The world in which we live is the temple of God. The earth, with all its thousands of flowers, forms the carpeted floor. The blue sky above, with its millions of twinkling stars, is the Vaulted dome. God created this temple for man, in order that man might worship Him therein as the Lord of heaven and earth, and do His holy will in all things. God will preserve this temple as long as men are faithful to Him. But this temple is of no use as soon as man ceases to worship God, and refuses to obey Him. About four thousand years ago all men, except Noe and his family, had fallen away from God; God then drowned the world in the universal deluge. A time will come when all men, with the exception of a small number, will abandon God and follow their evil inclinations. It is then that God will destroy the world as a useless building. But when will that destruction take place? We know, for certain, that "heaven and earth shall pass . . . . But of that day and hour no one knoweth, no, not the angels, but the Father alone." (Matt, xxiv, 36.) When God intends to do something extraordinary, He generally prepares men for it by revealing to them beforehand what He is about to do. Thus we know that, when He intended to destroy the world by the deluge, He made it known through Noe a hundred years before this dreadful event took place. Again, when the Son of God had become man, and was about to make Himself known as the Redeemer of the world, He sent St. John the Baptist to prepare the people for His coming. When He intended to destroy Jerusalem, He foretold its destruction, by the prophets.

Jesus Christ has also described the signs by which men may know when the end of the world is at hand. God acts thus with men, because He does not wish to overwhelm them by His strange and wonderful dealings. One of those signs which will precede the end of the world is the universal apostasy from the faith and from the obedience to the pope, into which, according to St. Paul, Christians will fall. (1 Tim. iv, 1; 2 Thess. ii, 3.) Another sign will be the coming of Antichrist, who will come during that great apostasy from the faith. Another sign will be the coming of Henoch and Elias, who are still alive. They will come at the time of Antichrist to preach to the faithful, especially to the Jews, to convert them. As apostasy from the faith is daily becoming more and more general, there can be no doubt that the end of the world is approaching very fast. Let us always bear in mind that, if we are not fervent Catholics, we occupy this world in vain; and God will cast us out of it into hell, as He cast the rebellious angels out of heaven into everlasting torments.

We have seen that God in the beginning created the crude mass out of which He formed, in six days, heaven and earth. Whatever, in those six days of creation, was ordered by His all-powerful will to take place, was ordered at the same time, and by the same act of His will, to continue so to the end of time. When He ordered light to separate from the darkness, He willed, at the same time, that night and day should continue their constant succession to the end of time. When He ordered the waters to gather together in their allotted place, He willed, at the same time, that they should stay there to the end of time. When He commanded the earth to be clad with verdure, and the trees to bring forth fruit, He willed, at the same time, that this should be so to the end of the world; and every creature forthwith acted in obedience to the divine summons, the promptness and fulness of which obedience will be seen to the end of the world.

Behold, God commanded the sea not to overflow its bounds; and it has ever since reverently kept itself within the limits marked out by its Creator! God commanded the sun, the moon, and the stars to rise and set regularly, and keep in their path; and they have ever since done so. God commanded the earth to produce every variety of trees and plants, and every kind of fruit and grain; and the earth has ever since continued to do so. It is, then, by that same powerful act of God's will by which the world was drawn from nothing into existence, that it has continued and will continue to exist to the end of time. "God," says St. Paul, "upholds all things by the word of His power." (Heb. i, 3.) "And God saw all the things that He had made, and they were very good" (Gen. i, 34),--so good as to remain good to the end of time.

God governs the material world, and all irrational creatures, according to the laws of His omnipotence and wisdom; but He governs all rational creatures according to the laws of His goodness and justice.


God created the world, and, in order to preserve and govern it, He has placed in nature certain powers, He has laid down certain laws. All irrational creatures obey these laws of God's wisdom and power, and it is thus that God governs them, according to what the Wise Man says: "God, with a certain law and compass, enclosed the depth; He compassed the sea with its bounds, and set a law to the waters, that they should not pass their limits." (Prov. viii, 27-30.)

But as to all rational creatures,--angels and men, God wishes to govern them by the laws of His goodness and justice. The law of God's goodness for man is that man shall always glorify God by doing His holy will, and thus become, as it were, one with God, by partaking of His perfections, of His peace, and of His joy here below, and far more so in heaven. The law of God's justice for man is, that, if man refuses to do God's will on earth, he shall, for all eternity, be subjected to the torments which God's justice has decreed for all rebellious creatures. Man, then, being endowed as he is with free will, is left free to make a right use of the noble gift of his liberty, or to abuse it--to lift up his head and say, "I will not serve," I will not render obedience to the commands of the Most High. He, therefore, who shall not glorify in heaven God's infinite goodness bestowed on the good use of the free will, shall glorify God's infinite justice in hell, merited by the abuse of this same free will. "All irrational creatures," says St. Jerome, "show a sense of their Maker, by ever holding themselves in readiness to obey the laws and commands of God; for, though many of them be wanting in life and feeling, they still have an instinct which impels them to do the will of him who made them.'' (Lib. i, in cap. viii, Matt.) Man alone, gifted with reason, can be found to show more want of reason than beings which are deprived of reason and feeling, by withdrawing from submission to God's holy will. What monstrosity can ever equal this? "See, then," exclaims St. Paul, "the goodness and the severity of God: towards them, indeed, that are fallen, the severity; but towards thee, the goodness of God, if thou abide in goodness." (Rom. xi, 22.)

