Page:Thecompleteascet02liguuoft.djvu/28

 man taken  with  him  a  single  coin,  or  even  one  servant  to attend  him? In death  all  is  left  behind. The soul  enters eternity alone  and  unattended,  except  by  its  works.

Woe to  me! where are  my  works  to  accompany  me  to a  blessed  eternity? I can  discover  none  but  such  as render  me  deserving  of  eternal  torments.

2. Men   come   into   the  world  in  unequal  conditions: one is  born  rich,  another  poor,  one  a  noble,  another  a plebeian;  but  all  go  out  of  it  equal  and  alike. Consider the graves  of  the  dead:  see  if  you  can  discover  among the bodies  which  are  there  interred,  who  was  a  master and who  a  servant,  who  was  a  king  and  who  a  beggar.

O God! while others  amass  the  fortunes  of  this  world, may my  only  fortune  be  Thy  holy  grace. Thou alone art my  only  good  both  in  this  life  and  in  the  next.

3. In  one  word,  everything  on  earth  will  come  to  an end. All greatness  will  end,  all  misery  will  end,  honors will end,  ignominies  will  end;  pleasures  will  end,  sufferings  will  end. Blessed in  death,  therefore,  not  he  who has abounded  in   riches,  honors,  and  pleasures,  but  he who  has  patiently  endured  poverty,  contempt,  and  sufferings! The possession  of  temporal  goods  affords  no  consolation  at  the  moment  of  death:    that  alone  consoles us which  has  been  done  or  suffered  for  God.

O Jesus! separate my  heart  from  this  world,  before death entirely  takes  me  from  it. Help me  with  Thy grace; Thou  indeed  knowest  how7  great  is  my  weakness. Permit me  not  to  be  any  more  unfaithful  to  Thee,  as  I have  hitherto  been. I am  sorry,  O  Lord! for having  so often  despised  Thee. Now will  I  love  Thee  above  every good, and  will  die  a  thousand  times  rather  than  forfeit Thy grace. But the  infernal  one  ceases  not  to  tempt me; in  mercy  abandon  me  not,  leave  me  not  to  myself, permit me  not  to  be  any  more  separated  from  Thy  love. O Mary,  my  hope! obtain for  me  the  grace  of  perseverance.