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THE

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Little Follower of Jesus

— BY-
REV. A. M. GRUSSI, C.PP. S.

A BOOK FOR THE YOUNG FOLKS,

BASED AND BUILT ON

" The Following of Christ."

— BY —

THOMAS A KEMPIS.

FIRST AND SECOND. &OOK'.

Cum Permissu Superiorum, , , ,

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NEW YORK :

P. J. K E N E D Y,

Excelsior Catholic Pizblishing House,
5 BAKCLAY STKEET.

1 8~8~9.

,91524

COPYRIGHT,

1889,

BY P. J. KENEDY.

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TO

His EMINENCE

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ARCHBISHOP or BALTIMORE,

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THIS WORK,

J^ITTLS FOLLOWER OF JESUS,
is

MOST HUMBLY AND RESPECTFULLY
DEDICATED.

THE AUTHOR.

CONTENTS.

PAGE

INTRODUCTORY 7

The Little Follower of Jesus 11

BOOK FIRST.— The Road Laid Out.

CHAPTER

I. Despise the Vanity of the World 17

II. Have a Humble Opinion of Yourself 21

III. The Doctrine of Faith 26

IV. Be Prudent in What You Do 31

V. On Heading 36

VI. Renounce Inordinate Affection 41

VII. Avoid Vain Hope 46

VIII. Friendship and Undue Intimacy 51

IX. Obedience and Subjection 55

X. Bridle your Tongue 60

XI. Progress in Spiritual Life 65

XII. Trials and Afflictions 70

XIII. Resisting Temptations 76

XIV. Rash Judgment 81

XV. Works Done out of Charity 86

XVI. Bearing the Faults of Others 92

XVII. Vocation 98

XVIII. Example of the Saints 104

V

CONTENTS.

XIX. Exercises of a Good Christian 108

XX. Silence and Solitude 112

XXI. Sorrow of Heart 117

XXII. Human Misery 122

XXIII. Thoughts on Death 127

XXIV. Judgment and What Comes After. . . 132
XXV. Amend Your Life 137

BOOK SECOND. -Steps Towards Jesus.
CHAPTER

I. Interior Life 145

II. Humble Submission 149

III. A Peaceful Disposition 153

IV. A Pure Mind and Simple Intention.. 158
V. Self-Consideration 163

VI. Joy of a Good Conscience 167

VII. Love of Jesus Above All Things.. ,. . 172

VIII. Familiar Friendship with Jesus 177

IX. Want of All Consolation 182

X. Gratitude for the Grace of God 188

XI. Lovers of the Cross 193

XII. The Eoyal Way of the Cross 199

The Flowers 207

Angels' Dialogue on New Year's Night 214

The Legend of St. Christophorus 233

INTRODUCTORY.

of what I would like to say, by way
of introduction, is already contained
in that first article under the title of
the book— "The Little Follower of Jesus."
Here I would add only these few remarks.

First : These articles were begun about a
year and a half ago, and were printed, piece
by piece, in the Little Crusader, the same chil-
dren's paper that my other stories, entitled
Drops of Honey, first appeared in. As you will
notice, the work is not yet complete. You
have here only the First and Second Books.
It will take me at least two years more to fin-
ish the other two books, the Third and
Fourth. God willing, they will be got ready
for you by.-and-by. In the meanwhile, make
good use of this part of the work.

Secondly: The whole of the work, by the
time it is completed, will make a rather large
and thick book ; hence, I made the publisher
the following proposal : To divide the whole
work into two parts, the First and Second
Books of it to be given out in one volume, the
Third and Fourth, later on, in another. He

8 INTRODUCTORY.

agreed and was very well satisfied ; and there-
fore you have now the First Volume of the Lit-
tle Follower of Jesus. It is sent out ahead, to
prepare the way, so to speak, for the Second
Volume, which will follow in about two years,
or as much sooner as -it can be got ready.

Thirdly : One particular feature of this
work, which is not mentioned in the first in-
troductory article, and that I wish, therefore,
to call your attention to here, is this : I try,
in every chapter, to introduce a little story-
one that has a bearing on the subject treated
in that chapter. These stories, I trust, will
more fully awaken the interest of the readers,
and keep their minds fixed more and better on
the instructions and admonitions that are
given. Most of these stories are taken from
an excellent German work, called, Mehlers
Seispiele.

Fourthly : This work, The Little Follower of
Jesus, is intended to be a book of spiritual
reading, particularly for the young folks.
How should you use it, therefore ? Try to
read at least one chapter every day. Before
you begin to read, kneel down first and say a
short prayer to the Holy Ghost. Think that
God- is present, and that He is about to speak

INTKODUCTOKY. 9

to you from the book. Then read the chapter
slowly and attentively. When you have fin-
ished reading, close the book, and spend a
few minutes in thinking over what you have
read. Do this, and the book, with God's grace
and blessing, will be of great benefit to your
souls.

May Jesus bless us all !

of

^pyOB some time past, I have been read-
ing a certain little book which, I sup-
pose, many of you know, or at least, of
which you have heard — the golden book, as
it is called, of The Following of Christ, by
Thomas a Kempis.

This book, so full of God's holy spirit and
truth, has been, and is still, a guide for thou-
sands of pious souls on the way to sanctity and
perfection. But for children who have not
yet received the full gift of understanding, and
who, therefore, are not able to study over and
meditate on the truths contained in this book,
I rather think it is too high : they cannot
yet reach its sense so as to draw the precious
fruit out of it.

Yet, a person, you know, ought not to wait
till he is grown up to become a follower of*
Christ. No ; the earlier he begins with it, the
better. Jesus, our Saviour, is the Model for

us all to imitate ; and, indeed, if this divine

n

12 THE LITTLE FOLLOWER OF JESUS.

Model were placed before the children quite
early, as soon as their minds develop, and
they begin to understand — placed before them
in a lively manner, so that they will take in-
terest in it, and would thus be led to study
the life of their "Redeemer, don't you think
a great deal of good would be done in the
world by such a work ? I am sure, it would
soon help to increase the number of true,
devout Christians, followers of Christ.

Let us suppose, here is a young man who is
given to bad ways. He has acquired wicked
habits, which have already brought death to
his soul, and which, maybe, cause him to be
a scandal to others, a disgrace to our holy re-
ligion, and to his name of Catholic. What
now ? Speak to him of the following of
Christ, tell him to set before himself for imi-
tation the beautiful life of our blessed Re-
deemer : what good will it do? He will not
even listen to you ; and you might as well
preach the following of Christ to a stone or
a |-ree — it would do just as much good. But,
had he been trained to it when he was a
child ; had you then set before him for imita-
tion the lovely model of our Saviour's life ;
had you then often instructed him, and called

THE LITTLE FOLLOWER OF JESUS. 13

his attention to the beauty of virtue as repre-
sented in the model ; had you then kindly
taken him by the hand, and pointing to Jesus
going ahead, led him forward on the way ;
had you done all this then, when the young
man was yet an innocent child, don't you
think he might be a good Christian now, lead-
ing a pious, holy life, saving his own soul, and,
perhaps, the souls of many others?

Oh, yes ! It is very important that the chil-
dren, God's little ones, should learn and be led
to follow the foot-steps of Jesus Christ.
Therefore, while reading the Following of
Christ, as I have said, it occurred to me that,
maybe, with God's blessing, I could do some-
thing for the little ones, to benefit their souls
in this way. I have studied the matter over
for a long time ; now I will tell you what I
will do, and how :

I will take the Following of Christ, and read
a chapter out of it ; then I will close the book
and meditate for a time on what I have read ;
then I will sit down to write a chapter for
you, my dear little reader of the Crusader. I
will try to get a chapter ready for you every
week ; and it will always, as near as I can
make it, treat on the same matter as the cor-

14 THE LITTLE FOLLOWER OF JESl >..

responding chapter in the following of CJtrixt.
The title of each chapter shall remain the same,
excepting where I might think it proper to
change a word — without altering the sense,
however — so that you may more easily under-
stand it. And I will also try to bring in from
the - Following of Christ whatever is suitable,
and as well as I can arrange it. For the rest, I
will speak to you and instruct you in my
own style ; and I will endeavor, if possible, to
close each article with a verse or a few lines
from that chapter 011 which I had been writ-
ing. Now, this is my plan.

And, because I intend to place before you, in
as lively and interesting a manner as lean,
Jesus, our blessed Saviour, for your imitation,
and, at the same time, to lead you on and teach
you how to follow Him, I will call the whole
work " The Little Follower of Jesus." Do you
understand it all now ?

I trust with God's help, if He lets me live
and keeps me well, that I can carry the work
through and finish it. May he bless my feeble
efforts, and let all be to His honor and glory !

mock Jrhrst.

THE ROAD LAID OUT.

I.

Despise the Vanity of the World.

•[Y child, there are two roads before you.
On the one you see Jesus, your Ke-
deemer, who loves you so much. He
goes ahead of you, and beckons you to follow
Him. On the other is the world, which also
loves, or rather pretends to love you. It,
too, is winking, and coaxing you to follow it.
" He that followeth Me walketh not in dark-
ness," says Jesus. u Come, follow me," the
world says ; " let us enjoy the good things
present." To whom will you listen? Which
will you follow ?

A child was once looking at the rainbow.
See ! the end of it comes down way over yon-
der, in that field, where the walnut tree stands.
People told her that if she would go where the
end of such a rainbow was, she would find
something beautiful — a costly treasure. So,
now, she would just run over to the walnut
tree, and see what she would find in the end of
the rainbow. She hurries over ; and when she
reaches the tree, she is tired and nearly out of
breath ; and she looks around for the treasure.

18 LITTLE FOLLOWER OF JESUS.

•

But the rainbow is gone ; and there is no
treasure, nor anything beautiful as she ex-
pected. She is awfully disappointed.

Do you know what vanity is ? Vanity means
something empty. If there is anything you
think is worth something, or you think there
is something of great worth in it, and you find
out it is not worth anything at all, or there is
nothing at all of worth in it, why, then, that
is what we call a vanity.

Now, Jesus invites you to follow Him ; the
world coaxes you to follow it. Jesus says,
He will teach you, and give }^ou many good
things. But these good things are yet hidden.
First, He wants you to follow Him ; then He
will let you taste these good things by-and-by.
Jesus, and His Spirit, and His teachings, and
the good things He possesses, are all hidden
manna. You will find out how sweet this
manna is only when you have tasted it.

But you must not turn away from it. Be-
cause you often hear about this manna, and
you never see anything but what looks poor
and insignificant, you might think there is
nothing in it, and you might go by and let it
alone, and not care anything about it.

First of all, Jesus wants you to be humble.

DESPISE THE VANITY OF THE WORLD. 19

Even if you knew the whole Bible by heart,
.and could tell all the smart things that the
great men of the world have said, your Sav-
iour would not want vou to be the least bit

•y

proud about it. He says Himself : " I resist
the proud ; but to the humble I give My
grace." Therefore, first of all, if you want to
be a follower of Jesus, and taste of the hidden
manna, you must be humble.

But the world also makes you promises.
It says : " Look here, little one ! my goods
are not hidden. They are open before you :
you can see them, taste them, possess them. I
will give you riches and honors, and any
pleasure and amusement you can desire. I
will give you a long life of happiness, real,
lasting happiness. Follow me, and I can as-
sure you, you can always sing : " I am as
happy as a big sun-flower ! '

Beware, my child ! Do not listen to this
voice. What the world promises you is noth-
ing but vanity. It has fooled many a one,,
and brought him into misery ; and he was
sorry for it only when it was too late. Listen
to Jesus, and follow Him on the road He leads
you. With Him you will find your true and
only happiness

LITTLE FOLLOWER OF JESUS.

" Vanity of vanities/' says Thomas a Keni-
pis, " and all is vanity, but to love God and
Him alone.'

II,

Have a Humble Opinion of Yourself.

saint, I believe it was St. Philip
Neri, heard a certain Sister praised very
highly for her virtues. People said she
was a real saint ; and the fame of her holiness
was spreading all around. St. Philip wanted
to find out how much truth there was in the
reported sanctity of this person ; he wanted to
try her virtue. What did he do ?

mJ

He put on old, patched clothes, an old crum-
pled hat, and a pair of torn boots — sure, he
looked like a real beggar, and nobody would
have the least idea that this was St. Philip-
and in that guise he started off to visit the
Sister whose holiness he heard people praise
so much. Before he came to the convent, he
took care to wade through a mud puddle, to
dirty his boots, and thus to give them a worse
appearance than they already had.

When the portress opened the door and
asked what he wanted, he told her he wished
to see that Sister about whose virtues and
sanctity people were talking so much, that he
had something particular to say, about which

21

THE LITTLE FOLLOWER OF JESUS.

he wanted lier counsel. Accordingly, the nun
was called.

" Poor man ! what can I do for you ? ' she
asked.

"Would you, please, just pull off my
boots ? ' St. Philip asked in return.

" What, you beggar ! I pull off your boots ?
Get out of here as fast as you can ! ' and she
left the " beggar ' and went out of the room,
not a little angry.

" Aha ! well ! ' thought the Saint to himself,
" the sanctity of this Sister is not so very deep.
The foundation is wanting. She is not humble."

Do you see now, my child ? I told }rou the
last time that, if you want to be a true follow-
er of Jesus, first of all, be humble. But to be
or to become humble is not so easy. The vir-
tue of humility can be more easily talked about
than acquired. Yet it is true, and you can see
it from what I have told you about St. Philip
and the nun, that without humility you cannot
become holy, you cannot become a true follow-
er of Jesus.

Now, then, what will you begin with ? You
want to become humble, for you want to be a
follower of Jesus. First, you must always
have a humble opinion of yourself. And how

HAVE AN HUMBLE OPINION OF YOURSELF. 23

can you get it ? Jesus will help you to it ; just
ask Him for grace. But you must also think
over the matter yourself. Study and try to
find out how much you are worth. If you
find out that, as to your body, you are worth
nothing, it will not be hard for you to get a
humble opinion of yourself.

I said, as to your body ; for if we regard your
soul, you have an infinite worth. "And what
are you as to your body ?

Kemember, I pray you, first, that whatever
gift you think you have, you received from
God. Your body itself comes from God ; He
created it for you, body and soul. If you think
you ha^ve lovely eyes, a fair complexion, fine
hair, and so on, do not forget that they come
from God. You gave nothing to yourself:
God gave it all to you. He might have created
you without these fair gifts, and he can take
them from you at any moment, if he wants to.
And after all, what will the fair gifts of the
body that you possess be reduced to in the
end ? To worms and ashes ! Think of it.
Therefore, the fair complexion you would
some times be proud of is only a covering for
worms and ashes.

And what about your mental gifts ? Maybe

THE LITTLE FOLLOWER OF JESUS.

you have good talent ; you can easily beat
others in learning. And you will learn many
things, till you are grown up. Perhaps you
will be, some day. what we call a philosopher :
you will know wonderful things about the
stars, and the animals, and the plants, and
many other things ; and people will praise you
for your knowledge. But ask yourself : Who
gave me the talent to learn ? "Was it not God ?
I did not give it to myself. And God can take
it from me at any moment. What reason have
I, therefore, to be proud ?

You cannot do even the least good work
without God's grace helping you. All that you
can do — ah! yes, and haven't we all done it so
many, many times ? — without His aid, is to
offend him by committing sin. Is that some-
thing to be proud of ? Then, it should not be
hard for you to have a humble opinion of your-
self.

And never think yourself better than an-
other. That boy or girl may have fewer bodily
gifts than you have, but just for that very
reason he or she may be more pleasing to God
than you are. Never despise one that you
know is a sinner. He may be converted and
become a saint ; aud you may become worse

HATE AK HUMBLE OPI^IOK OF YOURSELF. 25

than lie is and be lost. " To think nothing of
ourselves," The Following of Christ says, " and
always to judge well and highly of others, is
great wisdom and high perfection."

III.

The Doctrine of Truth.

SUPPOSE you are going to school, and
you are learning to read and to write.
In course of time, if you persevere, you
will learn many more good and useful things.
Maybe you are even now studying arithmetic
and geography, grammar and book-keeping,
natural philosophy, and some such useful
branches. This is all very good ; and certain-
ly it is God's will that you should learn such
things. He has given you a good talent to
learn, and He wants you to use it.

But you have never read what Thomas a
Kempis says. Here are the words : " Knowl-
edge is not to be blamed, nor simple acquaint-
ance with things, which is, all good in itself
and ordained by God ; but a good consci-
ence and a virtuous life are always to be pre-
ferred."

Do you see ? All the learning you may have
or get, and let it be ever so big a heap, unless
it helps you to lead a good life, will do you no
good. The more you have learned, the greater
will be the account you must give to God one

26

THE DOCTEIXE OF TRUTH. 27

clay. So, then, go ahead and learn all you can,
and ask God to help you and to keep you from
learning what would not be good for you.
You may need all you can learn now some fu-
ture time, when you have entered the position
or state of life that God has called 3^011 to.
But — here comes a but — you must not forget.
You must also learn to become humble, obedi-
ent, kind, patient, pure, and holy ; you must
learn to pray and to love God and your neigh-
bor ; in short, you must learn to become a true
follower of Jesus. Yes, and this is just the
principal thing you must learn. If you have
not learned this — to become a true follower of
Jesus — all the rest that you have learned can
help you nothing.

Now, who will teach you ? Do you think
you can learn this science — the science of the
saints it is called — from books ? Certainly,
there are books which give you instructions
how to become a follower of Jesus. But you
must have a teacher : and your Teacher is
Jesus Himself.

Jesus is the eternal Truth. He says : " I
am the Way, the Truth, and the Life." He
will speak to you and instruct you ; He will
teach you how to become a true follower of

28 THE LITTLE FOLLOWER OF JESUS.

His — liow to become a saint. Just you listen
to Him, and do what He tells you.

Sometimes He speaks through your father
and mother, through your teacher and through
the priest. When they tell 3^011 something that
you should do or not do, it is just as much as
if Jesus Himself tells you : " He that hears
you, hears Me; " and He also said: a He that
despises jou, despises Me."

Sometimes Jesus speaks to you Himself. You
cannot hear His voice with the ears of your

«/

body ; but you can hear it in your heart. He
will open your mind and give you clear
thoughts ; and He will touch your heart and
move you to do His will. You will learn to
know Jesus better, His goodness, His infinite
love for you, and what is His holy will. And
you may learn it this way better than if you
should study the best of books.

Especially, the more humble you are, the
more Jesus will love you, and the more He will
reveal Himself to you and teach you. You
know what the Blessed Virgin sang? "He
hath regarded the humility of His handmaid ;
for, behold, from henceforth, all generations
shall call me blessed."

Yes, even though you could not read a single

THE DOCTRINE OP TEUTH. 29'

word, could not even spell, you could learn
more of Jesus and how to be His devoted fol-
lower, than the smartest, most learned man in
the world. Have a humble heart, and have a
desire, a burning desire, to learn God's truth :
Jesus Himself, the eternal Truth, will teach
you.

Did you ever hear the story about St. Bo-
naventure and Brother Giles ? This Brother
had no learning at all ; but he was very hum-
ble, child-like, and good-hearted. One day he
said to St. Bonaventure :

" My reverend Father, you are very happy ;
you learned theologians can love God much
more than we can, and work out your salvation
much more easily."

" You are mistaken, Brother Giles ; for, with
the assistance of grace, every one can love God
as much as he will ! '

" What ! ' exclaimed the good monk, " poor
ignorant creatures, who can neither read nor
write, can love God as perfectly as those who
have made studies ? '

" Why, certainly they can ; and, moreover, a
poor peasant may sometimes love God more
than a learned theologian."

At these words good Brother Giles feels

30 THE LITTLE FOLLOWER OP JESUS.

himself transported with joy, and runs to the
garden, opens the door that leads to the street,
and begins to cry out as loud as he can :

Halloo ! poor people, halloo ! good women
who can neither read nor write, come and hear
the good news : If you choose, you can love
the good God as much as any theologian, and
even as much as our reverend Father Bonaveii-
ture ! "

Here, for the conclusion, is a passage from
The Following of Christ :

" The more a man is united within himself,
and interiorly simple, so much the more and
deeper things doth he understand without
labor ; for he receiveth the light of under-
standing from on high."

IV.
Be Prudent in What You Do.

TEAM of horses, that had been tied to a
hitching-post before a tavern, broke
loose and ran away. The wagon was
broken, the harness torn, and the horses them-
selves were hurt. Why did they run away ?
and why did they cause such a damage ? A
man came riding along on a bicycle ; and that
scared them. But that little scaring they got
would not have caused any further damage, if
the driver had been on the wagon to take care
of his horses and to manage them. Where
was the driver ? He had stepped into the
tavern to cool himself off, and to -get a lunch.
So you see, the whole mishap, and the damage
caused by it, came because the driver was not
on the wagon to guide the horses.

Now, my child, to be a true follower of
Jesus, it is necessary that you should be pru-
dent. Do you know what prudence is ? As
often as you want to say or do something, and
before you do it, you consider well what would
be the best way of saying or doing it, that is,
the way it would be the most pleasing to God,

31

THE LITTLE FOLLOWER OF JESUS.

and most beneficial to yourself and to your
neighbor ; then you will try to say or do it
that way, so as to remain in peace with your-
self and with your neighbor. That is about
what is meant by being prudent.

Prudence is a great virtue. It is a moral
virtue, and that is, it adorns our souls and
gives beauty to our lives. It is one of the
cardinal virtues. Cardinal comes from the
Latin word " cardo," which means hinge. Just
as the door rests on the hinges and turns on
them, just so, also, must our lives and the
virtues we strive to practise rest and, so to
say, turn on the cardinal virtues, one of which
is prudence.

You must, therefore, be prudent in all that
you say, and in all that you do. Without
prudence you cannot exercise any other virtue
as it ought to be ; you cannot lead a holy life,
such as God wants you to lead. St. Bernard
calls prudence " the driver of the other vir-
tues." Just as I told you above about those
horses : they ran away, broke the wagon, tore
the harness, and hurt themselves, because the
driver was not there to guide them ; so you
will be apt to run into fatal mistakes with all
the virtues you may have or may be trying to

BE PRUDEXT IX WHAT YOU DO. 33

, — , ••«

practise — you may bring yourself, your pre-
cious soul to ruin — if you have not the virtue of
prudence to guide you.

Yes, indeed, my child, it is very important
that you should have this virtue of prudence.
What must you do to acquire it ?

First, you must pray earnestly for it. It is,
partly at least, a gift that Jesus can give you.
But He gives this gift, as He gives all others,
only to those who are humble. He says : "I
confess to Thee, Father, Lord of heaven and
earth, because Thou hast hid these things
from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed
them to little ones."

Secondly, y'ou must have a true love for God
and for your neighbor ; and for this, certainly,
you must pray always and earnestly. The
more you love God, the more pains you will
take to consider, before you say or do any-
thing, what would be most pleasing to Him.
And the more truly you love your neighbor,
ihe more you will try to say or do things so
that they will do him most good, and avoid
what could offend him. And if, nevertheless,
by anything you have said or done, your neigh-
bor should be offended, even against your will
and when you cannot help it, the humility that

34 THE LITTLE FOLLOWER OF JESUS.

is in your heart will help you to bear his re-
proaches arid hard words patiently, and by
kindness to gain him and to restore the peace
that has been broken between you. Truly, a
heart that is humble and loves God is a pru-
dent heart and enjoys constant peace and
happiness.

Well, what would you do if you had this
virtue of prudence ? You would not so easily
believe the bad that is spoken to you about
others. You would think : " There is nobody
that has so many faults as I have myself."
And therefore you would rather close your
eyes against the faults of others, and only try
to see the good that is in them: Much less
would you play the tell-tale, that is, carry to
others what you have heard or seen, and
you think is bad. That is imprudence, first-
class — and sin.

Another thing : You would not want to
know everything best yourself, and think there
is nobody ahead of you, and smarter than you
are. You would, on the contrary, distrust
yourself ; you would ask the advice of others,
and be guided by it.

Here are a few words from The Follou'lng of
Christ, well worth remembering : " The more

BE PRUDENT IX WHAT YOU DO.

35

humble one is in heart, and the more in sub-
jection to God, so much the more prudent will
he be in all things, and the more at peace."

V.

On Reading.

OW, I know you are only yet a little
child, maybe just beginning to go to
school ; or, supposing even 3*011 have
been going to school already for several
years, yet you are hardly old enough to be al-
lowed to read the Holy Scriptures. When
you are older, and you can better understand,
then nobody will forbid you to read the Bible.
You will even be admonished to do so — to
read the Catholic Bible, and to study it, and
to draw all the fruit from, it that 3*011 can for
your soul.

I suppose your parents have a Bible at
home? Aia3rbe it is a fine, large book, and
has man37 beautiful pictures in it ; and your
parents allow jon sometimes to take the book,
and go through it, and look at the pictures.
Well, remember, the Bible is the holy word of
God. It tells 3rou about Jesus, and how 3*011
are to become His disciple and follower. It
is, therefore, a most holy book ; and 3*011 must
take care to handle it with the greatest and
deepest respect. St. Charles Borromeo, I be-

3?

lieve, it was, this great saint in the Catholic
Church, that always, in humility and out of re-
spect, opened and read the Holy Scriptures
kneeling. But, in the meantime, study your
Bible history well, and thus prepare yourself
to read the Bible when you are older.

But there are other good books, and papers
also, easier than the Bible, that you may and
should read, even now, while you are yet a
child. You do not need to wait till you are
grown up and have a better understanding.
It is even very important that you should ac-
quire a relish and love for good reading while
you are young, living in the days of your
childhood. Why ?

You want to become a follower of Jesiis
while you are yet young ; you do not want to
wait till you are old, do you ? You have been
told already that it is Jesus Himself who will
teach you how to become His follower. One
way that he teaches you, is : He speaks to
you through good books and papers. But you
cannot hear Him speak if you do not read
those books and papers, or somebody else does
not read them to you.

There are many good books printed, and
quite a number of excellent, little story papers

38 THE LITTLE FOLLOWER OF JESUS.

given out, any of which would be very good and
just suitable for you. I trust, your parents
have already bought several such books for
you, and they are getting at least one such
paper. If they have not, why, then you must
ask them to do so. Sure, if you tell them you
want to become a follower of Jesus, they will
buy you some good books, and get you a good
little paper. But what use to make of your
books and paper? That is the next ques-
tion.

Here are a few rules : First, always have
a good intention when you read. You should
read for God's honor, and for the welfare of
*your soul, and not read merely out of curiosi-
ty and to while away the time. Secondly,
you must have more regard for what you are
reading, that is, for the truth of what is said,
than for the person who wrote it, or the way
in which it is said. Do as Tlte Folloicing of
Christ directs : " Inquire not who may have
said ii thing, but consider what is said."
Thirdly, do not let the reading hinder you in
doing something else that is your duty.
" Katie," a mother said to her daughter,
"take out this feed to the chickens." " Oh,
ma, wait a minute, till I have finished reading

OK BEADING. 39

this story," said the little girl. Do you see ?
That was wrong. This girl should have put
her book or paper away immediately, and done
what her mother wanted her to do. Obedi-
ence goes above everything else.

Fourthly, do not be too greedy. A boy was
reading a story-book, and he staid up late,
and kept on reading and reading, and his par-
ents could hardly get him to go to bed. And
then he neglected to get his lessons for school,
and he did not say his night prayers half well
enough, and he even dreamed about what he
had read. You know well enough, such read-
ing is wrong.

Lastly, never read what is bad. Do not try
to smuggle books or papers into the house,
and read them privately, when you know it is
a sin for you to read them, and your parents
would burn them if they knew you had them,
and they could get hold of them ; and they
would punish you, besides. " Tell me," says
St. Chrysostom, " what sort of company a per-
son goes into, and I will tell you what sort of
a person he is, because he is sure to be like
the company he keeps." Books and papers
are company, too, are they not ?

