Page:TheYoungMansGuide.djvu/218

 I ask  of  Thee  in  the  name  and  through  the merits of  Jesus,  my  divine  Saviour.

Holy Virgin,  Mother  of  my  God,  who  art  also my Mother,  my  good  angel,  and  my  holy  patron saint, obtain  for  me  the  grace  to  keep  these resolutions with  perfect  fidelity.

T WOULD  be  well  if  every  breath  could  be a  loving  sigh,  and  every  moment  be  filled with the  thought  of  God. If this  can  not  be, form a  habit  of  recollecting  yourself  from  time to time;  the  more  frequently  the  better. Let the striking  of  the  hour  be  a  signal  for  recalling the presence  of  God. Accustom yourself  to  the easy and  frequent  use  of  ejaculatory  prayers. We need  but  to  love  in  order  to  pray  and  to  sigh for God. These outpourings  of  the  heart  proceed  from  the  Holy  Spirit;  they  are  a  language of love  readily  understood  by  this  God  of  love. We naturally  think  of  what  we  love;  hence  we can  not  say  we  love  God  if  we  rarely  or  never think of  Him.

"Aspire to  God,"  says  St.  Francis  of  Sales, "with short  but  frequent  outpourings  of  the heart.

"As those  who  are  influenced  by  human  and natural  love  have  their  minds  and  hearts  constantly fixed  on  the  objects  of  their  affections; as  they  speak  often  in  their  praise,  and  when absent  lose  no  opportunity  of  expressing  by letters  this  affection  for  them,  and  can  not  even pass  a  tree  without  inscribing  on  the  bark  the name  of  their  beloved;  so  those  who  are  possessed of  divine  love  have  their  minds  and  hearts constantly  turned  toward  the  divine  object  of