Quesnel: Moral Reflections on the Gospels Vol 1

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RECOMMENDATIONS OF QUESNEL'S
MORAL REFLECTIONS.
THE MANDATE OF MONSEIGNEUR LOUIS
ANTHONY DE NOAILLES,
Bishop and Count of Chalons, now Archbishop of Paris, Duke
and Peer of France.
Louis Anthony, by the divine permission, bishop and count of
Chalons, and peer of France, to all priests, pastors, vicars, and
other ecclesiastical persons of our diocese, greeting and bene-
diction.
If priests ought continually to read the divine Scriptures, if
those sacred books ought never to be out of their hands, according
to St. Jerome's advice to his dear Nepotian, they are then,
no doubt, under a particular obligation to study the Gospels, and
all the books of the New Testament. This is the end, and the
most precious and sacred part of all the Scriptures, because it
contains whatever it has pleased God to conserve to men of the
words and actions of the Word incarnate, and of the instructions
which his apostles, formed by himself, and filled with his divine
Spirit, left to the church. The pastors who succeed them in
their functions, and are appointed, as they were, to form Jesus
Christ in souls, ought to begin this work by causing him first to
live in their own hearts. And how shall they be able to eifect
this, if they do not carefully feed upon those gracious words which
proceeded out of his mouth, if they do not attentively meditate
upon the great mysteries which he wrought for our redemption,
and the divine virtues which he practised for our edification, and
if, consequently, they have not always before their eyes these sa-
cred books, which inform us of all the wonderful things relating
to him? It was on this account, that we always exhorted you to
make these books your chief study and your chaste delight, after
the example of St. Augustine. But now we importune you
anew to do it, because we have a new assistance to offer you, in
order to your profiting by this holy reading, in this work which
we now impart to you. Our predecessor thought he made you a
great present in giving you it, at a time when it was yet but imperfect.
What advantage, therefore, may we not justly hope you
will reap from it, now that the author has enlarged and enriched
it with many pious and learned reflections ; that he has gathered
together all the finest and most affecting things which the holy