" If thou wilt derive profit," -words from

THE LITTLE FOLLOWER OF JESUS.

Thomas a Kempis, — " read with humility,
with simplicity, and with faith, and never wish
to have the name of learning."

VI.
Renounce Inordinate Affections.

what Jesus, our Master, says: " If
any man will come after Me, let him
deny himself, and take up his cross, and
follow Me." And again, " Take up my yoke
upon you, and learn of Me, because I am meek
and humble of heart; and you shall find rest
to your souls." Yes, my dear child, little fol-
lower of Jesus, this is a lesson for you — and,
indeed, for us all. If we wish to follow our
Saviour, we must deny ourselves, renounce our
passions, inordinate desires, and affections.
But what does this mean ?

A boy was once riding a young horse. The
horse was proud and wild, and not yet fully
broken. You know how such an animal will
act when there is somebody on his back riding
him. So this horse, too, would throw up his
head, and then bend it stubbornly; he would
take a start as if to run; and then, again, he
would stop, and go a few steps back, and turn
crossways on the road.

But the boy was not afraid : he had courage.
He sat firm in the saddle; the horse could not

41

42 THE LITTLE FOLLOWER OF JESUS.

throw him off. With a steady hand he held
the bridle reins ; the horse could not break
through an*d run away with him. Young, and
big, and stout as the horse was, he felt that the
boy was his master, and he had to let himself
be governed. So you see, by his firm will, and
steady determination, and undaunted courage,
this boy mastered and even tamed the young,
wild horse, that was, maybe, four times as
large, and more than four times as strong as
he was.

Now you can more easily understand, I
suppose. There are different kinds of affec-
tions, and desires, and passions in our hearts;
and they are called inordinate when they are
opposed to reason — common sense — and to the
law of God. They are, therefore, bad ; and if
we are not on our guard, they will mislead us,
and bring us into sin. To preserve ourselves
from ruin, we must let God's grace and our
own reason and conscience hold the reins
tightly on us: we must govern ourselves, check
our evil inclinations, overcome our passions,
and thus avoid sin. That is what is meant by
" renouncing our inordinate affections, denying
ourselves, and following Christ."

What do you think ? Quite a difficult task,

RENOUNCE INORDINATE AFFECTIONS. 43

isn't it ? A continual warfare ; a lifelong
struggle. All, yes; but this life battle against
ourselves is a most glorious thing, and, if per-
severed in faithfully to the end, will bring us a
great reward. You cannot be a follower .pf
Jesus unless you undertake this life struggle
against yourself. Open the " Lives of the
Saints," and point out to me, if you can, one
saint who did not fight this battle — denying
himself, renouncing his inordinate affections,
taking up his cross and following Jesus.

Well, then, what must you do ? First, you
must learn to know yourself. You cannot re-
nounce your inordinate affections and evil pas-
sions if you do not know them. Therefore,
you ought to examine yourself every day ; and
because, maybe, you could not, after all your
examining, find out your evil inclinations, pas-
sions, and bad habits yourself, it would be
well to get your parents, or those who take
your parents' place, to help you. Ask them,
and they will tell you ; for they know — or, at
least, ought to know — what bad traits you have.
Let us suppose you have a hasty temper.
You get angry at every little thing ; and then
you say harsh words, and you quarrel and call
names ; and, maybe, you will even strike your

44 THE LITTLE FOLLOWER OF JESUS.

brother, or sister, or playmate, and push them
away from you. Do you see ? This is one
little enemy already that you must fight with
and subdue — your evil temper.

Or }TOU have too fine and too great an ap-
petite for eating and drinking. You frequently
take too much. More than once you got sick
from eating half-ripe fruit and berries. You
always ask for dainties ; and what does not
suit your taste, you let stand and will not
touch. You also got into the habit of taking
things on the sly — sugar, cakes, jelly, and so
on. " Johnny," a mother once asked her little

«/ *

son, " did you take the piece out of this pie ? '
" No, ma'am." " Then, how did this hole get
into the pie ? ' " Oh ! ' said Johnny, drawing
his sleeve across his face, " I s'pose it got
' wore ' in." So tins inordinate appetite is
another enemy you must overcome ; and I
know he will give you enough to do.

I might go on and count up for you a great
many more of such enemies, as pride, self-will,
deceit, envy, laziness, and so on.

Undoubtedly, pride and anger are our great-
est enemies, and the hardest to subdue. There-
fore, Jesus says : " Learn of Me, because I am
meek and humble."

RENOUNCE INORDINATE AFFECTIONS. 45

Set to work earnestly, now. Find out what
are the evil inclinations and passions in your
heart, and then say with a firln will: " Out
with them ! Jesus, help me ! '

" It is by resisting the passions," says
Thomas a Kempis, " and not by serving them,
that true peace of the heart is to be found."

VII.
Avoid Vain Hope.

|p LITTLE boy, once, just for fun, wanted
!ll| to build himself a play house. His
father had bought several hundred
bricks to erect a chimney, and they were
piled up out in the yard. The boy set the
bricks one against the other ; and then an-
other row on top of the first, and so on, until
he thought his house was about high enough.
He also divided it off into several rooms, by
putting bricks in between, for partitions. For
the roof, he set up the bricks on ends, and
made them lean over from both sides, until
they came together, and rested against each
other at the top. With that he had his house
finished. What happened ? Fox comes run-
ning up — Fox is the name of their dog — and
he brushes against the house and knocks it
down. Just imagine how angry the little boy
got. " You old, nasty dog ! ' he exclaimed.
" You must just come along and knock down
my house. Go away and let me alone !

You are yet only a child, a little boy or girl ;
but, perhaps, you parents are already making

AVOID VAIX HOPE. 47

great plans about you. They intend you to
become tins or that ; and they will educate
you so, and give you such a schooling, that
you may once make a fair show in the world.

You are too young yet to make any, or very
many, plans yourself. You leave everthing to
your parents, and to those who are older than
you. It is something very beautiful, very
touching, to see how simple and artless chil-
dren are. They know nothing about them-
selves ; and they can do almost nothing, they
are so little ; and therefore they trust their
parents, and those who are older and grown
up, in everything ; they believe what they hear
them say, and try to imitate what they see
them do. Such a little child is like the ivv

b

that clings to the thick, stout oak-tree.

But when you get older, you will begin to
make plans for yourself. You will make your-
self a great name in the world. You will try
to become rich ; you will strive to become a
great statesman, or a poet, or a philosopher,
or gain renown in some other of the many
ways. To make your way thus in the world,
you will rely greatly on your own genius and
ability. You will also ask advice of other
smart men ; and you will use those who are

48 THE LITTLE TOLLOWEll OF JESUS.

not so smart as you are as instruments to help
you forward. All these things may come, or,
at least, you may be tempted that way many
a time, and, if you do not take care, easily
misled. This is the way of the world ; it
pretends to be your friend, but it is a
treacherous enemy. It gets you to build a
house ; and you think it is fine work, and you
have made a success of it ; and just when you
think you have finished it, and you are safe,
and now you can enjoy yourself at ease in
your fine house, the world will shake it, let it
fall down over your head, and all your vain
and empty plans will go to nothing. Think
of the boy I told you of, building his brick
play-house.

What I wrant vou not to forget is this :

*j

There is some one else who has better and
quite different plans for you, and who intends
to make something great and glorious of you.
It is He whom you have undertaken to fol-
low— Jesus, your Saviour. What He wants
to make of you, you cannot yet tell ; neither
can I, nor anybody else. Just give yourself
over entirely and willingly to Jesus, and let
Him guide you ; He will lead you right ; and
you will be great on earth and in heaven.

AVOID VAIX HOPE. 49

In Paris there was a certain young man,
called Francis Xavier. He also had great
plans, how he would become a wonder of
learning, and make himself a great name in
the world. There was another young 'man,
some years older than Francis Xavier, called
Ignatius, and he had the spirit of Jesus, and
had just entered on the right way to holiness.
One day Ignatius whispered into the ear of
Francis Xavier these words :

" What doth it profit a man if he gain the
wliole world, but lose his precious soul? '

And day after day, as often as he met him,
he repeated to him these same words, until
Francis began to think them over himself, and
they worked in his soul, by the grace of God.
They brought about a great change. The
young man left the way of the world, and
turned his back on it, to follow Jesus. Our
Saviour had his plans for him, too ; and you
know what the yoimej man became : a great

«/

saint in the Catholic Church — St. Francis
Xavier, apostle of India.

Do you see now, and understand ? Jesus
has His plans and intentions for you, too,
most certainly ! What must you do, on your
side, that they may be carried out?

THE LITTLE FOLLOWER OF JESUS.

First, give up all vain hopes. Make your
resolution even now never to strive after honor
and glory in the world, or to gain for yourself
a great name. Learning is good, and riches
may be good, and honors, but only as far as
Jesus wants to let you have them. You must
not seek them for the world's sake.

Secondly, do not put too much trust in
yourself. Do not rely on your own knowledge
and ability. Do not despise others, nor think
yourself better than everybody else. Be hum-
ble ! give yourself into the hands of Jesus,
and let Him do with you according to His

»/

holy will. " The foolish things of the world
hath God chosen, that He may confound the
wise ; and the weak things of the world hath
God chosen, that He may confound the strong,"
-St. Paul says.

Here is a word for you from The Following
of Christ : " It will do thee no harm to put
thyself below everybody, but it will hurt thee
very much to put thyself before any one."

VIII.
Friendship and Undue Intimacy.

that fearetli God shall likewise have
good friendships : because, according
to him shall his friend be." How true
are these words of holy Scripture, and how
worthy of our consideration !

My child, if you look about you in the world,
and observe only a little the ways and doings
of men, you will see much that one might
think is friendship. Experience, however,
teaches that of this so-called friendship only a
small part is real and true. The greater
portion is nothing more than a fine outside
dress, often put on to hide the baseness of a
false inside.

Two men happen to meet, some day, on the
street. They are so glad to see each other ;
they shake hands ; they talk so friendly, and
are so polite ; they laugh and make fun, and
talk about their families, their business, and
what not. When they leave, they shake hands
again, and " hope to see each other again soon ;
and you must not forget to visit me some-
times," and so on. You know, and you can

51

52 THE LITTLE FOLLOWER OF JESUS.

see every day for yourself, how sucli business
is carried ou.

Now, what do you think? These two men
are the best, most intimate friends, are they
not? It would seem so. But you are mis-
taken : they are not. Hardly have they parted,
when one says : " Why in the world did I just
have to meet him ? ' and the other says :
" Well, if he isn't a bore ! I shall not forget
to visit him sometimes." Do you see? Of
such friendship there is plenty in the world.

Yet, to have a true friend is to possess a
great treasure. " A faithful friend," sa}rs the
Wise Man, " is a strong defense ; and he that
hath found him, hath found a treasure." My
little follower of Jesus, it is not wrouo- for YOU

O t'

to have such a friend, or more than one —
many, if you can find them. On the contrary,
it will be very good for you. A true friend
will ever be a great help for you in the work
of your life — the following of Jesus. What
must you do to find one ?

First, begin with yourself. Let it always be
your first and main endeavor to have God for
your friend. Always have Him before your
eyes ; ever walk carefully in His presence.
Never let yourself be led into mortal sin : that

FRIENDSHIP AND UNDUE INTIMACY. 53

would be losing or casting from you your
greatest blessing, God's love and friendship.
Fear your Creator all the days of your life.
" The fear of the Lord is the beginning of
wisdom," says the Psalmist.

Also, you must not forget to cultivate a most
intimate friendship with your holy guardian
angel, with your patron saint, with your
Mother, the Blessed Virgin, and with those
other saints for whom you have a special re-
gard. Often think of them. Pray to them
every day.

Secondly, guard yourself against the false
friendship of the world. Avoid the company
of bad men. " Evil communications corrupt
good manners," says St. Paul. You cannot
have Jesus for your friend if you wish to be a
friend of th^world.

If you fear God, and try to keep yourself
from sin, it will not be hard for you to find
good friends. They will find you, or you will
find them, without seeking one another. It is
with these friends as it is in general. " Like
loves like," according to the proverb.

It is not good to be altogether intimate with
even your good friends on earth. You should
be closely intimate with God and your other

THE LITTLE FOLLOWER OF JESUS.

heavenly friends. But with men on earth it is
not good to be too friendly. " Be in peace
with many/' says the Holy Ghost, "but let
one of a thousand be thy counsellor." It is
best to reveal the secrets of your soul only to
one human being on earth — the priest, your
spiritual father and confessor.

Here is a passage from The Following of
Christ for every little follower of Jesus to con-

•

sider : ik Sometimes we think to please others
with our company ; and we begin rather to
be displeasing to them from the bad qualities
they discover in us."

IX.
Obedience and Subjection.

HAVE now come to a chapter, my dear
reader, which, for us, is of as great im-
portance as any of the others that we
have so far gone through in The Following of
Christ. Do you know the virtue which so
pleases our Saviour, and which He teaches us
so beautifully and expressly by His own ex-
anmle ? It is the virtue of obedience. Jesus

L

" humbled Himself, becoming obedient unto
death, even the death of the Cross."

I will not say anything now abouf the obedi-
ence and subjection one must practise in relig-
ious life, that is, living as a Brother or Sister
consecrated to God in a monastery or convent.
You are yet too young to know what God may
call you to in the future. But so much you

•/ **

ought to know and remember even now : Wher-
ever you are, whether you are young or old,
whatever station of life you may embrace to
serve God in, you will be subject to authority,
more or less, as long as 3*011 live, and always
have the chance and the duty to practise this
beautiful virtue of obedience.

55

56 THE LITTLE FOLLOWER OF JESUS.

Begin right away, in earnest. First, there
are your parents, your older brothers and sis-
ters. Be prompt in your obedience ? When-
ever father or mother calls you, let everything
else be dropped immediately, and go. Do not
let them call you twice. If they tell you to do
a thing — now, I am suppossing that what they
tell you to do is always right — do it right off,
and do it well, not in too great a hurry and
only half. If they tell you to stay away from
a certain place, or to avoid the company of a
certain person, then obey them punctually.
Let no one prevail on you to go in the least
against the commands or even the wishes of
your parents, however much he or she may
pretend to be your good friend. Next to God,
you have no better or greater benefactors on
earth than your parents. You must first listen
to them and obey them, before you listen to
and obey anybody else.

A boy once, coaxed by a companion, took a
ride on the cars, against the expressed will of
his mother. She was very much grieved. She
corrected him for his fault, and then she pun-
ished, his as he deserved. The boy always re-
membered that— not so much how his mother
had punished him, as that he had grieved her

OBEDIEXCE AXD SUBJECTION. 57

*

by his disobedience. He often thought of it
in his after-life, and he was sorry for it as
often.

Yon should also obey your older brothers
and sisters. Suppose you should try to repre-
sent to yourself, as often as your brother or
sister asks you to do anything, that it is Jesus
Himself who is asking you. Wouldn't you
find it easier to do it ?

Your obedience must be willing. Many
children obey only after putting on long, sour
faces, and after much pouting ; and even while
they are doing what they have been told to do,
or leaving off what they are told not to do,
they are dissatisfied inwardly, they complain
to themselves and grumble. " Many are under
obedience," says Thomas a Kempis, " more
out of necessity than charity, and such have
suffering, and are apt to murmur." Do you
see ? Such obedience is worth nothing in the
eyes of God. Therefore, put away all sour
faces, and pouting lips ; instead, put on smiles
and pleasantness, for Jesus' sake.

I will not say anything about obedience and
subjection in school, and toward spiritual
superiors. A child needs only to practise
obedience faithfully at home, and I am confi-

58 THE LITTLE FOLLOWER OF JEST.'.-?.

f

dent, obedience in school, and wherever else it
may be required, will come of itself.

Also, yon must not stick to your own notions
or opinions so tightly. Some children are
thus. They will hold fast to their own opinion,
and not give in to anybody. Such children,
generally, cause a good deal of disturbance and
trouble at home by their stubbornness and self-
will. Give your opinion ; say what you think
you have a right to say, and then be done with
it. To dispute long with others for every little
thing is unpleasant for them as well as for
yourself, and ill becomes a little follower of
Jesus.

There are many people who cannot find
peace nor rest. They always have trouble
with somebody. They think, if they could go
somewhere else, perhaps out into the wilder-
ness, where they would be alone by themselves,
and nobody to disturb them — then they would
live in peace. A great mistake ! It is not places
or persons that will give you peace : your own
heart must give it to you. Exchange your self-
will for the humility and obedience of Jesus,

»/

and you will have peace and quiet in your
heart everywhere and at all times. Do not
forget this, my child. " If God is amongst us,"

OBEDIENCE AND SUBJECTION".

59

says the Following of Christ, " we must needs
sometimes give up our own opinion for the
blessing of peace."

X,
Bridle your Tongue.

"XPEBIENCE teaches us that great re.
suits, both in good and evil, oftentimes
come from small beginnings.
Some years ago one of the largest cities in
our country was almost entirely destroyed by
fire. How, do you think, did the fire get
started ? A woman, they say, was out in the
stable late in the evening, milking her cow.
For some reason or other, the cow got contrary
and began to kick ; and it happened that she
struck the lantern that the woman had set be-
hind her on the floor. From the lantern the
straw caught fire ; and pretty soon the whole
stable stood in flames. It was too late to
quench the fire ; it passed from house to house,
until nearly the whole city was one sea of fire.
Do you see ? From the little flame in the

•/

lantern came the big fire that nearly destroyed
a great, large city.

St. James says : " The tongue is indeed a
little member, but it boasteth great things.
Behold, how small a fire kinclleth a great
wood ! ' And the wise Man says : " A wicked

BRIDLE YOUR, TONGUE. 61

word changeth the heart : out of which four
manner of things arise : good and evil, life
and death ; and the tongue is continually the
ruler of them."

Is there anything smaller, more insignifi-
cant, we might think, than a word? What
harm can there be in a word, one little word ?
Ah, yes, great harm, unspeakable harm, may
be in it !

Suppose you have spoken in auger only one
harsh word ; thereby you have offended one
of your friends, companions. The mutual
friendship between you is dead ; a cold, hard
feeling takes the place of the former love in
your hearts ; you no longer speak to each
other, or even look at each other ; and, where
may it end ? in hatred and enmity.

Or you have told an untruth, maybe it was
a word of tale bearing ; thereby you have dis-
united friends, sown discord among families
and neighbors ; it may end in deeds of blood
and revenge.

Or it was a wicked, impure word, and there-
by you have scandalized one of God's little
ones. The poor child, innocent heretofore,
learns the sin from you ; he tells others ; and
so the sin goes on farther, and God only knows

62 THE LITTLE FOLLOWER OF JESUS.

where and when it will stop ! You are the
one that started the sin ; you gave the scandal
first ; and to you must be applied the words
of our Saviour : " Woe to him that giveth
scandal ! '

My little follower of Jesus, after considering

mj

all this, do you not think it is a duty for us to
bridle our tongues ? What does this mean,
to bridle our tongues ? It means : We must
govern them, check them, and not let them
always say just what they please, without
thinking before whether what they want to
say is good or bad, whether it may do harm
or not.

You must not say : " I am too young,
too little ! " I know that you cannot carry
out exactly the advice that The Following
of Jesus gives us, "Fly as much as pos-
sible the tumult of men. If thou hast leave
to speak, and it is expedient, speak those

things that may edify." You cannot lock

^ «/

yourself up at home for hours, to keep silence.
You must go to school, and you must be in
company often, with your brothers and sisters,
and with other children ; you must run about,
and play, and enjoy yourself. I know all that.
But, nevertheless, young and little as you may

BRIDLE YOUR TOXGUE. 63

be, you must learu to bridle your tongue.
What should you do, therefore ? Here is a
good rule ; you can easily learn it by heart,
and with a little earnest will and effort you
can practise it :

If you -would lead a life discreet,

Five tilings observe with care :
Of whom you speak, to whom you speak,

And what, and when, and where.

Suppose you wanted to correct some one,
a boy or a girl, for some fault, or, as it ma,y be
your duty to do, you want to tell your supe-
rior about it ; then consider well beforehand
what you will say, and how you will say it.
There are times when it is forbidden to speak;
there are places in which to speak unneces-
sarily would be irreverent. Let it be your
rule : I will never speak in school during
school hours, nor in church, unless I am asked
something, and I ought to speak. Is this
rule hard to keep ? Kot if you want to keep
it.

And sometimes, when you long to go out
into company, to pass your time in idle talking,
you might, on purpose, stay at home and in
silence, and by good thoughts converse with
Jesus.

64 THE LITTLE FOLLOWER OF JESUS.

" If any man offend not in word, the same is
a perfect man," say St. James.

And Thomas a Kempis asks : " Why are
we so so fond of speaking and talking idly to-
gether, when we yet seldom return to silence
without some wound to conscience ? I would
that many a time I had kept silence, and had
not been in company."

XL

Progress in Spiritual Life.

LORY be to God in the highest ; and
on earth peace to men of good will ! '
thus the angels sang at our Saviour's
birth. Isaias, the prophet, says : " A Child
is born to us ; and His name is called the
Prince of peace." And at the last Supper
Jesus said to His disciples : " Peace I leave
with you, My peace I give to you : not as the
world giveth, do I give to you." What does
all this mean ?

It means that, by His death on the Cross,
Jesus freed us from sin, and procured for as
peace and true happiness. He offers peace to
His followers ; and we can all get it and pos-
sess it, if we wish !

As we heard once before, peace and quiet of
heart do not depend on just certain persons
and certain places. Some persons think :
" Oh, if I could live at such and such a place,
away from such and such persons, then I'd
have no trouble, then I could live in peace."
A heart that strives to keep itself freed from
sin, that loves God, and is subject in all things

65

66 THE LITTLE FOLLOWER OF JESUS.

to tlie will of divine Providence, has peace and
rest at all times and in all places. Sin alone
takes away or prevents peace and happiness.

In a monastery there once lived a monk who
also could find no peace. He was always in
trouble with somebody. One day the thought
came to him : " If I were somewhere where I
could live alone by myself, and there was no-
body to disturb and bother me, then I could
be quiet and live happily. I will go out into
the^desert and live in the solitude as a hermit."

Consequently, he left the monastery, and
went out several miles into the desert. He
found a lonely cave near a fountain of water ;
and there he took up his abode. He stored
away the provisions he had brought along, and
arranged his cell to suit the life of a hermit.

It all went well for a time. One morning he
went out to the fountain to fill his jug with
water. Near the fountain there grew a sort of
fine, delicious berry ; and some of these he
wanted to gather to take home with the water.
He set the jug down on the ground, but it
would not stand : it fell over. Again he set
it up, and again it fell over. Already his tem-
per was rising. He set the jug up a third
time, and a third time it fell over. He

PROGRESS IX SPIRITUAL LIFE. 67

snatched up the jug, and hurled it against a
rock, smashing it into a thousand pieces.

However, he soon recollected himself. He
began to think over what he had done.

" Do you see now ? ' said he to himself.
" You cannot find peace and satisfaction even
alone by yourself here in the desert. And
why not? I understand row. Peace must
come from myself. As long as I am ruled by
sinful passions, I shall find peace nowhere. I
must, therefore, overcome my evil inclinations,
my passions ; then I shall be happy. I will
return to the monastery, to begin a new life.
Under my superior and amongst my fellow
monks, I can have more and better chances to
struggle with my passions, and will obtain
greater and stronger help from God to over-
come them."

He went back that same day ; and the story
closes by saying that the monk, after that, en-
joyed more peace and happiness in one year
than he had enjoyed in all the years together
that he had lived in the monastery before he
made that trial in the desert.

What does this anecdote teach us ? If we
want to have peace and happiness of heart, as
much as it can be obtained on this earth, we

THE LITTLE FOLLOWER OF JESUS.

must figlit against sin, overcome our evil pas-
sions.

Therefore, my little follower of Jesus, let us
begin. First of all, let us not look too much
at others ; or, as The Following of Christ has it,
let us not " busy ourselves with the sayings
and doings of others, and with things that
concern us not." We have enough to do with
ourselves. At least, if we do sometimes notice
faults in others, and try, out of charity, to cor-
rect them, let us not forget that we have plenty
faults ourselves, greater ones than we think
and are inclined to believe. Let us not " look
for the mote in our brother's eye, while we
forget the beam in our own."

I told you before, in the chapter about " re-
nouncing inordinate affections," what you
should do to find out your faults, bad habits,
passions, and evil inclinations ; you might
read that over once more, just now. So, then,
begin, and do not give up. 4k If every }Tear
we rooted out one fault," says Thomas a Kein-
pis, " we should soon become perfect men."

And, here is a secret I will reveal to you.

/ f

You ask : " What is the surest and best way
of doing much good for the spiritual welfare of
others ? " The surest and best wav is : Be-

PEOGRESS IN" SPIRITUAL LIFE. 69

gin with yourself ! Just as you yourself make
progress in spiritual life, so will you also work
at the spiritual progress of others.

God arranges it so: He lets you work good
for others while you are working good for
yourself. You think you are doing nothing,
because all your time is taken up with your-
self ; but imperceptibly, by God's grace, you
are doing much good for others, for those that
are living with you, round about you.

For the conclusion let us have another word
from The Following of Christ : " The Lord is
ready to help them that fight, trusting in His
grace ; who Himself provideth us occasion to
fight, in order that we may overcome.

"

XII.
Trials and Afflictions.

now, is something that you have
heard more than once : We cannot go
through this world without having to
bear, each of us, his share of trials and crosses.
One may live only a few years, or he may live
many years — all the same : every one has to
suffer.

Trials and afflictions come in many different
ways. One is subject to trial from sickness
and ill health: there is hardly a day in the
year that he can say he is quite well, and that
he must not suffer from some one bodily ail-
ment or other. There is another whose bodily
health, maybe, is good enough; but, that awful
scourge of poverty! He has not wherewith
sufficientlv to clothe, nourish, or shelter him-

•/ *

self ; he suffers great want. Others, again, are
continually persecuted by their fellow-men.
Whatever they undertake, they never succopd
with it. Everything turns against them. Tn
spite of their best efforts to get ahead in the
world, they cannot ; they rather go backward.
If only this were all ! Many a man, besides

70

TRIALS AXD AFFLICTIONS. 71

the load of outward or temporal afflictions that
he has to carry, must bear a heavier cross of
inward spiritual troubles. There are strong
passions to conquer ; great temptations to
overcome ; his own weakness to support ; dan-
gerous occasions to avoid. And this inward
struggle of the soul frequently lasts for years,
Many a one would gladly sacrifice all his
worldly possessions if he could thereby rid
himself of this spiritual cross. He strives
honestly to serve God, to live as a good, pious
Christian ought to ; and yet — this heavy bur-
den to carry !

Where do these trials and afflictions come
from ? They ma}r be caused by one's own
sins. You may be the maker of your own
cross by the sins you commit. Or, God may
send you these troubles to punish you for the
sins you committed formerly: He gives you a
chance to atone for them. Or, maybe, God
lays these crosses on you merely to try
you ; thereby He wants to give you chances
to gain greater merits for heaven. ' The devil
does not like to see one lead a good, pious
life, either ; and, therefore, he also comes to
trouble you. He puts all kinds of stumbli""-
blocks in your way, that you may fall anr'm the

72 THE LITTLE FOLLOWER OF JESUS.

yourself. God permits liiin to do so ; but he
can go BO further than God allows him.

Here are a few passages from Holy Writ on
this point : " Man, born of woman, living for
a short time, is filled with many miseries," says
Job. And St. Paul says : " Whom the Lord
loveth, He chastiseth ; and He scourgeth every
son whom He receiveth." And again: "All
who live piously in Jesus Christ shall suffer
persecution."^

What do you think now, dear children? Do
you expect, if you want to be true followers of
Jesus, that you shall have nothing to suffer in
this world? Our Lord Himself said : " Ought
not Christ to have suffered these things, and so
to enter into His glory ? ' And " the servant
is not greater than his lord. If they have per-
secuted Me, they will also persecute you."

