter.\" thou will daughter today you shall dine with me, and then we shall, with good advice, order things for you. For you will do well, sir, you said she left the people with no suspicion of bad rule, you said the bishop there had no charge. Plurima erimus & non soli (Latin: \"we will be many and not alone\"). For there will be so many in company that there will be no suspicion. Then she thanked him fair and was seated next to the bishop in a chair. And every time the bishop looked at her, he seemed greatly tempted by her, almost forgetting himself. Then suddenly a pilgrim came to the gate and beat loudly on it, causing all those in the hall to be startled by the noise. He cried out, \"Let me in, let me in.\" Then the bishop said, \"Let this man come in first and answer some questions. I myself am not able at this time.\" Then she said to the messenger, \"You ask me about a great miracle that God ever made on earth. When the pilgrimage was asked this question, he answered and said, 'A man's face is the greatest miracle, for all men and women who have ever been born should know one from another by some degree.' When he gave this answer, he was greatly commended. I see that he is wise,\" she said. \"Bid him give another answer to another question. Ask him whether he is earth or we are in him. Then he answered and said, 'There is a body in Christ's body, and our kind is earth. Therefore, where Christ's body is, there is earth, and it is higher than heaven.' When he had given that answer, he was well received and was bidden come in. 'Late him answer the third question,' she said. 'Ask him how far it is from heaven to hell.'\" When he was opposed to this question, he answered. \"Message the messenger again to the one seated in the chair before the bishop and ask her to give this answer, for she can do it better than I. When God is in the abyss, send word to the pilgrim that He will send help, just as Saint Andrew came and offered to succor him for the good love and service he rendered to him. He commanded him to preach this miracle to the people, so that they might see and know how graciously he helps all who pray to him. Therefore, let us worship and pray to him to be our succor and help against the enemy, now and forever.\n\nAMEN.\n\nGood men and women, on such a day you shall have the feast of Saint Nicholas, which is much revered in the holy church and especially for three reasons. The first reason is his meek demeanor. The second reason is his heavenly teaching.\n\nFirst, he was made humble, his father being Saint Epiphanius, his mother Saint Joan, called the Virgin. It is said that his and his mother's thoughts went to Saint Nicholas. And when he was born, they left him at the church door.\" In this chronicle, Nicolas, a man who had come to Gedyr and remained there, devoted himself to this one child whom God had sent them. They had made him Christian and named him Nicolas, although he kept the child's name, choosing instead to embody virtuous meekness and simplicity, without malice. While he lay in his cradle, he fasted and wept. He lived his entire life in a virtuous manner, and because of this child, children worshipped him before all others, for he was always meek without malice. Thus, all people prayed for him because of his meek demeanor. Furthermore, he became bishop of the city of Myre, which was sent from heaven. When the bishop died, all the bishops of the country came to Gedyr to choose another. None of them spoke, however, and they all urged him to rise early in the morning and go to the church door and make himself bishop, finding the one named Nicolas there. So, on the morrow, he went to the church door and found Nicolas. Then he said to him: What is your name, called Nicholas. The man with a humble head bowed and answered gently, saying Nicholas. Then the bishop named Philip replied and summoned him to the other bishops, declaring, \"Behold, this is he whom God has ordained.\" And so they made him bishop of Myra through heavenly acclamation. He also had great compassion for the sick and the poor, as his father and mother had left him with only meager provisions when they died. It happened that there was a rich man with three fair daughters, young women, but through misfortune he fell into poverty so that for great need he gave his eldest daughter to be a common woman. And so, after the second daughter, he could not find husbands for the others. And thus, by this means, he obtained their living and their inheritance, for he did not know how to leave due to the great poverty that he endured. When Nicholas heard this, he had great compassion for them all and came quietly one night to this man's house. window he cast a gold into this man's chamber. And on the morrow, when this man and found this gold not there with him, he married his eldest daughter. Then came Nicholas and brought another son after, and with her he married the second daughter. This man had great marvel how this gold came to be the third time and was wary to know its source. This man heard the gold fall at once. He went out and overtook Nicholas, and when he knew it was he who had helped him in his need, he knelt down and wanted to kiss his feet, but he would not allow it. Instead, he prayed him to keep counsel while he lived.\n\nAlso, another time men were in the sea on the verge of being drowned in a great tempest. They cried to God and Saint Nicholas, saying, \"Lord, king everlasting succor us, wretches.\"\n\nLord, king everlasting succor us, wretches.\n\nNicholas came and said, \"Cheerfully and so brought them forth safe and sound to land.\"\n\nAlso, there was in the crowd a great hunger, so much that the people were all but lost. Then, in that country, the fault of meager provisions occurred when Emperor's ships encountered a hazard. Saint Nicholas then went to them and begged them to give him fifty bushels of wheat from each ship to relieve the people and he would not take less than that, which they did. When the ships reached the emperor, they had all the corn they needed, and lacked nothing. Through his holy prayer, Oquam proved the sanctity of the wheat's increase. How marvelously the grace of God and this holy man's prayer multiplied and increased the wheat. From that wheat there was such great abundance that it fed and sustained all the people for three years after.\n\nAnother miracle involved two knights who were accused of treason against the emperor on a false charge and were commanded to be imprisoned, to be put to death soon after. They cried to God and to Saint Nicholas. Saint Nicholas came to help and comfort the night before they were to be dead. He came to the Emperor as he lay in his bed and said, \"Why have you unjustly condemned these knights to death? Rise up at once and deliver them. Wild beasts shall eat them instead.\" Then the Emperor said to him, \"Who are you that so boldly speak and threaten me?\" He replied, \"I am Nicholas, the bishop of Myra.\" The Emperor asked, \"Do you know any man named Nicholas, bishop of Myra?\" As soon as they heard this name, they fell to the ground and lifted up their hands, thanking God and Saint Nicholas. When they had told the Emperor about his life and how holy he was, the Emperor released them, and he begged the knights to pray to Nicholas no more but to pray to God for him and for his realm. Thus, you may see that he has great compassion for those in distress. After Saint Nicholas had died, he prayed, god sent him an angel to tend to his soul. And when he saw this angel come, St. Nicholas lowered himself and said, \"In your hands.\" So he yielded up the ghost, and when he was near the end of his life, a well of oil sprang up at the head of his tomb, healing all sores. Then, forty-eight knights, ordered to go there, arrived by ship and, hearing that the eye of Mirre had been destroyed where St. Nicholas lay, they found his bones swimming in oil. They took them up and brought them to the city of Barus with great solemnity. After St. Nicholas' death, they chose another bishop in his place, but he was soon deposed from his bishopric due to the enmity of the people. The oil then ceased to flow. A Christian man borrowed some money from a Jew, and the Jew said he would lend none unless he had something to pawn. The Christian man said he had nothing but St. Nicholas, and the Jew agreed to lend him on that condition. Then the Christian man swore truly that he would repay this money any day and departed. When the day for payment came, the Jew asked for his money, and the Christian man said he had paid him. The Jew replied that he had not, and that he would take the law into his own hands and swear an oath on a book. When the day came for them to go to law, the Christian man made the Jew a holy staff and put the gold in it. When he was to swear while he went to the altar, he took the Jew's staff with the gold in it to hold. By this means, he swore that he had paid the Jew and, after he had sworn, took his staff back from the Jew and went homeward. As he was going home, Once upon a time, a man was traveling along the way, weary and sleepy. Then, a cart racing by ran over him and killed him, shattering his staff and spilling out the gold inside. The people saw this as retribution for the falsehoods he had committed and ordered the Jew to return his money. The Jew was sorry and said he would only do so if they granted him the chance to repent by reading from the book of Saint Nicholas.\n\nThis deceased man was brought back to life by the intercession of Saint Nicholas, Bishop, as a divine sign indicated. The Jew, in awe of Saint Nicholas' miraculous powers, made an image of him and placed it on his ship to protect his goods while he was away. However, thieves from the sea came and stole his goods and carried away the image along with them. When this Jew returned home and saw all his goods were gone, he was very angry with St. Nicholas and took a staff, saying, \"Behold, all that I placed in your care I trusted, and you have stolen it from me. Therefore, you shall pay every day until you have returned my goods.\" The thieves, having departed, St. Nicholas came to them and said, \"Why have you treated me so harshly?\" They replied, \"Who are you that speak thus? I am Nicholas, the servant of God, whom you have beaten so severely.\" He showed them how sorely he had been beaten for the good they had taken from him to keep, and he commanded them to return this good that same night. And the next day they did so. When the Jews saw the good man bringing his goods, he was immediately christened and became a holy man. Every year, on St. Nicholas Day, for the great love he had for St. Nicholas and because of a son he had who was a clerk, he made a great feast on St. Nicholas Day. It happened once on St. Nicholas Day that he summoned many clerks for the kindness of a pilgrim and offered them some good for God's sake. The good man who organized the feast took his son Emms to bring the pilgrim. The child went to the gate, and the pilgrim was gone. And when he was a good way from his father's place, the find (Fate?) caught the child and killed him. When the father heard of this, he was full of sorrow and took the child and laid him in his chamber, trying to console himself. He said, \"St. Nicholas, is this the reward and payment I shall have for the great worship I give you?\" Immediately, the child rose from death to life. A man once prayed to God and Saint Nicholas, thankful and glad, for a child. He promised that if he had a child, he would take it to the church of Saint Nicholas and offer a cup of gold. When his child was of reasonable age, his father made the gold cup, which pleased him so much that he had another one made. They then set out towards the church of Saint Nicholas, passing over the sea. The father instructed his son to take up some water with the cup from the sea. The child attempted to catch water in the cup and it filled from his hand into the sea. He then caught the cup again and filled it with water from the sea, causing him to be drowned. The father grieved deeply but continued his pilgrimage to the church of Saint Nicholas. offerid vp his couppe and sette it on the Auter anone hit was caste from the auter and he sette hit ayene & hit was caste ferther and yit the thride tyme he set te hit ayene and thanne hit was caste moche fer\u00a6ther Thanne come the childe with y\u2022 othir coup\u2223pe in his honde and seyd to all the peple that seint nicolas toke hym vp by the hande whanne he fill in to the see and latte him saue oute. Thanne was the fadyr gladde and of fered vp there bothe cou\u00a6pes and wente home a yene with grete ioye and myrthe.\nThere was anothyr ryche man that be prey\u2223ores of seint Nicolas hadde a childe and he ma\u00a6de a feyre chappell in wor\u00a6shippe of god and seint Nicolas. So hit hap\u2223ped on a day this childe was takyn wiand ladde in to anothir straynge countre & there he was in seruice in the kynges courte And as it happed on a seint Ni\u00a6colas day he be thoughte hym of the grete myrthe and solempnite that was made that day in his fa\u2223dres chapel at home and he was heuy and sikyd wounder sore. Thanne the hyng herde ther of Thanne seyd The king Nicholas, rejoice, for you must stay here with us. Immediately, a great wind arose and struck the house, shattering it. The child was found with the cup in his hand and was placed before the gate of the chapel, where his father was celebrating his feast. Great joy and merriment ensued from this miracle. Some books say that this child was from Normandy and was taken captive beyond the sea. He was beaten up on St. Nicholas Day and put in prison. And once, when he was beaten up on St. Nicholas Day and put in prison, he wept profusely. Then he fell asleep. When he awoke, he was in his father's church.\n\nO good men and women, on such a day you shall have the conception of our lady, which day the holy church commemorates and mentions in honor of the conception of our lady for three special reasons. The first is for her father's honor. The third part he kept for himself and his household. When he was thirty-two years old, for Anne's great kindness, he married her. During their twenty-two years of marriage, Anne never displeased him in any way, night or day. She was so gentle to him, for they were both good and holy, yet God sent them no fruit from their bodies but barrenness. Therefore, they made a vow to God that if He would send them a child, they would offer it up to Him in the temple to serve Him night and day.\n\nOne day, as Ioachym went with his neighbors to the temple to perform his offerings, the bishop who was present was Isaac. Ioachym openly declared before all the people, \"I, Ioachym, am not worthy and have no haste to make rings with others, for God has sent fruit in Jerusalem. Ioachym was greatly dismayed and distressed by this rebuke. He went home weeping, took his shepherd gently with his ship, and set sail for a far country among mountains and hills, intending to live there for the rest of his life and never return to Anne, his wife, again. Anne was sorrowful and prayed to God, \"Lord, I am barren and have no fruit, and now my husband is gone from me. I do not know whether he is alive or dead. Lord, have mercy on me.\" Then, as she prayed, an angel came down and comforted her, saying, \"Fear not, for you shall have a child in your old age. There was never one like you, and there never will be.\" Anne was afraid of this angel's word and begged Ioachym to take a lamb and offer it as a sacrifice. sacrifice to God and he did so, and when he had finished, from midday till evening time, he lay on the ground in his prayers, thanking God with all his heart. Then on the morrow, as the angel instructed, he went homeward to Anne, his wife, with his sheep. And when he was near home, the angel appeared to Anne and instructed her to go to the gate that was called the golden gate and wait for him there. Then she was glad and took her maidens with her and went to the gate and there she met Joachim and said, \"Lord, I thank you. I was a widow and now I am a wife. I was barren and now you shall have a child. I was wooing and weeping, and now you shall be in joy. And soon after Anne conceived, and when she was pregnant, Our Lady was called Mary, as the angel had commanded before.\n\nThen after her pregnancy, she was taken to the temple and left there among other virgins to serve God both night and day. Then she was so meek among all other virgins in all her living that all the virgins called her Mary. A queen of Virgins, she is the meekest of all saints we read about in holy writ. There was a lord's man who had amassed much wealth from his lord, being his rent collector. He went to meet his lord. Along the way, there were men set to rob him. As he had to pass through the wood, he thought he had not said \"Our Lady\" as was his custom. He knelt down and began to pray. Then Our Lady appeared like a fair maiden and placed a garland on his head. At each ear, she placed a rose in the garland, so bright that the entire wood was illuminated by it. When he had finished, he kissed the earth and continued on his way. Then the robbers came and took him and led him to their master, who had seen all these happenings. He asked him, \"What woman placed the garland on your head?\" The man replied, \"Sir, I well know you are a lord's man.\" A king in England named William the Conqueror sent the abbot of Ramsey to the king of Denmark on a message. When he arrived at the sea, a darkness and tempest came, and he and those with him were in danger of being drowned. They prayed urgently to God and to our Lady for help and salvation. The abbot prayed devoutly to God and to our Lady. Then a fair woman appeared to them and said, \"If you want the intercession of our Lady in worship.\" that is three days after St. Nicholas day, she will be ready to help and support you at this time. Then she said the same thing as in the Nativity: turn the Nativity into the Conception. The abbot said it should be done with full good will. Immediately the tempest and all was calm, and they set sail and the abbot delivered his message and returned safely. When he came home, he told the king this vision. The king had him preach it throughout the realm.\n\nThere was also a secular canon who once went over water to commit adultery with a woman. As he was about to begin saying the Our Lady's matins and was at the invitatory (which is \"Ave Maria\"), there the devil cast him down and drowned him. Then our Lady came and said, \"Why do you tempt me to take this?\" A man found us, saying he was coming to do a vowel act. They said our lady was in his service, and they restored him to life again, asking him not to sin anymore and to honor her conception. He did so and became a good man for the rest of his life.\n\nThere was also a clerk who every day used to say the service of our lady. When it happened that his friends counseled him to marry and arranged his wedding, he thought he had not said the lady's service. Then he made all the people leave the church while he said his service. Kneeling down, he said his service until he reached an anthem of our lady: \"Quam pulchra es amica mea.\" Then our lady appeared to him and said, \"Why do you say that I am fair and honest? Why write such things and leave me and take another?\" Then he said to our lady, \"What do you want me to do? If you will leave your fleshly wife and serve my son and me, I will be your spouse and\" thou shalt have with me a crown of everlasting life in the kingdom of ever god and his blessed mother Saint Mary and all holy saints in heaven bring us all these, now and ever Amen.\n\nGood men and women, such a day you shall have Saint Thomas's day, that was Christ's apostle. You shall fast the evening and do him worship particularly for three reasons. The first for the strengthening of our belief, and for great wounds in his way and great miracles in his day. This holy apostle strengthened our faith so that he left no doubt when the disciples said that our Lord had risen from death to live and they had seen him and spoken with him. Thomas said he would not believe it until he had put his hand into his side into the wound that the spear had made. Eight days after, when all the disciples were gathered and Thomas was absent, Jesus Christ came bodily to them and said, \"Peace be with you.\" Then to Thomas, \"Put your hand into my side.\" side into the wound made by the spear that struck me in the heart. And be not reluctant. And remain steadfast in your faith, and do not waver. Then, when Thomas had done so, he cried out and said, for great wonder, \"Dominus meus et Deus meus.\" My lord, my god, I believe that you are truly god and man.\nThen our lord said to him, \"Benedicite qui credidistis et non vidistis.\" Blessed are those who believe and have not seen. For now you have said that you believed, but the delay of Thomas brought us to a sadder faith and to the blessing of our lord Jesus Christ. This is spoken of by Saint Gregory and of Thomas of India. You have helped more to strengthen our faith, who would not believe until you had felt his wound, than Mary Magdalene, who believed at first sight. Strengthen our faith and our belief, that we may never waver nor have doubt. Also, Thomas experienced many marvels and great wonders that were in his eyes.\nIt happened that a king of India sent his messenger, Abbanus. die. Requiring artificium to seek some crafty man into the country of Caesar, to seek a carpenter who could make him a palace to his pleasure. Then our Lord Jesus Christ met with this Absalom and sent him to Thomas in India. When Thomas and Absalom were passed the sea, they came into a city where the king's daughter was wedded that same day, and all manner of people were commanded to come. Thomas and Absalom came in and were seated to eat among others. But Thomas ate not, for his thoughts were ever of God and had no lust to eat. Then came a butler to Thomas and struck him on the cheek and bade him eat. Then Thomas said to him, \"I will not eat until he who struck me is before me.\" And a lion met with him and attacked him and drank his blood and ate of his body. Then came a black dog and caught the hand that struck Thomas and brought it into the hall in the sight of all the people and laid it down before Thomas. Then was there a woman who understood Thomas. wordis and anyone kneeled down to Thomas and cried out, \"Thou art God or one of His disciples, for as thou wilt, so it is then. The king prayed to Thomas to bless his daughter and her husband. Then Thomas was glad. Therefore, blessed Thomas began to preach and told them of our Jesus Christ. Thomas turned the man who was married on the same day from his wife and made him bishop of the same city, and his wife a nun. They were martyrs for Christ's sake. Then Thomas went forth into India to the king to make him a palace to his pleasure. When Thomas came to the king, he was glad and delivered Thomas a great sum of gold to make a palace with. Then the king rode forth in the meantime. And when Thomas should have made this palace, he thought it was better to make a palace in heaven than in India. When he heard how Thomas and Abbanus had done, he would have put them to death. He died, but it happened that his brother was dead at the same time. Therefore, he put them both in prison until he had buried his brother. Then, as God would have it, his brother came back to life and told the king that Thomas had made a palace for him in purgatory and begged the king for it. The king took counsel and said, \"I would see this palace in purgatory made with gold and precious stones and cloth of gold.\" Then the king took Christianity and thousands with him. When the bishops saw that the king and so many others sought his law and turned to Christianity, they were so angry with Thomas that one of them said he would avenge his god and struck Thomas through the body with a spear and killed him. Christian people buried him in a crystal tomb, and there God worked many miracles for him. Hand who were in Christ's company would never enter the tomb but always remain outside. In his teaching and preaching, he assigned the Twelve virtues, the first being to believe in God. Whenever he said \"Confite,\" he took a branch of a vine and put it in the hands of Thomas outside the tomb. Then he went to mass, and the branch bore grapes, and at that time the Gospel was read, the grapes were ripe. The bishop took the grapes and wrung the wine into the chalices, and sang with the same wine and hosted the people. And whenever any man or woman came who was not worthy to receive this host, the hand closed to it and would not open until he was shriven clean, and it would then open. If any people were in debt, they were brought before Thomas' tomb, and the cause was heard. Then the hand would turn to him who was in the right, and they were reconciled. Thus Thomas proved our belief and did many other things. In his days, John Chrysostom reports that Thomas came to the country where the three kings of Colyn were, and Thomas christened them because they had worshiped God in their birth. Therefore, Thomas taught them the faith and the belief in Christ, the belief that we may be saved. Godly men and women, as you hear and see, the holy church makes mind and mention of the great joy and my lord, the blessed birth of our Lord Jesus Christ, very God and man, who was born on this day from his mother Mary, in solace for all mankind. But in particular, for three reasons, He gave this to men of good will and to light those in sin, and to draw us to Him. First, He was born to give men of good will these things. I can prove this, for when He was born, angels sang, \"Gloria in excelsis Deo &c.