sion of the soul to the will of God, and this enjoyment by prayer. The whole spiritual life is reducible to these two points, which are as it were the two poles, upon which the firmament of sublime virtues and holy exercises turns; First, The practice of mental prayer. Second, The love of the will of God.

There is no solid devotion without the profound and durable Prayer of the heart.-How wretched then in the sight of God is the life of so many persons, both of the Clergy and laity, who live without prayer? If they were truly sensible how impure it is before God, they would die with the horror of it.

To the LOVE OF THE WILL OF GOD are reducible all the pious exercises, whether inward or outward, that are necessary to the fulfilling it, or which we are to practise in obedience to him. It would be a manifest indiscretion to neglect those employments we are bound to follow, in order to have more time for prayer; since true prayer consists in doing the will of God. Would it not then be a capital error, under pretence of praying, really to forsake prayer?

There are six inward exercises, which are as it were the arms and hands, the feet and wings of prayer, by which it reaches to all the actions of our life, to all places, times, persons and employments.

I. Recollection. This is a secret power which withdraws the soul from outward things, to keep it attentive to God within. Happy is he who knows what sacred recollection is! Nothing but experience can teach it. When the soul feels herself powerfully seized by her heavenly Spouse, she is forced to cry out, that his visits are admirable and his perfumes odoriferous.

Keep yourself then recollected, fearing to lose

your

treasure among the creatures.

He who is always dis

sipated, like a house open to all comers and goers, is very unfit for prayer. prayer. He that will never pray but in the hour that calls him to it will never do it well, and will easily lose it: but he that would succeed in this great exercise ought, by continual recollection, to keep himself always ready, and in an actual disposition for praying. To this end it is necessary to love silence, retreat, obscurity, and disengagement from the creatures, in order to be well disposed to be employed of God.

II. The presence of God. God is always present to all things; but all things are not present to him. Seek the Lord while he may be found. Isa. lv. 6. Seek bis face evermore. Ps. cv. 4. Let it be your first thought when you wake; the most frequent all the day long, and the last at night when you go to sleep. When you come out of company, or from business that requires application, immediately seek God in his sanctuary, which is your spirit within you. Isai. xxvi. 9.

If we have not the happiness of acting as the holy Angels, without ceasing to behold the face of God, let us act at least like dutiful and affectionate children, who, after having obeyed their father's orders, return immediately to present themselves before him, to receive new commands from him.

III. The Intention. There are many intentions that are good, as when we propose to serve God for our own advantage, temporal or eternal: but there is only one intention that is perfect. If we aspire after christian perfection, we must disengage ourselves, and forego all that concerns our own interest, to have God alone in view. This is the generous charity;

this is the purity of love. All self-interested motives are imperfect, because in them we seek ourselves.

Walk in the most excellent way, which is that of disinterestedness. Renounce all human respects, all desire of catching the esteem, applause, or favours of the creatures, imprinting deeply upon your mind St. Paul's rule; If I should yet please men, I should not be the servant of Jesus Christ. Gal. i. 10.

IV. Attention is the application of the mind to that which is doing. It ought to be pious and holy in prayer, and in all that regards the service of God, that it may be religiously and duly performed, without distractions, reflections, indiscretion, or any vi olent efforts of the creature.

The holy spirit requires of us this submission to his divine movements in all our inward conduct ; it is for this that he communicates his gifts to us. They then who give up themselves most to him are best qualified to receive his graces, and to deserve the increase of them.

Seek whatever may be an help to recollection, as secrecy and retirement, according to the example which our Lord Jesus Christ has left us, who, when he would pray without disturbance, sent the multitude away, and went up to the mountain alone.

V. Aspirations are the dartings of the soul toward God, by short and fervent words, either to beg some grace of him, or to testify our love to him. These are the daughters of Jerusalem, whom the sacred lover in the Canticles charges, that, if they should be so happy as to arrive at the throne of her Beloved, they would tell him that she is sick of love for him. Cant. v. 8. To these aspirations the heavenly Spouse frequently answers by his inspirations, all glowing with

love; this she also confirms, when she says, My soul melted with love as soon as my Beloved spake to me. Cant. v. 6.

VI. Fidelity. Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life. Rev. ii. 10. It is of infinite importance to be faithful to God, since upon this the crown depends. Now this fidelity consists, first in observing what the will of God is, in order to know it; just as the first duty of a faithful servant is to be very diligent in learning his master's will. Second in readily performing the will of God when known, as well in little things as great, and indeed in every thing; which is the second part of fidoy in a good servant : for, according to the oracle of truth, He that is faithful in that which is least, is faithful also in much; and be that is unjust in the least, is unjust also in much. Faithful souls are as careful to avoid little faults as great crimes, and imperfections as sins; because they would not offend or displease their Beloved.

Another important duty of fidelity is, to keep exactly the laws of divine friendship. These sacred laws are three principal ones; sovereignty, chastity and generosity. (1.) By the sovereignty of love, we are to love nothing so much as God. The faithful lover sacrifices without reserve not only himself and all that depends upon him, but also all creatures to the interests of his God. (2.) By the chastity of love we are to love God without reserve, without mixture, without disguise. There would be a reserve if we did not deny ourselves, and all things for the love of God. There would be a mixture if we sought our own advantage in his service. There would be disguise if we protested that we loved God with all our hearts, and yet would displease or resist him, in any thing,

(3.) By the generosity of love, the friend of God is always ready to do any thing, to suffer any thing, and to lose any thing rather than be wanting to his friendship. It is in this that love ought to be stronger than death. Cant. viii. 6.

The first degree of divine Love is that it be true; the second that it be strong; the third that it be pure. One great point of the generosity of divine love is to be faithful to the cross; that is, never to refuse it, of what nature soever it is; never to complain of its rigours; not to desire to be freed from it not to seek human comforts: but to bear with an humble resignation the absence of divine consolations, begging only the grace to bear it with an entire fidelity.

A holy and enlightened person has written in these terms, "The soul remaining in its disorderly will is imperfect; it becomes perfect in proportion as it approaches nearer to the will of God. When a man is herein advanced so far that he cannot in any thing depart from the divine will, he then becomes wholly perfect, united with, and transformed into the divine nature."

As for you my dear Brother, who aspire after perfection, never act from nature, not even in things which seem permitted; because this is by no means allowable by the laws of pure love, which never seeketh her own interest. 1 Cor. xiii. 5. Whatever is not done purely for God, must pass the fiery trial mentioned by the Apostle. 1 Cor. iii. 13. in every thing by grace, that is, to please contribute to his glory, and to live after his spirit in a perfect manner.

Act then
God, to

Mortification, according to St. Paul's rule, is the proper exercise of the spiritual life. See Rom. 8. 13.