All things that happen in this world, except sin, happen by the order and will of God. God is neither the cause nor the author of sin; for, as it is against the nature of fire to cool, and of light to darken, so, also, it is far more repugnant to the infinite holiness and goodness of God to love evil, or to be the cause of it. "Thy eyes are pure, O Lord!" says the Prophet Habacuc ; "thou canst not look upon evils, nor behold iniquity." (i, 13.) To express our aversion for a thing, we say, "I cannot bear the sight of it." In like manner, to express the great horror which God has of iniquity, the prophet says, God cannot bear the sight of it. Holy Scripture speaks, in innumerable places, of the hatred which God bears to sin. It is, then, of faith that God is neither the cause nor the author of sin. But God permits moral evil--that is, disobedience, injustice; in a word, sin. Having created man a free agent, He will not prevent him from exercising the privileges of free will.

But, sin alone excepted, all other things, such as sickness, pains, afflictions, misfortunes, etc., happen by the order and will of God. This is an undeniable truth. What the pagans believe about chance is but a mere chimera or impossibility. Chance, or fortune, never bestows upon us those goods which are commonly called the goods of fortune; it is God alone who distributes them. The Holy Ghost teaches us this truth by the Wise Man, who says: "Good things and evil, life and death, poverty and riches, are from God." (Ecclus. xi, 14.) He has ordained and regulated all things from all eternity. He has taken an account of every hair of our head, and not one of them shall fall to the ground without His will. "Are not two sparrows," says Jesus Christ, "sold for a farthing? And not one of them falls to the ground without the permission of your heavenly Father." (Matt, x, 19.)

In regard to God, there is no such thing as chance. It is by the very will of God that all those things are regulated in which chance seems to have a share. "They draw lots," says the Wise Man, "but it is by God that they are directed." (Prov. xvi, 33.) Let us never imagine that anything happens by chance; what seems most of all to depend upon chance is an effect of His unalterable will, which adjusts all things for his wise purposes. "The lot fell upon Matthias" (Acts i, 26), says St. Luke: without doubt it was not by chance that the lot fell on him, but by a particular disposition of divine Providence, which, from all eternity, had destined Matthias for an apostle, and made use of lots in his election to the apostleship.

A man once sent two servants by different roads, wishing them to meet each other. When they met they thought it was accidental or by chance, but it was not chance to the man who sent them. So it is precisely the same in things which seem to us to happen here below by chance. In regard to ourselves, who see things happen contrary to our expectation, and without ever having so much as thought of them, it is an effect of chance. But, in regard to God, it is an execution of His eternal decrees for purposes which are known to Him alone.

What we have just said, namely, that all misfortunes and sufferings come from God, is a truth so firmly supported by the authority of Holy Scripture that it would be useless to dwell on it any longer, if the devil, by his vain subtleties, did not endeavor to obscure it, and render it doubtful. For, from the truth, that God is neither the cause nor the author of sin, he draws a false conclusion, making some believe that the evils which happen by natural causes, or come from irrational creatures, such as sickness, hunger, thirst, heat and cold, come, indeed, from God, because the causes from which they proceed are incapable of sin; but that the evils which happen by means of man, such as robberies, slanders, maltreatment, etc., do not come from God, but proceed only from the malice of man. This opinion is a very dangerous error. To do away with it, we must remember that in every sinful action two things occur, namely: the exterior action and the malice of the will. God is the cause and author of the exterior action itself, because the life and strength required to perform it are from God: but man alone is the cause and author of the malice of his will, which induces him to do what God has forbidden.

To illustrate:--There is a certain man. He kills his neighbor in a duel. To kill him, he must have a sword in his hand; he must lift up and stretch out his arm, and perform several other natural motions which may be considered in themselves, and are quite distinct from that malicious will which caused him to kill his fellow-being. God is the cause of the physical motions; he produces them, as he produces all other effects which proceed from irrational creatures: for, as they cannot move themselves or act without God, so neither can man, without God's help, move his arms, or put his hand to the sword. Besides, there is nothing in this kind of natural actions or motions that is bad; for, were a man to make use of them either for his own defense, or in a just war, or were he, as a minister of justice, to kill another, he would undoubtedly commit no sin whatever. But what makes the action sinful is the malice of the will which induces him to commit the murder, which, it is true, God might prevent, but does not prevent, but permits it by a secret judgment of His providence. So that we say, in truth, that God neither is nor can be the cause or the author of the crime. But as to all other evils, whether they proceed from natural causes and irrational creatures, or whether they come from men or from any other source whatsoever, we must believe for certain that they come from God, and happen to us by the decrees of his divine wisdom. It is God who moves the hand of him who strikes us; it is God who moves the tongue of our neighbor who gives us injurious language. "There is no evil in the city," says the Prophet Amos, "which the Lord hath not done." (Amos iii, 1.)

When God speaks in Holy Scripture of the chastisements which he intended to inflict upon David for his crimes, He makes himself the author of all those evils which were to come upon him by means of his son Absalom. "It shall be," says He, "from your own family that I shall raise up evil upon you. I will take away your wives before your face, and will deliver them up to your neighbors. You have sinned in private; but I will accomplish what I have said in the presence of all the people of Israel, and in the sight of the sun." (2 Kings xii.) It is for this reason that impious kings and emperors who inflict so many cruelties upon the people of God, are termed in Holy Scripture the instruments of divine justice. As God often makes use of the devil to try the faithfulness of his servants, or to chastise men for their sins, as we see in the history of Job and of King Saul, so, also, can he make use of wicked men to try our virtue, or to punish us for our sins.

