The same is the doctrine of St. Philip Neri, who used to say that we must not think of going to heaven with ease, and, as it were, by coach;' but that we may enter that eternal kingdom, and attain to those mansions of eternal bliss, we must walk, and labour, and suffer. 'Let us not deceive ourselves,' says St. Gregory; 'we cannot attain to the great reward of the elect of God, except we are willing to endure great labours.' Ad magna præmia perveniri non potest nisi per magnos labores. Behold what labours the children of this world undergo in order to gain some temporal advantage; how the merchant toils night and day for a handful of perishable wealth; how the soldier braves every danger to obtain some transient honour! And shall Christians, shall the children of light be so tepid and cold as to draw back, and refuse to endure a little labour, or to undergo a short suffering, which will obtain for them a crown of neverfading glory in the mansions of eternal happiness? Ah, surely "the sufferings of this life are not worthy to be compared with the glory to come." Let us, then, labour manfully during the few years of our transitory existence; and the hour will soon come when we shall have the great happiness of exclaiming, with St. Peter of Alcantara, 'Oh, happy sufferings, which have merited for me so exceeding great a glory!'

So far I have gone on the supposition that the practice of prayer requires great labour and sacrifice on our part; I have imagined that, on account of our natural weakness, of our original corruption, we cannot practise it without submitting ourselves to great hardship and suffering; and even under this supposition, I have proved that we ought never to resolve to abandon it, which would be to the utter ruin of our immortal soul. But I now ask, is it

true that the practice of prayer is accompanied with such an enormous difficulty? Is it true that it costs so much violence, and labour, and trouble, and sacrifice, as the enemy of our salvation strives to make us believe? Ah, "No," says the Wise Man, "No: His conversation knows no bitterness, and His company is free from tediousness.” "Taste and see," says the holy David, "how the Lord is sweet." It is true that the act of withdrawing ourselves from creatures, and of raising our mind and heart to God, which are requisite for the due performance of prayer, imports some sacrifice on the part of our corrupt nature. But is there any thing, however hard and laborious, however painful to human nature, which may not become most delightful, and be rendered sweet and easy by the power of Divine grace? Let us listen to Jesus, to the Son of the living God, who has the words of eternal life. "Take My yoke upon you," says He, and try if I am hard and cruel to My friends, and not rather mild and bountiful; try and see whether I do not lighten by My grace all the labours which they undergo in My service. I assure you that "My yoke is sweet, and My burden light, " and that those who bear it faithfully shall find rest to their souls. Ah, let us, then, take care to love God; let us beg, with all humility, the powerful assistance of His Divine grace; and, instead of finding the practice of prayer hard and difficult, we shall find therein our greatest pleasure and delight.

Wisd. viii. 16.

2 Matt. xi. 28-30.

ARTICLE X.

ON THE EXAMINATION OF CONSCIENCE.

The examination of conscience is a pious exercise directed to the discovery and detestation of our sins; and it possesses especial efficacy towards aiding us in the work of our sanctification. St. Ignatius, and after him the whole host of spiritual writers, divide it into general and particular. The general examination has for its object all the sins of our life, or all those which we have committed during a certain period of time; as, for instance, during the course of a year, a month, or a day. The particular examination, which is intended to be an instrument for reducing to practice the good resolutions made in the general one, has for its object some particular virtue, which we need more especially to acquire; or some particular vice, which we need more especially to

overcome.

SECTION I.

Importance of frequently examining our conscience in order to purify our soul from sin and advance in virtue.

We learn from history that the wisest of the ancient philosophers looked upon the examination of conscience as a most powerful and efficacious means to preserve themselves free from vice, and advance in virtue, and in the attainment of solid wisdom. Thus Pythagoras was accustomed each night to examine how he had spent the day, and whether by thoughts, words, or actions he had deviated from the path of justice, and violated his duties. And the same practice he also recommended to his dis

ciples; so that it afterwards became a rule amongst his followers to perform carefully this exercise every day. Cicero also, in his treatise De Senectute, greatly extols this practice, and recommends it to those who desire to attain true wisdom and to advance in virtue.

But if the examination of conscience is deemed to be of so great importance for the attainment of mere human wisdom and the advancement in natural justice, what shall we say of its necessity for the acquisition of that heavenly wisdom, and for the attainment of that supernatural justice, to which Christians are called? Who can reflect upon this without seeing at once the particular obligation under which Christians lie of often searching into the recesses of their hearts, of scrutinising the actions of their life, and carefully examining their own conscience?

That we may be the better convinced of this truth, let us consider the practice and teaching of the Saints on this point. The great St. Basil, the father of the ancient monks, speaks of this examination as being practised by all the religious of the East every day. St. Ephrem, also one of the most ancient Oriental fathers, speaks with great praise of this holy duty; and, in order to promote its practice amongst religious, makes use of the following comparison: As a merchant,' says he, 'who wishes to succeed well in his business, and to gain a good fortune, diligently examines each day his books, to see whether he has lost or gained on that day; so should the religious carefully examine every day his own conscience, to see how he is proceeding in the path of perfection, whether he is advancing or falling back.' St. John Chrysostom also highly commends this practice, and exhorts all Christians to adopt it. As a master of a family,' says he,

'calls together his different servants at the close of the day, to see how they have fulfilled their various offices, so must the Christian summon before the tribunal of his reason every day the senses of his body, and all the various faculties and powers of his soul, and ask of them to give a strict account of the manner in which they have fulfilled their respective functions.' St. Gregory says, that he who neglects to examine his conscience walks at random, and, as it were, blindfolded; and that he knows not whither he is going, nor how he is proceeding in the path of virtue.

In addition to highly extolling and recommending the practice of examination of conscience, the Saints have always been most diligent in adopting it themselves. Thus we know that St. Ignatius was not satisfied with making the two examinations prescribed by his rules at the evening and at noon, but he examined himself every hour in the day, to see what advances he was making in perfection. On a certain occasion, meeting with one of his religious, who was regarded by all as a saint, St. Ignatius, to see how far he was advanced in perfection, asked him how often he had examined his conscience that day, and having received for answer that he had done it seven times, the Saint subjoined, with a kind of surprise, 'Only seven times!' Thus shewing in what esteem he

held this practice.

The principal reason which shews this necessity of frequently examining our conscience, that we may purify our souls from sin, and advance in the path of holiness, is the corruption of our nature. If we had retained those excellent dispositions and that perfect righteousness in which our first parents were created, we should have no need of examining our conscience so often. For in this case our