Therefore, you may get ready. Trials and
afflictions will come upon you. When they
come, bear them patiently. If you get sick,
and your pains are great, be as quiet as pos-
sible, and resigned to God's holy will. Do not
complain, much less murmur. Do not trouble
your folks too much, those who have to wait

-2.H you, by being peevish, and making them
every little thing. Take your medicine

TKLALS AND AFFLICTIONS. 73

willingly, even though it may be bitter. In
such and all other trials be patient and re-
signed. Remember that one " My Jesus, Thy
will be done ! ' said piously in time of sick-
ness or other afflictions, is more pleasing to
your Saviour, and more meritorious for your-
self, than ten "Our Fathers" and "Hail
Marys ' might be at a time when you have
nothing to suffer.

Do not measure vour cross with that of

mJ

others. Everybody has his cross to bear, you
may be sure of that ; but you should not
become dissatisfied with yours, and wish you.
had some one else's cross to carry, because you
think it is so much lighter than your own. The
cross that God has put upon you, or permitted
to be laid upon you, is just the right one for
you ; it suits you better than any other would.

There was once a man who also was dis-
satisfied with the cross that God had sent him.
He always thought, and often said, that lie
had the heaviest cross to carry; others hadn't
half as much to suffer, and they weren't any
better than himself ; and he couldn't see why
he alone should have to suffer so much. Thus
he complained and murmured against God.

One night he had a dream. He was in the

74 THE LITTLE FOLLOWER OF JESUS.

midst of a large field. On that field was an
almost countless number of crosses fastened
in the ground. An angel — it was his own
guardian angel — appeared to him, and said :
" You are ever complaining about the cross
that God has placed upon you. Yrou say it is
too heavy. The crosses that others have are
much lighter than yours. Now you shall have
your choice. Come with me, and try the
crosses in this field. You can pick out for
yourself the one that suits you best."

The man did as the angel told him. He
tried one cross after another. One was too
heavy, another was too sharp at the edges,
another was too rough, etc. At last he found
one that was just right, just as he himself
wanted it to be ; it was neither too heavy, nor
was it too pointed, nor too rough. It was just
the cross that suited him.

" Take it, then, and carry it patiently," said
the angel. " Do not complain any more ; for
it is just the very cross that God has put upon
you, and that you have so often complained
about."

" It is good for us," says The Following of
Christ, "to have some troubles and adversities
now and then ; for oftentimes they make a

TRIALS AND AFFLICTIONS.

75

man enter into himself, that he may know that
he is an exile, and place not his hopes in any-
thing of the world."

XIII.

Resisting Temptation.

trietli iron, and temptation a just
man." These words of Thomas a Kem-
pis are nearly the same as those of the
Wise Man : " The furnace trietli the potter's
vessels, and the trial of affliction just men."

A saintly hermit, a devout servant of God,
was once led by his guardian angel into a large
city, there to visit a certain monastery. The
monks of this monastery were renowned for
their piety and holiness. What was the her-
mit's astonishment ! He saw the whole place
just swarming with little moors — more devils
than you would see flies swarming about a cup
of honey, or bees about a hive. There were
devils in the chapel, devils in the choir, devils
in the refectory, devils in the dormitories, in
short, devils all over.

They left the monastery ; the angel led the
hermit through the other parts of the city.
Still greater was his surprise ! In the whole
large city he could not see another single de-
mon—not until they came to the gate where
they wanted to go out. There the hermit found

RESISTING TEMPTATION. 77

one devil, leaning comfortably against the wall,
apparently taking it very easy.

" It seems you have good times," said the
hermit to the devil.

" Yes, as good as I can wish them," answered
the latter.

41 How happens it that you take it so easy?
In this city there are thousands of people liv-
ing ; and yet you are the only one devil here,
and you seem to have nothing to do ; whereas
in the monastery there is comparatively but a
small number of monks, yet there are so many
devils, hundreds of them , and all seem to be
very busy, to have much to do. How is this? '

" That is easily explained," replied the devil.
" In the citv I have engaged a large number of

•J O O O

wicked men to help me. They do the work for
me. The people, in general, do not resist
temptations : they are easily misled. But in
the monastery it is not so. There we have
nobody to help us; and all the monks strive to
be virtuous— one helps the other in this. They
resist our temptations; and that takes so many
devils, and gives us so much work.

My little follower of Jesus, isn't this some-
thing remarkable, something that we ought to
consider well ? God is good, and He means

78 THE LITTLE FOLLOWER OF JESUS.

well with us when He sends us bodily or tem-
poral afflictions. I said enough on this point
in the last chapter. We ought to thank Him,
the good God, every time He bestows such a
favor on us. But when He permits such in-
ward trials, tempfations of the spirit, it is a
still better sign that He loves us dearly, and, as
our best and kindest Father, is concerned
about our eternal welfare.

What does God intend when He permits
temptations ? Thereby He wants to help us
root out the evil that is in us, rid us of bad
habits, subdue the sinful passions and evil in-
clinations of our hearts; He wants to purify our
intentions, perfect our virtues. He wants to give
us chances to gain greater merits for heaven.

He permits the devil, therefore, to tempt us.
The devil could do very little himself, if he had
not some one to help him. He has two pow-
erful helpers, and he engages them — the world
and our own corrupt nature. But, I must re-
peat again, the devil, in tempting us, cannot go
further than God permits him to go. God
never allows him to tempt us above that which
we are able, as St. Paul says; and He is always
at our side with His grace, ready to help us
overcome the temptation.

RESISTING TEMPTATION. 79

Just those who try hard to be good, to lead
virtuous lives, have to suffer most from these
attacks of the devil; and, you understand, it is
quite natural. The devil, so to speak, runs a
great ri^k every time he tempts one. He
thinks, perhaps he can bring you into sin ;
and then you will lose all. If you resist and
overcome his temptation, why, then, in
spite of himself, he has helped you to gain
new merit for heaven. You may imagine
how the devil froths and rages when, instead
of leading you to sin by his temptation, he
has helped you thereby to something good
and meritorious. There is nothing he dis-
likes more than this : helping people to get to
heaven.

What should you do, then, when the devil
tempts you ? Resist bravely ! You must not
fear him. Say only once, " Jesus, Mary, and
Joseph, protect me ! ' that will make the
tempter flee immediately. You must be
prompt, very careful. You dare not be half
and half, wanting to play with the temptation
and yet not sin.

Especially, you must try to accustom yourself
to resist the .temptation at the very beginning,
not wait until it gets stronger, and will be hard-

80 THE LITTLE FOLLOWER OF JESUS.

er for you to overcome. A certain poet says :

"Resist beginnings: all too late the cure,

When ills have gathered strength from long delay."

"Little by little," says The Follomny of
Christ, " cloth the malignant foe gain full en-
trance, when he is not resisted in the begin-
ning."

You must not be down-hearted, and lose
courage when you are tempted. The greater
the temptation, the more reason you have to be
satisfied, nay, even to rejoice. God looks upon
you as being strong in spirit; and fie wants
you to become stronger still. Look about you,
and examine. Can you find one saint who was
not severely tried, either by bodily affliction, or
spiritual trouble, or by both together. I will
conclude with the following admonition, given
us by Thomas a Kempis: " Let us, then,
humble our souls under the hand of God in
every temptation and tribulation ; for the
humble in spirit He will saye and exalt."

XIV.
Rash Judgment.

3,'HE children were having Catechism in-

struction.

" What is the matter ? ' the priest
asked a boy who was holding up his hand.

<% Mary "Watson is looking in her book."

" Close your Catechism, Mary, and put it
away at once," said the priest. " But how
could you know she was looking in her Cate-
chism, Fred? She is sitting just behind you."

" I saw her looking," said the boy.

" You told on her, and by that you tell
on yourself," continued the priest. "You could
not have seen her looking in the Catechism
unless you looked around yourself. That
proves that you have not paid attention as you
ought to have done. She looks in her bookr
and you look around : what is the difference ?
Both of you do wrong by not being attentive."

My dear children, we are all too ready to
look about and watch others and find out their
faults ; and in so doing we forget ourselves,
our own faults and imperfections. The Follow-
ing of Christ repeatedly calls attention to this

81

82 THE LITTLE FOLLOWEB OF JESUS.

point, and lays great stress on it : That we
should not busy ourselves so much with the
faults of others, but rather and much more
and more closely look after ourselves. *

" Turn thine eyes back upon thyself '
words from the first book, fourteenth chapter-
" and see thou, judge not the doings of others."
You know very well the rule Jesus has given
iis : " Cast out first the beam out of thy own
•eye, and then shalt thou see to cast out the
mote out of thy brother's eye."

We cannot help it, certainly : we sometimes
iiear others saying something, or doing some-
thing, that appears to us or that we know to
be wrong. It is, then, nothing out of the way
to judge of the thing itself ; what is wrong is
wrong, as far as the thing or matter is con-
cerned, be it word or act. But we do not stop
;there, v/e go further. "We pass over the word
or action, and judge the intention, and that is
wrong, that is rash judgment.

A person may have said or done something
ithat was wrong in itself, outwardly ; but we
cannot look into the inside, we cannot see the
intention. Maybe the person does not know
that such a thing is wrong ; maybe, behind
this ignorance, if I may say so, there lies hid-

RASH JUDGMENT. 83

•

den the very best of intentions. Therefore, we
must be careful. "We may judge a thing to be
wrong, and, if a favorable occasion presents
itself, and we think our effort will be of avail,
we may instruct the person and show how and
why it is wrong ; but we have no right to
judge the intention.

Another thing to be considered is this : we
all have our own notions, feelings, and likings.
To these notions, feelings, and likings we are
apt to hold fast. Our self-love makes us clii^g
to them ; to give them up is the hardest thing
for us to do. We try to persuade ourselves
that everybody else ought to think, feel, and like
as we do. This inclines us to judge rashly of
others. We even go so far as to misinterpret
the good deeds of our neighbors ; we close
our eyes to the good deed itself, saying that
there is a wrong intention underlying it. How
very sinful this is! How unworthy of one who
professes to be a follower of Jesus, who says :
''Judge not, and you shall not be judged."

From these rash judgments frequently arise
great difficulties and disturbances. Friends
are separated, families disunited, and discord
is sown among neighbors. My little follower
of Jesus, beware of rash judgment.

84 THE LITTLE FOLLOWER OF JESUS.

_____ _•

What should you do to avoid such sin and
trouble ? First, never make it your business
to observe others— never, unless God has made
it one of your duties to do so. Parents must
have a watchful eye on their children, teach-
ers on their pupils, and all superiors on their
inferiors and subjects ; it is their duty, and
therefore their business.

If something bad is done, and it is not
known who did it, do not make it your busi-
ness to ferret out the perpetrators, unless it is
your duty to do so. Such detective business
frequently leads to grievous sin. You know
what it is to sin by false suspicion.

Secondly, if you happen to see or hear
something that is wrong, then, if you can, and
there is any prospect that it will do good,
speak to the one that has done the wrong, and
correct him in brotherly charity. If the evil
is great, and it threatens to do great injury to
the soul of him who does it, then it may be
your duty to tell your superiors about it — the
parents, the teacher, or the priest, according
to circumstances. But, do not forget that you
must never misjudge another's intention.

Thirdly, strive to purify your own heart.
This I put last, this time ; it ought to come

RASH JUDGMENT. 85

first. In all that you do, try to have a pure
intention — the honor of God, the welfare of
your neighbor, and your own spiritual good.
Thomas a Kempis says : " Many secretly
seek themselves in what they do, and are not
aware of it." You ought to make yourselves
aware of what you are seeking.

Do not give up until you know all your
faults, evil habits, bad passions, inclinations
to evil. Judge yourself, but not others. And
Jesus, our merciful Redeemer, will give you
the grace to persevere in this war with your-
self, and help you to gain the victory !

" In judging others a man toileth in vain ;
for the most part he is mistaken, and he easily
sinneth ; but judging and scrutinizing himself,
he always laboreth with profit." These are
words taken from The Following of Christ ; are
they not true?

XV.
Works done out of Charity.

blessed Redeemer, we sometimes
might think, gives us quite contradictory
rules to follow and practise. For in-
stance, He says : " Let your light so shine be-
fore men, that they may see your good works,
and glorify your Father who is in heaven."
Then, again, He says : " When thou givest alms,
let not thy left hand know what thy right hand
doeth.'' Does not this seem to be contradic-
tory ? We shall do our good works so that
our fellow-men may see them, and yet we
should also hide our good works, so that, as it
were, even our left hand might not know what
the right hand is doing. The following little
story may help you to understand our Saviour's
meaning with regard to the above two pas-
sages :

The editor of a daily paper one day received
the following note, sent to him privately
through the mail :

DEAR EDITOR.— Will you please forward the enclosed sum
of ten dollars to that poor woman whose husband, lately, was
run over by the cars and killed ? The widow being thus, her-

THE LITTLE FOLLOWER OE JESUS. 8?

self aiid children, left without a supporter, is in sore distress
and suffers great want; this donation will, I trust, go some
way in relieving her and her poor orphans. I ask nothing in

return but their blessing and prayers. From

• A FRIEND.

The widow's grateful answer, as published
in the paper next day, was this :

DEAR EDITOR. — The widow and her orphans wish hereby
publicly to express their most heartfelt thanks for the chari-
table gift of ten dollars sent us. The money was duly received '
and it was more than enough to satisfy our present wants,
Though our benefactor is unknown to us, and will not reveal
himself, G-od knows him, and has noted his work of charity.
All we can do is, as our benefactor himself requests, to bless
him for his charity and to pray for him. This we will do as
long as we live. May the good God reward him, even here on
this earth, a hundredfold !

See, my little followers of Jesus, this is an
example from which you can learn how you
may give alms, or do good some other way to
your fellow-men, so that your left hand will
not know what your right hand is doing. How
beautiful is such charity ! How happy it must
make him feel who practises it ! How pleas-
ing it is to God, and how richly He will reward
it!

In that same city there lived a man who was
very rich. God had blessed him with an
abundance of wealth ; and, thanks be to the

88 THE LITTLE FOLLOWER OF JESUS.

same good God, lie knew what use to make of
his wealth. The man was as charitable as he
was rich.

Did people*know he was charitable ? Yes.
How did they find it out ? There was never a

«,

good work of charity to be done in the congre-
gation, or in the city, but this rich man took
part in it. On the list of contributors, his
name generally stood at the head. He was
always liberal ; his contributions, on compar-
ing, were always found to be the largest.

As often, however, as he contributed to pub-
lic charity, there was always one thing he
principally aimed at : he never wished people
to find out how much he had given. They
might know that he had contributed, but they
should not know how much. Sometimes, in
spite of his efforts to hide it, it would come
out anyway, and then, when people would ad-
mire him for it, and praise his charity, he was
very much displeased, and seemed to be pained
about it.

But still greater was this man's private
charity to the poor, the sick, the afflicted of
any and every class. He was, therefore, ven-
erated by all, and loved as a father. His
greatest pleasure was to help the poor in such

WORKS DO]$"E OUT OF CHARITY. 89

a way that no one might find out whence the
charity came. God only should know it ;
that was enough for him. Well, can you guess
now from whom those ten dollars came, that
were sent to the widow and her children, by
the editor of the daily paper ? They were the
gift of this rich man. Here, then, my dear
children, you have an example both of how you
should let your light shine among men, and
also how your right hand can do good without
your left hand finding it out. Do you under-
stand now what Jesus means ?

Oh, if there were only more of such charity
in the world ! Poor people would not complain
so much and so often of hard times, poor
wages, poverty, and distress. My dear readers,
make a firm resolution to practise this chari-
ty as often as }TOU can, and as long as you
live.

This is what you ought to remember : First,
you must strive always to live in the state of
grace. If you had had the misfortune to com-
mit a mortal sin, then make an act of perfect
contrition right away, and go to confession as
soon as you can. Not mentioning that as long
as you are in mortal sin you are in danger of
eternal damnation, you can gain no merits for

90 THE LITTLE FOLLOWER OF JESUS.

heaven by any good that you do in that state
of sin.

Secondly, do the good work with the best
intention, from the purest motive. Your in-
tention should be : " All out of love to Jesus,
to honor and glorify God ! ' Do not seek the
praise of men ; hide your good works from
them as much as you can. People may know
that you have given, for the sake of the good
example ; but do not let them know, if you
can help it, how much or what you have given.

Thirdly, give in the right disposition. Do
not ask : " How much are others giving ? I
will give as much as he gives." No. Give
what you can, be it much or be it little, and
give it with a good will. Do not measure your-
self with others. First you may view your
own circumstances and ability, and then turn
your eyes wholly to God. Do not say : " If I
were better off, if the times were not so hard,
I would give more." Give what you want to
give, or can give — simply, willingly, gladly !

For the conclusion, reflect on these words
from Thomas a Kempis : " Without charity,
the outward work profiteth nothing ; but what-
ever is done out of charity, be it ever so little
and contemptible, it is all made fruitful, inas-

WORKS DONE OUT OF CHARITY.

91

much as God regardetk more out of how much
love a man doth a work, than how much he
doth. He doth much who loveth much."

XVI.
Bearing the Faults of Others.

thou canst not make thyself what thou
wouldst be, how canst thou expect to
have another so exactly to thy mind ? '
asks The Following of Christ. This question,
my dear readers, hits the nail right on the
head, as we say. Don't you think so, too ?
We are all so much that way ; we want every-
body to have patience with us, to bear with
our annoying ways and manners, but we our-
selves will have patience with nobody ; every-
body and everything must be so smooth, as
not to give us the least offence. But that is
not the spirit of Jesus.

Open the gospels and read the life of your
Saviour, study it carefully ; you will find that,
among the many • virtues He exercised, this
one of patience in bearing with the weaknesses
and faults of others shines forth as one of the
brightest. What patient forbearance, for in-
stance, did He not exercise towards His apos-
tles !

He had them about Himself, nearly day and
night, for three years. He takes the greatest

BEARING THE FAULTS OF OTHERS. 93

pains to instruct them, to explain His doc-
trines, to lay before them plainly his mission,
that He has come to suffer and die for the
redemption of mankind. He endeavors to
draw them away from earthly pursuits, to fill
them with his own spirit, to make them un-
derstand the mission on which they themselves
are to be sent, to convert the world for Him,
to lay down their lives for His holy religion.
How dull is their understanding ! How wrong
many of their notions ! How awkward their
doings, and how childish, sometimes, their talk !
At one time, during a storm on the lake, they
wake Him up, saying : ' Lord, save us, we
perish." Jesus calls them : " Ye of little
faith ! ' Peter wants to prevent Our Lord
from suffering ; Jesus gives him a rebuke and
a correction. Jesus wants to bless children,
but the apostles try to keep them away from
Him; He tells them: "Let the little ones
come to Me, and forbid them not." The
mother of the two Zebedees asks Jesus to per-
mit that her two sons should hold the first
two places in His kingdom, the one to His
right, the other to His left. Our Lord an-
swers : " You know not what you ask.'' When
Mary Magdalene anoints our Saviour in the

94 THE LITTLE FOLLOWER OF JESUS.

house of the Pharisee, the apostles get angry
and say : " To what purpose is this waste ? '
Jesus answers : " Why do you trouble this
woman?' The disciples quarrel amongst
themselves as to who was to be the first and
greatest in Christ's kingdom ; the Master
teaches them that he who would become the
lowest in humility would be the highest be-
fore God. After His agony in the garden,
Jesus returns to His apostles and finds them
sleeping. He told them : " Watch and pray,
lest you enter into temptation! ' and now He
says : " What ! could you not watch one hour
with Me ? ' Judas betrays his Master ; Peter
denies Him, in spite of his liveliest attestation
of fidelity; the other disciples all forsake
Jesus, and run away when He is taken captive
by the soldiers ; yet Jesus has patience still,
and bears with the weakness of His Apostles.
This is Jesus, our Model, whom we must
follow.

On one special occasion, when Jesus wished
to enter the city of Samaria, and the inhabi-
tants refused to receive Him, two of the apos-
tles, James and John, said : " Lord, wilt
Thou that we command fire to come down
from heaven and consume them ? ' Jesus

BEARING THE FAULTS Or OTHERS.

answers: "You know not of what spirit you
are ! The Son of Man came not to destroy
souls, but to save ! ' Do you understand now
what is the spirit of Jesus ? And will you try,
as followers of Jesus, to acquire this spirit for
yourselves ? " Learn of Me, for I am meek

t>

and humble of heart," says our divine Model.

The Saints had this same spirit. They al-
ways had great patience with others, When-
ever anything happened that was naturally
annoying, they let it pass by and took it all
quietly. I will give you an example.

St. Ephrem had been fasting for several
days, when he told his servant to cook and
dish up a mess of vegetables. He was sitting
in his room, waiting. The servant comes
along, carrying the bowl of cooked vegetables,
but, alas ! as he enters through the door 'he
stumbles and falls. The bowl is broken to
pieces, the rness of vegetables poured out on
the floor.

What do you think now ? Did the Saint
bristle up and get angry ? Did he stamp the
floor and scold ? Did he say : " You con-
founded simpleton ! can't you take more
care ? ' Ah, no ! Ephrem was a saint ! The
servant, poor fellow, turned quite pale from

1)0 THE LITTLE FOLLOWER OF JESUS.

fear, but his master remained quiet, and said
in a pleasant tone : " Don't be disturbed, my
dear son. Since the pottage will not come to
me to be eaten, I must go down to it." And
the saint sat down on the floor, and scraping
together the spilled vegetables, ate of them as
much as he could take up.

You may have to live with children that are
cross, and ill-mannered, and hard to get along
with; or you may have to reside in a neighbor-
hood where people, grown and children, are
very coarse in language and rough in manners ;
or you may go out into the country to visit
your relations ; you find the folks, especially
the children, so ill-bred and vulgar ; in short,
you will often have to deal with persons who
have all kinds of curious ways and strange
manners, hard to get along with. What then ?
First : remember that you have your
faults, as well as others. You must not expect
others to be perfect, or to become so in a
short time, when you are far from being per-
fect yourself. Secondly : if you can do any-
thing to improve your surroundings in wavs
and manners, you may try it ; but do so with
a good intention and in the right way. Above
all, as the Latin proverb says, '• Festina len-

BEARIXG THE FAULTS OF OTHERS. 97

te," which means in English, " Make haste
slowly ! ' Rome was not built in one day.
You will not improve much, neither yourself
nor others, if you imagine it all has to be
done in one day. Take it slowly. Give your-
self and others plenty of time. A spirit of
gentleness and patient forbearance will do
wonders, whereas rashness and impatience
will only spoil and waste.

" Study to be patient," says Thomas a Kem-
pis, " in learning the defects of others, and
their infirmities, be they what they may, for
thou hast many things which others must
bear withal.

XVII.
Vocation.

Following of Christ," in chapter the
seventeenth of the first book, treats on
the Monastic Life ; that is, it tells us how
a person must be and what he must do to lead
a good and happy life as member of a religious
order or community. Instead of speaking to
you about religious or monastic life in partic-
ular, I wish rather to say a few words about
vocation in general.

God calls every person growing up to man-
hood or womanhood to serve Him in a certain
station of life. This calling, which God gives
one, as also the station of life that one em-
braces after perceiving this call, are both
called vocation. We pray to God to show us
our vocation ; and when once he has shown it
to us, and we know it, and have entered it ac-
cording to His holy will, we keep on praying
to God that He may assist us constantly with
His grace to faithfully serve Him in that voca-
tion, to do His holy will until death.

It is all-important to find out this vocation
and to embrace it. If one should happen to

98

VOCATION. 99

enter the wrong vocation — a vocation to which
God has not called him — it would be a dread-
ful misstep, and might prove to be a fatal one.
God, in a certain measure, gives His graces
according to the vocation He has marked out
for one. If you have embraced that station of
life to which God has called you, you will re-
ceive those special graces He has prepared for
you— graces that are necessary to fulfil the
duties of your station faithfully and persever-
ingly, and to overcome bravely the obstacles
that you will meet with in your way. If you
have embraced the wrong vocation, then,
naturally, many of these graces will be wanting,
and the difficulties on your way greater.

You must not think, however, that, if you
should have chanced to make the misstep,
that is, if you have entered the wrong vocation,
you must then give yourself up for lost. No,
indeed ! Never give yourself up for lost.
God is always willing, even if you have entered
a vocation against His will, to give you all the
graces you may stand in need of in order to
save your soul in that vocation. But you will
meet with and have to overcome greater ob-
stacles, and your work will be a great deal
harder. It is like this : instead of taking the

915248

100 THE LITTLE FOLLOWER OF JESUS.

straight, smooth road to your home, you have
taken a side road, rough, full of logs, stumps,
mud-puddles, briars, and thorns ; it is a long,
roundabout way, hard to travel ; but keep on
faithfully ; even on that road you can still
reach your home !

From this you can see how important it is
to find out one's vocation, and after having
found it, to follow it. How many vocations
are there ? And what should you do to find
out your own ?

Vocations may be divided into two classes :
Life in the world, and life consecrated to God
in religion. Life in the world may be of two
kinds : single life, and married life. So, also,
life in religion may be of two kinds : the
priesthood, and life in a religious order or
community, as Brother or Sister.

Of all these different vocations it may not
be wrong to assert that that of married life,
though not the highest in worth, is yet the
most important, on account of the manifold,
far-reaching, grave duties connected with it-
duties on whose fulfilment both the temporal
and eternal welfare 'of all mankind depend.

Why is it that there is so much misery in
family life ? that so many families are unhappy,

VOCATION. 101

even here in this world, and are doing nothing
but making themselves unhappy also for the
next ? Certainly, there may be many other
reasons, different from the one given here ; but
in many a case, this may be the first cause of
all the subsequent misery : father and mother
were not called to enter the married state ; 01%
they were not called to be partners in that
state ; they have entered the wrong vocation.
Thanks to the good God ! There are many
whom God calls to the holy state of the priest-
hood, and to a religious life, even in our days.
God will never let these vocations die out, if
we may say so. But the number of persons
living a single life in the world, comparatively,
is very small. What do you think? Is the
state of single life in the world, consecrated to
virginal purity, less pleasing to God than it
was hundreds of vears ao:o?

«.' O

Ah, yes ! it is so important to find out one's
right vocation.

Then, what should you do to find it out?

»/

When the time has come for you to choose a
vocation, then do as follows : first, you must
see to have yourself instructed in all that is
necessary for you to know concerning the
various stations of life. Such books as k< The

102 THE LITTLE FOLLOWER OF JESUS.

Youth's Director," " Catholic Christian In-
structed," and others that might be named,
will give you much of the information you may
need. For particular instructions apply to
the priest, your pastor. Secondly, you must
pray much and devoutly to the Holy Ghost.
I would especially counsel you to make a
novena — nine days' devotion — to the Blessed
Yirgin, the Mother of Good Counsel. During
the devotion try to go to confession and to
holy Communion once extra. Thirdly, it will
also be good if, in a general confession of your
whole life, you will open your heart to a good,
learned, and experienced confessor, and let him
guide you in this all-important affair.

If you do all this in humility, and with a
good will and intention, God will not fail to
show you the way. Whatever, then, be your
vocation, strike out for it courageously, and
hold on to it faithfully.

You must not envy others, who may be called
by God to something higher and better than

you are. Be vou faithful in the little, and

«« *j

you shall have the same reward as flrose that
have been faithful in the great. King David
said to his men after the battle with the Amal-
ekites :

VOCATION. 103

" Equal shall be the portion of him who
went down to battle, and of him that abode at
the baggage : and they shall divide alike."

My little follower of Jesus, this chapter
must close now. I would like to wedge in a
little story, by way of illustration ; but you
must do without it this time. St. Paul ad-
monishes us : • " As God hath called every man
so let him walk." " A cripple limping in the
right way is better than a racer out of it," says
St. Augustine. And Thomas a Kempis re-
marks : " He that seeketh anything else but
simply God and the salvation of his soul, will
find nothing but trouble and sorrow.

