The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1870-06-19
NUMBER 20.

NUMBER 20.
kingn 10 dishonored whom publicity e given
to 10, and it 10 NO longer An element q easnsst-
ness, . source of fortitude within tho soul.
Tho more we live before tho world, the lses We
ment is to Us, the lees 10 Gods. Theirs % no
more privacy now. Men live In the streets
and squares, beoause they are panionately
lioity il loss Of power. spirituaiitv g Ike
steam. II is mighty when it IL imprisonsd.
Every thing now must DO run up, there is no
se to oag are nd
bold moves, and simultaneous comprehensive
achievements. And all these thinsS arc t.
contradictories of the spiritual life.
ing thing. But, when Ne have read many
hundreds of saints lives, we begin to SEQ .
great deal which We mover saw before.s We
learn q wisdom from them which NO single
saints drop out of sight. We see them as q
whole, as class, as Q species. We sec what is
common to them all, and what isthe founda-
more Importance to as than their individual
examples. 1t also leads us much deeper. 1t is
getting another sight Of God from q fresh point
es% ike is the e os Of
Summa of theology. What want to do is to
many spiritual characteristics Of the saints.
are exceptions, exceptions which rise to
verybody's thoughts. But they arc 90
few, that they barely suffice to prove the rule.
saints did few things. Be sure Of the truth Of
this before you grant it, for you will find fhat
n great many thiDgs follow from it. What
assert then, 10 that the saints, as GLASS, did
few things. Their lives were by no means
crammed with works, even works Of marcy.
They made point Of keeping considerable
reserves Of time for themselves and fnr the
u<reA4 ~ns,
far more contemplstive than we in these days
are inclined to suspect. They were men who
were not overhiddsn by publicity. They were
enmbsr and remarkably simple in method.
On the whole, their lives eeem very empty Of
facts disappointingly empty. am slmost
afraid TO pass ON to anything elses lest you
a. =! should wish. 1t will take you years &c
realize tho Importance Of it.
"The lives Of the saints often inpocently do
which are modelled on the process Of canonisa-
tion. chapter on . saints heroic charity
viii, perhaps, cvcrwhelm NJ by its crowded
msnts, ssincompstibie oiioes, supsrhamsn
activities, and the like. We forget Il repre-
sents atty or sixty Year,, Of twelve mouths
each. Bnt We turn 70 the chapter on the
five hoars q day In prayer, or seven, % suafez
did, or ten, a. St. Francis Borgia did then we
500 that, even without giving the saint any
time in the day for as much activity q
modern life demands Of most OF ms. Check
she chaptor ON charity by tho chapter on
prayer, and you will get some notable RESULTS
"But / proceed. Many saints have bean
made saints by. ono thing, as says Belfecfo:
The sanctity Of many has been contaminated
ut its very beginning. TO. these, conversion
has been the same shing as perseverance,. We
too much given to swallowing our graces
without chewing them. We are too quick
We do not develop them. Full half of our
lukewarmness comes from impetuosity and
precipitation, from human activity, and q,
want of slowness before Cod
The saints as o body, do few things. Some
saints have been made saints by one thing.
One communion 10 enough to make y saint.
Those are specimens of the hidden wisdom Of
the saints. What it comes to 10 that the only
important thing In good works is the amount
of love which we put into them. The soul OF
an action Is its motive, the power Of an action
is neither in its size nor In ite daration though
both those are very considerable n1atters.
But it's power 10 In its intention. An inttnti0n
is pure in proportion as It 10 loving Thus,
you zee, what wo we want 10 not many actions,
but great momentum in few actions. IL
we could give an equally great momentum to
great number of actions, % much the better.
But the fact 10 that we cannot. Actions trip
each other mp when they are crowded. No ONE
very little mss Of his legs. Devotions
even prey upon each other, cas- each other up,
and then lie dormant bec61go they are goTEc0s
In good deode we cannot unite number and
momentum. We must choose between the ewcs
and there can be NO hesitation In our choice
There 10 NO doubt, then, that The principie-
Of numbers mast 60 to the wall. We make our
election Of momentum. Momentum 10 parity
Of intention, purity of intention is love- love
is power. The saints threw immenee efforts
into the least actions, they concentrated every
thing upon their intention, they hung moro
energetic inward life into what they dad To
begin, therefore, to follow the sainte We must
repudiate the additi0n-theory. The saints
were men who did less than ether people, but
who did what they had to do q thousand times
better. 1t is q great grace that our one special
graces should not be interfered with. Spiritual
mixtures are confessions. Who are the blind
men in the spiritual life, but the oyerladen
with good works, the oppressed with piOus
practices, the Overworked with devotion, the
overdriyen by activitiesf We must cake ro-
fnge IN simplicity or unity. All good comes
from It aud must return to IL, OEaRt9 sspt uzssa,
respOHddt ct omnibus sRHm: Oh how teemf1l is
the grand unityP
When the aged aud venerable Sage had
ceased to speak, the wistful assembly seemed
still to lieeen, motiOnless, as IL spell-hcaud,
loath to retire and return 20 the cypr1zH-Girs
city, where the very ais is tainted with god
lessness.