\" Joy be to God in heaven and on earth to men of good will.\n\nAt midnight, our Lord was born for thee. Kindly everything was in peace and rest within Him, showing that He was and is the Prince of Peace. He came to make peace between God and man, and between God and man, and between man and man. For the true mediator between God and man, He took on both nature and kind, and was truly both God and man. Through His mediation, He moved the love of God to man so deeply that the Father in heaven spared not His own but sent Him into this world to buy back mankind with His precious blood, through His great meekness, to enjoy paradise which man had lost through unrighteousness.\n\nThus, He made peace between God and man, between God and man, and between man and man. For when angels saw that the Lord was angry with man for his unrighteousness, for it is a sin that angels hate greatly. Therefore, they kept the gates of paradise and would not let any soul come in until they said, \"Our Lord, born of human kind.\" Then, an angel, out of love for our Lord, worshipped mankind and spoke kindly to mankind as to shepherds who kept them. Sheep in the country, they were to go to the city of Bethlehem and there they should find a child born and lay him in a manger and do him homage. And ever since angels have been friendly towards man and humbly have shown reverence to mankind for the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ. Thus he made peace between angels and man. Also he made peace between man and man, for at the time when our Lord would be born, he made such great peace that throughout the world, where there were kingdoms and countries in dispute and warring with one another, there was then such great peace. The Emperor Octavian, who was called Octavian, ruled over Rome and had jurisdiction over the whole world. He reigned for thirty winters, and a mandate was sent out from Rome to all peoples, commanding them to go to the city from which he drew lineage and lay a penny on his head and offer it up in acknowledgement. Joseph, our lord's husband, was summoned to appear before the Emperor of Rome. He had to go to Bethlehem with other people for the offering, but he lacked the money to do so. He took an ox with him to sell at the city to make the necessary funds. And so, they mounted her on an ass and set off. When they arrived at Bethlehem, the city was so crowded that Joseph and our lady could find no lodging but turned into a cave between two houses where the people of the country kept their horses and asses and other animals when they came into town for the market. There they found a manger, and they placed the ox and the ass there. They stayed there all that night. And just before midnight, our lady asked Joseph to go into the town and look for a midwife when the time came for her to be delivered. She asked him if anyone else should be born before her who would be greater than he. Then, at that time, day Sybill looked into the sun and there she saw a circle of gold around the sun, and in the middle of the circle, a beautiful maiden and a child in her arms with a crown of gold. When Sybill had shown this to the Emperor, she said to him, \"This child shall be greater than those are or ever were or ever will be. Therefore, do him homage and reverence.\" Then the emperor took incense and did homage to him and ordered all the people to do the same and to call the child their god and him but a man like others. Thus, all Christian people may learn to do homage and serve this child this day. And therefore, the third mass this day is said at midday, signifying that Christian people should come and offer in the worship of this child and his mother and acknowledge this child as their lord and their god, and each man should come to him for love and not for fear. And therefore, the office of the mass this day. A child is born to us, he says, not a man, but grace and mercy for all Christian people should be bold and not fear to come to him. In tokening that same day that Christ was born in Bethlehem, a well of water in Rome turned and ran oil all that day, showing that the well of grace and mercy was born that day, which should give mercy and grace to all who would come to him and ask for it humbly and reverently. We read of a woman who was defiled by lechery and almost despaired in fear. For when she thought of the sternness of Christ's judgment and the severity prepared for such sinners as she was, and thought of Christ's passion, she thought herself unworthy of him, and yet he suffered so much for her. Then she thought of how children are born. They never showed such rage and never sought such great vengeance as lightly as they would see and give this woman a cry for Christ's child. She heard a voice high in the air and said, \"Thy trespass is forgiven the Amen.\"\n\nGood men and women, such a day you shall have a high day and a holy feast in the church of St. Stephen the martyr, who was the first martyr to suffer death for God's sake after Christ's ascension. To increase your devotion to this holy martyr, I will tell you some things about what he suffered for Christ's sake, as the book of Acts relates in the Acts of the Apostles. After the ascension of our Lord, he was kept in heaven. The apostles' labor was all to preach and teach the word of God to Christian people. And since they were too few to serve all the people in Rome, they chose six holy men and good living ones to help. In God's service, Saint Stephen was one of His deacons, the first and wisest, filled with grace and might of the Holy Ghost. He performed many miracles and marvelous acts among the people. Despite this, a man once argued with him, attempting to engage him in disputation. Unable to present false witness against him, they resorted to using deceit. But when Saint Stephen saw and recognized their malice, he considered them to be of three kinds: those who shamed in disputation, those who feared revelation, or those who prayed to holy oracles.\n\nFirst, he addressed those who shamed in disputation. For when they began to dispute with him, he was so full of the Holy Ghost that they had no power or might to refute him. Consequently, he overcame them in all matters and proved their arguments false. Therefore, he declared himself ready to take death in the face of all that he had said and put them to shame in a great way. clerks and knew the law and the prophecy to great shame and treachery. But yet they would not leave him, but always stood by him.\nBut he was so full of the Holy Ghost that he proved this, saying, \"Despite great reason and truth, yet they would not believe it, for all that the Holy Spirit spoke in her heart, and yet for all that, they would not believe in their conscience. They did a wrong and there, as they saw the community turn to the faith for words and miracles that God showed in her sight, yet they stood by him and set God's miracles at naught through malice and enmity of their cursed hearts, and by no other reason of scripture. And so they troubled her heart within him and grated with her teeth for anger, thinking they might overcome him with disputation. Then they sought if they might take him with some word of Christ's death whereby they might have a cause to put him to death. Then St. Stephen lifted up his eyes into heaven and saw open heavens. And he saw Heaven open and our Lord Jesus Christ sitting on the right hand of the Father, ready to help him. And there with His face shone as bright as it had been an angel of Heaven. But when they heard him speak as if where they could, they stopped their ears as if they had heard him speak false slander of God, and so they dragged him out of the city to stone him to death as for a blasphemer. Then they took two young men who could throw stones best and took off his clothes and laid him at the feet of a young man named Saul, and afterward was Saint Paul. Then when Saint Stephen saw that he could not see their malice revealed, he turned to devout prayers, yet it would not be. And they hurled stones at him and smote out his brain, and then he cried to God and said, \"Lord, do not let this be, but let it be to me as you will.\" Now take heed of his burning love for God, which he prayed more devoutly for his enemies than for himself. In this he gave an example to all. Christians are to be in charity with one another and pray for their enemies and those who persecute them and cause them distress. Pray for your enemies that they may martyr you with any distress and suffering. If you suffer patiently, you are a martyr before God. There are three kinds of martyrdom, and St. John the Evangelist would have been one had he had the passion but not the will. The innocents suffered passion and not the will, but not against their will. Thus, a man can be a martyr even if he does not shed his blood, when he suffers great wrong from cursed people and thanks God for it and prays for his enemies devoutly in pure charity.\n\nNow take heed and you shall see how these three were persecuted and prayed for their enemies. St. John, when he went to war, often told those who led him, \"Love one another.\"\n\nThe innocents, because they were so young that they could not speak yet, showed love by signs. They laughed and played with their hands when they saw the persecutors. knights came with him, displaying many fair miracles on his behalf. There was an honest man who had seven sons and three daughters. On one day, all of them angered their mother at once, and in great anger she cursed them all together. At that time, a man named Palida came into the church of St. Stephen. There they heard people tell how devoutly St. Stephen prayed for his enemies, who had martyred him at the none. They knelt down and prayed to St. Stephen earnestly for his help, and at the none they fell asleep in sight of all the people and were healed. The next day they followed after all his other brothers and brothers.\n\nAnother miracle St. Austin relates is that there was a senator of Rome in the same chapel. houses bonded her in to her own country and prayed the bishop that she might have them. Then the bishop brought St. Stephen's bones and her husband's bones to her and said, \"I do not know your husband's bones from St. Stephen's bones,\" and she was glad and said, \"I know my husband's bones well now,\" and took St. Stephen's bones in passing. And a noise they heard demons cry in the air and said, \"Woe, woe is us for Stephen, he torments us and burns us bitterly.\" Therewith resided a great tempest and drowned for great fear cried to St. Stephen, and a noise the tempest said, \"Thou cursed prince, our master, neither we nor he may escape this burning ship.\" But then God's angel was ready and drowned the demons in the ground and said, \"God's servant comes that was stoned to death with the Jews.\" And then in worship of St. Stephen, the people made a church and laid his bones.\n\nGood friend is such a day. You shall have a high esteem in the holy church, wherefor all holy church makes mention of the special thing that the Lord gave to him for any other of his disciples. Our Lord gave him grace to keep his mother and our Lord showed him his favor. He gave him grace to keep his virginity, that is maidenhood. For this story tells and the people have opened when John should marry Mariamne, Cristcald, he came and saw him, and John left the world's vanities and followed our Lord and so kept himself clean maiden till he passed out of this world. In proving of this, Dominican the Emperor of Rome heard the people tell that John preached in a country that was called Asia, and there John made to build many churches. And when the Emperor heard that, he sent after John and had him put in a brass ton full of seething oil. And when John had long endured therein, all the people thought that he had been all to sodden and dead. Then, Emperor opened the tomb and when the tomb was opened, John came out, bearing wounds all over his body. Another hard torture he had undergone on a day. John saw a temple of Jupiter and was filled with awe. Then he prayed to God to destroy it and the idol within it, ordering the bishop's men to release two prisoners who were sentenced to drink the poison and they were dead immediately. John said, \"If you give poison to drink, you shall call upon my God.\"\n\nJohn took the poison and blessed it, and drank from it. He was never the worse but rather seemed the better, as he was clean from sin, so he was clean from all trace of the poison. The bishop refused to believe until he had seen these two men rise up and said, \"Jesus Christ, the apostle sent me to you and commanded that you should rise up in God's name and renounce idolatry.\" And then the bishop, along with many others, was baptized in the name of Christ and John christened them. After the bishop became a fully holy man, John had the grace to keep both body and soul clean and was a martyr before God in his steadfastness against sin. He was also the keeper of the Virgin Mary, for when our Lord saw the great purity in John before all others, he said to John, \"Behold your mother,\" and took Mary into John's care. Our Lord then said to his mother, \"Behold your son,\" and took both Mary and John to each other. And when our Lord was dead and laid in his tomb, John took our Lady home with him into his house and kept her until our Lord's resurrection. And when our Lord was seated in heaven, he kept our Lady in the same chamber as long as she lived. And John also had the grace of knowing the identity of Christ, for he was the first to recognize our Lord when he sat at the Last Supper out of great love for him. Had to our lord Jesus Christ, he laid his head on Christ's breast, and in the same way that a man lays his body down at a well and drinks it full of water, so John drank his soul full of ghostly wisdom at Christ's breast. And at the same time, our lord showed him all his privacy before all others. Since he was old and would not leave to preach the word of God, the Emperor exiled John alone into the island of Patmos. There, God showed him the Apocalypse of the world and of the day of judgment. But afterward, again into the city of Ephesus, for there he was Bishop, and he came to the door. And there was a widow named Drusiana who was dead and laid on a bier. Then John saw much weeping from the people, and then he said, \"Arise, Drusiana, and make me some food.\" And she rose and went.\n\nAt a time there were two young men preaching about John, they sold all the goods that they had. We were with John, for they were rich men, and as they came to the city of Parma, their servants, who were poor men, met them. Then, through the temptation of the finders, they were persuaded and John knew their purpose and their hearts, and he said he saw that you were tempted and made to think that your purpose was to serve God, but go to the wood and either of you bring with you a board of small years, and they did so. Then, through John's prayer, God turned the years into gold, and then John said to them, \"Now take this gold and be as rich as you were before, and know well that you have lost the kingdom of heaven. Then it happened that there was a dead man, and the mother of him saw John and fell down on her knees and begged him to raise her son to live as he had raised the widow Drusiana. Then she begged John to pray to God, and this dead man arranged for them and how they had lost it. And then the mother told them this.\" of the joy of paradise and of the pains of purgatory & of hell how strong and how horrible they were and how glorious the place was ordained for them and how sorry their good angels were for they had lost that glorious bliss of heaven and how much joy the demons made of the tormenting of them. Then the same men were sorry and cried to John and begged him to pray to God for them and wept sore. John saw them weeping for themselves and felt compassion and granted them penance. When he had done so immediately, the gold turned into eyes and afterwards they became holy men.\n\nAnother holy revelation John had shown by the providence of God, it happened one day he saw a child that was like one about to be a man. John brought him to a bishop and bade him keep the child and teach him, for in time coming he would be a man and so this bishop kept him. When he came to manhood and grew in company of and in a while after he was a leader among them. Then the revelation of God John knew well. It is written in the life of St. Edward the Confessor that, as he went in a procession at the consecration of the church, St. John appeared to him in the likeness of a pilgrim and prayed the king for St. John's love and the angel's favor, for the king loved St. John well. However, unfortunately, the king had nothing ready there at the time.\n\nyet now and come to the bishop and ask him where this child was. The bishop told him. Then John blamed him and said that he had misgoverned the child. The old John was not mighty enough to handle matters there as they should be. When they saw John at once, he fled away. Then John pursued him and cried, \"Quid fugias, O fili mi? Thou, my son, why didst thou flee from thy father and speak with me, thy father, who is old and may not well go? Then at last this maid bade him so that he left his folly and afterward was so holy a man that he became bishop after him. Thus John had revelation from God this proved.\n\nIt is written in the life of St. Edward the Confessor that, as he went in a procession at the consecration of the church, St. John appeared to him in the likeness of a pilgrim and begged the king for St. John's love and the angel's favor, for the king loved St. John well. However, unfortunately, the king had nothing ready there at the time. as he took a ring from his finger and gave it to him. And Saint John had the ring for seven years after that. Then Saint John appeared to two knights of the king who were beyond the sea, toward Jerusalem, and asked how the king fared. He gave him a great greeting and took the ring and asked the king for whose love he had given it, and bade him make ready, for he would die soon. And he did so.\n\nAnother fair reveler Ihesu came to him with his disciples and said:\n\nDeny self,\nCome, my well-beloved servant, for now it is time that thou come and eat with thy brethren in my house or in my feast. Then John rose up to him on Sunday, and as he might speak, he said to him who led him thus:\n\nIn faith, be steadfast and steadfast in the faith, and fervent in the commandments of God. Then one of them said to him, \"Why do you say this to us often?\" And he replied, \"If you love me and keep my commandments, you will abide in my love.\" He commanded them to make him a grave before the altar, and when it was made, he went in and then such a light appeared around him for a great while that no man could see him. And when this light was gone, the grave was filled with manna and was sealed up, and he was taken away into the bliss of heaven that never shall have an end, bringing us all to him who died on the cross.\n\nGood friends called innocents, that is to say, those without sin, for they did no sin; for God is greatly and especially merciful to proud people doing them wrong. These innocents did no sin from birth. I could easily kill them here without shame and die without blame, and they were baptized in their own blood at home, and some in their mothers' arms. The holy church sings and reads in the worship of these innocents today, for they were only two years old and therefore were not ashamed of their own shape, for they were not defiled with any spot of sin. But the sin they had from the drawte of the sword. Children of our father Adam and Eve. For Adam and Eve were in the same way in paradise, the state of innocence, before they were naked. But they were not ashamed of her shape all the while they were without sin. But as soon as they had committed sin, they saw her own shape and were ashamed of it, and covered her shape with leaves from a fig tree. Right so when sin begins to take root in a child, innocence departs from him; for he knows the difference between good and evil and leaves the good and does the evil, then he is no longer innocent. But these children did not live long enough to know that one from the other. We were slain with them in the age of innocence, where we lived our life without shame and blame. For King Herod, the king of Judea, had them killed without deceit. For when the three kings came to King Herod and said to him, \"Obi, king of a country far off, came to inquire about the child who was born king of the Jews, for we saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.\" Herod asked them: his clerks were to be present at the birthplace of this child and they said it would be in Bethlehem. Then King Herod told them to go there and worship Him and return to him so that he might also go and worship Him. And so the kings went there and worshiped Christ. After they had completed their offerings to Christ, they returned home again. The angel had commanded them to do so in their sleep. Then King Herod was filled with wonder and immediately ordered to kill Christ. He left all his purpose of worshiping Christ at that time and rode to Rome. He had the better of his sons and returned home again with more worship than before. But he still thought of finding a way to kill Christ, as He had come to human state and would have taken away his kingdom. Then he sent a soldier and had him kill Christ. all the children in Bethlehem and the countryside who were under two years old and were born on that day were slaughtered. King Herod was going and coming, and for this reason he ordered that all who were under two years old in Judea be killed. But an angel appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, \"Take the child and his mother and flee to Egypt, and stay there.\" So he did. In this way, these children were killed without blame and they were not ashamed of their own appearance. They were baptized at home in their own blood and not in any font. Therefore, you shall understand that there are three forms of baptism: one is in water, as we are baptized in the font; another is as these children were baptized in their own blood, and a thousand martyrs more who shed their blood for Christ's sake. The three baptisms are in the faith in the. whiche all patriar\u00a6kes & prophetes & othyr holy faderis that were be\u00a6fore the incarnacione of oure lord ihesu criste y\u2022 beleued verely in the co\u00a6myng of crisce the were cristoned in the feythe Thus ye may see what enmyte this tirtrespa\u2223ced not to hym nor to none othir. There wep\u2223te many a modir for ther children at that tyme but god wroughte full feyre for hem & that tyraunte shewde enmyte & hit fille on him selfe for as he par\u00a6tyd an appell with the same knyffe he slewe him selfe Thus he was glad to shede blode giltelese. & there for atte the laste he shedde his owne, blode.\nFor he that is with oute mercy & euer vengeable ofte tyme vengeaunce fal lithe on hym selfe And he that loueth to do mer\u00a6cy shall haue mercy.\nAnd this I may preue by ensample.\nWe fynde in the lyffe of seint Siluestre how Co\u0304\u00a6stantyne the Emperour was mesell and by cou\u0304\u00a6sell of his lechis he made to gadyr iij. thowsand children for to be sleyne & all her blode shulde be gadered in to a\ntill hit were ridyng in his chayre. but whan he come \"nygh there as the mothers of the children were the mothers who wept and cried, asking the emperor what women were making that wretched mention. The people replied they were the mothers of the children, who should be put in good stead. Glad and merry, they took their children with great joy and went home. Then the night after, as this emperor lay in his chamber with his wife and their children for sent after St. Sylvester, so must we all Amen.\n\nGood men and women such a day you shall have seen the law of this land. This holy maiden St. Thomas was born in the city of London, and her name was Gilbert, who was sheriff of London. Then afterward he ordained himself and went into and rode, whether he would bring himself out of this sickness. He did so.\n\nGilbert came home to England, and when this woman saw her time, she came after and met in London at the church of St. Paul. Gilbert made the bishop christen her, and afterward for them to marry each other. Gilbert gave St. Thomas in marriage.