mortifying them, thou wilt cease to be guilty in the sight of God, and He will begin to love thee. But if thou hast already by God's merciful grace abandoned this state of sin and guilt, never cease to thank thy Lord for it, and to be strenuous in thy endeavours to make Him some satisfaction for thy past sins. Remember that in the religious life thou art not safer against a fall than Adam was in a state of innocence, or than Lucifer was on the threshold of heaven.

FRIDAY IN THE THIRD WEEK AFTER
PENTECOST.

Qui sunt Christi carnem suam crucifixerunt, cum vitiis et concupiscentiis.-Gal. v. 24.

They that are Christ's have crucified their flesh, with the vices and concupiscences.

I. CONSIDER that the sign of being especially beloved by Christ is not the being a worker of miracles, or a great preacher, or a learned man, but the being interiorly and greatly mortified; which is a thing that all can arrive at by the help of God, provided only they wish it. This interior mortification is called a crucifixion because it has to be practised from a devoted love for our crucified God, and with a desire of being made like unto Him; and, again, because the practice of this mortification ought to be painful and persevering, like the crucifixion that Jesus underwent, Who remained immovably nailed to the cross in the greatest agony, until He expired. Reflect whether thy spirit of mortification bears any resemblance to this, or rather if it be not inconstant; and whether

perchance thou shunnest to the utmost of thy power every occasion for practising it. The less thou lovest mortification, the less wilt thou be beloved by Jesus.

II. Consider that thou oughtest to mortify thy flesh in the first place, in order thus to put the axe to the root. The flesh is the root of all the evils that affect the soul, and if thou wouldst set about the cure of the soul it behoves thee to get the upper hand of the flesh. Now, before God, what corporal penances dost thou perform? Art thou intent on bringing thy flesh under subjection, or art thou perchance intent on pampering it? Remember, too, that the mere exterior mortification of the flesh is not enough. Of what use is it to take away the cause of the fever if the fever itself is not at the same time destroyed? Hence to exterior mortification thou must join interior mortification; indeed the former has to be employed only as a means for the attainment of the latter, which is the all-important mortification.

III. Consider what it is that has to be pulled down and destroyed by this interior mortification. It is thy vices, or in other words, thy sins, and thy concupiscences; that is to say, thy passions. Thou must first of all set to work at thy sins, by cleansing thy soul of them, and then turn thy attention to thy passions, by bringing them into subjection. Which are the passions that hold greater sway over thee? Endeavour to find them out with a view to mortify them, so that if they must live they may at least live fastened to the cross. By vices are to be understood, not, properly speaking, actual sins, but habitual sins. It is difficult to arrive at such a degree of mortification as not to commit any actual sin at all, but it is quite possible to arrive at that degree which excludes all habitual sin. Hence it is to the mortification of thy vices, whether little or great, that thou must give thy particular attention, and not content thyself with allowing them to live

although fastened to the cross, but persecute them till they die on the cross. By the help of God's grace thou wilt be enabled to attain even this triumph over thy vices, if only thou art determined to mortify them in real earnest.

SATURDAY IN THE THIRD WEEK AFTER PENTECOST.

Sagittæ tuæ transeunt: vox tonitrui tui in rota.-Ps. lxxvi. 18, 19.

Thy arrows pass: the voice of thy thunder in a wheel.

I. CONSIDER that all the various evils, such as sickness, trials and misfortunes, which come to thee in this world from the hand of Almighty God, are so many arrows which He darts at thee from His throne in heaven, either to punish thee or to try thee. These are arrows that smart-it cannot be denied-sharp arrows that pierce through and through and make us bleed; but, after all, they are arrows that pass swiftly by. Sagittæ tuæ transeunt-Thy arrows pass. In what, then, can that dread calamity consist which is never to pass away? It will be that dreadful sentence which Christ Our Lord will thunder forth on the last day in the ears of sinners, and which will drive them away from Him when He shall say: Discedite a me maledicti in ignem æternum-Matth. xxv. 41-Depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire. This dread sentence will resound for ever in the ears of the damned as the great wheel of eternity revolves in its never-ending circle; for ever will it strike dismay and despair into their aching hearts. How comes it, then, that thou, who art so fearful of, and art so much upset by, the

temporal misfortunes which befall thee, and which pass swiftly by like arrows-how comes it that thou remainest unmoved and undismayed at the danger of those eternal woes that threaten thee?

II. Consider that that voice with which Christ will pronounce sentence on the damned is called a voice of thunder-vox tonitrui; because just as the thunder is produced by the coalition of the electric fluids that have been pent up in, and have overladen, the clouds, and at length bursts forth in awful grandeur to give vent to its power and fury, striking awe in all who witness the storm, so also on that dreadful day the voice of Christ will be a voice of thunder; it will give expression to the just indignation and wrath that He has for so long a while withheld and smothered in His heart, and which will burst forth with so much the more fury on these wretched outlaws in proportion as He will have delayed and put off the manifestation of His anger. It will overwhelm them with such fear and dread that they will call upon the mountains to bury them and swallow them up in the depths of the earth. Tacui semper et silui, patiens fui, ut parturiens loquar, destruam et absorbebo simul-Isa. xlii. 14-I have always kept my peace, I have kept silence, I have been patient, I will speak now as a woman in labour: I will destroy, and swallow up at once. This is what He tells thee by His Prophet Isaias, and wouldst thou now be so rash as to have no fear of provoking Him to anger? Set thyself to ponder earnestly on this voice of thunder, Discedite a me maledicti in ignem æternum-Depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, and thou wilt willingly bear with patience the trials that Our Lord sends thee in this life, to escape hearing this voice of thunder burst over thy own head on His judgment day.

III. Consider that it is said that the sound of this thunder will be in rota-in a wheel, because it will fill the whole circuit of eternity, which will never come to

an end; so that when millions and millions of ages shall have passed away, there will always be a still longer period remaining in the future. The wheel of eternity, whether it be a happy or an unhappy eternity, is stationary. Whosoever once finds himself at the top of this wheel will for ever remain there, and whosoever has the misfortune to find himself at the bottom of it, will remain in the depths for ever. Oh, what would become of thee if it were thy lot to find thyself at the bottom of this wheel? Perditus in æternum eris-Jer. li. 26-Thou shalt be destroyed for ever. Time will whirl round, but not so the fate of him that has no longer time to do good. Do thy best, therefore, to put thyself in safety by doing good now that thou hast the time.

FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST.

Per totum noctem laborantes nihil cupimus-Luc. v. 5. We have laboured all the night, and have taken nothing.

I. CONSIDER Who are they that labour a great deal in the night of this world, but without any fruit. They are, in a particular way, those religious that busy themselves in worldly matters and undertakings which are unbecoming their state of life; they are those that are occupied in the otherwise religious duties of studying, preaching, and fulfilling their daily occupations, only doing all this, not with the end of serving God, but from other human motives, either to gain esteem and applause, or to obtain some higher position or greater ease and comfort. Finally, they are those that perform their actions, either good or indifferent, as it were in the dark, without setting before themselves any