XVIII,
Example of the Saints.

man lighteth a candle," says Jesus,
an(l ptftteth it in a hidden place,
nor under a bushel ; but upon a candle-
stick, that all who come in may see the
light."

If you read the lives of the saints, and com-
pare one with the other, you will find that
most of them, as in other points, so also
agreed in this : They tried to keep their
good works secret, to hide the light of holi-
ness that was burning in their lives. The
world, frequently, knew them not, made little
of them, despised them, persecuted them ; so
that the wicked, on the Day of Judgment, ac-
. cording to Holy Scripture, will say : " These
are they, whom we had sometime in derision,
and for a parable of reproach. We fools es-
teemed their life madness, and their end with-
out honor. Behold, how they are numbered
among the children of God, and their lot is
among the saints."

But God does not wait till the Day of Judg-
ment to reveal this beautiful light of holiness

104

EXAMPLE OF THE SAIKTS. 105

in His saints. He put many of them on the
candlestick even while they were yet living in
this world. Do what they would to hide the
light, God so disposed that it had to break
forth. It shone brightly, and enlightened the
darkness of the world round about them.
Their example was a silent but powerful ser-
mon, that often did more to draw sinners out
of their wickedness and drive them on toward
God than the most eloquent missionary could
do with all his preaching.

St. Francis of Assisi went out one day with
one of his brethren, with the intention, as he
said, of preaching a sermon. They passed
through the town, one street after another,
without, however; saying a single word. The
people came out to meet them, not to hear
the sermon, but to scoff at them, to load them
with insults.

When thev returned home, St. Francis asked

*j

his companion : " Well, my brother, how did
you like my sermon ? '

"Father," said the latter, "what shall I
say ? I heard nothing like a sermon. You
did not say even one word."

"Yet we have both preached a good ser-
mon," replied the saint. "By our good

100 THE LITTLE FOLLOWER OF JESUS.

example we have taught them how to bear
insults patiently and in silence."

Do you see? This is the way the saints
all preached.

Sometimes God so ordained that the sanc-
tity of His saints remained hidden to the
world as long as they lived ; but so much the
brighter did the light shine forth after their
death. Kead your " Lives of the Saints ; '
there is light in it, and fire.

My dear little follower of Jesus, we * all
should look up to this light ; we should draw
near and warm ourselves at this heavenly fire.
It is the fire of God's love that burned, and is
burning still, in the hearts of His saints. The
same fire should burn in our hearts. Let me
tell you what 3-011 ought to do.

First : you ought to have a " Legend of
Saints '^iii your house. If you have none yet,
your parents certainly -will get you one as
soon as they can, if you ask them. Do not
let it lie idle, though ; you ought to read in it
every day. You ought, at least, to read the
life of the saint that is given for each day.
Read it carefully, not merely for pastime.
Try to find out which is the principal virtue
for which the saint was renowned ; make up

EXAMPLE OF THE SAINTS. 107

your resolution to imitate it. In this way you
will draw great benefit from your reading.
The " Lives of the Saints " is the Gospel car-
ried out in practice.

^Secondly : there will be a few saints for
whom you will feel a special liking. They
hold a higher place in your regard and affec-
tion than others. Read their lives frequently,
and with particular care ; and take special
pains to imitate their virtues.

Thirdly : you ought to have a book con-
taining, more extensive and complete, the life
of the saint whose name you bear. Read that
book through often ; get it by heart, I might
say. Strive to imitate your patron, and you
will become, like him, a true follower of Jesus.

Thomas a Kempis says : " They, the holy
Fathers, were given for an example to all re-
ligious ; and ought more to excite us to ad-
vance in good than the number of lukewarm
induce us to grow remiss."

XIX.

Exercises of a Good Christian.

'HE Following of Christ,".in this chapter,
treats on " The Exercises of a Good
Eeligious." Our title is a little differ-
ent in one word. Instead of " Eeligious " we
put "Christian."

If you have the book, or can easily get it, I
would advise you, before you proceed any fur-
ther in reading this, to read that chapter in Tie
Following of Christ. It is chapter the nine-
teenth of book the first. There is so much said
there that I cannot repeat here. Eead it slow-
ly. Pause after every verse and ponder
it. Indeed, it is worth thinking over : every
verse — so true — is of more worth than gold !

Now, let us go on. A good Christian means
a good follower of Christ. It is your purpose,
is it not, to become a good, true follower of
Jesus ? Then, look ahead ! Jesus goes before
you : keep up your courage and push on after
your Saviour.

Here are a few rules, together with some
points of good advice.

First : you must have a constant desire

108

EXERCISES OE A GOOD CHRISTIAN. 109

to become better, to get up nearer to Jesus.
You must pray for this desire every day ; pray
that it may not get weaker, but rather increase
in strength from day to day. " This is our
life," says St. Augustine : " to make progress
in virtue by continual desire." And St. Ber-
nard says : " He that will not go forward,
without doubt begins to go backward."

Secondly : you must not be satisfied with
having a general desire for perfection. You
ought to have a special good resolution every
morning to strive after perfection ; to make
good use of the means that will help you for-
ward ; to avoid all that might hinder you. " As
our purpose is," says Thomas a Kenipis, " so
will our progress be ; and there is need of
much diligence for him that wisheth to ad-
vance much."

Thirdly : with this general desire and
special purpose, you must unite those exer-
cises that all good Christians who are earnest
about their salvation undertake and perform.
First come morning and evening prayers. I
hope your parents have introduced it as a rule
in the family, and have it observed strictly
every day, to say morning and evening pray-
ers together, parents and children. If not,

110 THE LITTLE FOLLOWER OF JESUS.

you must do it alone for yourself. You need
not expect that you will ever become a true
follower of Jesus, unless you are punctual in
this, saying your morning and night pray-
ers ! Next comes the daily examination of
your conscience. Do that in the evening, be-
fore you retire to bed. Especially examine
yourself as to your prevailing passion, or
strongest evil inclination. After the examina-
tion, never fail to make an act of contrition.
The acts of faith, hope, and charity you might
make in the morning, as part of your morning
prayers. But do not fail to make them every day.

You should also receive the sacraments — go
to confession and holy Communion often, — at
least once a month.

Lastly, I would advise you to make a reso-
lution every morning to do something particu-
lar that day which will be pleasing to God.
Once you might resolve to say certain short,
ejaculatory prayers frequently during the day,
to keep you mindful of the presence of God ;
another time you might resolve to mortify
your appetite a little, or to guard yourself
more carefully against a certain fault, or to
keep silence more, or to practise little works
of charity, and so on.

EXERCISES OF A GOOD CHRISTIAN". Ill

See, my children, these are some — only a
few — of the exercises of a good Christian.
What will you do, then ?

You say : " It is so hard to keep one's self
always tied down to such practices ! ' I say
so myself ; it is a hark task. But just think :
what will be your reward one day ? A farmer,
on his death-bed, called his sons together, and
said to them :

" Listen, my children: somewhere on the
farm that I leave you there lies hidden in the
ground a great treasure. Set to work and
hunt for it ; if you find it you will be rich."
The sons worked diligently. Every year, for a
long period, they plow and work their farm in
hopes of finding the treasure. Did they find
it ? Yes ; but not as they had expected. The
farm, as fruit of the work done on it, produced
the richest harvests ; and in a few years the
brothers were well-to-do. Do you understand
the meaning of this parable ? and can you
make the application?

Pray often with Thomas a Kempis : " Help
me, O Lord God, in my good purpose, and in
Thy holy service ; and grant that I may this
clay begin indeed, since what I have hitherto
done is nothing.'

o

XX.
Silence and Solitude.

a watch, O Lord, before my mouth,
and a door round about my lips ! '
Thus prays the Psalmist. In the
words of this short prayer there lies hidden a
thought which it would be well for us to con-

o

sider. Let us draw it forth :

David does not ask God to lock up and seal
his lips, nor to build up a wall before his mouth,
that he might never break through with his
tongue to speak even a single word, good or
bad. No ! he asks God to give him the grace
always to make good use of his tongue, that he
might speak only what is useful and edifying,
and avoid by silence what might be harmful ;
that he might open his lips to speak, and close
them in silence, at the right time, just as one
would open and close the door of a house or
room. This is the thought : isn't it an excel-
lent one ?

Holy Scripture says, somewhere else :
" There is a time to keep silence, and a time to
speak." God does not wish us to be silent all
the time. He gave us our tongues that we

112

SILENCE A2TD SOLITUDE. 113

might use them also for talking, but we are al-
lowed to speak only what is good, and at the
right time.

Indeed, if God had so willed, he could easily
have made our tongues so that we could never
have used them for speaking, neither for good
nor for bad — you know how the brutes are in
this respect.

Here is an example that I read in a book
some time ago : St. Vincent Ferreri was one
day preaching in the street in the beautiful
old city of Valencia. During his ^ermon a
woman who is dumb is brought before him.
He sees the poor creature's good will and
strong faith : is it God's will that she should
receive the gift of speech ?

The Saint halts in his sermon a few minutes
and raises his heart to God in ardent prayer,
after which he turns to the woman and asks :
" What is it you would like to have, my
daughter ? '

" Bread, and the use of my tongue ! " an-
swers the woman, loudly and distinctly. On
beholding the miracle, the people burst out
into a cry of joy and admiration. They praise
and glorify God for His goodness.

" Bread you shall have, my daughter, as long

THE LITTLE FOLLOWER OF JESUS.

as you live," continues the Saint. " God will
not let you suffer again from want of food.
But the use of your tongue it is not His will to
give you. He foresees that by using it you
would commit many sins : your tongue would
be sharper than a' -sword — it would cut, and
wound, and do much harm ; in the end it would
bring eternal ruin to your soul. Hence, my
daughter, be satisfied with God's holy will.
You shall be dumb as you have been hereto-
fore, to the end of your life."

The woman signifies her willingness. She
was never heard to speak again until she died.

My little followers of Jesus, to most of us
God has given the free use of the tongue : we
can speak. But, God has also given us His law.
He tells us clearly and definitely what we are
allowed to speak, and what not.

He has also given us reason and conscience ;
we know what is good and bad — reason shows
us, conscience tells us. We know also what is
good and bad in speaking. Furthermore, God
helps us with His grace to keep His law faith-
fully ; He will also help us not to sin by speak-
ing. Do you understand now why Jesus says
so strictly : " I say unto you, that every idle
word that men shall speak, they shall render

SILENCE AN"D SOLITUDE. 115

an account for it in the Day of Judgment "?

We can never be true followers of Jesus un-
less we learn to govern our tongues ; Thomas
a Ivempis has already given us several lessons
on this ; now he says : " He that aims at in-
ward and spiritual things must, with Jesus,
turn aside from the crowd." Do you under-
stand what this means ? It is not enough for
us to guard our tongues, so that they may not
say what is wrong, or say things at the wrong
time. We must withdraw from company alto-
gether, sometimes ; we must tie our tongues
and keep them silent — in a word, we must
strive to acquire a love for solitude and
silence.

We have the example of Jesus for this.
" Jesus went up into the mountain alone to
pray/' says St. Matthew. And this the holy
Gospel tells us, in the same or similar words,
more than once. Shall we not try to follow the
example that Jesus gives us ?

Remember, therefore, these points : First,
whenever duty keeps you at home, away from
company or your playmates, then be satisfied.
Do not grumble, or complain inwardly. Yes,
you ought to be glad. Now you can do some-
thing to acquire a love for solitude and silence.

116 THE LITTLE FOLLOWER OF JESUS.

Turn your thoughts to God ; think that He is
present. If you have any work to do, do it
faithfully. If you have none to do, look for
some. You must not idle away your time. If
you can find nothing to do, then, at least, take
up a good book and read it. Do not fret, and
keep thinking of your playmates — what they
are doing, the fun they are having, and so on.
Secondly, it is left to your choice frequently ;
you may go out into company, or not, just as
you like. You might, sometimes, choose to
stay at home, for the love of Jesus, to mortify
yourself by keeping silence. I know, children
must have recreation. But you must not be
talking, and laughing, and jumping, and run-
ning about, and playing, and having fun all the
time, what do you think ? Is that the way
Jesus did ? Hence deny yourself once in a
while. When you might go out into company,
retire and keep silence.

^ The Following of Christ says : " It is easier
to keep silence altogether, than not to fall into
excess in speaking ; easier to keep retired at
home than to be enough upon one's guard
abroad."

XXI.
Sorrow of Heart.

is wonderful," says Thomas a Kempisy
" that any man can ever abandon him-
self wholly to joy in this life, when he
considereth and weigheth his exile and the
dangers of his soul."

Eepresent to yourself Jesus, your model.
Can you think of him as laughing immoder-
ately, breaking out into fits of unusual mirthy
as we are sometimes apt to do ? No. We be-
hold our Saviour, both as a child, and as a
grown man, always steady, earnest, and quiet-
He was meek, friendly, and full of the most
winning love, certainly ; but withal, His coun-
tenance ever wore an expression of thoughtful
earnestness, and His outward manner, though
calm and gentle, bespoke a certain mournful-
ness of spirit. The gospels nowhere tell us
that Jesus laughed, or even smiled ; but we
read that He wept now and then, maybe, fre-
quently. He had a great work to perform — to
suffer and die for the redemption of mankind ;
and yet He knew that, in spite of His efforts
to save themr so many, very many, would be

117

118 THE LITTLE FOLLOWER OF

lost forever. Hence, that sorrow of His heart,
those tears He shed.

It well becomes a follower of Jesus, there-
fore, to be sorrowful of heart. Yes, onr Lord
even gives this as one of the signs by which we
caii tell whether or not we are His followers.
" Blessed are they that mourn ; for they shall
be comforted." And to His apostles He says
-words, as it were, expressing His bequest to
them : " Amen, amen, I say to you, that you
shall lament and weep ; but the world shall
rejoice."

However, you must understand this aright.
It is not said that 3^011 must always keep your
spirit under pressure ; that you must always
mourn, and sigh, and weep ; that you dare
never be cheerful, dare never laugh, nor play,
nor enjoy yourself in any way. Holy Scrip-
ture says : " There is a time to weep, and a
time to laugh." And The Following of Christ,
speaking to us about the sorrow we ought to
have in our hearts, tells us, in the same chap-
ter, where we can find true liberty and joy —
"in the fear of God with a good conscience."
What should you do, therefore ?

In your dealings with others you must try
to be kind, cheerful, and, as we would say,

SORROW OF HEART. 119

gentlemanly. Your looks, your features, all
your actions should be such as to express the
kindness and charity of your heart. Take
care, also, not to go to extremes, never to be
wantonly gay, nor unduly sorrowful.

But for yourself, you must also cultivate a
spirit of holy earnestness and sorrow of heart
— in which Jesus sets such a good exam-
ple. What are the motives that might tend
to make us earnest-minded and sorrowful
of heart ? There are plenty of such mo-
tives.

Consider, for instance, the misery of this
•world. Bodily, we are subject to sickness
and pains and troubles of every kind. The
greatest and last misery in this world is death.
As to our souls, there are so many dangers
and temptations to sin ; the enemies that hate
us and try to bring us to ruin are so watchful
and cunning — you know we are never sure,
even for one moment, but we may lose God,
our souls, heaven, everything. Wherever we
turn our eyes, wee see so much wickedness, so
much misery caused by sin — the poor op-
pressed by the rich, the righteous persecuted
by the unjust. Who must not feel sad at
heart, who would not rather sigh and weep

THE LITTLE FOLLOWER OF JESUS.

than laugh and be joyful, when lie sees and
considers all this misery ?

Dionysius, the tyrant of Syracuse, one day
invited a certain man, named Damocles, to
come to his palace and be a guest at his table.
Damocles had tried by flatteries to gain the
king's favor. He had praised him greatly for
his wisdom and justice, extolled his power and
riches, and therefore he hoped the king would
reward him by making him one of the first
officers in his kingdom. You may imagine
what were the man's expectations when the
king sent him this invitation.

Damocles came. First he had to change
his clothes : he was clad in the finest, richest
garments, like the king himself. Then he was
led into the large dining hall, where he was
given a place next to the king. The table was
loaded with victuals and beverages most costly
and delicious — more than ever lie could have
imagined or desired. Besides, he was honored
by the other guests and servants as if he were
the king's own "brother. Damocles was hap-
py for once : yes, a regular sea of happiness,
he thought it !

In the midst of his pleasure, however, there-
comes a sudden terror. He just happens.,

SORROW OF HEART. 121

once, to raise his eyes to the ceiling. What is
the matter ? He turns pale ; he can eat no
more, nor drink ; he trembles in all the limbs
of his body.

There, right above his head, hangs a sharp,
heavy sword ; it hangs on a horsehair, only a
horsehair ! If the hair breaks the sword will
fall and split his head.

" Do you see now, Damocles, what it is to
be king ? I am not safe for one hour ; any
moment death and ruin may overtake me,"
said Dionysius.

This, my dear little follower of Jesus, is a

7 \J *

picture of the vain and sinful joys of the world.

XXII.
Human Misery.

, you know, was a mighty king.
If any one could speak of happiness on
this earth, certainly he could ; for, says
he: " I surpassed in riches all that were before
me in Jerusalem. Whatsoever my eyes desired,
I refused them not : and I withheld not my
heart from enjoying every pleasure." But in
the end he confesses: " I have seen all things
that are done under the sun: and, behold, all
is vanity and vexation of spirit."

You know also the history of Job. "Well,
here are some of his words: " The life of man
upon earth is a warfare. If I be wicked, woe
unto me ; and if just, I shall not lift up my
head, being filled with affliction and misery.
Oh, that I had been consumed, that eye might
not see me ! '

A rich man had two grown sons. One day
he called them to his room and said :

" My sons, listen. I will give each of you an
equal portion of land to work on my farm. I
am getting old, and am going to leave things
more for you to manage. Bo diligent in your

173

HUMAN MISERY.

work; be saving, and do not lose time. Bring
me your profits ; I will treasure them up for
you ; and sometime you will receive your re-
ward from me accordingly."

There was a great difference between these
two brothers. The older was a good son, obedi-
ent and respectful. He was not afraid to work;
and from his earliest childhood he had tried to
learn what might be necessary and useful for
a farmer to know. He was able now to work
the farm, and manage it successfully. Not so
the younger. He was indolent and careless,
and thus caused his father much trouble. He
was afraid to work; he tried every means to
avoid it. It was thus he had grown up. He
knew very little about farming, and did not
care to know more.

The older brother worked his land well.
He manured it, and plowed, and harrowed,
and sowed. He worked hard; it cost him
many a drop of sweat ; often he was nearly
tired out. But for this he had good harvests ;
and how glad he was when each autumn he
could lay a good sum of money in his father's
hand. Not so did the younger brother. He
was afraid to work the land himself ; he hired
others. These cared little about the harvests,

124 THE LITTLE FOLLOWElt OF JESUS.

if only they got tlieir wages. His land was
just as good as his brother's ; but instead of
improving it lost in value. His harvests were
poor ; and they became poorer every year.
After he had paid the wages to his hired men
he had very little left to give as profits to his
father. After two or three years he had no
profits at all to give.

Thus it went on for ten years. The father
died. The testament he had made was an un-
expected surprise, He left all his property
to his two sons, to be divided between them
proportionally, according to the amount of
profits each one had brought to his father dur-
ing those ten years they had been left the
management of that land. The younger son
got — just one acre of land. The older inher-
ited all the rest — the great riches of his father.
The younger son was enraged : he stamped
and scolded. But, had he good reason to do so ?
Wasn't he treated right?

My dear little followers of Jesus, this is a
parable from which we can learn a good lesson.
Let us hear :

We are not created for this world. Jesus
died for us to redeem us ; He wants to have
us with Him in heaven, forever. For He says:

HUMAK MISERY. 125

" Where I am, there also shall My servant be."
Now, if this world were all sweetness, if there
were nothing bitter in it, we might like it too
much; we might forget the home and happi-
ness that are awaiting us in eternity.

" Oh, unfortunate mankind ! ' exclaims St.
Augustine. " The world is bitter, and yet it is
loved. Imagine how much more it would be
loved if it were sweet." And Thomas a Kempis
says: " Some there are who cling to the world
so closely (though even by laboring or by beg-
ging they hardly have bare necessaries) that,
could they live here always, they would care
nothing for the kingdom of God."

Can you make out now why there is so much
misery in the world ?

I will not weary you with an account of the
manifold afflictions that may fall upon us in this
life. You might, for this, read the correspond-
ing chapter in The Following of Christ — chapter
twenty- second of book first. I will only say this:
you are still young, and have not yet experi-
enced any or but very little of the misery of this
world. But it will come for you also, this
experience, sooner or later. We are all chil-
dren of Adam ; and we all come under Adam's
sentence of judgment : " Cursed is the earth

I'M THE LITTLE FOLLOWER OF JESUS.

in thy work ! Thorns and thistles shall it
bring forth to thee." As often as you have to
feel this misery, think of the two brothers.
Now is your time of hard work : the harvest of
reward will be accordingly. I must add a
word from Thomas a Kern pis : " When thou
art troubled and afflicted, then is the time of
merit. Thou must pass through fire and water
before thou come to refreshment.1

XXIII.
Thoughts on Death.

[HE last few chapters we have gone

»«B=2% through were such as to awaken in us

.

very earnest thoughts. Life is earnest ;
as followers of Jesus it becomes us to take an
earnest view of it. And here, now, comes a
chapter on death ! Do not be frightened, my
little reader. You must die once, as well as I ;
hence these few thoughts on death are for
you just as well as they are for me. To intro-
duce them, let me tell you a short story.

A merchant and a sailor once got into a
friendly conversation. Amongst other things
the merchant asks : " Pray, tell me, my
friend, what kind of a death did your father
Jbave ? "

" My father, like my grandfather and great-
grandfather before him, died by drowning in
the sea," replied the sailor.

" And you still venture to go out on the
sea ? Are you not afraid that you, also, shall
have to die by drowning, some day ? '

" No. Why should I be afraid ? Tell me,

what kind of a death did your father, grand-

12?

128 THE LITTLE FOLLOWER OF JESUS.

father, and great-grandfather die? ' asks the
sailor in turn.

" They all died in their beds," answered the
merchant.

" Do you see, now," remarked the sailor.
" Why should I be more afraid to go to sea,
than you are to go to bed ? '

From this, we can collect the following
thoughts : though it is uncertain when, and
where, and how we shall die, it is quite certain
— nothing, indeed, more certain — that once we
have to die, each and every one of us. As sure
as you live, you will have to die. Impress this
thought on your mind and heart ; the -angel of
death stands on your way ; you cannot escape
him !

You are young and healthy, but who knows ?
will you have your health long? Will you
grow old? God only knows that. You can
hurry on Death, so that he will cut you off
sooner, but you cannot keep him away so that
he will never come.

A certain child, once, was reported to have
died. Somebody went to the house to see if
the report was true.

" My child dead ! " said the father, laughing^
" That's funny ! The boy is as well as I am.

I
THOUGHTS ON DEATH. 129

•Come in, and see for yourself. Ha ! ha !
That's a good sign, anyhow ; people say that
when one is reported dead this way, he will
surely have a long and happy life."

But people's saying doesn't help. When it
is time for Death to come, he comes, and no
one can keep him away. That child died only
a few weeks later. The boy was taken sick
suddenly, and in a few hoars he was a corpse.
There is a life after death — an eternal life.
This is certain. As sure as Jesus, our Sav-
iour, rose from the grave and is living again,
so sure is it that we, too, must rise from the
grave again one day, then to live, body and
soul united, for an eternity. Our lot will be
an eternity, either of happiness or misery, and
this lot, remember, depends on the kind of
life we lead now, and the kind of death we
shall die once.

We do not want to be foolish, do we ? No ;
we want to act wisely. Jesus says : " Bles-
sed are those servants whom the Lord, when
lie cometh, shall find watching." And The
Following of Christ remarks : " How happy and
how prudent is he who now striveth to be in
life what he would fain be found in death ! '

Hence, you must avoid sin, now and as long

130 THE LITTLE FOLLOWER OF JESUS.

as you live. You must neither dare to commit
mortal sin, nor live in it for one hour. Death
might overtake you suddenly; then, what?
"Behold! I come as a thief. Blessed is he
that watcheth ! '

Correct your bad habits ; now is the time !
Do not carry them with you all through life.
If you bring them with you to your deathbed,
they will press heavily on your heart. They
will be thorns in your pillow, tormenting you
in your dying hour.

Do your good works now, for " the night
cometh, when no man can work." Say your
prayers every day ; go to the sacraments
often ; attend divine service faithfully on Sun-
days and holydays ; take pains to hear, read,
and meditate on the Word of God ; be chari-
table according to the means which God has
given you. Thomas a Kempis admonishes :
" Study so to live, that, in the hour of death,
thou mayest be able rather to rejoice than to
fear."

Above all, do everything with a good inten-
tion. You know how, for you have often been
told. It is very important — this good inten-
tion. May Jesus help us, and the Blessed
Virgin pray for us, that we may not, at the

THOUGHTS ON DEATH. 131

end of our lives, have to exclaim, with St.
Peter : " We have labored all night, and have
taken nothing." These are the few " Thoughts
on Death," I tried to gather for you into this
chapter.

For the conclusion, the first verse of Long-
fellow's " Psalm of Life : '

Life is real ! Life is earnest!
And the grave is not its goal ;
Dust thou art, to dust returnest,
Was not spoken of the soul.

And a word from Thomas a Kempis : " Bles-
sed is the man that hath the hour of his death
continually before his eyes, and daily putteth
himself in order for death."

XXIV.
Judgment and what comes after.

last end is one of these two : heaven
or hell. There is no other alternative.
Either we shall be forever happy with
God, the angels, and saints^ in heaven ; or we
shall be miserable for all eternity with the
devils and damned in hell. Our first end is
the service of God now, while we are living on
earth. "We are created to know, love, and serve
God. By doing this faithfully — striving after
•our first end — we do what is necessary to
reach our last end. It all depends on knowing,
loving, and serving God well, now. Let us not
forget this.

Our working for heaven ends with death.
" "When the tree falleth, to the north or to the
south, in what place soever it shall fall, there
shall it be." After death comes the judgment.
" It is appointed for men once to die, and after
this, the judgment," says St. Paul. This
thought of the judgment, my dear children,
must engage our- attention for a few minutes.
The Following of Christ admonishes us: "In
all things look to the end, and how thou wilt

132

JUDGMENT AND WHAT COMES AFTER. 133

stand before the strict Judge, from whom
there is nothing hid ; who takes no bribes,
and receives no excuses, but will judge that
which is just."

Three young men, once upon a time, were
making a journey. They were in the holy
land of Palestine, and on their way they came
to the valley of Josaphat.

" Hold, comrades ! ' said one of them— a
light-headed infidel, " here, they say, is where
the Last Judgment is going to be. Priests talk
so much about it, I guess, as I am here just
now, I will look for a handy place to sit, so
that, when the Day of Judgment is come I may
have a good chance to take in everything, and
see what is going on. Here is an excellent
place — a stone to mark it. I can sit on this
stone and have a clear view over the whole
vallev. This shall be mv place."

mJ •/ J

And he laughed, he thought the idea was so
original ; and his two companions laughed
with him.

But something happened. That same mo-
ment the young man had a vision. He saw
Jesus Christ, the Judge ; and terrible was His
appearance, terrible the majesty of that divine
countenance, terrifying the look of anger that

134 THE LITTLE FOLLOWER OF JESUS.

fell upon the young man. It makes him
tremble; he grows pale as death; he staggers
and falls to the ground; and there he lies,
unconscious. After a time his companions
succeeded in waking him.

"What is the matter? What has hap-
pened ? ' they ask.

He sighs; he weeps ; he still trembles vio-
lently. " Oh, comrades, it was terrible ! I
saw the Judge ! That look ! Let us never
make fun of the Judgment again."