\" When she was with child, she dreamt one night that she came to St. Paul's church. But when she wanted to go in, she thought her womb was so large that she could not enter the church by any means. Then she went to the nearby row and was glad and thanked God highly, for thou hast a child in thy body, and all the holy church shall be too small to receive him. She was glad and thanked God highly, and soon after this child was born and was named Thomas. He grew into a man and was a man in every respect. For he served the king manfully and served God worthily and died before the eyes of the holy church meekly. I may well say he served the king manfully, for when he was made chancellor of England, this land was so full of outlaws and so overrun with them that no one could go unrobbed by the way. But in the shortest time, his manliness drove them out of this land, so that all the people might go unrobbed. Thomas, repenting of the king's harsh manners,\n\n(Note: The text appears to be in Early Modern English, and there are a few minor errors in the OCR transcription. I have corrected them in the cleaned text above.) destroyed and particularly the king's palace in London at Westminster, which fell down entirely. Between Estye and Witsonty, Thomas repaid him for he had many workers of diverse crafts there, so much so that a man would hardly find his fellow speaking for the noise of strokes. He was also manly in deeds of arms, for the king had many castles and towns outside his control, and Thomas spoke much of his desire to get them back and shed much blood to gain them at the outset. They were held out of his control. Thomas, with his wit and wisdom, gained them back as well. In the king's wars in France, he conducted himself valiantly, and when the king of England exiled Thomas, the king of France was his chief help and support. Thomas was also manly in his array, as he was dressed in the finest and richest clothes and furs. Furthermore, his repair to his house was adorned with grandeur in winter with clean hay beforehand to save the knights. In so much that the king himself many times came to Thomas to meet, both out of love he had for Thomas and to see the array and revelry that was in Thomas' household, for there was truer and better love between them than there had ever been between men. It happened in a cold winter that as the king and Thomas came riding towards Cheapside at Ludgate, the king was aware of a poor man who was nearly naked and had no clothes and was very cold. Then said the king to Thomas, \"It is a great act of charity to give clothes to this poor man, Sir.\" Then Thomas replied, \"You should take care of that, Sir.\" Then Thomas had on a cloak of good scarlet and well-furred with rich fur, and the king laid his hand on this cloak and wanted to pull it from Thomas to give it. It took this poor man but Thomas held it firmly, and they wrestled long enough that they were about to fall to the ground. But in the end, Thomas allowed the king to take off his clothes, and the king cast it to the poor man and ordered him to run quickly and sell it and give the money to someone else. If you set it well, you might fare better every while you left. Thomas feigned anger but in his heart he was well pleased that his robe was so well befit him. The people marveled greatly at first what was between the king and Thomas, but when they saw what it meant, they were glad and showed great spirit. I tell this to show an example of how well Thomas served the king manfully. We must also learn from our holy patron Saint Thomas to serve God devoutly. When he served God devoutly, as soon as he was made bishop of Canterbury, a nobleman he turned his leisure into better leisure and thought to serve the king. of heuze as well as he had the king of this world before. Then a nun he laid a way of scarlet and rich furs and wore clothing of middling price and cast a way silk and sent next to his body, which was right hard and a breach of the same side in which was so much vermin that it was an horrible sight to see, but this knew but little people. Also every Wednesday and Friday he made his confession and beat himself with a rod on the bare body, like a child is beaten in school. Also he used every day to wash the feet of three poor men, one at a time, and then he gave each of them four pennies. And more penance he practiced in praying and walking, which was too much to tell at this time. Then, when Thomas was in the abbey of Poutenant, on a day when he had said mass, he knelt down before the altar to speak with him and stood undressed near a pillar and abided Thomas. And he saw how our Lord appeared to Thomas and told him how he should be. Slain in Canterbury in his own church for his sake, be steadfast and holy thereas he had been, Thomas came out of his chapel. And the Abbot fell to the ground. Blessed be the time and the hour that ever you were born, and blessed be mute she who bore you, that you should have such a visitation as I have heard of you.\n\nThen Thomas spoke gently, for when he saw the king begin to make laws to overset the church and such law as would have destroyed the land. Thomas put himself forward and reproved the king for his misdeeds, which made the king wroth. He cursed the law that the king and his sorrowful council had ordained and made. They called him a traitor to the king and exiled him from his land. Then Thomas went to the king of France for succor and help, and he received all his clerks most generously. They stayed with him for nearly seven years, and great disputes and grievances arose. Thomas had a deal with the king of England, suffering meekly. But by treachery and the king of France's counsel, a feigned love day was made between the king and Thomas. But when the king should have kissed Thomas, he would not, for he said he had made a vow never to kiss him. Instead, he bid him go home to his church boldly. By the king of France's counsel and the queen's bidding, they almost all came to Canterbury to Thomas's hall. Sir Reynold of Richmond and Sir Reynold Berystowere were more joyfully there, for he was bitter by nature. Sir Reynold said to Thomas, \"The king who is yonder at sea sent us to you and bade that you should soothe the bishop whom you cursed.\" Thomas said, \"They are not cursed by me but by the curse-giver himself.\" Reynold replied, \"You would not do the king's bidding and swore a great oath by the eye of God thou.\" Shall they be dead. Then cried the other knights \"sleep, sleep\" and they went down to the court and armed them. Then priests and clerks drew them to the church to Thomas and closed the doors to them. But what Thomas heard, the knights armed and coming to the church and could not enter, he went to the door and unbarred it and took one of the knights by the hand and said \"it seems not to make a castle of holy church\" and took them by the hand and said \"come in, my children, in God's name.\" Then, for it was dark, the might not see or know who Thomas was. They said \"where is the traitor?\" \"No traitor but archbishop,\" Thomas replied. One said to him \"flee, for thou art but dead.\" \"No, I come not to flee but to abide,\" Thomas answered.\n\nEgo pro deo mori paratum [I am ready to die for God] et pro libertate et iustitia sanctae ecclesiae [and for the freedom and right of the holy church]. Then Reynold with his sword's point cut off Thomas's cap and struck at his head, cutting off his crown like a disc. Then he struck another and struck them all down to the ground. groundon his knees & elbowes & said, \"God in thy houses, I put my cause and the right of holy church. Then the three knights struck and his half-stand, and what they were at the door, a jester broke wind and set his foot on Thomas' neck and thrust out the brain upon them.\n\nThus this martyrdom was known in Jerusalem. There was an abbey of mules in which, on the same day and at the same time that Thomas died, a mule lay dying, for he was a good, holy man despite his abbot's reproach. When he was dead, he should come again and tell him how he fared. And when he was dead, he came again and told his abbot. When he died, an angel brought him before God, and as he stood there, he saw a bishop come with a great company of angels and other saints. And he stood before God at His judgment throne. The Lord said to him, \"It seems a man is coming to his lord's court. None of our lord set a crown on his head and said, 'Thus to you, O man.'\" him I have given as much as I have sworn here, I know well that this is the greatest bishop in England, and he was slain for God's sake. The patriarch of Jerusalem spoke of this shortly after Thomas was dead. In England, after people had come to fight, there was a bird that was taught to speak and could say \"Saint Thomas\" as the other pilgrims spoke. It happened once that this bird sat outside its cage, and a sparrowhawk came and would have killed it. Anon, the bird cried out to Saint Thomas for help. And a nonesuch, this sparrowhawk fell dead, and Saint Thomas, of his great grace and goodness, heard the bird and knew not what else to hear - he would have heard and sooner a Christian man or woman crying out to him earnestly for help and succor.\n\nThere was also a man whom Thomas loved, passing well in his life. And it happened that this man fell ill at one time and came to Saint Thomas. tombe praying him of succor and help, and he was only whole after he thought himself consoled to his soul, he lay and so went preying Thomas, if it were more meet to his soul to be sick the whole that he might be sick awhile, and so he was, and thanked God and St. Thomas, who when the king heard how God wrought so many miracles for St. Thomas, he went to Canterbury barefoot and in pilgrim's garb, save a feeble coat to bind his body, going in the fen and in the lake as he had been a poor man in this land, praying to\nSt. Thomas for forgiveness of his trespasses. And at the tomb he made all the convent by and by to render display on his barefoot and in sorrowful customs and false laws that had caused the debate between Thomas and the king before, and granted the church her freedom awhile and went his way. Then these three knights, when they heard how God had worked for Thomas, were full of remorse for their cursed deeds and cursed the time that it had ever happened to them and left all. They went to Jerusalem in the holy land to wage war on God's enemies. But William Tracy was held back by the way and fell ill and rotted away so much that he cut off his own flesh with his own hands and thus died a horrible death. The other three also died pitiful deaths soon after. And thus, within three years after Thomas' death, they all died, but as long as they lived they cried for mercy to God and St. Thomas.\n\nA day is called New Year's Day and is the first day of the beginning of the New Year that is coming and the last day of the year that is gone. And therefore, on this day, you shall come to God and the holy church to hear your divine service for this year. For just as a good servant who has a good master makes his coming once but holds back from year to year, having full trust in his master that he will reward him for his good service with a good reward in his great generosity. At his last end, God's servants come to him who is being baptized at the font. There, the one being baptized makes a commitment to be God's servant, having full trust in God, that at his great need on the day of judgment, God will pardon him for his service. In everlasting bliss of heaven, he will do the same for all true servants. This day is called the New Year.\n\nAlso, it is called the Circumcision day.\n\nAlso, this day is called the New Year because it is the first day of the calendar, and the year is named after it. Saint Augustine says that on this day and this night, his people hold many false opinions and crafts, and false beliefs that should not be told among Christian people, unless they have turned to using them. Otherwise, you, who are Christian people, will be deceived by any false seducing counsel of one man or woman in buying, selling, borrowing, or sending. Some have diverse. Opinions. And if they are properly understood, they are worthy of great sorrow for their misbelief, for the comedy of the devil and not of God. This day is called the circumcision of our Lord. According to the holy church, this day he was circumcised and bled his blood for us. When the flesh was cut, he bled abundantly and was tender and only eight days old. Therefore, he bled five times for us.\n\nThe first time he shed his blood was on this day when he was circumcised. Another was for fear of his passion, like a child weeping for fear when he sees a rod and suffers no harm, but the flesh of our Lord shed blood out of fear of a stronger passion that was coming. The third time was during his flagellation when he was scourged so that all his body ran with red blood. The fourth time was when he was led hand and foot to the cross. The fifth time was when Longinus pierced his heart with a spear. waters and blood came out of his wounds, and then they took up the cross with the body and lifted it high, and with a sudden fall they let the cross fall down into the mortar, so that all the sins and sufferings were in it. Then Christ was circumcised and shed his blood, thus without sin and circumcision is a remedy and help for sin. Why then would he be circumcised if he had no sin? St. Augustine teaches. This was to dispel the devil, for just as the devil discerned a dam and Eve and so all mankind was damned, it was fitting for Christ to dispel the devil and save all mankind through this. When the devil saw that he was circumcised as a man, he took that punishment in remedy of original sin. And so he did not know him from another child, for if he had known him truly, he would never have tempted the Jews to put Christ to death. And this was the cause that our lady was married to Joseph to. This text appears to be written in Old English or a similar script, and it is difficult to determine the original content without translating it first. However, based on the given instructions, it seems that the text is discussing the reasons why Jesus was circumcised. Here is a possible cleaned version of the text:\n\n\"Dispute the false claim that Joseph should have believed that Joseph was not the father, but conceived by the holy ghost. The third reason for his circumcision was in accordance with the old law, providing great comfort to the old fathers who were of the old testament. If he had been christened instead of circumcised, it would have been a great discomfort to all before the incarnation of our lord Jesus Christ. The fourth reason for his circumcision was that our lord knew that heretics would come afterwards who would claim that Christ had a body of earthly fantasy and not of flesh and blood, as we have a body of the eternal. Therefore, to put an end to such errors, Christ was circumcised and bled in his cutting of his flesh, which flesh was cut from his member, and an angel afterwards brought it to King Charles for the most precious relic in the world, and for the greatest worship, which he called the Holy Sanctuaries. For these four reasons, Christ was circumcised.\" This day is called the vows of the nativity, the seventh day of our Lord's birth, in great tokening to us all, that be good servants, to think on these seven days that follow. The first day is to think on that which is conceived in us, that is foul and abominable in itself. No matter how fair a man or woman may be, if they beheld the matter, they would be ashamed of themselves to think of that foul thing.\n\nThe second day is to think how bitterly and wretchedly he was born for all the best of kind, somewhat helping them, but mankind neither can nor may help himself in any degree but die. The fourth day is to think in how much fear and dread he left here before, and is ever ready to fall on us at any time, unknown to us but only to himself. In certain estates, in which he lingers, he makes a man stink, and all the best friends that he has are forced to put him in. The sixth day is to think how remarkable is the parting of the body and soul, which cannot be separated until the heart is broken in the body for any man. The seventh day is to think how dreadful is the domain that he shall go to, a none, and how strict his judgment will be, he who will ponder these seventh days diligently on the seventh day I hope he will be circumcised, that is, he shall be cut a way from the lust of the flesh and sin, and so depart from this world's liking. And thus comes the eighth day, which is called the twelfth day but is the thirteenth day of Christ's birth. The thirteenth day of his birth is called the Epiphany of the Lord, that is, the showing of our Lord Jesus Christ, true God and man. For this day he was truly shown as God and man by three offerings at his crucifixion and also by the turning of water into wine. The thirteenth day of his birth is the offering of the three kings and that same day. xx. Winter and the forty-first day after his birth, he was baptized in the Jordan River, and on the same day, twelve months later, he turned water into wine at the wedding at Cana in Galilee. But the feast most reminds and mentions the three kings' offering, and here you shall hear how they offered to our Lord Jesus Christ, true God and man. These three kings, of the lineage that prophesied that a star would shine from Jacob, but they were not Jews by kind, yet they had heard by prophecy beforehand. They had great desire and often, at certain high hills, disputed among themselves about this star. It happened on Christmastide night, at the same time as our Lord was born, they were arguing about this star. Super mote metis, the author reports, on the hill of Domina, for our Lord was born there. And the star appeared to them in the sky as a fair child, and under it was the child. He carrying a bright golden cross, said to them, \"Go quickly to the land of Judea and offer these three things to him who is newly born there: God and man. I will be your guide and lead you the way.\" Then they hurriedly took beasts called dromedaries, which are so swift that they will run further in one day than any other beast. And so they came to Jerusalem, the place they hoped to find some tidings about the child's birth. But as soon as they entered the city of Jerusalem, they lost sight of the Star that had guided them. Then when they came into the city of Jerusalem, they rode to King Herod. King Herod was troubled, and the entire city was with him, but more from flattery of him than love. that they had to follow King Herod and asked him where the child should be born. He inquired of the chief priests and they replied in Bethlehem. King Herod then asked the kings of the stars and urged them to go to Bethlehem and worship the child, and come back and tell him so he might also go and worship him. Then, as they approached Bethlehem, the star appeared to them again. They were filled with joy in their hearts, and, as it is depicted in many places, the king in the manger looked back at his followers, gazing back. And thus the star led them to Bethlehem. When the star appeared over the house where our Lord was, it stood still. Then the kings dismounted and entered the house, and with all the reverence they could muster, they knelt down and offered each of them in these three things: gold, frankincense, and myrrh, recognizing the child by the gold. He was king of all kings, and by the myrre that he was very man and should be dead and laid in grave with the gold. Gold is chief of all metals. Ensen was burned in a holy church in worship to God. Myrrh is an ointment that keeps dead bodies from decay. When the kings had done her offering, by another way they went toward her own lands and left King Herod and the starving a way from them. Then, as St. Bernard says, Joseph kept this gold as much as he needed and more to keep our lady with child in the bed and the remainder to help poor people who had great need there. He burned the sense (censor) and anointed our lady's child with myrrh to keep him from worms and diseases. But I found nothing certain about what happened to the kings after that, except that some people have an open report that St. Thomas the Apostle baptized those whom he came into contact with in that country. Indeed, and just as the stars lightened them to the birth of Christ, so the Holy Ghost enlightened them in their souls and taught them the perfect way of the belief and also of perfect and gracious living, to such an extent that they left all their kingdom and went forth one pilgrimage in many other places. And so they came forth to Milton and there they died all three. After that, they were translated to Cologne and there they are yet. Now you have heard by these three kings how our Lord Jesus Christ was this day manifested truly as God and man. Likewise, you should do your offerings when you come to the holy church, kneeling down with all the reverence that you can, not only on one knee as to a temporal lord, but on both knees and do him worship with good prayers. Then offer precious gold, for there is no gold so precious as the good prayer of the devout. And then hold up your hands to him with all the reverence that you can and dedicate your heart's prayer to him. And she shows him all your love from your hearts, and then you offer him incense. For there is no incense saved so sweetly burning in the fire as does the good prayer that is devoutly said with a burning love in clean charity. If you do this, then you kneel and make a cross on the earth and kiss it, and think well that you are but earth. Then you must offer myrrh, for just as myrrh keeps a body from rotting, so the mind of death keeps a man's soul from deadly sin in this way. Do your offering and then you shall have as much reward as had the three kings. He was shown both God and man at his baptism. He came to the water of the Jordan, he went into the water and consecrated it, for right as he was circumcised to confirm the new law, and for no need that he had there, for he was clean without sin, but for the sake of making the sacrament that should wash away their sins in his name. Then John the Baptist was ready there and many people with him. hym who came to the Christ, then said John to our Lord all-powerful and trembling. Blessed lord, thou art God, without sin, thou hast no need to be baptized by me, but that I and be baptized in remission of sins. Then said our Lord Jesus Christ, John, suffer it now for we must fulfill all righteous wisdom. John baptized our Lord Jesus Christ, and as it is credible, our lady was baptized after other of Christ's disciples and all the people who came then. When all were baptized, our Lord went out of the water, and as he went out of the brink of the water and all the people with him, Apertus opened, and a great light shone upon him in the sight of all the people. The Holy Ghost came down in the likeness of a white dove and lit upon Christ's head. And the Father spoke and said, \"This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.\" This was to teach all Christian people the faith of the belief of the Holy Church. for all Christans be bound to be steadfast in the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost.\nIn baptism Christ's trinity is manifested\nIn Christ's baptism all the holy Trinity was present\nThe Father spoke in voice when he said \"This is my Son\"\nBehold the Lamb of God, and the Holy Ghost was present in the form of a dove. These are three persons in one Godhead; for the Father spoke above, and the Son was there bodily, and the Holy Ghost in the form of a dove. You shall believe that these three persons are but one God in Trinity.\nThis you shall believe: on the watery brink that is in your baptism at the font, where he who believes thus and does the works of belief shall be saved.\nWho believes and is baptized shall be saved; and he who does not believe nor is baptized is condemned.\nThe works of belief are meekness and charity; for without these two no one can be saved, and he who has these two is written in the genealogy of our Lord Jesus Christ. The which is read during Christmasse that begins with Abraham, and comes down to Joseph and to our lady Lord Jesus Christ, and so he speaks in everlasting bliss. Therefore, this genealogy shall begin at Jesus Christ and ascend to Abraham, and God was truly shown in the Trinity when he turned water into wine at the wedding. It happened so that the people drank wine at the feast.\n\nThen our lord commanded that they should take six pots or vessels that were empty and fill them with water, and they did. Then our lord blessed them and commanded them to begin and then he gave and said it was the best wine that he had ever drunk. Thus our lord showed himself both God and man in that he turned water into wine and man in that he ate and drank with them. This miracle he showed at the wedding in token of blessing all weddings that he performed after the law of the holy church. And therefore keep your wedlock and be in full faith and believe in. \"You shall come to everlasting bliss in holy churches. A good friend will turn a cursed tyrant into God's servant, from a proud man and the disciple of the devil, a souler. Holy church holds him in high regard, and we do the same. We only have regard for him, and this land for the great joy in his defending. Before he was turned, he was called Soule, just as Soule, the king of Jerusalem pursued him to have him killed. While Christ was on earth, this Soule would never come to him to hear his teachings, but as soon as Christ was raised up into heaven, this Soule, who knew and could the Jewish law, began to stone a Jew and a sense said, \"Christ's disciples were disputing with a Jew,\" and he provoked them in every way to destroy them.