"My servants," said our Lord to St. Catharine of Sienna, "by persevering in the consideration that all things which happen and which they endure proceed from me, and not from their neighbor, feel animated with unconquerable patience, which baffles every attack; so that they suffer everything, not only with a tranquil mind, but also with a cheerful heart, because in all things, whether exterior or interior, they taste the sweetness of my unspeakable love. To believe and to consider that I order all things sweetly, and that everything proceeds from the profound source of my love, is to give true honor to my goodness."

God permits the evils of this world to manifest His wisdom, by drawing good from evil. We will illustrate this great and consoling truth by a few examples. God permitted the fall of our first parents, which is the source of all the evils of this world. Now, what good has the wisdom of God drawn from this great evil? Wishing to repair the fault of our first parents, the wisdom of God invented, and the power of God accomplished, two of the greatest works that He could invent and accomplish, namely: the incarnation of Christ, and the maternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. St. Thomas Aquinas asks whether God can make creatures which surpass in perfection those already created : and he answers, he can, except the incarnation of Christ and the maternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In other words, God can create numberless worlds, all different from one another in beauty; but He cannot make anything greater than the works of the incarnation of Christ and of the maternity of the Blessed Virgin. Why can he not? Because God Himself is most intimately united to each of these works, and is their object. Most assuredly, there is nothing greater than God.

Hence there cannot be a work greater than any of these works with which His divinity is so intimately united. As there can be no man more perfect than Christ, because He is the man-God, so, also, no mother can be made more perfect than the Mother of God. These works are, in a certain sense, of infinite dignity, on account of being so intimately united to God, the infinite good. There cannot, then, be anything better, greater or more perfect, than the works of the incarnation of the Son of God and of the maternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, because there cannot be anything better or greater than God Himself. Now, had our first parents remained innocent, the Son of God would not have become man for us, and, consequently, we would have no Mother of God, and the Lord of heaven and earth would not dwell with us a man-God in the blessed sacrament. Hence it is that the Church exclaims: "Happy fault of our first parents, on account of which we have received so great a Redeemer!" So that, "where sin abounded, grace did more abound." (Rom. v, 20.)

Another instance to show how God knows to draw good from evil is the following:--The Patriarch Jacob had twelve sons. One of them, called Joseph, was a very good son. One day, he told his father of some very wicked thing that his brothers had done. They were very angry, because Joseph had done his duty in informing against them. They said they would take revenge on him. One day, when they were minding the sheep in the country, Joseph came to see them. When they saw Joseph coming, they said to one another: Let us kill him. While they were thinking of killing him, some merchants happened to pass by. So they thought they would sell their brother Joseph to the merchants. Joseph cried and sobbed, and asked them to have pity on him, and not to sell him. But they had no pity for their brother. They sold him to the merchants for twenty pieces of silver. The merchants carried Joseph far away, into the land of Egypt.

Now, let us see what good the wisdom of God drew from the crime of Joseph's brothers. Some years had passed, and a frightful famine had come over the land where Joseph's father and brothers were living. There was no bread to eat. On hearing that corn was sold in Egypt, they took sacks and went there to buy it. Having come into Egypt, they went to the house of the ruler, because all the corn belonged to him. There they found that the ruler was their own brother, Joseph, whom they had sold. Joseph cried through joy to see his brothers again. He gave them plenty of corn. He told them not to be afraid for having sold him, because it had been God's will that he should be sold to go into Egypt, to provide corn for them during the famine. So the good which God drew from the crime of Joseph's brothers was to save Joseph and his father and brothers from dying of hanger in the famine.

There are many saints in heaven. Some of these led, for some time, very sinful lives on earth. After their conversion, they began to love God, to labor for His glory, and the salvation of souls, far more than many an innocent soul ever did. Why? Because, when they reflected on the goodness of God which had kept them out of hell and waited for their conversion, they felt so much touched and overcome by this divine mercy, that they were ready to take upon themselves every hardship and cross in order to please Him. Their sins were so many tongues which God used to tell them how ardently they should love Him; they were so many incentives by which God spurred them on to pass through every difficulty and labor for His sake; they were so many weights by which God kept them humble and despicable in their own eyes; they were so many reasons which God used to make them kind, affable, charitable, and indulgent towards other poor sinners. Witness the good thief on the cross; witness St. Peter, St. Paul, St. Augustine, St. Margaret of Cortona, and many other saints. How true, therefore, is what our Lord said to St. Catharine of Sienna! "I wish," He said to this saint, "that you should often meditate upon me, your God, whose wisdom and knowledge are infinite;--who see and penetrate everything at a glance; who cannot be deceived, nor disturbed by any error; who govern you, and, at the same time, heaven and earth, because I am God, the most wise Being. And in order that you may understand something of the effects of this wisdom of mine, you must remember that, from the evil of guilt and punishment, I can draw a good which by far surpasses the extent of the evil itself." Let us see now what good God draws for us from those trials which we also call evils, but which, viewed in the light of faith, prove rather to be true blessings.

First. The trials which God inflicts on us in this life are often designed to be the means of temporal prosperity. Joseph was sold as a wretched slave, by his brothers, to the Ishmaelites. Loaded with chains in a dark dungeon, he bewailed his hard fate. Who could have imagined that the ignominy of chains and the disgrace of slavery were destined to be the means of leading Joseph to the throne, and of obtaining for him the viceroyalty of Egypt? Yet, so it was. Whilst no one thought of it, God, in His wisdom, was secretly preparing to turn the shame of a prison into the glory of the highest honors.