And the story concludes by telling us that
the young man never made fun again. He
never even laughed. Till his death he led a
severe life of penance.

Ah, yes ; it is a terrible thought — this judg-
ment ! My little followers of Jesus, after
death we shall all be judged. You will stand
alone before your Judge. It is no longer
the kind, meek, and humble Jesus. Now He
is the strict Judge, who knows only justice.
And you must answer for yourself, alone.
The Judge knows all — all the good and bad
that you did in thought, word, and action
during your life on earth. The sentence will
be one or the other. If you come as the friend
of Jesus, you will hear : " Come, thou blessed

JUDGMENT AND WHAT COMES AFTER, 135

one ! ' but if you stand before the Judge as
His enemy, He will say : " Depart from Me,
thou accursed one ! ' Oh, this sentence, what
will it be !

The Last Day of Judgment will come; also.
Then you will have to stand on one side or the
other, either the right or the left. Then you
will be judged again before all men : they will
see both the good and the bad that you have
done; and they will all have to say: "Thy
judgments, O Lord, are just ! ' And then you
will hear the sentence again — one of the two,
the same that was spoken to you immediately
after your death. And then conies the begin-
ning of your last end — either an everlasting
heaven, or an everlasting hell. This, my chil-
dren, is truth: we cannot gainsay it !

Should we not, then, prepare ourselves for
this judgment? Yes ; let us judge ourselves
now, that we may be able to stand the judg-
ment then. Let us avoid sin now. If we have
sinned (unfortunately we have !) let us confess
our sins, and do penance for them; on the Last
Day it will be too late. Let us do good now,
for then we shall be able to work no longer.
Let us suffer now, that we may not have to
suffer then. Let us receive the sacraments

136 THE LITTLE FOLLOWER OF JESUS.

often while we can, and worthily, lest we shall
wish to have done so when it is too late.

"In all thy works remember thy last end,
and thou shalt never sin," says the Holy
Ghost. To this add a word from Thomas a
Kempis: " He that loveth God with his whole
heart feareth neither death, nor punishment,
nor judgment, nor hell ; for perfect love giveth
secure access to God."

XXV.
Amend Your Life.

now come to chapter the twenth-fifth,
and that closes the first book of The
Following of Christ. Let us hold a short
review of what we have gone through so far ;
it will freshen things a little in our memories.

We began by laying out the road for you.
Your intention is to be a follower of Jesus:
then, walk after your Saviour, who goes before
you, and take care lest you be misled by the
vain, deceitful promises of the world.

The foundation you must build on is humil-
ity. Thomas a Kempis lays great stress on
this. He treats on this virtue in an extra
chapter; and off and on, all through the first
book, he calls our attention to it. We need
not imagine that we will ever become true fol-
lowers of Jesus, unless we strive to be humble.
Let us not forget this.

You need a teacher and guide; Jesus Him-
self wants to be both for you. You remember
yet, I suppose, what you were told about the
different ways in which Jesus can speak to us.

Jesus teaches you, and He confirms His

137

138 THE LITTLE FOLLOWER OF JESLS.

doctrine by giving you His own example, that,
besides humility, the fundamental virtue, there
are some other virtues you must try earnestly to
acquire and practise — prudence, mortification,
obedience, patience, chastity, love for solitude,
silence, and a wholesome sorrow of heart.
There are particular faults you must guard
against: avoid evil companions, watch your
tongue, do not judge rashly, and so on.

Some of the means that you must use to per-
fect yourself — to acquire the above-named
virtues, and to avoid the faults mentioned-
are the following: good reading, spiritual guid-
ance from a good confessor, being watchful, so
as to resist every temptation in the very be-
ginning, imitation of the saints, faithfulness in
the performance of your daily prayers and re-
ligious exercises, and lastly, frequent medita-
tion on our last end death, judgment, heaven,
hell. One very important thing is : you must
pray much, even now, that God may point out
to you your vocation, and lead you into it, and
that He may keep you from entering a wrong
one. So much for the repetition.

Our Lord says to His disciples: " Amen, I
say unto you, unless you be converted, and be-
come as little children, you shall not enter into

A:,IEND YOUR LIFE. 130

the kingdom of heaven." Must we not all con-
fess that we are very far from being like little
children ? It is necessary for us, therefore, to
convert ourselves ; and what a work that will
be for most of us !

How good, how innocent, how holy is such a
child — one in whose heart the grace and love
of God dwell, and on which the blight sin has
not yet fallen ! St. Hilary, one of the holy Fa-
thers, may tell us how such a child is, and what
it does: " The child," he says, " obeys its fa-
ther, loves its mother, knows nothing of ill-
will against its neighbor ; it cares not for
riches; it does not show itself proud, neither
does it bear hatred, nor tell lies; it believes
what others say, and takes as true what it
hears."

"Well, then, my little followers of Christ,
shall we not set to work earnestly to change
and amend our lives ? Yes, certainly. Here
are a few points we must try to remember : —

First: we must study our own natures —
.mortify ourselves in what we are unduly in-
clined to, and strive after the good we stand
most in need of. Secondly: We should imitate

•'

the good we see in others and avoid carefully
what does not please us in their ways and ac-

140 THE LITTLE FOLLOWER OF JESTS.

tions. Thirdly: again and again we must set
Jesus before our eyes, to meditate on His life,
and to imitate Him. " Whosoever," says
Thomas a Kempis, "exerciseth himself ear-
nestly and devoutly in the most holy life and
passion of our Lord, shall find there abundant-
ly all that is necessary and useful for him; nor
need he seek out of Jesus for anything better."
Fourthly: we must frequently renew our
good resolutions. We must not lose courage

tj O

when we find sometimes that we have forgotten
them, and, therefore, have fallen back into our
old faults. We must be sorry for what we
have done, and make our resolution over again
— not lightly, carelessly, but considerately, and
in earnest.

There was a boy once who was very careless.
He was good-hearted, yet he gave his parents
much trouble. Often they corrected and ad-
monished him ; and he promised to do better,
promised sincerely. But he was naturally so
careless that his promises were soon forgotten.

One day, as he was skipping about the room,
he bumped his head against a large, costly
picture hanging on the wall, and knocked it
down. The noise brought his father in, and
the little boy was terribly frightened.

AMEND YOUR LIFE. 141

" Such carlessness ! You only make prom-
ises to break them ! ' exclaimed the father.

" Forgive me this once, dearest father," said
the boy, weeping. " I will never be careless
again. Let me get a hammer to drive the
nail in ; and then I will hang up the picture

again."

The boy brought the hammer, and having
given the nail a few blows with it, he wanted
to hang up the picture.

" This carelessness again ! ' said the father.
" "Whatever you do, you do only lightly, super-
ficially. Shall the picture fall down again ? '
And he took the hammer himself, and drove in
the nail with many strong blows, till it stuck
fast in the wall. " The same must be done
with your good resolutions and promises as
was done with this nail," rema.rked the father.
" If they are to stick and hold tight, they must
be driven deep into your heart. Pray to God;
He will help you to strike the blows." Do you
see, dear children? It is thus we ought to
make our good resolutions.

Lastly, we should often consider: the work
is difficult, it is true, but let us persevere. A
great reward will come hereafter. " Thou
shalt labor a little now," says Thomas a Kern-

THE LITTLE FOLLOWER OF JESUS.

pis, " and thou shalt find great rest, yea, ever-
lasting joy."

I conclude with another passage from Tin1
Folloiving of Christ'. " Watch over thyself, stir
up thyself, admonish thyself, and whatever
may become of others, neglect not thyself. In
proportion as thou dost violence to thyself, the
greater progress wilt thou make. Amen."

>0oh

STEPS TOWARDS JESUS.

I.

Interior Life.

?N the " Our Father " Jesus teaches us to
pray : " Thy kingdom come." We ask
God to grant that His kingdom, the
holy Catholic Church, may be spread more
and more over the earth, for the salvation of
mankind. Not only that ; we also pray that
His grace and love may ever be in ourselves ;
that He, our God, our Father and King, may
ever reign in our hearts.

Jes-us says in another place : " The king-
dom of God is within you." Therefore, if
God hears our prayer, and lets His kingdom
come to us, where will we find it ? In our
hearts. When once our hearts, through the
grace of God, are free from all that is sinful-
free from self-love, free from attachment to the
world and its vain pleasures ; when they are
virtuous and holy, filled with burning love for
God and our neighbor : then we can say that
the kingdom of God is within us.

How happy we shall then be ! A happiness
will then be ours — true happiness of heart —
such as the children of the world cannot have

145

(t
(I

146 THE LITTLE FOLLOWER OF JESUS.

an idea of. St. Paul tells us : " The kingdom
of God is not meat and drink ; but justice, and
peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost."

A father, with his three children, was sit-
ting out in the yard under the shade-giving
branches of a maple-tree. He was telling
them how all men were striving so earnestly
for happiness, but that only so very few really
and truly obtain it.

I' believe," said Enrma, the youngest,

that beauty alone can bring true happiness.
If I am beautiful of person, and do all I can
to bring out my beauty and let it shine before
men, then I shall be esteemed and admired,
and I can get all that I want. But if I am
ugly of appearance men will despise me, and I
must always feel miserable."

" I don't agree with you," said George, the
next older. " Beauty is too easily destroyed.
The least attack of sickness, and it may be
gone. And if not, how long does it last ? A
few years, and beauty withers like a flower.
I say, money is the thing ! Give me money,
and I am happy. If I am rich I can get
everything I wish for. Money rule's the
world ! "

" What good will beauty and riches do me

INTERIOR LIFE.

if I have not wisdom ? ' asked Conrad, the
oldest. ''Give me wisdom, and I shall be
happy without beauty or money. But if I am
stupid, a block-head, who will care about me ?
how can I be happy ? Now, papa, tell us,
which of us is right ? '

The father bent down, and with his finger
wrote three naughts — 000 — in the dust.

" What do you mean by that, papa ? " asked
the children.

" I mean that beauty is a naught, as also are
monev and wisdom — all three nothing more

J

than three naughts, unless you put some figure
before them that has value. The one thing
necessary is the love of God, a virtuous heart.
Put that one thing before the three naughts of
beauty, riches, and wisdom, and you have a
large figure of real worth, which signifies real
happiness. Take that one thing necessary

away, and you have the three naughts — noth-

• »»
ing.

Do you see, my dear children ? If we want
to possess real, true happiness, let us strive to
become virtuous. As Thomas a Kempis ad-
monishes, let us " slight exterior things, and
give ourselves to interior things, and we
shall see the kingdom of God come within

148 THE LITTLE FOLLOWER OF JESUS.

us." Let us make our hearts free from the
world. Let us not put our confidence in men ;
let us trust in Jesus ! Let us often meditate
on the sufferings and death of our dearest
Saviour. Let us endeavor to model our hearts
after the Heart of Jesus, until we can say : '• I
live now, not I ; but Christ liveth in me."
This is interior life ! This interior life, hid-
den, as it were, in Jesus, brings true, lasting
happiness. May Jesus bless us, and the Holy
Ghost fill our hearts with the light of His

grace !

I close this chapter with a passage from The
Following of Christ • " Come, then, faithful
soul, make thy heart ready for this Spouse, so
that He may vouchsafe to come to thee and to
dwell within thee. For so He sayeth : " If
any man love Me, he will keep My Word, and
My Father will love him ; and We will come to
him, and make Our abode with him."

II.

Humble Submission.

are much and can do much ; we are
nothing and can do nothing. Both of
these words are true. How so ? Un-
derstand it this way : Through God's grace we
are much, with His help we can do much.
Without God we are nothing ; without His
help we can do nothing. So you see, it all de-
pends on God. With Isaiah, we must say :
" All flesh is grass, and all the glory thereof as
the flower of the field. The grass is withered,
and the flower is fallen." But again, with
David, we can say : " The Lord is my Helper :
and I will look over my enemies."

A little anecdote may help you to understand
this truth better. Albert was out in the gran-
ary with his father, holding up the sacks to
be filled with wheat. Once, just for a few
moments, he was not paying attention as he
should have done. The sack was already half
filled. His father had just begun to pour in
the third half-bushel of wheat. Albert's
thoughts had gone travelling : they were on
the way to his uncle's, where he was to spend

149

150 Till: LITTLE FOLLOWER OF JESUS.

a few days' visit the next week. His fingers
loosen their hold on the sack only a little,
and, behold ! the sack slips from tliem and
falls to the floor. The wheat, instead of going
into the sack, is poured out beside it.

A sharp box on the ear from his father, ac-
companied by a few sharp words of reproof,
bring back the boy's straying thoughts.
" What are you about, little fellow ? Look
here ; pay attention, and hold up the sack
right ! '

" Excuse me, papa ! ' said Albert. " I was
just beginning to think about my visit to uncle
Joe, next week. I will not let the sack fall

again."

Now, for the application. Before God every
one of us is even less than an empty sack. All
that we are — body and soul, with all our bodily
and spiritual qualities and abilities — all is a
pure gift of God's love and mercy. Just as
the almighty power of God holds and preserves
the whole, mighty universe, so He also holds
us, every one of us, body and soul, in His al-
mighty hand. If He should let go His hold of
us ? if He should let us fall ? An empty sack,
if you let go your hold of it, falls to the ground.
We, if God should, even for a moment, let go

HUMBLE SUBMISSION. 151

His hold of us, would fall down, way down in-
to— nothing ! Do you see now,and understand,
how completely we are in the hand of God?

This we must not forget. The thought of
this, often recalled to our minds, will make us
both humble and courageous. It will make us
humble : We know and feel that without
God we are nothing. If God does not keep us,
and help us by His grace, we shall be worse
than nothing ; we shall be most unfortunate,
miserable creatures forever.

This thought will make us courageous : we
fear God and nothing else. Are we not in His
hand ? Is He not an almighty God ? Is He
not our best, most loving Father ? " Can a
woman forget her infant, so as not to have pity
on her son ? and if she should forget, yet will
I not forget thee." What, then, shall we fear ?
Sickness ? Poverty ? The calumnies, enmities,
persecutions of men ? Shall we fear death ?
No ! we fear nothing and nobody but God, as
our Saviour Himself admonishes us to do :
" Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and
after that have no more that they can do. But
I will show you whom ye shall fear : fear ye
Him who, after He hath killed, hath power to
cast into hell.'

153 THE LITTLE FOLLOWER OF JESUS.

Therefore, iny little followers of Jesus, take
this thought — a graiid, beautiful thought — and
treasure it up in your hearts : I ani altogether
in the hand of God. He supports me, and
keeps me from falling, just as one supports a
sack while it is being filled with wheat.
While God thus supports me He is continually
pouring into me His gifts — the most precious
gifts of His grace and love. He wants to fill
me with treasures for heaven. Oh, if ever He
should let me fall ! I must love Him, my dear-
est God — love Him always, love Him ardently.
I dare never offend Him by grievous sin. I
will pray every day, with St. Philip Neri :
" Hold me, O Lord, lest I fall and betray
Thee ! ' I will always do as St. Peter says: " Be
you humbled under the mighty hand of God."

Bat, again, I will not fear ; for 1 trust in the
almighty power of my Father in heaven. " If
God be for us, who is against us ? ' Often
will I pray, with holy David : "I have put my
trust in Thee, O Lord : I said : Thou art my
God. My lots are in Thy hands."

Think over this word of Thomas a Kempis :
" Make no great account of who may be for
or against thee, but mind and take care that
God be with thee in everything thou dost."

Ill,

A Peaceful Disposition.

:OW true are the following words of
Thomas a Kempis : " Some there are
who keep themselves in peace, and have
peace also with others ; and there are some
who neither have peace themselves, nor leave
others in peace ; they are troublesome to
others, and still more troublesome to them-
selves."

Just such a one was Fridolin, the hired man
of a certain farmer. He had a very quick
temper ; at everything that did not go just as
he wished, he would fly into a passion. Then
you should have seen and heard him — how he
fumed, and stamped, and scolded ; how he
quarreled with his fellow-servants, and called
them names. He was, therefore, a man very
hard to get along with. People were glad not
to have much to do with him.

His master often corrected him for it, and
admonished him : " Fridolin, you must try to
become master of yourself. You should not
let it go on this way. You are very passion-
ate ; and you thereby commit many sins. The

153

154 THE LITTLE FOLLOWER OF JESUS.

longer you let it go, the harder it will be for
you to tear out this evil passion of anger. You
know anger is a very disagreeable passion, be-
sides. It never leaves you any rest ; and it
ever gets you into trouble with others."

Fridolin's answer generally was : " How
am I to help it? If they provoke me, or
something does not go right, I must get angry.
It is just impossible for me to keep cool and
quiet."

One morning the farmer showed Fridolin a
new silver dollar.

" Look here," said he, " if you are man
enough to keep down your anger to-day, so that
you wont say an angry word, nor do anything
in anger, I will give you this dollar extra be-
sides your wages. Try it. I am pretty sure
you wont win."

"I'm pretty sure I will win," thought Frido-
lin. And so he did. The other servants made
out among themselves that they would tease
Mm all day long, and trouble and plague him
as much as possible, to see whether they could
not got him angry, so that he would say at
least an angry word. Their efforts were in
vain. Fridolin mastered himself ; he was
bound to win the dollar.

A PEACEFUL DISPOSITION. 155

When evening came, and the work was done,
the farmer gave Fridolin the money, and at the
same time he said : " Don't you think you
ought to feel ashamed of yourself? For the
sake of such a miserable bit of money, and to
win it, you can keep down your auger, in
spite of all that others may do to rouse you
into a passion. But for the love of God, and
the sake of your soul, you cannot overcome
your angry passions."

Fridolin felt that this was true, and was
heartily ashamed of himself. He went to work
in earnest ; so it was not many years before
lie had become an example of kindness and
meekness.

Let us not forget : If sometimes, or often,
we get into trouble with our' neighbors, if we
quarrel with them, and say bitter, harsh
words, that make them as well as ourselves
feel very unhappy, then we must blame no
one but ourselves. It is the " I ' —first
personal pronoun, nominative case, — that
likes to get us into such trouble once in a
while.

To acquire a peaceful disposition you must
begin on yourself — begin to train the selfish,
all-important " I." Jesus says with beautiful

156 THE LITTLE FOLLOWER OF JESUS.

meaning, " Have salt in you, and have peace
among you."

Put a pincli of salt in your mouth; it does
not taste pleasant at all. But put it in what
you are cooking, and getting ready to eat : the
salt makes it taste very good. So also in a
spiritual sense. Mortify yourself, humble
your pride, overcome your anger, govern your
tongue, guard your actions, etc. This, you
feel, is not pleasant — it is the salt of self-mor-
tification. But just keep on; in the same
degree that you make progress in this master-
ing of yourself, in that same degree will you
spread joy, and peace, and happiness amongst
others.

First, endeavor always to live in peace with
God. " Much peace have they who love Thy
law," says the Psalmist, " and to them, there is
no stumbling-block."

Secondly, try to get peace in your own
heart. Do as The Following of Christ says :
" Have a -zeal in the first place over thyself,
and then mayest thou also justly exercise zeal
toward thy neighbor."

Thirdly, along with this, you must try to
live in peace with your neighbors. " Cast
first the beam out of thine own eye," and "A

A PEACEFUL DISPOSITION. 157

mild answer breaketh wrath ; ' if you practise
these two things you will do a great deal to-
wards keeping up peace amongst your neigh-
bors.

Another word from Thomas a Keinpis to
conclude with : " He who best knows how to
endure will possess the greater peace. Such
a one is a conqueror of himself, and lord of
the world, the friend of Christ, and an heir of
heaven.'

IV,
A Pure Mind and Simple Intention.

two things," says The Following of
Christ, " is man lifted above earthly
things, viz., by simplicity and purity.
Simplicity must be in the intention, purity in
the affection/1

"What kind of birds are those, papa?'
asked a little girl of her father, as they were
going across a meadow.

" Those birds are called buzzards," answered
the father.

" How nicely they are soaring in a ring, and
how quietly the}7 fly ! One cannot see them
move their wings."

" See, how they are gradually lowering them,
selves toward that forest. Pretty soon they
will have reached the tops of the trees."

" What are they coming down for? do they
want to rest in the trees ? '

" Sometimes they may want to rest," replied
the father ; " but generally it is not for that
purpose that they come down. God created
these birds to be very useful. Wherever the
buzzards find the carcass of an animal, they

1.T8

A PURE MIND AND SIMPLE INTENTION. 159

will settle down on it to eat it up. Generally
a half dozen or more will gather to devour the
carrion together. From this you can judge of
what great benefit the buzzard is to us.
Those seven or eight we have just seen are
now probably engaged at this work — eating up
the putrid remains of some animal."

Like the buzzard or the eagle, my dear little
followers of Jesus, we ought to soar up on
high, and raised thus above the earth and all
that is earthly, keep moving in the pure at-
mosphere of God's love. That is, our minds
must be pure ; our hearts must be free from
all inordinate affection for the world or for
ourselves.

Oh, yes, most certainly we all desire this-
to be thus soaring high up in God's love, with
pure hearts, unsullied by sin. We often wish
we could sit on top of some light, floating
cloud, and thus from on high look down upon
the bogs and swamps, deserts and wastes, and
the beautiful countries, towns, and cities,
rivers, seas, and lakes of the earth. But,
alas, we are kept tied down to the earth.
Here we must work, eat, drink, and sleep
away one third of our life, more or less. Like
the buzzard that soars down from its airy

160 THE LITTLE FOLLOWER OF JESUS.

height to do the lowest thing even a brute
can do — feed on carrion, so we sometimes
feel as if we were drawn down from the bliss-
ful height of God's love and friendship to the
mean and contemptible things of the earth.

But patience, my dear readers ! We cannot
go away from the earth yet, not until God
calls us. We must work, eat, drink, and sleep,
and suffer trials and harships for many years
yet, perhaps ; God wants it so. And here now
is where the simplicity of intention comes in.
We must do as St. Paul says : " Whether you
eat or drink, or whatsoever else you do, do all
things for the glory of God." This must be
our " simple intention." While we are in this
world and must busy ourselves with it, we
must, as St. Paul says again, " use this world
as if we used it not ; ' that is, we must not
let ourselves be attached to it, so as to forget
£rod and our eternal salvation.

You know there are so many, very many,
who do this. They live only for this world,
as if they had to stay here forever. Some
think only of eating and drinking ; when they
are done with breakfast they speak already of
dinner ; hardly have they finished dinner
when they already think and make plans

A PUKE MIND AND SIMPLE INTENTION. 161

about supper. Others there are who live only
for money ; to earn it, they work and drudge
day and night ; and when they have it, in-
stead of using it to satisfy their wants and
procure the comforts of life, or to do good
with it amongst their fellow-men, they pile
it up, and hide it, and watch it most carefully.

How much more prudent the followers of
Jesus are in this respect ! Their simple in-
tention is to use the world only in as far as
they have to do, and as God wills. Their
hearts they keep free. While with their
bodies they are on earth, they are soaring on
high with God in the purity of their minds
and the love of their hearts. Yes, the things
they make use of in the world will be a help
to them in raising themselves up to God. As
mean and insignificant as a thing may be, look
at it aright, examine it, study it — you will find
it can teach you something about the goodness,
mercy, justice, or power of God. Very ap-
propriately, therefore, does Thomas a Kempis
say : " There is no creature so little and so
vile that it showeth not forth the goodness of
God."

Let us do as Holy Scripture admonishes :
" Love not the world, nor those things which

THE LITTLE FOLLOWER OF JESUS.

are in the world. Mind the things that are
above, not the things that are on the earth."
We may use what we must of the world, as
God desires it, for the honor and glory of God,
for the welfare of our souls. This shall be
our " simple intention." We will keep our-
selves free from sin, mindful that we are
ever walking in God's presence. This is the
" purity of mind." 'How beautiful and true
are these words of The Following of Christ :
" As iron cast into the fire loses its rust, and
becomes all bright with burning, so the man
that turneth himself whollv to God is divested

u

of all sloth and changed into a new man."

V,
Self-Consideration.

|OME of the ancient philosophers main-
tained that the foundation, of all right-
eousness and morality lay in the follow-
ing words; "Learn to know thyself." And
they were not wrong. Why not ?

God, in His infinite goodness and mercy, ha§
revealed to us all we must know be saved. He
has clearly told us what we must believe and
what we must do in order to go to heaven.
Jesus has also founded His Church to be our
infallible guide on the way through this life to
eternity. On the part of God, therefore, there
is nothing wanting. He has pointed out the
way clearly ; He has given us an unerring
guide ; and He is with us to help us, by His
graces, to overcome the obstacles that beset
our path.

But on our part much ma'y be wanting. We
liave mighty enemies to struggle with — the
world and the devil ; and they are very cun-
ning and most treacherous ; yet these enemies
are only outside of the fort. The most danger-
ous of our enemies, the one that is the most

163

164 THE LITTLE FOLLOWER OF JESUS.

treacherous, is the enemy inside of the fort-
our own wicked natures. You understand this,
don't you ?

We are born with strong inclinations to evil ;
it is what we have inherited, through original
sin, from Adam and Eve, our first parents-
To do bad is natural for us, to do good goes
against us. It is like going down and up a
hill. Going down is easy enough ; but climb-
ing up is hard work. We are born with the
root of one of the seven capital sins in our
hearts. One has the root of pride in his heart ;
another, that of covetousness ; another, that of
lust, and so on. Some hearts, it seems, have
the roots of all the seven capital sins fastened
in them. Like Mary Magdalene, they are pos-
sessed by seven devils.

How very dangerous, therefore, we are to
our own souls ! We are liable, at any moment,
to put out our haixls, so to join by sin with
the other two enemies, the world and the
devil. We must ev'er be watchful over oar-
selves. We must study our natures, see what
particular evil inclination, the root of what
capital sin, we have fixed in our hearts. From
time to time a sinful passion will show itself,
or some bad habit may take hold of us. They

SELF-COXSIDERATION. 165

spring up like the weeds iu a garden, or the
wild shoots round a tree. We must be on the
watch, always ; as soon as we see these wild
shoots, we must cut them off, or tear them up.

Do you understand now what self -consider-
ation is, and why it is so important to consider
oneself? "If thou wouldst have true peace
and perfect union," says Thomas a Kempis,
" thou must casf all things else aside, and keep
they eyes upon thyself alone."

A certain man inherited a rich, very beauti-
ful vineyard. It was a very large vineyard,
and in the best condition possible when he
came into possession of it. All he had to do
was to keep up his vineyard, work it aright,
and tend it well, and he would become a rich
man.

What did this man do ? He was foolish in-
deed. He cared very little for his vineyard —
very little he worked in it. He would rather
attend to his neighbors' business than to his
own. He would tell other 'people how to man-
age their farms, or how to work their gardens.
He spent most of his time in idleness, or
lounging around the public places of the town
near which he lived. His own good vineyard
he neglected nearly altogether.

166 THE LITTLE FOLLOWER OF JESUS.

What was the result ? Let the Wise Man
tell you : " I passed by the field of the sloth-
ful man," says He, " and by the vineyard of
the foolish man, and behold ! it was filled witli
nettles, and thorns had covered the face there-
of; and the stone wall was broken down."

Apply this picture to yourself, iny little fol-
lower of Jesus : If you care nothing about
self-consideration ; if you fail to examine your-
self, to study your own faults, evil inclinations,
and bad habits, your heart will soon be spoiled
altogether, like a garden spoiled by the weeds,
the thistles and thorns growing in it.

Do this in future : hold one eye fixed on
God, to study and learn what is His holy will ;.
the other eye keep fixed on yourself, to study
yourself, to look out before you on the way you
are going, that your foot may not be caught,
that you may not stumble and fall. Do this ;
it will not leave you much time to watch others.
You will have enough to do with yourself.

Let us finish with another passage from The
Following of Christ : " The interior man re-
gardeth the care of himself before all other
cares ; and he that looketh diligently to him-
self findeth it not difficult to be silent about
Hhers."

