Page:TheYoungMansGuide.djvu/203

 beneficial, and  to  withhold  them  if  they  should prove hurtful. Many, when  they  pray,  invoke God,  but  not  as  God,  for  the  object  of their  prayer  is  opposed  to  His  glory  and  favorable to  their  passions. They seem  to  consider God  as  a  mere  servant  of  themselves  and of their  passions,  such  as  pride,  covetousness, and lust. Let us  pray,  not  for  temporals, but for  heavenly  glory  and  the  means  of attaining  it. The most  precious  and  excellent of  temporal  things  are  but  insignificant trifles in  comparison  to  what  is  eternal.'

"Rohrbacher relates  in  his  'Church  History' that,  among  the  pilgrims  who  flocked to  the  tomb  of  St.  Thomas  of  Canterbury  to seek  favors  through  the  saint's  intercession, there  was  a  blind  man  who  prayed  so  fervently for  the  recovery  of  his  lost  sight  that he  was  perfectly  cured.  After  returning home,  however,  he  began  to  reflect  that  the restoration  of  his  sight  might,  perhaps,  prove an  obstacle  to  his  salvation.  He  accordingly returned  to  the  tomb  of  the  saint,  and,  after fervently  praying  that  were  his  sight  ever  to be  injurious  to  his  soul  he  should  again  lose it,  he  became  totally  blind  once  more.  He acted  most  wisely,  for  it  was  much  better  for him  to  be  blind  than  run  the  risk  of  losing his  soul.  Unguarded  looks  are  often  the cause  of  grievous  sin,  as  is  shown  by  the  example of  David  and  of  many  others.

"When our  prayers  for  temporal  favors, either  for  ourselves  or  in  behalf  of  others,  are