Saul lost his beasts of burden, and taking the loss for a great misfortune, full of anxiety, he scoured the plains, climbed the hills, traversed the forests, in quest of his beasts. Who would have divined that, on that very day, Saul was to find the royal crown and throne of Israel, instead of a few worthless animals? Yet, so it was. God, who foresaw it, was making ready to compensate the loss with the gain of a kingdom.

Secondly. As, in the bitter medicines which the doctor gives, there is health, so, in the misfortunes which God sends us, there are blessings. The greatest blessings come in the shape of the greatest misfortunes. One day, there was great crying in the town of Bethlehem. A great number of poor babes had been killed. A cruel king, called Herod, wanted to kill the Infant Jesus, but he did not know which of the babes was the intended victim. So he commanded the soldiers to kill all the babes. Then there was great weeping and lamentation in Bethlehem. The mothers would not be consoled, because their children had been killed. But, as I have said, in the misfortunes which God sends, there is a blessing. Those mothers were very sorrowful when they saw their infants dead, for they knew not that death was a blessing for their little ones. Because they died for the sake of the Infant Jesus, they are happy forever with Him in heaven.

St. Francis of Sales was in a town called Ancona. He wanted to sail across the sea to Venice. Seeing a boat, he went to the captain and paid the price of a place in the boat. Then he went on board and sat down, waiting for the boat to set off. While he was sitting there, a person came and told him that he could not have a place, because all the boat had been hired by some one else. Francis begged that he might be allowed to stay, because he would take up very little room, and he was in a great hurry to go. However, he was not listened to. So he was obliged to take his things and go out of the boat. He thought it a great misfortune that he had lost such a good opportunity of going on his journey. He stood for a while on the land, watching the boat set off. A fine wind filled the sails, and carried the boat quickly over the water. The sun was bright, and the weather calm. But, when the boat was far out at sea, the weather began to change. Dark clouds covered the sky, the thunders roared and the lightnings flashed around the boat. It was tossed about by fierce winds. For a while the sailors struggled against the storm. But the waves of the sea dashed over them. At last, St. Francis saw the boat sink down into the sea. Everybody in the boat was drowned. St. Francis then saw that the loss of his place in the boat was a great blessing. If he had been in it, he would have been drowned. He learned ever afterwards to believe that the losses and sufferings which God sent him were for his greater good.

It is a particular instance of the goodness of God to ordain that, by sufferings, we should expiate our sins. The Holy Ghost Himself assures us of it, and instructs us that the day of tribulation is, in a special manner, and preeminently, the day of forgiveness: "In the time of tribulation, thou forgivest the sins of them that call upon Thee." (Tob. iii, 13.) In the order of divine justice our sins deserve punishment; sooner or later we must undergo it, either as penitents in this life, or as reprobates in the next; but, with this dreadful difference, that the punishments of this life are short and meritorious, and those of the other everlasting and fruitless. Is not this a great advantage, cheaply bought at the cost of a trifling evil? What? An eternity of frightful torments reduced to some passing affliction! The dreadful scourges of an omnipotent arm which strikes to kill, changed into the temperate strokes of a paternal hand which only chastises to amend! Holy Job was well convinced of this truth, and therefore he begged God not to spare him, but to crush him with the weight of afflictions in this world, rather than make him suffer in the next. (Job. vi, 8.)

God also, by afflictions, increases the virtue of the just, and, consequently, the merit and reward of virtue. We may say that sufferings give occasion to the practice of all virtues. By afflictions faith becomes more lively, hope more strong, charity more ardent; humility, patience, resignation, strike deeper root, and bring forth more abundant fruit. The just man will, perhaps, often ask God to be freed from his sufferings and temptations; but God, jealous of His honor, and of the salvation and sanctification of that soul, will say to it what He said to St. Paul, "Power is perfected in infirmity." (2 Cor. xii, 9.) It is more advantageous for you to bear the weight of your sufferings than to be exempt from them. You will be put to new trials, you will be exposed to new combats. But if you have a new occasion of fighting, you also will have new subjects of merit, of reward, of triumph. You shall engage under my eye; I will be your strength in battle. Arm yourself with courage. More merit is acquired in a quarter of an hour's sufferings, than in several years of consolation.

If we see Job sitting on a dunghill, Joseph loaded with chains in a dungeon, David reviled by Semei,--in a word, if we see a just man suffering, we immediately cry out in astonishment, How unhappy, how much to be pitied is that man! Blind mortals as we are, we call those unhappy who suffer; whilst Jesus Christ says, "Blessed are they that mourn." (Matt, v, 5.) Where is our faith? If God afflicts the just man, it is because He loves him; for, if He loved him less, He would treat him as he does the fortunate men of this world: he would permit him to enjoy the pleasures of this world, to be deluded with the world, to be perverted with the world; and the day would come when He would judge, condemn, and punish him with the world. Sufferings are the mark of the elect. Whoever shall not be stamped with this sacred character shall never enter into that kingdom which Christ gained for us by His sufferings. We are all children of Calvary. It is there that Jesus Christ regenerated us with His blood. This tender, this dying Father left us no other inheritance, at His departure out of this world, than His cross and His grace. Let us accept this precious pledge of His love with a grateful heart; let us preserve it with humility and care. We shall one day gather with joy the undying fruit and reward of it. The saints never felt more happy than when God sent them afflictions. They believed most firmly that, the more they suffered in this life, the greater would be their reward in the next. Hence the martyrs went with the greatest joy to the place of execution, remembering what our dear Lord has said: "Blessed are ye when they shall revile you and persecute you, and speak all that is evil against you untruly, for my sake. Be glad and rejoice, for your reward is very great in heaven." (Matt, v, 11, 12.)