VI.
Joy of a Good Conscience.

little followers of Jesus, though you
have everything else that you may de-
sire, if you have not a good conscience
you cannot feel really happy. You may have
plenty of money ; you may enjoy the best of
health ; you may be honored and esteemed by
your fellow-men ; you may have all the sensual
pleasures you can wish for : if you have a bad
conscience, if the secret worm of guilt is gnaw-
ing in your heart — this alone is enough to
spoil all your joy and peace.

The sinner is blinded. He wilfully ties his
own eyes, that he may not see the miserable,
dangerous condition he is in. But as much as
he may try to deceive himself, he will frequent-
ly feel the sting of his bad conscience, which
fills him with alarm and uneasiness. Oh, if
the sinner would only once look earnestly at
himself, and examine the most pitiable, danger-
ous state in which he is on account of his sin,
most certainly he would be frightened ; and he
would not tarry one moment to free himself
from such a condition.

167

108 THE LITTLE FOLLOWER OF JESUS.

Here is a picture for us all to study; it rep-
resents to us the misery of those who live
in the state of mortal sin.

A farmer in Italy was very expert in catch-
ing vipers. You know, the viper is a poison-
ous snake ; its bite causes death in a very
short time. The farmer would bring his vipers
to the apothecary, who would buy them at a
good price, for the purpose of making theriac,
a certain kind of medicine.

One day the farmer had extraordinary
success ; he caught one hundred and fifty
vipers ; and he puit them into a box which he
always carried with him for that purpose. He
was very tired when he got home. He took
only a little supper, after which he lay
down to rest. The box of vipers he set down
on the floor, in one corner of the bed-room.
"What happened ? While he was sleeping the
vipers became restless : they began to move in
the box and to press upwards. Thus it came
that the lid of the box was forced open, and
the reptiles crept out into the room. The
warmth of the bed in which the farmer was
sleeping attracted them. They, therefore,
crept up into it, got in under the covers, and
wound themselves around the man's legs and

JOT OF A GOOD CONSCIENCE. 169

arms, and even around his body and neck.

Late next morning the farmer wakes up.
Lucky for him that he awakes without mak-
ing any motion. He forthwith realizes his
condition, and he nearly "dies with fright.
Most horrifying, isn't it? The vipers encircling
his arms, legs, and neck ! One little motion,
and they will be aroused ; they will bite him,
and the poison will be his death in less than
an hour !

This is a picture of the sinner. Mortal sin,
worse than a hundred vipers, has wound itself
around the sinner's soul. Already the soul is
dead ; and it takes but a sign from God, in
whose dread hand the poor, ungrateful sinner
is, and the soul falls and is dragged into hell,
there to be tortured forever. This the sinner
knows, and he mast believe it, and does be-
lieve it. How can he, therefore, be happy as
long as he is in such a state ?

Ah, yes ! Like Adam, every sinner must
say: "I heard Thy voice, and I was afraid.'1
And with Jeremiah, the Prophet : " We
looked for peace, and no good came : for a
time of healing, and behold, fear." " Know
them, and see," thus admonishes the same
prophet, Jeremiah, u that it is an evil and a

170 THE LITTLE FOLLOWER OF JESUS.

bitter thing for tliee, to have left the Lord thy
God ! "

Do you see now, nay dear children, and un-
derstand why we should always strive to have
a good conscience ? '' Have a good con-
science," says The Following c/ Christ, " and
thou shalt always have joy." Though every-
thing and everybody should be against you in
this world, have a good conscience, and you
will live contented. If God is with you, if He

•

is your friend, then you are all right. Serve
God with a good conscience, and fear nothing
else.

But I must finish the story of the farmer.
What did he do to rid himself of the vipers ?

For quite a while he lay immovable in his
bed. At last he hears his son approaching the
door of his room. He calls to him to be care-
ful, and tells him, in a few words, what a
terrible condition he is in. Then he orders
him to bring a vessel of fresh warm milk and
set it down in the middle of the floor.

This is done immediately. No sooner do
the vipers smell the milk than they begin to
untwist themselves from the man's limbs.
They crawl down from the bed, and make for
the vessel of milk on the floor. Now the farm-

JOY OF A GOOD CONSCIENCE. 171

er is free. He gets up from his bed quietly,
takes the box which is standing in the corner^
and puts it over the vipers around the milk.
Thus the reptiles are caught once more, and
secured.

First, he kneels down and humbly thanks

4>

God for having saved him from the death-
bringing bite of the vipers. Then he managed,
by the use of a pair of tongs, to draw the vipers,
one by one, out of the vessel of milk, and
killed them by cutting their heads off.

Let us not forget this : If we wish to live in
peace and joy, let us keep a good conscience.
If we have committed mortal sin, let us forth-
with rid ourselves of the deadly viper twisting
about our souls, by making a good confession.
Cut off the viper's head by avoiding the old oc-
casion of sin. Let us not fall back into sin
again, and we may experience the truth of
what Thomas a Kempis says : " Easily will
he be content and at peace whose conscience is
undefilecL"

VII.
Love of Jesus Above All Things.

any man love not our Lord Jesus
Christ, let him be anathema," St. Paul
writes to the Corinthians.

To say we love Jesus is one thing ; to prove
the love we profess for Jesus, by our lives, is
quite another, It is easy enough to say : " O
Jesus, I love Thee with my whole heart, and
above all things." When there is something
to be done, unpleasant and difficult for us, but
pleasing to Jesus ; or when there is something
to be avoided, pleasant, perhaps, for us, and
very tempting, but sinful, and therefore for-
bidden by Jesus — then is the time when we
can show whether or not we love Jesus above
all things ; whether our love is only a love in
words, or a love in deed and earnest.

Most of you, I presume, are acquainted with
the history of St. Aqnes, virgin and martyr of

•/ CJ <_ J •'

Eome. This saint, in her life and death, gives
us such a beautiful example of true love of
Jesus — I do not know what better I could do,
by way of illustrating this chapter, than to
tell you something of this great saint, her life

172

LOVE OF JESUS ABOVE ALL THINGS- 173

and death. Listen, therefore, and take it to
heart.

St. Agnes, when she was martyred, was
only thirteen years of age. Her parents were
rich, and of high standing in the city of Rome.
Agnes was born a Catholic. She was a saint,
even from her earliest childhood. As she
grew up, and when she became older, she was
filled more and more with a burning love for
Jesus. She would love Him above all things ;
He alone would be her Spouse ; she would not
love another. Jesus was her All ; on Him she
had her thoughts fixed constantly ; with Him
she conversed in her heart ; in His presence
she always walked, most carefully. You may
imagine from this how modest, innocent, beau-
tiful, really angel-like, this holy virgin must
have been.

One day it happened that the prefect's son
caught sight of her ; and forthwith he was
captivated by her extraordinary beauty. His
resolve was made immediately. He would
woo her and make her his wife. His father,
also, gave willing consent, raid promised to
support him in his suit for the hand of Agnes.
And the saint ? She had chosen her Saviour,
Jesus, for her Spouse ; would she now aban-

174 THE LITTLE FOLLOWER OF JESUS.

don Him to choose the heathen ? Oh, no !

Her love for Jesus burst through all re-
straint ; her words are like a burning fire.
Listen to what she says : " Depart from me,
thou food of death ! Another Lover has come
before thee, to whom I have given rny heart
and affection. To Him I will remain faithful ;
in His arms I trust in}7self, body and soul."

The prefect's son asks her who this lover is,
and what kind of a man he is.

Again the Saint answers in terms of raptu-
rous love : " My right hand and my neck He
has adorned with precious stones ; and to my
ears He has fastened gems of inestimable
value. He has clothed me with a mantle
worked in gold, and beset with most precious
ornaments. Honey and milk have I received
from His lips, and His blood has crimsoned
my cheeks. I am espoused to Him whom the
angels serve, whose beauty sun and moon ad-
mire. My Spouse is Christ. With beautify-
ing and sparkling gems did He adorn me. A
mark He has set upon my face ; I shall not
admit any other lover but Him."

Thus did St. Agnes extol the spiritual gifts
with which Jesus, her heavenly Spouse, had
adorned her soul ; but how could the mat-

LOVE OF JESUS ABOVE ALL THINGS. 175

ter-of-fact heathen understand such words ?
The holy virgin is now tied and dragged before
the prefect's tribunal, to answer for her faith.
True to Jesus, she refuses to adore the false
gods, in spite of all the prefect's kind promises
and flattering caresses. He commands her
now to be led through the streets of Rome, ex-
posed, for shame and disgrace, to the eyes of
thousands and thousands of people ; after
which she is led into a house of lowest wick-
edness. But God watches over her ; Jesus
shields her innocence by several great, aston-
ishing miracles.

Next she is put on a funeral pile, to be
burned to death ; but the fire does not touch
her. The judge then orders the executioner
to run his sword through her throat ; as he
trembles, St. Agnes cheers him up : " Why art
thou afraid ? Strike and kill this body, which
is an object of pleasure for eyes which I do
not want to please." The man now strikes and
gives her the death-blow : aud thus it was, my
little followers of Jesus, that St. Agnes shed
her blood and laid down her life in fidelity to
Jesus, her Spouse, whom she loved most ar-
dentl}T and above all things.

Now, if you have T/te Following of Christ at

176 THE LITTLE FOLLOWED OI- JH.SUS.

hand, or can get one, open it and read the
seventh chapter of book the second ; and tell
me : Could you find anything better to ex-
emplify this lesson about the " Love of Jesus
above all things," than what I have told you
about St. Agnes ? Let us, therefore, ask
Jesus to give us such a love. Ah, yes ! we all
feel it too well : our hearts are so cold ! But
Jesus says : " I am come to send fire on the
earth, and what will I but that it be kindled ? '
Let us pray with the Psalmist : "I will love
Thee, O Lord, rny strength : in Thee I will
put my trust."

"In life and in death keep thyself near to
Jesus, and intrust thyself to His fidelity, who
alone can help thee when all others fail ! '
words from Thomas a Kempis.

7m.

Familiar Friendship With Jesus.

|UE Lord most ardently desires our frieod-
sliip; He will be our Friend, also, power-
ful and true; and He tells us what we
must do to have Him always for our Friend. He
says: " You are My friends if you do the things
that I command yo u. I will not now call you
servants: for the servant knoweth not what
his lord doeth. But I have called you friends,
because all things whatsoever I have heard
from My Father, I have made known to you."
Do }rou see ? Jesus has done everything to
gain our friendship. Sin had made us enemies
of His heavenly Father. To free us from sin.
and thereby to reconcile us with His Father,
the Son of God became man. The Child in
the crib suffers and cries for the sins of man-
kind; the poor shepherds come, and the three
holy kings, to offer Him their love and friend-
ship. As a grown-up man, Jesus is reviled by
the Pharisees, persecuted most bitterly by His
enemies, in spite of all He does to draw them
to Himself; the publicans, however — the " sin-
ners," as the Pharisees called them — become

177

178 THE LITTLE FOLLOWER OF JESUS.

the friends of Jesus. He eats with them,
He converses with them, He stays with them
in their houses. Mary Magdalene, the Samar-
itan woman at the well, are touched by His
love and mercy for them; they repent of their
sins; and forthwith He counts them among
His friends. He calls Matthew away from the
toll-house and makes him one of His apostles;
He tells Zacheus to get down from the syca-
more tree, because He wanted to abide that
day in his house; and of the repentant public-
an in the temple He says: " This man went
down to his house justified." Such, my dear
children, were the friends of Jesus.

And when our blessed Redeemer was hang-
ing on the Cross, suffering and dying, how was
it? Even then His enemies hated Him; thev

V

scoffed at Him and did everything they could
think of to increase His suffering. But even in
that last bitter hour tbe love of the Sacred
Heart of Jesus won a friend — the robber on
his right side. Jesus said to him: "Amen, I
say to thee, this day thou wilt be with Me in
paradise."

And what now about the friendship of Jesus ?
Listen; Thomas a Kempis gives us the answer:

"Whosoever findeth Jesus," says he, "find-

FAMILIAR FRIENDSHIP WITH JESUS. 179

eth a Treasure, yea, a Good above every good.
And he that loseth Jesus loseth much, yea,
more than the whole world.

A young man went over from America, across
the ocean, to visit his parents, still living, and
his brothers and sisters. He had not seen them
for many years. What joy there was in that
house ! The old father and mother embraced
their son and wept for very joy; the brothers
and sisters, each in turn, embraced him — their
dearest brother, for whom they had longed for
so many years.

Two or three years after there came a parting.
This same young man was drafted, and he had
to go with his regiment. What sorrow and
misery there was then in that house ! The fa-
ther was almost despairing, the mother's
heart was torn. The brothers and sisters
nearly went wild with grief. They all sobbed
and cried aloud; they embraced him again and
again; they clung to him as if they would force
him to stay. But he had to go. Would he
ever return again ? Would they ever see him
again, alive and well ?

Such is life. A long-absent friend or relative
returns, and people rejoice; he departs, and
they are filled with grief. Let me ask : Is

180 THE LITTLE FOLLOWER OF JESUS.

there a friend as good as Jesus ? Is there a
brother as loving as Jesus ? When a soul
finds Jesus, why do not men rejoice ? When
a soul loses Jesus by mortal sin, why do they
not grieve and lament ?

Let us, therefore, dear readers, always be
friends of Jesus. It is not hard for us to gain
His friendship. Was it hard for Mary Mag-
dalene and the Samaritan woman to become
friends of Jesus ? They repented of their sins.
So we, too, must repent if we have had the
misfortune to commit a mortal sin.

On the Cross our Saviour could pray: " Fa-
ther, forgive them, for they know not what
they do." If we refuse the friendship of Jesus,
He could not pray that way for us; for, surely,
we know better who Jesus is.

If you. are careful always to have Jesus for
your friend, then it makes no difference wheth-
er or not you have other friends in this world.
But, whatever other friends you may have, or
whatever else you love, love no one and noth-
ing more than Jesus. As The Following <>/
Christ says: " Let all be loved for Jesus' sake,
but Jesus for His own sake." If you have en-
emies, love them after the example that your
Saviour Himself gave you. If you are thought

i

FAMILIAR FRIENDSHIP WITH JESUS. 181

well of and praised, think by yourself : what-
ever good there is in me, whatever good I am
doing, all comes from Jesus !

Here is a sentence from The Following of
Christ : " Without a friend thou canst not live
happily ; and if Jesus is not a friend to thee
above all, thou wilt indeed be sad and desolate/*

IX.
Want of All Consolation.

^HOMAS A KEMPIS speaks from obser-
vation and according to general experi-
ence when lie says : " I never found any
one so religious and devout as not sometimes to
experience a withdrawal of grace, or feel a
diminution of fervor. No saint .was ever so
sublimely rapt and illuminated as not to be
tempted sooner or later."

You must understand this aright. God
never withdraws His grace from us in such a
way that He will not assist us in time of temp-
tation, so that, from want of this assistance, we
must fall into sin. No ! God is always with
us ; He always gives us grace enough to over-
come the temptation. " God is faithful," says
St. Paul. " He will not suffer you to be
tempted above that which you are able ; but
will make also with temptation issue, so that
you may be able to bear it."

By " withdrawal of grace ' Thomas a Kem-
pis means that God will sometimes take all
consolation away from us. Outwardly we may
be afflicted by various kinds of troubles, sick-

182

WANT OF ALL CONSOLATION. 183

ness, poverty, contempt from our neighbors,
and so on ; while inwardly we may be tried,
at the same time, by most grievous temptations
— temptations against charity, holy purity, and
such like. Now, if in these trials and afflic-
tions we could, so to speak, feel the loving hand
of God supporting us ; if we could lay our
heads on Jesus' breast, as St. John did at the
Last Supper ; in short, if we could sensibly feel
God's mighty presence holding us in His arms
and sweetly consoling us : oh, yes ! then we,
too, might cry out in exultation : " If God be
for us, who is against us ? I am sure that
neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor princi-
.palities, nor powers, nor things present, nor
things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any
other creature, shall be able to separate us from
the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our
Lord."

But, my little follower of Jesus, we must be
tried even more than this. Jesus permits it.
He Himself has deigned to give us an example
of this. Look up to Him, as He hangs on the
cross : His hands and feet are pierced by
nails, thorns are driven into His head; His
body is torn by countless wounds ; His blood
flows down to the earth ; most intense is the

184 THE LITTLE FOLLOWER OF JESUS.

suffering He endures — no one else, before or
after, has ever endured such pain and torment;
and all the while He hangs on the cross, He
hears the bitter curses, blasphemies, mockeries
from His enemies, those who have crucified
Him, and for whom He dies. But the greatest
pain, the most bitter of all torments He en-
dures then when He cries out: " My God, My
God, why hast Thou forsaken Me ? '

So, let us be prepared for this want of all
consolation, whenever and as often as God may
visit us with it — prepared to take it with resig-
nation, and endure it patiently, as long as it
may last. It will be something in this way :
you still have good will to say your prayers
regularly, to make your meditations and ex-
aminations of conscience, to visit Jesus in the
most holy Sacrament of the altar, to receive
Him often in holy Communion, and so on.
Heretofore you felt so much pleasure and
satisfaction in these practices ; but now, all at
once, you lose your relish. You feel so dry and
indifferent. When you pray it is nothing but
distractions — no spirit, no pleasure. The
same as regards your meditations and exami-
nation of conscience. When you go to church
to visit Jesus, it is just as if He repulses you.

WANT OF ALL CONSOLATION. 165

In Communion, tlioiigh jou continue to receive
Jesus regularly and often, you feel as if it were
not Jesus at all ; He does not speak to 3-011
any more as He used to ; He lets you be dry
and without feeling, as it were. You become
discouraged — you feel much like throwing
everything overboard, that is, you are tempted
to give up everything, praying, meditating,
visiting the blessed Sacrament, receiving holy
Communion, and all.

This is what is meant by " want of all con-
solation : ' when the world, your friends, and,
apparently, God Himself, have forsaken you
and left vou, as it were, to yourself. But

•/ •>

courage ! This is your best hour, my child !
Hold on to your prayers and other practices,
in spite of the dry ness. You can gain the
most precious merits now.

I read once about three pious sisters, who
went together to church to receive holy Com-
munion. Another saintly person was in the
church and saw them. She had a vision in
which she beheld our Lord, in the form of a
Child, most lovely and gracious. When the
first of the three sisters had received the
sacred Host, Jesus very fondly embraced her,
and, in look and manner, showed Himself

ISO THE LITTLE FOLLOWER OF JESUS.

friendly and loving. When the second re-
ceived Him, He showed no more than ordinary
satisfaction ; He remained rather passive.
But when the third received Him, our Lord
showed nothing but signs of displeasure ; He
struggled in the priest's hands as if to get
away from her ; He put out His hands as if to
push her away, and repel her. A voice asked
— it was the voice Jesus Himself : " Which of
these three, thinkest tliou, gives Me most
pleasure in receiving My Body and Blood ? '

"Lord," answered the person, "most cer-
tainly the one who received You first."

" No," answered Jesus, " The one that re-
ceived Me last gave Me most pleasure. The
first receives Me only for the sake of consola-
tion : I must draw her by sweetness, lest she
come not at all. The second remains faithful,
though she experiences little or no consolation
from Me. The last, however, keeps on receiving
Me, though I fill her heart with aridity and
bitterness."

Do you see and understand ?

I will close by giving you the example of
David, as it is contained in The Following of
Christ: "There was one who, when grace
was with him, exclaimed : ' I said in my

WAXT OF ALL COXSOLATIOX. 187

abundance, I shall not be moved forever.'

44 But when grace was withdrawn, he tells
what he experienced in himself, saying : ' Thou
hast turned away Thy face from me, and I be-
came troubled.'

" Yet even then he despaireth not, but more
earnestly prayeth to the Lord, and saith :
' Unto Thee, O Lord, will I cry ; and to my
God will I make supplication.'

*' At length he receive th the fruit of his
prayer, and witnesseth that he was heard, say-
ing : ' The Lord hath heard, and had mercy
on me ; the Lord hath become my helper.'

" But in what way ? ' Thou hast turned,' he
saith, ' my mourning into joy, and Thou hast
encompassed me with gladness.'

X.
Gratitude for the Grace of God.

me translate for you a parable found
in the writings of St. Ephrem. It is as
follows:

" ' He that hath, to him shall be given; but
he that hath not, from him shall be taken
away even that which he hath.' Is God un-
just ? No, indeed! Listen to a parable:

" A certain landlord had two servants and
three yoke of oxen. To the one servant he
gave two yoke of oxen; to the other, one; and
he said to both: ' Go ye and work till I come
back.'

" He that had received the two yoke of oxen
went and worked with them diligently. By
the good use of them he enriched himself ; and
lastly he 'fattened his oxen. The other, how-
ever, who had received only the one yoke, tied
his oxen to the manger: sluggard that he was,
he slept away his time without working in the
least.

" After some time the landlord came back to
see what his servants had been doing. He
saw the work of the one servant, and the

GRATITUDE FOR THE GRACE OF GOD. 189

profits gained thereby, and he praised him
greatly for it. He went also to the other ser-
vant: He found him sleeping ; the gxen were
still tied to the manger — so lean and weakened
that they nearly fell over. He therefore said
to himself : * If I let this lazy servant keep
my oxen I will quite lose them ; he will let
them starve to death. I koow what I will do :
I will take my oxen away from him and give
them to the other, who has worked so well and
cared so faithfully for his oxen ; for to every
one that hath shall be given, and he shall
abound ; but from him that hath not, that also
which he seemeth to have shall be taken away.
: Thus, too, does our Lord speak to every one
who is careless and neglectful : f Because I
am good, have I chosen thee, and given thee
the faculty, by the performing of good works,
to gain the possession of eternal life. But
thou hast despised Me, and therefore will I
also despise thee, and cover thee with confu-
sion ; because, wilfully, thou wouldst not agree
to do good.'

" Now, is there injustice with God ? Beware I
Let us, therefore, dear brethren, endeavor most
earnestly to make ourselves worthy of the love
of God and of His saints.'

190 THE LITTLE FOLLOWER OF JESUS.

So far go the words of St. Ephrem.

I spoke to you in the last chapter about the
want of all consolation. The worldly-minded,
lukewarm, careless Christian may not know
and may never find out in reality what is
meant by " the want of all consolation." How
should he ? He is only half and half. His
maxim is : No more and no further than I
just must, to. get to heaven Such a one our
Lord does not draw into the sweetness of His
intimacy. To follow Jesus from afar, so as

&

not to lose Him altogether, satisfies him ; to
draw near and lay his head on Jesus' heart
-nay ! this is something he never thinks
about.

But the true follower of Jesus, the faithful
disciple whose continual and ever ardent striv-
ing goes to be ever near His Master ; whose
sole joy and happiness consists in being closely
and intimately united with Jesus — he it is
who sometimes, perhaps often, experiences
what is meant by the want of all consolation.

Now, my little follower of Jesus, if ever that
liour comes upon you, be it soon or be it later,
then call to mind what I now write :

Oo into yourself first and examine : Am I
the cause of this visitation? Jesus has given

GEATITUDE FOR THE GKACE OF GOD. 191

you some particular grace, perhaps — not a
great, wonderful one, with which to perform
great wonderful deeds, but only a little' grace, an.
enlightening of your mind, and a slight moving
of your will to do some little good work. You
have not been faithful; you have not taken the
grace which Jesus offered you; you have not
done the good \vork which Jesus wanted you
to do. Did jou commit a sin thereby? Per-
haps not, But you were unfaithful to Jesus,
nevertheless ; and now He punishes you for it
by withdrawing from you the sweetness of His
consolation.

But suppose you are not at fault ; you have
not, knowingly, been unfaithful to Jesus, even
in the least ; what then ? In that case, this
withdrawal of consolation is only another trial
of your love for Jesus, sent you by Jesus
Himself. It is the best proof He could give
you of His friendship and love. In either
case, that is, whether this want of consolation
is a punishment for you, or only another trial,
take it with resignation, as I said before, and
bear it patiently as long as it may last.

And now, here is where the gratitude for the
grace of God comes in. Thomas a Kernpis
says: " This is the reason why the gifts of

192 THE LITTLE FOLLOWER OF JESUS.

grace cannot flow in us, because we are un-
grateful to the Giver, nor do we return all to
the Fountain-head."

So it is. God has done so much for us, and
He continues always to offer us new graces.
But instead of thanking Him for the- graces He
offers us, we frequently disregard them, or
even refuse to receive them. Therefore God
withholds many a grace from us that He would
otherwise bestow upon us for our further sanc-
tification ; and He gives it to others, more
willing than we are, who receive it with grati-
tude, and make good use of it. Now, perhaps,
you can find the meaning of St. Ephrem's par-
able ; and perhaps you can tell why it is
brought in connection with this chapter.

Yes, my dear children, let us ever be thank-
ful to God for the graces He gives us. Wheth-
er the hand of Jesus strokes us consolingly, or
whether it strikes us with tribulation, let us
kiss it in humble gratitude ; for, says The
Following of Christ : " He that desire th to
retain the grace of God, let him be thankful
for grace when it is given, and patient when it
is withdrawn. Let him pray that it may re-
turn ; let him be cautious and humble, lest he
lose it.'

XL

Lovers of the Cross.

there many lovers of the Cross of
Jesus ? Thomas a Kempis tells us
there are not. We study the life of

•y

Jesus, and we see it is all through a life of
bitter, hard Cross-bearing. Not only did He
carry the Cross on His way to Calvary — that
was the heavy wooden Cross — but He carried
it all the years of His life, from the first hour
in the manger, to the last hour on Golgotha —
the cross of poverty, hatred, and persecution
from His enemies, the sins of the world, pres-
ent, past, and future, the constant anticipa-
tion of all the sufferings He would have to
undergo till the last day of His life. And
what now about the followers of Jesus ?

Our Lord speaks plainly enough : " If any
man will come after Me, let him deny himself,
and take up his Cross, and follow Me.'' Again
He says : " The servant is not greater than
his master. If they have persecuted Me, they
will also persecute you." " Many are called,"
— to be Cross-bearing followers of Jesus — " but
few are chosen." "Enter ye at the narrow

103

1UJ: THE LITTLE FOLLOWER OF JESUS.

gate : for wide is the gate and broad the way
that leadeth to destruction, and many there
are that enter by it. How narrow is the gate
and straight is the way which leadeth to life ;
and how few there are who find it ! ' Do you
see now how it is ?

However, you must not be frightened be-
cause of the Cross-bearing followers of Jesus
there are so few. No, indeed ! Go up to
Jesus and ask Him to place His Cross on
your shoulders : He will do so gladly ; and
He will help you carry it ; and so you, also,
will become a lover of the Cross, and you may
count yourself one of the few.

You must not do like many : love Jesus
only for the sake of consolation ; go with Him,
rejoicing, only till the breaking of bread ; fol-
low Him only as long as you see His miracles.
You must love Him for His own sake ; drink
the chalice when He offers it to you ; follow
Him to the very pain and ignominy of the
Cross.

A venerable hermit of the desert once en-
tered the great city of Alexandria, in Egypt.
He wanted to visit a sick friend, who had
called for him to come and see him before he
died.

LOVERS OF THE CKOSS. 195

Some of the people, seeing him enter the
city, and knowing him by his garb to be a
Christian hermit, gathered around him and
began to laugh at him, and mock at his faith
in Christ, and abuse him in every imaginable
way. But he remained quiet, so meek and
patient, as if they had not done him the least

wrong.

Amongst other things, they asked him wheth-
er his Christ had also worked miracles. A
stranger passing by, probably a Christian also,
said to them, in answer to their question : " If
Christ had not worked a single miracle, this
should be miracle enough for you, when you.

«/ •/

see this holy man, from faith in his Redeemer,
bearing so patiently all your abuse, so that, in
spite of all your wanton insults, you cannot
exasperate him."

