Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-10-22
Christ Our Exenlplar.

yth of st. Stephens Roman Catholic Church.
he may hold in his own or in other peoples
eyes, lacks, after all. real greatness Of SOUL
great soul is known by it's enlarged SYM
pathies. True elevation of mind does not
take being out of the circle of those less
gives them advantages for closer attach
ment and conformity to him.
Now there is nothing worth the while that
is either above or below Christ. No one
exemplified the solidarity of our race did
He. He made that solidarity a fact. He
became ours that He might make us His.
No extremes are found in His character
such as often confront and terrify us in the
lives of the saints.
Nothing could be more beautifully con-
sistent than his character. What forms It's
principal and distinguishing popularity IS
the wonderful manner in which traits OF
tine most opposite nature blend together sc
as to make a perfect and consistent whole
In Him We have an independence that
makes Him superior to the whole world,
yet humility that subjects Him to its
me anest inhabitants; an intrepid firmness
in reproof and a nervous eloquence in con-
Gemnng which brushes the most daring,
yet a sweetness and a gentleness in m
structing which wins and encourages the
timid and the prejudiced; fortitude which
could support the most eXcruciating tor
oh
the slightest expression of triumph. There
is not one passage in His whole life which
refuses to harmonic with the rest. There
is no apparent shade in His character
mich does not beautifully mingle with its
brightest colors Hence there is not sim
gle transaction of our Lord upon earth
that cannot be dwet upon with great spir-
itual profit by the earnest Christian soul
His every action furnishes a lesson of con-
duct
This task of reproducing the character
of Christ is a most difficult one. But we
must remember that a noble character .
a great production-a better production
than the grandest statues-a glorious thing
TO look at--a wonderful thing to talk to-
but you cannot have it any more than you
can have pyramid, or church, or beau
tiful statue, but by the sacrifice of much
contributed life. The process, too, is long
one. Who will wonder at this when we
recall that time is but the cradle of eter-
nifty that character is to last forever, and
founda lions, which are to bear the weight
of an eternal life, must be firmly and Sc
curely laid The method is exceedingly SIM
pie. All true companionship Is Spiritual.
What 1 love in my friend is not what !
see; what influences me is not his body,
but his spirit.
Try to spend as much time in His com
pany as possible. He Is your model, and
or Him must the eyes of your soul be
fixed. Once we grasp this idea of our life
prayer religious exercises, temptations.
trials, sickness and sorrow assume a po-
sition in an ordered system. They are the
instruments for chiseling in our soul Thu
Christ-like character Their office Is moth
ing more nor less than to place and keep
the soul where the spiritual forces can best
play upon it. Their work is to rally the
forces of the will-to uncover the face that
is to look at Christ and to draw the veil
when unhalowed sights are near. To await
this growing of the soul is-a-divine act OF
faith
How pardonable, surely, this Impotence
OF deformity with itself of a conspicuously
ytarning and wanting to be like that But
by patience and perseverance the glorious
contamination shall one day be achieved
We shall be transformed into the SANE
image. We shall become like Him whom
We have loved.
the pedantic alteration which it was nro