We often meet persons who, weighed down by misery, complain of God, and break out into exclamations like these:--When I cast my eyes on this great world and see all that passes in it, I look for a providence; but it seems to have vanished, its splendor disappears from my eyes. I behold such an unequal distribution of the goods of this world! Some have all things, and others have nothing. Some are born in plenty and roll in riches; others groan in misery, and only feed on the bread of affliction. Some seem to have come into the world to be happy; and others, at their birth, to have had the fatal decree written on their forehead, that nothing shall prosper with them. All, nevertheless, are children of this divine providence. How am I to understand so strange an inequality in their situation? Why is this man a king, and that man a subject? Why is this man endowed with power to command as a master, and that other compelled to serve as a slave? Why, being all children of God, are they not all made equal? And why, being destined to the same end, are they not conducted through the same path?

My good friend, you judge of things according to human appearances. You ask whether this inequality of situation and fortune is the work of providence? Has providence ordained, you say, that some shall be rich, some poor, that some shall be sovereigns, and others subjects--some masters, and others slaves? Suppose there was perfect equality in the fortunes and conditions of men. Tell me, then, how mankind, how civil society, and the union of its members could possibly subsist? Found two cities, one composed of the great and rich, the other entirely of the low and poor. The establishment of the poor, you easily understand, would soon fall to ruin. But would that of the rich have a longer duration? In this equality of rank and fortune, where all are upon the same footing, all equally rich and at their ease, who would take upon himself the painful and laborious, yet necessary, tasks of life, whilst others should be employed only in quiet and honorable, functions? Who, in the quality of a laborer, would water the ground with his sweat, whilst others are reposing in the bosom of luxury and delights? In a town, would you wish all the inhabitants to be without distinction, or all of them to be magistrates endowed with authority? And in the world, shall all be subjects, or all be entrusted with power; or, if no one is appointed to command, and no one is subject, what will the world be but a place of anarchy and confusion?

Hence this inequality of states and conditions, so far from being contrary to providence, is the certain effect of it; and because there is a providence, there must be an inequality of states and conditions. It belonged to God's wisdom, which comprehends all things, to unite men among themselves by the ties of subordination and dependency, to the end that, by the fortunate comforting the unhappy, and by the rich assisting the poor and wretched, the rich and fortunate and the poor should unite their voices in proclaiming the praises of that providence which governs all.

But I hear you say: Suppose this unequal distribution of the goods of the world is necessary among men, should not, then, the just be privileged in preference to the wicked? Why not confide the exercise of power and the possession of the riches to the good, who would make a proper use of them, instead of bestowing them on the wicked who abuse and dishonor their trust?

I answer: If you consider the wisdom of God, you will be forced to acknowledge here again the wise dispositions of God's providence. Why does God refuse earthly goods to the just? It is with a view that they may not cease to be just. In abundance, they would grow haughty and be perverted. God also refuses earthly goods to the just, in order to exercise their virtue and embellish their crown. Job rendered God more honor on a dunghill than the kings of the earth on their thrones. On the other hand, why does God bestow earthly goods on sinners? To show the vanity and nothingness of these goods, and to attract His very enemies by temporal rewards. He also grants these goods to them, in order that they may expiate their sins by using them for good purposes, or that He may thus repay them for the good they do in this life. He rewards their natural virtues with natural recompenses. Thus He formerly bestowed the empire of the world on the Romans, in return for the natural virtues which they practiced.

However, the conduct of God's providence in this point is not always uniform. God does not always refuse earthly goods to the just, lest some should be tempted to imagine that these temporal blessings are not the work of His hand, if He were never to bestow them on his faithful servants. And God does not always grant them to sinners, lest some should be induced to fancy that, in order to become rich, it suffices to be wicked. God's providence disposes otherwise. By a wise moderation which He observes in the distribution of goods, He tries to keep both the good and the bad within proper bounds, and to restrain their desires, under the veil of the impenetrable secrets of His divine providence. Again, do not think that, because Almighty God sometimes allows the wicked a fatal liberty to prosper, he forgives, or even views leniently-their impiety. "The prosperity of the fools," says Solomon, "shall destroy them." He does not say, "destroys them," but "shall destroy" them. Why so? Because the prosperity of the wicked does not always produce immediately disastrous effects. Sometimes the reverse comes after a long delay. Wait patiently. You will see the end of what seems to begin so well. "Almighty God," says Job, "takes pleasure in defeating the machinations of the impious. He brings their counsellors to a foolish end," not to a bad beginning. No; all seems prosperous at first. It is the end which is disastrous. He lets them raise aloft their mighty tower of Babel. But afterwards, in the confusion of their pride, they disperse and are gone.