See, my children, this hermit was a true
follower of Jesus, an ardent lover of the Cross.
So also must you strive to become. Be will-
ing to give up everything for the love of your
Saviour.

Though you may be " well fixed," as the ex-
pression is, that means, though you have
plenty of money, so that you can get all the
world can offer, be willing, for the love of

190 THE LITTLE FOLLOWER OF JESUS.

Jesus, and if Jesus so will it, to give up all
your wealth, to live in poverty and lowliness,
like Jesus. And if you have good parents,
loving brothers and sisters, kind friends, be
willing to lose them all for Jesus' sake ; instead
of these, be willing to have enemies and perse-
cutors, like Jesus Himself; for He says : —

"Every one that hath left house, or breth-
ren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or

children, or lands, for Mv Name's sake, shall

ti

receive a hundredfold, and shall possess ever-
lasting life."

You must be willing, moreover, to give up
health, and all that you prize in connection
with it, comeliness of person, your sight, your
hearing, and so on — be willing to give up
these for the love of Jesus, if so your Saviour
should choose to visit you. But, how is all
this to be understood ? It is not said that you
must really go and sacrifice all this — wealth,
relations, friends, health, and so on. I said
you must be Avilling to sacrifice these. You
should be ready any time to make the sacri-
fice, if Jesus should desire it.

There is yet something else, better than
those mentioned, which you must leave and
give up for Jesus' sake. " What is that ? '

LOVERS OF THE CROSS. 197

asks The Following of Christ. " That, having
left all things else, he leave also himself, and
wholly go out of himself and retain nothing of
self-love." That is, you must renounce your-
self, your self-love, your self-will. Especially
when obedience calls, then you must deny
yourself. When your parents, or any other of
your superiors, command you to do something,
you must go forthwith and do it, however
unpleasant it may be.

" If any man will come after Me, let him
deny himself," says Jesus. "It is of less
.worth," says St. Gregory the Great, " to re-
nounce what one has, but of great worth is it
to renounce what one is." And Thomas a
Kempis exclaims : " Oh, how much is the
pure love of Jesus able to do when it is not
mixed with any self-interest or self-love ! '

This is to be a lover of the Cross.

XII.
The Royal Way Of The Cross.

pE have come now to the twelfth chap-
ter of The Following of Christ — the last
oTThe Second Book. It is a long, beautiful,
very instructive, soul- inspiring chapter. If
you have the book, or can get it, then read
this chapter first, before you proceed with
what I bring here for your special considera-
tion. Eead it slowly and carefully, every word
and every passage of it — read it and meditate
on it.

Now let us go on. We are told that to get
to heaven there are two roads, on one of
which we must walk : the road of innocence,
or the road of penance. This is true. Either
we must preserve our innocence as we receive
it in baptism, that is, we must keep ourselves
free from sin until death calls us away — and
this is the wav of innocence ; or, if we have

*j

lost our baptismal innocence by sin committed,
we must do penance, thereby to obtain for-
giveness from God and atone for our sin —

~

and this is what is called the road of pen-
ance.

198

THE ROYAL WAY OF THE CROSS. 199

But, considering it aright, we can reduce
these two roads to one, namely, the royal way
of the Cross, as Thomas a Kempis calls it.
And how so ? If you have sinned, if only
venially, you must do penance, that is certain.
What is that but going the way of the Cross ? If
you wish to preserve you innocence, to keep
yourself free from sin, must you not fight with
the enemies that pursue you, and struggle
against and overcome their temptations ? Must
you not suffer persecutions from the world ?
For " all who will live piously in Jesus Christ,
shall suffer persecution," says St. Paul. And
what is this, again, but going the way of the
Cross? Consequently, you see, the two roads
merge into one — the royal way of the Cross ;
and for us, the children of men, there is no
other road to heaven but this.

If, besides the way of the Cross, there were
another road to heaven, most certainly our Sa-
yiour would have told us so. But Jesus teaches
us by word and example that this way of the
Cross is the only road to heaven. Be sure,
therefore, if Jesus says of Himself : " Ought
not Christ to have suffered these things, and
so to enter into His glory ? " be sure, I repeat,
that neither you, nor I, nor anybody else will

200 THE LITTLE FOLLOWEll OF JESUS.

drive into heaven comfortably by means of a
coach-and-four.

Yery truthfully, indeed, does Thomas a Kem-
pis say : " They who now love to hear and to
follow the word of the Cross shall not then [on
Judgment Day] fear the sentence of eternal
condemnation."

Have you sinned ? and do you intend, ear-
nestly, to be a follower of Jesus ? Well, then,
prepare yourself for suffering. Jesus Himself
will send you trials ; they will come, sooner
or later. If he does not send you a ly, or
rather, if up to the present He has not sent
you any, in spite of all your sins, then you ought
to pray, and pray, and not give up until he
sends you some. Why ?

St. Ambrose, I think, it is, the great bishop
of Milan, of whom the following is related :
One day, on his journey, he came to an inn ;
and, as night was drawing near, he entered
with his companions to lodge there till the next
morning. He was there not very long when
he began a conversation with the inn-keeper.
He soon found out that the man was a wicked
fellow, dishonest and an unbeliever. And he
was rich ; he had everything he could wish for,
and everything arranged in the best manner.

THE ROYAL WAY OF THE CROSS. 201

The Saint asked him : " How are you getting
along in your business ? '

" Very well ; I never lose, but am always
gaining," answered the landlord.

"And you are always healthy, and there is
no sickness in your family ? '

" We never have to suffer from sickness,"
was the answer.

" You seem to have no trouble whatever of
any other kind ? '

" None whatever. Everything goes and
comes as I wish it."

" Come, my brethren," said the holy bishop
to his followers, " let us depart hence imme-
diately. The curse of God is resting on this
house ; we must go away from it, lest the ruin
that awaits it and its master fall on us also/'

Only a short time after their departure from
the inn they saw the walls of it tumble, and the
roof fall in, and the godless inn-keeper, together
with his family, was thus suddenly buried un-
der its ruius.

Do you understand now ? Let us, there-
fore, pray with St. Teresa : " Lord Jesus, let

me suffer or die !" and with St. Magdalene of

~

Pazzi : " Lord, not die, but suffer always ! '
If you have not sinned— this is only s1*

•.j'<>\! THK LITTLK FOLLOWKIt OF JESUS.

posed, — for who is there tliat has the use of
reason and has not sinned venially ? — and want
to preserve your innocence to the end, you
must know and be convinced of it that you
cannot do so (that is, with the assistance of
God's grace) without undergoing a great deal
of suffering and trouble. Therefore, one way
or the other, 3^011 have no other road before
you to heaven than the royal way of the cross.
Now, here are some points for you to take
in and treasure in your heart for all your life-
time : First, in the Cross is your salvation :

' •/

therefore, whenever and as often as Jesus lays
it on your shoulder, take it and bear it patient-
ly for His sake. Secondty, you cannot escape
the Cross if you wish to be a true follower of

•/

Jesus. It is your only way to heaven. Third-

*/ •/ •/

ly, if you will not bear the Cross willingly,
bear it you must ; if you bear it unwillingly you
can receive no reward for it. Fourthly, in
bearing the Cross patiently for Jesus' sake,
you will experience the only true joy that can
be had on this earth ; for Jesus assures us that
" His yoke is sweet and His burden light ;
and once the Cross will be your everlasting
]oy in heaven. Fifthly, whenever the Cross
on you heavily, then think of your

THE KOYAL WAY OF THE CROSS. 203

Jesus carrying His Cross and dying on it,
for you. That will give you new strength and
courage to bear up.

For the conclusion, a word of admonition
from The Following of Christ: " Take up, there-
fore, thy Cross and follow Jesus, and thou shalt
go into life everlasting."

As it will take me more than another year to
finish this work, I think it very good and use-
ful to have this part of it — the First and Sec-
ond Books — published, and sent on ahead.
The Publisher has kindly offered to take the

a/

work in hand and get it out ; and, accordingly,
it comes to you now in a cheap form. Instead
of being left to lie idle, it is thus sent out, as
much of it as there is, to work good in the
world. — May it be a blessing wherever it goes ;
and may God, through it, bless all those into
whose hands it falls, and who read it !

In due time, God willing, the rest of this
work will follow.

summer evening, I was sitting out
in my flower garden, in the shade of a
large pear tree. It was sultry weather,
and the air was rather heavy. I had worked
hard all day, and was very tired. "While my
thoughts were wandering about among the
days when I was a child, my eye-lids began to
drop, and. after nodding a few times, I came
near falling into a heavy sleep. But, all at
once, I was aroused from the sleepy spell that
was creeping over me by a tiny voice exclaim-
ing, in words that could be quite easily under-
stood: " No doubt, mv friends, I am one of

V

the most beautiful flowers in this garden.
The Dahlia is renowned as such, far and wide.
Who in the world doesn't know it ? Just look
at this rich bush of green leaves, from which I
shine in the most exquisite red. Like a queen
I tower on my bush, and can look down on you
poor humble friends, creeping at my feet.

'-'07

208 THE FLOWERS.

Where is the like to me ? — Yes, I can say, I am
about the only flower worth looking at."

" Don't be in too great a hurry, sister Dahlia,
to put yourself at the head of all flowers," said
the Rose ; and you should have heard how
snappish she was, when she said it. " You
know, that honor belongs exclusively to the
Rose. She is called ' the Queen of flowers,' and
nobody else. You may boast of your fine red
color, and the little else you can boast of —
poor boasting, indeed ! Why, the Rose can
show you nearly every color under the sun,-
red, white, yellow, pink, yes, even speckled the
Rose can be ! and, besides, such an excellent
fragrance, as all the world knows ! Where is
your fragrance, sister Dahlia ? '

" No rose without thorns," I heard the Tulip
whisper, and I thought I saw her smile with
as much affected grace as she could put on.
" Who does not know, sister Rose, that you
prize too highly your variety of color, and
think too much of your fragrance ? You

• • o

shouldn't forget that you are full of thorns, so
that the gardener can hardly pluck you with-
out pricking his fingers. Methinks, you can't
be very proud of your thorns."

" Sure, that's true enough ! No Rose with-

THE FLOWERS. 209

out thorns," added the Dahlia, and I could
hear that she was very much vexed at the re-
buke she had met with from the Hose.

" Look at me," continued the Tulip. " I am
a flower that doesn't make much show at all.
My stalk is quite plain and unpretending, as
you may all behold; but what a rare calyx it
bears. When the Sun rises in his glory, I
open my cup to greet him, and when he sets, I
give him another farewell-glance, before I close.
Moreover, I have quite won the favor of our
gardener, for being so fragrant. Not once does
he pass, but he stops and refreshes himself by
taking a full draught of my sweet odor. My

friends. I am undoubtedly a beautiful flower." —

j

" Which we will not at all deny, sister Tulip,"
I now heard a Morning-glory say, that seemed
to be quite earnest in climbing up the tall lath
fence, near by. " Still, you are not the only
flower that turns to smile at the Sun in the
morning, and to sigh at his departure in the
evening. I, too, have made that my fixed oc-
cupation, just as you did. Moreover, the
Morning-glory (my name — the glory of the
morning — is surely not without its signification-
remember that, my friends !) is a flower of
gaudy colors, mostly white, blue, or violet.

210 THE FLOWERS.

And how neat a cottage looks to have me
climbing up its weather-beaten sides, adorning
it with a coat of flowering green ! Yes, I may
say, without boasting, I am an ornament more
fit for a house or garden than any other."

" You are an ugly braggart, sister Morning-
glory," exclaimed a Poppy; and you should
have heard how fretful the little thing was.
" A great beauty, indeed ! Why, people have
so little regard for your beauty, they just
trample on you."

The other flowers all giggled at this, and I
saw how poor Morning-glory hung her head
and blushed for shame.

" As for myself," continued the Poppy, in
awful glee, " I am certainly a flower that is
worth cultivating in a garden. First of all,
you have the plant from which I grow, formed
out of a most singular kind of leaves, the only
ones of this growth in the garden. And then
you behold the flower on the slender stem, like
a full-blown rose, with leaflets red as carmine,
and soft as the softest down. With all my
compliments to your beauty, most grace-
ful queen (and the Poppy bowed politely to
the Rose,) I may say that I can almost vie
with you in regard to beauty of color."

THE FLOWERS.

The fun, to see the Rose pout ! She was
just preparing to give a keen reply, when the
Lily stopped her by bursting forth:

" Nonsense ! Your beauty, sister Poppy, is
the beauty of only one day. For a day you
seem to shine and glory; then you fade away,
and the next day sees you lying on the
ground, pale and withering, as if you had been
frightened to death by some hideous night-owl.
You ought to be ashamed of yourself ! Who
would deem you worthy to be culled, and to
shine in a bouquet ? But the Lily is a flower
before whom all the others may, in all humility,
bow tlieir heads ; for, who must not admire her
spotless white, and the excellence of her fra-
grance ? My friends, do not forget, yes, never
forget what our Redeemer Himself says of me:
" Consider the lilies of the fields, how they
irrow : — I say to you, that not even Solomon
in all his glory was arrayed as one of them '
(Matt. vi. 29).

After these words of the Lily there followed an
instant of hushed silence. Pretty soon, how-
ever, the other flowers all began to stir; and
how they were piqued, at hearing the Lily's
eloquent praise of her own beauty ! They sat
about, quarreling with her, each trying to lower

THE FLOWERS.

her by extolling its own rare worth and exquis-
ite qualities. While this noisy debate was
going on, I caught a faint whisper, so faint,
that it was not at all perceived by the rest of
the flowers, and that I myself did, at first, not
know from what quarter it came. I listened
more intently, and behold ! it was the voice of a
Violet, hidden under the broad leaf of a Bur-
dock. Most faintly it whispered, " Dear me,
poor Violet ! I am a mean, worthless flower,
and though my Creator gave me a violet color
and some fragrance to praise and glorify Him
with, still, I am too ignoble to appear among
the other flowers of the garden, which are all
so sweet and beautiful. Let them give public
praise to God ; I will serve Him in private, as
well as I can. To His honor and glory will I
blossom here under this friendly burdock, and
the little fragrance that I have shall be spent
in humilit}T, as an incense pleasing to His
majesty."

Thus spoke the Violet ; and this was the
last flower I heard. For then I did, in reality,
wake up. I had fallen asleep on my chair, and
instead of being roused by the first words of
the Dahlia, I continued to dream about the
flowers. And in truth, there they were, the

THE FLOWERS. 213

dahlia, the rose, the tulip, the morning-
glory, the poppy and the lily, yes, even the
violet under the broad burdock leaf, — there
they were, all around me. Was it only a
dream, or had they really spoken ? I do not
know. But I looked again at the violet ; and I
felt like preferring this poor, humble flower to
all the rest — could any of you tell me why ?

Jlttjijfe' 3Piafogtt$ mt Tftut

.LOPJOUS Christmas ! How quick this
happy clay did pass ! and now here's
New Year just at the door. Everywhere
so much joy and happiness at Christmas time

everywhere, except in Mr. Hamlin's house.

Something there must have been that made
things look so sad here. Josie alone, Mr. Ham-
lin's only son, a wanton boy of five years, quite
full of boyish tricks, was just making the
house ring all week with his merry shouts, and
nothing could keep him back. Why ? Because
Christmas was just gone, and New Year was
at hand, and naturally, he thought, all boys
must be wild at Christmas and New Year.
His baby sister, Emma, two years old, was a
child of just the opposite disposition, quiet, and
not noisy in the least. Her blue eyes, quite a
world of angelic innocence and purity, looked

214

AHGELS' DIALOGUE 0^ NEW YEARNS i^IGHT.

very surprised at the frisks and shouts of her
brother, as if she could not think what it was
all about, since she beheld everything else so
dreary. Well, she was only a baby yet ; what
do babies know about Christmas and New
Year ?

Where was Mr. Hamlin this last night of the
old year ? Not at home ! He went to town
pretty late in the evening, — no telling when he
will come home, probably after midnight. He
went to get his dram, as he said, " to warm
himself up for the New Year." Well, he did
the same on Christmas night, too, and he had
done it for many a year, — gone to town at
night " to warm up ; ' but no "warming up '
for wife and children, for he never bought
them a Christmas or a New Year's gift, nor
did he ever think of going to the first Mass.
How much did his poor wife long to go to this
first midnight Mass, but no ; he never let her
go. She had to stay at home and watch the
house, while he squandered many a week's
earnings, purposely saved up for the Christmas
and New Year's " spree." Well, he was in
town again, this last old year's night, to get
his dram for New Year. — Now you know what
made his home so dreary ! It's that way in all

ANGELS' DIALOGUE OX NEW YK All's NIGHT.

homes where the father is given to drink ; —
how sad !

His wife was wraiting and waiting for him to
return ; but he did not come. It grew late,
and she put Josie to bed, who was now sound-
ly asleep. Emma was lying in her cradle, and
her mother had to rock a, long while, till she
went to sleep. The mother was rocking her
baby still, when her eyes, too, grew heavy :
her head began to nod, then it dropped, till
she was fast asleep on her chair. So they
were all asleep. And Mr. Hamlin?

The clock had just struck the midnight
hour, when he started on his way for home.
He had taken only one drink ; then an inner
mysterious voice (his Guardian Angel's, per-
haps) whispered to him : " Jim, that's enough !
Go home now ; your wife is waiting for you."
He went. The dram-shop had no attraction for
him that night, he knew not why ; and he felt
as he had never felt before. Something was
driving him home : " There you will be and
will make others happy ! ' He reached his
house, and from the distance he savv the light
through the window. On tiptoe he stepped
over the frozen ground, up to the window, to
take a peep at his loved ones, for he loved

ANGELS' DIALOGUE ox NEW YEAR'S NIGHT.

them ardently, though he drank. What a
sight! He saw. them all three asleep. Josie
in his bed, Emma in the cradle, and Hannah,,
his poor wife, drooping on the chair ! More
yet he saw : — God opened his eyes that
moment, and he saw at the side of each of his
sleeping children a tall, heavenly figure, each
clothed in a robe of dazzling white, and bend-
ing over the children as if to guard and protect
them. At this moment the Angels (for such
they were — Guardian Angels) arose and turned
to each other to speak. God, at this instant,
opened the father's ears, also, as he had done
just before with his eyes, and he could hear
the Angels plainly, though the window Avas
closed.

" Dear, innocent soul ! " whispered Emma's
Angel, looking fondly at the child. " There,
that sweet smile ! A dream is passing over
the infant mind, and the smile is always a
glimpse of a child's beautiful soul."

" Yes," said the other Angel, " if men had
Angels' eyes, how differently they would look
at a boy like my Josie."

"Indeed, it's so !" replied the first Angel,
" men would then make less of the body, and
care more for the soul. What is all the be ant Y

•

218 ANGELS' DIALOGUE ON NEW YEAR'S NIGHT.

of the body, if the soul is defiled? How it
does shock my sight to look at a body with an
ugly, sinful soul in it ! And such a body is
often considered by men to be an object of
rare beauty ! '

" Our God is infinitely good," remarked
Josie's Guardian. " How horrid a body is
•without a soul in it ! Men even shun it ! God
has no need of anybody ; and yet He creates
innumerable souls for the bodies of men, to
give them life. The soul is the breath of life
for man, and is, so to say, the breath of God
Himself, immortal, like its creator."

" And so my little Emma is a most precious
work of God," added the Angel at the cradle.
" If the child had only a body and no immortal
soul, it would be no other than any other
beast. But the soul in the body, being the
breath of the holy God Himself, raises my
ilarliug, I think and dare say, far above any
Angel in heaven. Why ?- -We Angels are only
spirits ; but man is body and spirit, and if he
keeps his spirit holy and pure, his body will
share the soul's future glory. Certainly, I am
satisfied, and thank God, the Creator, that He
has made and preserved me a pure spirit ; but
I pride myself on the commission I have, to

DIALOGUE ON NEW YEAE'S NIGHT.

protect and try to save such a precious crea-
ture as iny Emma is. If I succeed in saving.
the soul, the body will be saved, also."

" A grand task, to save souls ! ' said the-
second Angel. '* And I will do my best to save
Josie, though the chances may be pretty well
against me. If men would consider how pre-
cious a soul is, they would all strive to help us
in our work of saving souls."

" Yes, indeed, they won Id, and parents first
of all," added the other spirit. " When God
created us, the invisible world, and then the
things visible. He did so bv a mere act of His-

O ' -j

all-powerful will. But when he was about to
create man, He, said : 'Let us make man to Our
image and likeness,' as if He were going to do
a hard or very important work. Well, God
alone can create a soul, and it would seem He
took great pains to create a beautiful one."

" In truth, our good Creator showed a great
love for the immortal soul of man in creating
it," thought Josie's Angel. " Though our glo-
rious ranks were thinned by thousands, falling-
victims to endless perdition, God did not miss
them ; He was as rich and powerful as before ;
yet He determined to create man and give him
a living soul, that he might, in course of time,

AXGELS' DIALOGUE 0^ NEW YEAR'S XIGHT.

iill out our vacant ranks. And He did so,
though He foresaw that man would prove him-
self faithless, and countless souls would be
lost. Still, the innumerable souls that would
be saved were so lovely and precious in His
sight , that He resolved to create man, though
many might be lost, but only from their own
fault."

"It makes me love the soul I have in charge
more ardently, the more I think of it," said Em-
ma's Guardian. " God did not only decide to
fill up our ranks with the souls of men, but He
even commissioned us spirits to aid Him in
saving these souls. How dearly God must
love a soul, that, after creating it, He will en-
trust it to an Angel's care, telling him to watch
over this, His creature, day and night, never to
abandon it, but to guard and protect it, as one
would a costly treasure. How proud I feel of
being instrumental in saving such a soul ! '

" See what God has done furthermore for
man's soul, dear companion," said the other
Angel, " and we will surely never grow tired of
our task. — Man was created. God looked down
upon him infinitely delighted, as a father does
on a child, and He thought to see the child of
His hand ever happy in His presence. Bat no 1

' DIALOGUE ox NEW YEAR'S NIGHT. 221

man turned away in disobedience and pride,
and 'became an object of loathing in God's
sight."

" So did our fellow angels, too," added the
other heavenly spirit, " and the Creator, in
His wrath, hurled them headlong into the bot-
tomless abyss of hell. Didn't man deserve the
same lot for his sin ? '

" He did ; and God, in His justice, might
have punished him the same way," answered
the first angel. " But remember, man's soul is
the breath of God, it is His special property,
and for this reason, I. think, He did not want
to punish man so dreadfully, because He loved
his soul too dearly, and esteemed it, so to
speak, as a part of Himself. How precious
then, is a soul in the eyes of God ! '

"Look there, the enemy skulking in the
dark ! ' said Emma's angel pointing through
the back window of the house. " He is prowl-
ing about after prey Let's have our eyes on
him and watch him !- -Precious, you say?'
continued the spirit, picking up the former
subject. "A real world God considers each
soul to be, a world about the possession of
which there is a mighty struggle between-
whom?— Between God Himself and the devil.

222 ANGELS5 DIALOGUE ON NEW YEARNS NIGHT.

* I will put enmities between tliee and the
woman, and thy seed and her seed/ said the
Creator, when He promised to send His Son
for the redemption of fallen mankind. Enmity
between Satan and Almighty God ! Enmity
about what ? — About man's soul !

" Yes, man's soul was the object of Satan's
envy and hatred from the very beginning,"
added the angel at Josie's bed. " Unfortunate-
ly he succeeded in getting this treasure into
his power, and God took on Himself the great
and hard work of tearing from the devil's grasp
the victim, of his hatred, — the soul of man.
Hence the great struggle between God and
hell, the object of which 'is man's precious, im-
mortal soul."

"Four thousand f years this great struggle
was carried on," spoke the first angel, in turn,
a and, sorry to say, Satan had the better al-
most all the time. How many souls he did
capture all that time ! At last God Himself,
as He had promised, became man, to free the
souls he loved so much from the bondage in
which they were held by Satan. And a giant's
work it was ! '

"Well," remarked the other, " a God-man
only could do such a giant work. What would

' DIALOGUE ojs NEW YEAR'S NIGHT. 223

we naturally say of a man, if we were to see
him scourged, crowned with thorns, carrying a
heavy cross to the place of his execution, and
nailed to it hands and feet, a living man ? See-
ing him hang on this gibbet for three long-
hours, a prey to the relentless fury of his en-
emies, the butt of all their most bitter gibes and
revilings — what must we think? — This man
must be a vile wretch, a great criminal, since
his own fellow-beings treat him thus. But no,
Jesus was nothing like this ! And yet He suf-
fered all this! What for?- -To redeem His
precious world, the soul of man! '

" Mankind was redeemed, when, by His death
on the cross, the Saviour triumphed over the
power of Satan. The enemy was weakened
then, and heaven was again opened to receive
those for whom Jesus died. Still," continued
Emma's guardian, " the great struggle between
God and hell is not over ; it lasts as long as
there is a soul to save."

" The enemy is as wily as before," added
the other. '' He is powerful still ; and be-
sides his numberless wiles and crafty tricks,
he has two mighty confederates in this work
of catching souls for hell — the world, and the
corrupt, evil inclinations of man's own flesh.

224 ANGELS' DIALOGUE ON NEW YEAR'S NIGHT.

What will become of my Josie ? — Will he, one
day, be a happy child of God, or will he be a
reprobate slave of the devil ! '

"Just as he wills," answered the spirit at
the cradle. " That's all left to his own free
will. True, the forces on the side of the
enemy are powerful ; bat God fully does His
part, too. If Josie, or my dear little Emma,
will be lost, it's from their own fault. You
know how much God has done and still does
to save the souls of men. Besides redeeming
them by His death, Jesus instituted a Church,
replenished with His superabundant grace,
which is to carry on the work of redemption
in saving the souls redeemed by the death of
her divine Spouse."

" Every child that is born has its angel to
guard and defend it," said the Angel at the
bed, lovingly spreading his hands over the
sleeping boy, as if to ward off some hidden
evil. " How lucky for a child if it is born with-
in the fold of the true Church ! The Guardian
Angel will then gladly help invisibly to save
the child ; because, being visibly led by the
hand of the true Church, the prospects are
bright and consoling for the future."

<_ s t J

" These two children have this great for-

ANGELS' DIALOGUE ox NEW YEAR'S NIGHT. 225

*

tune," proceeded the other spirit. " They
were cleansed by the waters of baptism. Be-
ing thus made children of the Church, they
became children of God, and heirs of His
heavenly kingdom. And, alas ! the time may
soon come when they will sin, and lose all,
purity, grace, yes, God Himself and their
home in heaven. The enemy is watching
eagerly for this time to come."

" How ill men would fare," remarked Josie's
Angel, " if Jesus had not instituted the Sacra-
ment of Penance. After the first mortal sin
that this child would commit, it would be
hopelessly lost, had the Hedeemer not opened
a new fountain of grace for it to bathe and
wash itself in, — the Sacrament of Penance.
Another proof how dear and costly a soul is
in the eyes of God ! '

" In short, all the sacraments," rejoined the
other, " what are they but so many strong
weapons, given by Jesus into the hands of
His children, through the ministry of mother
Church ?— The Holy Eucharist ! If this alone
does not speak out plainly how precious a
soul is, then nothing does ! Jesus, offering
Himself up daily in millions of masses ; then
locking Himself up into the tabernacles, to

226 AXGELS* DIALOGUE OK isEW YEAR'S XIGHT.

. . — — • .

abide there in solitude for days and years ;
and lastly, giving Himself over to men, by en-
tering into their hearts, true God and true
man, with body and blood, thus becoming the
spiritual food of their souls, to strengthen
them in the great struggle. — Oh, ye children,
Jesus is making a continual sacrifice of Him-
self, to show you how highly he prizes your
immortal souls, and to urge on you and all
men the duty of doing all to save them," thus
exclaimed the baby's Angel in a rapture.