\" Cristen Feith. Then on a day he disputed with Saint Stephin, and because he could not overcome him, he thought of a way to bring him to his death. He never left him until he was dead. This is the manner of the Fenland children when they have committed a cursed deed: they are glad and eager in their hearts. And before he would have gained a name of wickedness surpassing all his fellows, he went to those who had the law to keep and guard, and obtained from them a letter of warrant to take all who were leived in Christ where they might be found, and to bring them to Jerusalem to be put to death there. Then, when envy was in his heart, Cristen would sniff and spit at the mouth and threaten and menace those people, making all Christian people fear him greatly whenever he heard anyone speak of them. Then on a day he heard that in the City of Damascus there were many Christian people hidden. for drede & rode the dyr wardes but a none oure lord ihesu cri\u00a6steshewed the swetenesse of his grate whanne this saule was in his highand in wylle to haue do moste harme Than a boute midday oure lord caste a lyghte of grace a boute that was moche ly\u00a6ghter thanne the sonne & the lyghte spake to saule thus. Saule saule quid tu me perseq\u0304\u2223riand a none he was a ferde and fill downe of his horse & cryde and seyde for grete fere Quis es tu domi\u00a6ne Lord what arte thou than seyde oure lord. Ego sum ihesus ua sarenua. I am ihesu of nazareth for that was the name of his manho\u2223de Thanne saule a none be leued on hym & seyde lord what wolte thow that I shall do Thanne sawe the peopleand her\u00a6de the wyre but they saw no thyng but a none we\u0304\u00a6te, to saule and toke him vp by the honde fore he was blynde and myghte not see and so ladde him in to the Cite to a good ma\u0304nes house and there he was thre dayes and thre nyghtis fastyng and nothir ete mete nor dryn\u00a6ke god fore drede of that vision The whiche tyme the holy go\u00a6ste taughte Ananias, one of Christ's disciples, was commanded by the Lord to go to you. He appeared to you on the road and said, \"Saul, the Lord has sent me to you. You are to see him and be baptized. And when Ananias placed his hands on your head, scales fell from your eyes, and you were baptized and ate and regained your strength. You spent a few days with the disciples. Then Saul departed and no one else was with him. He was struck with a great fear and said that it was a great miracle and grace of God, and that his cursed life had been turned around so little before. Thus you have heard how great a miracle God showed in his conversion, and how great joy the holy church makes in defending it. It was great joy to all Christian people, a little before they were about to be destroyed, and a non-Christian after was eager to join them. Enhanced Christian people && He who was so eager and so glad to shed Christian men's blood. Was he so ready to shed his blood for them. And as swiftly as he went to put them to death, with equal good will, he spared not for lord nor king but openly preached the word of God and taught the faith afterwards in every place. He who was once so proud and so fierce, soon after became so meek and so humble, he fell to the ground at every Christian man's feet that he met, meekly seeking mercy with a full patient heart. Therefore Saint Austin likeneth him to an Unicorn of kind, bearing a horn in his nose, and with that horn he uses to walk. And there they would set a maiden. As soon as the unicorn sees the maiden not of kind, he falls down and lays his head in her lap. Then all his might and strength is gone. And then they come and take him. Thus he says Saint Paul was the first to be thus. Ferse in him that they dured not preach there as he did nor speak to him for fear. But when our Lord Jesus Christ showed him the sweetness of His grace and this fair maid, the law of the holy church, falling down to the ground and sorrowful before all Christ's people, the holy church was glad of his defending. He is also set as an example in high esteem, for our Lord is so gracious that all Christian people may be saved who will forsake their misleading and be converted. Multomagis will rejoice in the celestial joy of one penitent sinner rather than ninety-nine who do not repent. He who committed that sin never did it again. Therefore, our Lord wanted all to be converted and saved, and set Saint Paul as a comfort to all sinful people, though a mother had never done so much sin, and he would forsake his sin and sin no more. Then all the company of heaven makes great joy and melody of his conversion as we do on earth. There is a conversion of St. Paul, but there are more people who love sin more than they love God in this world. For there are many who would never leave sin, neither for the love of God nor for the desire of heavenly bliss, nor would they fear that anyone be lost but rather beware lest they themselves love sin more than God and would rather serve the devil than God. You are the cause of your own damnation, for as long as you have more will to serve the devil and be his child than God's child, you abandon yourself and God has ordained torments for them in eternal painful punishment. According to St. Gregory, those who will be damned begin their penance here in this world in part and continue after their death.\n\nThere was a man, and he was an officer with a lord. One day, as he rode with his lord, the bailiff confronted him about this man. oute of his min\u00a6de and a none made the people to bynde hym to a poste in a barne so wha\u0304 the bayly and his seruau\u0304\u00a6tes had souped he bad one of his seruauntes go loke how that this man dede and he wente to this man And whan he co\u00a6me there he sawe iij. gre blacke dogges plucking a wey this mannes fleshe from the bone Thanne was this seruaunte a fer\u2223de that bed and lay there si\u00a6ke longe aftyr And on the morow whanne the people come the thir as this man was bou\u0304de theand all the flesche was clene a wey Thus ye may see he that contynu\u00a6aly leued in synne may be full sykyr of a foule en\u00a6de and thoughgod and all his angellis where for hit is nedefull for euery cri\u2223sten man and woman to a me\u0304de hym while he is here in this world and hathe tyme and space of a mendement And he that dothe so shall come to seynte Poule and be there with hym in euerla\u00a6styng blysse to the why\u00a6che bryng vs he that di\u00a6ed for vs and all man\u2223kynde Amen.\nGOod frendis so\u00a6che a day ye shall haue candelmas day that day makith mand mencion of oure This day is called the purification of our lady in English, it is the cleansing of our lady. There was no need for her to be cleansed again, as she had already been cleansed through the working of the Holy Ghost in conceiving her son and there was no spot of filth in her.\n\nBut this day was the fortieth day after the birth of her son and was called the Purification in Jewish law, not only for our lady but for all other women. According to Jewish law, a woman who gave birth to a child from a man was considered unclean for seven days and was not allowed to touch anything sacred. However, she was considered unclean for thirty-three days if she fulfilled the period, and she had to stay outside the church with her offering. The offering in those days was made by a rich man of a lamb, and for a poor woman. Our lady was also offered with her son.\n\nIf a woman... A woman should give birth to a child, she shall double the number of days stated before her delivery to her husband and to the temple. This is her son's due. It is said that great scholars claim it takes 40 days after conception for a woman to turn in blood. And it is also 40 days after if it is a male child that it doubles all the days in turning into blood and in shape of body. This is the reason. Eve, the first woman, took longer in forming. Therefore, the fleshly complexion of man and woman is unclean in themselves. This purification is ordered for this reason. However, understand well that our lady had no need for this cleansing before conception, as she conceived not with the complexion of man but only of the holy ghost. Yet she went to the temple. Women dedicated themselves specifically for four reasons. The first was to fulfill the scripture that says, \"Whatever a woman had in the house, whether much or little, she gave to the poorest woman in the company.\" She did this because she knew she was the mother of God's son in heaven and had greater worship than all other women. The second cause was that she filled the law of circumcision for her son in the same way she filled the purification and offered him in the temple, doing for him as other poor women did for their children. The third cause was to silence the jeers of those who had said she had not done the law, and thus avoided a great scandal. The fourth cause was to give an example to all other women that they should come to church after the birth of their child and thank God for having saved them from death in their weakness, for in that time a woman is in great peril of death, as there is no sickness in the world that comes so near it for these reasons, holy. This church commemorates the purification of the Blessed Virgin and the coming of Simeon and Anne. Simeon was an old man who had earnestly prayed to God that he should not die until he had seen Christ in the flesh, and so it came to pass. Anne had made the same prayer. It should be noted that Anne had been a widow for only seven years when her husband died, and thereafter she vowed not to marry again but to serve God in the temple night and day and pray to see God before she died. And when our Lady came into the temple with her son, the Holy Ghost warned Simeon and Anne, and they, with great joy, went up to Him and took Him in their arms and brought Him into the temple.\n\nSimeon received Him in his arms and said, \"Now, Lord, let Your servant depart in peace according to Your word. And so, with all reverence and worship,...\" Reference that he could, he loved and thanked him for allowing him to leave so long, so that he might see him bodily with his eyes. When a woman comes to church with a child, she abstains from it until the priest comes and casts holy water on her, takes her by the hand into the church, gives her leave afterward to come to church and go to her husband. They have come together before they must both swear [here]. Holy church also makes a mind of candles, offering, and as you see, it is a common usage for all Christian people of suitable age to come that day to church and bear a burning candle in procession as though they went bodily with our lady. But now you shall hear how this worshipful feast was first found. Some time when the Romans, by great might and cruel power, had conquered the whole world and had great dominion, they were so proud that they forgot their god and made diverse gods after their own. Among all, they had a god named Mars, who had been a notable knight in battle. They prayed to him for help and showed great worship to his mother, who was called Februa. The Romans, on this night, would go around the city of Rome with torches and candles, bringing worship to this woman Februa in the hope of receiving more help and support from her son, Mars. There was a man named Sergius, who saw Christian people drawn to this false idolatry and turn it into God's worship, and our Lady and her Son, Jesus Christ, commanded all Christian people to come to church and offer a burning candle in the worship they had for this woman Februa. Now, this festival is solemnly honored through all. Christendom and every Christian man and woman of suitable age are to come to church and bring their candles as if they were bodily present, hoping for this reverence and worship towards our Lady. A candle is made of wax and wick. So was Christ's soul hidden within humanity. Also, the head of God is taken from the wax, and it is symbolic of our Lady's motherhood and virginity, illuminated by the fire of love. It is also symbolic of every Christian man and woman who does good deeds with good intention and perfect love and charity towards God and all Christian people. If any of you whose candle of charity is not pure, go to confession and be reconciled with your neighbors, and light your candle and offer it up for God's will. And if you do not do this, you will lose all your merit and your reward in heaven.\n\nGod kept them so that they... had no harme.\nThan for this\u25aa Judas was one of the xij. apo\u2223stels & the nombre of he\u0304 muste be fullfilled. than was criste steyed vp in to heuen & the xi. apost\u2223les were to gedyr with many othir people in a place Thanne seyde Pe\u00a6tyr to hem thus now all good men & bretheren hit is well knowe to you that Judas was one of the xij. & be cause the no\u0304\u00a6bre may not be in perfey\u00a6te hit is nedefull to chese on of these ij. men that hathe be with oure lord chesu criste from the ty\u2223me that he was baptisid in to the tyme of his asce\u0304\u00a6sione to bere wittenesse with vs of his vprysing & of his doyng. Than they setten these ij. men Joseph barsabas & ma\u00a6thie & leyde lotte vppon hem & seyde thus preyng oure lord O lord thou knowist the hertis of all men shewe to vs whiche thow che\nThan mathie wente in to mirre to preche worde of god & fore he had the grace of the hooly goste with hym he did mira\u2223cles & tourned moche people to the feythe of criste Than was the fen\u00a6de sory & aperyd to the Bishoppe of the iewes lawe in likenesse of A young child with long hair and a horrid face ordered him to take Mathie and lead him to death, or else he would turn all the people to Christ's faith. The bishop grew nearly wild with anger and sent people to seek Mathie. They found him, bound his hands behind him, put a rope around his neck, and led him to prison. Then, the night after our Lord came to him with a great light and loosed his bonds. He comforted him well and opened the prison door, telling him to go preach the faith and spare no one. There, as he preached, some opposed him and tried to turn others away. Mathie told them, \"I tell you, he will fall into the pit of hell.\" And at that, the earth opened before all our eyes and they sank down into hell, body and soul, never to be seen again. The people were greatly disturbed by this sight and a great number of them turned to the faith. When the bishop learned of this, They took him and bound him, setting men to throw stones at him. When he was near death, he asked Christian people to place the stones with which he was stoned into the grave with him, as a reminder of his martyrdom. His neighbors were greatly distressed and would never pray for him. After the bishop had preached, this man remained unchanged, despite the bishop and all the people praying to St. Mathias for a miracle. Two demons with burning hooks then appeared from the earth, dragging the quick man down to hell. When they were gone, the people were greatly relieved and had rest.\n\nA good friend, you shall have a high and sole feast in holy church on the anniversary of our lady. He who had vowed or joined in penance must fast on that day. It is called the Annunciation for this reason: the Father of heaven sent his angel. Gabrielle is the name of a woman who lived in the town called Nazareth, to which our Lady was newly wedded by the will of God and the revelation of the holy ghost to a man named Joseph. And she was in her chamber when the Angel Gabrielle came to her and said, \"Our Lord says,\" Then was she greatly startled by this greeting, for in that country there was a man who could work great magic and, with the help of demons, he made himself appear like an Angel and went to various maidens and said he was sent from God on his errand, and often lay with them and did them great honor. Then when our Lady heard this, she was afraid, for she had spoken with no Angel before, nor was there such an honored one there, and she said, \"No man is worthy of me, for I, the Lord, have chosen among all women to be the mother of his Son, and you shall conceive him by faith and by the love of the holy ghost without any carnal act.\" that shall shadow the and quench all fleshly lust and tend the light of ghostly love that thou shalt conceive the son of the high god. And thus thou shalt be both mother and maid, and so was never before. Then a certain lady heard these words, and there came a spiritual sweetness and joy in her heart that no one or any earthly one answered thus: Ecce ancilla Domini fiat mihi secundum verbum tuum. Lo here God's maid ready to do God's will, praying it may be to me right as thou sayest. Thus that blessed body conceived our lord Jesus Christ in everlasting joy to all the world. Thus I may liken our lady to a precious stone called Enix, and he is as clear as any crystal and shall of kindle what the sun shines hot on him, it opens and receives a drop of the dew of heaven in him and closes a eye till nine months after, and then it opened and fell out a stone of the same kind and so closed a eye as ever it was and never opened thereafter. Thus our lady. was as clean as any crystal, the holy ghost's love being strong at the ninth month, she was delivered of her son, our lord Jesus Christ. Then, when the angel had finished his message, he went his way, and our lady went to her cousin Elizabeth, who was great with child and bearing John the Baptist. When she came to Elizabeth, she greeted her humbly. And as soon as our lady spoke to Elizabeth, the child in Elizabeth's womb leaped for joy. For the lord had taken on humanity and was come to save him in whose presence he was. Then Elizabeth welcomed her, and remained with her until the time John was born. And she was midwife to Elizabeth and took John from the earth. There she learned all that she needed to know, always keeping in mind the time when her son would be born. She took her leave meekly and went home to Nazareth. Though Joseph might have thought she would come to him, she went again, greatly. wyste hit was not his fore he hadde ne\u2223uer parte of her body in that degre fore he knowe well that she had made a vowe before she wold ne\u00a6uer haue parte of man\u2223nes body & thought how he was made to wedde her by the byddyng of the holy goste & grete mi\u00a6racle shewyng & thou\u2223ghte right in his herte he was not worthy to dwel\u00a6le in her company and tho\u0304ght in his herte to ha\u00a6ue gone home a\u0292ene and to leue her there Thene come an angell to hym & sayd be not aferd to ta\u00a6ke mari thy wyfe to thy kepyng fore it is of the holy goste that is quicke in her body for thow shall be her keper and norse to her chyld and whanne\u25aa hit is borne call it ihesus for he shall be sauiour to all the world. Than ye shall vnderstond that for iiij. causes as seynte Am\u00a6brose seyth oure lady was weddid to this olde ma\u0304 Ioseph The firste was yf she hadde conceyued with oute wedloke the ie\u00a6wes wolde haue seid that she had be an euyll wo\u2223man of her body & so ha\u00a6ue stoned her to dethe. The secou\u0304de cause was fore she was so shamefast that & she Had she heard any defame her, she would have died from sorrow. The third cause was because Joseph was to witness her maidenhood. The fourth cause was because Joseph was to help her at her birth and bring her to Bethlehem and afterward into Egypt, and then back into her own country, for these four reasons she was married to this old man Joseph. Also, to deceive the devil, he should not know her child from another. Now you have heard of the Annunciation. Some people ask a question: why is there a wine pot with lilies between our lady and Gabriel the angel at her salutation? This is the reason why our lady conceived by faith.\n\nIt was on a Christmas day that a Christian man and his wife were standing there, and as they were there, a wine pot stood before him with a lily in it. Then the Christian man said, \"We believe that our lady conceived, just as this lily conceives, in the color of green, and after bringing it to birth.\" \"Stake right, so our lady conceived of the holy ghost and afterwards brought forth her son, our lord Jesus Christ, without any woman's body. Then said the Jew, when I see a lovely sprout emerging from the death stake that stands in this pot, then I will believe that what you say is true, and a none will spring a white, lovely one out of the dead stake that stood in that same wine pot. And when this Jew saw that a none fell down on his knees before the ground and said, \"Lady now I see well that thou hast conceived with the holy ghost, our lord Jesus Christ, God's son of heaven, and thou was a clean maiden both before the birth and also after the birth. And so it was that the pot with the lilies is set between our lady and the angel, for rightly as the Jew disputed with the Christian man concerning the manner of conception. So our lady disputed with the angel.\" The manner in which she should conceive and be both mother and maid or consent to it, then, is for those who wish to hasten the vow.\n\nThe second was on Christmas Day when she was delivered of her son without any pain of her body. For as she conceived without lust of her body, so she was delivered without pain. The third joy was one Esther day when her son rose from death to live and come to her and kissed her, making her more joyful of his return than she had been sorrowful for his death. The fourth joy was when he ascended to heaven on Holy Thursday in the same flesh and blood that he took in her body. The fifth joy was in her assumption when she saw her son come with a great multitude of angels and saints to fetch her to heaven and crowned her queen of heaven and empress of hell and lady of the world. And all that are in heaven shall do her reverence and worship, and all those on earth shall do her service.\n\nThese are the five joys that our lady experienced from her son, and he who wishes to honor her greatly. lady with v. a\u00a6ueys shall neuer come in to the payne of hell\nwe finde wreton of an hooly mayden that was deuoute in oure lady ser\u2223uice and euery day grete her with v. ioyes Than hit happened so on a day\nthat she fill sike and felte her selfe welle that sche shulde be dede and for fe\u00a6re she wonder so\u2223re and made grete mone for be cause she wysce not whet\u2022 hast made me so ofte glad gretyng me with ioyes that I hadde of my sone there fore be not sory but knowe thou well that y\u2022 shalte go with me in to e\u00a6uer lastyng blysse & ioye euer with oute ende\nwe fynde of seint Gil\u2223bert that one a tyme he was nye dede of the quin\u00a6cy & wha\u0304 his throte was so grete & wgladid me with my ioy\u00a6es & a none she toke her feyre pappe & mylthankyd oure lady euer aftyr.\nGOod frendis so\u00a6che a day ye shall haue seynt Gor\u00a6ges day the holy martyr hit is wreton in his lyffe that there was an horri\u2223ble dragon be side a Cite that was callid Cirme of the whiche dragon me\u0304 of the Cite were sore a fer\u00a6de in so moch that be cou\u0304\u00a6sell of the kyng every day they gave him a child and a sheep to eat. He would have come into the city sooner, but because the king himself gave them that same counsel, he was compelled to give his daughter to the dragon. The king, for fear of the people and their weeping and great sorrow, delivered his child to them and sent her forth to the place where they were accustomed to set their own children and a sheep with them, until the dragon came. But then, according to the ordinary course of events, St. George came riding that way. When he saw this damsel in her array, he thought she was a woman of great birth and asked her why she stood there with that sheep in such mourning. She answered him gently and said, \"Sir knight, I may mourn and make sorrow, for I am the king's daughter of this city. And now I am set here to be devoured by the dragon that has eaten all the children of this city, and now he must have me for his father.\" A knight, advised by his counsel, rode away swiftly and saved himself, leaving the dragon asleep, both of us. The damsel, named Gorge, lamented greatly that I, a knight well-armed, should flee, while she, a woman, should remain. Then the dragon raised his head from the hole and spat fire, offering battle to Gorge. Gorge made the sign of the cross before him and set his spear in readiness. With great strength, he brought down the dragon to the ground and then commanded the damsel to bind the dragon with her girdle around his neck and lead him into the city. The dragon followed obediently, as if it were a hound.\n\nBut when the people of the city saw this dragon, they fled in fear. Gorge called out to them, \"Do not be afraid and you shall be saved in Christ and take refuge! I will gladly save you, twenty thousand men without women and children, and the city as well.