tivals of the Saints of the Order, taking advantage of these occasions to implore them to assist me in being faithful to my Rule?

7. Have I armed myself with any weapon to resist any real or imaginary injury or insult? Have I done anything to bring about disagreement with my neighbour; or, being at variance, have I done all in my power to be reconciled with him? Have I avoided discussing vexed questions, such as are calculated to lead to angry differences?

8. Have I been exact as to time, and have I prepared myself for reciting the Office, or prayers substituted for it? Have I taken proper pains to be recollected, and said my Office with devotion, and not merely as a matter of form?

9. Have I made my will, as prescribed by the Rule? And done so with due regard to justice, so as not to expose my heirs to vexatious lawsuits?

10. Have I exercised due consideration for the feelings of others, avoiding anything calculated to vex or annoy them? Have I exercised my influence in reconciling others, and being reconciled myself? Have I been exacting of others?

11. Have I given cause for persecution by misconduct or imprudence? Have I forgiven those who have persecuted or annoyed me?

12. Have I given way to swearing; or, having done so from inadvertency or carelessness, have I repeated the three Paters prescribed by the Rule? Have I been moderate in my way of talking, or have I assumed a loud voice and imperious manner? Have I insisted doggedly upon any point?

13. Have I taken every reasonable opportunity of 'assisting at daily Mass, and the other offices of the Church, and done so on fasts, with due attention, en

deavouring to impress myself with the great solemnity? Have I assisted at the monthly assemblies, and offered alms according to my means?

14. Have I been careful to visit the sick members of the Order, offering them such consolation as I was able? Have I assisted at the interment of such as have died, and done what the Rule requires on behalf of defunct members? Have I prayed daily for the living and dead members of the Order?

15, 16. Being elected to any office, have I accepted it humbly, and fulfilled the duties faithfully?

17. Have I been careful to avoid lawsuits or vexatious litigation, being willing to make some sacrifice for this end? Or, not being able to avoid litigation, have I conducted it charitably, so as not to subject my adversary to unnecessary vexation?

18. Have I obtained dispensation from fasting without real necessity, but from a spirit of immortification?

19. Being warned of my faults, have I received the advice humbly, and endeavoured to correct my failings?

20. Though no omission or transgression against the Rule is a mortal or even a venial sin, unless it be opposed to the commandments of God or the Church, still have I, according to the spirit of the Order, cherished a love of obedience to these rules, being careful not to do anything contrary to them?

GENERAL OBSERVATIONS.

As members of a Religious Order, we should endeavour to practise the three virtues characteristic of the religious life-poverty, obedience, and chastity-according to our state. As children of St. Francis, the great lover of poverty, we should labour hard to destroy in our hearts all attachment to riches and worldly honours. Every-day life will afford us many opportunities for this.

If God has put riches into our hands, we should dispense them liberally and cheerfully. If in the course of our daily transactions we are subject to losses, or are made to pay more than we think is quite just, we should not attach an undue importance to it, remembering that it is better to have less than more, and accepting the loss as a little sacrifice which we can offer up in thanksgiving to God through our holy Founder.

Prayer, alms, and mortification are three things we should practise daily. We should endeavour to remember that the omission of any one, so to speak, renders the others imperfect; so that we must practise them simultaneously. Our prayers should be fervent, constant, and universal; for every action should be seasoned by prayer. Our alms must be liberal according to our means; and if it is not in our power to give money, we can assist our neighbour in many ways, or we can, at least, always pray for him.

We must be generous in our mortifications, which we can practise without injuring our health or attraeting notice. On this head we must consult our Director, who will best know what suits each individually.

The daily practice of these three virtues will help us much in the way of perfection, and will prevent our falling into the inconsistencies so frequently observed in pious persons, who are apt to attach themselves to some one of these to the exclusion of the other two.

It does not accord with our present object to expatiate at length upon our Rule, or the duties incumbent upon us as members of a religious order; but the above examination of conscience, with the remarks, will be sufficient to turn attention to this important subject, which each one will strive to apply to himself.1

1 Taken from the English Third Order Manual, published by Burns & Co.

Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

The substitution of this for the Divine Office is permitted to Tertiaries by the eighth Statute, when precluded by charitable or home duties from saying the longer one.