Page:Thecompleteascet02liguuoft.djvu/34

 Thee; because  Thou  wast  good  I  have  made  no  account of Thy  precepts. I confess  that  I  have  done  wickedly; and I  detest  all  the  offences  I  have  committed  against Thee. Now do  I  love  Thee  more  than  myself,  and  I  desire  never  more  to  displease  Thee. Ah, if  I  should again offend  Thee  by  mortal  sin! Permit it  not,  O  Lord; rather let  me  die. O Mary,  Mother  of  perseverance,  do thou  assist  me.

1. Holy  David  said  that  the  happiness  of  this  life  is  as the  dream  of  one  awaking  from  sleep:  as  the  dream  of  them that awake. All the greatness  and  glory  of  this  world  will appear no  more  to  poor  wordlings,  at  the  hour  of  death, than as  a  dream  to  one  awaking  from  sleep,  who  finds  that the fortune  which  he  had  acquired  in  his  dream  ends  with his sleep. Hence, did   one  who  was  undeceived  wisely write on  the  skull  of  a  dead  man,  "  Cogitanti  ornnia  vilescunt" — He  who  thinks,  undervalues  all   things. Yes, to him  who  thinks  on  death,  all  the  goods  of  this  life  appear, as they  really  are,  vile  and  transitory. Nor can  that  man fix his  affections  on  the  earth  who  reflects  that  in  a  short time he  must  leave  it  forever.

Ah, my  God,  how  often  have  I  despised  Thy  grace  for the miserable  goods  of  this  world! Henceforth I  desire to think  of  nothing  but  of  loving  and  serving  Thee. Assist me  with  Thy  holy  grace.

2. "And   is   it  thus,  then,  that  worldly  grandeur  and sovereign  power  must  end?" Such was  the  exclamation of St.  Francis  Borgia,  when  he  beheld  the  corpse  of  the Empress Isabella,  who  died  in  the  flower  of  her  youth. Reflecting upon  what  he  saw,  he  resolved   to  bid   adieu to the  world,  and  to  give  himself  entirely  to  God,  say-