Extract out of Clement XI. Orationes Confiftoriales. Printed in Folio, after a moft pompous Manner, at the Vatican, A. D. 1722. In Confiftorio fecreto, ba- In the fecret Confiftory, bito die 15 Januarij, 1703. ARGUMENTUM. Concuffa ingenti terre motu proxima nocte ac magnopore deterritâ urbe, D. D. Cardinales admonet, recentem banc calamitatem perfpicuum effe cæleftis ira argumentum; eofque ad illa edenda veræ pœnitentiæ & chriftianæ pietatis exempla quibus divina mifericordia concilietur, accendit. which was held the 15th Day of January, 1703. The ARGUMENT. When the City had been tants had been very much affrighted, the Pope admonishes the Cardinals, that this fo late Calamity is an evident Sign of the Anger of God, and firs them up to the Exhibition of Such Specimens of true Repentance and Chriftian Piety, whereby the Divine Mercy may be recovered. fignificationem, ut fugiant à facie arcús. Commovit terram, & conturbavit eam fanavit contritiones ejus, quia commota eft. Iratus eft, & mifertus eft nobis. Sunt hæc profecto miferentis Dei monita, qui oftendit populo fuo dura, ut potaret nos vino com-. punctionis. Sunt patris amantiffimi voces, quas nos, uti filios obfequentiffimos, aufcultare convenit; ne alias inter tot, quibus circumdamur, obftrepentium malorum pericula, miferè indormientes, exprobari nobis audiamus propheticum illud, percuffifti eos, & non doluerunt, attrivifti eos, & renuerunt accipere difciplinam: fecerunt peccata noftra ut in ea propemodum luctuofa tempora incidiffe videamur, de quibus Salvator nofter prædixit, Surget gens contra gentem, & regnum adverfus regnum, E erunt terræ motus per loca. as you well know, an Intimation that they should flee from the Face of the Bow. [Ifa, xxi. 15.] He has mov'd the Earth, and difturb'd it; he has healed its Wounds, because it has been moved; he has been angry at us, and had Mercy upon us. Certainly thefe are the Admonitions of a compaffionate God, who fhews his People hard Things, that he might make us drink the Wine of Compunction. They are the Voices of a most loving Father, which it becomes us, as his most obedient Children, to hearken to; left otherwise, flumbering amidst so many Dangers and Miferies, with which we are furrounded, we may hear that of the Prophet, as a Reproach to us: Thou haft fmitten them, but they have not grieved; thou haft forely afflicted them, and they have refufed to receive Correction. Our Sins have been loca. Quod tamen Chrifti Domini verbis utentes non fine lacrymis dicimus, Hæc omnia initia funt dolorum. Adeamus igitur, nullâ interpofita morâ, ad thronum gratiæ, & depofito, per veram pœnitentiam peccatorum pondere, obfecrationibus, jejuniis elecmofynis, aliifque pietatis operibus divinam nobis mifericordiam conciliemus, & Domino, cujus dies prope eft, corda noftra præparemus. Hæc autem, ut ferventiori charitate, uberiorique fructu fiant, cœleftium munerum thefauros, quorum difpenfationem nobis credidit altiffimus, quanto citius proferre, & liberali manu erogare non omittemus. Interim iis omnibus, qui mox, Deo dante, ad gloriofum & nunquam defiturum beatorum apoftolorum urbis noftræ patronorum fepulchrum nobifcum acçedent, ac noftris opportunam been the Occafion, that we feem in a Manner to have fallen into thofe mournful Times, concerning which our Saviour foretold, Nation fhall rise against Nation, and Kingdom against Kingdom; and there shall be Earthquakes in diverfe Places. And we may ufe the Words of Christ our Lord, which yet we cannot do without Tears, All thefe Things are the Beginnings of Sorrows. Let us therefore, without any Delay, approach unto the Throne of Grace; and laying afide the Weight of our Sins, by true Repentance, let us recover the Mercy of God to us by Prayers, and Fafting, and Almsgiving, and other Works of Piety, and prepare our Hearts for the Lord, whofe Day is near. that these Things may be done with more fervent Charity, and more plentiful Fruit, we will е But not not omit immediately to produce, and with a liberal Hand to expend thofe Measures of heavenly Gifts, which the tunam neceffitatibus opem, quam nos privato noftro facrificio ibidem hac ipsâ die humiliter invocavimus, conjunctis precibusimplorabunt,tri- moft High has comginta annos, & totidem quadragenas, de injunctis eis aut alias quomodo libet debitis pœnitentiis, in formâ ecclefiæ confueta, relaxamus. Agite ergo, venerabiles fratres, quippe qui ftatuti eftis cuftodes fuper muros Jerufalem; noctu atque interdiu clamate, ac iram Domini, flagitiis hominum provocatam, placare contendite. Exina. nite calicem furoris & ruinæ, calicem doloris & tribulationis. Arripite thuribulum, hoc eft preces fanctorum, & medij inter ignem & arfurum populum confiftite. Ponite ab oculos inftitutum quod profitemini, perfonam quam fuftinetis facram, & Chrifti fanguine rubentem purpuFam quam induiftis. Sint pedes mitted to our Dispensa · tion. In the mean Time, to all those who will prefently, with God's Permiffion, accompany us to the glorious and neverfailing Sepulchre of thofe bleffed Apoftles who are the Patrons of our City, and with united Voices will implore the Affiftance which is wanting to our Neceffities; (which we have ourselves already done in our private Sacrifice this very Day) we relax thirty Years, and as many forty Days from the Penances which have been enjoined them, or which they owe on any Account whatsoever, in the accustomed Form of the Church. Go to therefore, my venerable Brethren, because you are ordained to be Guards pedes veftri pedes evangelizantium pacem, ut ita conterantur arcus & fagittæ; atque imperet Deus ventis, & faciat tranquillitatem. Guards upon 'the Walls of Jerufalem. Cry aloud, both by Night and by Day, and ftrive earneftly to appease the Anger of the Lord, which is provoked by the Wickedness of Men. Empty the Cup of Fury and Ruin, the Cup of Grief and Tribulation. Take up your Cenfer, that is, the Prayers of the Saints, and ftand in the Midft between the Fire and the People ready to be burnt. Set before your Eyes the Inftitution which you profefs, and the facred Character which you fuftain, and the purple Garment with which you are cloathed, and tinctured with the Blood of Chrift. Let your Feet be the Feet of those that preach the Gospel of Peace, that fo the Bows and Arrows may be broken, and God may command the Winds, and produce Tranquil |