Page:SermonsFromTheLatins.djvu/320

 entire human  system,  and  permeated  like  oil  its  very bones, and  there  produced  a  sort  of  moral  paralysis. Of ourselves  we  can  do  nothing. We are  as  helpless as a  nest  of  unfledged  birds,  and  like  them  we  should lift our  arms  in  supplication,  and  open-mouthed  cry to our  heavenly  Father  to  give  us  each  day  our daily bread. Prayer is  the  second  round  in  our Jacob's ladder. Guard as  we  may  against  defilement, we shall  never  achieve  perfection  without  prayer. It will  not  do  to  remove  our  vices  as  we  do  our beards, leaving  the  roots  for  a  further  growth. Our malady is  internal,  and  not  to  be  cured  by  such  outward appliances  as  alms  or  fasts,  but  only  by  the  internal medicine  of  heartfelt  prayer. That is  the  cordial that  fires  the  soul  and  sends  the  blessed  heat through the  entire  man,  rendering  him  malleable  as fire  does  the  iron,  and  making  him  glow  as  glowed Christ's face  and  garb  on  Thabor. But lip  service  will not do;  our  prayers  must  be  mental  as  well. Prayer purely vocal  is  like  a  brief  but  violent  summer shower — it does  more  harm  than  good,  but  prayer that is  likewise  mental  is  as  the  soft  but  steady  drizzle that  delights  the  husbandman  and  produces abundant fruit. But the  chief  factor  in  prayer  is  the heart. Our minds  should  not  retain  but  pass  along the spiritual  pabulum  to  our  wills  and  hearts. A well-trained beagle  will  not  devour  the  game,  but brings it  to  his  master's  feet. So, too,  intelligence collects ideas  for  the  heart. True, a  toll  may  be levied  by  the  intellect  on  what  it  passes  in,  but  if  it confiscate  all,  the  heart  will  starve. If the  nurse  not