For want of this reflection, many men wonder at the prosperity of the wicked. Even the prophets themselves address God sometimes with tender reproaches. They appear almost to accuse Him. We are apt to look too much at the beginning of things, and not, like holy David, at the end. Who would have thought that the honors which Aman had received from King Assuerus, and his advancement to the position of the favorite courtier of his sovereign, were destined to conduct him to a shameful death on the gibbet? It is certain, however, that Aman was brought to this pass by his rise to power. God had decreed that the opprobrium of the scaffold should be the end of Aman's ambitious and prosperous career. To what a shameful end did not God bring certain Greek, Roman, German and French emperors, after a prosperous career of a few years! Who would be willing to enjoy their "prosperity," if, with it, he had to accept the reverse? Is there any one stupid enough to envy their short-lived "good-luck"? "The prosperity of fools will destroy them." It is hardly worth while to add more proofs. It is a daily experience that "man shall not be strengthened by wickedness;" and that "the unjust shall be caught in their own snares," because "they who sow iniquity shall reap destruction."

But, permit me, you will say, to speak of my own personal misfortunes, and on the conduct of God's providence relating to particular circumstances in which I find myself placed. I have, it seems to me, omitted nothing to make providence favorable and propitious to me, and yet it appears to withdraw itself from me. I made choice of a state of life, and I have been unfortunate in it; I engaged in different kinds of business, after recommending the success of them in my prayers to Almighty God, and they miscarry. Not one of my enterprises has been successful. If I engage in any affair, it is attended with ill-success. Everything turns against me. My friends abandon me, my enemies persecute me, even God Himself seems to forsake me. Were I not afraid of blaspheming, I would say, Where is providence?

Alas! do you know what the designs of providence are in your regard? Await the time of God's decrees, and, when that time comes, you will see all unravelled before you. The veil will be withdrawn, and providence will justify itself. It is true, if you were to live forever upon earth, and had nothing to hope for beyond it, you would have reason to be distressed and afflicted; but when you reflect that God has not placed you in this world forever; that the earth is only a place of pilgrimage and banishment for you, a dwelling for a while, and a time of trial, after which a new order of things will be disclosed to your eyes, and reward or punishment, according to your deserts, will be administered,--can you, from this point of view, call God's providence in question, as if your labors were to be fruitless, as if your tears were never to cease flowing, as if your virtues and trials were to be without reward? And should you not, on the contrary, say to yourself: ''If there is a providence, things must be so; the traveller must go through the toils of his journey before he can relish the delights of his own home; gold must be cleansed in the fire, to come forth pure and resplendent; the grain must rot in the earth to bring forth a hundred-fold in return; finally, to reap in gladness, we must sow in tears"?

Remember the case of the rich miser in his grand palace, at one time seated before a table covered with exquisite meats, at another time softly reclining on a downy bed, or sauntering through pleasant gardens, followed by crowds of lords. Next, let them turn their gaze on the wretched beggar lying upon the steps of the palace, with. nothing but rags to hide his nakedness; covered with sores; with, no linen to dress his wounds, but forced to allow the very dogs to lick them; without a morsel of bread, and without hope of getting a mouthful from the rich miser. Now, judge of the fate of both, and determine which of the two you would rather be,--the rich man or the beggar. You will at once say, the rich man, because he is happy; not the poor man, who is wretched. Know, then, that you have judged quite wrongly; for this rich man is that unfortunate glutton, whose pleasures and magnificence were so many snares which entrapped him into everlasting ruin. The beggar is that unfortunate Lazarus, whose miseries were like so many golden keys to open to him the gates of heaven. God gave earthly enjoyments to the rich man--partly, to reward him for the occasional good works performed by him, and, partly, to punish him by giving him up to the desires of his heart, and not chastising him as he chastised Lazarus, his true servant. This is evident from the answer which Abraham made to the rich glutton then in hell: "Remember that thou didst receive good things in thy lifetime, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented." (Luke xvi, 25.)

After all, you must know that, in spite of all your endeavors and all your searches, there will always remain impenetrable mysteries in God's providence. If you extend your view beyond certain prescribed limits, always asking in all things the "why" and the "how," then you have reason to fear that the dreadful sentence will be pronounced against you: "He that is a searcher of Majesty shall be overwhelmed by glory." (Prov. xxv, 27.)

In his youth, St. Ephrem (who died as deacon 378) was troubled with doubts concerning divine providence; but God, in His mercy, completely cured him. One day he was sent on an errand, and had to pass through a wood. On his way, he saw the cow of a poor neighbor lying under a shed. Little Ephrem drove off the cow and chased her through the woods, till she was overcome with fatigue. During the night the cow was attacked and devoured by wild beasts. Little Ephrem thought no more of his mischievous sport; but God did not forget it so easily. About a mouth afterwards, Ephrem was again sent on an errand. This time he was obliged to stay over-night with a shepherd. During the night the shepherd indulged a little too freely in strong drink, and, while he slept, a pack of wolves came and killed and scattered the sheep. Next day, Ephrem was arrested by the owner of the sheep, and accused of being in league with a band of robbers, who, it was said, had killed the sheep. Young Ephrem loudly protested his innocence; but it was all of no avail, he was declared guilty, and was cast into a gloomy dungeon. A few days after, two other criminals were confined in the same prison.