\" The queen restrained the people from harming him and drew him out of the crowd. The savior of him did the people no harm. The king built and established churches in each corner of his land and was devoted to God's service and to the honor and worship of all people of the holy church. He had compassion and was sorry for the poor and needy and those in any distress. When George had done this and had turned all the land to Christian faith, he beheaded many Christian men. Then the emperor, who was not a Christian, commanded that George be put in prison and have a heavy stone placed on his chest to press him to death. Then George prayed and when the emperor heard of this, he ordered the wheels to be set in motion and George was placed in the middle between them. The wheels were then turned and his flesh was torn from his bones. When George was in this torment, a none prayed to God for him and he was helped immediately. They then stopped the wheels. put him in a hot lime kiln and left him there for he should have been burned But our lord turned it into cold and there he was for three days, and they found him all burnt and he was saved from all manner of harms and was merry. Then he was brought forth and set before the Emperor and George reproved him of his false gods and said they were but idols without power Then the Emperor ordered his mouth to be filled with stones until he was powerless and made him to beat his bare body with dry besoms until the flesh fell from the bones and the people might see his guts yet after they made him drink poison that was made strong for the nones to torture him to death. And when George had made a sign of the cross he drank the poison without greue in so much that the man who made the poison turned to Christian faith and a non-believer he was doomed to death Then the night after, as George was in prison praying, God came to him and said, \"George.\" be of good comfort; tomorrow you shall make an end and come to everlasting joy and bliss, and set a crown on his head and give him your blessing. Then, because he would not do worship to the false gods the Emperor made, to strike off his head, and as the Emperor was about to go to his palace, there came a fire lighting up and burned him and all his people.\n\nWe find a scroll of an ancient text that says a fair-aged knight appeared to a priest and said, \"I am St. George and a leader of Christian people. I command you to bear with you his relics and come with me to the siege of Jerusalem.\" But when they came to the walls of Jerusalem, the heathen people there were so strong that the Christians dared not come to the walls. Then St. George, clothed in white, made a cross on his breast and went up on the ladder, urging the Christians to follow him. And so, with the help of St. George, they took the city of Jerusalem and slew all the heathen people. that were fou\u0304\u00a6de there. & there fore late v\nGOod frendis so\u00a6che a day ye shall haue seint mar\u2223kes day that was one of the foure\u25aa Euangelistes that wreton cristus go\u2223spell & p hem to she people This marke was firste an he thyn ma\u0304 & aftyr he was crisconed of seint Petyr & he made hym to goAnd tha\u0304 fore he was so holy a ma\u0304 the peple wol\u00a6de haue had hym to be a preste. But he was so meke in hym selfe that he made on of thombes to cutte of for him thou\u00a6ghte he was not worthy to be a preste but for god wolde haue hit so seynte Petyr with grete instau\u0304\u00a6ce made hym take the or\u00a6dre of preste hode vpon hym. Tha\u0304 was he besy bothe day & nyghte to p\u0304\u00a6che the worde of god & all that he seyd with wor\u00a6de he confermed with good ensample and with doyng of grete miracles Thus by the e\nThanne whan he come to the cite vnneth he was enterid in to the cite his scho braste & there by he wyste well that he shulde be dede. Than he sawe a ma\u0304 sitte & cloute schon to pore people & marke preyde hym to me\u0304de his scho Than for this man was he thoughtful it was alms to help him at that time and took his scho and began to sew, and a nun with his nagod help, and when Mark heard that he called to God a nun, Mark prayed to God for him. And the nun spat on the earth and blessed it and at once her hand was healed and she said, \"In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, may your hand be healed, called anama.\" And when Ananias saw such virtue in Mark, he prayed him to tell him to be still with him.\n\nAnd there he dwelt for two years and baptized him and all his household. Afterward, for great holiness that Mark saw in him, he made him a bishop. Then the people saw how Mark performed miracles and fearfulness and thunder, and there durst no more dwell any among them. In the night, Christian people came and took Mark's body and buried it. Then they filled the land so that every Christian land blessed St. Mark's day, save one country that is called Apollonia. The country was so afflicted with famine that they were well-nigh famished. And there came a voice. From this day forward, Saint Mark's feast day was to be celebrated and they did so. A good god sent them an abundance of all kinds of fruits now.\n\nNow it is to be known why we should fast this day and go in procession. In the city of Rome, on this day, such a seizure and sudden death occurred that when a man yawned or coughed or sneezed, he died, and many died suddenly. There was then a pope called Pelagius who commanded all Christian people that whenever he yawned, every man should make a cross over his mouth. And whenever anyone heard another yawn, he should say \"Christ help him.\" In this way, many were saved. And he made the people go in procession, which was called Liberius in his time, and in this time of the year, great harm came to it of its own accord. It took the form of thunder lightning and unkind hail, which drove flies for vengeance. After the Easter day, a none, the people turned again to their old sin, having no reward from the sacrament. They who have received it and therefore God sent more vengeance this time than in any other time of the year. Wherefore this holy commandment comes to all Christian people to honor and to fast and go in procession. He who says that it is made by a constitution is cursed until he comes to amendment. I charge you and counsel you all who think to be saved to keep this day according to the rule of the holy church.\n\nGood friends, such a day you shall have the feast of Philip and James, the holy apostles. But for this feast coming with it the feast of Esther, you shall not fast evenly but you shall come to church to worship God and the holy apostles. You shall know well that Philip was ordained by all other apostles to go into the country that was called Syria to preach to the unbelieving people. But when he came there and preached and showed them that the idols were demons and not gods, they took him and led him to her temple and wanted to constrain him to sacrifice. Than, suddenly, a great dragon came out of the sea and slew three of this believed people, frightening them with his breathing. First, they cast down the idols and set crosses in their place, like the cross where our Lord died, and did homage to her. Then Philip prayed to God for the three men to rise from death to live. Then Philip commanded the dragon to go down to his place and never trouble mankind again. The cursed people of the city saw that Philip would have turned all the people and took him and put him on a cross, and there he died and went to eternal bliss. Amen.\n\nNow you will hear about Jacob, who was called one of the apostles, also known as Jacob the Lesser or the brother of Christ, because he resembled Him so much. This was the first man who ever sang Mass in vestments as priests do, and there he was left to preach and to turn the people to better living. But before they were so compelled with sin that they had no other grace for amendment but necessarily, for the prophecy of Christ must be fulfilled, and the city destroyed. Wherefore these men took St. Christopher and preached by good relief, not in Christ's name, should not be damned at the day of judgment in the hell pit. Then the master of the Jews bad him down from the high altar on his knees praying to God, for they gave him his death. Thus in this way he gave up the ghost. Then afterwards, for vengeance of Christ and for this holy man's death, the city of Jerusalem was destroyed. was it the greatest city of the world and never liked to have been won soon after was destroyed to the uttermost. Every stone and every wall was turned up down so that Christ said forty winters before that it should be, and it was. And the Jews were driven out into diverse countries in such a way that all the kingdoms were destroyed, and yet they are still under other kings and will ever be subjects and no possessors. Yet there is more of God to them that are glad to shed tears, God would have had it so that a man of Pilate, who brought Christ from Jerusalem toward Rome, was taken by a tempest in the sea and driven upon a land by a temple with great tempest. And there dwelt a great lord who was called Daspasian. For this cause he was called, for he had such a lady in his nostrils. There dropped out of his nose worms like wasps. Then Daspasian said to this lady, \"From what country come you?\" She answered him, \"From\" Iherusalem and William went towards Rome. Then Daspasglad spoke there, saying, \"There are many lepers in that country. Therefore, I would advise you, but if you do not let me, I shall be dead. He answered, \"I am no leper myself, but he who heals all sickness and raises the dead to live, he may heal you.\n\nVespasian said, \"Sir, he is Jesus of Nazareth, who was slain, and if you will believe in him, you shall have all that you desire and be whole. Then Vespasian replied, \"I believe truly as you say, that he who raises men from death to life is whole.\n\nHe then sent a man to the emperor of Rome and granted him leave to destroy Jerusalem. He gathered a great multitude of people and Titus, his own son, was with him. They went to Jerusalem. In the meantime, while he was besieging the city, the emperor died, and he was chosen emperor and turned to Rome, leaving... Titus his son there to destroy the city\nTitus approached the city, surrounding it so closely that the citizens and their boats were unable to leave. The father took food from the son, and the son from the father, or vice versa. The husbands were separated from their wives, and wives from their husbands. Among all others, there was a woman of great birth and of noble lineage, who had a young child. In her extreme hunger, she said, \"My dear child, I have suffered more pain for you than you ever caused me. Therefore, it is reasonable that I endure my hunger and die, along with you both. She then took her child and killed it, roasted half of it, and kept the other half until the next day. And when the roasted flesh was smelled by the people, they believed there was an abundance of food and came to partake. But this woman wanted to hide it. However, they demanded to see what food she had. And she brought it forth and showed it, saying, \"Behold, I have roasted my own child.\" here is that othir halfe a yense to morowe. Tha\u0304 the people were so\u00a6re a gresid there of and all a mased of that sight & wente forthe leuyng the woman etyng of her chil\u00a6de Than hunger encresid so gretely that there dyed with ynne the cite so thi\u2223ke that they caste the bo\u00a6dyes ouer the walles ou\u2223te of the cite in to the di\u2223kes and so filled the di\u2223kes full of dede bodyes & the stynke smote forth in to the countrey and en\u2223fectid the people gretly Than so at the laste gre\u00a6te nede made hem to yel\u00a6de vp the cite Than titus wente in with his oste & right as the iewes solde crist: for xxx. penyes soo they solde xxx. iewes fore a peny and tourned the cite vp so downe in so mo\u00a6che the y lefte not estone stondyng vpon a nothir but distroied hit to the vtermeste parte Jo thus may ye se thoughe that god almyghty a byde & suffer longe he smyth so\u00a6re at the laste and takith grete vengeaunce on hem that be lusty to shede cri\u00a6sten mennes blode where for euery cristen ma\u0304 and woman a mende hem sel\u00a6fe preyng to this hooly apostles, as intermediaries between God and us, that we may have true repentance in our hearts with confession of mouth and satisfaction in deed, so that we may come to the bliss that never shall have an ending. Amen.\n\nFriends, who are god and devoted to the holy church, as Christ's people should do in worship of Him who died on the cross. Then you shall understand why it is called the \"Invicio Eucalyptus.\" The finding of the cross, which was found in this way, as I shall tell you when Adam, our first father, was sick and desired to be out of this world. Adam sent his son to the angel keeper of paradise, asking the angel to send him the oil of mercy to anoint his body with when he was dead. Then he went to paradise and spoke his message to the angel. The angel answered and said that he could not grant it until the years were fulfilled, but he could have this branch of the tree that your father sinned in and place it on his grave. When it bore fruit, then he would have mercy and not delay. Seth this branch and came home to find his father dead. He set this branch on his father's pyre and it remained there until Solomon was king. Solomon ordered it to be felled as it was beautiful for the work of his temple, but it would not cooperate. Solomon had it cast down into the earth and it was hidden there during the time that the bishop of the temple allowed a way to be made in the same place where the tree lay. This way was called Probatica in their language. In this way, every day an angel came from heaven and worshipped the ground of the way, and made the water pure. Any man or woman who came into the water next after the angel was made whole of whatever sickness they had, and they endured many winters until Christ was taken and was to be done on the cross. Then, by the order of God, this tree rose up on the water. When the Jews had no other tree ready to make the cross in great haste, they used this one. that they hadde they toke the same tre & made there of a crosse & so did oure lorde there on & than that tree bare that blessid frute cri\u00a6stus owne body of the whiche wellith the Oyle of mercy to Adam & to Eue & all othir of her of spryng But whan crist was dede & was take dow\u00a6ne of the crosse for enuye that the iewes hadde to hym they toke the crosse & to ij. othir crosses that the thefes were hongberied he m\u2022 they were done for to do hit worshippe And there it lay a yere & more in to the tyme that Elene the Emperes modir of con\u00a6stantyne gaderid grete people to fighte with ma\u00a6xencius at a grete watyu\u00a6ouer the whiche watye lay a grete brigge for di\u2223sceyte of conscantyne ma\u00a6xencius lete make a trap\u00a6pe hoppyng vp & down so for to haue disceyued Constantyne that he shul\u00a6de haue fallyn in to the watyr & as Constantyne lay in his band by the vertu ther of thou shalt haue victon\nThanne was constanty\u00a6ne woundir glad & anon lete make a Crosse of the tre & to bere hit to fore he\u0304 to the batayle But wha\u0304 maxencius sawe He was so fearful of himself near the bridge that he forgot the trap he had made and came onto the bridge and fell down into the water by the trap and was drowned. He was often willing to yield himself to Constantine, but Constantine was not yet baptized, and he was held by a leper whom he had. Then a monk was consulted by the pope, and he sent his mother, Queen Helen, who was queen of Jerusalem and the Empress of Rome, to be wedded by Constantine for her beauty. After her husband's death, she had the kingdom of Jerusalem as her dowry, where she gathered all the Jews who could be found and said that if they would show her the cross, they would all be burned. There was one of them named Judas, and they all said that he knew best where the cross was. Then Helen said to him, \"If you wish to live, show me the wood of the cross.\" He saw that he must either tell or die and said to them, \"I will show you.\" me to the mounte of Caluary there as I shall bide yow & I shall shew yow the crosse of Criste for he was blynde & my\u2223ghte not se And so wha\u0304 he was broughte to the mou\u0304te of caluary he kne\u00a6lid downe & preyde lo\u0304ge & whan he hadde preyde\nthe place there the menyd & the erthe quoke & there come a swe\u00a6te sauore from that place there the crosse lay that was as swete as any spice\u00a6ry in the world. And than they diggid there lo\u0304\u00a6ge & at the laste they fou\u0304\u00a6de there iij. crosses but tha\u0304 wuste they notte whiche was cristus crosse from y\u2022 othir ij. And than toke they a dede body & leyde hit now on that crosse & now on that othir & wha\u0304 hit come to cristus crosse a none the body rose to ly\u00a6ue & thankyd god Tha\u0304 seyde this iudas Thowe arte criste trewly & sauior of all the world And af\u00a6tyr that iudas was cri\u2223stoned a none & was an hooly man aftyr. Than toke Elene a parte of y\u2022 crosse & sende hit to rome to her sone & the remena\u2022 she cowde thus holy chir\u00a6che makithe mynde this day that the hooly crosse was founde Than as We found in a city called Birectus, a Christian man hired a house from a Jew to dwell in. This man had ridden a rod which Nicodemus had made in his mind of Christ. Then he took this rod and set it up in a prominent place of his house for the Jews to see, and he worshiped it accordingly. Afterward, this man went to another house and happened to leave this unwittingly. Then the Jew came and dwelled in the house where the Christian man had been. To make him welcome, his neighbors came one night and dined with him. As they sat at dinner and spoke of the Christian who dwelt there beside him, in a corner the Jew saw\n\nAnd they took the image and beat it and scourged it and crowned it with thorns. At the last they made the strongest of them take a spear and with all his might strike him to the heart. A non came out by the sides, and then they were sore afraid and said, take we pots. fill hem with this blode & late ve bere hit in to the temple there as alle the sike people is of diuerse malodyes and anoynt hem there with & yf they be hole with the blode than crye we god mercy & a none lets vs be cristoned man & kn downe on his knees and thankyd god of his fayre miracle. And whan he cristoned the iewes he toke violis of glasse cri\u2223stall & ambour & putte of this blode in hem & sente it a bowte in diuerse chir\u00a6ches & of this bloode as many man vndersto\u0304dith\nrome to the blode of hay\u00a6led Milites tellith in his cronicles that many ye\u2223ris aftyr that iherusalem was distroyed the iewes wolde haue bildid hit a yene thann as they wente the thir wardes erly in a morow they founde ma\u2223ny crosses by the wey and they were a ferde there of & tourned homewardes a yene yit on the morow they come a yene thanne were there crosses full of blode & than they flyght homewardes a yene echo\u00a6ne yit wolde they not le\u2223ue there by but comes ye\u00a6ne the iij. day than \nGOod frendis so\u00a6che a day ye shall haue seint Iohn came here. He preached the word of God in a city called Ephesus, turning many people to the belief in Christ. He wanted to have him sacrificed to his false gods, but instead, this justice had him taken and ordered him to be put in prison while he sent to the Emperor of Rome to learn what should be done to him. In his letters, he called Iohn the worst name he could think of and accused him of deceiving the people. The Emperor wrote back to the justice and ordered him to send Iohn to him in Rome. The Emperor questioned him and Iohn stood firm. The people laughed at him in scorn and caused him great distress. They took him to a gate of the Roman town called Porta Latina and put him in a ton of boiling hot oil and left him there. to have burned him there, but he was God's dear servant and kept him so that he suffered no harm in any part of his body when the people went, he would have been dead. They uncorked the tonne and found him whole and unharmed in all parts of his body and clothes, as if nothing had touched him there. Christian people built a church there in honor of God and martyrdom, which suffered there. The emperor could not overcome him through martyrdom or punishment, so he exiled him to an island called Patmos. Then Saint John's mother heard that her son was being sent to Rome to be put to death for great sorrow and compassion for him. She turned away and returned homeward, called by the sides of the city. When she had smelled something as sweet as any spice and brought it into the city, she buried it there with great worship and honor. Amen\n\nGood friends, such a day you shall have a high feast and a holy one, called St. John the Baptist's day, and is called so because he baptized. In the water of the Jordan, you shall fast before you. And you shall understand and know how the evenings were first found in old time in the beginning of the holy church. It was so that the people came to church with candles burning and would wake and come with light to ward off night to the church in their devotions. Afterward, they fell into lechery and songs, harping, and also into gluttony and sin, and thus turned the holiness into cursedness. Wherefore, holy fathers ordered the people to leave it behind and to fast the evenings instead. It is called vigil in English, and yet it is called the evening because the evenings were accustomed to come to church. But in the worship of St. John, the people woke at home and made three kinds of fires: one was made of clean bones and no wood, and that is called a bone fire; another was made of clean wood and no bones, and that is called a wood fire; the third was made of wood and bones. Iohannes, the first dragon, was reportedly found in a certain country where the heat was so intense that it caused the dragons to go into a frenzy, taking in large quantities of water from the rivers and poisoning them. This led to many people taking their lives in the water and succumbing to various illnesses. At that time, there were many great clerics and radars in the court of King Alisaunder of India. King Alisaunder brought with him many oliphants, each carrying castles on their backs, with knights armed in the castles before the battle. Alisaunder knew that the oliphants were afraid of swine, so he gathered as many swine as possible and drove them near the oliphants, causing them to panic. \"The hog was roasted, and then they made a pig squeal. When the swine heard the pig squeal, they made a great commotion, and as soon as the oliphants heard this, they fled, each one casting down their castles and killing the knights inside. In this way, Alisaundre obtained victory. These wise clerks knew well that dragons hate nothing more than burnt bones. Therefore, they gathered as many as they could find and fed them, and with the sign that St. Iohan was a lantern of light to the people. The people also made blazes of fire so they would be seen far and especially in the night. Jeremiah the prophet, or John, was born in his mother's womb, and he prophesied and spoke thus with God's mouth: 'I knew the Et antequam exiret de vulva sanctificare, and before you were born out of your mother's womb, I have consecrated the Et in the gentes de die. And I gave the rod to the shepherd sent, his angel Gabriel to pasture St. Iohan.'\" Father, as he performed the sacrifice instead of Abia, the bishop, in the temple, and prayed to God to grant him a child, both he and his wife being barren and old. The angel said to Zacharias, \"Neither when God has heard your prayer will this be denied to you.\" Elizabeth, you shall conceive and bear a son; he will be filled with the Holy Ghost. And many shall rejoice at his birth more than for John, for John was old and prayed for a sign from the angel. He said to him, \"You shall be mute till the child is born, and so it was. Then Elizabeth, when she was quick with child, our Lady came to visit her. And a relative as she spoke to Elizabeth, John leaped in his mother's womb for joy at the presence of Christ he saw in our Lady. So our Lady remained with Elizabeth until John was born, and was made godmother to him, and took him from the earth. When neighbors heard that Elizabeth had a son, they were filled with joy and came to offer their congratulations as was the custom at that time. Child named Zacary but Elizabeth insisted on calling him John. There was no one of that name in the family, so they asked Zacary for signs of the child's name. He wrote to them and instructed them to call him John. God listened to Zacary's tongue and spoke clearly, thanking God highly. John was holy from birth and before he showed grace and good living to every man, he gave them an example. As soon as he reached a respectable age, he went into the desert and remained there until the Lord was born and became christened. John had a girdle around him of the same skin. In that desert, Esnorisched lived among the bees and the worms, which were as large as a man's finger, and sucked honey from the flowers called honey suckle. The poor people gathered it and fried it in oil for their food. John ate round loaves that grew on trees in that desert. When they were broken between a man's hands, they were sweet as honey. He drank water from a well that was in the desert. And the Lord and John met at the waters of the Jordan. Then John told God there I have told you what shall fully fill you. He was the one who baptized Christ and when he was baptized - Behold, the heavens were opened to him. He saw the spirit of God descending like a dove. And he saw the holy ghost come down as a dove. And a voice from heaven spoke, saying, \"Behold, this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased.