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 yet we may still say that we are better off than they. How is that? Because the angels, with all their most perfect conformity, cannot merit anything to add to their glory in heaven; but we who are still on the way thither can and must daily merit a happiness like theirs by resigning our will to the will of God. If it were not possible for us on earth to attain to this virtue like the angels, God would not have required it of us, and to no purpose should Our Lord have told us to pray: Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven; that is, may Thy holy will, God. be done by us as the angels do it in heaven! May Thy will be done by us and by all our actions to Thy honor and glory, just as the angels in heaven do many things for Thy honor and glory! May Thy will be done in us, body and soul, according to Thy pleasure, however and whenever Thou pleasest, just as the angels allow themselves in all things to be guided and directed by that will! Now, since it seems often hard and almost impossible to our weak nature and our sensuality to do this, therefore Christ has exhorted us to pray daily to our heavenly Father for grace to make it easy, at least to our reasoning will; and, as St. Cyprian justly says, we should pray: Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven; not that God may do what He wishes to do, or ordain for us what He wishes to ordain, for that He will do without asking us, whether we like it or not, but we should pray that we may do what God wills, that we may be always satisfied with what the will of God ordains for us.

The holy martyrs and primitive Christians were weak mortals as we are; they were as sensitive to the trials and difficulties of life as we are; they found temptations as hard to overcome as we find them; and yet with God's help they attained a high degree of conformity with the divine will; their only cry in all attacks of adversity was: Lord, Thy will be done! I will select only one example from all. In the days of the Emperor Diocletian, Epictetus, a priest, and Astion, his companion, were thrown into prison by the tyrant. Dear Astion, said Epictetus, let us be of good heart; it is the will of God! If the judge causes us to be brought before him to-morrow, and asks us our names, who are our parents, and where we come from, our only answer must be: We are Christians. And if it is the will of God for us to be tortured and mangled, our only words during our sufferings must be: May the will of God be always done in us! And when they were brought before the judge the next day, their only words were: We are Christians; may the will of God be done in us! whereat