The practical divinity of the papists discovered to be destructive of Christianity and mens…

For the first of these their Divine Service, if there were any thing of religion or religious worship counted needful amongst them, it would be required of their Clergy, and those whom by way of eminency they call Religious, in their Divine office especially (if any where): but by their doctrine it is not needful for them to worship God really there; unless he can be said to be worshipped where both himself and all that concerns worshippers indeed, may (as it may by their leave) be quite neglected, and no way actually minded. They seem, at least some of them, in their discourses of worship, and prayer particularly, to require as necessary thereto, both an act of the mind and of the will (attention and intention they call them): but proceed with them a little, and you will find the former of these, quite lost in the latter; and the latter, as they order it, dwindling into nothing. It is the common determination of their Schools and Doctors, that actual attention of mind is not necessary when they recite their Canonical hours, that is, they need not mind God in their service, nor the matter of it more than the object, nor the sense of what they say, nor the words they use; not any of these need be actually minded. A purpose or intention to do it is sufficient, though that purpose be not at all performed. This is the Doctrine of their great Aquinas ^(c)concerning Prayer in general, whom the ^(d)rest commonly follow. Attention is not necessary all the while, but the virtue of the first intention, with which a man comes to prayer, renders the whole prayer meritorious, as it falls out in other meritorious acts. And this first intention also is enough to make the prayer prevalent. ⟨p. 5⟩So he explains his main conclusion, viz. ^(e)Prayer ought to be at least attentive in respect of a previous intention. So that they may be attentive enough, by virtue of this first intention, though they do not at all mind afterwards what they are doing▪ when they should be worshipping: Which is just as if they should say, a man that goes to Church, with an intent to join in their service, but falls fast asleep when he comes there, serves God effectually, and is attentive enough, by virtue of that former intention, though he sleep all the while.