us.

THIRTIETH DAY.-ON FERVOUR IN THE SERVICE OF GOD. 1. Let us have as much zeal for God as he has for He acts exteriorly but for the perfection of our souls. All the desires of his heart-all the cares of his providence-all the tenderness of his mercy-are referred to this. Oh! what a subject of confusion for tepid souls!

2. Were we to judge of God by our own indifference, it might be said that he does not deserve our services, and that his rewards are very trifling. What idea can be had of a master whose servants attend him carelessly, and without the smallest affection? We dishonour God, we cry down his services, as often as we perform negligently what he requires of us. Wo be to the man who does the work of God without attention!

3. An action done for God, how trifling soever it may be, is of far greater value than the most renowned exploits of heroes. If we pique ourselves upon so much courage in labouring for vanity, what should be done when we are employed for eternity! What! the servants of the devil spare no painsthey do not complain of what they go throughthey are ever indefatigable. Is Jesus Christ less deserving of consideration than the devil? Is paradise less valuable than hell? Hell then shall be, as it were, our instructor: we are to love God as much as the damned hate him: we are to serve God as much as the world serves the devil. Is this too much?

[Examine your conduct with respect to the service of God: consider the actions, in which you are most remiss, and excite yourself to perform them henceforth with a fervour worthy your Master.]

"Fervent in spirit serving the Lord."-Romans.

"Let the ardour you formerly had for the world, be now entertained for him who created it."-St. Austin.

THIRTY-FIRST DAY.-ON DEVOTION TO THE MOTHER

OF GOD.

1. A more pure, excellent, or more amiable being than this glorious Virgin, was never yet created. God having, from all eternity, destined her to be the Mother of his Son, it was proper she should be embellished with every created excellence, and that her dignity and influence in heaven should far surpass the dignity and influence of all the other saints. Most justly, then, is she entitled to our veneration, respect, and esteem.

2. Let us place ourselves under her protection; let us recommend ourselves to her prayers. How great soever our wickedness, or how numerous soever our faults may have been, let us always have recourse to her, and hope through her prayers for the grace of our conversion. Her charity is so great, her interest is so powerful, that she must always plead successfully for the repenting sinner.

3. But, let us never forget, that to honour her properly is to imitate her virtues-that to persevere in sin upon the hopes of her future intercession, is equally absurd, impious, and detestable. Her hatred of this error should be always before our eyes. purity, her mildness, her patience, should be ever present to us.

"Hail, full of grace."--Luke i.

Her

"O Name! under which no one should despair."--St. Austin.

CONCLUSION.

Which may be read with great profit every Sunday. 1. As Christians, it would be very profitable for us to reflect, every morning, that we have on that day a God to glorify, a Saviour to imitate, our souls to save, our bodies to mortify, virtues to acquire, sins to satisfy for, heaven to seek after, hell to avoid,

eternity to meditate on, time to improve, temptation to overcome, the devil to resist, our neighbour to edify, our passions to subdue, the world to guard against, and, perhaps, death and judgment to undergo. Reflect seriously on all these important truths, and they will not only incite you to begin the day well, but also, in the course thereof, to make the affair of your eternal salvation your principal study.

2. As it is also a duty of the greatest consequence to conclude the day properly, nothing can prove a more powerful incitement thereto than the serious consideration of the many spiritual and temporal blessings which God has bestowed on you, the various evils from which his providence has hitherto preserved you, and the absolute uncertainty whether you shall ever unclose your eyes to behold the next morning. Thousands, who had as good a right to expect it as you, were nevertheless disappointed. The very bed on which you lie is a memento mori or kind of sepulchre, and sleep, the image of death. What unaccountable rashness, then, must it be, for a sinner to compose himself to sleep in a state of mortal sin, without first endeavouring to appease the wrath of God by an act of contrition, or some other spiritual exercise of piety or devotion; since that very night perhaps his soul may be required of him.

3. Let us, then, guard against this danger, by a faithful discharge of every Christian duty let us frequently exclaim, with the prophet, "Enlighten mine eyes, O Lord, that I may never sleep in death, lest the enemy, at any time, may say-I have prevailed against him."

"He that desires to make any progress in the service of God, must begin every day with fresh ardour: he must, as much as possible, keep himself

in the presence of God, and, in all his actions, have no other object in view but that of promoting the divine honour."-St. C. Borromeo.

On the Lord's Prayer.

HE Lord's prayer consists of a preamble or pre

Tface, and seven petitions; seven being a mysterious

or mystical number in the sacred writings: it is the most dignified and perfect of all prayers, and excels every other for six principal reasons: viz., by reason,

A PARAPHRASE ON THE LORD'S PRAYER.

Our Father, who art in Heaven.

infinite in Majesty, is it possible that thy love and infinite goodness for us should be so great, as to suffer so poor worms as we are to call thee Father? O make us ever dutiful children to such a parent! O my soul, ever remember this dignity to which thou art raised, of being a child of God: and see thou never degenerate by making thyself a slave to sin and the devil. O most holy Father, who dwellest in heaven and heavenly souls, raise my heart to thee; and teach me, by thy interior grace, to pray to thee this day with due attention, devotion, humility, and faith.

Hallowed be thy name.

I

The first thing I beg of thee, O heavenly Father, is the greater honour and glory of thy name. rejoice with all my soul that in thyself thou art infinitely happy, infinitely glorious, and that thou art eternally adored, praised, and glorified by all thy angels and saints. But, alas! O Lord, how little art thou known in this miserable world! how little art thou loved here! how little art thou served! How is thy name blasphemed all the day, even by those who call themselves Christians! How many millions of souls, in all parts of the world, though made to thy own image and likeness, and redeemed by the precious blood of thy only Son, live and die in infidelity, error, and vice, to the great dishonour of thy holy name. O when shall so great an evil be remedied! O that I could do anything to remedy it! O that I could worthily promote the honour and glory of thy name! O that I could make it known to all nations! O that, like the blessed in heaven, we were all happily united in praising, blessing, and loving thee! But this must be the work of thy grace, O Lord: and this grace I beg of the this day, that so both I and all the world may ever adore, praise, and love thee; and not only in words, but much more in our actions, show forth the glory of thy name.

Thy kingdom come.

But

Heaven is the seat of thy eternal kingdom, O Lord, where thou livest and reignest for ever. whilst we are here in this mortal life, thy kingdom is within us, as long as thou reignest within our souls, by thy grace and by thy love. I earnestly beg both for myself and for all others, a share in thy eternal kingdom, that we may there be witnesses of thy