us to pray for one another, we are to say our Father, and not my Father. AFFECTIONS and RESOLUTIONS. POINT II. First Petition of the Paternoster. CONSIDERATION. 'Hallowed be Thy name.' By the name of God we mean all His attributes, and we ask that they may be known, served, and glorified by all men (Cat. de Mal., sec. 27). The first petition of the Paternoster reminds us of the end of our creation, and our first duty-that of sanctifying or glorifying God in ourselves, and as much as we can in others. But as we are incapable of it by our own strength, we earnestly ask for grace for ourselves and for all men: saying these words, Hallowed be Thy name.' And thus, by seeking before all other things the glory of our Heavenly Father, we are bringing about our own salvation. APPLICATION. What sort of efforts do we make, and with what success, that our Heavenly Father may be sanctified and glorified, first in ourselves, by purity of conscience, according to St. Paul's words, 'Sanctify the Lord in your hearts, having a good conscience;' then by our brethren, by our regularity, our modesty, our conversations, our zeal, in such a way as to force them, in a manner to glorify God, the only Author of all that is good and edifying in us, 'that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father, who is in heaven? AFFECTIONS and RESOLUTIONS. POINT III. Second Petition. CONSIDERATION. 'Thy kingdom come.' We are not asking by these words that God may reign over creation, for that He has done from the beginning; but we ask that He may reign over the hearts of men, so that they may all submit of their own free will to His holy laws. We beg also that our Heavenly Father will hasten the day when, all reunited together round His throne, we shall reign eternally with Him in heaven. APPLICATION. We ought to unite action with prayer, and try before all things to live as worthy children of our Heavenly Father, that He may reign over our minds and hearts; that all our thoughts, words, and actions may be ruled according to His holy will; and we should endeavour to let God reign over others by all the direct or indirect means in our power. And we have so many! Let us see in what way we can improve upon the past. COLLOQUY with our Father who is in heaven. JULY 17. SERMON ON THE MOUNTAIN: THE LORD'S PRAYER Preludes as in the preceding Meditation. POINT I. Third Petition of the Paternoster. CONSIDERATION. Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.' Our Lord means us to ask for what is more perfect and more glorious to His Heavenly Father than the simple fulfilment of His will or of His commandments-i.e., that His most holy will may be done in us as perfectly as it is by the angels and saints in heaven; that at least we should feel an ardent desire of approaching this perfection; and that we should incessantly beg for the grace of which we stand in need. APPLICATION. By our religious profession we are bound, more than the generality of the faithful, to tend towards this perfection, and it is much easier for us than they to approach more nearly to it; for, first, the good pleasure of God as to all the details of life is clearly manifested to us by our rule, and in case of doubt by our superiors, the interpreters of the will of God; secondly, the assurance that we are doing what is most agreeable to God, the good example of our brethren, and the grace of our state make the execution of it easier, sweeter, and doubly meritorious. Happy and glorious is our lot! It ought to convince us that it bears a close resemblance with that of the blessed in Paradise. AFFECTIONS and RESOLUTIONS. POINT II. Fourth Petition, CONSIDERATION. Our Lord, after having taught us how we ought first to seek the glory of our Heavenly Father, teaches us what we should ask for ourselves : Give us this day our daily bread.' 'Our bread,' all that is necessary to sustain our corporal life, and also the food for our spiritual life; 'daily,' to remind us that, whether rich or poor, we stand in continual need of help from our Heavenly Father; this day' to teach us that we should renew our prayer daily, lean upon God's providence, and not disquiet ourselves about the future. APPLICATION. Recall to your mind, one by one, all the years of your life, especially those you have passed in religion, and see with what liberality, or rather prodigality, your Father who is in heaven has provided for all your wants. What gratitude have you shown for them? If a superfluity has been given to you, have you not abused it, or only made it the means of satisfying your irregular appetites? AFFECTIONS and RESOLUTIONS. POINT III. Fifth Petition. CONSIDERATION. 'Forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors.' We now humbly beg our Father in heaven to forgive us our sins, and the punishment due to them. Our Lord promises that His Father will grant our request, but on condition that on our side we will pardon those who have offended us. If you will forgive men their offences,' He said, 'your Heavenly Father will forgive you also your offences; but if you will not forgive men, neither will your Father forgive you your offences;' and therefore He added these words to the fifth petition, 'as we also forgive our debtors.' APPLICATION. Every day we say the words, 'Forgive us our trespasses; but, alas, they bear little fruit, because they are said with very little or no compunction. Neither recollected nor interior, we do not see the faults which we commit daily, and we do not weigh them with the weights of the sanctuary,' as the Saints did, who confessed every day with tears and groans. Let us weep as they did at our Father's feet, and He will remit them and forget them if we will stifle that feeling of anger which rises even involuntarily in our hearts against those who have offended us. Do you do this? COLLOQUY with cur Father who is in heaven. JULY 18. SERMON ON THE MOUNTAIN: THE LORD'S PRAYER. POINT I. Sixth Petition. CONSIDERATION. And do not allow us to yield to temptation such is the sense or interpretation of the words, And lead us not into temptation;' it is evident that the word 'lead' does not mean 'draw' or 'impel.' God could not draw or impel us into the snares laid to tempt us to sin. The impulse to sin, or temptation, as it is called, comes from the devil, the world, and our corrupt nature. We bear about the germ of it within us ; how can we, then, be ever free from temptation? Consequently, when we say 'Lead us not into temptation,' we are not asking to be exempted from temptation, but begging and entreating our Father to make allowance for our weakness, to turn away from us hurtful temptations, to show us the snares of the devil, to remind us in time of need of the eternal truths, finally, to give us superabundant graces, not only that we may not yield to temptation, but that they may be turned to our spiritual advancement; as it is written, God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that which you are able, but will make also with temptation issue, that you may be able to bear it.' APPLICATION. This is what we ask of God; but what does He ask from us, so that our prayers may infallibly be granted? He asks that we distrust ourselves, that we fly from the common causes of temptation, the occasions of sin; that we do not delay to pray in temptation; and if it is an obstinate one, that we make it known to our spiritual father, resolved to follow his advice faithfully, that we may avoid all delusion. AFFECTIONS and RESOLUTIONS. POINT II. Seventh Petition. CONSIDERATION. 'But deliver us from evil.' By this petition, as by the preceding ones, we ask for many things in a few words; to be preserved from all evil or temporal misfortune, sicknesses, war, famine, reverses of fortune, persecutions, calumnies, defamation, &c.; we ask to be preserved from falling into mortal sinan evil infinitely greater than all imaginable temporal misfortunes, an evil in God's sight, the greatest evil that can befall man ; we asked to be preserved or raised out of the habit of mortal sin; but above all things, to be preserved from dying in mortal sin, that evil without hope and without remedy-from eternal damnation. APPLICATION. We should ask to be preserved from some of these evils conditionally only, so far as is good for our greatest interest-eternal salvation. Some temporals evils, borne with patience and resignation, purify and sanctify us; they are a supernatural blessing. But how often it happens that we make them an occasion of impatience or discouragement, or murmuring against Providence! In saying 'Deliver us from evil,' we ask |