must never stop until we have changed them into particular and positive resolutions of sorrow and amendment. For example; our meditation upon the first sentence spoken by our Saviour on the cross, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do,"-our meditation on these words will doubtless fill our souls with a wish to imitate his example, and to pardon and love our enemies. But this wish will avail little unless we follow it up by a positive resolution in this sort:-" Well then, I will not take offence again at the annoying language of such-an-one, nor at the impertinence of such-another one: on the contrary, I am firmly resolved that I will do what I can to soothe them and to be friends with them." By making these resolutions, we may soon correct our faults, which mere wishes and good feelings would hardly ever enable us to do.

Having thus begun and carried on our meditation, three things should be done with as much humility as possible. In the first place, thanks should be given to God for his goodness and mercy in prompting the good feelings and resolutions which our meditation has suggested to us: Secondly, we should offer to him our newly-formed affections and resolutions and Thirdly, we should beg him to bless these our affections and resolutions in order that we may truly act up to them.

Besides all this, I advise that a little posey of piety be made, and I must explain what I mean: People who walk in a beautiful flowergarden, like to carry away a few choice flowers that they may smell them and enjoy them for the rest of the day; so should we, after our thoughts have wandered over these holy subjects, select those parts of our meditation which have most struck us and which we have found most fitted to our state of mind, and set them apart in our memories that we may recur to them in the course of the day and enjoy their spiritual perfume.-ST. F. DE SALES.

THE SACRAMENTS.

By the superficial and unthinking, the sacraments of the Church may be viewed as little else than symbols of an external communion between its members. But whoever has fully explored the subject, must be struck with the wonderful combination of wisdom and of mercy that appears in these instruments of salvation. From his cradle to his manhood, and from his manhood to the grave, religion deserts not the tender object of her solicitude. She watches at his birth, and protects him in his childhood, by regenerating him in the waters of baptism. that doubtful period of life, when the str

between grace and nature becomes most fierce and likely to be most fatal, she anoints him with chrism more efficacious than the oil which strengthened the wrestlers in the ancient combats, and puts a staff into his hand to sustain his faltering footsteps. Occasionally refreshed with the Eucharist,-" the bread which came down from heaven,”—he journeys on his pilgrimage; and should he stumble in his path, he rises again, aided by the grace of penance, with renovated energy from his fall. Should he stop in his career without trying the perils of any other state of life, religion lingers with him; but should he resolve to go forward and cross the threshold of orders or of marriage, religion, like a faithful sentinel, still "watches at the pillars of the gate," to warn him of his danger, or cheer him on his way. And when at length he reaches the goal of life, exhausted by fatigue and ready to sink under the accumulated wounds of his spiritual warfare, religion, faithful to the last, watches at his couch, with peace on her accents and "healing on her wing." Touched with the sacred unction, the emblem of soundness and of strength, his bruised spirit is restored, and all the Christian hero is roused within him: obedient to her voice, which bids it to depart with hope, his soul freely leaves its confinement, while religion, still following with longing eye, sends forth a fervent prayer for

its repose; till at length, bearing the precious mediation of his immolated Son, she accompanies the departed spirit to the tribunal of the Almighty.-MACHALE.

GOD'S GARDEN.

The air is full of sweets. Th' enamell'd mead Exhales its grateful perfume through the skies.

Earth smiles its thanks to heaven with countless eyes—

Eyes of wild flowers, great men so little heed. Deem not the lowliest plant a worthless weed. Weeds beautify the earth with glowing dyes, E'en angels might admire from Paradise. God's garden: He sole gardener they need. The hedges bloom with May; and near the streams

Horse-chesnuts raise their mass of tufted sweet.

Each peasant's home with richest fragrance

teems

Peas, wallflowers, lilacs, round his windows meet;

Poor weeds to which the peasant's care is given !

But made by God for poverty and heaven.

PRIDE OF MAN: CHAP. IV.

1. 2. We are not satisfied with the life which we possess, which we really lead; we want to lead also an imaginary life in the opinion of others and we strive incessantly to embellish and to preserve this imaginary life while we neglect the real one. If we are really gifted with equanimity, with generosity, with truth, we are anxious to make it known in order that others may endow with these virtues the image which we have led them to form of us: we had rather be without them ourselves than that it should want them for example, we would willingly be cowards in reality rather than not have the reputation of being brave. What a proof this is of the nothingness of our being, that we are not satisfied with it, and would even give it up for the sake of being thought more than we are! for a man would be deemed baseminded who would not rather die than lose his honour. Indeed, the love of glory is so great, that people prize whatever confers it, even death.

3. 4. 5. Pride outweighs all our misfortunes; for it leads us either to hide them, or else to shew them and boast that we are aware of them. It is so natural to us amid all our littleness and our doubts, that we gladly sacrifice our lives so

at we may get praised for doing so. Vanity,