\" Therefore, John first needed to know the three persons in the Trinity, and for this reason he put him in prison and arranged between him and his wife how John might be put to death without disturbing the people, for the common people loved John well and all the people at the feast were pleased. But John's wife's maidservant was between them, and she sent her daughter into the hall to intimidate and trouble the guests. And this pleased his father so well that he swore a great oath and said, \"Ask me what you want and I will give it to you,\" she said. seyde Caput iohannis ba\u2223ptiste The hede of io\u00a6han baptiste Than he ro\u2223de hym wrothe & sory that he had made so the an othe but he was glad & than sente in to pryson to smyte of ioha\u0304s bede wiberied hit And there hit lay till iulian the apo\u00a6steta the Emperour co\u2223me that wey than he ma\u00a6de take vp iohans boneconceyuyng & was ha'owed in his mo\u2223dir wombe. & oure lady toke hym from the erthe in his birthe & an angell brought his name from heuen & aftyr he cristo\u2223ned oure lord ihesu cri\u2223ste this was an holy man ye shall vnderstonde that seint iohan the eua\u0304geliste dyed the same day. but holy churche makith no mencion there of for his day is holdyn in criste\u2223masse woke. Than for these ij. iohans be holdyn for the worthyeste seinte\u2022 one loued iohan baptiste & that othir iohan eua\u0304g liste & on a day they pu\u2223posed\nto dispute of this mater & the day was a sy\u00a6ned but than the nyghte be fore eythir iohan appe\u00a6rid to his louer & badde hem leue her disputacion for they were well a cor\u2223did in heuen & made no stryffe & than on The morrow was before all the people. Each one told his vision that had come to hear them dispute. And all the people thanked God and both Johns of this faith reported a miracle. There were also two men who loved these two Johns as much as they, in their beginning, spoke of these two saints who were greater in heaven. One said one was greater than the other, and the other said the other, and they both fell into a deep dispute and thanked God and both Johns. Afterward, they were holy men, and for this let us worship these holy saints that they may pray for us that we may come to everlasting bliss. Amen\n\nFriends, and worship God and pray to these two saints. The Lord has Peter on one side and Paul on the other side, and he has his wounds open and fresh bleeding, showing to all manner of afflicted people that he suffers the wounds for us. Those who believe in the five wells of mercy that he suffered for us shall understand that these two apostles were first. \"But greater sinners. Yet they repented and were sorry and sinned no more; our Lord took them as an example to all others who will sin. For he who is humbled and sorrowful for his sin, mercy follows. And he does penance and shall have mercy and grace. And there he was before, proud of heart, after he was meek and lowly before all God's services. Peter also kept himself most pure, and yet more so when Christ was taken. Peter drew out his sword and struck off a servant's ear, that was called Malchus. But soon after, when he saw that Christ was taken and was to be led away, the Lord had said to him, \"If the cock crows before you deny me thrice, you will disown me three times.\" Peter persisted but stood firm in Christ's law, having his sin always in mind, and was intent on making amends through great abstinence. He ate only bread and oil, and seldom meat, and wore only a single tunic.\" And whenever he heard any man mention Jesus, he would weep sore. And whenever he heard a cock crow, he would rise up and pray and suffer penance, and he wept many times so bitterly that the tears of his eyes burned his face so much that if he had been there, he would have had a cloth in his bosom all the way to wipe away the tears.\n\nThen, following this, he was so holy that wherever he went and he could shade any sick body, they were made whole. So on one occasion he sent two of his disciples into a far country to preach. And when they had journeyed two days, one of them died, and the other was troubled and turned to him for help in the name of God. He rose at once and went forth to help and preached.\n\nMany were angry that Peter turned so many people to the faith and put him in prison and bound him tightly. And then an angel came to Peter with great light, as the Lord had commanded. And a stone rolled away from the door and it opened, and he went to Rome and was there. there are fifty-fourth year. Peter called out to the crowd and turned many people to Christ, urging them to believe in him. This Simon Magus opposed Peter, refusing to let him speak and pulling him down from under his feet. Peter begged for mercy and asked him not to harm his body, but Simon was almost naked and threatened to harm Peter in every way he could. Then our Lord appeared to Peter and said, \"Simon, Peter, and others have arranged your death in the night, and so they took you by the heels. Then this Simon had so enchanted the emperor that he commanded the man to come down, so that all the people could see whom they had worshipped. Simon fell down and was broken open. The emperor was angry and had Peter and Paul led away, and Paul was crucified. And Peter suffered less.\" Afterwards, when Christian faith came to this place. ha\u2223lowed in the nyght be fo\u00a6re was a man fischyng in the temmysse vndir wesand a lityll be for mydnyght come seint pe\u00a6tyr lyke a pilgreme & prey de the fischer to lete hym ouer the watyr & he did so And petyr wente to the chirche & there the fi\u00a6scher sighe a grete light & there with was the gret\u2223teste sauoure that euer he felte. & also he herde the meriest songe that he wo\u00a6ste not were he was fore ioye Than come petyr to hym a yene & seyde ha\u00a6ss with\nlighte & with the melody that I myght do no ma\u00a6ner thyng Than seyde petyr Mitte rete in mari caste thy nette in to the see & I whalowed my chirche this nyght & toke a grete fische and seyde haue bere this to the bishopp\u0304 & sey that I sente him this. & on this tokyn bid him do no more to the halowing of the churche but siAnd for to p\u0304ue the tron the bid him go to chirch & se where the candelis s\nand no she thought callid and seide whfr And she wolde haue a mand sche\nwhere hit myght be wor\u00a6shippid of all cristen pe\u00a6ple Than the bishoppe ordeyned a dakyssid hit all & Good lord loved her best of all God and prayed to the holy woman that she would pray to our lord for us, that we may have grace. She was the first in time to repent, for she had lost grace through carnal lust. Thus, she is a mirror to all other sinners who will repent and do penance, they shall have grace which was lost through sin. Her father was a great lord and near the king's blood, and he had a great lordship in Jerusalem, which he gave to Lazarus his brother. Of this castle, she had her name and was called Mary Magdalene, for she was the lady there. Then, as many books say, Saint John the Evangelist married her, and our lord bade him go with him and preserve his virginity, which he did and remained a chaste virgin. And then Mary Magdalene went forth and gave herself to sin so much that she lost the name of Magdalene and was called the sinful one.\n\nHer father was a great lord, near the king's blood, and held a large lordship in Jerusalem, which he gave to Lazarus, his brother. Of this castle, she took her name and was called Mary Magdalene, as she was the lady there. Then, according to many books, Saint John the Evangelist married her. Our lord instructed him to go with him and preserve his virginity, which he did and remained a chaste virgin. Later, Mary Magdalene went forth and gave herself to sin so extensively that she lost the name of Magdalene and was called the sinful one. A woman, it was often said, that our Lord made from the greatest sinners the holiest afterward. When our Lord saw the time, He gave this woman grace to know herself and repent for her sins. At a man's house called Simon the Pharisee, Mary, the one who anointed Christ's feet, took a box filled with ointment such as the people used at that time for the heat of the sun. She went there, but she durst not go before Him. Instead, she was behind Him, hearing Him speak. Then she took a great sob in her heart and wept tenderly. With the tears in her eyes, she washed Christ's feet. With the hair of her head, she dried them, and with all the love in her heart, she kissed Him and anointed His feet. No word she spoke that any man might hear, but softly in her heart she cried mercy and made a vow to Him that she would never transgress again.\n\nOur Lord Jesus had looked upon her, and cast out of her seven demons. And for that, He forgave her all her sins, as she heard. She: She left all her lordships at Maudeleyn's castle with all other goods and served him with great love during his Passion, when his disciples fled from him. She never left him until, with help from others, she had laid him in his tomb. When no man dared to go there due to the knights guarding him, she spared not Cumtenebre's essence when it was dark in the morning. She took with her sweet unguents to anoint Christ's body with these. She showed such devotion both in thought and deed, for Christ, in his life, hid Mary Magdalene, his sister, whom he had known for seven years, and scourged her severely. He raised Lazarus from the dead and kept him alive from death to life, who had lain in his grave for four days. And when our Lord rose from death to life, he appeared to her and allowed her to touch and kiss his feet. Then, when it was known to the Jews that Christ showed her so many tokens of love for all others, Christ himself appeared to her. was kept prisoner to heal the Jews. They took Mary, Martha her sister, Lazarus Maxencius, and many others, and put them in an old ship to drown them. But God intervened and brought them safely to a place called Mercyzle, where they remained under a bake that was near the temple. Then Mary saw many people coming towards the temple to sacrifice to her mother. The lord of the country came with them, but Mary was gracious and, with her gracious words, turned them away. Then this lord had a great desire to hear her speak and said to her, \"If God, whom you speak of, is as gracious and powerful as you say, pray to him for me that I may have a child by my wife who is barren, and then I will believe in him.\" Then Mary replied, \"I will do so,\" and shortly after the lady conceived and was with child. Then this lord arranged to go to Jericho to inquire whether Madelenes' preaching was true or not, and he provisioned and prepared his ship. come his lady, him permitting, so that she might go with him. With great pleas, the lord granted her permission by the consent of both. They married Maudelyn, who was to keep all her lordships and goods that they had. They set a cross on each of her shoulders and bade her go in the name of God. After they had sailed for a day and a night, a great pestilence arose, causing them all to fear being drowned. Then Jady was so far gone and went to travel, and there she gave birth and died in childbirth. The lord was filled with great sorrow and lamentation and said, \"Alas, alas, what shall I do with this child now? The mother is dead, and there is no woman's help to keep it. Then he cried out to Maudelyn and said, \"Alas, Mary, why do you act thus towards me? You are the highest, and now the mother is dead, and the child must die for lack of women's help. And I, myself, look who will save me from being drowned. Help Maudelyn and have compassion on me.\" my child said the shipman cast this body into the sea, for we shall never have rest while it is in the ship. Then said the lord, she is not dead but lying in a swoon, fear but let us have the ship to that direction for I would rather bury her there than cast her into the water. And since there was no earth to make her a grave, he left her hanging on the rock of stone. The child was the mother and covered her with his mantle, took her to God and Mary Magdalene to keep and watch over her way. So when he came to good comfort, though his wife was dead, God might restore them to life again. Then Peter showed him the places where our Lord was quick and dead and told him of his birth and passion and resurrection and ascension and informed him of the faith and made him steadfast to Christ. And when he had been there for two years, Peter sent him home again and bade him greet well Mary Magdalene and her companions. Then, when the lord came far out into the sea and saw the place where his wife lay. He longed deeply in his heart to go to the dear one and then he prayed to the sailors to bring him the display with small stones. But as soon as the child saw him, he ran forth and followed him until he came there. He left his wife there. And he took sucking one of his mother's breasts. Then he thanked God and Mary and said, \"Mary, thou art great with God that hast kept a child in thee. Thy sucking of a dead body brings me great comfort and joy. But if thou hadst prayed to thy lord for my wife that she might rise to life, then I would ever be thy servant and will serve thee as long as I live. Then with that word she blessed me. Be merry, for my dear wife had been present. He then thanked God, Mary, and Mary Magdalene. And when they returned home, they found Mary teaching and preaching to the people. They knelt down and thanked her and told her what Petyr had said and prayed her to tell them what they should do. They would do it with good will. Then Mary commanded them to destroy the temples of murder and build churches and make fountains and Christianize. In a short time, the entire land was christened. For Mary, deep in contemplation, she went far into a wilderness and stayed there for three winters, unknown to any man. Descending angels lifted her into the air and angels came seven times a day, bearing her up into the eye and there she was fed with heavenly food. But when God willed that she should leave this world, He made a holy post to see how angels bore her up in the air. Then He drew near the place and asked in the name of God who was there if it was a Christian soul that should speak and tell what they were doing.\n\nMary took another husband, who was called Cleopas, and he died. She then took three husbands: Salome, by whom she had a daughter named Mary Salome. When she had these three daughters in worship of the Trinity, she desired no more husbands but lived in chastity and holiness.\n\nMary Cleopas was married to a man who had four sons. James the Less. Joseph, named Barasabas, and Judas were married to a woman named Mary. She was married to a man named Zebedee, and they had two sons: James, also known as James the Greater, and John, the Evangelist. As God Himself says, \"Out of a good tree, good fruit comes. From this godly woman, come forth and serve her, that she may pray for us now and forever. Amen.\n\nGood friends, on this day you shall have St. Lawrence, God's own holy martyr, whose martyrdom, as Maximus says, shines to all the holy church and illuminates the world. Therefore, come to God and holy church and shall fasting, preaching, and teaching. For this reason, St. Lawrence was made the archdeacon to serve the holy church and the poor people.\n\nHowever, the Emperor envied him and planned to take his life. Then Lawrence, showing meekness, wore a sackcloth on his head. Lawrence had comforted them, giving them food and drink. And as the Emperor continued to show malice towards him, Lawrence gave more generously. \"Mekenesse and holy devotion showed also a yielding largeness. Forhad taken Lawrence the treasurer more need than blessed Lawrence followed his master and said to him, \"Sancte pater, noli me derelicte.\" All the treasure that thou tookest from me, wherefor go not thou to thy passion alone, but let me go with thee, as we have served God so long. Then he said, \"Shall I be allowed to deliver it? How great reverence the emperor showed him, thinking it had been for appeasing them, if it were the cause that Decius slew him, they should deliver this treasure to the holy child. Decius slew Philip's son for fear he would have avenged his father. And for this treasure they put Lawrence in prison. Then there was a man, named Luke, who was greatly weeping because he had lost his sight. Lawrence made him see again and stoned him. Therefore, many blind men and women came to Lawrence and regained their sight. Then the emperor sent to Lawrence to deliver the treasure. He prayed him for three days' respite and so he\" \"For three days Lawrence was released from prison, and during that time he gathered all the poor people he could find - the blind, the lame, and the crooked. For three days he brought them before the emperor and said, \"Behold, here is everlasting treasure, which will never fail. It could have been spent in vanity, but I would have spent it thus. In the torment of passion, I have shown love and sweetness. The emperor then commanded that all manner of torture - scourges, nails, stones, pitch, brimstone, burning coals, iron shafts, barris of iron, and red-hot irons - should be spent upon Lawrence. But he refused to show the treasure and, for the sake of his God, offered sacrifice to the idols. The emperor then said, 'You unblessed one, these meat and drinks have I desired for you.' They commanded that he be scourged with scourges full of knots and not to cease until the blood ran down on every side.\" In this text, there are some irregularities that need to be addressed to make it perfectly readable. Here's the cleaned version:\n\nThere was a man named Decius, who deeply thanked God. Decius was determined to torture St. Lawrence and said, \"You can create a great fire and place a griddle there to roast Lawrence and thrust him down with fire for kisses.\" They did so. Then Lawrence looked up at the emperor and said, \"One side is roasted now; eat from that other side, I dread not your torments.\" He cast his eyes up to God and said, \"Lord, I commend my spirit to you, Christ.\" So he yielded up the ghost. Then the tormentors were filled with great sorrow. Thus, he had set nothing by all his torments before God.\n\nTo his body, St. Gregory relates that there was a man named Stachulus, who was placed in a barrel and filled with new wine. We find that there was an emperor who had a cruel mother. After he died, a legion came and made an image of St. Lawrence in the emperor's worship due to his intervention. Thus, you may see and learn from this how to endure envious people, for what merit and reward is in it. Largeesse give to those who have need and what you and merit it is to suffer tribulation and persecution, learn patiently from the holy martyr.\n\nGood friends, such a day you shall have the assumption of our lady, and it is called so because her son took her up into heaven, body and soul, and crowned her queen of heaven, for the angel of heaven came to fetch her up. Angels young and singing came with a procession, bringing her a yard with roses and lilies from paradise, signifying that she is a rose and lily and flower of all women. And they did homage to her for all angels and saints in heaven, making joy and melody in worship and honor of her. And yet the gospel of that day makes no mention but of two sisters named Mary and Martha. Martha was called who took him into her house, and she had a sister named Mary who sat at Christ's feet and heard him speak.\n\nMartha was busy serving Christ, and she said to him, \"Lord, bid my sister leave me alone to serve you, but she is listening to your word.\" Rise and help me. They answered Christ. \"Maria shall not be taken away from her,\" were the words of the Gospel of that day. \"But he who reads what St. Anselm says there will see that the Gospel pertains to our Lady and to the one who entered in as a castle has diverse properties that a castle should be mighty and strong. Our Lady was such for all other women. For where women are free and weak, God chose her to be blessed. This water lay on this dike a drawbridge that shall be drawn up by a youth who will help and support his soul. He shall let down the bridge of obedience, and the sooner the better. Our Lady, who was visited by the angel Gabriel concerning the conception of her son, did not let down the bridge until she knew whether he was a friend or an enemy, and she said, \"Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.\" And lo, here God's own handmaiden, may it be done to me according to thy word. This castle is three-walled.\nThe first wall was taken not in wedlock, for else the Jews would have stoned her as for an adulteress without wedlock. And the further wall was taken in patience and the inner virginity that is her defense, but that is little worth, unless it is strengthened with the wall of patience. Little help is given for manhood, it is little worth, that can suffer nothing of persecution or distress, but ever playing and being a jester, a gossip, a curser, and a scold of her tongue. Bernard says, read over all the Gospel, and thou shalt not find that our Lady in all her lifework of Canaan did grieve. Thus must the wall of chastity defend the wall of virginity. This wall of virginity, and if it is well kept, it is passing all other. As Bede says, wedlock is high where it is well kept, but widowhood is higher. But virginity passes all and has most worship in heaven. passing all other, this wall kept our lady pure, both by free will and by a vow. In this castle is a gate that is called faith, as it is possible for a man to go through a wall of steel, it is as possible for a man to please God without faith. This faith kept our lady pure, passing all other, as it seems, for a woman to conceive without carnal conjunction of man, it was never said before, but by the teaching of an angel she believed, and so Christ came and entered the gates of faith into the castle that is in her body. This gate had a tower above it, called charity. For charity is the key to all things, and that virtue had our lady well. She may be called a castle, for just as all manner of people flee to a castle, both old and young, for fear of enemies, in so much that the least child that can cry or speak is afraid of something, none cries. A lady, a giver of succor and help, for she is both succor and help to the young and old, less and more in need and in health. The Holy Ghost is captain of this castle. And his knights receive him into her house and are busy serving him, while the others sat still and had great desire to hear him speak. I understand two kinds of living: one active, and the other contemplative. Martha is taken to represent the active, who receives poor people into her house and gives them food and drink, clothes, herbs, visits those in prison, comforts the sick, crooked, blind, and lame, and bears the dead. The other I understand to be the contemplative life, which belongs to the people of the holy church and should abandon all worldly business and give themselves to all things spiritual. Yet there are worldly people who say that it is all lost for those of the holy church, that good is only of this world. \"Cooperate with them and say they do no good. St. Austyn says that the whole world is the holy church, and these worldly people hate me of the holy church. But God answers for them and is their advocate, and so He will at all times while they remain in rest and live with them. But now see how our lady fully fills both these lives. She was firstly Martha, for Martha was busy to receive Christ into her house. Our lady received Him into her body and there He stayed for nine months. She fed Him and after came poor and naked into this world and she gave Him food and drink from her breasts and thus she fed Him. And when He was sick by His side in His youth, she nursed Him with the milk of her breasts. And when He was dead, she helped to carry Him to His tomb and thus she fully filled the office of Martha performing the seven works of mercy. Yet she was many times too distressed in her heart, naked and bathed in tears that all His body ran with streams of blood and was nailed to the cross.\" So do those who taught Christ's doctrine to her, including the four evangelists Mark, Matthew, and particularly Luke, who wrote much about the manner of Christ. She thus fulfilled the role of Mary, for it was through her that her son was raised up into heaven. Therefore, every Mary who can understand may see that this gospel is meant to be read, as it touches upon the life of our lady. The holy church reads this gospel as an example to all Christ's people, to perform the same leaving as much as they can, and as God will grant them grace to serve our lady. We find of a clerk who loved our lady well, for he longed greatly to see her and prayed fervently that he might once see her or die. At last an angel came to him and said, \"For serving our lady so well, you shall have your reward, but tell her if you see her.\" here in this world you shall lose your sight for the great clarity of her. He said, \"I know well, as long as I may see her.\" Then said the angel, \"Come to such a place and you shall see her then.\" He was glad and thought that he would hide his own eye and looked with the other. So when he came to the place, he laid his hand over that one eye and saw her with the other. Then our lady came and he saw her and she went her way and he was blind with that one eye and saw with the other. Then the angel said, \"If you see her with one eye, you shall lose the sight of the other.