Now, one night, whilst Ephrem slept, he had a remarkable vision. An angel, in the shape of a beautiful youth, appeared to him, and asked him why he was detained there. "Oh!" said Ephrem weeping, "for no reason at all. I am perfectly innocent." The beautiful youth smiled, and said : "It is true you are innocent of the charge brought against you: but do you not remember how, some time ago, you chased a poor man's cow, so that it died of exhaustion? Remember, God is patient, but he is just. Your companions in prison are also innocent of the crimes laid to their charge, but ask them if they are not guilty of other crimes." Next morning, Ephrem told his two fellow-prisoners of his vision, and asked them whether they had not committed some other crimes. One of them said: "I am innocent of the murder laid to my charge, but, some time ago, I became guilty in another way. One day, as I was crossing a bridge, I saw two men quarreling violently. At last one of them threw the other into the river. The drowning man cried piteously for help; I could have assisted him, but I neglected to do so, and so at last the poor man was drowned. I see that God is now punishing me for this sin." The other prisoner said: "I am entirely innocent of the crime of adultery of which I am accused, but, two years ago, I became guilty of another very grievous sin. I knew two brothers, whose parents, when dying, had divided the property between them and their only sister. Now, these unnatural brothers wished to disinherit their sister. They therefore accused her falsely of having lost her virtue. They gave me fifty pieces of silver, on condition that I would also swear against her. Though I knew that she was innocent, I perjured myself, and swore that she was guilty. God is now punishing me for this detestable crime." Next day, these two prisoners were put to the torture: they continued to protest their innocence, and were finally set at liberty. Ephrem witnessed these tortures, and now he had to remain for forty days more, all alone, in prison.

At the end of this time, three more culprits were brought into prison. During the night the beautiful youth appeared again to Ephrem, and asked him whether he knew these prisoners. "How should I know them ?" answered Ephrem sadly. "Well," said the angel, "one of them is that wicked man who threw his enemy from the bridge into the river; and the others are the two unnatural brothers who calumniated and disinherited their own sister." Next morning, Ephrem told his vision to his fellow-prisoners, and they acknowledged, with sighs and tears, that it was all true. After remaining thirty days in prison, these criminals confessed their guilt, and were put to death. Ephrem now remained, all alone, in prison, for twenty-five days longer. At last the beautiful youth appeared to him for the third time, and said: "Do you believe now that there is no such thing in the world as chance or accident? Do you believe now that God governs everything?" "O yes," said Ephrem weeping, "I believe! I believe that God is just and wonderful in all his ways." Ephrem then promised that, if he were freed from prison, he would quit the world, and consecrate his whole life to the service of God. The angel promised him his liberty. Five days after, the old shepherd appeared before the judge, and testified to Ephrem's innocence. Ephrem was set free, but he had learned a valuable lesson: he never afterwards doubted of God's providence. During the remainder of his life he served God faithfully, and became a great saint in a short time, by accustoming himself to take all things, both prosperous and adverse, as coming from the hands of God for his greater good.

Almighty God created us to be His own in time and in eternity. But, in consequence of the fall of our first parents, we feel inclined to leave Him, the source of all happiness, and to attach ourselves to this world, the abyss of all miseries spiritual and temporal. But God, as the best of all fathers, makes use of different means to counteract that evil inclination of ours which draws us more and more away from Him, the ocean of all goods. As fowlers use different kinds of bait for different kinds of game, so God bends and applies Himself to the several dispositions of men, both for their benefit, and to maintain the sweetness of His fatherly providence over all. He draws some souls to Himself by love. But the number of these souls is very small. In fact, among the women whose conversion is related in the Gospel, St. Magdalen is the only one who followed our Saviour through love. God draws the greater part of souls to Himself by the troubles of this life. The woman of Chanaan went to our Lord, that she might obtain relief in her temporal distress. St. Paul the Hermit and Arsenius withdrew into the desert, to escape persecution. St. Paul the Simple became a hermit on account of the unfaithfulness of his wife. Blessed Gonsalvus resolved to become a Dominican, because, while riding gaily and swiftly through the streets, he was thrown from his horse into a mud-puddle, and was laughed at by all those who were eye-witnesses. While yet in the mud-puddle, he said to himself: "Is it thus, treacherous world, that you treat me? You now deride me, but I also will laugh at you." This said, he abandoned the world and embraced the religious life.

Nicholas Bobadilla, a poor student of Paris, often went to see St. Ignatius Loyola, for the sake of relief in his temporal wants; but he soon felt drawn by a holy love to St. Ignatius, and became one of his first and most zealous companions.

The venerable Bernard of Corlione, in trying to escape the hands of human justice, fell into those of divine mercy, by going to join the Capuchins.

Thomas Pounc, an Englishman, fell most awkwardly, while dancing at a ball of the Queen of England. "Get up, you fool!" said the queen to him. The young man, feeling highly offended, resolved to avenge himself on the world, by quitting it. He entered the Society of Jesus, where he led a holy life; and after having suffered in a dungeon for twenty years, during the time of religious persecution in England, he finished his life, by sacrificing it, at last, for the sake of the faith.

"I have heard on good authority," relates St. Francis de Sales, "that a gentleman of our age, distinguished in mind and person, and of good family, seeing some Capuchin Fathers pass by, said to the other noblemen who were with him: 'I have a fancy to find out how these barefooted men live, and to go amongst them, not meaning to remain there always, but only for three weeks, or a month, so as to observe better what they do, and then mock and laugh at it afterwards with you.' So he went, and was received by the fathers. But Divine Providence, who made use of these means to withdraw him from the world, converted his wicked purpose into a good one; and he, who thought to take in others, was taken in himself: for, no sooner had he lived a few days with those good religious, than he was entirely changed. He persevered faithfully in his vocation, and became a great servant of God.

