Dissertation on the Most August Sacrament of the Lord's Body and Blood (1655) - Page 15

[con]cord; I trust that this plan of mine will be approved by your Most Reverend and Most Illustrious Highness. You do not only hold the dignity of a Prince of the Most Holy Roman Empire S. Rom. ImperijThe Holy Roman Empire (Sacrum Romanum Imperium) was a multi-ethnic complex of territories in central Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages., but you also adorn it. Thus, you promote and defend the common good—which depends so greatly upon the true worship of God and the agreement of minds—with the great authority you possess. Furthermore, I do not doubt that the subject of this dissertation itself will be most pleasing to you. For what is more sublime than such a mystery? What is holier, happier, or more pleasant? What is more fruitful than its religious veneration? It extinguishes vices, kindles charity, pours in virtues, increases grace, and grants health to both mind and body. The Apostle said most truly: Piety is useful for all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come original: "Pietas ad omnia utilis est, promissionem habens vitæ, quæ nunc est, & futuræ." 1 Timothy 4:8.. Consistent with this, Sozomenus wrote: Piety is the true ornament of empire original: "Pietas verus imperij est ornatus." Salaminius Hermias Sozomenus was a 5th-century historian of the Christian Church. (Preface to the Tripartite History The "Historia Tripartita" was a highly influential medieval compilation of church history.). And the great Augustine: No power is greater than true piety for the prosperity of a good and blessed life original: "Nulla vis maior pietate vera, ad omnem videlicet bonæ beatæque vitæ prosperitatem.", as he explains at the beginning of his book On True Religion.

This piety, moreover, along with the other virtues related to it, is nourished and perfected by nothing more than the fitting and frequent attendance of the most holy sacrifice of the Mass and the most glorious Sacrament of the Eucharist—a devotion that has been familiar to Your Highness since your youth. By which...