Page:SermonsFromTheLatins.djvu/455

 the unfledged  to  cry  for  the  mother  bird? In spiritual matters,  beggars  are  rich,  and  the  self-sufficient miserably  poor,  for  unless  we  ask,  we  need not hope  to  receive. Why is  it  that  so  many  practical Catholics  make  such  little  progress  in  the spiritual life,  if  not  that  they  have  failed  to  master, or neglect,  the  art  of  praying  well? They remove their sins  as  they  do  their  hair  or  beard,  leaving  the* roots for  another  growth. Fasting, alms  and  such are but  external  remedies  for  sin,  but  our  soul's maladies  are  from  within,  and  prayer  alone  can  penetrate and  cleanse  the  heart. Life, spiritual  as  well as physical,  comes  from  the  heart. A heart  inflamed with  love  softens  and  glorifies  the  entire  system as  does  the  heat  the  iron,  and  the  fuel  of  this  fire is prayer. By prayer  our  nature  is  transfigured,  becoming white  and  glittering  as  did  Christ  on  Thabor. Take a  lesson  from  the  falcon. In the  moulting  season he  seeks  a  warmer  climate,  and  flaps  his  wings and the  old  feathers  fall  and  the  new  begin  to  grow. So we,  to  put  off  the  old  man  and  put  on  the  new, must seek  the  Sun  of  Justice,  and  basking  in  the rays of  His  love,  lift  our  hands  to  Him  in  frequent, earnest prayer.

Brethren, prayer  is  necessary,  not  only  in  begetting, but  in  preserving  sanctity. By the  same  medicine health  is  restored  and  prolonged. Worldly prosperity and  adversity  powerfully  influence  our perseverance in  good  by  engendering  either  presumption or  despair. But the  prayerful  man  is  that happy mortal  whom  the  philosopher  compares  to  a