\" He said, \"I know well, if I had a thousand eyes.\" Then come to such a place and you shall see her. When he came, he saw her. Then our lady said to him, \"My good servant, when you saw me first, you lost your one eye. How will you do now that you have lost your other eye?\" Then he said, \"Lady,\" she replied. Write well, though I had a thousand eyes. They said our lady, because you have such great liking for me, you shall have your fight with both eyes open as well as you had it and better. So he served her ever after his life's end and went to everlasting joy and bliss, to which God brings us all to Amen.\n\nGood friends, such a day you shall have the feast of St. Bartholomew, God's own apostle. You shall fast the even and come to church and hear your service in the worship of God and St. Bartholomew. You shall understand that Bartholomew is as much to say as \"Fil in hanging upon me\" or \"upon waters\" is he who honors up on the waters in two ways. The first is when he hangs upon the clouds in the tears, when a man or a woman is sorry for his sins and weeping sore for his transgressions, then God takes his tears and has them on the high hill of heaven where all the saints in heaven may have them in fight in great joy to all saints and all angels that are in heaven who are. They may see a man or woman who has done many trespasses, repent of their sins, and turn away from the temptations of a man or woman who is sorry for their sins, in this manner quenching the fire of hell. Speaks John Chrysostom and says, \"O thou that art meekly enduring in prison and praying with good devotion, the might is so great that thou goest to heaven and takest the word from the jaws of the lion, making him to turn to salvation, coming praying and in faith full of monition and in suffering of passion, he was hanging before God in deep orison. Before he said with his mouth, he did with his heart, so that his heart was all hanging up towards God, both in word and in deed. The past says in the mass. Wreton found him thus, that he knelt an hour on the day and an hour on the night, for great devotion.\n\nNot be weary of the travel, God sent an angel evermore to see him and kept him thus hanging. He. was also hanged up by the faithful monition in this way, for God gave him such great power over all find us that were his holy monition. He suspended them wherever they were, in man or woman. Yet the more believable it is to the people that he healed many sick men and women. God sent upon them he could not heal. Then was the temple full of sick people brought to this miracle to be healed. But as soon as Bartholomew came to the temple, he suspended the devil's power so that he might not heal any man, nor was there another miracle called Barthasked. He asked them why their god gave them none answer. He said, \"Bartholomew, the apostle of God, has scourged you so that you dare not speak nor cry out.\" Then they went home again and could not find him. Then, as Bartholomew walked a more distant way, the people heard that the devil had gone his way and left the man healed.\n\nIt happened that the king of that city had a daughter who was mad and so bound with chains for her madness. Harm caused by she among the people. When the king heard that this man was held in high regard, then Bartholomew, preaching to become Christian, came to draw down the idols that were in the temple.\n\nBartholomew commanded the demons to come out of the images, and they did, for they had no power to resist his command, and they all broke them. The temples were so full of sick people that Bartholomew prayed to God that they might be healed. They were healed, every one.\n\nThen an angel came, sent by God, in four parts of the temple. He made a sign with his fingers on the walls and said, \"Just as all the people are healed of their sicknesses, so shall this temple be closed from all the filth of sin and of the demons' craft that has been here. I will show you that same demon you have worshipped as your god.\"\n\nThe demon appeared, looking like a man with an indistinct form, all black, and made a cursed noise. Then the people began to flee in fear, for he was so loathsome. The angel said, \"Make this sign of the cross on your foreheads and do not fear him. All the angels unbound us from this foe and commanded him to go where he should not harm man or beast, and to remain there until the Day of Judgment. The foe went his way, and the angel ascended into heaven. Then the king, his wife, his daughter, and all his men, and many other people, turned to the faith, and Bartholomew baptized them all. Bartholomew remained steadfast in his faith, suspending the power of the foe so he could do nothing. He was also highly esteemed for his suffering, as the bishop of the temple saw that the people were almost all converted to Christian faith and had left the foe's power. He went to the city, where he was called Astrages and brother to King Polymies. He pleaded with him earnestly and said, \"There is a man come to us, called Bartholomew, who has turned my brother and all the people to the faith. You should not disregard this.\" her goddesses. But he had dragged them down and broken them, hallowing only the temple to plunder. For this reason, he prayed to him for help. Then the king asked him why\nhe had turned against his brother and made him leave a dead man who was hanging on the cross. And if you or he could do such a thing to my god, would you believe as you believe in hanging Bartholomew on a cross and prolonging his torment, and then taking him down and mocking him quickly, and then smiting him on the hand? He was hung up with great compassion, suffering. There were in the city Romans who, when Fredwicke the Emperor had destroyed a great city, and in it was a fair church of St. Bartholomew. And other saints who had churches there took counsel on what they might do with the Emperor and their god and answer for his deeds. The Emperor himself then appeared. A bird died and was damned there. It is written in the life of Saint Guthlac that he first inhabited Crowland in the fens, and the first day he came there was on Saint Bartholomew's day. Then before this holy apostle came, the wicked spirits that were in that place dwelt there, for it was called the habitation of demons. No man dared dwell there because of the demons. This holy man came there and, near at hand, lost his wits from fear. But with great grace, he kept his mind on Saint Bartholomew and prayed to him with all his heart for help and succor. Then a nun came, Saint Bartholomew commanded the demons to leave that place. The demons made a great horrible noise and went away, saying, \"A las, a las, now good God, God sent us all to spiral occupation, and every day from morning to vespers, she was in her prayers, and from vespers to none, she occupied herself with the craft of viewing cloth in the temple, and at none the meal and drink that was brought to her. In this text, there are several issues that need to be addressed to make it clean and perfectly readable:\n\n1. Remove meaningless or completely unreadable content: The text contains several instances of missing or illegible characters, which make it difficult to read. I will do my best to correct these errors while staying faithful to the original content.\n2. Remove introductions, notes, logistics information, or other content added by modern editors: The text begins with a sentence that seems to be an introduction, but it is not clear where it comes from or how it relates to the rest of the text. I will remove it.\n3. Translate ancient English or non-English languages into modern English: The text is written in Middle English, which requires translation into modern English to make it accessible to a wider audience. I will translate the text as faithfully as possible.\n4. Correct OCR errors: The text appears to have been transcribed using optical character recognition (OCR) technology, which can introduce errors. I will correct any obvious errors I encounter.\n\nBased on these requirements, the cleaned text is:\n\nAn holy man prayed to God often at night time. One night, as he was in his devotion, he heard a song of an angel in heaven. Our lady was born of her mother, and the melody was made in heaven at that time. The man prayed to God to reveal the cause of the melody, and that night an angel came to him and said that our lady had been born of her mother, and for that reason the melody was made in heaven. The angel went to [someplace]. The Pope told him that day should be hallowed forevermore. This first came into the holy church. Our lady was born by water washing, which is christening. For her soul took her right name, and she both fulfilled the law of christening. The gospel tells us that our Lord Jesus Christ was baptized in the water of the Jordan, and the father in heaven called the mother of Jesus too much worthy of worship. The third time our lady was born to joy passing, for when she should pass out of this world, her son came with a great multitude of angels and brought her to heaven with much joy. We find in our lady how there was a Jew born in France and came into England for diverse matters he had to do with other people and passed by the son and said, \"What lady art thou?\" She said, \"I am Mary.\" Therefore, I have come now to bring you out. thou art here and out of prison, come with me and stand yonder at the stone and look downward. He did so and there he saw the horrible pains of hell that were near him. Our lady then said to him, \"These are the pains that are ordained for all the faithful in the incarnation of Christ, and I, a clean maiden before and after, gave birth to my son who shed his blood for all mankind. Now choose both joy and pain, which you had least desire. Then he knew not which way he went, but on the morrow he came to bathe, and there he was stoned and named John. Afterward, a maiden was offered to our lady in the temple to the bishop to keep her safe in ward till she showed twelve years of age and more. Then the bishop was to ordain her a husband, and they let cry out throughout the country that kings, lords, and other gentlemen who were without wisdom should come to Salem to see the maiden who was of great virtue. the best bloom of the world, the bishop ordered an old staff of ash that he had kept in the temple many years and was all worm-eaten, bearing flowers. He was to have the maiden, and she was brought forth into the temple so that all the people might see her. Then the bishop commanded that the staff be brought forth. Whenever any man touched it, he bade him hold it up high so that the people might see if it burst into bloom. However, it would not do so on the first or second day. They were to make an end of this on the third day. The bishop thought to himself, \"I will not handle the staff for this maiden is not for me, being so passing fair, and I so passing old.\" Then a white doe appeared and sat upon his head with a golden bill, and her feet shone like bright burnished gold that all the people saw. Some tried to catch her, but they could not. Then the bishop was aware and summoned Joseph up to him at none. Joseph said, She is not suitable for me. She is too young, and I am too old to govern her a state. The bishop handled this staff and so he did, and it was not green but began to bud and bloom and bear fruit. Then the bishop was glad, and Joseph was sorry for having her, for he had never been resolved to have a wife.\n\nThe bishop wedded them worshipfully and bade Joseph take her home with him. Shortly after the Holy Ghost appeared to her with the greeting of the angel Gabriel. She began to grow great with child. Joseph looked at her and thought to leave her quietly and leave her alone. But an angel came to Joseph and bade him take Mary to his keeping and to stay with her, and to abandon all such thoughts, for it was God's will and God himself willed it to be so. Then he abandoned all such fantasies and kept her well, as a man should his wife.\n\nGood friends, such a day you shall have, on which you shall come to church in worship of him who was done on the cross. this day is callid Exalta\u2223cio crucia the exaltaci\u00a6on of the crosse that is had fette the cros in iherusalem cristen pe\u2223ple did hit gret worship But than come the kyng of perse that was callid cosdre & he toke the cros with him & made the ci\u2223te bare & bare a wey alle y\u2022 he myghte & wente in to the temple & toke all the tresoure & iewell is & preci\u00a6ous stonis & bare hem a wey. Thus this cursed man did distroye many kyngdomes & so bare the holy crosse in to his own country Than the em\u2223perour Eraclius herde here of & was full wrothe & sory & sente to this king Cosdre to trete with him fore Eraclius was a cri\u2223sten man Than Cosdre answered cursedly & sey\u00a6de he wolde not trete till he had all his people to for sake cristendome & to do sacrifice to his maw\u2223mentes Than this Em\u00a6perour Eraclius be toke\nall to god & gadered him an oste of people to fight with this cursed kyng cosdre hoping to god to gete the holy crosse a yen But whan this cursed kyng cosdre come he fill in soche a fansasy & mad\u00a6nesse that he toke his Someone took all the governance of his realm and built a house for himself in the manner of an altar, like unto an idol, and made it shining with gold and precious stones. He seated himself in the midst, in a chair of gold, and commanded that all people should call him god. He held the holy cross in his right hand in place of his son, and in his left hand a tame cock instead of the Holy Ghost. He sat in the midst, man-sized. Then his son Heraclius was coming, and he met him at a great river over which the water was a bridge. The victory would belong to both kingdoms. Heraclius was in full faith in the cross and trusted in the prayers of the people. He overcame his enemies. All the people of the East, guided by the Holy Spirit, turned to the faith of their own free will. When they were all baptized, Heraclius went with both armies to the old king Cosmas, who sat on his throne. He said to him, \"Because you have worshipped the holy cross, I forgive you.\" If you are referring to the text about King Herod's conversion to Christianity as described in the text, here is the cleaned version:\n\nKing Herod shall choose if he wants to be stoned and give up his kingdom for a little peace or be dead, and he sought to be baptized. There, he struck down the four men who were to divide the cloister and destroy it, took the cross, and went to Jerusalem. When he came to the Mount of Olives, approaching the city of Jerusalem, riding on a trapped horse and greatly merry from his vengeance, an angel appeared on the right side and said, \"Quiet your trapped horse and come to me, not in gold clothes but as a simple man is an example to all people.\" Then the angel went his way. The king, with all the devotion he could muster, took off his clothes to his shirt and barefoot. The gate opened, and he went in to the gate of Jerusalem and then into the temple, offering the cross as it was before. For the great joy of the people, God showed it was more called. had to cry. He cut the rod's throat, and blood started out one of his clothes. Thus, his clothes were all red with blood. Then he hid the rod in a secret place. As he went home, a crying man met him and said to him, \"Thou hast slain some man where? Hast thou done him in?\" The Jew said, \"No, it was not so.\" The Christian man said, \"Thy clothes are all bloody of him.\" Then this Jew knelt down and said, \"Forsooth, the God whom these Christian people believe in is of great virtue and might. I have done and cried mercy with all my heart. Therefore, I was baptized and became a holy man.\"\n\nGood Fridays this week you shall have impenitent days. It is Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday, the days which are called the Pope's orders. You are to have them ordained four times in the year for certain causes, as you shall hear. Our old fathers fasted four times in the year, a fast of four high and solemn feasts. If we wish to show ourselves good children, we must fast and follow the same rule that they did. Therefore, we fast for four days. The first in March. The second at Lent time, the third between her east and west, and the fourth before Christmas. March is a time that dries up the moistness in the earth where we fast that time to dry the earth of our humors that are necessary for the body and soul. For that time, the humors of the body tempt us more than any time of the year. We also lack understanding before we get the grace of the Holy Ghost to be in good works in the house of our conscience and be an example of good living among the people we come with, both rich and poor. We also fast in winter to drive away all stinking weeds of sin and foul earth of fleshly lusts that draw good angels and good people away from us. Just as Nettle the Tull says that he helps a maiden to grace who is fasting, praying, and doing alms deeds. And in the opinion of many people these days, they are called Lenten days because the older fathers would eat on these days. no matter how bread was reduced into their minds, they remembered only cakes and should turn away from all delicacies and drink, taking no heed. A good friend is greatly commended in holy church for preaching the gospel without feigning. Saint Matthew suffered passionately without deceit. First, he was obedient to Christ at the first calling, for he sat by to get ready and quickly came and went with him. Then he showed great love to Christ and served him fully and purely. On one day, he prayed to Christ to eat with him and made a great feast for him, not in delicacy but wherever Christ went. Many followed him for diverse reasons. Christ helped some and drank with them. Some of his enemies, learned in the law, also followed him. They could have taken him with any word whereby they might have accused him. Some were to be reformed in virtues and to hear his doctrine and teaching, as the apostles and many others. And when Matthew had fed him, Christ made him one of his disciples and gave him permission to preach the gospel and God's word boldly ever after, sparing neither for love nor for fear. So this Matthew apostle came at one time into a city called Nadabar and found there many people taught by the devil's craft in black arts and taught such things and such marvelous things that it was a great wonder to hear it from many men's mouths. Then Matthew delivered her from black arts so that all the people knew openly that it was the devil's craft. Therefore, those who believed in this black arts made dragons by the devil's craft to spit fire and burn, so that the stench of them killed many people and they brought these dragons to have them. Matthew consumed them, and when Martha heard of it, he made a cross before him and went towards them, and the dragons fell down dead before him. Then Matthew said to the people, \"If you have any power to raise them, they had none. But if I were not God's servant, I would make them do to you what you intended to do to me. But it is the teaching of my master, Jesus Christ, to do good even to the wicked. I bid you, dragons, rise and go to such a place as you shall never harm me or my beast, and they rose and went their way. Thus Matthew converted many people who came to see that sight. And then he preached to the people and told them of the joy of paradise. There he said, \"There is day and no night, and everlasting health and no sickness. There roses bloom and flowers freely with their bending.\" He preached in a city where cursed people took him and put out his eyes and cast him into prison, until they took a vote what death he should die. An angel appeared to Saint Andrew as he preached in a far-off country and brought him over the sea where Saint Matthew was. When Andrew saw Matthew, so foul, he wept and prayed to God for him. A non-believer restored Matthew's sight in one eye, and Andrew went to preach in the city of Nadabar, where the king's son died. The king then sent for Matthew, and the king, his wife, and their daughter Eufagema took Christianity and the majority of the people. Matthew blessed her and gave her the veil of chastity and charity, and she became a holy woman and kept other virgins. Then a king named Heraclius fell in love with Eufagema and begged Matthew to help him win her. Matthew replied that he could not interfere before she was married to the King of Heaven. Matthew forbade the king to pursue her. as he stood and said mass at the alter, there came upon him by the side and killed him, and the people buried the body in the same church. Then the king ordered that a fire be set on Eufagema's house and that it be burned on every side. Then Matthew appeared to her and told her to be good and turn the fire from her house into the king's palace, leaving there nothing save the king and a young child with him. The king was struck with such foul misery that for great pain and woe he killed himself, and the vengeance fell upon him so that he would have done the same to others. Now you may well see by this great miracle that he was a holy man, and therefore let us serve him and he will pray for us all. Amen.\n\nFriends, such a day you shall have with St. Michael. And for the three petitions he had, he is wonderful in appearing, marvelous in miracles, victorious in fighting, and wounding in appearing, as St. Gregory says, when Almighty God willed to part the Red Sea and keep the water in two. parties while the people of Israel went through and passed, loading them onto boats and kept the water like a hill on each side as they passed, save and sound, to the land of Bethhet, which was at the time of Christ's passion, to show those who would be damned that set not and did not believe in his passion. Also, he worked miracles marvelously for Apollia, an high hill that is called Gargas, and is near a great city. There dwelt a rich man there with diverse cattle. As his beasts went up the hill, one of them left behind the others. This man and his servant went to seek this ball and found him standing before an hole in a great den. Then one of them shot an arrow at him, and the arrow turned into an eye and struck him, wounding him severely. Thereafter, they were sore afraid and thought what this might mean. They went to the bishop and told him all the cause. The bishop prayed to God to have knowledge of what it was In the mountain of Gargas. Michael appeared to him and said it was God's will that the man should be hurt. You will know well that I am the keeper of this place. Go thou and make a church of this den. So Michael spoke to another bishop and bade him go to a hilltop, to the mount of Gardell. There, he found a bottle. He should make a church in the name of God there. Then, there appeared two robbers to a man named Baymo. They bade him go and move the rock and fear nothing. This man went thither and set it on his shoulders, bidding the rock go out as much as needed for the work.\n\nWe also read in the life of St. Gregory how there was a great multitude of people in Rome. They saw arrows of fire come out of the air and slay many. Then St. Gregory prayed to God to see the pestilence. He saw an angel standing on a castle wall wielding his bloody sword. That angel, he said, was St. Michael. The third to Punish the people for sin, Michael was merciless in miracles working. He was victorious in fighting when the citizens of Septimyne were oppressed with pains and should have paid them often to Saint Michael for help. The night before the battle, Michael appeared to the bishop and said to him, \"Have no fear but go boldly to the battle, and I will help you.\" On the morrow, when the battle was to be on the hill of Garganus, a great mist was over it and arrows came out of the mist flying with fire and could flee. So many were slain, and those who were alive were saved by a great miracle of God and were christened. Saint John Evangelist says in his Apocalypse how Michael and his angels fought with Lucifer in heaven, that is called the dragon and his angels, and with God's help, Michael had the better and drove out the dragon and all his companions into the abyss between heaven and earth, and they are there yet as thick as motes in the eye. Christ came to heaven in a blast of thunder. And there, whenever they hear thunder, they fall down to the earth in fear and do not go up again until they have done some harm. For then they make bathes and stirs and men slaughter and make great winds both on land and in water, causing much harm. Yet they would do much more harm than they do, if not for St. Michael who drove them all into an island in the sea, as St. Brandan sailed on the sea and saw an island. There was a tree so great and broad that it was worth telling about, on which sat bridges thicker than bows, and were as white as snow. Then St. Brandan prayed to God to know what they were. And they came on board the ships and sat down, and beat their wings and made a sound like an organ. Then St. Brandan said, \"If you have come as a messenger, speak and tell me what you are.\" Then he said, \"We are angels who do not stand firm in the belief until Michael drove out Lucifer and his angels.