" That's what God, the Holy Trinity, has
done and still does, to save each single soul,"
said Josie's angel again, after a short pause of
serious thought. " It makes me almost sad to
see how many souls are lost in spite of all this,
and just from their own fault, — souls that are.
so precious, and so beautifully ornamented
through God's infinite bounty."

" Those three splendid gifts of the soul that
make of it such a striking intake of the Crea-

~ o

tor ! ' whispered the angel at the cradle, as if
sunken in profound admiration. " Wasn't it
by the Father's will that the universe was
created, and isn't it by the same almighty will
that all is governed and so beautifully kept in
order in the whole world, above and below ? —

ANGELS' DIALOGUE ON NEW YEAR'S NIGHT.

As a type of His own omnipotent will, He puts
into man's soul this first grand gift — the will."

" And what person of the Blessed Trinity,"
asked the other spirit in the same breath, " is,
if we may say so, the universal Memory of
God ? Isn't it the Son, the future Judge of
the word, in whose Memory all is present, no
past, no future, but who will one day judge all
ages and all men after His all-containing,
never-failing Memory ?- -And the second gift
in man's soul, the type of the Second Person.
in the Holy Trinity, and of the future, all-
knowing, all-retaining Judge, — is the Memory."

"How august is the Intellect of God ! " contin-
ued Emma's Guardian in the same rapture of
admiration. " In it is contained ail the wisdom
displayed by the Creator in building up the
universe and making the laws that are to gov-
ern it ; by the Redeemer, in the work of His
redemption and the guidance of His Church
for the salvation of mankind. The Holy
Ghost, the Third Person in the Blessed Trin-
ity, is the grand Intellect of God. He is called
the spirit of wisdom and Understanding. — -And
now, the Third Person, too, wanted to be ex-
pressed in the soul of man by type, and hence
He gave the third gift of Understanding

"

~2'2S ANGELS' DIALOGUE OK XEW YK AIL'S XK.IIT.

Therefore it is an angel's greatest pleasure,"
said the spirit, guarding the sleeping boy, be-
sides contemplating God, the Fountain of all
beauty, to be so near to guide and protect a
soul, the soul being God's own living image,
His miniature world, in which He loves to
dwell. The Redeemer says : (i If any one
loves Me, he will keep My words ; and My
Father will love him, and We will come to
him, and will make an abode with him."
John xiv. 23). Even in the Old Law God
affirms of Himself : " My delights are to be
with the children of men ' (Prov. viii. 31).

" What an overpowering thought ! ' re-
marked the Angel, looking at the baby in the
cradle. " These souls, that are so very pre-
cious, whom God loves so tenderly, and for
-whom He has done, and daily does so much,

b

— these souls are or were in the hands of
parents, confided to their trust ; and if God
does all in His power, and though we poor
,-ang.els work ever so hard, — it may all be in
'•vain.. In this great struggle between God and
liell .about a child's soul the child may be lost
if it has parents that serve the devil, and, as
liiis instruments, raise the child that God has
them to save.'

ANGELS' DIALOGUE OK NEW YEARNS NIGHT. 229

" O my God ! ' sighed Josie's Guardian.
" I would exult to see this boy die now, while
he is young and sinless. For afterwards — Oh !
my chances are poor ! '

" The chances are poor for both of us, in-
deed," said the other angel in a sad tone. The
mother is good, and tries her best ; poor soul !
But the father — — ! '

" He will be the main cause, if these darling
souls are lost," replied the angel at the bed.
" The father is a drunkard ; the son may be-
come one, too. He is a wayward man, does
not concern himself in the least about God
and His holy religion ; his son may follow
his bad example. Then all our work will be
useless, and the poor mother must deplore the
loss of one or both of her children." " Indeed,
mischief and sin seems to be born in the boy ;
for they frequently break out to view now, and
will do more so the older he gets. The enemy
knows, too, that prospects favor him ; hence
he is all the more on the watch to clutch these
two innocent souls, as soon as the occasion
presents itself."

" Perhaps he will succeed, alas ! — said
the Angel companion sadly. " Well, let us,
at all events, do our utmost to save the little

230 ANGELS' DIALOGUE OK NEW YEAR'S XIGIIT.

ones. Above all, we must unite our forces
with those of the parents' angels, and then
constantly work on theN heart of the straying
father. If we can bring him back to a better
life, the prospect will be more favorable and
we shall have reason to rejoice."

With these last words the vision disappeared.
Mr. Hanilin could feel almost sensibly how
the Angels of God, his own, that of his wife,
and those of his two children, were making
with united force an assault to capture and
change his heart. Grace was working a mira-
cle, because God knew that this was the hour
when the poor sinful man would respond to
His call.

For a few minutes the father stood immov-
able, as if stunned by what he had seen and
heard. Never before had it been put before
his eyes so clearly, how precious a soul is, as
this New Year's night, when he saw the vision
of the angels, and heard what they said. He
then raised his right hand towards the starry
heavens, as if he were about to make a solemn
promise. — And he did promise : " O God,
what a careless father I ana ! Thou hast given
me four souls, that I must help to save — my
own, that of a loving wife, and those of my two

AXGELS-' DIALOGUE ON NEW YEARNS NIGHT.

little children. Being a drunkard and a father
unmindful of my holy religion, I have neglect-
ed to care for myself ; and if I continue to do
so, I may lose myself and those entrusted to
my care —four precious souls ! God of mercy !
This night shall see me an altered man. Never
more shall even a drop of liquor pass my lips,
and as soon as the morning dawns I will go to
make a good confession, and thus commence a
better life, the life of a good Catholic, this
•first day of the new year. This is my promise:
-help me, O God, with Thy all-powerful
grace, that I may keep it and persevere."

After this he entered the house. His wife
awoke, and imagine her surprise to see her
husband come home with his senses sober,
something he had not done for many a year.
And how kind he was that night, asking her to
forgive him for coming home so late, and prom-
ising that he would try hard, from now on, to
make her happy. He stood awhile to gaze on
his little ones ; then he told his wife that they
would retire to rest. He embraced her fondly,
and her heart almost burst with joy ; for she
felt that God was working a change in the heart
of her husband, though she knew not how and
why.

232 ANGELS' DIALOGUE ON NEW YEAR'S NIGHT.

The next morning, before Mr. Hanilin went
to confession, lie told Hannah, Lis wife, of the
vision he had seen last night, and that he was
resolved to amend his life, and become a good
husband and father. He kept his word : and
the consequence was, he felt happy, and saw
about himself a family as happy as he could
wish it. More than all — the prospect for eter-
nity was brighter, too ; for if parents, especially
the father, take the lead by giving a good ex-
ample, the children will naturally follow.

Would that this might move one or other
wayward parent to return to God, before it is
too late, and to make the family happy.
" To day, when you hear My voice, harden not
your hearts," says God.

Thus ends the story about the " Angels'
Dialogue on New Year's Night."

«9

i.

. i,Y readers have often, probably, read
stories about giants, so that it will be
nothing new to them to read or hear
one more. These giant stories are all very
pleasant, as you will remember even from
Bible History, when you read of the giant
Goliath. What a braggart he was! "Am I
a dog," said he to little David, " that tliou
comest to me with a staff? Come to me, and
I will give thy flesh to the birds of the air, and
to the beasts, of the earth." Yes, indeed, the
big-mouthed hero ! The shepherd boy knocked
him down with a stone and cut his head off.

Here comes another giant story; and though
I would not warrant it to be as true in all
particulars as that of David and Goliath, still,
there is some truth in the story, anyway,
namely: this giant did live in reality, and he
is a saint in the Catholic Church, as we shall

THE LEGEXD OF ST. CillilSTOPIIOKUS.

see farther on ; whereas such heroes as
1 Jack the Giant Killer," together with all the
giants he so bravely killed, are only irnagina- *
ry persons.

Well, then, the giant! Yon all know who
or what a giant is ? He is a man much tall-
er and stronger than other ordinary men.
Just imagine that you see a man twelve or
fifteen feet tall, twice as tall as a common
sized man ; think of his broad, heavy-set
body, his huge head, his thick, strong legs, al-
most elephant like, his long, powerful arms and
hands ; in short, all in proportion to the height
of his body, and you have a pretty fair idea of
a giant.

Well, to begin with our story, there was
such a giant once, many hundred years ago,
and a mighty man he was, fully twelve feet
high, strong and powerful. He was a heathen,
and had a very heathenish name — Eeprobus,
the reprobate. This giant was very proud of
himself, as naturally almost anybody would be,
if he were such a giant. He had something of
the nature of Goliath ; he thought himself the
strongest and mightiest man in the world, and
that none could surpass him in deeds of
strength and valor. He went about displaying

THE LEGEND OF ST. CHRISTOPHORUS. 235

his strength in all kinds of exploits. — Repro-
bus the giant !

But one clay he took up a most curious
notion. He thought by himself : I am the
biggest and strongest man on earth. If I want
to serve somebody, is it not becoming for me

tv ' CJ

to hunt up the mightiest and most powerful
king, and tender him iny services ? Why, cer-
tainly, the biggest man ought to serve the
biggest king. —

" The strongest man I am, a giant!
No one like me, I hear them tell.
Out I go to search the countries,

Till a king doth suit me well.
The mightiest lord of all the earth

Shall have my service; only he,
At whose name whole nations tremble —

A giant king— the giant's lord alone shall be. "

And out he went, Reprobus the giant, to
wander through the world in search of the
mightiest king. He walked about for a long
time, and passed through many countries.
Often he was told : " Here is the mightiest
king," and again, "No there he is." -Just as
it will be on the last day. " Lo, here is Christ,"
or " there He is." — But Reprobus was not so
quick in believing all he heard ; he went to ex-
amine, and he found that these were only petty

#30 THE LEGEXD OF ST. CH KISTOPHORUS.

lords, not at all worthy the service of such a
famous giant.

At last he heard of one about whom all
agreed that he was the mightiest king. Repro-
bus went to see. The king, he had to own,
was a majestic man ; and everybody that came
near him was over-awed. The king's palace
was splendor itself, and the greatest pageantry
round about the throne; innumerable almost
were the officers and other persons belonging
to the court. This monarch held powerful
sway over many foreign nations, who would
pay in their tribute most readily and with all
marks of humble suppliance.

This was the man for Eeprobus. He showed
more power in his little finger than all the other
petty kings did together ; and he concluded to
enlist in his service. The king was glad to re-
ceive the giant among his court, and you may be
sure he felt proud at having him in his service
No one, he was certain, would dare to approach
him with evil intent, as long as such a power-
ful giant was near to guard and protect him.

All went well. Beprobus was the king's
most reliable servant, and felt highly pleased,
yes, even proud, of being in the service of such
a master, But —

THE LEGEND OF ST. CHRISTOPHORUS. 237

"Once a minstrel, so goes the story,
. Entered the hall to play and sing,
And while a banquet the court was having,

With harp and song he amused the king.
His ballads told of deeds of valor,

And much he knew of Satan's might:
The king, on hearing the Devil mentioned,

Blessed himself, which surely was right."

But not so thought the giant. In his blunt,
straight-forward way he asked : " Lord king,
what sign was that, and what did you mean by
it ? "

"It is the sign of the cross," replied the
king. " If I make it, the Devil must flee and
can't hurt me."

"The Devil? Who is the Devil?" again
asked Reprobus.

" It is Satan, the Evil Spirit, the prince of
darkness, who is always after, us, trying to
hurt us," said the king.

" Then there is one still stronger than your-
self, one that can hurt you? — King, I can't
serve you any longer." I must seek him,
whom you call Satan or Devil, and offer him
my services." —

So spoke the heathen giant. The king tried
in vain to retain him. He showed him how
ridiculous and even how wicked it is to hunt

238 THE LEGEND OF ST. CII IUSTOPIIORUS.

up Satan for the purpose of serving him. But
what did Reprobus know about the Devil ?
-He heard the king say that Satan had the
power to injure him, the mightiest king on
earth ; — hence he must be a king more pow-
erful than his present master ; and having
decided to serve the mightiest king, he de-
termined to change masters. Forthwith he
left the king's palace, and went out to hunt up
the devil.

Dear readers, for the present we will let the
giant go. Bad enough that he went out to
serve the evil spirit ! A little instruction, if
taken, would have kept him back. But he was
a heathen, and a giant full of pride.

A word, to parents: Every child born to the
world, and reborn " of the water and the Holy
Ghost," is a giant too, — not df the body, but of
the soul. — Read again " The Angels' Dialogue
on New Year's Night," and you will not forget
how greaf, and, if we may say so, GIANT an ob-
ject a child's soul is in the eyes of God.

Like Reprobus the giant, the little child
wants to serve the mightiest king. The dif-
ference is: This heathen went out HIMSELF to
hunt his master ; he relied on his OWN SENSE
of judgment to find out which is the mightiest

THE LEGEND OF ST. CHHISTOPHOBUS. 239

king ; whereas the child, with its precious soul,
must BE LED to find God, to love Him, and to
serve Him as the mightiest King, — and led
principally by the parents ! But if the par-
ents themselves are not serving God, how can
they lead their children to do so ? Children
will very often serve the very same master
that their parents served. Christian parents,
fathers and mothers, ask yourselves now:
41 Whom am I serving ? '

II

Reprobus, the giant, seeking Satan. Just
think of that, children, how strange ! And he
hunted a long while. Not knowing what kind
of a fellow the Devil is, he at first went along
the public roads, the highways, thinking that,
since these roads were traveled most, and, as
he was told, Satan made it his task to trouble
and hunt everybody, he would certainly find
him there, if anywhere. But you know your-
selves, children, the Devil doesn't come around
in open daylight, so that everybody can see
him. Or did lie ever tempt you to do some-
thing wicked, when your parents or others
might be around to watch you and catch you
at the act? Sometimes, indeed, the Devil

240 THE LEGEND OF ST. CHKISTOPHOBUS.

does "go about like a roaring lion, seeking
whom ho may devour; ' but generally he
avoids the highways, for fear of being seen and
detected. He likes it best to ptowl about in
dark by-ways, and he gets plenty of victims
there ; for those that want to sin leave the
public highways, and go off into the dark. No
wonder, therefore, that Eeprobus could not
find the Devil.

At last, being nearly wearied out, and al-
most despairing of ever finding Satan, he
turned off and entered a by-road. And now it
did not take long to find him.—

"Behold, one night ('twas dark as pitch)

Twelve knights came riding on with speed,
And in their midst, as black as Hell,

Sat one erect on fiery steed.
A bunch of feathers, red as fire,

From his helmet waved in air,
And his charger's hoof struck flames,

That lit the night and made it glare."

Boldly Reprobus stepped out into the road;
and the wild troop came to a halt. — " Who are
you ? ' asked the giant.

" I am the Prince of Darkness, and these
are my companions."

" And whither are you going ? '
We are out on our nightly tour, making

THE LEGEXD OF ST. CHKISTOPHORUS. 241

booty, and taking prisoners for my kingdom."

" You look rather formidable ! '

"I am the mightiest king in the world." —
(The Devil told a big lie here, didn't he chil-
dren ? " WHO is LIKE GOD ? " said St. Michael.)

" I am Eeprobus, the famous giant."

" I know it."

" You are the Prince of Darkness, also called
Satan or Devil ? '

" Just as you say."

" Will you accept my services ? I've been
seeking you for a long while."

" I know you have, but not on the right
road. — I came this way to-night on purpose to
meet with you. You are welcome to my ser-
vice, and I shall be proud to number such a
famous giant among my followers. Get a horse
to suit yourself and follow me. You will find
me a kind and indulgent master— (yes, indeed 1)
and a mighty lord. I will rely on your giant
strength and, accordingly, I expect giant deeds
of war and fighting. Work bravely; — I will in
time give you due reward." — (Good God ! what
a reward would the giant get ?)

Eeprobus soon had a horse, and a powerful
fellow he was, just the horse he wanted. And
thus he joined Satan's band.

THE LEGEND 01? ST. CHEISTOPHOEUS.

A wild life he now led, roaming about all
over the country, to the terror of everybody.
Satan was highly pleased and prided himself
ever so much on his precious acquisition, -
the powerful, heathen giant. Reprobus soon
found how mighty a king, indeed, Satan is ;
and the wild life in his new master's service
was just what a giant like himself desired.
But, thank God, things soon took another
turn.

" One night, while on their hidden ways

The Prince of Hell his band was leading,
They met a cross quite unawares,

With Jesus crucified and bleeding.
As soon as Satan saw the cross,

In trembling fear he took to flight,
And after him, with cries of terror,

His followers all fled through the night."

Reprobus fled, too, though he knew not why.
He had to spur his steed till the beast almost
grew furious, and in spite of this could hardly
keep up with his fleeing master. At last,
coming up with him, he demanded : " Master,
what does this sudden turn and hurrying off
signify ? '

" The cross ! ' gasped the Devil.

"That sign by the wayside? What of
that? — It is only a piece of wood."

THE LEGEKD OF ST. CHRISTOPHORUS. 243

" Only a piece of wood ! Don't you know
who is hanging on that piece of wood ?

' Some wicked criminal, I presume, dying
for his crimes."

" No, indeed ! ' answered Satan in the ut-
most fury. " It is Jesus Christ. I instigated
men to nail Him to the cross ; but, woe to
me ! when He died He broke my power,
and ever since I have to flee before the

cross.'

;Who is this Jesus Christ? — and how could
He break your power when He died ? '

" He is true God and true man, my Lord
and Master. After His death, He rose again
to life. Against Him goes all my warring,
but, oh! I am weakened in power."

Thus spoke the Devil with a hollow voice.
(Who forced this confession from him ?)

" One mightier than you ? ' asked the giant,
surprised at the unexpected confession. " Lord
Satan, I can't stay with you any longer.
I must hunt up Him whom you call Jesus
Christ, true God and true man ; He shall be
my Lord and Master ; Him will I serve."
And without another word the giant turned
and left the Devil's service.

" Another servant gone ! ' and the Devil

THE LEGEND OF ST. CHRISTOPHOEUS.

gnashed his teeth in fury. " Cursed be the
Nazarean for this work ! '

Let us stop here again, just a little. Dear
readers, large and small, you have heard how
proud the Devil felt of having such a giant in
his service. A giant can do a giant's work.

Satan, in our days, is out hunting his prey —
precious, immortal souls — with as untiring a
zeal as. ever. He lost heaven, and out of
hatred to God he wants to keep as many of
us as possible from taking his place. — Who
can doubt that many children, even when quite
small, are entrapped by Satan, because of
their parents lacking in watchfulness ? Is
this only a dream, or a trite saying, because so
often repeated? — Would to God, it were so !
I have just before me a book treating on

The Most Important for Parents, Teachers,
and Guardians of Youth, consequently also for
Pastors." I wish I could place this book in
the hands of every parent, and then, when they
have all read it, let one say that it is not
important.

If parents are not thoroughly religious,
sound, earnest-minded Catholics ; if they have
no control over their passions, but give them
free vent, just as they desire it, and thus serve

THE LEGEND OF ST. CHRISTOPHOKUS. 245

sin in many ways, what will become of the
little ones ? They are born with an inclination
to the sins of their parents ; these sins, daily
committed, will make deep impressions on
their youthful hearts. Parents being given
to such ways are naturally careless and will
not watch ; they will not see the dangers to
which their children are exposed ; and hence
they will not warn, correct, or punis-h them,
when it ought to be done : — and what follows
from all this ? Many children get into the
fangs of Satan, even when very young, by
means of their own parents, and afterwards
will be powerful instruments in misleading
others. Being giants in sin, they do a giant's
work in the Devil's service. — Hence, dear
father and mother, the question so important
for you to ask and answer : " Whom am I

• O "

serving:

III.

Beprobus wandered about for a long time,
searching for the mighty King called Jesus
Christ, the Crucified ; but since the whole
world nearly was still pagan, sunk in idol-
atry, nobody could tell him where to find
Jesus Christ.

24:6 THE LEGEND OF ST. CHRISTOPHORUS.

One evening, much wearied by the day's
journey, he came to a thin, lonely woods,
and in it he found a hut, with an old, vener-
able-looking man (one of the early hermits, I
suppose) living in it. He asked the hermit to
let him pass the night near his hut in the woods,
for he was very tired from walking so far.

The hermit, at first surprised, almost fright-
ened, at seeing before him such a giant, strong
enough to carry his little hut with himself in
it away on his shoulders, asked him where he
came from, whither he was going, and what
was his occupation.

" I am seeking a King called Jesus Christ,"
answered the giant, " and though I learned for
sure that He is the mightiest King, I can't
find Him, nobody knows where He is."

The hermit looked surprised, then a smile
lit his venerable face. " Thank this mighty

*. j \j

King you are seeking, my friend," said he,
<£ for He has guided you at last to a place
where you can be taught to know, love, and
serve Him."

" Do vou, then, know the King called Jesus

*j * <^j

Christ? ' asked Reprobus quickly.

" In truth, I do, and can tell you all about
Him.'

(t

il

(t

THE LEGEND OF ST. CHRISTOPHORUS. 247

" Is it the one called the Crucified ? '

" It is. — He died on the cross for us."

" Did He overcome a certain king called
Prince of Darkness, Satan, or Devil, when He
died on the cross ? '

" He did. By His death, He freed us all
from the bondage of this wicked tyrant. — On
the cross He broke Satan's power."

Just as I heard ! ' exclaimed the giant.

And is this Jesus, the Crucified, living? '

Yes. After three days He rose from the
grave, in sign of His victory."

" Oh, then tell me all about Jesus Christ,
where I can find Him, and how I must serve
Him."

The hermit first asked Reprobus to explain
how he came to hear of Jesus Christ, the
Crucified ; and the giant narrated to him all
the adventures he had passed through while
searching for the mightiest king.

" Had you been wise and more humble,"
remarked the hermit, after having heard the
giant's story, " you might have found Jesus
Christ before this. Didn't the first king you
were serving make the sign of the cross, as
he said, in order that Satan might not hurt
him '? Had you asked more about that sign

248 THE LEGEND OF ST. CHRISTOPHORUS.

than about Satan, you would even then have
learned all about Jesus Christ. Now, my
friend, let me in a few words tell you about
this ' mightiest King,'- -T\Tho He is, what He
did for us, and how you must serve Him."

The hermit began. He told him about
God— the One God in Three Divine Persons ;
how God created the angels, and how they
fell ; how, then, man was made, to take the
place of the fallen angels ; how he sinned,
however, and lost Paradise ; how God prom-
ised a Redeemer and that after four thou-
sand years this long-expected Redeemer came.
Reprobus next learned who was the Mother of
Jesus, and where He was born ; how He lived,
and all that happened to Him during His
life ; how much good He did, for which His
own people nailed Him to the cross ; that,
however, after three days, He rose again from
the dead, and, after establishing His Church,
ascended into heaven, whence He would one
day come again to judge the world.

The saintly old man told him all at full
length, just as children are taught in their
catechisms ; for though Reprobus was a giant
of body, he was a child as to religion, and
the instruction lasted for several hours.

THE LEGEND OP ST. CHUISTOPHORUS. 249

With profound reverence he listened to the
words flowing from the hermit's lips. " How
great and powerful is this God ! ' said the
giant. " How merciful towards us poor un-
worthy creatures, to send His only Son to save
us ! Now I see why the hatred of Satan is so
great, and why he flees before the cross."

" Yes, mighty is the Lord our God,

The world proclaimed His sovereign power.
From pole to pale He governs all,

Most distant star, the lowest Mower.
And God, in His decrees of mercy,

Hath sent to us His only Son,
Who from the devil's bondage freed us,

And back for God His creatures won.
We may "again call God our Father,

And Jesus is our loving Friend.
If here we truly love Him, serve Him,

He gives us heaven in the end." —

Thus sang the hermit in holy rapture.

" "What must I do to serve Jesus the Cruci-
fied ? ' asked Reprobus.

•'You must follow the example of this same
Jesus, your Master," replied the hermit.
" You must lead a life of mortification. You
must pray, watch, and fast."

" Pray, watch, and fast ! What is that ? '

The hermit explained in a few-words, — and

THE LEGEND OF ST. CHRISTOPHORL'S.

riglit off the giant's countenance fell.--" If
you know of no better way for me to serve this
mightiest of kings, venerable sir, then I must
give up the idea of serving him altogether.
I know nothing about praying; I must have
my full sleep; and a man like myself cannot
fast."

"Well, my friend," said the hermit, "I do
know of a better way for you to serve your
Master, one more suited to a giant. Xot far
from here there is a pretty large stream, over
which there is no bridge. Just now there is
also no one to carry the wanderers over, when
they want to cross from bank to bank. This
is the work for you. Go you. and build a hut

«,' B/

on the bank of the stream, and in all humility,
out of love to Jesus crucified, carry every one
across that calls upon you." -With this Be-
probus was satisfied, and thus both retired for
the night.

The next morning they built a suitable habi-
tation on one of the banks of the river, and
after having appointed a certain time of the
day for his disciple to come over for further
instructions, the hermit returned to his own
little hut.

Reprobus was well pleased with his new em-

THE LEGEND OF ST. CHRISTOPHOBUS. 251

ploymeni Daily lie learned more about the
great God lie was serving, and the oftener he
conversed with his teacher, the stronger grew
his love for Jesus, his Saviour.

One dark, stormy night the giant was sit-
ting in his spacious hut, listeniDg to the wind
as it was howling over the river banks, and in
the woods near by. All at once he thought he
heard a child's voice outside. No, it was only
the storm moaning about his hut. But now
he hears the voice again. Up he starts and
steps out, and there, on the bank, he sees a
child, a little boy of not more than four years,
waiting to be carried across. " Please, sir,
take me across the river."

" "Why, my child, what can you want across
the river such a night as this ? Where are
you from, and how did you get here ? '

" Don't ask," said the child kindly, " but
take me over."

Keprobus, mindful of the words of his in-
structor, " never to ask, but willingly to take
each wanderer over," got his staff (the rough,
torn-off branch of a tree, by the way), and
softly taking the child on his shoulders, he
fearlessly stepped into the stream.

When he came near the middle of the river..

252 THE LEGEND OF ST. CHRISTOPHORUS.

he perceived that the water was rising on
him — it was coming higher and higher. At
the same time the child on his shoulders was
getting heavier. Large drops of sweat stood
on his brow, he grew unsteady, and feared to
lose his footing.

" O, child ! " he at last broke forth ; " what
a weight yon are for me ! It is as though the
whole world were resting on my shoulders."

" Not only the whole world," answered the
child's sweet voice ; " thou art carrying Him
who made the world. And that thou mayest
know that I am Jesus Christ, thy Lord and
Master ' -so saying the Child dipped the
giant under water, and baptized him, calling
him Christophorus, " Christ-carrier " — " that
you may believe, and be true to Me," con-
tinued the Child, " when you leave the
river, stick your, staff into the ground ; to-
morrow you will find it green and full of
blossoms." With these words the Child dis-
appeared. Reprobus, now Christophorus, did
as the Child Jesus had told him : he stuck his
staff into the ground on the bank of the river,
and the next morning it had leaves and blos-
soms.

The rest of the giant's story is short. Chris-

THE LEGEND OF ST. CHRISTOPHORUS. 253

topliorus continued in his employment at the
river for a long while ; and the hermit was, as
yet, his best friend, his guide in the service of
God. The giant was faithful to the end.
Being taken prisoner by a horde of wild men,
he was led before their king, and refusing to
renounce Christ and His holy religion, he was
put to death. We, therefore, venerate him as a
glorious martyr of God — St. Christophorus —
each year, on the 25th of July.

Dear readers, when does the giant appear to
you to be the greatest ? He was the proud
vassal of an earthly king ; he then became the
dread follower of Satan ; but lastly he hum-
bled his pride, and became the faithful servant
of Christ. Humility obtained for him the sin-
gular favor of being permitted to carry the
Child Jesus on his shoulders.

" Whosoever, therefore, shall humble himself
as a little child, he is the greatest in the king-
dom of heaven" (Matt, xviii. 4).

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