St. Ludwina hurt herself very seriously at the age of sixteen. She became bedridden for thirty-five years. Her disease at last grew so violent, that her flesh began to corrupt and to be filled with worms. The putrefaction extended even internally. As she was poor, she had not even sufficient clothes to keep herself warm; so that the tears which she frequently shed, froze on her cheeks. She could move only a little her head and one of her arms. The pains which she suffered for thirty-five years are beyond description. It was five years before she understood that God had sent her those afflictions as a means to draw her soul to Himself, and unite it to His holy will in a most intimate manner in time and for all eternity. No sooner was she convinced of this, than she began to weep most bitterly over her want of submission to the dispositions of Almighty God. She ever afterwards was most grateful for all the pains which God made her endure, looking upon them all as so many blessings and gifts of her heavenly Father. She thus became one of the most admirable saints in the Church of God.

Thus many souls enter into themselves through disgust or weariness, or on account of disappointments or misfortunes. God makes use of such disappointments and troubles to detach them from the love of creatures, to preserve them from the delusion of false appearances, and to force them to enter into themselves; to purify their hearts; to cause goodness to take root in their souls; to give them a distaste for a worldly life. Do you think such souls would have sought consolation only in God, if the world had loved them? Do you think they would have known the sweetness of God, if the world had not maltreated and banished them from its society! It is God who permits such harsh treatment and contumelies to befall them. He causes thorns to spring up in all their pleasures, in order to prevent them from reposing thereon. They would never have belonged to God, had the world desired them; and they would have been adverse to God, had the world not been adverse to them. It is thus that the Lord breaks the fetters by which the world held them in bondage. Yes, God had, as it were, to deprive them of their sight, as he did Tobias, to enlighten them; He had to prostrate them on the ground, like Saul, to lift them up: He had to cast them, if we may say so, into the grave, like Lazarus, to restore them to the life of grace. They had, as it were, exhausted the treasures of His goodness.

Holy inspirations, moving considerations, wholesome advices, edifying examples, remorse of conscience, had all been employed through the tenderness of His mercy, and all rendered fruitless through the obduracy of their hearts. No other means are left in the treasury of grace than afflictions. How many have only shed tears for their sins after they had wept for their misfortunes! How many never ceased being criminal till they began to be unhappy! In truth, who would not have been moved to pity at the spectacle of King Manasses stripped of his treasures, and of his kingdom, and of his liberty, enslaved to the King of the Assyrians, and weeping and lamenting in a shameful bondage? And yet his great misfortunes were the greatest blessings which God could send upon the wicked king; for, a prey to great miseries, this king entered into himself, detested his crimes, did severe penance for them, and secured his salvation. (4 Kings v, 1.) Let us imitate the saints in their love for the cross, and always say with St. Paul: "If we suffer with Christ, we shall also be glorified with Him ; for I reckon that the sufferings of this time are not worthy to be compared with the glory to come, that shall be revealed in us." (Rom. viii, 17, 18.)

It is impossible to tell how much God loves us, and how great is the care which He takes of us all, even of the least of his little creatures, and how much He rejoices to do good to them all. The little flower in the woods, which, perhaps, nobody ever saw, God loves it and gives it colors so beautiful, that no king in all his glory was ever so elegantly arrayed. The birds which fly in the air do not work or labor, and yet they eat every day as much as they like : and who is it that takes care to feed them? It is Almighty God, who scatters grain about the earth for them to eat. The little gnat which flies in the air, and is so small that we can scarcely see it, is not forgotten by God; but He takes care of it, and gives it wings to fly with, and he loves to see it happy and flying in the sunshine. The poor worm which creeps on the earth, God takes care of it and feeds it. But He takes far more care of men, especially of His faithful servants. He always thinks of them, and protects them, and is constantly giving them opportunities to become better and holier.

Now, this care which God takes of His creatures, is called divine providence. If we abandon ourselves to God's providence, and accustom ourselves to receive all things as coming from God, we shall soon enjoy great happiness and true peace of mind, and lead a heavenly life upon earth. The pious Thauler, a learned priest of Cologne, had a great desire to become very holy. For eight years he prayed to God that he might find some one who would teach him the best way to become perfect. One morning, when he was praying more fervently than usual, he heard a voice which said: "Go to the door of the church : there you will find some one who will teach you the best way to become holy." He knew that this voice came from God. So he went to the church to find the person who was to teach him how to become very holy.

When he came to the door of the church, he found no one there except a poor old beggar, who was very dirty and covered with sores. All the clothes the beggar had on were not worth three farthings. He spoke kindly to the beggar, wishing him good morning. The beggar answered: "I do not remember that I ever had a bad morning." "God be good to you!" said the learned man. "God is always good to me." "But," said the learned man, "I cannot understand you: what do you mean?" "I will tell you what I mean," said the beggar. "You wished me good morning, and I answered that I never had a bad morning, as you will see. If I am hungry, and can get nothing to eat, I say: 'O my God! Thy holy will be done.' If I am cold, and there is no fire, I say: 'O my God I Thy will be done.' If it rains or snows, I say: 'O my God! Thy will be done.' If I am sick, or have a pain, I say: 'O my God! Thy will be done.' If somebody injures me, I say: O my God! Thy will be done.' So I am always content, and never had a bad day. I said that God is always good to me; because, whatever God sends me, whether it be joyful or painful, sweet or bitter, I know it is for the best. So I am always prosperous and happy."

The good priest understood the lesson. From that time he accustomed himself to take all things, prosperous as well as adverse, as coming from the hand of God, and soon enjoyed a profound tranquillity of mind and great peace of heart, because his will was united to the holy will of God in all things. Let us go and do likewise. In joy and in sorrow, in sickness and in health, in life and in death, let our prayer be: "O my God! not my will be done but Thine."