\" angels Yet we have every day a remedy to worship God Thus was Michael wonderful in appearance, marvelous in miracles, and victorious in fighting. We worship this holy angel that he may be our shield in fighting, our ghostly enemy, the devil, so that we may have victory over him now and forever. Amen\n\nGood friends, such a day you shall have St. Luke's day The evangelists wrote the Gospel, that is, Matthew, Mark, and Luke. The Gospel is no more to say but God's word. These holy evangelists wrote not only what God spoke but also what He did and what He suffered for mankind, so that it should be known to all mankind forever. More to think on God's word and to do accordingly. These four are likened to four diverse beasts and are portrayed in the four parties of the cross on every side of Christ. For mark a lion for Mark, a man for Matthew, a calf for Luke. But let no one suppose that they were such. best is likened to this best for diverse reasons; because Matthew wrote most of Christ's humanity, he is likened to a man. Luke wrote most of Christ's sacrifice and his death, therefore he is likened to a calf or an ox. For a calf that was offered in sacrifice under the old law, signifying that Christ should be offered for the sins of the people in sacrifice in the altar of the cross. Mark wrote most of the resurrection and the rising up, therefore he is likened to a lion. For as the book says and tells, when a lion has young that are well-pupiled, they lie as dead for three days after. Then comes the lion and sets his young dead a none, he makes a roaring and a cry, the dead young wake up and quench and take life. So he rises and so rides from death to live. John is likened to an eagle because his kindred flies highest into the air next to the Son. These are the reasons that they are likened to these animals. iij. Diverse beasts But now you shall understand that Luke was likened to a calf in three ways: in thought and deed, he offered his thoughts to God, for he was eager to give good things of the world with his craft, as good as he slew many a man bodily, he had offended God so grievously that none he offered his thoughts in sacrifice, as the good teacher is highly pleased with a thought when a man is sorry for his sins in his heart and thinks truly to forsake sin and amend himself. Also, he offered his words to God in sacrifice, for he was wont to speak many idle words before he came to the apostle after him. But after he turned his speech into profit for all Christian people, where he went to our lady and she taught him the gospel, though he was a clean maiden, our lady cherished him the more. And so she taught him beautifully how the angel came to her in message and what he said and what answer she gave. All things that she did with her son and all her deeds, until our Lord was raised up into heaven. When Luke had learned this persistently, he looked at what Mark had written and Matthew, and kept at them. Where they wrote darkly, he wrote openly. In preaching and teaching, he offered his word to God. Also, he offered his deed to God as a sacrifice. Before he penalized his body with diverse penances of fasting and harsh living in keeping prayer, he wrote down all the persecution that the apostles suffered at the hands of the Jews in Jerusalem, the great pursuit and torment they endured for God's sake, and he wrote down all the persecution of St. Stephen, how he was stoned to death. Then Luke went to St. Paul and nursed him in many illnesses and distresses, and in great fear and never departed from him until Paul was dead. Then Luke went to a country called Betania and there he preached the word of God and stayed there until he was forty. Then he died a fair death, full of the Holy Ghost, for he was. In this holy and virtuous man, after his death, God showed many fair miracles and so ended in Christ and went into everlasting bliss. May God bring us all to Amen.\n\nFriends, you shall have the feast of Simon and Jude on this day. You shall fast on the even and come to church and worship God and these holy apostles on the morrow. We shall understand that either of these had names: one was called Simon Zelotes, and the other Judas Iscariot. And God, showing us how the name that a man has in this world dies and passes out of mind when he is dead, every Christian should be diligent to take him a name that will last forever. Therefore, these two apostles suffered great penance, travel, tribulation, and disease, and at last the penalty of death for Christ's sake, with hearts meek and clean. Simon is as much to say as obedience that makes a man meek in heart. Iudas is as much to say as confession that cleanses a man. A man's conscience of all manner of fineness. Before they died, they gave every man an example of how they took her death meekly for Christ's sake and died with clean conscience. They would then be written in the book of life with great worship in the presence of heaven. But those who groaned in her heart with disease and persecution had need to pray to God to be saved from the sickness in their spirits.\n\nWe read in the life of the apostle how a king named Abagarus, who was a leper, heard how our Lord Jesus Christ performed many miracles and healed all manner of sickness without any herbs or salves. He cured the blind. And so I understand that the Jews have ordered to do harm to you and they have a little.\n\nKing Abagarus greets Jesus, who preached in the country of Jersalem. I have heard of your miracles that you do and so you heal all manner of sickness without any herbs or salves. And so I understand that you want to come to me and heal me of my leprosy that grieves me greatly. I cite that which is good, honest, plentiful, and sufficient for us both to leave by, and there we shall both be at rest and peace. Then Crist wrote a letter and said, \"Blessed are those who leave me behind and hasten not, for you would have me come to you, I say to you, I must do what I have come to do first, and then you will send some of your disciples to me, that they may heal the leper. For this king, whom Christ could not come to because of great desire to see him, sent to him a painter who was a master of his craft to paint the visage of Christ as he knew it. But when this painter came to Christ and looked upon his face, it shone so brightly that he could not bear to look thereon. Then Christ made great sorrow and mourning that he had come so far and could not fulfill his purpose. Then Christ took a cloth from the painter and wiped his face therewith, and the form of his visage was thereon, and then the painter bore it to the king. Then was the king wonderfully glad and did it great reverence. With all his heart, Thomas of India, sent by Christ's ascension, was sent to King Abshinnes. He declared to the king that it was Christ who had sent him. Thomas was then ordered by the king to go to Persia to preach. There, they performed many miracles, converting the king and 31 other men to the Christian faith. The Christian population grew strongly. The king and his men were baptized, and they brought their offerings to the bishops, who were enraged and gathered together to take the apostles and bring them to their temples to sacrifice to their idols or else be killed. An angel appeared and asked if they would have their enemies killed or not. They replied that they desired to have their enemies converted to the faith. The angel asked if they would suffer martyrdom for Christ's sake, and they replied that they would endure death. They were then commanded to be brought before the idols in the temple and commanded the demons within them to come out. And they picked up all the images and did so. Then the bishop was angry because his goddess was filled in this way, and there came a thousand men and a lightning storm that cleaved the temple into three parts down to the ground. And these bishops suddenly slew these apostles. The king took their bodies and buried them truly and made a fair church there in honor of God and these holy apostles. Amen.\n\nFriends, such a day you shall have on All Hallows Day, and you shall fast the evening and come to church and worship God and our lady and all saints. Friends, you shall understand that this feast was ordained for three special reasons and for these reasons: first, for the temple consecration, for when the Romans were lords of the whole world, they made a temple in Rome as a pantheon and named it that and set in the midst of the temple an image that was the chief adornment of Rome and of every land in the world, another image all around it. But the walls and the name of the load that the image was of Werthon under the feet of the image, and all was made so by necromancy. If any load turned from the emperor, the image of the land would turn its back to the image of Rome and its face to the walls. So whenever the bishop came to the temple and found any image turned away, they would go to the emperor and tell him. Then they would ordain a procession of people and send them into the land and set them at rest and peace. This temple endured until the time that Callidus prayed to him that he would give him the temple so that he might put out the multitude of Mammes and hallow it in the worship of God and our lady and all the saints. And so he gave the called Gregory and commanded all holy church to hallow the feast as it had been before. For many saints' days in the year we leave undone that this day we should fulfill. Therefore, have we hindered it all. The year And thus this day is dedicated to God and our lady and all saints. This festival is also ordained to cleanse us of our negligence and unholy behavior. By worldly occupations we are often reckless in keeping our holy days. Therefore, the holy festival is ordained so that we should make amends as much as we can for our transgressions in other feasts. Understand therefore that those who break this festival or any other in worldly work or sin doing, whether in buying or selling or in any other unholy conduct, are in grave peril. Also understand that this day our predecessors shall be heard sooner than any other day. For on this day all the saints in heaven come to gather to pray to God for us. Therefore, you may well know that all who come to gather shall be heard sooner than one or be with them. The saints who are in heaven were once as we are now, both in flesh and blood and bone, and they are full glad and make much joy. In the same year, a keeper of St. Peter's church in Rome is recorded in legend. This night after Matins, when all people were going from the martyrs for great devotion, he went to every altar in the church and said his devotions. After he had gone around the entire church, he went to the high ante-room and fell asleep. His spirit was roused, and he saw the Father sitting in His majesty and a great multitude of angels around Him. Then a fair queen appeared with a crown on her head, richly adorned, and a great company of virgins and maidens serving her. Then the king appeared, holding a golden chair and setting her upon it. Afterward, one came dressed in camel's skin, and he led a great company of old men. Then another came, resembling a bishop, and many followed after him. other bishops and then came a great multitude, as it had been knights and after them many other people. They all came before the king and knelt down before him, worshipping him. Then the bishop began to say prayers. The angel who led him then spoke and asked him what this multitude was, in the realm of the dead. The angel replied that the king was God himself. The queen was our lady. The one clothed in camel skin was John the Baptist, and other patriarchs and prophets were with him. The bishop was St. Peter, and other apostles and confessors were with him. The knights were St. George and other martyrs, comrers who were good, true servants of God on earth. They all came to thank God for the great worship they had received on earth and prayed that He in heaven would have mercy on them. This is the reason that this feast was first founded, and therefore let us come to church and worship God and all saints, they may pray for us. Number of those present. shall worship the God who books it, on such a day you shall have all soul's day, the day of the souls in purgatory, a dwelling, the mercy of God, and have much need of help, and right as the holy church worships all saints, is helped by the prayers of them, right so the holy church orders this day to sing and to read and to do all masses, having full belief to release them that are in purgatory from their pains, for as a lord has a man in prison or in any distress, and at the prayer of him whom he loves, he releases him in part or entirely. And that is shown by example.\n\nWe find in the legend of Areas that there was a man whose house was by the churchyard side, and whose door opened to the church, and was used by custom, every time he came or went.\n\nDeprived of enemies as he went home, but when he came to the churchyard, he knelt down. I think I'm supposed to say this: \"Thought to say, 'Deprofundis' and these enemies come after. Now the dead bodies resonate with such instruments as they wielded in their lifetimes, and each one drives away his enemies only when they cry out, 'God have mercy' and 'This man.' And ever after, they pray and do alms for those in pain. Thus, I can prove that devout preachers help many a soul that is in purgatory. Also, alms given help many souls. Saint Agnes lived and persisted in charity, and if alms are given for those who are in joy and have no need there, it is put into the treasure of the holy church, and as God wills, it is delivered and relieves those who have most used it, and so God assuages it to those who have most need. The souls that are being helped there thank the soul that it is done for.\"\n\nOr, in a more readable form:\n\n\"'Deprofundis' and the enemies are coming. The dead bodies resonate with the same instruments they used in life, and they only drive away their enemies when they cry out, 'God have mercy' and 'This man.' Afterward, they pray and do alms for those in pain. In this way, devout preachers help many souls in purgatory. Alms also help many souls. Saint Agnes lived a charitable life and, if alms are given for those who are already in joy and have no need, the alms are put into the treasure of the holy church. God then delivers and relieves those who have used it the most. The souls being helped there thank the soul whose alms they received.\" In olden times, good people would have a cousin whom they loved as dearly as themselves. On All Hallows Day, a few would say to their cousin for seven days: \"Your horse has made me burn in purgatory, and therefore God will take me. I am comforted by the sacrament in the ante-room, and the masses are done beforehand. It was written in legend about a bishop who suspended a priest because he could only say the Mass of the Dead, but he sang daily after his custom. The priest sang the Mass of the Dead as he had before, and he did so as often as he could.\n\nFishermen set their nets in the river, and they caught a great haul of fish. It was the coldest that ever was used to the bishop, for he had a great burning heat in his feet, and it was the coldest that ever was for him. \"Felte, there spoke to him from the ice, \"I am a soul suffering here in this ice; I have no friends who will say masses for me. You shall be delivered from your penance, and you shall be healed of your sickness. I will sing for him, and tell him my name with great joy. With your masses singing, I am helped out of pain into everlasting bliss.\" He told the bishop that he would die soon after. \"Good friends, such a day you shall have on St. Martin's day, when Martin was but three years old. He cut his mantle into pieces as he rode among other knights and had not yet been christened. He gave half his mantle to a poor man for God's sake, who asked for alms that night. God had the same cloak and said to his angel, 'Martin, the unbaptized one, has clothed me in this cloak.' Martin heard this word from heaven and was baptized then.\"\" He left this world's occupation and devoted himself to holiness. Riding once, God said, \"The feud will be your enemy in all that you can.\" Then Martin cried, \"God is my help, and therefore I fear not.\" Martin became holy, living in a dead body for his great holiness, and was chosen bishop of Tours. At a time when I was in great peril and about to be split apart, one of them knew Martin's holiness and cried, \"Martin help us!\" And they were saved. Riding once in his seat, a hound at a hare under his horse's feet moved him to pity, and he commanded the hounds to stand still and let the hare go free. Another time he saw an addler swimming in water and said, \"In my name, I command you to go away.\" There, the addler turned away. Martin signed deeply and said, \"I am sorry that serpents torment me.\" \"and men would not hear me again. He came by the gate of a city called Padyses, and there he kissed an horrible hag, a none he was whole with the same kiss. Also, he was so patient that many times his own clerk smote him, yet he suffered a row of mautels of black and came by a cart on the way with carriage and the beasts in the cart saw the black hag waking proudly forth, and all the harneys were saved. Also, on a time as Martin sat in his saddle, the fiend came to him like a king with shining crown and said, I am coming from hell to speak with the believer. I am Christ, ego sum. Martin looked on him and said, my lord Jesus Christ would not come in such a guise, and thou be crucified. Show me thy wound is. The fiend went his way and left an horrible stench behind him. Yet another time he came to Martin and reproved him for taking the sign of the cross and turning it to her, since they had done it before. He said, though thou take it to thy grace, God will not.\" Mertyn expressed remorse and begged the pursuer of Christ's people for mercy with a meek heart. I God, he is so merciful; he will grant mercy. And when Mertyn was about to leave this world and lay in his deathbed, the devil came and sat by him, disputing with him, trying to catch him in any word of sin. Mertyn said to him, \"Go away, you cruel beast, for I shall find nothing in God, and then he made the devil lie in ashes and he said the seventh psalm and the Latin hymn and gave up his spirit and was heard in his own church with much honor and worship in Tours. Three winters later, a bishop came and translated him. When he had made all preparations, he placed Marten's body in the hands of someone to carry it out, but he could not. Then the bishop thought, \"It is not Martin's will to be forgotten,\" and then came a fair old man and urged him to go to a certain place, and they carried the body into the tomb without delay. This old man performed a service; he vanished a way, and they knew well that it was St. Martin. Then God showed many fair miracles on his behalf. It happened at a time when there were two beggars. One was lame and could not walk, and the other was healthy and had an easy life. But they were always far from meeting the shine of St. Martin. He would have healed them of their afflictions. And so, at a time, at the end of a street, at a turning, suddenly, at a corner, they met the shrine of St. Martin. Both were whole. The blind could see, and the lame could walk. Then they cried to St. Martin and said, \"Martin, we take this in gratitude for the good that we have received from you before. We take it not for our salvation. For now we must go and labor and travel and get our living for the people. They give us no more alms and here before we lived easily with little toil and fear.\" Alas, alas, that we came here this day, for now our joy and rare experience is gone. This holy man did many miracles. Wherefore I may see that he may do with God therefor let us pray to him that he may pray to God for us. Amen.\n\nGood friends, such a day you shall have on St. Catherine's day, the holy martyr, who was a king's daughter and came from good and noble stock; nothing should be the pride and riches of the world for it is but vanity. But she set her heart only on Jesus. When she was in prison and learned a while, she would come, for she was inspired by the Holy Ghost. But when she heard once that Marennis had come to the city of Alexandria with so many people and so royally that the city feared them, for he came to make a solemn sacrifice to his gods of gold and silver in sickness of bulls and calves and other beasts. Then St. Catherine saw that and blessed and rebuked the emperor's bodily presence and said that he did a foul thing to do that worship to demons and leave the worship of God in heaven who made all things of nothing and sent man life, wit, and health, and proved by great reason how Christ was both God and man. He bought all the maidens with his passion on the cross with his death. And he taught every man how to honor God and renounce false idols. Those who had opposed us would have overcome her, but when Katherine disputed with them with the help of the Holy Ghost, she converted each one to the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, making them ready to suffer death for His sake. Then a monk Maxentius commanded a great fire to be made and had a sleep.\n\nThe Emperor made Katherine naked and beat her with scourges. Gold was placed on the queens dead body and another on Porporius' dead body, and they were commanded to remain steadfast, for within three days they would come to heaven through martyrdom. Then the Emperor sent after Katherine to find her near death, but all that time God sent her sustenance from heaven. When the Emperor saw her alive, he was filled with wonder and had her set between two wheels and turned upward and downward, full of thorns and all to break them. Four men of the tyrants saw the queen who performed a miracle and appeared before her husband, the king. They told him that they had seen the power of God so openly and urged him not to disbelieve them. The king then ordered the queen to be brought forth and ordered her papal clothes to be torn from her body with hooks, and her head to be struck off. For Porporius, she was beheaded, and her eighty knights were martyred with her. Porporius' head was then struck off, and the emperor spoke to Katherine and said that he would wed her and she would renounce Christ and believe in his gods. She replied that she set nothing by him nor by his gods. When he saw this, he ordered her head to be struck off again. A miracle occurred in the form of a fountain of milk coming forth from the place of the beheading. An angel then appeared and bore her soul up to heaven, and angels came and bore her body to the air and up to Mount Sinai, where it was buried with great honor. God performed many fair miracles there to this day. At the foot of the mountain there is an abbey of monks who live in great abstinence, and this abbey is strong and high. A monk in this abbey has a lamp with burning oil for the wild beasts, and within it lies St. Catherine in a fair alabaster tomb for her bones were shed. Every monk has a lamp, and when one of them is about to die, they will know it by his lamp. We find and read of a man who served St. Catherine and fed her even with bread and water. One time, he came into the company of reckless people and, comforted by them, he left his fast and ate with them. In the night following, he saw a great company of maidens coming towards him. Among them passed all others, and each of them bore a crown, but one passing by had a beautiful crown, and that was St. Catherine. When she came by this man, she hid her face from him and would not look at him. He asked one of them what they were, and she replied, \"We are virgins. The reason you hid your face from me is because you have abandoned your devotion to her entirely through your lack of fasting.\" Then this man repented deeply for what he had done. turned a yen to his devotion and fasted afterwards was an holy man. And therefor we set ourselves to worship this holy virgin, that she may pray for us. Amen.\n\nGood friends,\nfor the devout and holy, foregod says, speaking in whispering, crying, clapping, mocking, moving, and many simple words and lewd. We read how the good word was there. They knelt down and asked for mercy and begged the pope to pray for them, and so he did and brought them out of the fires of purgatory. Also for long rest in holy church, for when a man is dead he is brought to the church to his rest. Some time the people were buried at home as poor people, and the rich were buried on hilltops and some at the forefront.\n\nNarrative.\nHe condemned him to take a way to a holy church that good people had given to before and bad him go and open his tomb and see the truth. Then the bishop took with him other people and opened the tomb and there came out a great dragon and fled for fear and left the tomb burning within as it had been before. Thus burying in a holy place is but little a reality. \"Flee from those who are damned. There are many who walk near temples when they are not bearish in a holy place, but this is not long due to the feud but the grace of God to help them. Some are guilty and have no rest.\nIt happened near the Abbey of Lilfill that four men stole an ox of the abbot's\"", "creation_year": 1486, "creation_year_earliest": 1486, "creation_year_latest": 1486, "source_dataset": "EEBO", "source_dataset_detailed": "EEBO_Phase1"}
]