Page:SermonsFromTheLatins.djvu/203

 and heart — a  tenderly  nurtured,  gentle,  loving  little soul, whose  very  delicacy  and  helplessness  endeared her to  her  more  robust  brothers  and  sisters  and  made her the  darling  of  her  parents. There was  one  especially who  loved  her  dearly,  and  would  have  deemed it a  blessed  privilege  to  have  been  permitted  to  devote his entire  life  to  her  happiness. Ah! hers was  a  happy home, and  bright  were  life's  prospects  before  her,  but still she  was  not  content — there  was  something  she felt she  ought  to  do  for  God,  she  knew  not  what,  and she thought  and  worried  and  prayed. But at  last  she made up  her  mind;  she  plainly  heard  her  heavenly Spouse saying  to  her:  "  Arise,  My  beloved,  and come." So she  laid  aside  her  rich  worldly  attire,  and gave up  her  portion  of  the  inheritance,  and  without sob or  tear  she  bade  adieu  to  her  parents  and  family and entered  the  convent. There she  has  spent several of  the  happiest  years  of  her  life;  years  of  toil and privation  that  would  have  shattered  many  a stouter  frame;  years  of  tender  devotion  to  God's little  ones  and  God's  poor;  years  of  prayer  and intimate communion  with  God. And there  we  find her to-night,  in  the  convent,  dying. Attired as  a Sister  she  sits  in  an  armchair,  for  it  distresses  her  to lie  down,  waiting  for  her  heavenly  Spouse  to  say once more:  "Arise,  My  beloved,  and  come." The lamp is  shaded,  and  the  intense  silence  is  broken  only by the  labored  breathing  of  the  patient,  or  the  ticking of the  clock,  or  the  click  of  a  rosary  as  the  silent  Sisters come  and  go. And presently  the  priest  arrives with the  Blessed  Sacrament  to  prepare  that  soul  for