Page:SermonsFromTheLatins.djvu/497

 doth it  profit  a  man  if  he  gain  the  whole  world  and suffer the  loss  of  his  own  soul? " For  what  are  material and  temporal  goods  in  comparison  with  the spiritual  and  eternal?  "I  have  seen  all  things  that are under  the  sun,"  says  the  Wise  Man,  "  but  vanity of vanities,  all  is  vanity  and  vexation  of  spirit." Hence  he  immediately  adds:  "One  thing,  therefore, and one  thing  only  have  I  asked  of  the  Lord  that  I [i.e.,  his  soul]  may  dwell  in  the  house  of  the  Lord [i.e., heaven]  all  the  days  of  my  life."  What  then  is the  one  great  work  I  have  to  do  here  on  earth?  To bring  God  to  my  soul  by  sanctifying  it,  and  to  bring my  soul  to  God  by  saving  it.  If  I  am  born  into  this World,  and  live  and  die  and  save  not  my  soul,  all  is lost.  It  matters  not  if  I  have  been  the  greatest  man that  ever  lived;  if  worldly  fame  has  written  success in  letters  of  gold  on  my  tombstone;  oh,  it  availeth nothing  if  I  have  not  saved  my  soul,  for  the  recording angel  will  erase  my  name  from  the  Book  of  Life with  her  tears  and  will  write  "  failure  "  in  its  stead. But,  on  the  other  hand,  if  I  save  my  soul  all  is gained.  What  matters  it  if  I  am  poor  and  miserable here  if  I  am  to  be  happy  forever  hereafter?  Time is  but  a  moment  compared  to  eternity. And, oh,  remember and  remember,  and  again  I  say,  remember, that I  have  only  one  soul  which  can  be  lost  only once, but,  once  lost,  it  is  lost  forever. I will,  therefore, first  seek  the  kingdom  of  God  and  His  justice, and all  other  things  I  will  take  as  they  come,  saying, with the  indifference  of  holy  Job:  "The  Lord  hath given  and  the  Lord  hath  taken  away.   Blest  be  the